"Right here waiting for my hug." Ari grinned.
Zoe turned, happy to see her twin and share the party with her. Gone were the days when a little voice in her head wished that just once she could be the center of attention without splitting it with her sister. Those had been her teenage years, but once Ari had left for Vermont , Zoe had come to realize just how much she hated having that particular wish come true.
It wasn't a birthday if she didn't celebrate with her twin, Zoe realized now and met her sister's gaze. "So they ambushed you first?" Zoe asked.
Ari nodded. "Five minutes before you. They wanted to try and manage the surprise at the same time, but Quinn got me here early, just in time to share your surprise. I'm so glad I'm home to celebrate this birthday with you."
"I was just thinking the same thing." Zoe's heart filled as she looked at her twin. If not for Zoe's fake death last year, Ari might not have come home and healed old wounds at all, Ari might not have met Quinn, Quinn wouldn't have introduced them to Sam….
Apparently Zoe's troublemaking had led to many positive things, she thought with amusement. "None of our birthdays were the same while you were gone."
"Mine were so lonely," Ari said softly, then shook her head as if ridding her mind of the past. "But no longer." She stepped back and grinned. "I've got my family, I've got you, and I've got Quinn. And you've got the hottie social worker who isn't a social worker," she said, lowering her voice. "Be careful, Zoe."
She nodded, appreciating her twin's concern. Despite their time apart, Ari still knew Zoe well and she obviously sensed the truth— that her attraction to Ryan was potent and overwhelming, even though the fact of his presence alone could have a negative effect on the family.
Zoe drew her tongue over her lower lip. "I'll watch myself. I have to." She only hoped she'd heed her words when faced with temptation, she thought, glancing at the man himself.
He waited off to one side, standing by himself, a man alone in a crowd of people. Not an easy feat in her family. Just watching his solitary presence caused her heart to skip a beat. She wanted to help ease his discomfort and assimilation into the clan. The attraction was strong, but so was the emotional pull.
Unable to explain it and unable to ignore him and leave him suffering alone, Zoe told Ari she'd catch up with her later and headed to join Ryan.
"Hi there," she said, coming up beside him.
"Hi." He shoved his hands into his pants pocket.
Sexy khakis that, although neatly pressed and probably expensive, still gave him a more casual look than usual and she couldn't help but admire the fit. Wondering if his thighs were as strong as she thought or how they would feel pressed hard against her own.
At her thoughts, she didn't just swallow hard, she gulped. "I guess some thanks are in order," she said, opting for the safe subject of his role in bringing her to the party.
Though aware all prying eyes of her family were on them, she stepped closer, anyway. His musky scent enveloped her, reminding her of the sensual dreams he'd inspired lately.
He grinned. "If you want to say a proper thanks, I can't say I'd stop you," he said, his voice husky and deep.
Zoe was so far gone with thoughts of being alone with Ryan that she immediately took his words as sexually charged innuendo and her body responded. Heat spread through her belly, and dampness pooled between her thighs.
"You're cute, Baldwin, but I'm not dumb enough to make out with you in front of the whole clan."
"Not even a quick peck on the cheek?" he asked.
"How about later?" She spoke quickly, before she could think it through or change her mind.
"Be sure," he warned her, sounding like a man on the edge.
"I am." The man might be trouble of the deepest kind. He might represent a heartbreak to her family. Yet Zoe was so drawn to him, so mentally involved already, she couldn't control what she now believed was inevitable.
In her mind, she was making a promise she absolutely intended to keep.
At her reply, a low groan reverberated from deep in his throat, cut off because at that moment the jukebox began to play and her family began to clap and dance, drowning out any chance at conversation.
She exhaled hard, aware of the break they'd just been given, knowing it was just a temporary reprieve. Still, she wasn't about to let the relatives separate her from Ryan. He'd asked her out on a date and she wanted to spend the evening with him. Before one of her cousins could drag her off, she grabbed Ryan's hand. They spent the night in true Costas style, eating, dancing and eating some more.
Her male relatives pulled Ryan aside and although she pitied him, she decided to let them have some fun. Ryan could handle any question they threw at him and since they believed him to be Sam's social worker, he wouldn't be subjected to questions about his manliness, as Zoe's and Ari's past boyfriends had been, she thought wryly.
Stifling a laugh, she turned to find her mother standing by her side.
"It's so good to see you happy," Elena said.
Zoe shot her mother a sideways glance. "I'm always happy." She paused. "Aren't I?"
Her mother shrugged. "I suppose, but you have a light in your eyes I haven't seen in quite some time. Maybe never. I like to see it and I bet that nice Mr. Baldwin has something to do with putting it there."
Zoe shuffled her feet and did her best not to look around for Ryan, lest she give credence to her mother's innuendo. "Maybe it's just turning thirty. It's a good age."
"Ha." Elena waved a hand dismissively. "Now come with me. I have something special for your birthday."
She followed her mother to the back of the restaurant where there was a small party room. "What's going on?" Zoe asked.
"Just a game to make the party more fun."
Zoe rolled her eyes. "Ari and I are too old for games."
"Not this kind." Elena held a scarf in front of Zoe's face.
"Isn't that from Sam's party? Orlando Bloom's not quite my speed, Mom."
"That's because he was too flat." Her mother wrapped the scarf around Zoe's eyes. "Your surprise is real."
Zoe tried to pull the scarf off, but her mother slapped her hands, then turned her around three times, making her dizzy by the time she stopped.
"Okay, now go." Elena kissed Zoe's cheek and pushed her forward.
From behind her, Zoe could have sworn she heard Elena tell her to "Go pin the hard-on Ryan Baldwin."
* * *
ZOE'S AUNT KASSIE had walked Ryan into the back room in the guise of showing him the rest of the restaurant. She left him there and asked him to wait a minute and she'd be right back because she needed his help with Zoe's birthday gift. Enough time had gone by that he figured he'd been had, when a blindfolded Zoe stumbled inside and the door slammed shut behind her.