Love Me (The Elites of Cheshire shore #2)

26. Rome

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

rome

A soft knock at the door has me crossing the room. “I’ll get it,” I tell Flo. One of the concierges from the mail room hands me a parcel. I scan the name on the top. “It’s for you.” I hand her the parcel. Something about Flo getting her mail delivered here has my possessive streak flaring to life.

“Me?” she asks, staring at the plain kraft box, her eyebrows furrowed in an adorable puzzled expression.

“Did you not order this?” I bite the inside of my cheek. If she didn’t order this, I have a good idea of who did, considering there are only a handful of people who know she is staying with me. And knowing my dumbass brother, he probably sent her a chocolate dick or something equally as inappropriate as some form of payback for the double date. I step toward the bin to throw it out but don’t get very far before Flo rips the parcel from my hands.

“Ah, thanks,” she mutters, distracted, already digging into the box.

“So vicious.” I watch her tear the box apart. The pink tissue paper flies over her shoulder, and an overwhelming sweet scent nearly chokes me. My interest has well and truly been piqued. I lean against the kitchen island, curiously watching her open the package. She rips open the last piece of tissue paper and gasps in shock. My muscles tighten, priming for something. My brother is about to get a chocolate dick to the face. My eyes peel through the box. That is not what I expected.

I whistle, low and loud. It’s not a chocolate dick at all. Flo’s cheeks redden as she assesses the contents. If I were a better man I would turn away and leave her to open the parcel on her own, but I already know I’m going to spend eternity with the man downstairs, I may as well enjoy it.

I stare between the contents of the box and her flushed face. I’m so glad it’s not a chocolate appendage of any kind. “These aren’t mine.” Her mouth falls agape as she stares desperately between me and the box full of French lace panties, in all different colors too. My eyes zoom in on the light pink ones and my dick twitches; there is something so innocent about them but so fucking naughty. From here, it almost looks like it has her name stitched into the back string.

I stick my hand in my pocket to stop myself from reaching out and grabbing the soft pink ones. “Shame. I really am partial to the pink.” It goes completely against Flo’s nature, but for some reason, it’s the only color I want her in.

“Rome, are you sure you didn’t order these by accident?”

“I hate to break it to you, lollipop, but those won’t fit my left nut, let alone the snake in my pants. So they must be for you.”

Her eyes heat at my insinuation and I don’t miss the way they quickly dart down to my pants before looking back at the contents of the box. The tip of her tongue swipes along her bottom lip. She holds up the soft pink ones I’ve been staring at. They’re nearly as tempting as the white ones but not nearly as sweet-looking. “I think the mailman made a mistake. Maybe he was supposed to deliver this to Luca, not you.”

“The package was clearly addressed to you, Flo.”

She pulls the thank-you card out. A special gift for you in script writing is the first thing I see.

“This has gotta be Luca.”

“Do you think my brother regularly buys women’s underwear under your name?” I lift a curious eyebrow and bite the inside of my cheek so she doesn’t see how much her answer is going to affect me. I suddenly regret how easy I let my brother off during our sparring match.

She snorts and rolls her eyes. “No.”

I needed to hear that answer more than she realizes.

Her eyes suddenly go wide and she turns to look at me with an expression that I can’t quite read. “Do you think Luca sent them because we’re, you know, together?” She pulls more panties out of the box and lays them on the countertop. I’m almost ashamed to admit the more she pulls out the more turned on I become.

“I mean, it is just moronic enough to be something that he’d do. And he loves to stir shit, especially when you or I are concerned.”

She freezes her search, her eyes slamming into mine. “And sending me lace underwear that will barely cover my bits will definitely do the trick, don’t you think?” She smirks and raises one brow in challenge. “Thank goodness Nanai wasn’t here when I opened this…actually, scratch that. This is exactly something she would enjoy!” A thoughtful expression crosses her face at the mention of Nanai, and color blooms across her cheeks.

I wonder what that reaction was about?

The blood ringing through my ears slowly fades. Unfortunately, the message doesn’t reach my dick, though—he is semihard and has no intention of going down.

“There’s got to be a month’s supply here,” she mutters, covering the box with the lid.

My guess would have been two. I don’t know whether to thank my brother or throttle him.

“I don’t even know this brand,” she continues.

“Apparently they know you.”

