Chapter Twenty-Seven
“You’re not taking me to some White House thing you weren’t going to tell me about until we were there, are you?”
“Would I do that to you?”
“Um, hello? The night we got engaged? Ring any bells?”
He took her left hand and kissed the ring he’d placed on her finger in the Rose Garden. “I remember every second of that unforgettable night, especially the part where you said yes to forever with me.”
“As if there was ever any doubt I’d say yes.”
“You were so mad that I took you to the White House with no warning that I was a little afraid you might turn me down.”
“You knew I wouldn’t because you knew by then I couldn’t live without you.”
“And thank goodness for that because I can’t live without you.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “You’ve been crying.”
“The downside of being known so well by someone is being known so well by someone.”
He smiled, which made his eyes twinkle. “What’s up?”
“A rough dad moment. I got through it.”
“I’m sorry, babe. I hate that you’re hurting this way.”
“I know, but I read somewhere that the pain of losing someone you love is the price you pay for getting to love them in the first place.”
“I like that.”
“I went to see him on the way home.”
“You don’t have to go there alone, Samantha. I would’ve gone with you.”
“I know. It was spur-of-the-moment.”
“Did you feel better after you went?”
“Sorta. I’m not sure how to feel about that place yet. It’s not like he’s there or anything.”
“Maybe you can imagine him listening to whatever you want to tell him when you’re there.”
“Maybe. I suppose I’ll figure it out in time.”
“You will. It won’t happen overnight, but you’ll find a way to keep him present that works for you.”
“That’s all I want—to keep him present.”
“You will. He’s so much a part of you that he’ll always be with you.”
“That’s true. I worry about how Scotty is doing with it,”
“He has his moments when he’s sad. Shelby says it’s tough for him after school when he used to go see your dad.”
“I wish I was home at that time.”
“He’s very well loved by Shelby and Celia.”
“Yeah, I know, but I still wish it could be me.”
“And I wish it could be me, but he understands that we have to work.”
“What’re we going to do about this dog he wants?” Sam asked.
“I suppose at some point we need to consider the possibility.”
“Maybe for Christmas?”
Nick’s smile lit up his handsome face. “That’d be one hell of a great surprise.”
“It would.”
“Let’s talk more about it and figure out how to make that happen.”
“If we give him everything he wants, will we mess him up?”
“He doesn’t want much.”
“True. Hopefully we’re not doing everything wrong with him and the Littles.”
“We love them. We make sure they’re cared for by people who love them when we can’t be there to care for them ourselves. They know there’s nothing we wouldn’t do for them. Those are the things that matter to kids. Trust me on that as someone who didn’t have any of that growing up.”
“Ugh, it makes me bleed inside when you talk about your childhood.”
“It was a long time ago, and now I have everything I didn’t have then. And that’s all because of you because you said yes to me from the very beginning.”
“I was rather easy that first night.”
He laughed as she’d hoped he would. “We were both easy that night. It was meant to be from the very beginning.”
“With a significant detour.”
“We found each other again because we were meant to be.”
Sam leaned her head on his shoulder. “Sometimes I think about who I was when I first met you, and I’m pretty sure I would’ve messed it up if things had worked out back then.”
“Nah, I wouldn’t have let you mess it up.”
“Even you and your superpowers might not have been enough to save me from myself back then. I needed to grow up a little so I’d be ready for you. I also needed to experience the bad to appreciate the good.”
“No, you didn’t. You would’ve been able to appreciate this and us without having to go through what you did with him.”
It still saddened her to think about the violent end to her ex-husband’s life. Even though he’d put her through hell, he hadn’t deserved what’d happened to him. No one did.
The car came to a stop outside a building Sam recognized. They’d held their wedding reception at the iconic Hay-Adams Hotel.
Brant opened the passenger side door and helped Sam out of the car, his eagle eyes scanning the surrounding area as he waited for Nick to alight.
They were taken inside and straight to elevators that whisked them to the top floor ballroom where their reception had been held. The vast room was empty now, except for one table set for two.
Sam whirled around to face him. “How did you do this?”
He shrugged. “I made a phone call. They weren’t using the room tonight, so they were happy to let us borrow it.”
“I love it. It’s perfect.”
“I’m glad you approve.” Nick turned to his lead agent. “Thanks, Brant. We’re good for now.”
“Very well, Mr. Vice President, Mrs. Cappuano. Enjoy your dinner.” Brant turned and left the room.
