13. Raina

"She's smiling, Aunt Raina!" Alyson's smoky blue eyes flashed as she looked up from the baby she was guarding with her life. Lying on a blanket, gazing at her cousin or, more likely, a light tucked into the ceiling, Lily did indeed look like she couldn't be happier anywhere other than on the floor at a Wingate party.

And not just a party, a wedding reception, however untypical it was.

The wedding-like elements were few, but the festive atmosphere was strong. The guests all wore dressier clothes than they normally would to a Sunday afternoon party at Rex and Susannah's beach house, and there had been a toast, a buffet, a cake, and plenty of kisses shared between the bride and groom.

Madeline wore white again—this time a dramatic jumpsuit with exquisite beading around the neckline that she'd no doubt hand-stitched herself. She was relaxed, happy, and as close to giddy as anyone had ever seen the oldest Wingate daughter.

"Is Lily smiling?" Holding Charlie, Raina inched to the side for a better look at her nieces, who hadn't left her—or the babies—alone since they'd arrived. "I've been waiting for a real smile from her."

"It's not real," Avery, Aly's younger sister, announced with a giggle as she fanned her nose. "It's gas! I can smell that stinker!"

"She's got some power back there, I have to say," Raina teased, cracking up the girls and Rose, who sat next to her on the sofa, facing the open doors to Suze and Dad's massive beachfront deck.

There were still a lot of people here, although most of the non-family guests had come and gone. The sun was behind the house now as it grew later, and the water was a deep navy blue under fluffy clouds turning pink from the western light.

But that made for the perfect Sunday afternoon Wingate gathering, leaving Raina calm, relaxed, and happy she didn't have to go to work the next day. Although, after the conversation she'd had a little while ago with her assistant? She knew this stay-at-home-mom bliss couldn't last that much longer.

Dani hadn't meant to pile on, but a few projects and commitments were coming up at Wingate Properties that could only be handled by Raina. The very idea of having to go back to the office filled her with the most unfamiliar sense of dread.

She'd never, in her whole life, not wanted to work. Until now.

"You okay?" Rose whispered, leaning closer.

Raina inhaled, ready to assure her sister all was well, but she saw the knowing look in those familiar brown eyes. She couldn't lie to Rose. She couldn't even sit next to her and have a thought that wasn't telepathically transmitted.

"I had a long talk with Dani," she said. "I have…" She curled her lip. "Work to do."

"Why the face?" Rose asked. "I figured you'd be itching to get back to Wingate Properties."

"I'm not. It's honestly the last thing I want to do. How weird is that?"

"Oh, you might change your mind when these little munchkins start crawling and you have to tie them down or lose them."

Raina smiled, shaking her head at the inconceivable thought that these squirmy nine-pounders actually crawling. "I can't wait. I don't want to miss that first inch on the carpet or their happy bite of solid food, or…first anything. Second, third, or fourth, either."

"You'll see it all, most likely over your desk," Rose said. "Dani told me she's setting up a nursery outside your office and…and…Raina? Are those tears in your eyes?"

"Hormone tears," she said, blinking them away.

"Raindrop." Rose put a hand on her sister's arm, close enough to whisper so that not even the little girls in front of them could hear. "Do you really not want to go back to work? Even part-time? Not that you ever did anything part-time in your life."

Raina regarded her sister, thinking. She'd evaded the question of when—never if—she'd go back to work. Especially when her father asked, which he had with surprising frequency.

Rex wanted to retire, and he needed Raina in order to do that.

"I've heard motherhood changes you, Rose," she said instead. "It drops your IQ, kills your motivation, and reduces your desire to do anything except…to mom, if I may use that as a verb. And to mom very hard. I think that's happening to me."

"Your IQ is stellar, your motivation will never change, and you can ‘mom' these babies and run Wingate Properties." Rose chuckled and elbowed Raina. "Not very many people could do it, but you? You will slay the dual track."

Raina made a face and groaned. She didn't want to slay anything but bath time.

