He slid his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck. “I didn’t think you knew how to turn on the stove.”

She pushed her butt into him. “I know how to turn on a lot of things.”

Laughing, he tightened his hold on her. “You sure do.” He buried his face in her hair. “I’m so damned glad to see you, Samantha. After everything today with Reese. I can’t stop thinking about it.”

She turned to face him and curled her arms around his neck. This would be a great time to tell him about the IAB hearing, except that he looked like himself again for the first time in days. Was it such a crime to want him to relax and enjoy the evening? “Everything’s fine.”

He dipped his head to kiss her. “It is now that I’m with you. I love finding you here when I come home.”

She divested him of his tie and released his top buttons. “I decided to leave work on time for once.”

“What’s the occasion?”

Another golden opportunity. “No occasion. I just felt like cooking.” She reached for the check she’d found on the counter earlier and waved it at him. “Got anything you want to tell me?”

Staring at the check, his face became unreadable. “You knew about that. You signed for it.”

“What’re you going to do with it?”

“Part of me wants to give it all away.”

Her heart went out to him. The pain of John’s loss was still so present. “What would John want you to do with it?”

“He’d want me to enjoy being a millionaire for a while,” he said without hesitation.

“Then that’s what you ought to do.”

“How can I enjoy it when he had to die for it to happen? How do I do that?”

Sam reached up to run her fingers through his hair. “He loved you, Nick. He’d want you to be happy.”

“I talked to Graham today, told him I’d gotten the money. He said he’d invest it for me if I wanted him to.”

“Why don’t you do that? Give it to him and forget about it.”

“I guess I will. We have everything we need, right?”

“And then some.”

He surprised her when he lifted her onto the center island and stepped between her legs. “Do we have to eat right now?”

“You’re turning into a regular sex fiend, Senator,” she said, relieved by the return of his playful mood.

“It’s your influence.” He zeroed in on her neck.

She tilted her head to give him better access. “I need to go back to work after dinner.”