The Things I Do for You (The Alexanders 2)

She’d been surprised all around to be treated so nicely by Nick’s family. Even though she was carrying an Alexander baby, she was still the outsider. She had been expecting them to all take Nick’s side. But no one had even mentioned Nick.

Raina picked up the water bottle and sucked down a few gulps. “I’m being good, see?” She picked up the first magazine on the stack he’d brought her. There was a smiling blue-eyed baby on the cover holding a bright red ball.

“Better. Read a magazine and then take a nap. That’s an order.” He tucked the throw blanket around her and then left her alone.

Later that night, Sam brought her a TV tray. He plopped down on the couch next to her and watched her take a small spoonful of broth.

“I have bad news,” Sam said once her mouth was full. “I’ve been going through your backlog of emails. The network isn’t going to buy any more episodes of the show unless they’re able to get behind-the-scenes footage with you and Nick.”

“I already told them I wouldn’t do that.”

Raina was suddenly really glad that she’d never agreed to allow them to be filmed. Not only would some of the most embarrassing moments of her life have been captured on film, but she’d then have to explain to the network that she was no longer speaking to her husband, so he wasn’t available to shoot any more scenes.

“They’re going to release the six episodes they already bought as a miniseries about the world of modeling. But if you want it to be a reality series with a full season, they need to follow you around.”

“I understand. All the reality shows on now are like that. I can’t understand why they’re so popular. Watching people acting trashy just doesn’t seem that entertaining to me. But clearly someone likes it.” Ra

ina finished as much of the broth as possible and then took tiny bites of the toast until it was all gone. She still felt mildly queasy when she ate, but the medication the doctor had prescribed was helping and she was able to keep it all down.

Sam took her now-empty tray and set it on the coffee table. “Put your feet up,” he ordered. He waited until she obeyed and then retucked her throw blanket around her legs.

“I didn’t bring it up to stress you out. You aren’t supposed to be thinking about work, remember? Your only job is to take care of yourself and relax.”

Raina watched him leave and dropped her head back down on the cushions of the couch. Sam meant well but he didn’t have a clue.

How was she supposed to relax when she kept looking for the face that wasn’t there?

CHAPTER TWENTY

NICK REALLY DIDN’T feel like playing cards. He felt like drinking a fifth of scotch and then spending some quality time viewing the backs of his eyelids. The only thing keeping him from doing that was the knowledge that Raina could have a reversal in her condition at any moment. He’d made sure Ridley had his cell phone number so she could call him right away if anything changed.

Since oblivion wasn’t an option, he knew he needed to spend some time with his brothers. Otherwise they’d end up staging some kind of intervention and drag him out anyway.

“How are things going up in D.C.?” he asked Elliot. Maybe if he asked everyone else lots of questions, he could avoid thinking about the fact that Raina was only a street away.

“Good. We’re growing steadily. Thanks for that tax analysis you did for me, by the way.”

Nick grunted. He’d been more than happy to take on extra work lately. All the work he hadn’t had time for before was a welcome diversion now that he had nowhere to rush to each evening. He was completely caught up and looking for things to do now.

Ridley walked in from the kitchen carrying a tray of cold cuts, cheese, and fruit. Ever since they’d started having poker night at Jackson’s house, the quality of the food had gone up considerably. He thought of Raina and her deformed monster muffins. He’d never thought he could miss bad cooking so much.

He sighed. So much for not thinking about her.

“Would you like anything, Nick?”

He looked up from his cards to see Ridley offering him the platter. She’d been calling to give him daily progress reports, but it was always done in a terse voice. She also hung up on him as soon as she was done.

“I thought you were mad at me.”

“I am. But that doesn’t mean you need to starve,” Ridley replied.

The others looked up, surprised she’d mentioned it. They’d all been dancing around the topic all night. They’d asked him about work and talked about sports, but avoided all mention of his wife or his impending fatherhood. He should have counted on Ridley for getting right to the point.

Especially when she’d made no secret of the fact that she didn’t think staying away from Raina was a good idea.

“I’m not really mad at you, Nick. But I can’t pretend I’m not disappointed.”

Nick cringed. Her disappointment hurt more than if she’d yelled at him.