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Her mouth dropped open. “Are you serious?”
For a moment, he wouldn’t meet her eyes, but when he finally did, his expression was grave. “I am.” He ruffled his hair. “Look, this is going to sound like a line, but Steven has finally seen the light. I expected him to argue against returning to the rehab facility, but he willingly agreed. And he—”
She shoved past him, not wanting to hear another word. Without a backward glance, she raced off to do her rounds. So what if they aren’t due for another hour, and who cares if he has my files? She would improvise.
But she had barely reached her first patient’s room when he caught up to her. “Rose, stop.”
“No,” she said, and they both blinked at her sharp tone. She’d never spoken to him like that before. Clearing her throat, she tried again. “I understand that as Steven’s doctor, you want to reduce his stress level, and I’m sorry if my actions have made your job more difficult.” Her eyes burned with unshed tears, and she lowered her head to hide them. “But you can’t expect me to go see him. What good would it do either of us? It’d cause more pain, and he doesn’t need that right now.”
He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “What he needs is to be surrounded by people who care about him.” Her face must have betrayed her feelings, because he released her and raised his hands in surrender. “I’m not saying get back together with him. Just… talk to him. It’ll be less awkward to do it here than at the rehab facility.”
Before she could respond, he turned and walked away. With a frustrated sigh, she went back to the nurses’ station where he’d left her files and got back to work. But his words needled her.
Isn’t it bad enough that I let Lanie convince me to hold off on contacting the wedding vendors? When she’d left the hospital the day of the breakup, she’d been determined to take the necessary steps to cancel everything so that there was no turning back. However, all of her resolve had gone out the window after a night of wallowing with Lanie. She should have started making calls as soon as she’d made her decision, regardless of what Lanie said.
Perhaps it was the way Lanie had approached the situation. Rose had expected her to say she might change her mind or that she should consider giving Steven a second chance. But instead, she’d suggested they repurpose the wedding and maybe throw another type of party. A part of Rose wondered whether Lanie hoped to repurpose the wedding for herself. She and Nate had been having a tough time finding a venue that would accommodate a Christmas wedding since it was less than six months away.
With a sigh, Rose shook her head. No, repurposing the wedding would be out of character for Lanie. Then again, weddings made people do crazy things.
Like end relationships. She closed her eyes. Has it been only a few days since that fateful conversation with Steven? It felt like weeks ago, but that was probably because she’d picked up so many extra shifts at the hospital. In some ways, it was counterintuitive to want to spend more time where Steven was, but she hadn’t actually seen him. The hospital policy forbidding staff from treating family members had gone from a thorn in her side to a godsend in the span of a couple of months.
Dr. Myers’s words replayed in her head. Maybe she should visit Steven, if for nothing else than to check on him. Perhaps even bolster her resolve that she’d made the right choice.
She argued with herself for the rest of her shift. By the time she’d finally worked up the nerve to head to his room, it was empty. He was already gone.
The next day, Rose stepped off the elevator onto her floor, ready to start another shift. But as she approached the nurses’ station, her belly fluttered at the sight of a crowd gathered around the desk, their backs to her.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Everyone turned at the sound of her voice and yelled, “Congratulations!”
Some of the nurses held balloons, one had a card, and Rebecca stood in the center of them all with a two-tiered cake. Rose stared, bewildered about what on earth was going on.
“Dr. Myers is going to kill me for planning this,” Rebecca said as she set the cake down and walked over to Rose. “But I wanted to share the good news.” Her eyes lit up. “You’ve got the head nurse position.”
“What?” Rose could hardly believe her ears. “But… Why? How?” Questions raced through her mind as she digested the news. “Nobody called me.”
“Consider this your offer.” Rebecca handed her a stack of pages. “It’s all detailed in here.” At Rose’s silence, she frowned. “I’m sorry. Did I overstep? I thought after everything you’ve been through, it would be nice to receive news with a bit of fanfare.”
Rose shook her head. “No, this is wonderful.” She raised her eyes to look at the rest of the nurses. “Thank you so much.”
“The board would like to meet with you at ten this morning to formally make the offer and discuss any questions you have.” With a smile, Rebecca began cutting the cake. “In the meantime, let’s celebrate your achievement.”
Forcing a smile in return, Rose began skimming the documents Rebecca had given her. A few weeks ago, she would have been ecstatic. The bump in pay alone would have been a welcome addition to the start of her new life with Steven.
But that was then. Since their breakup, Rose had been leaning toward going back to Baltimore or trying to find a position at that hospital in Boston. She’d never dreamed she would stay in Cedar Haven. It was Steven’s hometown, and she didn’t belong there if she wasn’t with him.
“I realize it’s a bit early for cake,” Rebecca continued. “But I wanted us to have a chance to eat it before things get hectic.”
“It’s never too early for chocolate.” Rose accepted her piece and took a bite. Her heart panged at the realization that it was red velvet, the same flavor she and Steven had chosen for their wedding cake.
Her appetite disappeared, and she set the cake down. “Excuse me.”
Without waiting for a response, she rushed to the bathroom. She ran into a stall and emptied the contents of her stomach.
A knock sounded at the stall door. “Rose? Are you all right?”
Say yes. “No.” She couldn’t bring herself to fake joy for one more moment.