"You will," Rose said, misreading her reaction. "Plus, you have all of us to help. Not to mention Chase, who's dropped down from heaven to make your life easier."

Raina shot her a look, brow up. "And slightly more complicated."

"Anything happening on that front?" Rose asked on a whisper.

"Happening between cohabitating platonic roommates who are surrounded by babies and a former mother-in-law?" Raina laughed, hoping Rose didn't press her on the issue of Val. Not here, not now. "I can't handle romance these days," she added.

"I was hopeful when I noticed you've been wearing makeup and cracked out the cute clothes again."

Raina rolled her eyes. "With great reluctance, I said goodbye to the miracle of maternity comfort." It had actually been fun to find her inner girlie-girl again. Was that because of Chase? She didn't know and didn't want to think about it now.

"But when were you planning to go back to work, before the need to ‘mom and mom hard' reared its head?" Rose asked.

She sighed again, noisily enough that Charlie stirred in her arms. "I haven't picked a date, but they're not even two months old." She eased Charlie on her back to look at her angelic little face. "And I don't want to. There." She stuck her tongue out impishly at her baby girl. "I said it out loud."

Next to her, she felt Rose react with an imperceptible gasp. "At all? Ever?"

"Not in the least," she sang softly, playfully bopping Charlie's teeny-tiny chin. "Not now." Bopped her nose. "Not in two months." Tapped each of her rosy cheeks. "Not in a year." She leaned over and kissed her head. "Not forever and ever, amen!"

Charlie stared at Raina in wonder, with just enough helpless love to melt a mother's heart. Rose stared, too. Raina didn't even have to look to see her sister's shocked expression.

"Raina," Rose whispered. "This is a huge change."

"Mmm." She turned to her. "Stunner, huh?"

"Kind of, but I get it. You've waited a long time for this experience, Rain. We're turning forty-four in a few weeks. And, if memory serves me, you've been working for most of them."

"I started filing contracts at Wingate Properties for allowance money when we were Finnie's age. And now…" She winced. "Forty-four? Eesh. You just know some whippersnapper seventh-grade teacher is going to ask if I'm Lily and Charlie's grandmother."

"Fat chance," Rose scoffed.

"I don't care," Raina assured her. "I just want to be there. Preschool, middle school, every minute in between."

"You don't want to work." Rose still sounded slightly astounded. "Have you told—"

"No. No one. Not a soul knows this, especially Dad, and he can't, Rose."

"You need to tell him."

She sliced Rose with a look, then jutted her chin to the patio where their father was seated, deep in conversation with Justin and Chase. He looked healthier than he had since his stroke, but he wasn't a young man, and he deserved retirement. He'd earned it.

"That man should enjoy his golden years," Raina said. "Especially after having a stroke. These years are a gift from God, and he should not have to worry about the company he built."

"Blake?" Rose suggested, referring to their nephew from a long-ago liaison. He'd become part of the family and, more importantly, a right hand to Raina as a top-notch real estate agent.

"He's too green, and not ready to step in for me. But there are a few things coming up this month that are really starting to press on me." She closed her eyes, thinking of the list her ever-efficient assistant had recited. "After that conversation with Dani, I can't think about anything else."

"Like what kind of things?" Rose asked. "Can I help? Can anyone?"

"Doubtful, unless you can represent Wingate Properties at a Realtor conference in Orlando."

"Could I?"

"And sit on a panel to examine the impact of regulatory changes on variable interest rates that I agreed to do a year ago?" She rolled her eyes.

"A year and a lifetime ago," Rose added, reading Raina's reaction. "No, I can't do that. What else?"

"I have a commercial client up in Atlanta who wants us to handle a major sale," Raina told her. "Also, two of my former—and favorite—clients are selling a waterfront apartment complex in Miami Beach, and they have no interest in working with Jack. They're holding off listing it until I'm back at work, but they are adamant they want to give the listing to Wingate. Raina Wingate."

Rose nodded, understanding. "That does complicate things."

