The Things I Do for You
Page 42

Grant crossed his arms and leaned against the wall nonchalantly. “I’m not an obstetrician, but did your doctor place you under any restrictions?”
Raina shook her head. “No. I’ve been doing all the same stuff I usually do.”
He nodded. “Then more than likely the dancing was fine. Even if you are pregnant, dizziness is quite common. It’s probably best if you try not to do too much until you know for sure whether you are or not. Especially if you might be a high-risk pregnancy.”
Raina nodded. “Thank you. I have to admit, I do feel better just being off my feet and out of the crowd. I’m probably still not used to this many people at once.”
Grant glanced over at Nick with narrowed eyes. “Why wouldn’t you be used to it? How long have you two been married, anyway?”
Nick scowled. “Why? Are you hoping the ink isn’t dry on the certificate or something?”
Raina sat up and looked between the two men. “I’m surprised there’s anyone in your family who doesn’t know that we eloped. I thought all you Alexanders told each other everything.”
“Aaah, Cousin Nick hasn’t told you about the ‘other side’ of the family yet. Interesting. You guys really are newlyweds then.”
Raina nodded but decided against saying anything else. Her head wasn’t clear enough for her to navigate the strange undercurrents of this conversation.
He looked at Raina. “Our fathers don’t get along, so most of us West Haven Alexanders are treated like black sheep. Jackson has always been pretty welcoming to us, so we visit him from time to time.”
He didn’t say anything else. Nick’s hand clenched around her waist. Okay, I think that’s enough sharing for one day, Raina thought. It was obvious from what Grant hadn’t said that Jackson was welcoming but Nick, not so much. The last thing she needed was to have to referee a fight between two equally stubborn Alexander males.
This family politics stuff wasn’t for the faint of heart.
“I really don’t feel too well,” Raina stated, hoping Nick would pick up on her hint. He glanced at her and then back to his cousin.
“I think I’d better get her home. Thanks again, Grant.” They shook hands and Raina waved without getting up.
Grant ambled over to the door. Just before he pushed it open, he looked back. “If you’re ever on the west side of the city, come visit. The door is always open.” Then he walked out onto the deck and they were alone again.
Nick didn’t look at her so Raina placed a hand on his cheek. He looked at her, startled.
“Do I even want to know what that was all about?”
He shrugged. “It’s ancient history, but I promise I’ll tell you all about it. Later, after your head feels better.” He brushed a stray curl back from her face. “Because trying to understand the intricacies of the Alexander family feud is enough to give anyone a headache.”
*   *   *   *   *
RAINA EYED THE clock, wondering for the millionth time when Nick was going to show up. Waiting to find out if she was pregnant was agonizing, so she’d been scrambling to find ways to distract herself. She couldn’t even hang out with Ridley since Jackson had surprised her with a trip to Paris for their honeymoon. They wouldn’t be back for another week.
In lieu of having her sister to talk to, she’d started signing up for different social media sites. She’d stumbled upon a site filled with gorgeous pictures of arts and crafts and some of the most delicious-looking recipes.
The fact that she couldn’t cook hadn’t stopped her from downloading a bunch of them and forcing Sam to come with her to the store to stock up on baking supplies. Of course, disorganized as she was, she hadn’t remembered to actually bring the recipes with her so she’d ended up buying almost everything on the baking aisle just in case.
Sam, to his credit, hadn’t voiced a word of complaint.
The timer dinged and she stuck her hand in an oven mitt. She pulled open the oven door and a cloud of black smoke billowed out. A few seconds later, the smoke alarm let out a shrill cry.
“Oh no! No, No, NO!”
Raina grabbed the dishtowel next to the sink and fanned the opening to the oven frantically, dispelling the thick gray clouds of smoke.
“What the hell is going on?” Sam appeared behind her and took the dishtowel from her. He wrapped it around his hand and reached into the oven. A moment later, he dropped the pan on the stove top and closed the door.
“Um, I was baking.” Raina would have laughed at his bewildered expression if she wasn’t so embarrassed.
“I see that. When we went to the store, I thought you were just stocking up on stuff Nick asked you to buy.” He looked down at the pan of cupcakes and then snorted. “Who were you baking for? A village of giants?”
Raina looked down at the pan and let out a small gasp. She’d followed the recipe to the letter and had filled each mold in the cupcake pan to the brim so they’d be nice and thick. She loved the big, thick cupcakes sold in bakeries.
Her cupcakes however, looked like they’d exploded out of the cups. Each one was melted over the edges of the pan while the tops stood up in a puffy mass. They looked deformed.
“Is everything okay in here?”
Raina turned to see Nick dropping his briefcase into one of the kitchen chairs.
“Uh, I’ll leave you guys to it.” Sam, the traitor, retreated back down the hall leading toward his rooms in the basement.