expected the Costas family to act, well, odd. Zoe had long since stopped trying to figure out their eccentric mother. She’d rather just love her instead.
“I’ve come up with the perfect name for your new business,” Elena said to Zoe.
After years of working for the Secret Service, protecting government officials visiting New Jersey, she’d begun to chafe under the tight rules and regulations. No surprise there since she was a Costas and liked to do things her own way. Her new business would give her the opportunity to do just that. She and her partners would be protecting visiting stars and dignitaries on their trips to Atlantic City’s casinos.
“I heard that.” Quinn, Ari’s ex-cop husband, came up beside his wife and pulled her against his side. “What wacky idea have you got this time?” he asked his mother-in-law.
Elena raised her arms, as though on stage. “Safe Sex—protection is our business,” she said, punctuating each word with her hands. “So what do you think?” her mother asked, smiling proudly at her idea.
Quinn blinked. His hazel eyes focused on Elena as if she were insane, although he knew better. He’d married Ari knowing full well the family was merely eccentric.
Connor Brennan, who Zoe hadn’t realized had joined them, choked on his cola. Connor was Quinn’s best friend. They’d grown up in the same foster-care system and had worked together as detectives for the police department. As partners with Zoe in the new venture, both Connor and Quinn had a vested interest in the business Elena wanted to name.
Zoe knew better than to dignify her mother’s idea with a response or she’d start expanding on it, and before Zoe knew it, a Safe Sex sign would be hanging over their new office space, and the cops would arrive to shut them down.
“Mom, don’t you have more important things to do? Like corralling Sam’s friends for cake?” She pointed to the group of teenage girls gathered in the yard.
“Good idea. I’ll get the kids,” Ari said, escaping while she had the chance.
Elena patted Zoe’s cheek. “Okay, I can see you aren’t ready to talk business. Later, then. But you should think about registering the name before somebody else takes it.”
“Like who? A porn shop?” Zoe asked, raising an eyebrow.
Quinn shook his head and laughed. He’d always enjoyed his in-laws much more than any man should. “I think I’ll go help Ari gather the troops.”
“Not yet.” Elena waved an arm in the air, her long sleeve blowing in the summer breeze. “I have one more game for the girls to play before we sing ‘Happy Birthday’ and open presents,” Elena said.
Connor adjusted his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose. “What game is that?”
“You’ll be sorry you asked,” Quinn promised his friend.
Zoe nodded.
Undeterred, Elena pulled out a red cut-out heart from one of her kimono pockets. “Since they’re too old for Pin the Tail on the Donkey, they’re going to Pin the Heart on Orlando Bloom,” she said, pronouncing heart on so quickly the phrase sounded like hard-on.
This time Connor spit out his drink. “Pin the what on whom?”
Thankfully, his fiancée, Maria, came up behind him and pulled him away, rescuing the poor man from any more of Elena’s antics.
“They’re happy,” Zoe said of the couple.
Quinn nodded. “Connor was a goner the first time he laid eyes on Maria working as a cocktail waitress at the casino. I was just amazed he so easily accepted that she had a kid.”
Foster care and their rough upbringing had scarred both Connor and Quinn, Zoe thought sadly. But they had each come around in the end, accepting that the future could be much better if only they gave it a chance.
“The things people do for love,” she said lightly. More lightly than she actually felt.
After all, she really wouldn’t know what love would do to a person. She’d never fallen hard for any man. After growing up witnessing the intensity of her parents’ relationship, their love and their fights, most of the time she was glad Cupid had passed her by. Experience showed her that her mother often caved in to make her father happy, and Zoe couldn’t imagine sacrificing her independence for any man. As for a family of her own, Zoe wasn’t holding her breath, because without love, there would be no family, no babies. It wasn’t something she gave much thought to, perhaps because her immediate family took up so much of her time and energy. She was never alone unless she wanted to be.
“You’ll