“Great! Well, I’ll distract everyone so you can sneak around front and leave. Oh and by the way, the cake was pink. It’s a girl.” She turned and walked back to the house, incredibly buoyant for someone who had just been in tears.

“Hey! Did you—” Matt crossed his arms, stuck between outrage and amusement. “You just played me, didn’t you? Did Mara send you out here to find out about my therapy since I wouldn’t tell her?”

Raina rested a hand on her belly and blinked at him, her brown eyes perfectly innocent. “I have no idea what you mean.” Then she walked in the house and closed the door behind her.

*   *   *   *   *

“ARE YOU READY to go?” Ridley stood at the entrance to the nursery the next day, holding a small arrangement of wildflowers. Even though none of the flowers were the same type, somehow the whole bouquet made sense.

More of her sister’s magic, Raina thought.

“I’m waiting on Nick. I told him we were just dropping off flowers at The Rush, but he insisted on coming with us.” Raina ran a finger over the edge of the crib and straightened the comforter hanging over the side. It was surreal that by summertime the crib would be in use. She’d be up to her neck in diapers and bottles and totally sleep deprived.

She couldn’t wait.

“Why? He thinks we need an escort just to go into town? Hah, he probably just wants to hit Miss Doris up for some of those sweet-potato fries. I already promised Jackson I’d bring some back for him.”

Raina shook her head. “He’s afraid to let me out of his sight. A girl can’t have a fainting spell without everyone getting all crazy.”

“I heard that.” Nick poked his head around the doorway and Raina made a face, but secretly, she was thrilled. A husband who adored her and a healthy baby on the way were things she’d always dreamed of but never actually thought she’d have.

Nick pulled the car out of the garage and shuffled a few things around the backseat before finally declaring it safe for Raina to get in the car. Ridley smiled at her behind his back and then climbed in the front, holding her flower arrangement in her lap. As they passed through town, Raina observed all the minute changes from the summertime.

The peninsula was at its best in the warmer months when the boardwalk was open and the air was filled with the squawks of seagulls and the excited chatter of children at play. In the winter, most of the businesses took in their outdoor seating and everything looked slightly shuttered. Still, it was one of the only places she’d ever felt at home.

When they pulled up to The Rush, Ridley climbed out, balancing her flower arrangement carefully. She’d just started supplying bouquets to some of the local businesses and Raina hoped it worked out. It was what Ridley loved to do. Dealing with all the people in town was Raina’s worst nightmare, but it made her sister happy. Ridley had always been the social butterfly.

Nick opened the door for Raina and they followed Ridley at a slower pace. He pulled out a chair for her at the counter and she sat gratefully. An older woman came out from the back and gave a whoop when she spotted them.

“Nick Alexander! Come here, you rascal.” Miss Doris hugged him so hard she almost lifted him off his feet. Then she turned to Raina, who braced herself for the effusive brand of welcome she’d come to expect from everyone in New Haven. But to her surprise, Miss Doris just put a gentle arm around her shoulders and squeezed.

“I’ll bring you out some oranges, dear. Your mother-in-law mentioned in church that you’ve got the Alexander cravings. I remember when she was pregnant if you can believe it. Feels like forever and a day.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Raina said. When Miss Doris’s face fell slightly, she added, “but I am kind of hungry, now that you mention it.”

“Of course! Don’t you worry. We’ll fix you up.” With a wide smile and another squeeze to her shoulder, she was gone, back through the swinging doors leading to the restaurant’s tiny kitchen.

“What did you say to Matt last night?” Raina turned at the sound of Nick’s voice. He sat on the stool next to hers and moved it close enough that he could pull her into his arms. She leaned against him and allowed him to take her weight.

“I just told him that we’re all worried about him but I understand why he doesn’t want to talk yet.”

Nick wrapped his arms around her, resting the palm of his right hand on the top of her belly. It warmed her through and through every time he did it. He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her belly ever since she’d started showing. Not that she was very big yet, but still. After how hard they’d worked to get her pregnant and after being hospitalized due to her extreme morning sickness, every pound she gained felt like a gift.

“Thanks for doing that. I feel guilty that he’s been helping me out and I never realized how much he’s going through.”

“He doesn’t want a lot of people asking him about his feelings. I haven’t been to war and that would drive me batty.”

Nick sighed, the soft huff of his breath tickling her neck. “I know. I don’t want to be nosy either. I just want him to know we’re there if he needs us.”

Raina squeezed his hands. “He knows that, baby.”

“I also wanted to thank you for suggesting that Eli offer him his house key. If Matt has to be in Northern Virginia for all those appointments, it’s got to be better for him to crash at a friend’s house instead of staying at a hotel.”