Page 156 of Nine Months to Love

We turn and walk back toward Elena’s room. Arielle and Olivia are still talking, their heads bent together like old friends. Arielle is laughing at something Olivia said.

“Your girlfriend seems nice,” I say grudgingly.

“She is. Too nice for me, honestly.”

“Yeah, I got that impression.”

“The same could be said about you and Dr. Aster.”

I glance at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that she seems like a good person. The kind of person who doesn’t belong in our world.”

“She’s exactly where she belongs.”

“If you say so, Stefan. If you say so.”

We reach the women. Olivia is holding the gift bag of tea and smiling. “Arielle was just telling me about her work with the public school system,” Olivia explains. “It sounds so inspiring.”

“It’s rewarding,” Arielle agrees. “Hard, but rewarding.”

Iakov takes her hand. “We should go. Let you get back to Elena.”

Arielle nods and turns to me. “Please tell her I hope she feels better soon.”

“I will. Thank you for the tea.”

Iakov sets the roses on a nearby counter. “Take care of her, Safonov.”

He nods once, then leads Arielle toward the elevators. I watch them go, my mind turning over everything he said.

Olivia touches my arm. “That’s the Iakov who set the feds on you?”

“That’s the one,” I confirm.

“Damn.” She sighs. “I liked him. I liked both of them.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

“Really?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I can like people.”

“I know you can. It’s just that I thought you hated him.”

“I do. But that doesn’t mean I can’t respect him.”

She shakes her head, smiling. “You’re a complicated man, Stefan Safonov.”

“You’re just figuring that out now?”

“No, I knew that from the start. But sometimes, I forget just how complicated.”

A nurse comes up to ask Olivia if it’s okay to give Babushka a new round of medication. I stand aside while the two of them throw medical lingo back and forth. My gaze comes to rest on the flowers. They’re white, pure, almost like Olivia’s orchids. I run a finger along one petal.

I want to be sure about things, but fate keeps refusing me that kind of certainty. I can’t sure about anything when it comes to people like Iakov. Or my mother. I have only intuition and hope, and neither of those things are worth much anymore.

But when I look at Olivia, I find the certainty I need. I’m certain of her. I need to be. Ihaveto be.