Page 85 of Summer of Love (Costas Sisters 2)
Why?
Fear had motivated her, just like Ryan had said.
And now? What had changed in her mind? She bit down on her lower lip. She was still scared of the emotions and the intensity they shared. Only now she saw things clearly, and she was much more afraid of losing him than she was of giving them a try.
Ryan had already found his balance in life. It was time she showed him she had done the same. And she knew exactly what she had to do in order to prove herself to him. She only hoped it wasn’t too late or else she was doomed to spend the future alone. Because an intensity and love like she shared with Ryan only came around once in a lifetime.
Ryan sat in his office, legal pad in front of him, case files surrounding him, but his concentration wasn’t on work. Instead, all he could focus on was Zoe. Ryan had every intention of telling her family about his decision to let them raise Sam, and he planned to tell them in person. He didn’t want to delay the revelation because he understood how much pain and misery was involved in preparing to say goodbye.
But his plans to leave immediately had been cut short when one of his partners had been rushed to the hospital with appendicitis. Ryan had stepped in to take over the workload. As a result, the soonest he could leave for New Jersey would be this coming weekend.
Not that it mattered. Whether he left for Jersey late Friday night or early Saturday morning, beach traffic would prolong his commute. And no matter when he made the trip, he’d still have hours alone in the car to think about all the things he could and should say to Zoe. Not that any of them would make a damn bit of difference. Apparently, in his world, I love you was destined to be a one-way street.
He glanced down at the empty pad when the buzzer on his intercom rang. Ryan ignored it, hoping Nadine would take the hint and assume he was busy. Unfortunately, she was persistent, and suddenly the buzzer turned into knocking on his office door.
“Come on in,” he called, annoyed with the interruption.
Steeling himself to deal with the intruder when he wanted nothing more than to be alone, he glanced up. Zoe was the last person he expected to see standing in the doorway. But there she was. Wearing her trademark miniskirt and not much of a top that fell seductively off one shoulder, she looked tanned and as fresh as the summer morning.
He couldn’t deny the absolute pleasure he took on seeing her here in his office, on his turf. Coming to him.
“Hi,” she said, lifting one hand in a hesitant wave. Her expression was just as wary, and since uncertainty wasn’t something he normally associated with Zoe, Ryan was immediately on guard.
Still, she’d made the trip here, and his heart leaped in his chest. He rose, not bothering to hide his surprise at seeing her. “What are you doing here?”
She shut the door behind her. “I needed to talk to you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’ve called every couple of days to speak with Sam. You’ve avoided every possible opportunity to talk.”
Though he didn’t know why she was here, he wasn’t about to make this visit easy or let her off the hook without an explanation. Surely he deserved that much from the only woman to whom he’d ever professed his love.
“I’ve been working long hours.”
“So have I,” he said, pointing to the stacks around his desk. “But that didn’t stop me from calling the people I care about.”
She briefly bowed her head. “You’re going to make me work for this, aren’t you?”
“Work for what?” he asked her. “I have no idea why you’re here or what you want.”
And Zoe wondered if he even cared anymore. She swallowed hard and resisted the urge to wipe her sweaty palms against her skirt. Nobody promised her an easy meeting, and certainly, nobody had guaranteed her the happy ending she wanted. For all she knew, there would be no second chances for herself and Ryan.
She stepped forward, coming up close to his desk. “When I met you, I thought I knew who I was and what I wanted out of life. Or at least I told myself I knew.”
He waited, his steely gaze never leaving hers.
“I thought I was a hot-shot ex-fed who was about to start her own business and have it all.” She shook her head at her naïveté. “I told myself I hadn’t fallen in love and it just wasn’t in the cards for me. Then you came along in your suit and tie and your uptight ideas about rules and propriety, and I was so damn sure I could handle the attraction.”
