Page 41 of State of Affairs (First Family 1)

“I will.”

“When we get a break in the action, we need to talk to the twins about the upcoming move. Probably before Eli goes back to school.”

“We’ll do that tonight or tomorrow morning. I agree he needs to be there to reassure them.”

Sam walked him downstairs, where Brant and the rest of his much-larger detail waited for him. “Do you ever take a day off?” she asked Brant.

“I almost had a full day off on Thanksgiving, ma’am. Are you ready to go, Mr. President?”

Nick cast a longing eye toward the dining room, where Shelby had been making preparations for the party all week. “I’m ready,” he said to Brant.

“Have a good day, love,” Sam said.

“You too.” He gave her another quick kiss and was out the door. God only knew when she’d see him again.

Chapter Nine

Nick hadn’t been gone even a minute, and Sam was already lonely for him and worried about what he’d have to contend with over the course of the day. When he’d agreed to be Nelson’s new vice president, neither of them could’ve imagined a day like this one, when he would be heading to the White House, as president, to negotiate the release of the secretary of State from Iranian detention. It sounded more like a plot out of a spy movie than real life.

Sam went to the kitchen to brew coffee and check the to-do list Shelby had left for her when she insisted on helping with the party. Before kids, Sam would’ve been inclined to delegate the whole thing, but now she wanted to be as involved as she could be and was determined to make sure the twins had the best possible day on this, their first birthday without their beloved parents.

She spent the next hour and a half assembling thirty goody bags from the items Shelby had ordered. They’d invited all the twins’ classmates as well as several of their former neighborhood friends—and their parents—all of whom had been vetted by the Secret Service weeks ago.

Of course, both parents in each family had RSVP’d to attend a birthday party at the vice president’s home. How excited they must be to tell their friends they were now going to a birthday party at the home of the president. The thought of having sixty strangers in her house, all of them gawking at the new first lady, was enough to give her hives. Thankfully, they’d also invited their personal friends and family, who’d hopefully provide a buffer to the gawkers.

Shelby came in a few minutes later, carrying her son, Noah, and followed by her husband, Avery, who was hauling multiple containers. “You can put that in the dining room,” Shelby told Avery, already in party-planning-general mode.

Sam had learned to stay out of Shelby’s way when she was in general mode. She held up her hands to take Noah, and Shelby gratefully transferred him to Auntie Sam, as Shelby referred to her.

“He suddenly weighs a ton,” Shelby said, shaking out her arms as she followed Avery to the dining room.

As Sam ran her lips over the soft silk of the baby’s blond hair, an irrational yearning overtook her. It’d been a while since that particular yearning had shown up to remind her of the fertility issues that had plagued her adult life. What in the name of all that was holy would she ever do with an infant in the midst of the madness that was their life? Especially now, when everything had changed. But the yearning was there just the same, impossible to ignore as she snuggled the sweet-smelling baby.

Avery came back to the kitchen. He was tall and handsome, with golden-brown hair and eyes and cheekbones to die for. “How’re you holding up?” he asked in the honeyed accent of South Carolina.

“We’re doing just great, especially since the Iranians decided to detain the secretary of State.”

“What the hell is that about?”

“Great question, Agent Hill. We believe it may be to test the mettle of the new president, or some such thing.”

“By risking war?”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“How is Nick? I mean… Jesus, Sam. You guys must be reeling.”

“It’s been an interesting couple of days.”

Avery snorted out a laugh at what had to be the understatement of the decade. “Listen, before Shelby comes back, she’s been really tired lately. This pregnancy is kicking her ass, though she’d never say so. Keep an eye on her today?”

“I will. Thanks for sharing her with me. I couldn’t survive without her.”

“Me either.”

His heartfelt statement was a testament to how far they’d come from the days when the FBI agent had convinced himself he was in love with Sam. They’d traveled a million miles from that unfortunate situation. He was now happily married to Shelby, and they were expecting their second child.

“I’ll take him,” he said of Noah. “We’ll be back for the party.”

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