Sam had no doubt he’d be right outside the door the whole time should he be needed. She worried about Nick a little less than she would have otherwise with Brant leading his detail.
Nick took her hand to lead her to the table, where he held a chair for her. After she sat, he bent to place a kiss on her neck that electrified her entire body.
When he was seated across from her, a middle-aged waiter appeared with a bottle of champagne. “Welcome Mr. Vice President, Mrs. Cappuano. It’s an honor to have you back at the Hay-Adams. I’m Daniel, and I’ll be taking care of you tonight.”
“Thank you, Daniel,” Nick said. “We’re thrilled to be back at the scene of the crime.”
Sam laughed. “That’s how he sees our marriage.”
Daniel laughed and then went through the dinner specials for the evening before handing them each a menu.
“I thought about ordering ahead, but then I thought better of that.”
“Good thinking.” Sam scanned the menu and settled on salmon. “What’re you getting?”
“The filet. You?”
“Salmon.”
“We can share.”
She sent him a saucy look. “Maybe.”
After they ordered, they enjoyed the champagne while taking in the expansive view of the National Mall and the Washington Monument in the distance.
“How did Nelson seem when you saw him earlier?”
“Not good at all. He’s wrecked that Gloria is leaving him.”
“Did he expect her to stand by her man? And why, exactly, do women do that when their high-profile husbands humiliate them so publicly?”
“I’ll never understand why they do it.”
“Just so we’re clear—I’d never stick around after something like that.” Not that she worried about such a thing with him.
He smiled. “Just so we’re clear—you’ll never be in that position.” Nick buttered one of the hot rolls that Daniel brought while Sam looked on in envy. She’d cut back on bread a while ago in deference to her expanding backside. “Tell me you know that.”
“Of course I do. I was joking.”
“There’s nothing funny about fidelity, Samantha.”
“Sure there is. For example, if I were to remind you of my rusty steak knife, you’d be well aware of what you’d be facing should you ever stray. See? That’s funny.”
“It’s not funny that you think I’d ever stray. Where would I go to get something better than what I have at home?”
“I’ve never realized how sexy fidelity is until you said that. And PS, I don’t think you’d ever stray. That’s not something I worry about—and it’s not something you should worry about either.”
“Now that we have that settled, tell me what’s up with the case. Unless you’d rather not talk about it.”
“I don’t mind talking about it.” She sipped champagne and sampled the cheese board Daniel had brought. “After I talked to you earlier, we interviewed Tim Finley of DailyPolitic.”
“What’d you want with him?”
“He got to know Tara on the campaign trail and had a one-night stand with her around the time we believe her child was conceived.”
“Oh wow.”
“He was rather shocked, to say the least. Apparently, it was a one-off, he’s married, never done anything like that, etc.
Tara had a very active social life after Bryce Massey broke up with her.
It seems like she was looking for something that couldn’t be replaced, at least in her mind.
I know that feeling. I felt that way after I met you and then didn’t hear from you. ”
He cringed. “I can’t even think about that without wanting to scream.”
“Me, too, and that’s why I get how she felt when Bryce broke up with her. She thought she had things figured out until he pulled the rug out from under her.”
“How hard have you looked at him?”
Sam thought of the way he’d creeped her out on the street after the first time they met. “He has an airtight alibi.”
“That doesn’t mean he wasn’t involved.”
“What would be his motive though?”
“He found out how ‘busy’ she’d been after they broke up and was enraged by it?”
“What right would he have to be enraged when he was the one who ended it with her?”
“Who knows? Maybe he retained some sense of ‘ownership’ where she was concerned, even after he ended it.”
“That’s a possibility.” Sam pulled her new phone out of her clutch and placed a call to HQ. “Can you put me through to the pit, please?”
“The what?”
Sam wanted to scream. “Homicide.”
“Oh yes, of course. One moment please.”
“These damned operators need to learn to speak the lingo,” she said to Nick while she waited.
“Carlucci.”
“Hey, it’s me. I was thinking some more about the ex-boyfriend, Bryce Massey, and whether he was still feeling possessive of Tara even after he ended it with her.
We kind of wrote him off because he had a rock-solid alibi, but I want to take another look at him.
” The creepy feeling he’d given her on the street had stayed with her in the aftermath, but the alibi had kept her from digging deeper there.
“It’s a good thought.”
“I have to give Nick credit for it.”
He smiled widely at her across the table.
“We’ll do some digging on that angle.”