Love Me (The Elites of Cheshire shore #2)

40. Florence

CHAPTER FORTY

florence

H ungover doesn’t begin to cover my current state. I’m pretty sure my heart is now pumping out of my eyes. And I’m most definitely going to kill Sofia Faluccino, and her stupid shots.

I wake to find myself in Rome’s bed. The soft sound of his feet shuffling on the carpeted floor as he places something on the bedside table. My muscles tense, but I keep the cover pulled up over my head. After he shuffles away, I pull the cover down over one eye and see the glass of water and two Tylenol waiting for me, along with a note. I blindly reach over, only keeping my eye open a sliver, the low light burning my eyeballs. I grab the two tablets and down them without any water.

I owe Rome an explanation, he never once pushed me to tell him what happened. He just spent the remainder of the night holding my hair back and rubbing slow, soothing circles on my back while I vomited and cried. I shuffle out of the room and down the hallway.

Luca’s head perks up first. “Flo, I’m going to kill that asshole for doing this to you.” His gentle eyes skim down my body like he is assessing all the internal injuries Dr. Dick has inflicted on me.

“Hi,” I grunt.

Rome jumps to his feet. “How are you feeling?” he asks, bending his knees slightly so we are eye to eye. His piercing green eyes assess me as his warm, leather scent comforts me, wrapping around me like a hug.

“Like I could power a car with ethanol.”

“Been there, done that, have the T-shirt,” Luca calls.

Rome leaves my side. “I wasn’t sure what you would be more interested in when you woke up, I got you the bubble tea you like.” He pulls it from the fridge. “And I also got you an almond milk matcha latte.” He grabs it from the warming tray under the oven. “And there is also your turmeric-ginger shots.”

“Rookie error.” Luca snorts. “Anything milky based is totally going to just make her hurl more.”

I slice Luca a glare but reach for the matcha latte. “I’m done hurling, but thanks for your concern. And thank you for this.” I take a sip from my drink that Rome has been keeping warm for me.

“You’re welcome, lolli,” he whispers, placing a soft kiss on my forehead.

“Next time you want to get lost, Flo, make sure you call me. I’ll get lost with you anytime.” Luca pulls me from Rome’s grasp, and I wrap my arms around his middle, burying my face in his chest.

“I know, you were really missed last night.”

“I know now’s not the time to bring it up, but I was a little butt hurt you didn’t ask me to come out.” The wound in Luca’s voice is evident.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t handle hurting more people.”

Luca pulls me from his chest and bends slightly at the knee, staring directly into my eyes. “Flo, I’m on your side. Always.”

“I just seem to fuck everything up. The whole deal thing with Ven Industries, if I didn’t make that dinner a disaster, maybe you guys would’ve already signed with Brian and your dad wouldn’t be threatening to take over. And now with Dr. Dick, I didn’t even screw up that bad and the hospital has put me on probation.” I sniff and wipe the errant tear that has escaped the corner of my eye.

“Hey, hey, none of this. Brian has been making it hard for us long before that family dinner. Besides, if you didn’t save us with your genius relationship idea, who knows where we might be now. As for your career. Your dad is proud of all the hard work you have put into the hospital, and that you didn’t let Dr. Dick bully you out of it,” he whispers so low I almost missed it. A fresh set of tears spring into my eyes. I don’t think my dad would be too proud right now, but I really wish he were alive to tell me what to do. Luca wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me tighter into his chest, holding me while I continue to cry. At some point I find myself in Rome’s arms.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, wiping my nose on the back of my hand.

“Sometimes we need time to cry.” Rome shrugs. “It’s cathartic.” Luca returns with a cold compress and hands it to me to hold on top of my swelling eyes.

“I don’t know how cathartic I feel right now. If anything, it feels worse.”

“I feel like this is a relationship moment, and as much as I’d love to crash it, I will leave you two alone. But just remember to call me when you’re ready to talk saucy details.” Luca kisses my tear-stained cheek before leaving.

“Wanna talk about what happened?” Rome asks after a few beats of post-Luca silence.

I look into his face, expecting to see hurt or anger in his green eyes, but all I see is love. He’s giving me the option—if I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t have to.

