Page 72 of State of Bliss

She curled her lip to let him know what she thought of community service.

“It beats prison, doesn’t it?”

“Does it, though?”

He laughed, and again her mouth watered. This man was dangerously attractive, seemingly kind and thoughtful with a quick wit and razor-sharp intelligence. A potent combination, to say the least.

“What do you say, Nicoletta? Shall we see what we can do to get you out of this mess so we can find out what else might be possible for us?”

Rarely had she found herself with so few options. She prided herself on always having a plan for whatever might arise. This, however, was bigger than her. She couldn’t charm or cajole her way out of this kind of trouble. Here was a man—a devastatingly gorgeous man—offering her a way out in exchange for the pleasure of her company. She still wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t looking for sex as payment for his legal services. But it wasn’t as if sex with him would be a hardship.

If anything, sex with him could change her life in ways she’d never before imagined.

She’d been on her own for her entire adult life, fighting to survive, to thrive in a man’s world. She was exhausted and flat out of schemes to solve the problem of the moment. She needed what he was offering, and, if she were being honest, he intrigued her, too.

“Nicoletta?”

“Yes, please, Collins. I accept your kind offer.”

“Excellent. I’ll get to work in the morning and see what I can do about a plea deal—and then we’ll figure out what to do about your son.”

Sam sleptlike a dead woman and woke up rested and refreshed at nine o’clock the next morning. Clearly, there was something to be said for bubble baths, wine, sex and snuggling with her favorite man to make a girl feel better after a rough day. If Nick had one special gift, it was his ability to make anything better than it would’ve been otherwise. She’d become addicted to his healing powers and would be lost without him.

Her thoughts naturally shifted to her sister Angela, who was coping with the loss of her beloved husband, Spencer, to an accidental fentanyl overdose. While Sam wanted to support her sister, niece and nephew in every way she possibly could, she found it excruciating to be around Angela as she lived Sam’s worst nightmare.

It wasn’t about her. She told herself that every day while she showed up for Angela, Jack and Ella and helped Angela cope with being pregnant with a third child, due in June. She’d done and would continue to do everything she could think of to make this time easier for Ang while her sister’s loss forced Sam to confront her own greatest fear.

At one time, she would’ve said losing her dad would be the worst thing that could happen, and that had been brutal. It still was. She missed him every day and yearned for his wise counsel and insight on all things. But nothing could compare to what it would be like to lose Nick. Now she had four kids to dread losing, too.

Sometimes it was all too much.

Nick came into the bedroom, carrying a tray and wearing only the snug boxer briefs that put his muscular body on full display. Knowing him, he’d already had a security briefing and a workout while she’d been sleeping in.

“Breakfast for my wife as we begin our third year of marriage.” He placed the tray on her lap and leaned in to kiss her. “Good morning.”

“You’re awfully chipper.”

“That’s because I get to spend this beautiful Monday with my favorite person.” He sat next to her in bed and reached for one of the two mugs of steaming coffee. “Good news. It’s supposed to be sixty today. We can sit outside, and later we can have a bonfire.”

“That sounds fun.” Sam took a bite of veggie omelet. “Did you make this?”

“I didn’t. It was delivered this morning from the White House, along with lunch. We’ll be going out for dinner tonight.”

“We’re so spoiled with meal deliveries.”

“It’s the thing I like best about being president. The amazing White House staff and how they make everything so easy for us.”

“Yes, they do. Did you have your briefing?”

“I did.”

“How was that?”

“The usual shop of horrors, but it seems that China and Russia have removed their ships from the coast of Alaska, so that’s good news.”

“What were they doing there?”

“That’s a very good question, and my national security team is hard at work figuring out what the deal is. Today, I’ve decided it’s not going to be my problem.”

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