The Things I Do for You (The Alexanders 2)

“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.”

“I just don’t want to stress you out. Especially now that you might be carrying my little niece or nephew.” She leaned over and patted Raina’s flat stomach. “But I wanted to invite our father to the wedding. I’m not going to ask him to give me away because it’s not like he ever had me. Pretending that he did would be rather pointless.”

“You don’t have to get my permission to invite someone to your wedding. This day is about you. You should invite anyone you want.”

“But I can’t enjoy myself if having him there will bother you. Just because I’m marrying Jackson doesn’t mean you’re not still my other half. I think Jackson understands that. It’s just part of being a twin. We shared uterus space. That’s kind of hard to beat.”

They both laughed.

Raina grabbed her sister’s hand. “It’s not going to bother me. I’ve been thinking about it and I’ve decided that I do want to meet him. At least once.”

Ridley squeezed her hand. “Do you want me to introduce you? Or you can meet him alone. I won’t be offended if you’d rather have time with him by yourself.”

“No. I don’t think I can do it if you’re not with me.”