“Even if we didn’t, then we’ll just have to try again. I don’t want you to worry about it. Stress isn’t good for you, right?”
“Right. That’s why I’m going to rest for a while. I know you’ll probably have to work late a lot this week, so you don’t have to worry about coming back here and checking up on me.”
Nick pulled her by the hand until she looked him directly in the eye. “If I know you, your idea of resting is answering emails and calling a bunch of people. That doesn’t sound very stress free to me.”
“Sam won’t let me overdo.”
Nick’s face darkened. “Sam isn’t your husband. I am. Which means that I will see you at dinner tonight, Mrs. Alexander. My parents rarely spent a night apart. I don’t have any intention of us doing so, either.” Then he kissed her on the forehead and left.
Raina stared after him long after the door closed. It would be so much easier to be pissed if she wasn’t glowing from him calling her “Mrs. Alexander.”
“Ugh. I’m like a teenage girl writing his name on my notebook in sparkly glitter ink.” She pulled out her cell phone and called her sister. After a brief conversation, they agreed that Ridley would come over in about an hour. Raina found herself strangely excited to talk to her sister. Usually Ridley was the one with cute stories about the things Jackson had done for her. Now it was Raina’s turn.
She turned at the sound of the door closing. Sam stood in the doorway watching her.
“Hey. We’re back,” she said when he didn’t speak. It occurred to her after she said it how stupid that was. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t know she was back.
“I see that.”
“I know you’re really mad—”
“Mad? Raina, I think I lost about three decades of my life this weekend. You think you can just ditch me and fly off to Vegas? You hired me to protect you, but you have to let me do my job. I should quit and let you figure out your own shit.”
Panic lanced through her at his words. It wasn’t like she was some major celebrity, but with all the travel she did to foreign countries, it gave her an incredible peace of mind to know that she had Sam watching her back. More than that, he was someone she’d grown truly fond of over the last five years.
“Don’t leave me, Sam.”
Something in her voice must have gotten through to him because he crossed to her and picked her up in a bear hug. Startled, she held stock-still until he set her on her feet again.
“You’d better not ever do that again.” The red strips of color on his cheeks betrayed his agitation.
“I really scared you, didn’t I?” she whispered.
He coughed. “Yeah. You did.”
“I didn’t mean to. Everything just happened so fast. Nick makes me do things I shouldn’t do.”
“I’m starting to think that Alexander is the only one who can get you to act based on emotion. Which is not a bad thing, except when it involves running off to another state without letting me know. And a text message is not how I define letting me know. Anyone could have sent that. I need to hear your voice.”
“I am so sorry.” A wave of shame washed over her. It had felt incredibly freeing to run off and do something spontaneous, but looking at things from Sam’s perspective, she could see how selfish it had been. She would probably quit in his place.
Sam scowled at her. “Uh huh. Don’t think I’m letting you off that easy. You missed our Saturday workout and it’s time for you to get back on track. Go get changed!”
Raina knew she was forgiven if he was willing to hold the heavy bag for her. “Thanks, Sam.”
She grabbed the small suitcase she’d taken to Vegas and carried it upstairs to her room. Her room had always been her personal oasis. Now she would be sharing it with Nick.
Was she really ready for that?
She dropped the suitcase on the bed so she’d be forced to unpack it before going to sleep that night, then quickly changed into shorts and a sports tank and pulled her hair up into a ponytail.
It was weird to be doing the usual things, knowing that Nick would be coming home to her in a few hours. It was almost like she was living in some alternate dimension where everything looked the same but nothing was.
It was time to figure out what her new reality would be.
* * * * *
AT HIS OFFICE, Nick was trying hard not to let his mind wander to what Raina was doing. He knew exactly what her game was. She was hoping that by pushing him away as soon as they got back to their real lives, she could write their newfound intimacy off as part of “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”
But he wasn’t going to make it that easy for her.
“I brought the new bids that we were supposed to do Friday,” Kay said. “Also, I need to head out a little earlier than usual today. Jackson wants to record tonight. I sent you a message Friday as soon as he told me about it. Sorry for the late notice.”
“No problem. I thoroughly enjoyed my time off and I certainly don’t begrudge anyone else theirs.”
Kay looked relieved. “Thanks, sir. I’d better go now or I’ll be late.”
“Good luck with the recording.”
He listened with half an ear as Kay gathered her things and shut down her computer. He heard her call out when she finally left, but his mind was still on the scene that morning. How was he supposed to romance his wife when she wanted them to live in separate houses?