I needed Nina.
Even though she had never met Leann, she understood what this loss meant to me. She knew what cancer had taken from my life. That word alone still felt like a curse. A ruthless thing that didn’t care who it destroyed, leaving families shattered and futures erased. I hated it with everything in me.
I ran a hand over my face, exhaustion and sorrow sinking into my bones. A glass of scotch burned on the way down, offering a moment of numbness before reality rushed back in. I still had patients to see, still had to be a doctor while my own heart was breaking.
Nina had been checking in quietly, sending messages, making sure I was still standing. I did not want to lean on her too much. Our conversations had thinned, not because I did not want her, but because life was pulling us in different directions. I was buried in hospital halls and therapy sessions. She was building an empire.
Azzaria was still grieving, and all I could do was wait until she was ready to face what her mother had left behind. Dillon was barely holding it together. Watching him try to be strong for her only made the loss feel heavier.
By the time I made it back to my office, drained from a day of fighting for other people’s lives, I did not expect to see Nina waiting for me.
She rose when I walked in, stunning in a red pantsuit, her hair sleek and smooth around her shoulders. Her lipstick matched the fire in her eyes. Strong, beautiful, and unmistakably her.
For the first time all day, my chest loosened.
“Hey, beautiful,” I murmured.
She stepped closer and wrapped me in a soft, careful hug, like she knew I was fragile beneath the surface. My hands settled at her waist without thinking.
“I wanted to see you,” she said quietly. “Come stai?82”
“Sto meglio,83” I answered honestly. “Better now.” My gaze softened. “And you look incredible. That red lipstick should be illegal.”
“Flirting with me, Dr. Romano?”
“With only you.”
She smiled, then reached into her bag. “I brought something.”
She pulled out two small knitted, heart-shaped plushes, each stitched with initials. My family’s. Leann’s.
My throat tightened. “Nina…”
“I thought having something physical might help,” she said softly. “And I made one for Azzaria too.”
I gazed at them, overwhelmed by how deeply she understood me. “I do not even know how to thank you.”
“You don’t have to.” Her fingers brushed my arm. “Let me be here.”
And I did.
She stayed with me in the office, quiet and steady, while I worked through paperwork and memories. Sometimes we talked. Sometimes we sat together, sharing the kind of silence that only exists between people who know each other’s hearts.
“I love having you here,” I admitted softly. “It makes this easier.”
She smiled. “I’m sure you would rather have Rachel.”
I laughed and pulled her into my arms, holding her close. “Funny.”
“Is this appropriate, Dr. Romano?” she teased. “Touching a guest like this?”
“Just a guest?” I asked, meeting her eyes.
She tilted her head. “What do I look like to you?”
“The love of my life.”
Her breath caught. “Consider me charmed.”