“They know someone,” she replies, staring at the little thank-you card in her hand. “But I have a feeling it’s my meddling Nanai. This brand came up in the Google search history the other day.” I watch as she scoops up all the panties in her arm and saunters off to her room. As soon as she leaves the room, I turn my back to the hallway and I adjust myself in my pants.

If Flo cooking in my kitchen in yoga pants doesn’t cause me to have a stroke, her fucking Nanai will by sending these kinds of parcels. Either way, I’m fucked.

“You know you don’t have to keep doing this?” she mumbles as I pull into the Starbucks drive-thru. I swing my gaze over my shoulder as I lower the window. Since her car is locked in her building until the structural damage is assessed, I’ve taken to driving her to and from her shifts. It’s just easier for both of us, and besides, it’s only a ten-minute drive from the office to the hospital.

“Get you Starbucks before a night shift?” I drawl, just as the faint, “Hi, what can I get you,” crackles through the speaker. Without taking my eyes of Flo, I put in her order.

“Thank you,” she says, sticking her straw into the drink.

“Anytime, Flo.” I wink at her as I pull out of the drive-thru.

“Fucking hate night shift,” she moans the moment the hospital car park comes into view.

“You’ve been doing it a lot lately,” I reply. Not that I mind, but if Flo isn’t happy about her shifts, then I have a problem with it. From the dark circles ringing under her eyes, I think it might be getting to her.

“No one else in the anesthetics team gets put on this many night shifts. It’s draining. But my rotation for the emergency department will be done in a week. Fucking Dick Moore.” She rolls her eyes and takes another sip from her drink.

“Wait what?” Did she just tell me she wants more of my dick? Because I seriously want more of her.

Flo’s eyes flick to me and she giggles. “No.” She pats my cheek, in a you’re cute way. This is not what I was going for. “Like, Dr. Dick Moore. Dr. Richard Moore, department head of anesthetics.”

“Isn’t he the guy your dad used to hate?” There weren’t many people Riccardo had hated, but his face would pinch especially hard every single time Dr. Moore was mentioned.

“Yep, and now he’s my boss. And he loves to give me all the shit shifts because I’m still in training and I can’t really ask for a better schedule until I’m finished. He believes my medical degree is bought and paid for because of my family, not earned.”

“Well, that’s absolute bullshit. I bet your mom would be less than impressed to hear he’s throwing his weight around,” I grunt, parking my car. Shit, I’m sure even my mom would happily remove then reattach this guy’s asshole if she knew how he was treating Flo.

“Mom, for the most part, doesn’t know.” She reaches for her door handle before looking at me with raised brows. “And I intend to keep it that way. This is my career, and if I go running to my mom, isn’t that exactly what he wants?”

“What an asshole. I’m proud of you for wanting to handle this yourself.” I hate that Flo feels like she needs to deal with it alone or it will reflect poorly on her.

She replies after a moment of silence. “Sometimes I wish my dad was here to talk to about these things.” I lean over and rest my palm on her thigh. I know he would’ve had some pearl of wisdom to share, some important aspect of knowledge to pass along. But that won’t happen anymore. Flo takes a few deep breaths before she unbuckles her seat belt and gets out of the car, I meet her around the front. “Are you walking me in too?” Her eyebrows pull down, a small crease forming between them.

“I was planning on it, unless you don’t want me to.”

She nods. “I’d like that.”

A smile tips at my lips, as I let my hand rest on the small of her back. Flo stops and turns on her heel, pausing in front of me. With her hand tucked into the back pocket of her jeans, she levels me with a nervous look, almost like she is internally questioning how far she will allow me to go. As much as I want to be there for her, I don’t want her to feel like I’m overstepping, especially if she’s having a hard time with certain staff members.

“Thanks.” After a few beats of silence, she stands on the balls of her feet, and I lean down to close the distance between us so she can dot a kiss on my cheek.

I curl my arm around her shoulders, wishing I could pull her into me and take her lips in a passionate kiss. But instead, with my other hand, I tuck a few strands of loose hair behind her ear and whisper in her ear, “I’ll be back to pick you up when you finish.” I wink at her as I walk away, not giving her the opportunity to tell me no.

“I don’t finish until eight a.m.?” she calls, as if I need her to remind me. I have her schedule downloaded to my phone.

I turn slightly. “See you then.” I enjoy the way her eyes heat with fire, almost like she’s already counting down the hours like I am. This is only a fake relationship until Ven Industries can acquire Deeter Group. I keep telling myself that, but somehow, I’m struggling to believe it.