Page 164 of State of the Union (First Family 3)

“I just don’t know if I can. I’m still so angry with them. The last three years have been pure hell. I haven’t said more than ‘yes,’ ‘no’ or ‘maybe’ to them since the day you were charged. When they found out I was coming here, to you, they went ballistic. I’m not sure it can be fixed, but I do hear what you’re saying, and I’m also so sorry I wasn’t here for you when you lost your dad and Cleo.”

“It was brutal. I’ll never forget that call from the FBI.”

“I cried for days when I heard about it from Dalton. He called to tell me.”

Dalton had been Elijah’s best friend during the summers he spent in California with his mother.

“It was rough. Then I found out they’d left me as the guardian for Alden and Aubrey, and we fell into this situation with the Cappuanos.”

She took him by the hand and led him to the sofa. “How did that happen?”

Over the last few days, they’d talked about so many logistical issues with her coming to New Jersey that they hadn’t gotten a chance to talk about much else. “As you probably know, Sam is a homicide detective with the DC Metro Police Department, and when she encountered the kids in the hospital after the fire, she offered to take them home. She and Nick were already licensed foster parents from when they first took in their son, Scotty.”

“It’s funny to hear you call the president and first lady Sam and Nick.”

“That’s who they are to me.”

“Is it so cool to visit the White House?”

“Yeah, it is. It’s weird to think of that as home, but since that’s where my brother and sister live, it’s home.”

“I read about Cleo’s parents and sisters trying to get custody of the twins.”

“That was almost as big of a nightmare as losing my dad and Cleo in the first place. I was so scared I was going to lose the twins, too. Thank God my dad had the best lawyers money could buy, and their will was airtight. They wanted me—and only me—to be responsible for the twins. There wasn’t an ounce of wiggle room in the way it was written. It’s like they knew it’d be challenged by Cleo’s money-grubbing family and made sure it couldn’t be broken. And Nick’s lawyer friend, Andy, was incredible defending the will and the custody agreement.”

“Your parents must’ve had a lot of faith in you.”

“They knew I love the twins as much as they did. I can’t wait for you to meet them. They’re so cute. And Scotty has become like a little brother to me and a big brother to them. It’s only been a few months, but the six of us are already a family. It’s amazing when I think about how it all went down.”

“The photo they released of your family on Christmas Eve was so sweet. I couldn’t stop staring at you. I can’t believe how much you’ve changed since I last saw you.”

“I haven’t changed that much.”

“Yes, you have. You’ve gone from a handsome boy to a gorgeous man.”

“Candace… I wish you knew how much I missed you and wanted you and loved you and thought of you for all this time.”

“I do know, because I did the same. I followed your social media.”

“I followed yours! It was like a lifeline.”

“Right?”

“I kept waiting to see you with a new guy. I wasn’t sure how I would deal with that.”

“There couldn’t have been anyone else while you were still out there somewhere.”

She launched herself into his outstretched arms.

He caught her and hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting her. With her back in his life, he felt like he could truly breathe again for the first time since he last saw her.

“Eli?”

“What, honey?”

“Will you please take me to bed? All I want is to be with you the way we used to be—and with no worries about getting caught this time.”

“There’s nothing I’d rather do.” He stood and helped her up. “I’m not going to wake up and find out that I’ve dreamed about you again, am I?”