Page 109 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

“Well, that’s a drag.”

“You have no idea.” He held out his hand to her. “As much as everything has changed, some things never will.”

Sam put her phone on the table before she took his hand. “Funny, I was just thinking the same thing as I followed the path you left for me.”

“Having an in-house florist comes in handy at times like this.”

“You must’ve made their day when you asked for rose petals.”

He snuggled her into his warm embrace. “They were pleased to receive a direct request from the Oval.”

Sam kissed his bare chest and up his neck on the way to his lips. “I love that you found a way to bring our loft here.”

“We need this too badly not to find a place for it in our new life.”

“Yes, we do.”

“Every day here seems crazier than the last. Nonstop meetings, obligations, photos, interviews, decisions… Every decision is a big decision. The little ones don’t make it to me. Only the big ones, and all of them have so many consequences.” As he spoke, he ran his hand up and down her arm and over her back. “You know what gets me through all that?”

“What?” she asked, even though she knew because the answer was the same for her.

“You, this, us, our family. It’s the payoff that makes everything else worth the struggle.”

“Yes, it does. I can’t wait to have a whole week with you and the kids and my sisters, nieces and nephews. And Shelby, Avery and Noah, too.”

“You know I’ll have to work part of the time, right?”

“I do, but you’ll still have downtime.”

“I’m looking forward to it, too. The last few months have been unreal. Between losing your dad, the twins and Eli coming into our lives and my job change—”

Sam sputtered with laughter. “Your job change. You say that like it was a minor promotion when it was the promotion.”

“It’s been a lot, especially since we had to leave our home just when the Littles were getting comfortable there. Despite all that, you and me, we’re the glue that holds it all together, and as long as we still have this,” he said, sliding a leg between hers, “then I can handle the rest of it.”

“Same goes for me, babe,” Sam said, moved by his sweet words. “If anyone knew how much I think about you when I’m not with you, they’d make fun of me mercilessly.”

“I have the same problem. In fact, I heard that Saturday Night Live is ready to debut the actors who’ll play us while I’m in office, and the first sketch is apparently going to focus on our obvious affection for each other.”

“Oh jeez. I can only imagine what they’ll do with that. When can we look forward to seeing it?”

“Not sure. It was supposed to air this week, but they’re delaying it out of respect for the victims in Des Moines.”

Sam released a deep sigh at the reminder of that tragedy.

“Enough of everything that isn’t this.” He kissed her as he tugged at the knot in her robe belt. Tucking a hand inside, he stopped short at the feel of skin and satin. “What’ve we got here?”

“This old thing? I bought it for vacation.”

Nick pulled back. “I need a full demonstration, and then I need to know how you bought it and whether it’s going to cause an international incident.”

Laughing, Sam rose to her knees and shrugged off the robe, giving him a full view of the “thing” that barely hid anything. Black satin strips covered her nipples and crisscrossed over her abdomen, coming together with a single snap between her legs.

“Holy Moses,” Nick said with a low whistle as he lifted himself to one elbow for a closer look. “That’s the sexiest freaking thing I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of sexy things since I found you the second time.”

“Thought you might like it.”

“I love it. Bring it over here so I can see it better.”