"But?"
"What?"
"You said for the most part it was win-win. What didn't you like?"
She grinned. "As you might guess, the strict rules and regulations didn't agree with me. I mean after I had to be forced into a safe house and my family thought I was dead, the agency ripped into me but good. Of course, I did it for my family, but did anyone understand? Nope." She paused for a sip of coffee. "Forced confinement can really make a person evaluate what's important and I wanted more out of my career than a strict, by-the-book environment."
He looked at her for a moment as though to take in all of what she'd revealed. "Not a shock," he finally said and he laughed, and Zoe realized exactly what she found most attractive about him.
The dimples he showed when he smiled. Really smiled, not the forced kind when he was trying to figure her family out or pretend to like a situation when he was really confused. The dimples that didn't seem to go with the Italian-cut suits he favored, like the navy one he wore today. Also appealing was the way he kissed, something she hadn't been able to get out of her mind all weekend.
"Am I that predictable?" she asked.
"I definitely hadn't pegged you for an agent of any kind, but now that I know you, I'm sure the rules made you insane. But at least I understand how you hold on to a poker face so easily. So, what are you doing now that your federal career is behind you?"
She rubbed her hands together, the excitement she felt in talking about her new business growing. "I'm in business with Quinn and Connor. We're going to provide protection for movie stars and musicians coming to entertain in Atlantic City. In fact, we just took on our first official client this morning. GSC Music."
He nodded and she could see from his expression that she'd impressed him.
"Congratulations."
"Thank you."
"I need to ask another question."
She laughed. "Anyone tell you you're nosy?"
"Only when it comes to you," he said, sounding a bit stunned by the admission. "What did your mother whisper to you before we left the house?"
She hadn't realized he was paying attention. "She asked me to stick close to Sam's social worker."
He reached for the centerpiece on the table and rolled it between his palms. "And you didn't feel guilty?"
"Of course I did, but let me tell you something. I'd feel guiltier if I told her the truth before I knew enough about you and your family. I need time with you. You need time with Sam. I think we both understand and agree on that, don't we?"
He nodded slowly. "I do. And I think you're an incredible woman, Zoe Costas."
Something about the way he said her name sent tremors of awareness down her spine. Again. The man was amazing, from his caring nature to his potent sex appeal. Her fingers itched with the uncontrollable urge to touch his hand. A simple touch, though the feelings he evoked were much more complex than simple.
She glanced down at his hands, in which he still held the infamous Paradeisos centerpiece. Zoe immediately realized what anatomy part he held in his hand and the sensuality surrounding her evaporated in favor of a fit of laughter. She knew the moment he noticed it, too, because he dropped the centerpiece, a naked Greek god with flowers nestled in his-
"And they call this a family restaurant?" Ryan asked, clearly in shock.
"Yep." Daphne replied as she placed their meals on the table. "Normal doesn't exist in our family or hadn't you noticed?" She laughed, stopping when Zoe stretched a leg out and blatantly kicked her in the shin.
"Right. Social worker. Got it. I'm going. Enjoy your food."
Zoe laughed as her cousin departed again. "Usually she's the hostess, but Gus is out sick, so she's filling in waiting on tables." She poured some syrup over her French toast. "So you haven't asked about the break-in."
He placed his fork down and met her stare. "I figured you'd fill me in when you were ready. I take it you're ready now?"
She shrugged. "No time like the present. I don't know all that much. Mom forgot to set the alarm when she went for her walk, I'd already left for work and Dad was sleeping without his hearing aids in. Sam stepped out of the bathroom and heard noises coming from her room. With my father snoring in his bed, she knew something was wrong and remained out of sight until he left."
"I didn't realize he was in Sam's room," he said, a muscle ticking in his jaw. "And you said nothing was taken?"
"That's right. I mean it's too soon to know for sure, but at first glance everything looked messed up but nothing more."
"Any chance this man was looking for something because someone in your family was up to something?"
"Such as?" She batted her eyelashes at him too innocently, she knew.
He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Zoe. You have to know I'm aware that your family hasn't always been on the up-and-up."
"Hey no one's ever been arrested."
"So, they skate the perimeters of the law." He sliced his hand through the air. "That's semantics. You even said yourself that you were involved in something that landed you in protective custody. So I'm asking, could someone in your family be involved in something that led to today's break-in?"
He'd leaned forward in his seat so she couldn't mistake his serious expression, and his intense stare would brook no jokes or lies.
"I don't know." She'd lost her appetite and she pushed her plate away.
"I'm sorry," he said in a gruff voice.
"For pointing out the obvious? Don't be. After we eat, I need to go take care of some things." Make some phone calls, she thought. Talk to Quinn. The police. Find out what was really going on in her own home.
He ate his food in silence and she sat stiffly, keeping him company, until finally he spoke. "I'd like to spend time with Sam this afternoon."
She coughed. "Excuse me. Spend time with Sam…how?"
"I don't know. Take her for ice cream. Just get to know her a little. Under the guise of a final interview type of situation."
Zoe shivered, her nerves completely on edge. "I don't know…"
"When I look at her, I see my sister, but I don't know who Sam is as a person."
"And that matters to you." She said it as a definitive statement, not a question.
He obviously cared. Sam was more than a blood tie to Ryan and now Zoe realized that Sam was also more than just a connection to his deceased sister. He recognized Sam as a person with likes and dislikes, needs and desires of her own. He was everything Zoe could hope for in a blood relative for Samantha and everything she could hope for in a man. Too bad once this charade was over, he'd be the cause of so much pain for her family, she reminded herself forcefully.
"Of course who Sam is matters to me." He didn't seem angered by her statement. "Look." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a single photograph in old plastic. "This is Faith."
Zoe accepted the picture and glanced down at the photo of the teenager, frozen in time at around the same age as Sam. Zoe sucked in a startled breath. "Wow," she said, staring at the eerily familiar features and blond hair. "You weren't kidding."
He shook his head. "Startling resemblance, isn't it?"
"My thoughts exactly," she said, placing her hand over his. "I'm so sorry."
He met her gaze, his eyes warm and grateful. "I appreciate that."
"Why didn't you show this photograph to me before?"
He shrugged as he placed the picture back into his pocket. "You didn't ask."
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "You should know I have Quinn digging for info on your family," she admitted.
"Would it make you feel any better if I told you I was doing some more investigating of the Costas clan on my own?"
She burst out laughing. "Not really, but I'm glad to see we think alike."
"Because we both have Sam's best interest at heart, which leads me back to my original point. I'd like to spend time with Sam."