She knocked on the door and opened it to poke her head in. “May I interrupt?”

Terry stood. “Of course. I was just leaving. I’ll speak with you in the morning, Mr. President.”

“Thanks for coming in, Terry.”

“No problem.”

He nodded to Sam as he went by, which made her stomach clench again. No doubt Nick had filled him in, and he was probably angry with her, too.

She stepped into the Oval Office, but none of the trappings interested her. Only the gorgeous man on the sofa had her attention, and she went right to him.

“I’m so sorry, Nick. I feel sick over this. I shouldn’t have done it, but it was after she gave that awful interview, and all I could think about was getting rid of her in any way I could. I didn’t think it all the way through and—”

Nick held out his hand to her. “Come here.”

She went, taking hold of his hand as she sat next to him.

“I don’t want you to be sick over it.”

“I am. You’re so upset, and rightfully so. I never meant—”

He rested a finger over her lips. “It’s okay. I was shocked before, and I took it out on you, when I should be focused on her.”

“Still… If I hadn’t asked Avery to investigate her, this wouldn’t be happening.”

“Or it might have happened with no warning to us, which Terry pointed out.”

“I was wrong not to tell you I’d talked to Avery about her. I apologize for that.”

“Thank you.”

“I was so fired up after she gave that outrageous interview, it was all I could do not to go to Ohio and strangle her with my own hands.”

He smiled, and everything in her settled after hours of uncertainty. “Please don’t do that. I need you here with me, not in prison.”

“It’d be worth it to be rid of her. I talked to Avery earlier and asked him what the chances were of them backing off the investigation. He said it was too far gone.”

“I figured as much. Part of the reason I was so upset earlier was directed at her. You know how I get whenever she rears her ugly head.”

“I do, and I’m sorry this is happening when you have so many bigger things to contend with.”

“Like you said, if it gets rid of her once and for all, it might be worth whatever dustup it causes.”

“What did Terry think you should do?”

“We’re talking about a number of preemptive strikes, including another interview reminding people she’s not in my life, has never really been in my life and has caused only hell and heartache for me since the day I was born.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“No matter how we play it, though, if it happens, the image of the president’s mother in handcuffs will dominate the news cycle for a while.”

“I’m sorry about that. I feel awful about this.”