"Blake's a great agent, but he cannot handle multimillion-dollar negotiations on behalf of clients as fickle as Emil and Rodrigo Jimenez. And I don't want or expect Dad to travel, and these will involve multiple trips."

"There must be someone in this family who could step up," Rose said, scanning the patio as if the answer were out there.

Their gazes fell back on that large dining table in the center, cleared of cake now, but the group around Dad had grown to include Isaiah, Gabe, and Blake.

"More Y chromosomes than we usually get at these family shindigs," Rose mused.

"He's in heaven," Raina agreed, referring to their father. "Finally got more boys in the bunch."

Around the patio, other groups congregated in laughter and conversation. Grace was at another table, playing a game with Nikki Lou and Scout Jacobson, who'd come as Sadie's date.

Madeline and Adam were chatting with Tori and Susannah, and next to them, Chloe was with Travis and two, no, three dogs, laughing and talking.

"Travis McCall is also in heaven," Rose joked. "Gabe says that probie is a smitten kitten."

Raina smiled, but she was still…searching, looking at each of her loved ones, even a few unlikely pairings like Val, currently deep in conversation with Kitty Worthington. Who among them could help her?

"Get to know that look, Charlie," Rose teased the baby who was still staring up at Raina. "It's your mother on a quest to solve a problem."

Raina gave a wry smile. "There's no solution except to buck up and go back to work. You're right. I have a ton of help, and I have Chase."

"Chase!" Rose sat up.

"What about him?"

"He can help you with Wingate Properties."

Raina looked at her, frowning. "He has a business."

"Exactly! His business is buying, selling, and owning vacation properties, and managing a boutique hotel. More than anyone else you know, Chase is qualified to handle real estate transactions. I bet he knows a thing or two about federal regulations and interest rates."

"Yes, but—"

"Don't ‘yes, but' me, Raina. You know this is a brilliant answer."

Did she? "I don't know, Rose. Things are complicated and undefined enough with him."

"How so?"

Raina shot her a look. "For one thing, there's an undercurrent of attraction, but neither of us are acting on it. We're living in the same house, but haven't even kissed. We've shared secrets and stories, experiences and heartaches, but…I barely knew how to introduce him to people today. As my…what?"

"How about consultant for Wingate Properties?" Rose looked so pleased with herself.

"I guess, but…" She took a breath. "I've already been in a business partnership that had…blurred lines."

Rose choked a laugh. "Are you referring to your actual ex-husband and partner? The only thing blurred was his moral compass."

Raina glanced around, making sure no one could hear the conversation. "I understand why you'd suggest him, Rose. But he already does everything for me. I can't dump deals in Atlanta, Miami Beach, and an Orlando conference in his lap."

"Go with him. Take the babies. Tell him what to say and do and—"

"Stop. I'm not ready for that," she said, ending Rose's madness.

"But having him help is not a horrible idea," Rose insisted. "He's smart and adept, great with people, and he could negotiate anything. Dad's hanging on his every word."

As she said that, Chase turned from Rex and looked directly at them. Not them, no. He looked right at Raina, the two of them locked on each other for two, three, four electrified heartbeats.

Then he gave that sweet, secret half-smile and Raina…melted.

Would asking him to "consult" just make this more difficult?

"He'd do anything for you," Rose whispered, obviously witnessing the silent exchange.

Raina shifted her gaze down to Charlie. "I know," she admitted. "I don't want to…"

"What?" Rose pressed. "You don't want to what, Raina?"

She swallowed. "Risk it all…again."

"Aunt Raina, Lily's diaper is loaded!" Alyson announced. "Can I change her?"

"I'll handle it," Raina said, silently thanking Lily for the diaper save as she handed Charlie into Rose's waiting arms.

"See?" Rose asked, looking a little smug. "You're not the only one who can fix problems, you know."

"That wouldn't fix them. It could make them exponentially worse."

"All right, then. Have fun in Miami. And Atlanta. And Orlando on that fascinating panel about interest rates."

