“Mountain’s out,” she said and then grinned when we looked at her questioningly. “It’s something you say when you live here. That’s Mt. Rainier. She doesn’t show herself all the time because of the cloud cover. But when she does… it’s glorious. We’re very proud of our pretty lady.”
I looked past her at the mountain and nodded. One certainly didn’t get views like this in Brooklyn.
“Well, you two,” Lior said, smiling first at Marley, then at me. “Today was a blast. Thanks for letting me tag along.” She turned to Marley. “It was an absolute pleasure to meet you, Marley. You have my number. Text me anytime with questions, fashion or otherwise.”
“I will!” Marley said, and then threw her arms around Lior, who laughed and hugged her back.
Once she was free of my sister, she turned to me.
“Graham, this was really fun. Thank you. See you back in Brooklyn?”
“See you there,” I said.
We engaged in an awkward hug in front of my sister and then hurriedly pulled apart. I could feel the heat in my face and was happy to see two pale pink splotches on her cheeks.
She climbed into the SUV then, and Marley and I stood on the sidewalk and waved goodbye until she drove out of sight.
“Now there’s a woman I approve of,” Marley said, elbowing me.
“Not happening, kiddo,” I said.
“For a smart guy you really are clueless, aren’t you?” she said and led the way to my rental car.
Chapter 18
Lior
“How was it?” Addie asked.
She had worked a half day at her clinic and come home and immediately showered. By four pm she was dressed in mismatched pajamas – iguanas on top, cats on the bottom. One of the apparent perks of working with animals was their owners gifting her animal-themed presents for Christmas or as thank yous. She had an impressive collection of pajamas, socks, and mugs, although right now I was more intrigued by the strange flower arrangement perched on her kitchen island.
“What is it?” I asked, leaning forward to inspect what was definitely flowers but in some weird configuration.
“A mermaid poodle,” she said, as if I should’ve known. “One of its eyes fell off on my walk home though so it’s a little winky.”
“Right.”
“So?” she said, looking at me expectantly. “How was it?”
Her bruises had faded and there were only a few yellow and pale green areas left along her cheekbone, jaw, and collarbone. The stitches had come out two days before I arrived, and most of the swelling had gone down. But I could tell by the careful way she moved that she was still in pain, and I made a mental note to keep our activities for the next few days low-key.
In the meantime, I apparently needed to keep her spirits up by spilling the details of my meeting with Graham.
“It’s imperative to my physical healing,” she said whilst looking very solemn.
“It was fun,” I said, and then recounted my afternoon with the author and his sister.
“You like him,” she said.
“He’s nice.”
“No… You like him like him.”
I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Are you going to give me a little note with boxes to check?”
Her blue eyes widened and she opened a drawer and pulled out a notepad and pen and started writing. A moment later a folded piece of paper came skidding across the kitchen island toward me. It read:
* * *
