Love Me by Bella Andre Read Free Book Online Page B

time off.”
    “I'm fine,” he shot back. Quickly realizing he needed to back off the defensive or she'd definitely think something was up, he sat down in an open chair and put his hands behind his head.
    She didn't look at al convinced. “When’s the last time you slept?”
    “I spent last night in bed.”
    Which was true. He just hadn't been sleeping. And, sweet Lord, Janica had been hot. Better than anything he could have ever imagined.
    She'd been giving, too. Selfless in her passion. And so damn sweet, he hadn't ever wanted to let her go.
    Eileen sighed loudly. “That may wel be the case, and I hate having to do this, Luke, but someone has to unplug you from the operating table, because you’re clearly not going to do it yourself.”
    Luke stood up to argue his case, but Eileen waved him back down. “I know you’re going to say that they need you—”
    “They do.”
    “—and that you feel fine—”
    “I do. I’m fine, Eileen.” He held out his hands. “They’re not shaking. I’m not seeing double. Or hal ucinating. I don’t have any signs of sleep deprivation. I’ve been working this way for years, and I’m responsible for saving more lives than anyone in this hospital, so I appreciate your concern but—”
    She cut him off. “I know what happened last night, that Robert had to take over for you. And before you start beating yourself up over it, I want you to know I've seen it happen to al of the best doctors. So I'm not at al concerned about your patients, Luke. I’m concerned about you. You need some time off. To rejuvenate. To have some fun.” Looking down at the papers on her desk she said, “You’l be taking the next four weeks off.
    ”
    Four weeks? Fuck, no. How was he supposed to make it through the next twenty-four hours without his job to fal back on? Between what had happened in the ER and what had happened with Janica, he was as screwed in the head – and the heart - as he'd ever been.
    “One week,” he countered.
    “We don’t want you to set foot in the hospital for four weeks, Luke,” she said firmly, the handed him his walking papers.
    The words swam before him. Mental health break. They thought he was going nuts.
    And given that he'd spent the night trying to fuck his sister-in-law's brains out, but making love to her instead, maybe he had.
    “The Big Sur cabin is open this time of year. It's yours. A few weeks on the ocean is going to work wonders for you. I'm sure of it.”
    Thirty minutes later, Luke was stil fuming. There’s nothing wrong with my mental health , he thought as he burned up the road beneath his tires, driving Highway 1 south too fast considering his lack of sleep. And yet, he was completely off kilter, utterly unprepared for the weeks that stretched before him.
    With every mile he covered, Eileen's parting words came at him: “ You don’t have to save everyone, Luke. Nobody can. And that’s okay.”
    But she was wrong.
    He did.
    Because he hadn't been able to save the one person he'd loved the most.

Chapter Nine
    Janica rang Lily's doorbel , but knowing the neighborhood was so safe they rarely locked the front door, she didn't wait for anyone to let her in. Violet, Lily's four year-old daughter, came barreling around the corner. “Auntie Jan!” She tackled Janica in a bear hug around her legs, then yel ed, “You're it,” and ran away as fast as her smal legs could take her. Janica grinned. Damn, she loved that kid. A perfect cross between Lily's soft beauty and Travis's ridiculously masculine good looks, Violet was a stunner. Better stil , she was funny. And bright as the sun.
    Lily was kneeling in the kitchen with ful grocery bags al around her feet as she consoled her crying son. Sam was almost two-and-a-half and about a hundred times more sensitive than his big sister. He was also crazy cute. Cover-of-a-kid's-magazine cute. Hoping to distract him from whatever was the matter, Janica cal ed out, “Sammy!”
    His eyes stil wet, he looked up