Raina narrowed her eyes as she stood. "Shut it, Rosebud."

Her sister just laughed.

The idea playedon the edges of Raina's mind for the next few hours, teasing her with possibilities and different scenarios that unfolded in her head.

How would she even ask Chase something like that? How would he be compensated? Would it change their relationship? Would Dad freak out? What was wrong with her that she didn't want to work anymore? What was really stopping her from asking him?

Because she knew he'd say yes and all that did was bind them closer.

"Hey."

Raina turned at the sound of Chase's voice, the light from the kitchen spilling out toward her when he opened the door. She took a moment to look at his silhouette, remembering the very first time she'd met him—right there, in that doorway, coming out to the porch when she'd barreled up from the beach accusing him of hiding Blake in the house.

"Why does this woman look happy?" he asked, making her aware that the memory had put a smile on her face. "Oh, I know why. Because that baby monitor is silent, her house guest has gone to bed for the night, and that other guy who takes up space and air is here to offer tea, sparkling water, or solitude. What's your pleasure?"

You, she thought. You are my pleasure. And roping him into a consulting gig was just deepening the bond that could…break. And when it did, she could lose a dear friend. That terrified her.

"I'll take that sparkling water," she said. "But no solitude. Please sit out here with me."

There. Step One. Rose would be proud of her.

"One second."

He went back inside, and she returned her gaze to the moon-washed water, her heart rate up a bit. If she was going to ask, now was the time.

A few minutes later, he settled in the other rattan chair next to her, two sparkling waters—with lime, naturally—on the coffee table in front of them.

The splash of the surf provided the only sound, unless she counted the soft snoring of one of the babies drifting through the audio monitor. She could smell the sea, the bougainvillea and hibiscus around the deck, and the clean scent of soap that clung to him after a shower.

"Did you have fun today?" she asked, even though she knew the answer. He'd talked animatedly all the way home, charmed by her family and the whole event.

"You know I did. I loved talking to Rex," he added. "He reminds me of Carlo, my late grandfather, who had the same drive and focus."

Had he just inadvertently opened the consulting question door a crack? "Yes, but my dad is losing just a touch of that drive, after his stroke and all."

He studied her for a moment, quiet, almost as if he knew she had a lot more to say. Of course he did, because he knew her so well.

"Did you have fun today?" he asked after a beat. "You sure looked like you were in deep conversation with Rose for a while."

"Ah, Rosebud and I always have a lot to say. Even when we don't say anything at all. And, yes, we were talking…about…things."

"What kind of things?"

"Just…things."

He moved a millimeter closer, a smile tugging. "Coy Raina is one I rarely see," he teased. "I'm not sure I know what to make of this version of you."

"I'm not being coy," she said on a quick laugh, warmed by the tone of his voice. What was the worst that could happen? He could say no.

Or they could get more deeply involved and he could move into her Wingate Properties office and take over her role at the company and she could be a full-time mom who fell in love with him.

She bit back a whimper at the thought. Was that what she wanted? The very idea took her breath away for so many reasons, she didn't know where to start.

"Raina? Is anything wrong?"

"No, no. I'm…" Diving in, she thought, bracing herself. "I'm dancing around a favor, trying to decide if I should blame the whole idea on Rose, or just own it and ask you."

"Please, own and ask, and place a bet that no matter what you want, I'll say yes. You need me to watch the babies tomorrow?"

She sighed. "If only it were that easy."

"Oh. I'm intrigued." He took a sip of water and looked at her over the rim. "Rose's idea, huh? Can I guess?"

Laughing, she nodded. "Sure. And no, it's not to babysit, cook, or do any housework."

"Hmm. Take your car in for service? Move something heavy? Be your date for an event?" His voice rose on the last one, with hope, and that touched her. "I'm just guessing things that you might need a man to do. Which, in your case, is very little."

She eyed him, getting a weird sensation she couldn't describe. Was this her stepping back and letting a man take over? No. And even if it was, did that make her…weak?

