Zoe strode up to the desk and leaned forward. Nose to nose, she warned him, "You keep this up and I'll tell Ari you're smoking the occasional cigar. You'll be sleeping on the couch for at least a week." Zoe stood straight, folded her arms over her chest and grinned. "We both know even one night without my sister would be a hardship."
Quinn let out a laugh. "See now this is why I agreed to this partnership. You give as good as you get and you don't get on my nerves- much," he added, with a wink. "Listen, Zoe, all kidding aside, we need you to stick close to this guy."
She nodded, understanding how serious this was. "I will."
"But watch yourself," Connor said. "There's no good outcome on this one, and if you get involved, you could end up hurt."
This time it was Zoe's turn to laugh. "Not a chance, guys. To be hurt, you have to fall for a guy and that's definitely not my MO."
Both men snorted. "Like it was either one of ours?" Connor asked.
"Hey, just because the two of you are now whipped doesn't mean I'll end up the same way."
She didn't intend to live by her parents' example. Her parents were and always had been head over heels in love, which usually meant stormy disagreements and heated apologies that ended up with them in the bedroom, locked inside for hours. She and Ari had learned to keep themselves busy during those times, though at such a young age she probably shouldn't have been aware of what the glow on her mother's face afterward really meant. But they shared a romantic, storybook kind of love.
The give and take between her parents represented the best in a relationship, but they'd married young. And the older Zoe got, the more she feared that settling down with any man after all her years alone would mean compromises that would chip away at the essence of who she was. A person that was still too undefined, she thought.
Zoe had had her share of relationships and men. If love had been in the cards, she would have definitely discovered it by now. At the very least, she'd have been through devastating heartbreak. Instead she'd been disappointed at times, hurt on occasion, but she'd always bounced back, never truly having had her heart broken. Never having said, I love you.
"I guess it's not in my genetic makeup, so I'll hang around with Ryan Baldwin and keep a close eye on him." A very close, admiring eye.
"Just be careful," Quinn said. "I don't want you hurt. You're like a sister to me and if Baldwin turns out to be who he claims he is, I'd hate like hell to have to beat the crap out of Sam's uncle." He slammed his hand on the desk and muttered a succinct curse. "Uncle. This is going to kill everyone involved."
Connor nodded. "Let's just hope like hell we find dirt on his family and maybe then there'll be some way Zoe's parents can keep Sam."
Zoe shuddered. The entire situation was a mess she couldn't begin to decipher. Instead, she waved at her partners and headed home- before Ryan could show up and possibly alert her parents or Sam to the fact that something was wrong.
Chapter Three
AFTER THE MEETING at the office, Zoe rushed home, skipping lunch because she was determined to get there before Ryan showed up for his visit. She'd expected to find Sam cuddled up with the pig near his cage. Instead the kitchen was empty and she heard voices coming from outside.
She stepped out the sliding glass door and onto the large patio. Her mother was nowhere to be found, but Sam and Ryan were alone together in the yard. That by itself was enough to jolt her system. But when she caught sight of a shirtless Ryan digging a hole in the grass, a rush of adrenaline and desire raced through her veins.
The man was handsome in a suit, but, thee mou, she couldn't have imagined the body hidden beneath the well-cut material. His back was already deeply tanned from the summer sun and his muscles flexed and pulled, teasing her each time he dug into the dirt. Watching him, she couldn't stop imagining what his smooth skin would feel like beneath her hands or how his hard body would mesh perfectly with hers.
A warning voice echoed in her head, reminding her he wasn't a social worker and he was a threat to Sam's place in Zoe's well-loved family. But the truth didn't change the desire churning inside her or the need he inspired.
She'd never let her emotions take over common sense, but then she'd never met a man like Ryan.
"Zoe! Come hang with me and Ryan."
Sam's voice snapped her out of her musings and she approached warily, completely aware of the one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn Sam's attitude toward Ryan Baldwin seemed to have taken.
"What have you and Ryan been talking about?" Zoe asked. And just when had Mr. Baldwin, the social worker with the stick up his butt, become just plain Ryan? Zoe wondered.
He dug the shovel into the dirt and leaned on the handle, his entire look and attitude providing a more rugged, outdoorsy appearance than she would have associated with him after their first meeting.
"We're discussing the finer points of raising pigs." He rubbed his sweaty hands on his khakis, leaving a trail of dirt behind.
Zoe wondered what his Boston relatives would think if they saw him now, but with Sam around she couldn't ask. She could however remark on the unusual nature of his task. "What's going on?" She pointed to the patch of dirt where grass used to be.
"It's a place for Ima to root," Sam explained. "The books Ryan brought me said that if we give Ima a place of her own to dig and play in, we'll cut down on her doing it in inappropriate places."
Zoe's gaze flew to Ryan. "You bought her books?"
"And magazines," Sam added.
"I see." Zoe nodded slowly.
"I showed up at her birthday party empty-handed. It was the least I could do." He shrugged as if the gesture meant nothing.
Zoe knew that for him, the gift was a huge offering. Symbolic of something Sam couldn't begin to understand or comprehend. Zoe wondered if she should question his sincerity, but then decided it was a petty thought, unworthy of her.
"So I read a few pages and now we're giving Ima a place of her own." Sam grinned and gestured to the patch of dirt Ryan had created.
Zoe glanced down. "In the yard."
"Yep."
"Where Elena's daffodils bloom in the spring." She leaned closer to inspect his handiwork. "Interesting choice," she said, looking into Ryan's stunned eyes.
"Sam said that was an empty spot." He blanched. "She said that nobody would care if I dug here. In fact, young lady, you begged for me to dig in this very place." He raised his voice at Sam, obviously caught himself, then moderated his tone. "You said it would be fine."
Sam flung her arms in the air, typical teenager style. "Hey I didn't know, okay?"
The muscle in his jaw that ticked when he was agitated started up again. "Then maybe you should have asked for permission first."
"Hey- "
"Is for horses," Zoe said in an attempt to diffuse the situation.
Not that Ryan would know, but Sam wouldn't put up with yelling or discipline from a stranger. In her mind, an adult had to earn the right to reprimand her by first proving they cared. The Costas family had already been down that road. Sam had tested them, retested them and now finally believed she belonged. If they punished her, she understood it was because they loved her, not because they were worried the state would take away their monthly foster stipend.
Zoe placed a hand on his arm. She'd meant her touch to calm him, but it had the opposite effect, at least on her. His skin was hot from a combination of the sun's rays and his body heat. Heat she wanted desperately to share in the most intimate way possible, and those butterflies came to life in her stomach once more.