Chapter 9

RAINA

“I think you’re stressing yourself, Raina. Gabriel and Jemma will be okay with whatever we have,” said Ronald, who was seated across the kitchen counter.

Raina turned to look at him for a second with a frown on her face and hands on her hip. “You’re not helping,” she said, then went back to what she was doing.

It was a Saturday. Gabriel and his wife, Jemma, were coming over, so Raina took it upon herself to make lunch, and now she was baking cupcakes.

Ronald told her they could go to a restaurant or order some takeout.

But Raina refused because she was in the mood to cook. They had all the ingredients at home, and to her, it wasn’t proper to invite people over without giving them a home-cooked meal.

“Anything I can do to help?” he teased.

Raina rolled her eyes at him.

She had asked him for help earlier, but he declined, claiming he would mess up everything, so he just sat and watched her do her thing.

The food was ready and looked yummy. The cupcakes, on the other hand, were almost ready.

“Raina dear, you’ve tried already. Go take a shower and get ready. I will clean the kitchen,” Clarice offered as she walked into the kitchen.

“How about Alexa and Adrie?” she asked as she removed her apron.

“I’ve gotten them ready. They are in the living room watching TV.”

“Okay. Then I will be right back.” She walked out of the kitchen with Ronald behind her.

She groaned as soon as she felt his presence behind her. He had been clingy, following her up and down all day.

“Can I come to take a shower with you?” he asked as he entered her bedroom with her.

“No,” she replied firmly.

He walked closer to her. “Why? Are you afraid of what I’ll do to you?” he whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Ronald may not know, but his actions and words were turning Raina on so badly.

“Ronald, just get out of my room.” She escaped from his arms and made her way to the closet to pick out the dress she would wear.

She settled for three different outfits. Not knowing what to pick, she made her way to her bedroom and showed Ronald.

“Which do you prefer?” she asked Ronald, who was seated on her bed and typing away on his phone.

“I think you should go for the blue dress. It matches your eye color,” he said.

She nodded. “So will you excuse me now? I need my privacy.” She crossed her arms.

“Fine. But I’ll be right back,” he muttered, then reluctantly walked out of her room.

Raina smiled as she walked toward the door and locked it. If a stranger saw them, they would conclude they were a couple.

In real life, they weren’t—apart from the fact that Raina found herself attracted to him. She also found herself comfortable and safe whenever she was around him.

Raina took a shower and got ready. She put on her blue dress and proceeded to the mirror to see how she looked.

She fell in love with the dress immediately. It matched her eye color and fitted her perfectly well, showing the curves she was always trying to hide.

She started to do her makeup, just something simple. After that, she slipped her feet into one of her fancy sandals before exiting the room.

As soon as she walked out of her room, she saw Ronald descending the stairs with his eyes on her. She wondered how he did not fall or miss his step.

She noticed he just took a shower, too, because of how his hair looked. He also changed into a casual outfit.

He smirked as she stared at him.

“You look beautiful,” he whispered as soon as he got to where she was standing.

She blushed and looked away, not only because of his comment but also because of the fact that he caught her drooling over him.

Ronald looked her up and down, eyes wide. Her dress brought out her curves—the curves she had been hiding.

“Am I interrupting something?” Clarice smiled as she watched them stare at each other.

“No, I was just about to go check on the girls,” Raina said, after which she proceeded to the living room. She did not know why, but Ronald’s presence often made her lose concentration.

“Mommy, you look pretty,” Adrie said as soon as she saw Raina.

“You look beautiful,” Alexa smiled.

“You look beautiful too, my loves,” Raina said as she pulled them into a joint hug and kissed them on their cheeks.

Soon enough, the doorbell rang, and Raina went to answer it. “Hi.”

She greeted her guests with a smile as she came face to face with a beautiful couple.

The guy was handsome, but not as handsome as Ronald.

He had green eyes and was the same height as Ronald. He was wearing dark pants with a matching shirt. She wondered why men were so obsessed with dark colors. He was also holding a food basket.

Beside him was a very beautiful woman. She wore a yellow sundress that kind of hid her belly, but one could still tell she was pregnant if they were close to her.

Raina knew they were the visitors they were expecting.

“Please, come in.” She ushered them in, after which she locked the door behind her.

“Uncle Gabriel! Aunt Jemma!” Alexa yelled excitedly as she rushed toward them and hugged their legs tightly.

Gabriel chuckled and placed the basket he was holding on the floor beside him, after which he picked Alexa up. He kissed her cheek and moved closer to Jemma with Alexa in his arms so she could kiss her.

Gabriel finally placed Alexa on her feet, and Alexa introduced them to Adrie.

“Meet Adrie, my sister,” she said, which surprised everyone. No one knew when they started calling themselves sisters.

Gabriel and Jemma chuckled as they looked at each other. Clarice and Ronald smiled while Raina’s eyes went wide.

Gabriel picked Adrie up and kissed her cheek, just the way he and Jemma kissed Alexa.

“And you must be Raina.” Jemma smiled as she walked toward Raina and pulled her into a one-sided hug, mindful of her bump.

