“That’s absolutely allowed.”

Sam laughed at the lusty look he sent her way as he covered her hand with his to keep her from getting away. “How about you save that for when we get home?”

“There’s plenty more where that came from.”

“There’s so much I could say to that.”

Nick put his free arm around her and pulled her and her chair closer to him. With his lips close to her ear, he said, “I know it sucks balls to be constantly under surveillance, babe, but I just want you to know... That we can still be us in the midst of it is the only thing saving my sanity right now.”

“We’ll always be us, no matter where we are or who is watching.” She stroked her hand up and down his length, loving the way he throbbed under her palm. “Speaking of sucking balls, I have a hankering—”

He kissed her before she could finish the sentence. “Don’t say it, or I’ll drag you out of here without keeping my promise.”

Sam happened to glance over at the table full of agents, all of whom were face-first in their phones, except for Melinda, who was watching them. The tall, frosty blonde seemed to enjoy her job a little too much if you asked Sam. “Tell Secret Service Barbie to quit looking at my hot husband.”

“Um, she’s sort of paid to look at me.”

“I don’t like her.”

“Oh, Jesus. Why not? What’ve you got against her?”

“I don’t like the way she looks at you.”

“Samantha,” he said, “are you being serious right now?”

“Dead serious. There’s something about her that bugs me.”

“Just like there’s something about Avery Hill that bugs me?”

“Something like that.”

Nick busted up laughing, which had Sam removing her hand from his crotch. If he was going to laugh at her, he didn’t deserve a hand job. A buzzing noise from under the table interrupted the snappy retort she was working up.

“Saved by the phone,” he said, aware that he’d gotten himself into trouble.

“I know I should ignore it, but what if it’s Scotty?”

“Go ahead and check it. You won’t relax knowing there’s an unread text on your phone.”

And wasn’t that the truth? She retrieved her phone from her purse and flipped it open to find a text from Gonzo.

Shit is hitting the fan. Need to talk to you. Call if you can.

“Crap, it’s Gonzo. He says the shit’s hitting the fan. He wants me to call him.”

“Go ahead. We have time before midnight.”

“They’re supposed to be celebrating their anniversary tonight.” Gonzo had met Christina, Nick’s former chief of staff, at their party here last year and they were now engaged. Sam placed the call and waited for Gonzo to pick up.

Nick put his arm around her and kept her close while he took advantage of the opportunity to check his own phone. Sam had learned to hate that phone, which often rang in the middle of the night, with Terry passing on information he thought Nick needed to know. It had been bad enough when only her phone did that. Now they had two of them that went off at all hours.

Gonzo picked up on the sixth ring. “Hey, sorry. I was on the other line with Andy.” Nick’s lawyer friend had spearheaded Gonzo’s efforts to get custody of his son.

“What’s he got to say?”

“He’s pissed that I didn’t disclose my previous relationship with the judge.”

“Oh, crap. Is he dropping you?”

“He didn’t say that, but I guess I couldn’t blame him if he did. This whole thing is my fault. I should’ve come clean at the outset, and now Lori’s people are all over it.”

“How so?”

“They’ve filed an injunction to overturn the ruling that gave me full custody.”

“Shit. What did Andy say?”

“That they’ve got a case, and I should be worried. Lori also went to the fucking media, and now it’s a total shitstorm.”

“I saw some of that earlier.”

“I don’t know what to do, Sam. Part of me wants to pack up Alex and run. The other half of me wants to pretend this isn’t happening. And then there’s the part that wants to wrap my hands around her fucking neck and squeeze the life out of her.”

“Please don’t do that. And it won’t help anything if you run away. You’ll have to come back eventually and face the music.” She leaned into Nick’s embrace. “Just remember that everyone felt you were the better parent. If they reopen the case, another judge isn’t going to necessarily see it differently.”

“I can’t believe I might have to go through that hell all over again. I wish she’d just go away. She doesn’t even want him.”

Sam didn’t know what to say to that. From everything she’d heard, Lori Phillips had gone to tremendous lengths to clean up her life in an effort to get custody of her son. But that wasn’t what Gonzo needed to hear right now. “I know this has to be really stressful, but there’s nothing you can do on a holiday weekend. Try to relax until you know more. And don’t do anything stupid that’ll make your case more complicated—or mess up your recovery. We need you back at work.”

“I know. I just feel like... God, Sam, I’m losing it over here.”

“Do you need me to come over there and keep you from doing something stupid?”

“No, Chris is here, and she’s doing what she can. The thought of losing Alex... I can’t lose him. I’d never survive it.”

“Do you promise you’ll stay calm and let the process work the way it’s supposed to?”

After an uncomfortably long silence, Gonzo said, “Yeah.”

“Gonzo, seriously. Don’t do anything you’ll regret. Think about your hard-won career and the family that needs you. Stay calm.”

“Thanks, Sam. Chris told me to call you. She said I’d feel better after I talked to you, and I do.”

“Anytime.”

“Sorry to interrupt your evening. I know you guys had plans.”

“No worries. You know you can always call me. I’ll check in with you tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,” he said. “Happy New Year.”

“Same to you, and happy anniversary too. It’ll be a happy New Year for all of us. I know it will.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Um, when have you ever known me not to be right?”

Her husband and friend groaned in stereo.

“On that note, I’ll let you go.”

“Take care.” Sam closed the phone and blew out a deep breath. “He’s freaking out.”

“I heard,” Nick said.

“And blaming himself.”

“I wonder how Lori found out about his connection to Morton.”

“Her lawyers must’ve done some digging around.”

“You know I’m always on Gonzo’s side,” Nick said tentatively. “He’s become my friend as much as he’s yours.”

“But?”

“He fucked up by not disclosing his past relationship with Morton. I’d be surprised if the whole case isn’t tossed. The bar will probably have something to say about Morton not disclosing it either.”

“Damn. What a mess. Poor Gonzo. He thought he was home free with permanent custody of Alex, and now this.”

Nick consulted the silver TAG Heuer watch she’d given him for Christmas, much to his surprise. “May I be selfish for a minute here?”

“But of course.”

“Before we start another crazy year, I need a few minutes alone with my wife on the roof.”

“Your wife is always happy to give you a few minutes.”

He got up and helped her out of her chair and into the coat that magically appeared, brought by a member of the attentive restaurant staff. With the coat in place, he gathered her long hair and let it slide through his fingers in a move reminiscent of when they first reconnected after John O’Connor’s murder. He’d been combing his fingers through her hair as often as he could ever since.

Hand in hand, they followed two of his agents up the stairs to the roof while two others followed behind them. Their city stretched out before them, from the Capitol to the Washington Monument to Lincoln to the right and Jefferson to the left. In the middle sat the White House, where Nick now had an office in the West Wing that he would report to for the first time the day after tomorrow. When they’d stood here a year ago, they never could’ve imagined that particular development transpiring the way it had.