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She understood and had to force herself to focus on their predicah and look the other way"

"What's the gift?" he asked warily

"You'll see" Despite herself, she couldn't help but grin

RYAN TRIED TO MAKE HIMSELF comfortable at the party With the truth out in the open between hied a bullet and also knew for a fact that he'd bought hih as it was to adood points, the most important of which was that he needed her Zoe's parents were Sae 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 froreet hiht 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 hi into place, he decided it was unlikely Zoe would lie about so 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 ih not to put her ereed 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 faroup, 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, ned 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 andthe crowd one last ti the folded bill into the white-lace panties beneath the pri, room

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 fa the anihter reacy and a testa him, he sensed the surprises weren't over yet There weren't enough chairs to hold all the relatives, but no one seeive any one of the wouest, they'd info rmed 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 froift Nobody was speaking on the subject, leaving both Sa, Ryan heard a dru a s anticipation

"Coible and contagious

Even his sto up, the iven his 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