“If we must.”
“We must, Samantha. We absolutely must.”
She took the hand he offered and let him help her up. “Yes, dear.”
He put his arm around her and guided her to the bedroom, helped her out of the robe and tucked her in.
“The only way I’ll sleep is if you snuggle me.”
“I’m coming.”
He got into bed and curled up to her back, infusing her with his warmth and his love as he wrapped an arm around her. “Let it all go for now, love. Get some rest.”
“Will you be able to sleep?”
“I’ll try.”
“I’m sorry I bothered you.”
“Oh, babe, don’t ever be sorry about that. Being bothered by you is my favorite thing. You know that.”
“You need your rest.”
“I need my love even more.” He kissed the back of her neck and made her shiver. “I have a few days of travel coming up this week. I want you to think about coming with me. Use it as a break from everything here. You can chill while I work, and then we’ll have time together at night.”
“As lovely as that sounds, I can’t leave right now. Not with Tracy and Mike in an uproar and everything with Ethan and?—”
“Samantha, honey… I know how much you love them, but they have to work out their issues as a family. You’ve already done everything you could. The next steps are up to them.”
“She needs me.”
“You’d be a phone call away. Take some time for yourself, Sam. You never do that. You’re so busy taking care of everyone else that you never take care of yourself. Come with me. Let me take care of you for a few days. You can nap and read and watch movies and eat room service with nothing to do but whatever you want. Doesn’t that sound good?”
“It sounds heavenly.”
“Not to mention it’d be some much-needed alone time for us, as away from it all as we ever get these days.”
“Where are you going?”
“Leaving late afternoon on Tuesday for a NATO summit in Greenland on Wednesday, Thursday and part of Friday, followed by events in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin on Saturday and Saturday night. I’ll get back early Sunday morning for Maisie’s baptism.” Their friends Avery and Shelby Faircloth Hill had asked Sam and Nick to be their baby daughter’s godparents.
“So three days and four nights?”
“Yes.”
“Am I twitching? I feel like I might be twitching. I’m not sure if it’s from the thought of being away from here or you leaving without me.”
Nick’s low rumble of laughter made her smile. “You can do four days away, babe. I have faith in you.”
She yawned. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Keep me posted on whether you can come, so I can look forward to the trip rather than having to dread being away from you for four whole days.”
“That is a good incentive to make this happen. I hate when you’re away.”
“Not as much as I hate being away from you.”
“I bet that’s not true.”
