Summer Lovin (16 page)

“I apologize for lying to you all. The first time was a misunderstanding and after that…well all I can say is that it seemed like the right thing to do.” He was careful not to lay blame at Zoe's feet since he'd started the charade and had chosen to let it continue. “I wanted you to know and like me before I gave you the news about who I was.”

Zoe shot him a quick smile of gratitude and, dare he hope, respect? But in the silence that followed, Ryan couldn't begin to judge the rest of the family's true feelings or reaction to his confession.

“What is it you want from us?” Nicholas asked, his hands firmly on Sam's shoulders.

Ryan wasn't ready to answer that and start a war, not when they had so much to deal with, beginning with the break-in and, most important, Sam's welfare. “I want time to get to know Sam and for her to know me. I'm willing to start with that.”

“I already know all I need to about—”

Zoe slapped a hand across Sam's mouth before she could insult him and it was his turn to shoot her a grateful look.

“Wanting to get to know each other sounds reasonable enough,” Zoe said.

“I agree,” Quinn said, seeming to be the spokesperson for Zoe's parents. “What's your situation in Boston?”

Ryan let out a laugh. “Something tells me you can answer that as well or better than I can. I'm sure you've dug deep into my history.”

Quinn inclined his head. “True. So let's cut to the chase. After your sister ran away, your parents didn't go out looking for her. They were glad to be rid of the problem, weren't they?”

Ryan's stomach cramped at the harsh reminder. “It's more complicated than that, but they didn't do much more than report her disappearance and let the police handle things. By the time Faith ran away, they'd lost their ability to handle her and didn't know what more they could do to bring her in line.”

“Children have wills and minds of their own,” Ari, the psych professor, chimed in.

“And my parents failed to respect that. Why are we even discussing this?” The last thing Ryan wanted was to showcase his family's shortcomings when Sam was in the room, and when it would do nothing to strengthen his claim to having her in his life.

“Because Sam needs to get out of New Jersey until we figure out who wants something from her and why. And though you've been careful not to say it, obviously you're contemplating asking for custody of Sam and bringing her home to Boston with you.” Quinn stepped between Ryan and the group across the room, obviously sensing they'd take issue with his words.

“The hell I'll go—” Zoe again shut Sam up with a hand across her mouth.

“I think we can accomplish dual goals if Sam takes a short trip with you. I just want to make sure that the atmosphere there isn't hostile, that your parents won't make her feel unwelcome or traumatize her in any way.”

Ryan was still reeling from Quinn's words. They were letting him take Sam to Boston without him having to ask? He glanced down and realized his hands were shaking.

“She's perfectly safe with me.”

Nicholas eyed him warily, but obviously had agreed to defer to Quinn.

Quinn nodded. “Okay, then. You should know that Elena and Nicholas have agreed to let Social Services know about you and your relationship to Sam. But they aren't giving up their rights as foster parents or their adoption desires. Not yet. We'll have to fully discuss everything over time. But for now, you have the right to get to know your niece and, for her safety, she needs to get out of town.”

Ryan stepped forward, gratitude welling in his throat, almost choking him. They could have fought him. They could have engaged him in a prolonged fight for Sam. Hell, they still could.

But for now the Costas family was obviously willing to make him a part of Sam's life and have him help them in protecting his niece. “I don't know what to say. I'll take good care of her.”

“Damn right, you will,” Nicholas said. “And Zoe will go along to make sure you and your family don't misbehave.”

“Or stifle Sam's individuality,” Elena added.

Ryan opened his mouth, then shut it again, the shock of it all making him mute. Sam
and
Zoe were going home with him?

Obviously this had been the focus of their discussion in the kitchen earlier. Just as obviously she'd agreed.

He glanced at Zoe, meeting her gaze. Her cheeks were flushed pink, but she didn't say a word nor could he decipher from her expression how she felt about this turn of events. But no matter how Zoe viewed things, Ryan felt as if he'd been given a second chance with her and with Sam.

And this time they'd be on his turf. Though normally advantage went to the home team, the old adage didn't apply here and Ryan knew he'd have to work extra hard to win Sam over. And not to lose Zoe at the same time.

 

Z
OE SHIFTED
in the passenger seat of Ryan's car. With every breath she took, she inhaled his cologne and her insides cramped with a burning need she couldn't suppress no matter how much practicality dictated she ought to.

She still didn't know how she'd ended up accompanying Sam to Boston with Ryan. She'd fought the good fight with her parents and Quinn, but even she'd agreed Sam needed to get out of town. And everyone including Zoe felt that Sam couldn't go alone with Ryan.

For his part, Ryan had been understanding of Sam's feelings. He'd even shocked Zoe by convincing his uncle that meeting Sam right now would be too traumatic. So after staying one night with Ryan, Russ had gone home and neither Zoe nor her family had had to deal with him just yet.

Just when she thought she'd pegged Ryan, a conservative man with whom she had nothing in common, he went and did something that put him back into high esteem, leaving her confused about her feelings. She shook her head, knowing she'd lied. She wasn't confused. She desired Ryan Baldwin. She liked the man a whole lot. Unless he morphed into the uptight man she'd first met.
Then
he scared her. And now they were heading to his territory, a place where she had no bearings and where she feared he'd definitely become a man she couldn't understand.

For now she sat in the middle of a mini war zone with Sam having entrenched herself in the back, determined not to like Ryan. She'd wanted to bring Ima and though Zoe had agreed, she'd had a gut feeling Ryan would not. So she'd instructed Sam to put Ima in the dog tote they'd bought for her until she became too big to be a lap pet, and Zoe had placed the covered bag in the back with Sam when Ryan wasn't looking. Sam had already learned how to keep the pig happy and relatively quiet and each bathroom trip Sam made, she took Ima with her so the pig could relieve herself somewhere besides the car or the carrier.

