Once they were settled, Sam slid across the bench seat and into Nick’s waiting arms.
“Want to make out?”
“Yes, please.”
Sam laughed at his lusty expression as he swooped in to kiss her. “How silly are we, acting like Romeo and Juliet because we’re going to be apart for a couple of days?”
“We’re so silly, and I hope we never stop hating being apart for any reason.”
They were locked in a heated kiss as they crossed the 14th Street Bridge into Northern Virginia and were still cuddled up to each other when the car came to a stop outside the main doors to Inova Fairfax Hospital.
“Ugh, why do they get us there so fast when we have more kissing to do?” Sam asked as she sat up to straighten her hair and make herself presentable with new lipstick. She glanced at him and laughed when she saw he was wearing some of her last application.
With a tissue from a box in the console, she wiped it off his lips and used her fingers to straighten his hair.
“Do we look presidential?”
“Not at all, but we’re all they’ve got.”
Brant opened the door and stood at full alert as Sam and Nick disembarked and headed into the building, holding hands. Before the stunned people in the lobby could process that the president and first lady had arrived, other agents were there to escort them directly to the elevator, where they were the only occupants.
“Their efficiency is impressive,” Sam said.
“It sure is. They get it done.”
“You ready for this?”
“Never, but I’ll be fine. I promise. I’ve been saying that a lot today.”
“Harry and Derek… They showed up when they heard she beckoned you?”
“They saw the INOVA stop on the schedule and got the details from Brant. It helped to have a few minutes of normalcy with them. We’re planning a bachelor party weekend for Harry at Camp David.”
“That’ll be fun.”
“Yeah, something to look forward to. It’s been a minute since I had time with the boys.”
“You need to schedule it more often.” Sam made a mental note to make sure that happened, because he would get swept up in the punishing schedule that ran his life and let it slide.
They emerged from the elevator to more agents waiting for them on the ICU floor and were whisked directly into Nicoletta’s room.
Chapter Thirty-Four
As Collins stood to greet Nick with a handshake, Sam was shocked by how many beeping machines and other pieces of equipment surrounded the bed, as well as how tiny Nicoletta looked. In the back of her mind, she’d suspected another con, even if she’d come to trust Collins to be forthright with her. But this…
The woman was seriously ill and attached to oxygen and numerous other monitors.
Sam looked to Nick, who seemed stricken by the same realization.
Collins went to the bedside. “Sweetheart, your son and daughter-in-law are here to see you.”
Nick approached his mother’s bed as her eyes fluttered open.
She smiled when she saw him. “You came,” she said softly.
“I came. I’m sorry you’re not feeling well.”
“Don’t recommend pneumonia.” Every word seemed to cost her something, and her eyes closed for a few seconds before she seemed to force them open so as not to miss a second with her son.
