Chapter Twenty-Five #2
She made him laugh even when he was nervous about the day to come and still agitated by the unexpected appearance of his mother yesterday.
Thank God for Samantha. He had that thought at least ten times a day, and today, he was doubly thankful that he got to have her by his side for what would be one of the biggest days of his life.
Nothing would ever top last March 26, but this was a close second.
He reached for the mug he’d placed on the bedside table and held it so she could see it.
“Does this mean I have to get up and make myself presentable?”
“I’m afraid so. Hair and makeup people due shortly.”
Moaning and groaning, she sat up in bed and took the mug from him. The sheet fell to her waist and the sight of her rumpled hair and sexy breasts nearly had him forgetting all about what they had to do today.
“Quit that,” she said.
“Quit what?”
“Ogling your wife. You don’t have time for that.”
“Ogling my wife is my favorite thing to do, especially when she’s naked, rumpled, sexy and grumpy in the morning.” He ran his finger from her chin to her chest, dragging it between her breasts.
“Did you sleep?”
“Enough.”
“How much is enough?”
“A few hours.”
She caressed his smooth face. “Remember when my stomach was hurting so bad and you made me see Harry about it?”
“I seem to recall something like that.”
“I want you to see him or someone about the sleep issues. We can’t have our vice president perpetually fatigued. You need sleep. Can I talk to him about it if I get a chance?”
He leaned in to kiss her. “Sure, as long as there’re no reporters lurking, looking for a scoop on the insomniac VP.”
“Dodging reporters is one of my favorite hobbies.”
“While we’re on the subject of reporters, Terry and I have been talking about accepting one of those big network offers for a sit-down. Of course they all want both of us. Would you be willing?”
“That doesn’t sound like dodging.”
“No, it doesn’t. And if you don’t want to do it, I’ll certainly understand.”
“Of course I’ll do it. I can’t send my gorgeous husband out there alone for all of female America to drool over.”
His eyes rolled to high heaven. “What-ever.”
“You have no idea how sexy you are. Sexiest vice president ever.”
“Get your sexy ass out of bed and into the shower. We’ve got a schedule to keep.”
“Get off me and I will.”
Kissing from her lips to her neck, he said, “Last night was so amazing. It’s all I can think about this morning.”
“Mmm, we’ll have to do that again sometime.”
“Absolutely.” He gave her neck a little nibble that made her squeal.
She pushed him away. “No hickeys! I’m going to be on TV today!” After placing the empty mug on the bedside table, she got up and headed for the bathroom, putting enough wiggle in her sexy ass to get his motor running. “Don’t even think about it,” she said.
The bathroom door slammed behind her and the lock clicked into place.
Foiled.
That’s all right. He had big plans for her later and she could make it up to him then.
Sam would never admit to being nervous. If she allowed herself to think about how many people would be watching them, she’d throw up. Rather than dwell on that pleasant thought, she tried to sit still while her hair was dried and straightened by a woman she’d never met before.
Another woman applied a respectable amount of makeup and when they were done fluffing and buffing her, Sam decided she didn’t look as hideous as she felt on the inside, knowing they’d failed to find Androzzi the day before.
Wearing a robe, she grabbed her phone off the charger and went across the hall to her closet, calling Captain Malone as she went.
“You’re off today,” he said.
“Good morning to you, too. Anything new overnight?”
“Other than the second kidnapping vic taking a turn for the worse, no.”
“Ah damn it. How bad is it?”
“They’re not saying, but she’s in critical condition, which is a downgrade from yesterday.”
“I want that bastard so bad I can taste it.”
“We all do. A bulletin has gone out to every member of the department with a description and everything we know about him. And we’ve sent it to everyone who is assisting us today with security. We’ve got ten thousand people on the streets today. If he’s still lurking in this city, we’ll find him.”
“I hope so.”
“Don’t you have better things to do than call me?”
“In fact I do. Shoot me a text if anything pops, okay?”
“I will. Good luck today. Don’t trip and fall or anything.”
“Your confidence in me is underwhelming.”
The last thing she heard before she ended the call was his deep guffaw.
He cracked himself up. Sam closed the door to the hallway and removed her robe to put on the sexy black underwear she’d ordered to wear under the red wool dress Marcus had made her.
From her jewelry drawer, she retrieved the diamond key necklace Nick had given her on their wedding day and put it on.
Next, she put on the dazzling diamond engagement ring she only wore on special occasions.
A knock sounded on the door.
“Who is it?”
“Your husband.”
“Come in but only if you’re alone.”
Nick opened the door only wide enough to sneak in and closed it behind him.
He’d gotten dressed in a sharp navy suit with the red tie Marcus had made for him and a white shirt.
He looked very patriotic and very sexy. “Ah, damn,” he said, taking in the black underwear.
“I’m going to be thinking about that all day. ”
“You’ve got other things to think about today.”
From behind his back, he produced a wrapped box with a card. “For you.”
“What’s this? It’s not my birthday or our anniversary or even Valentine’s Day.”
“It’s just another Tuesday,” he said with a smile.
She took the box from him and opened the card. To my Samantha, he’d written, Thanks for taking this crazy ride with me. I could never do it without you and Scotty to come home to every night. Love you forever, Nick. “Aww, that’s so sweet.”
“Open it.”
Inside the distinctive blue Tiffany box was a stunning platinum diamond bangle bracelet. “Oh my God! This is gorgeous!” She put it on and held out her arm for him to see. “Thank you so much. If I’d known there were diamonds involved, I would’ve wanted you to be vice president sooner.”
“Really?” he asked, his brow raised in amusement.
“Okay, not really, but still, I love it.” She closed the small distance between them and kissed him, slapping away his hands. “Not now.”
“Later. Definitely later.”
She couldn’t wait for later.