His face lifted into the half grin that often made her want to swoon. Not that she actually swooned. Badass cops did not swoon. She only thought about it. “Focus, babe.”

She focused on his smoothly shaven jaw, the dark brown hair that curled at the ends, the sexy hazel eyes and the sinfully beautiful mouth. Taken all together, his features made for one hell of an appealing package. “Okay, sorry.”

“Nelson is taking a quick trip at the end of the week. He invited me to go along.”

His words permeated her brain. “A quick trip to where?”

“I’m not allowed to say.”

“Not even to me?”

“Not to anyone.”

“Is he going to Afghanistan?”

“I can’t tell you that, Sam. I’m sorry. I want to. I know you tell me stuff I’m not supposed to know all the time, but I can’t do it with the president’s security on the line. I hope you understand.”

Sam didn’t need him to confirm where they’d be going. Virginia had suffered significant losses in the war zone in the last year. It stood to reason that President Nelson would ask members of the commonwealth’s congressional delegation to go with him.

“How will you get where you’re going?”

“On Air Force One.” His eyes lit up as he said the words. “How freaking cool is that?”

“Pretty darned cool,” she said, even though her insides had gone cold at the thought of her beloved husband flying into a war zone on a gigantic airplane that bore the flag of the United States of America. “Won’t it be dangerous?”

He thought about that for a second, probably trying to find a way to answer her question without giving anything away. “Maybe a little, but the trip is top secret. No one will know. Even the reporters that come with us won’t know where we’re going until we’re there.” Tipping his head, he eyed her. “What’re you thinking?”

“It scares me to think of you flying into somewhere dangerous.”

“I’ll be on the most secure airplane in the world, babe. Nothing to worry about.”

“Sure,” she said. “Whatever you say.”

He put his arm around her and drew her in close.

She nuzzled her nose into his neck, drinking in the scent of the cologne he’d recently applied. It was one of her favorite smells in the entire world. “Would you stay home if I asked you to?”

“Would you stay home today if I asked you to?”

“Yes,” she said with a sigh, his point clear. “But you’d never ask me to.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“It scares me.”