“I figured you’d be happy to have an excuse to have more crazy sex.”
Nick tilted her chin up so she was forced to meet his eyes. “I will never be happy about anything that causes you pain. Besides, you can just breathe and I want you. I don’t think we’ll ever need an excuse to have crazy sex. “
He pulled her close and rested his chin on top of her head.
“What are you doing?” She tried to pull back, but he tightened his arms until she couldn’t move.
“I’m loving you. Sometimes when things aren’t going so well, you need a hug. I used to see my parents doing this and just gag. But I understand it now. When life is heavy, it helps to know that someone is there for you. Even if they can’t fix things or make them better.” After a few moments, he pulled back. “You know what? We’re going to take this trying thing more seriously.”
She watched in surprise as he paced back and forth and put his hands on his hips. It was rare to see Nick so worked up about something.
“We are taking it seriously.”
Nick pointed at her. “I know you’ve made a lot of changes in your life, but I haven’t. I’ve been reading this book about pregnancy—”
Raina pulled back in surprise. “You have?”
“Why do you look so surprised? I care about what happens to you and I want to know what’s going on. I started in the middle because I figured I already know how to make a baby, but I just went back and realized I’ve been doing everything wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been wearing my boxers too tight, I’ve been riding the stationary bike downstairs, and I haven’t been eating well. No wonder my swimmers aren’t doing their job!”
Incredibly touched, Raina tried to suppress a smile. “Nick, those are just suggestions. More for men with low sperm counts. You probably don’t need to worry about any of that.”
“But just in case, I bought some of those loose boxers. I can deal with feeling a draft until we get the job done. And I can jog instead of riding the bike. I need to ask Sam about those healthy protein shakes he drinks, too. My point is, I probably need to make some changes in my routine as well.” He came back over to her and took her in his arms. “This is about both of us, so it doesn’t make sense that all the preparation should be on your side.”
Raina melted against him, allowing herself to draw comfort from his strong embrace. It felt so right to be in his arms just then. He wasn’t just spouting platitudes to make her feel better—he was really sharing in her disappointment.
It was probably one of the first times that she realized how much he wanted a baby, too.
“You’re going to be a really great dad, you know that?”
Nick pulled back and smiled down at her. “Thank you. That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Well, you’re already a pretty great husband. This is so much more than I ever imagined having.”
“I want us to have it all and there’s no reason we can’t.”
* * * * *
“WHICH IS MORE romantic? Red velvet or the French vanilla?”
Raina had to refrain from rolling her eyes as she sat with Ridley in the catering office of New Haven’s premiere wedding bakery. Premiere meaning it was the only one.
She still secretly thought it was lunacy to try to arrange a wedding in two weeks, but somehow, Ridley and Jackson had managed to pull most of it together. It helped that Julia knew almost everyone in town. A friend of Julia’s owned this bakery and had agreed to supply them with plain sheet cakes that Julia would decorate. They only had to pick what flavor they wanted and she’d promised to fit their order in as a wedding gift.
Since the Alexanders were so active at church, they had been able to borrow chairs, tables, and tents that were normally used at the church’s annual summer picnic. They’d found a florist who was going to bring out seasonal bouquets to decorate the tables.
It was all coming together.
“I’m probably the worst person to ask, Ri. I’m not exactly romantic. I think the red velvet tastes better.” She took another bite of her sample of cake. It was sweet, moist, and the icing tasted like pure cream.
“How can you say you’re not romantic? You and Nick have really inspired us.”
“We have?” It was hard to believe that she and Nick, odd couple that they were, could inspire anyone.
“I know how things started between you but you’re clearly perfect for each other. Seeing the two of you so happily married makes me realize that being with the man you love is more important than the right venue or having the perfect dress. I want to just seize the day. I’m so ready to be Jackson’s wife.”
Ridley sighed and took another bite of cake. “This red velvet is really good.” She put her fork down. “I think this is what we’ll go with. Besides, red is romantic.”
“It’s hard to believe you’ll be married in two weeks. Summer will be over soon.”
Ridley made a soft sound of agreement, then turned toward her. “I need to ask you something important.” She took a deep breath. “It’s about our father.”
Raina pushed away the rest of her cake. “You can talk to me about anything, Ri. I know I haven’t been so supportive about you meeting with him, but I don’t want you to feel that you can’t talk to me about things.”