“I can’t imagine what that must have been like.” She glanced at him and then snickered. “I can’t believe there are four of you.”

She took another sip of her iced tea and sat back. Nick took it as a cue to keep talking.

“I was the second to youngest, so I had to learn to talk fast. There was always a lot of chaos in our house. I don’t really remember the years before Jackson came along. We’re only two years apart, so it feels like he’s always been a part of my life.”

“I always kind of wished we’d had more siblings. But I’m lucky I had at least Ri. If it had been just me…”

Nick leaned forward. “Is that why having a baby is so important to you?”

She immediately tensed up and set her drink down on the table. “You are relentless!”

“That’s why you should just tell me. The faster you tell me, the faster we can move on to finding a solution.”

“Not everything has a solution, Nick. This isn’t a business deal.” She pushed her hair back and rubbed her hands over her face. It killed him to see her looking so tired. So defeated.

“If you don’t tell me, then I’m just going to work with the facts I have. Let’s see…” He pretended to think. “I find a brochure for a sperm bank that does not belong to my brother and Ridley. Since you were the only other person on the patio that day, it must have been yours. But that doesn’t make sense since last I knew you were engaged. What am I missing?”

Raina glared at him. “Fine. Since you apparently aren’t going to stop until I tell you everything, consider yourself warned. I hope you’re not the type to get squeamish when talking about girl stuff.”

Nick leaned over and took her hand again and held it fast when she tried to pull back. “Raina, this is not high school. Despite our past, I want to know that you’re okay. If that involves talking about feminine stuff, then so be it. So, why would you need a sperm donor when you had a fiancé?”

Raina stood and he let her. She didn’t look at him as she walked over to the window. She stood there so long that he wondered if she was reconsidering her decision to talk. She finally turned to face him.

“I have a condition called endometriosis. I won’t bore you with the details.”

“Nothing about you bores me, Raina.”

“Anyway, bottom line is that I’m a ticking time bomb. Every month that passes where I’m not pregnant means it’s less likely I’ll get to be a mother. A baby is all I want.”

“Did Steven not want children?”

“No, he said he did. We weren’t in love but we both wanted the same things. Partnership. Family. Children. Marriages built on common goals have higher success rates. It made sense to get married and start trying right away. My doctor gave me a bunch of brochures about in vitro fertilization, egg donation, and surrogacy just so that I could be informed. Turns out I’ll actually need them now.”

She turned away and he realized she was wiping away tears. The sight of her crying sent a paralyzing wave of fear through Nick.

“Oh, sweetheart. Please don’t cry.” The endearment slipped out before he could catch himself.

“Sorry. Ugh, I hate crying. As awful as it sounds, I’m less upset about Steven and more heartbroken over losing my dream.”

“What if you could still have it?”

“I don’t think Steven is going to change his mind.” Raina laughed bitterly. “Not that I’d want him to. We were supposed to have a relationship based on mutual respect and trust. If I wanted someone who’d cheat and lie I could just have a normal relationship.”

It was all he could do not to growl. “I’m not talking about Steven. And we’ll have to talk about your shitty relationship expectations later. But I’m saying what if someone else offered to help you out?”

He debated the best way to present his idea to her. He could do what he really wanted to do, which was fall to one knee and tell her he adored her. But their interactions had proven time and time again that Raina didn’t respond well to romantic gestures from him. If he told her he loved her, she’d probably just assume he was trying to get in her panties and just saying what he thought she wanted to hear.

There was only one thing he hadn’t tried. She freely admitted that she hadn’t loved her fiancé and was just marrying him because it “made sense.” Well, Nick would be damned if she considered Silvestre a better bet than him. It was going to kill him to play it cool, but if pretending their interaction was just a business deal got him what he wanted, then he wasn’t above a little deception.

“Help me out? How likely is that? It’s not like I’m asking to borrow a cup of sugar, Nick! How many men would offer to father my child?”

Nick stood and thrust his hands in his pockets, aware that his next words would change his life forever.

“You’re looking at one.”

CHAPTER FIVE

FOR A MOMENT, Raina wondered if it was possible to be dreaming while standing up. Because she was pretty sure Nick Alexander had just offered to get her pregnant.

And he wasn’t laughing.

“Are you crazy? Why would you say that? You and I don’t even get along.”

Not to mention that she’d been shutting him down for months. Why would he want to do her a favor now?

“Well, as you just pointed out, it’s not about being in love. It’s about shared goals. I’m a businessman, Raina. I can appreciate the logic of what you’ve described. A stable mother for my children and someone who has the kind of DNA that money can’t buy.”