“So how did you end up here?” Raina leaned a hip against the desk. She didn’t get the chance to shoot the breeze that often. As weird as it was, it was surprisingly refreshing to just chat with someone.
“Your husband hired me as a favor to Jackson. Which was really nice of him since I’ve never done this type of job before.” She gestured toward the copy machine behind her. “As you just saw.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure everything out.”
Kay blew out a breath. “I hope so. Anyway, let me go peek in his office and see if he’s still on his conference call. It was supposed to end twenty minutes ago but last I knew, they were still on.” She got up from behind her desk and walked to a closed door a few feet away.
Raina closed her eyes and massaged her temples. She’d spent the morning reviewing more footage of her show. Now that she was taking a break from modeling, it was alarming to watch how hectic her schedule had been. She’d been doing it for so long that it had become second nature, but watching from an outsider’s perspective, it didn’t look as exciting and glamorous as it sounded.
The production technicians were trying to cut the material in a way that presented an interesting “story,” they’d explained to her. But Raina was starting to get worried. The network had only picked up the first six episodes of the show. If they couldn’t find enough interesting material to use, they wouldn’t option any episodes after that.
Now that there was no wedding to film, there wasn’t much left for future episodes. Her agent had already called and asked if she and Nick were willing to be filmed, which she’d immediately declined. Steven had been willing to go on air but somehow she doubted Nick would be interested in having cameras following him. He was very poised in front of the media but he also guarded his family fiercely. Having cameras following him would affect them, too.
Something she knew he’d never agree to.
Surprisingly, Raina felt just as protective about her in-laws. Julia wore clothes that were comfortable and fit her round figure, but they were definitely not designer fashions. What if someone made fun of her? Although when she thought on it, Julia would probably deal with a nosy camera crew by just feeding them until they were all good friends.
But what about Bennett? With his slight stutter and awkward demeanor, he could become a target of ridicule. Her hands clenched into fists. It enraged her to think of anyone targeting him because of his association with her.
“Raina, sorry to keep you waiting.”
She turned at Nick’s touch to her elbow. He looked stressed but handsome, as usual. Her eyes traveled over his dark blue pinstriped suit. By the time she got back to his face, his eyes were amused.
“Does my fashion sense meet with your approval, sweets?”
She ran a finger down his tie, then moved the knot slightly to the left. “The suit is divine. What’s in the suit is even better.”
Nick pulled her close and whispered in her ear. “I’m supposed to be romancing you and taking you for a civilized lunch. You’re making me want to forget my good intentions. There are so many other things we can do with this hour.”
“Oh no. You aren’t getting out of this that easily. You promised to show me around and then take me out. So…” She grabbed him by the hand and tugged him toward his office. “Show me your world, Nick.”
* * * * *
NICK PULLED OUT her chair and Raina sank down into the wrought-iron seat gracefully. After a quick tour of his office, they’d walked down to a sidewalk café a few blocks from Nick’s building.
“I never asked you this before, but what made you decide to open your office in New Haven? Wouldn’t it have been easier to get clients in Norfolk or Virginia Beach? Or go up to D.C. like Elliot? Not that I’m not happy you’re here.” She turned and accepted a menu from the waiter who’d just approached the table.
Nick waited patiently as their server rattled off an impressive list of specials and took their orders. Once they were alone again, he picked up her hand that was resting on top of the table. He’d been touching her like that all afternoon. Just casual little touches, but he couldn’t seem to stop.
He was doing his best not to push after her I think I love you declaration but at moments like this, when they were just hanging out and sharing their lives, it was so hard not to show how he felt.
“I thought about going to other, more metropolitan areas. I would have gotten more clients, twice as fast. But my family is here and I didn’t want to go that far.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a while. Raina seemed to be thinking about what he’d said.
“You know, I don’t think I could have done what you did. Could I have stayed at home if my mother had needed me? Or if Ridley had been scared to be on her own? I want to believe that I’d be that selfless, but I probably would have gone anyway.”
Their server returned then with her chicken salad and Nick’s club sandwich. He immediately took the bun off his sandwich and rearranged the way the lettuce and tomatoes were stacked. When he looked up, she was staring, so he said, “I don’t like too much lettuce.”
“I didn’t say anything,” she said with a smile. “I just never noticed that you’re almost as fussy about food as I am. Anyway, that was really nice of you, Nick. To stay in case your family needed you.”
He took a big bite of his sandwich and shrugged. It was weird to have her congratulating him for sticking around. That was what you did for family. Did she think that he’d just run out on her if she needed him?