Chapter 20“Sam?” Ruth was on her feet and moving around the desk.
Nili shooed the excited children back toward the living room. “Let’s give Mum and Sam some privacy.”
Ruth motioned Samuel into her office and gently closed the door. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m sorry to bother you, I am, but I need you to tell me the truth.”
“The truth?” Ruth nearly choked on the words.
“I spooked you last night, didn’t I?”
“Spooked?” she said, relaxing a touch. “What do you mean?”
“All that hypothetical nonsense.”
“Nonsense? Is that what we’re calling it now?”
He waited half a beat. “Well, not if you don’t want to call it that.”
“I don’t.”
“So what you said—”
“I meant it, sincerely.”
“So when we parted, you really were just feeling poorly?”
“Well . . .”
“All that liquor, was it?”
“I . .
