The Things I Do for You (The Alexanders 2)

Her handbag sat next to the couch. She remembered dropping it near the door when they’d gotten in yesterday. She groaned and covered her face with her hands. “I was so busy ripping my husband’s clothes off that I forgot all about it.” Nick must have picked up her things and put them back inside.

The door slammed behind her and she turned to see Nick at the door.

“Good morning, my beautiful wife.”

Raina couldn’t seem to stop smiling. “Oh my God. You’re a morning person, aren’t you?”

He crossed the room to her and kissed her on the forehead. “This surprises you more than anything else I’ve done?”

Raina smirked. “Well, I already knew you were a freak in bed.”

“This is true.” He set his keycard, a tray of coffee, and several brochures on the coffee table.

“I picked up a few pamphlets about things to do while we’re in town. I figured we could check out a few clubs or maybe see a show.” He gestured to the brochures. “There’s some famous magician who does a show here, an erotic ballet that looks interesting and—”

“The Phantom of the Opera!” Raina exclaimed and snatched up one of the fliers.

“Yeah. That one’s at The Venetian hotel. It’s supposed to be pretty good but we don’t have to see any of these shows. I just picked up a stack of pamphlets downstairs from the concierge.”

Raina waved it back and forth. “I want to see this one!”

He laughed at her obvious delight. “Then I’ll set it up. We can have dinner there, too.”

Raina clapped, already imagining what the show would be like. She’d read Gaston Leroux’s novel many times and seen several film adaptations over the years, but never seen it performed live. “I can’t wait! It’s one of the most romantic stories ever.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “A creepy guy stalking you and then kidnapping you and holding you underground is romantic?”

She stuck out her tongue. “Didn’t you kidnap me? Besides, he’s not stalking her. He’s just consumed by his love for her. It’s very complex. And very erotic.”

“Oh, well. Maybe I need to give this show a chance after all.” Nick leered and made a grab for her. She shrieked and fell back on the couch, giggling.

“How do you feel?” Nick sat next to her and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.

“I’m fine,” she replied. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Nick shrugged. He didn’t meet her eyes when he said, “I just wanted to make sure I didn’t hurt you. I thought you might be sore.”

Raina sat up straighter on the couch, suddenly aware that she’d instinctively leaned into him. God, this keeping her distance thing was no easy feat. Just that quickly, she’d forgotten their purpose. She wasn’t here to go to shows and gallivant around the Strip. They were supposed to be making a baby.

“Crap! I didn’t take my temperature.” Raina groaned and let her head drop back against the couch. She turned to Nick. “I should be ovulating today. I forgot to bring a thermometer so I could take my temperature, but I’ll just have to hope that everything stayed on track.”

“I can call down to the concierge and as

k for one.”

“I was supposed to take it first thing in the morning. Once you’ve been moving around, it’s not accurate. For the purpose of pinpointing ovulation anyway.” She reached down into her bag and pulled out her cell phone. She had a missed call from Ridley and five from Sam.

“Oh boy. He’s pissed at me,” she muttered.

Nick looked over at her. “Who’s pissed at you?”

She held up her phone. “Sam’s been trying to get in touch with me. I texted him before we got on the plane.” After heaving a great sigh, she called Sam back. He answered immediately and after several very pointed questions about her sanity, she assured him that she was fine and would be back after the weekend.

After hanging up, she looked over at Nick. His jaw was clenched tight.

“Is he satisfied now that I haven’t chopped you up in little pieces and buried you in my backyard?” he asked.

“Sam’s been a part of my life for a long time. He looks out for me and keeps me safe while I travel around to different shoots. It’s his job to be worried about where I am. But it’s nothing more than that.”