Page 117 of Nine Months to Love

“I know. I know she’s dangerous and that she tried to hurt me.” I cross to the bed and sit on the edge so I can be close to him. “But it’s hard not to think about her down there.”

“She made her choices,” he snarls.

“I know that, too.” I reach for his hand. “I’m not saying you should let her go. I’m just saying it’s complicated.”

He studies my face. “You’re too good for this world.”

“That’s not a bad thing.”

“It is when people like Mikayla exist.” He lifts my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “Promise me you won’t go down there.”

“I won’t.”

“Promise me, Olivia,” he repeats sternly.

“I promise.”

He holds my gaze for a long moment, then nods. “Alright. Go swim. I’ll make breakfast.”

I kiss him quickly and head for the door.

“And cover up!” he yells after me. “Your ass in that swimsuit is for my eyes only. If any of my guards see you…Blyat’,she’s going to be the death of me…”

I giggle, give him a little hip-shimmy-slash-booty-shake for good measure, then step out.

The hallway is quiet. Most of the house is still asleep. I make my way down the stairs and through the kitchen, grabbing a towel from the linen closet on my way out.

Like the rest of the house, the pool deck is empty. The water glows delightfully turquoise in the morning light. I drop my towel on a lounge chair and dive in.

The cold hits me like a shock, but a good one. I surface, gasping, and start swimming laps. One, two, three. The rhythm soothes me. The repetitive motion clears my mind.

I’m halfway through my tenth lap when my phone starts ringing from where I left it with my towel. I haul myself out of the pool and grab it, water dripping onto the deck and pooling around my feet. The screen shows an unfamiliar number.

“Hello?” I say cautiously.

“Dr. Aster? This is Dr. Heller from Mass Gen.”

I straighten. “Dr. Heller! Hi.”

“I hope I’m not calling too early.”

“Not at all. Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. I’m actually calling because I heard from Ms. Genevieve.”

My heart stutters and skips. “You did?”

“She reached out yesterday evening. I passed along your message like you asked.”

“Oh! That’s— Wow. And?”

“She said she’s willing to speak with you, but she’s traveling quite a bit right now. She gave me a number where you can reach her at a specific time today.”

I grab my towel and wrap it around myself. “What time?”

“10:00 A.M. Eastern. She was very specific about that.”

I glance at my phone. It’s eight-thirty now. “Okay. What’s the number?” She rattles it off and I commit it to memory. “Dr. Heller, thank you. This means a lot.”