by Marie Force
“I love how you get me. Hold that thought for one minute.” She went into the adjoining bathroom, where her toothbrush had been laid out on a silver tray. The staff took care of every detail, right down to her favorite shampoo and the lavender-and-vanilla-scented lotion she preferred. Despite her significant reservations about being first lady, she could definitely get used to the lifestyle that went with it.
“Sam, our interview is on,” Nick said from the bedroom.
She donned a robe with the White House crest that she’d found in the larger-than-expected closet and went to join him. “Jeez,” she said after a quick glance at the TV. “I look like a deer caught in headlights.”
“We both do. The shock was still fresh then.”
“It’s still fresh now.”
They shared a laugh as she cuddled up to him in bed to watch themselves on national TV, something that would never become routine, or so she hoped.
“I sound so stupid,” she said.
“No, you don’t.”
“You look hot.”
“Shut up.”
“What? You do.”
“Shut up.”
“Shut me up.”
“With pleasure.” He rolled toward her, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her until she shut up.
“I bet White House sex is extra hot. You want to find out?”
He nuzzled her neck and left a trail of kisses. “Uh-huh.”
“You think this old bed creaks when it gets a good workout?”
“Probably.”
“Wanna find out?”
“You’re supposed to be shutting up.”
“See?” She smiled up at him as he gazed down at her with those incredible eyes of his. “Same marriage, different house.”
“Thank God for that. Now what do you say we get busy christening this place?”
“I say fill her, buster.”
Laughing, he kissed her, and as he made love to her, they found out the old bed did, in fact, creak when it got a good workout.
The next day, Nick and Sam were waiting with Scotty at the door to the South Portico when the Secret Service delivered the twins from school. They shot out of the car and into the arms of Sam and Nick, while the White House photographer captured the moment for posterity.
“Dad has another surprise for us, but he wouldn’t tell me what it is until you guys got home,” Scotty told the twins. He looked up at his father. “Now can you tell us?”
“Almost,” Nick said with a mysterious smile. “Everyone in The Beast for a quick ride if you want to find out what the surprise is.”
Groaning, Scotty led the way down the steps and into the car. He had the twins belted into booster seats in the time it took Sam and Nick to join them. Scotty would turn fourteen that weekend and was having his classmates over for a pool-and-bowling party at the White House. He was playing it down as no big deal, but they knew how excited he was to share his new home with his friends.
The kids were giddy with excitement on the short ride toward a prearranged meeting. They’d gone round and round with the shelter until they finally settled on a Lab mix-breed puppy, who’d been found wandering the streets a few weeks earlier. She’d been malnourished and filthy when she was found, but the shelter had nursed her back to full health and was delighted that the president’s family wanted to adopt her.
They’d discussed going to the shelter versus having the dog delivered to the White House, but they’d wanted Scotty to have the full experience of going to the shelter and signing the paperwork that made the puppy his.
A small contingent of press and the ever-present White House photographer were accompanying them.
Sam looked over at Nick, who was almost as excited as the kids were. He’d wanted this for Scotty almost as much as Scotty wanted it for himself.
They were almost to their destination when Sam got a text from Darren that made her heart sink.
Hearing that Roni took a leave of absence from work. No one has talked to her, but she sent me a cryptic reply that she’s “taking some time away.” Not really sure what that means, but that’s all I know.
Thanks for the update. I hope she’s okay.
Me too.
Sam sent a message to Roni. Heard you’re taking some time away. I hope you’re okay and wanted you to know two things—I can wait for you to start the job until you are ready, and if you need anything, please call me. I’m here.
Poor Roni had been through such an ordeal since her husband, Patrick, had been killed in a random shooting. Sam hoped Roni was doing something that brought her comfort.
The car rolled to a stop outside the shelter.
When Scotty saw where they were, he let out a shout of excitement that drew Sam’s attention away from her phone and her worries about her new friend.
“We’re at the pound! Oh my God, it’s happening!”
Sam had never seen him happier about anything.
“What’s a pound?” Alden asked.
“It’s a place where they take dogs and cats who have no homes and help them find families.” Scotty freed the twins from their car seats and bent to look outside to see what was happening with the Secret Service. “Can they hurry up already? Don’t they know I’ve waited all my life for this?”
Sam smiled at Nick, who was equally delighted with Scotty’s reaction to their big surprise.
“Before I forget to say thank you for this…” He looked at them with his heart in his eyes. “Thank you so much.”
“Anything for you, pal,” Nick said.
“Well, not anything,” Sam said.
“Just about,” Nick said as he fist-bumped his son.
“Have we had a complete role reversal here or something?” Sam asked.
“He’s the president,” Scotty said. “He can do whatever he wants.”
“Um, no, I actually can’t.”
“Just about,” Scotty said with a cheeky grin that was so similar to Nick’s that you’d never believe they weren’t biological father and son. They were father and son in every way that mattered.
