Carly Phillips - Summer Lovin’

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."

"Do you promise not to reveal the truth?"

He covered her hand. Warmth surged through her at his touch, heating her body inside and out.

"I promise. When that time comes for honesty, we'll tell Sam in the most painless way possible."

She inhaled and forced herself to agree. Coming from a family of loving con artists, Zoe didn't normally trust outsiders easily. Which made her feelings for Ryan all the more complicated.

* * *

ZOE DROPPED RYAN OFF back at the house where he'd left his car. He stood and watched as she drove off for parts unknown. Probably to look into whether her family's dealings had any relation to the break-in this morning. Only a few hours had passed, but by the time he knocked on the door and Elena let him in, there was no sign of turmoil, except for a few pieces of furniture out of place. The rooms had been cleaned and the mess put away.

"I take it everyone's calmed down?" Ryan asked as Elena fussed over him, handing him an unasked for glass of water.

She nodded. "We're fine. Fine. Help me move this chair, please."

He assisted her with order after order, putting the pieces of furniture back where they belonged.

Elena was in a frenzy, issuing directives and speaking a mile a minute.

A tornado, he thought to himself again.

"Anyway," she continued. "Sam helped us clean the little things around the house so we can pull off the surprise party tonight. Quinn's going to bring Ari and I was hoping you'd bring Zoe."

"What party?" he asked.

Elena paused. "What party?" she repeated and stared as if he ought to know the answer. "Zoe and Ari are turning thirty today. Tonight we're throwing a surprise party at Paradeisos."

"We need you to be the decoy," Sam said, bouncing down the stairs and joining them. Her eyes were bright and happy, no sign of trauma from the incident earlier.

"Decoy, huh? How do I do that?"

She tossed her long ponytail over one shoulder. "I told you he's dense," she muttered, and then before anyone could reprimand her, she continued. "You call Zoe, on the phone. You know, a tel-e-phone. Ask her on a date- "

"And then bring her to her aunt's diner again? Somehow I don't think she'd buy that as a real date," he said laughing. "Now who's dense?" he asked, proud he'd one-upped Sam.

The young girl blinked. "Uh, the answer to that is still you. Because what happens is that you're going to take her to this very fancy restaurant where you've made a reservation, and then on the way, Zoe'll get a frantic call from Elena at Paradeisos and then Zoe'll beg you to turn around and come see what's wrong with me."

"Then hopefully Quinn will get Ari there at the same time and everyone will yell surprise!" Elena said with a grand sweep of her arm.

"And if Ari gets there first? Or later?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Then we yell surprise twice, of course."

"Of course."

"So now that you've helped with the furniture, what can we do for you, Mr. Baldwin?" Elena asked.

He cleared his throat. "First, please call me Ryan. And second, I was wondering if I could steal Sam for an hour."

Sam stiffened her shoulders. "Why? I didn't do anything wrong. The pig's allowed to stay. Zoe said so." She uttered Zoe's name with reverence and awe. The big sister Sam probably had never thought she'd have.

Meanwhile she stared at him as if he were the pond scum who wanted to steal everything she held dear. Which, he thought, wasn't far from the truth.

He drew a deep breath. "The pig's fine. I just thought that we could go for ice cream and I could ask you some questions." Deceit wasn't a comfortable fit for him and he tried to keep his answers as honest as possible.

Elena nodded. "That's a wonderful idea."

Sam merely glared. "No matter what you say to me, I still want to be adopted and live here forever."

A slicing pain ripped through his gut. "I understand what you want, Sam. I just want to get to know you better. That's all."

"Can I get a sundae?" she asked.

"If I say yes, will you come with me?"

Sam walked over to the phone, picked up the receiver and handed it to him. "After you ask Zoe for a date tonight."

Ryan shook his head and laughed because if he hadn't known that they needed him to get Zoe to her party, he'd think the kid and Elena were actually matchmaking.

AFTER SPENDING A FEW HOURS in a shopping mall with a fourteen-year-old, Ryan had been spent. First he'd taken Sam for ice cream as promised, where she'd ducked behind him every time she'd seen a boy she knew from school. Then he'd had what he thought was a brainstorm and he'd asked her to help him shop for a birthday gift for Zoe.

Sam had dragged him into an all-natural beauty store that smelled ultrafeminine and too seductive for his peace of mind. Clenching his mouth shut tight, he'd stood back as Sam had chosen Zoe's favorite scents in body scrub, body wash, body splash and he was sure there were more items he couldn't remember. He couldn't very well tell the kid that they were in way too intimate territory when she was so pleased with her selections, so he'd gone ahead and purchased her choices.

The store clerk had insisted on wrapping them in a gift basket with some courtesy products, including a loofah sponge he couldn't stop envisioning running over every part of Zoe's body, inch by tantalizing inch. His desire for her grew each time he saw her. His need to taste her again, to possess her body and learn her secrets, was with him day and night.

Now hours later, he was driving Zoe to a surprise destination for their date. His nerves were on edge as he waited for the phone call redirecting them to her aunt's diner. Each time he inhaled, he took in her fresh-like-summer scent, forcing him to shake his head in an attempt to stop thinking about Zoe and sex. Sleeping with her would compromise his emotions, he knew, and in turn he'd jeopardize his goal to take Sam to Boston with him.

Instead he focused on the trip he'd made after taking Sam back to Elena's. He'd gone back to the mall to purchase another, more practical gift for Zoe. One that had a purpose, but wasn't in the least bit romantic. Though he knew he'd have to give both wrapped packages in order to protect Sam's feelings, he hoped the more simple one would take away from the innuendo implied by the bath and body basket- even if his skin were tingling as if she'd used that loofah sponge on him, then followed it up with her hands, and then those luscious lips he'd tasted the other day.