Page 163 of State of the Union (First Family 3)

“My mouth just watered.”

“Let me get it. You can eat upstairs while the kids have their ice cream.”

“Sounds perfect.”

She stood, took a second to make sure her legs were under her and then went to lock up her weapon. “Lead the way.”

They stopped in the small kitchen to get her plate from the oven and then used the elevator to get to the third floor, where another small kitchen housed the ice cream.

“Have you heard anything from Eli?” she asked.

“Only that Candace was due to arrive in New Jersey today.”

“I guess we won’t be hearing from him for a while.”

Nick smiled. “Probably not.”

“Have we established an opinion about her moving in with him?”

“I don’t think we’re allowed to,” Nick said. “He’s twenty, and we’re not paying for the apartment or the tuition. Even if we were, I’d have a hard time working up an objection after what they’ve been through. I do think there needs to be a fatherly conversation about keeping his eye on the ball with school and all that.”

“Agreed.”

“I’ll take care of that in the next few days.”

“Imagine how excited they must be,” Sam said.

“I can’t wait to meet her.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Elijah had cleaned his apartment until it sparkled, while recalling the series of events that had led to him having his own place. After they’d put him under their protection, the Secret Service had insisted he move to a more secure location, which had meant leaving the roommates he’d had since freshman year. He’d been furious about that, but had gone along with it because he hadn’t wanted to cause trouble for Nick or Sam.

Now he was thankful to have his own place, because Candace could live there with him without three other guys underfoot.

“This is so nice!” she said when he gave her the five-minute tour.

“It’s not much, but it’s home. For now, anyway.”

“I love it, Eli. It’s so cozy.”

“Can I get you something to eat or drink? I got an Instacart delivery to stock up on the black licorice you love and your favorite iced tea, although it’s hard to find the unsweetened kind here for some reason.” He felt like he was talking too much.

She moved so she was standing right in front of him. “I can’t believe you remembered that stuff.”

“I remember everything. I’ve relived every second we spent together at least a million times since I last saw you.”

“I have, too. I tried to focus on the good parts and not the rest.”

“Same. I rarely think about the bad stuff because it upsets me so much.”

“I feel like I need to say this again, at least one more time before we move on from it, but I’m so, so sorry for what they did, Eli. I hate them for it, and they know it. Our relationship will never recover from it.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about, and at some point, you ought to forgive them.”

“I’ll never forgive them for having you charged with statutory rape when our relationship was consensual and built on true love.”

Hearing her talk about true love made his heart flutter. “Before I lost my dad and Cleo the way I did, I would’ve agreed with you. Fuck them and what they did to us. But now… Now, I think you ought to find a way to put things back together with them.”