Summer of Love - Carly Phillips Page 0,10

himself some time at the Costas home. As tough as it was to admit, Zoe had raised many good points, the most important of which was that he needed her. Zoe’s parents were Sam’s guardians, which put them at a legal advantage. Emotionally, they also had the upper hand since they knew Sam and understood how she would react to his sudden appearance in her life. He’d foolishly thought he’d be rescuing her from hell and she’d greet him with open arms. Zoe made him realize Sam might well resent him for all the years she’d suffered in foster care, and now that he thought about it, such a reaction would be understandable.

No fourteen-year-old would be able to rationalize the situation enough to forgive and forget immediately, no matter how much he wished otherwise. Still, he tried to play devil’s advocate, to think through all possibilities. Though there was a chance that Zoe was trying to discourage him with her warnings about Sam’s defense mechanisms springing into place, he decided it was unlikely Zoe would lie about something so important.

As an attorney, he’d learned to read people and trust his instincts, and Zoe Costas, for all her family’s eccentricity, seemed to be honest and upfront. Most important, it was obvious that she loved Sam—enough not to put her emotions at risk. He felt the same way, and that’s why he’d agreed not to rush into revealing who he was.

An hour after she’d uncovered his real identity, the last of the guests had left the party and only the family remained gathered in the family room. They were a large group, Elena and her husband, Nicholas; Zoe’s twin, Ari, and her husband, ex-cop Quinn Donovan; Quinn’s best friend, Connor Brennan, and his fiancée, Maria; Nicholas’s sister, Kassie, who owned a local diner called Paradeisos; a man named Gus; Elena’s sister, Dee, and her husband, John…the list went on and on.

All except for the monkey, who thankfully had departed with her trainer, but not before dropping her pants and mooning the crowd one last time. Sam had slipped the monkey five dollars, tucking the folded bill into the white lace panties beneath the primate’s dress. Spank had changed clothing before leaving, much as a bride would prior to her departure with her groom.

Ryan had been speechless. He still couldn’t believe this day, which had been filled with one shock after another. Had his family seen the spectacle of that monkey, his mother would have passed out on the spot while his father would have called for Hilton, the butler, to show the animal to the door. The only one in his family Ryan could picture enjoying the animal was Faith, and she was long gone. Only her daughter remained, her legacy and a testament to her free spirit.

With the huge family surrounding him, he sensed the surprises weren’t over yet. There weren’t enough chairs to hold all the relatives, but no one seemed to mind, and though he tried to give any one of the women his seat, they’d refused. He was the guest, they’d informed him. He knew they meant the social worker and all were on their best behavior.

Only Sam seemed oblivious to his presence as she bounced from person to person, begging for clues about her birthday gift. Nobody was speaking on the subject, leaving both Sam and Ryan in the dark.

Without warning, Ryan heard a drumroll and turned to see Nicholas playing a small set of drums, deliberately building anticipation.

“Come on; I want to see!” Sam said, her enthusiasm tangible and contagious.

Even his stomach churned with unfamiliar excitement. Growing up, the most exciting birthday gift his parents had ever given him was a savings bond. At least he’d had Uncle Russ, his father’s brother, for the kind of fun gifts a kid needed, like a bike or the latest gadget.

This large gathering and the love in the room was as alien to him as the young girl who was his niece. Not for the first time, he realized he had his work cut out for him when it came to winning her trust.

He glanced at Zoe, who sat on the arm of the sofa beside him. By the way she glared at him when she sensed no one else was looking, she obviously hadn’t forgiven him for his lie. Despite the fact that they were adversaries, she hadn’t thrown him out, at least not yet. Instead, he sensed that for the time being, they were on the same