Nick was stunned to see Sam wrapped up in Scotty, both of them sound asleep. He stared at them for a long time, overwhelmed by the sight of her sleeping with the boy they both loved. As he ventured into the room, he wondered what he’d missed during the night.

He bent to kiss her cheek. “Sam.” When she didn’t rouse, he kissed her again. “Samantha.” He kept his voice down so he wouldn’t disturb Scotty.

“Mmm.”

“It’s six, babe,” he whispered.

“No, it isn’t.”

“Yes,” he said chuckling, “it is.” He smoothed her hair back. “What happened?”

“He had a bad dream. I heard him whimpering in the hallway. He didn’t want to come in and bother us.”

Scotty never stirred as they spoke in whispers.

“Oh, poor guy. He should’ve come in.”

“That’s what I told him too.”

“What time was this?”

“I have no idea. Maybe we should let him sleep in a bit this morning. Shelby can take him to school when he wakes up.”

“Sounds like a good idea. You need to get going to your meeting.”

“I promised him I wouldn’t leave.”

“I’ll tell him you stayed until you had to leave for work. He knows you’ve got a job to do.”

Seeming reluctant, Sam disentangled from Scotty and got up. She resettled the covers over him and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “At times like this, I hate that I have a job that requires so much of my time.”

In the hallway, he hugged her. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—I always hate your job.”

“I know, I know.” She went up on tiptoes to kiss him. “Gotta hit the shower.”

“Want some company?”

She smiled at the perfectly innocent expression he attempted to pull off. “Are we talking about you, or do you have someone else you’re going to send in?”

“Very funny, Samantha.” He gave her a swat on the rear and steered her into the bathroom where he pushed the lock on the door—just in case. “Speaking of ‘someone else,’” he said as he watched her remove the robe while he dropped his sweats onto a pile on the floor. “I saw your pal Hill last night after he brought you home.”

“He’s not my ‘pal.’ He’s my colleague.” She leaned into the shower to turn on the water, giving him a spectacular view of her spectacular ass. “And he brought me home because I was too tired to drive safely. Nothing more to it than that.”

“For you anyway.”

She turned to him, nude and furious and absolutely gorgeous. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He went to her, put his arms around her and yanked her in tight against him. “It means I do not like that guy, as you well know.”