“It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you,” Jemma said to her.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Raina replied.

“Hi, Ray,” Gabriel greeted. He picked up the basket and came closer to where she and Jemma were standing.

“Hey, only I get to call her that,” Ronald mumbled, glaring at Gabriel.

Gabriel chuckled and ignored him. He knew his best friend was jealous and joking.

“Nice to meet you too. I’ve heard so much about you from Ronald,” Raina replied with a smile.

The visitors greeted Clarice, too, after which they settled in the living room.

“You shouldn’t have bothered, man,” Ronald said as Gabriel handed him the basket they brought. It had wine, juice, fruit, and pie.

“Jemma insisted that we bring something and not come empty-handed,” he said.

Ronald groaned. “Women can be so extra.”

“We heard you guys,” Jemma and Raina chorused from the living room, which caused the men to chuckle.

After a while of them chatting in the living room, Raina and Clarice excused themselves to set up the dining table, after which everyone was invited to the dining room for lunch.

The meal was delicious, and everyone complimented Raina. They had a wonderful lunch because they kept on making conversations and got to know each other better.

After lunch, Ronald and Gabriel offered to clear the dining table while they left the ladies to go catch up in the living room.

Clarice offered to supervise the guys while Adrie and Alexa went to play in their playroom.

“So, how far along are you?” Raina asked as she plopped down on the couch beside Jemma.

“Almost seven months.” She smiled as she rubbed her bump.

“Do you know the gender yet?” she whispered.

“We can find out now, but that’s what makes a baby shower interesting, right?” she said, and Raina nodded.

“So we decided to wait until the baby shower. Will you be there? Please?” Jemma asked.

“Sure, I will,” Raina replied with a smile.

“I heard all that happened to you—what your ex-lover did to you and Adrie. I’m so sorry.” Jemma gave Raina a comforting squeeze on her shoulder.

“Thank you. I think that phase is over now. I’m grateful Ronald found Adrie and me that night.”

“So, do you like him, or do you think there’s a possibility of you liking him?” Jemma asked excitedly.

“Who?” Raina replied with a frown, even though she had an idea of who Jemma was talking about.

“Ronald,” she said.

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Raina said shyly.

“I know you understand what I mean, Ray, and I think he likes you too,” Jemma replied with a grin.

“How do you know that?” she asked with her eyebrow raised.

“He couldn’t stop staring at you since we got here. The way he looked at you? There was so much adoration in his eyes. Trust me, he likes you. Besides, I’ve never seen him this happy and carefree.” Jemma smiled.

Raina smiled back too. Jemma’s reply made her happy and scared at the same time.

Happy in the sense that she was glad the attraction was not one-sided, and Ronald also felt the same way for her, but scared in the sense that she didn’t know if it all seemed right.

“You don’t have to worry about anything, Raina. I assure you Ronald is a good man. You’ll be in safe hands. I’m not trying to rush you into anything. Take as much time as you need to think about it,” Jemma said to her.

She nodded. “So, how long have you and Gabriel been together?” Raina asked, knowingly changing the topic.

“We’ve known each other since college; we all went to the same college,” Jemma said.

“So, how did you guys meet?” she asked, interested.

“We met through Ronald. There was this course Ronald and I did together, and we were partners for a project.

“So I went over to his apartment one time to discuss our project, and that was where I met Gabriel, his roommate and best friend.”

“Wow, that’s amazing,” she said.

Jemma chuckled. “Yeah, we started as friends, then he asked me to be his girlfriend. We went on dates, and now we’re happily married and expecting our first child.”

Since Jemma had known Ronald for a long time, Raina wanted to ask if she knew anything about Alexa’s mom, but she stopped herself and decided to wait till Ronald opened up to her.

“So I assume you’ve stopped working because of the baby,” Raina said.

“Yes, I have. I used to work for my mom. She owns a fashion house, so I help with the designs.

“She stopped me from coming to work when my pregnancy clocked six months, but I kind of work from home. She sends me some designs to review before they start working on them.

“How about you? If you have a passion for fashion, I can introduce you to my mom,” Jemma offered.

“I don’t think I have a passion for that. I’m more into cooking and baking. Ronald said he would introduce me to someone who owns a restaurant.”

“Oh, that must be Uncle Rico. Gabriel’s uncle. He owns an expensive restaurant in town. You’ll enjoy working for him. I have no doubt you will do great there. The lunch you made was delicious,” Jemma said with a smile.

Before Raina could even reply, they were interrupted by a voice. “Look, they are enjoying themselves without us.”

They turned to look at the owner of the voice, and it turned out to be Gabriel. He was walking toward them with Ronald and Clarice behind him.

Ronald was holding two drinks, one in each hand, and Clarice was carrying a tray with the cupcakes Raina baked earlier.

“That looks yummy,” Jemma confessed as soon as she set her eyes on the cupcakes.

“You should wait till you taste them. You’ll find yourself wanting more.” Clarice smiled as she served Jemma a cupcake.

The adults ate, drank, made fun conversation, and enjoyed themselves, after which Jemma and Gabriel took their leave.