No. It made her smart and maternal and trusting, all things she wanted to be.

"I don't need a man, Chase. I need a…professional. A real estate professional."

"All right. What can I do?"

She lifted her glass and took a deep drink before leaning into the small space that separated them.

"My job." She was only part teasing.

His eyes flickered with interest.

"I'm not ready to go back to work, as I think you know," she said. "And, if the truth has to be told, I don't know when I will be."

"You're asking me to take over Wingate Properties?" His voice rose with disbelief.

"No. Just to stand in on a few projects I simply can't hang on my father, because they involve travel and time. I don't have the problem of my replacement solved, maybe because I'm not sure whether I'm giving up work temporarily or permanently."

"You're struggling with the decision," he said. "You have been for a while."

Again, his instinctive understanding of her always made her feel seen and heard and so alive around him.

"Yes," she agreed. "Giving up work scares me and appeals to me and makes me wonder if I'll even have an identity." She exhaled as she realized what she'd just said. "Wow. That's the most clarity I've had on the topic yet."

"Because it's big and confusing and shakes your foundation."

She smiled, so grateful he understood.

"As far as your projects," he added, "I'll do whatever you need, Raina. I'm only disappointed that it took Rose to make you think of me."

"I don't want…to complicate things…."

He chuckled. "Finish that sentence."

"…to complicate things even more than they are," she said with a smile.

"Right." He locked his hands behind his head, stretched out his legs, and stared straight ahead, thinking. "I don't know why, though."

"Why I don't want to, or why this complicates things?" she asked.

"Why you think anything is complicated."

She choked. "You think this is simple?"

"Define…this."

If only she could. "I can't," she said. "That's the problem. I wasn't even sure how to introduce you today."

"Ah, no title to hang on me." He nodded. "I get that."

"Should it be…my roommate? My friend?" she asked.

"How about the guy you bought the house from who refuses to leave?"

She laughed. "More like personal pasta maker, labor coach, and chief cook and bottle washer—literally. You must wash and sterilize a dozen a day."

"It's my pleasure to help."

Sighing, she reached over and put a hand on his arm, which was warm and strong. "Would you consider adding business consultant to that list of titles?"

"I would add anything to that list, Raina, if it means more time with you."

It was the low and meaningful way he said the words that made her heart turn over and her toes curl. And what woman wouldn't feel that way?

They'd danced around this for weeks and months, and she felt like the dance was about to end with a deep dip and a slow kiss not unlike the one she saw Madeline and Adam share on their wedding day.

He put his hand over hers and threaded their fingers. "I guess this has to be said. Raina, I'm in this—however you define this—for the long haul. You take the time you need. I'm not going anywhere except to wherever Wingate Properties wants to send me on real estate assignments."

She just stared at him, her jaw loose, her pulse humming. "Thank you."

He leaned closer and grazed his knuckles along her cheek. "You know what I really thought about that party today?"

She blinked, not expecting that change of subject. "What?"

"That you were the most beautiful woman there and I was honored beyond description to be with you. Period, end of story."

All she could do was swallow, knowing that her voice would surely crack if she responded. "Thank you," she managed.

He gave another smile and let go of her hand, giving her a chance to breathe.

"Of course, Justin felt that same way about Tori, and Adam obviously worships Madeline," he added. "We bonded over the, uh, challenges of worming into Wingateland."

That made her chuckle. "You bonded, huh? Brothers in arms."

"Exactly. It's not an easy nest to step into, so we're going to get a beer later this week and discuss it."

She drew back. "Really?"

"Is there a problem with that?" he asked.

"No, I just…it feels…I don't know. Like more than brothers in arms and brothers-…"

"In-law," he finished and winked. "Don't panic, Raina. It's just a beer. Now, you want to tell me my mission for Wingate and let me know where I have to go, what I have to do, and if you can pay me with…" He leaned very close. "A proper date."

"I'll pay you with actual money…" She saw the shadow of disappointment cross his face. "And a proper date," she added.

"Perfect. Tell me the assignments."