it. But are you still here?”
“I…I am. Sitting right here.”
“I know you are. But are you really?”
“I think so.”
“I mean, are you still…do you still want to…to give this a shot? Even if it turns out badly? Even if we end up hating each other? Although I don’t think I could ever hate you. Even if I didn’t like you sometimes, I still think that deep down, I’d always know you’re supposed to be it. You’ve wrecked me, and I can’t even hate you for that. I thought I’d be fine. That the rabies or whatever it was would just up and eff off, but it hasn’t. I still feel rabid, and I still can’t hate you for that. I…I don’t know. Maybe this is going to be a mess, and maybe I’ll end up going and getting the tattoo removed for real. Maybe—”
“Or maybe it will be awesome.”
“Yeah,” Zoe whispers after a long pause. “Maybe it will be. If we both try.”
“I’d try. I’d try until…until I’m blue in the balls. Wait, I mean face.”
“Jesus.”
“And the money? You did say some pretty harsh things about me that aren’t true. We’ve both had relationships in the past, been used, hurt, all of it, and we’ve also had things not work out. I think that should teach us and help us realize what we want, how to find it, hold onto it, and fight for it, not how to give up.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I was just freaking out and having a meltdown, whatever. All of it. Your past is your business.”
“And what about the money?”
“The money…I…I’m still scared that…that you’ll one day realize I suck. That you could go anywhere or date anyone, and you…you’ll realize…”
“That’s never going to happen.”
“But how do you know?”
“Because I know myself, and I know you. I have hope. I know what it means to work hard, and I know what it means to come from nothing. The money is nice, but it doesn’t change who I am and what I want. I want to be happy, just like everyone else. I want to find the person who loves the hell out of me, and I can love the hell out of them back. I want a family. I want to have a good life. And I want the money to not mean anything at all when the person sees me. It’s been a long time since I had that.”
“Honestly, me too.”
“I’d work hard, and I’d fight for it. I wouldn’t just let it go. I wouldn’t just assume it’s going to be easy and then walk away when it’s not. The thing is, Zoe, we just fit. We mesh in every way, and we already know we can get along. We also already know we’re…um…compatible.”
“Shh!” Zoe glances back at the doorway.
She finds me grinning when she turns back. “I didn’t think you’d cash the cheque.”
“I wasn’t going to. But then I thought if I really wanted to be a vet tech, why not? Why not, if I’m going to work hard to better myself and make the world better for people and animals? I actually got turned down for loans, so I didn’t have any other choice. It was either that or be too proud and not take it and then work aimlessly at jobs I hated, all the while wishing I’d taken the incredible opportunity when it was given to me.”
“Kind of like this. Like us.”
“Yeah.” Zoe’s eyes get a little misty, damn it. I think there might be dust or something floating around in the office because my nose is suddenly burning, and my eyes feel a little bit itchy too. “Like us, but don’t worry. I didn’t need all that money. I actually donated the rest—forty thousand dollars—to an animal shelter here. They really needed it.”
“You’re amazing. You know that? In every way. If you think I could ever get tired of you or just move on, you’re crazy. You have no idea about me, or you, or about how much ass we’re going to kick together. I’ve been waiting for eighteen years for this. Well, kind of, I think. I mean, no one ever felt right until the second I saw you again. Not a single person. I think I was always waiting for you to come back into my life and mess with everything I thought I knew.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s a compliment.”
“Is it?”
I push back my chair. “Absolutely. Now, can I please hug you and kiss you as if you gave