“Where do I start?” I blow out a sharp breath. “I had trouble with a patient and followed protocol and called my superior advisor.”

“Dr. Dick.” Rome nods his head, remembering the incident I vaguely brushed over.

“And his advice to me was to go back to med school.”

Rome curses under his breath.

“Eventually I worked out the issue, but Dr. Dick used that as a chance to report me to the hospital board, claiming I’m incompetent and I’m unfit to be on rotation.”

“That’s bullshit,” he spits, rubbing up and down the backs of my arms. “If you mess up, it’s your training supervisor who is supposed to help you through it.”

“Yeah,” a sad smile forms on my lips, “in a perfect world that’s what’s supposed to happen. Anyway, Dr. Dick has raised a complaint against me, and now I’m on probation while the hospital decides whether I can continue with my residency or if I get booted.” A fresh round of tears slide down my cheeks.

“I’m so sorry, Flo,” he whispers.

“Me too. All I’ve ever wanted is to be a doctor, and it can all be taken away.”

“No, Flo, that’s not going to happen. Whatever it takes, we can make it work.”

“If I lose my place, I will have to leave Cheshire Shore, because I’ll need to apply for a new position in a different state.”

“If that’s what it takes, I’ll follow you wherever you need to go.” He places a delicate kiss on my temple. “No matter what happens, I’ve got your back. You’re not just my roommate, Flo. We’re a team.” Something big cracks inside of me with the determined way he says those words.

“Can I tell you a secret? I haven’t felt like your roommate for a while.” I was trying to keep Rome at a distance, reinforcing my walls when I sent him that message calling him my roommate. I was angry at Dr. Dick and frustrated that I’d allowed myself to be treated that way for so long, thinking that staying quiet and submissive would keep him off my back, but all it did was make me vulnerable and powerless. I was taking it out on Rome, and he didn’t deserve it.

“Can I tell you a secret?” He leans down and says in a tone so low, only I can hear, “I never thought of you as my roommate.”

“If I have to move, what will that mean for us? What about Ven Industries, don’t you need to be here?”

“Ven Industries can run from wherever I am, and I can always travel if I need to be here. But, Flo, I can’t live apart from you anymore. I’ve held back from you my whole life. I’m not capable of doing that anymore.”

Somehow, Rome’s words piece together my broken heart and soothe my bruised ego. He wants to be in this with me, no matter where it takes us. It’s also not just us this affects. Ven Industries also has Dante and Luca to consider; I can’t just make Rome leave. How will Luca feel about this? I know he will only ever want what’s best for me, but will this hurt him? I can’t lose Luca; I won’t hurt the one person who has always had my back. And if last night is any example, I’m already doing a shit job of not hurting him.

The strings my mom pulled must have been intense, three days later I had a new schedule emailed to me, with a new advisor named—Dr. Archer Calloway. And by the following week, I’d found a rhythm in the orthopedic surgery and I’m actually enjoying work for the first time in a long time. I’m getting more hands-on practice in thoracic anesthesia, which is kind of a win-win.

“How are you enjoying thoracic anesthesia?” Archer smiles as we both throw our bloodied scrubs in the hazardous waste bin. He falls in step beside me as we leave the theater area and make our way toward the staff lockers.

“A lot more than I actually thought,” I reply. “It’s what I want to specialize in. I know I still have a long way to go, but it’s nice to get a good chunk of my training hours in here.”

“I’m just glad to have a friendly face in the operating room.”

I tilt my head to the side and stick my chin out, a smirk touching my lips. “Are you really? Or are you just trying to not hurt my feelings?”

He grabs his chest in mock hurt. “Me, hurt your feelings? Never. Although, I feel like when you’re around I seem to suffer from such a bad case of verbal diarrhea.”

“Only a little.” A light laugh escapes my throat as I hold up my thumb and middle finger.

“I know you and that Rome guy have something intense going on.” His eyebrows pull down. “But I was wondering if I could still give you my number. Just as friends?”

I nod. “I’d like that.” Archer takes my phone from my hands, quickly types his number in, and hands it back to me. Excited to finally have a friend at the hospital.