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.
Raina turned around to see Nick eyeing the exploding cupcakes with barely concealed horror.
“Um, did your muffins get attacked by aliens?”
Raina’s shoulders sagged. “They’re supposed to be chocolate cupcakes. I don’t know what happened.” She sank down onto one of the bar stools next to the island and covered her face with her hands. “What kind of mother am I going to be? I can’t even follow a stupid recipe.”
Nick walked forward hesitantly. “It’s okay. Maybe they just need a little icing. Or something.”
Raina lifted her head and glared at him. “They look awful. It looks like the batter crawled into the oven and died.”