Scotty was about to spontaneously combust by the time the doors opened and the Secret Service escorted them inside, where the staff was giddy with excitement as they greeted the first family. Sam enjoyed watching Scotty make an effort to be polite when he really wanted to tell them to get on with it. In that way, he was very much her son.
“Come on in,” the director said, leading them into a private room that had been arranged in advance.
When they were safely inside the room, another door opened, and a staffer came in carrying the little yellow furball that Sam had first spotted online. She’d immediately requested the puppy be put on hold for Scotty. She’d been watching the local shelters for a while by the time the little yellow doll came available, and she’d had one of her gut feelings. This was the dog for them.
The staffer put the dog in Scotty’s arms, as they’d been asked to do, and he fell to his knees, laughing with unbridled delight as the dog climbed all over him and laid wet, sloppy kisses on his face. “Oh my God, she’s adorable!” Looking up at his parents, he said, “She’s really mine?”
“All yours as long as you promise to take very good care of her.”
“I will. Of course I will.”
And he would, Sam thought, because he knew what it was like to be alone in the world and in need of someone to take care of him. She dabbed at tears and saw Nick doing the same.
“What’ll we name her?” Nick asked.
“Skippy,” Scotty said without hesitation. “Her name is Skippy.”
“My heart,” Sam said, her hand on her chest.
“Do you think Gramps would approve?” Scotty asked her as he tried to contain the exuberant puppy.
“Oh yeah, buddy. He’d be thrilled—and honored.”
“I miss him so much. I wish he could see her.”
“He’s here, he’s watching and he loves that you’re so happy.”
Skippy was so excit
ed to meet her new family that she peed on Scotty, which made him laugh as hard as Sam had ever seen him laugh.
The three kids chased the puppy around the big room, screaming with delight as the puppy took them on a merry chase.
Brant approached them, phone pressed to his ear. “Mr. President, we received a call from Elijah’s detail in New Jersey.”
Sam’s stomach fell to the floor. “What’s wrong?”
Brant handed the phone to Nick. “Elijah needs to speak to you.”
Nick’s entire body had gone rigid with tension. “Eli? What’s up?”
He held the phone so Sam could hear too.
“Oh my God, Nick. Cleo’s parents had me served with papers. They’re suing for custody of the twins.”
Ahhh, yes, I’m really going to leave you there until we pick up Sam and Nick’s story in the next book, State of Grace, which will detail the Cappuano family’s first Christmas in the White House. I don’t want you to stress out too much about the fate of the Littles. This is still romance, and things almost always work out the way we want them to. That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy, but I promise not to break your hearts—or Sam’s and Nick’s.
Preorder State of Grace to read on December 21, 2021. The exciting new First Family Series continues with the Cappuano family’s first Christmas at the White House shadowed by a murder investigation that strikes a little too close to home.
* * *
Wondering what’s going on with Sam’s friend, Roni Connolly? Check out her story in my brand-new Wild Widows Series, which begins Feb. 15, 2022 with Someone Like You. Preorder now to read it the minute it goes live.
Thank you so much for all the enthusiasm about Sam and Nick’s new adventure as the first couple. I’ve never experienced anything quite like the response to Fatal Fraud and the pivot to the new First Family Series. Your excitement fueled mine as I wrote this book.
I’ve had so much fun diving into White House and presidential history to set the stage for the Cappuano administration in State of Affairs. I had a similar experience writing this book as I did while writing Fatal Affair, when I quickly realized I could never do justice to the massive scope of the Metropolitan Police Department. So I created my own world within the MPD that made sense for the story I wanted to tell.
The same is true with the White House and the presidency. I purposely chose not to give every member of the administration a name, sometimes referring to them only by their titles to enhance readability and not overwhelm you with new people and names. I’ve included a cheat sheet at the end of this note to remind you of some of the new characters we met in this book.
The following resources were helpful to me as I put together Sam and Nick’s new world within the White House:
The Residence by Kate Andersen Brower
Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by J.B. West
Becoming by Michelle Obama, particularly the section on the White House years, which provided the most recent details available on contemporary first family life in the White House
First Families: The Impact of the White House on Their Lives by Bonnie Angelo
Inside Camp David: The Private World of the Presidential Retreat by Rear Admiral Michael Giorgione, CEC, USN (Ret.)
The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson: The White House Years, A Personal Memoir by President Johnson’s Top Domestic Adviser by Joseph A. Califano, Jr., particularly the details surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the transition to the Johnson administration.
I’ve taken a few liberties with history with fictional presidents representing the last few and skipped Nick ahead to number forty-seven, which keeps our divisive modern politics mostly out of this series. I think we all get more than enough of that in real life!
A huge shout-out to photographer Regina Wamba and models Robert John and Ellie Dulac, who star as Nick and Sam on the covers of the new First Family Series. We had so much fun putting together a couple that we felt accurately captured the characters we’ve come to love so much, and I appreciate Regina’s hard work in making my vision a reality and Kristina Brinton for the beautiful cover of State of Affairs. If you haven’t yet seen the dazzling trailer video created by my colleague Tia Kelly that introduces the new series and this first book, I encourage you to check it out at https://youtu.be/gykioen-_OA.