Unfortunately, taking along Ima hadn't appeased Sam. She'd spent their first hour on the road sulking in the back seat. Ryan had long since stopped trying to make conversation with her and after a short talk about the Red Sox and Yankees, in which Zoe discovered that being a Mets fan made her rise further in Ryan's estimation, they'd reverted to a silence that included Sam's prolonged sighs and groans.

For her part, Zoe tried not to stare at Ryan's handsome profile or reach out and touch his hand to reassure him that in time he
would
win Sam over.

“I have to pee,” Sam said from behind them.

Ryan glanced in the rearview mirror. “I just stopped for you not fifteen minutes ago.”

“Yeah, well, I have to pee again.”

Zoe shook her head. Between Sam's language and rest stop commands, she was sorely testing Ryan's patience. Not even Ima, who'd already begun to train, needed to relieve herself that often.

“I'll make you a deal. You watch your mouth, especially when we hit Boston, and I'll stop as many times as you need without complaining.” Despite his dark sunglasses, Zoe could tell he was watching in the mirror for a reaction from the teen.

Zoe turned toward the back seat in time to see Sam shrug, but she didn't volunteer a yes or no answer.

Although Zoe agreed that Sam needed to refine her choice of words, she couldn't help but fear that Ryan's demand had more ominous undertones, ones that had roots in his late sister's behavior and the reasons she'd run away from home. Zoe didn't want to see Ryan, the relaxed man she'd come to enjoy in New Jersey, revert to the stuffier man she'd first met. The one she'd seen again when his uncle had arrived.

“I'm waiting for an answer,” Ryan said.

Zoe shivered and pushed up the air-conditioning vents so they pointed away from her, but the chill remained.

“I don't see that I have a choice but to follow your rules unless I want a flood back here,” Sam muttered.

A muscle twitched in Ryan's cheek. “You just reminded me of my next condition. No more soda until we get there.”

Sam started to stick out her tongue, then obviously thought better of it and whipped her head around to the side, glancing out the window. “Whatever you say, oh great one,” Sam muttered.

Ryan raised an eyebrow Zoe's way. “Is she always this pleasant?”

Zoe couldn't help but stifle a chuckle. “I have to say she reserves her best behavior for you.”

“I feel so privileged.” Ryan grinned and they shared their first easy laugh of the day.

True to his word, he pulled off at the next rest stop and drove up to the entrance of a small mini-mart with bathrooms around the side.

Sam yanked on the handle, obviously intent on storming out of the car.

“Come right back,” he called after her.

She saluted and marched out of the car, slamming the door behind her.

Zoe rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat. “I hope you don't think you've won this round.”

“What does that mean?”

“Just that I expect Sam will stop ordering you to pull over now that you promised her that her demand for pit stops won't bother you.”

He lowered his sunglasses. “And wasn't that the point?” he asked with all the confusion of a man unfamiliar with children.

His puzzled expression was endearing, showing her yet another side of this multifaceted man. She shook her head and laughed. “Ryan, you have a lot to learn when it comes to teens. I mean, just don't think she's letting up because you put one over on her or because she's found some sort of respect for you. You just took the fun out of her game. She'll find another way to torture you instead.”

He turned in his seat. “Well I'll call it a draw, then.”

She inclined her head, giving him this one. Heaven knew Sam would find enough ways to challenge him in the days ahead. But without the frequent pit stops now, Zoe knew they might not have another chance to talk alone.

“Ryan, something you just said bothers me,” she stated bluntly. She bent one knee beneath her, accidentally brushing her leg against his thigh. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to focus.

He whipped off his eyeglasses, placing them in the empty cup holder, and his deep gaze bored into hers—so warm, so darn sexy, she thought she'd melt right then and there. She flipped the vents again so the cool air blew directly onto her skin.

“What's wrong?” he asked, sounding as if he truly cared.

She badly wanted to believe that he did. “We already talked about you not trying to mold Sam into some perfect child your family will accept.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand, forestalling him. “I'm not suggesting her current language is appropriate or even acceptable. She needs discipline and I agree with how you're handling her.”

“Thank you for that.” He tipped his head to one side. “Then I don't see what the problem is.”

She sighed. How to explain and not insult him at the same time? “The problem is you need to accept her for the free spirit she is. So does your family. Otherwise not only will they have learned nothing from your sister's running away and subsequent death, but you'll end up running Sam off, too.”

Despite Sam's frequent over-the-top behavior, Zoe had seen firsthand the fun and joy he experienced watching her just be herself. That was the man Zoe enjoyed, too, and she didn't want to lose him when they reached Boston.

Her fingers twitched with the desire to reach out to him, her emotions warring with her mind. Her emotions won. She placed a hand over his warmer, more roughened one. “Am I making any sense to you?”

Ryan nodded. Her soft fingers wrapped around his hand and the heat shot straight through to his heart. This woman affected him. She made him want to please her in ways he'd never thought or cared about with any woman who'd come before. For that reason he was listening to her concerns and honestly trying to keep an open mind. But the truth was that coming home would mean a reversion of sorts and that included a stricter code of behavior. Especially if he was going to convince his parents to accept Sam, as they hadn't accepted their own daughter.

Ryan had never faced a greater challenge. Except for keeping Zoe happy. He had no idea how he'd accomplish both goals.