Zoe nodded. "I know." Sam's happy mood made it clear she hadn't been the recipient of Ryan's news. But that wasn't the only reason Zoe was sure Sam remained in the dark. "I guess I trust you a little," she admitted.
He raised an eyebrow. "I can tell by the way you came barreling out of the house that you weren't at all concerned about me being alone with her," Ryan said wryly.
She laughed at being caught red-handed. "Yeah, well, I think I decided I trusted you about the time I found out you bought Sam the book on pigs."
"If she wants to keep a pet, she should learn how to care for it properly."
Zoe had a hunch she knew where this was heading. "You mean she should follow the rules."
He nodded. "Exactly."
Zoe dug her sneakered toe into the mound of dirt and grass he'd excavated and searched for a diplomatic reply. "Look, Ryan, I realize you mean well and everything, but you should know, the chances of that pig being well trained while living in this house are slim to none."
"That's the wrong attitude to take. You can't go into a long-term commitment like pet ownership on a negative note."
"I'm not. It's just that to train an animal, you need consistency. Everyone who has daily contact with the pig has to do the same thing and in this insane asylum, it's better not to hold out false hope." She shook her head and laughed at herself, realizing she was beating around the point she wanted to make. "Look at it this way. Ari and I turned out just fine. Ima Pig will survive, too." She gave him a direct look. "But I'm really not talking about Ima."
He met her gaze, his brown eyes serious. "I figured that."
"You need to know that Sam's not a follow-the-rules type of kid. And you need to respect who she is as a person." At that moment, Zoe realized she was, in a way, preparing Ryan in case he should end up with Sam.
The thought caused a sharp pain in her heart along with a gaping hole she couldn't cope with right now. But she'd be doing a disservice to both Sam and Ryan if she didn't face the possibility of losing her.
He walked over to a bench and sat down, leaning back against the white iron. "Five minutes alone with her and I knew she was more like her mother than I'd expected." He gazed up at the sky as if there were answers and explanations there. "My family stifled Faith."
Zoe had suspected as much. "And that can't happen to Sam."
Ryan nodded. "I know." He understood what Zoe meant, so much more than she realized.
His sister had stepped out of the bounds of what his family considered proper and she'd paid for her so-called crime by being disowned. Often he had wondered if his father had been glad Faith had disappeared because that way he wouldn't have to acknowledge her problems and addiction. But then he'd heard his mother's muffled crying and known he didn't comprehend as much as he'd thought.
For fear of being cut off from the only life and family he'd known, Ryan had walked the straight and narrow long after Faith had gone. Though his sister had been weak and an addict, she'd had the strength to stand on her own until the end. In an absurd way, he admired her for it.
"Ryan?" Zoe's hand on his arm and her soft voice called to him.
He knew he shouldn't be affected by her, knew he was lying to her family about being a social worker while planning to take his sister's child away with him. He didn't want to want her, yet he did. He couldn't deny the attraction and had a hunch he couldn't avoid acting on it, either.
"Ryan?" she called him again.
"Hmm?"
"I asked why you reacted so strongly to the mistake with the daffodils."
He laughed because he wasn't sure this subject was any easier to tackle than his growing desire for Zoe.
Standing, he walked back toward the patch of dirt. "My grandmother Edna grows roses. She has a garden that I suspect means more to her than any of her children."
"And heaven help the little heathen who hits a baseball into the bushes and tramples the flowers to retrieve it?" She waggled her eyebrows in an attempt to soften the blow of her words, something Zoe seemed to accomplish with ease.
"That about sums it up."
"Trust me, Elena won't bat an eyelash at her lost bulbs. In November, she'll just wake me at dawn to replant."
He grinned. "Thank you for that."
She narrowed her gaze, a small crease forming between her eyebrows. "For what?"
He shrugged. "I'm not sure. For being you maybe? Here we are, two people who couldn't have more at stake or be more at odds and yet you seem to care about my feelings, anyway."
To his surprise, she actually blushed. "It's one of my shortcomings I guess. I blame those Costas genes. We're suckers for people we like."
He stepped closer. "And you like me."
Her lips curved in a reluctant smile. "Yeah. More so when you forget you're a conservative suit-and-tie kind of guy. Like now." Her gaze fell to his bare chest and remained.
Her stare was obvious and seductive, making him feel like he was bathed in light, and not because the summer sun shone hot above them. Zoe managed to brighten his life during what should be a dark time. She confused and confounded him because she was the opposite of everything he was taught to value in life.
But here they were and he wasn't walking away. Neither was she, and her approving gaze became the permission he needed to take the kiss he desired.
Ryan brought his hands up, cupping her face between his palms. "I like you, too."
"Oh." Her tongue darted out and swept across her lower lip, moistening her mouth.
Unable to resist, he lowered his head and captured her lips with his. He immediately discovered the chemistry between them from the moment they'd met paled in comparison to the passion that flared to life now. She tasted sweet and his desire for her grew. He slid his tongue over the seam of her lips and demanded she let him inside.
With a welcoming groan, she gave what he asked for, his tongue touching and tangling with hers. He wanted to possess her completely, to learn the deep secrets she kept and he explored thoroughly with his tongue to accomplish that goal. Needing to feel her against him, he moved his hands from her face, down her back, pausing on her behind as he pulled her close until her body was flush with his.
She came willingly and nestled into the V of his legs, fitting like she belonged. He was rock hard, something she clearly recognized when she shifted her hips so his erection nestled in even more snugly between her thighs.
Her heat beckoned to him, making him want to toss her onto the ground and make love to her right here, outside, damn whoever might see.