Join the Fatal Series/First Family Reader Group at www.facebook.com/groups/fatalseries to be among the first to see new covers and receive updates on future books. Talk about State of Affairs with spoilers allowed and encouraged at www.facebook.com/groups/stateofaffairs1.
As always, thank you to the amazing team that supports me every day: Julie Cupp, Lisa Cafferty, Nikki Haley, Tia Kelly, Jean Mello and Ashley Lopez. It takes a village to produce these books, and I’m so thankful to my editors, Joyce Lamb and Linda Ingmanson, my beta readers Anne Woodall, Kara Conrad, Tia Kelly and Tracey Suppo, as well as the Fatal Series/First Family beta readers: Karina, Gwen, Jenny, Sarah, Mona, Irene, Jennifer, Marianne, Isabel, Kelley, Juliane, Sheri, Ellen, Tiffany, Marti, Viki, Elizabeth, Heidi, Phuong and Gina.
A special thanks to retired Capt. Russell Hayes of the Newport, RI, Police Department for reading each book and checking me on the police details. I so appreciate his help with seventeen books so far, with much more to come!
And to the faithful readers who’ve supported Sam and Nick’s journey for eleven years, I’m incredibly thankful to you. Your enthusiasm for each new book has helped me prove that you can write a romance series that features the same couple in every book. Sam and Nick’s story is just getting started, and I can’t wait for what’s next.
xoxo
Marie
New First Family Series Characters
Teresa Howard, National Security Advisor
Martin Ruskin, Secretary of State
Tobias Jennings, Secretary of Defense
Reginald Cox, Attorney General
LeRoy Chastain, White House butler
Lieutenant Commander Juan Rodriguez, USN, military aide, nuclear football
Vernon, Secret Service Agent on Sam’s detail
Jimmy, Secret Service Agent on Sam’s detail
Sen. Jessica Sanford, Vice Presidential candidate
Gretchen Henderson, Vice Presidential candidate
Anthony Jones, White House butler
Army General Michael Wilson, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Roland Daniels, White House butler
Cornelia, the Nelson’s social secretary
Gideon Lawson, White House chief usher
Davida, White House hair stylist
Kendra, White House nail technician
Ginger, White House makeup artist
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Other Books By Marie Force
* * *
The First Family Series
Book 1: State of Affairs
Book 2: State of Grace
* * *
The Wild Widows Series—a Fatal and First Family Series Spin-Off
Book 1: Someone Like You
* * *
The Fatal Series
One Night With You, A Fatal Series Prequel Novella
Book 1: Fatal Affair
Book 2: Fatal Justice
Book 3: Fatal Consequences
Book 3.5: Fatal Destiny The Wedding Novella
Book 4: Fatal Flaw
Book 5: Fatal Deception
Book 6: Fatal Mistake
Book 7: Fatal Jeopardy
Book 8: Fatal Scandal
Book 9: Fatal Frenzy
Book 10: Fatal Identity
Book 11: Fatal Threat
Book 12: Fatal Chaos
Book 13: Fatal Invasion
Book 14: Fatal Reckoning
Book 15: Fatal Accusation
Book 16: Fatal Fraud
<
br /> * * *
The Miami Nights Series
Book 1: How Much I Feel
(Carmen & Jason)
Book 2: How Much I Care
(Maria & Austin)
Book 3: How Much I Love
(Dee & Wyatt)
* * *
The Gansett Island Series
Book 1: Maid for Love
(Maddie & Mac)
Book 2: Fool for Love
(Joe & Janey)
Book 3: Ready for Love
(Luke & Sydney)
Book 4: Falling for Love
(Grant & Stephanie)
Book 5: Hoping for Love
(Evan & Grace)
Book 6: Season for Love
(Owen & Laura)
Book 7: Longing for Love
(Blaine & Tiffany)
Book 8: Waiting for Love
(Adam & Abby)
Book 9: Time for Love
(David & Daisy)
Book 10: Meant for Love
(Jenny & Alex)
Book 10.5: Chance for Love, A Gansett Island Novella (Jared & Lizzie)
Book 11: Gansett After Dark
(Owen & Laura)
Book 12: Kisses After Dark
(Shane & Katie)
Book 13: Love After Dark
(Paul & Hope)
Book 14: Celebration After Dark
(Big Mac & Linda)
Book 15: Desire After Dark
(Slim & Erin)
Book 16: Light After Dark
(Mallory & Quinn)
Book 17: Victoria & Shannon (Episode 1)
Book 18: Kevin & Chelsea (Episode 2)
A Gansett Island Christmas Novella
Book 19: Mine After Dark
(Riley & Nikki)
Book 20: Yours After Dark
(Finn & Chloe)
Book 21: Trouble After Dark
(Deacon & Julia)
Book 22: Rescue After Dark
(Mason & Jordan)
Book 23: Blackout After Dark
(Full Cast)
