Summer Lovin by Carly Phillips Read Free Book Online Page A

friends and we don’t want Ryan Baldwin loose in town, asking questions and stirring up trouble. So use that chemistry to your advantage and when you can’t be with Sam, make it your business to be all over Baldwin. From what I noticed in the kitchen last night, you won’t find the assignment a hardship.” A smart-ass smirk was on Quinn’s face while Connor was doing his best not to snicker.
    Zoe strode up to the desk and leaned forward. Nose to nose, she warned him, “You keep this up and I’ll tell Ari you’re smoking the occasional cigar. You’ll be sleeping on the couch for at least a week.” Zoe stood straight, folded her arms over her chest and grinned. “We both know even one night without my sister would be a hardship.”
    Quinn let out a laugh. “See now this is why I agreed to this partnership. You give as good as you get and you don’t get on my nerves—much,” he added, with a wink. “Listen, Zoe, all kidding aside, we need you to stick close to this guy.”
    She nodded, understanding how serious this was. “I will.”
    â€œBut watch yourself,” Connor said. “There’s no good outcome on this one, and if you get involved, you could end up hurt.”
    This time it was Zoe’s turn to laugh. “Not a chance, guys. To be hurt, you have to fall for a guy and that’s definitely not my MO.”
    Both men snorted. “Like it was either one of ours?” Connor asked.
    â€œHey, just because the two of you are now whipped doesn’t mean I’ll end up the same way.”
    She didn’t intend to live by her parents’ example. Her parents were and always had been head over heels in love, which usually meant stormy disagreements and heated apologies that ended up with them in the bedroom, locked inside for hours. She and Ari had learned to keep themselves busy during those times, though at such a young age she probably shouldn’t have been aware of what the glow on her mother’s face afterward really meant. But they shared a romantic, storybook kind of love.
    The give and take between her parents represented the best in a relationship, but they’d married young. And the older Zoe got, the more she feared that settling down with any man after all her years alone would mean compromises that would chip away at the essence of who she was. A person that was still too undefined, she thought.
    Zoe had had her share of relationships and men. If love had been in the cards, she would have definitely discovered it by now. At the very least, she’d have been through devastating heartbreak. Instead she’d been disappointed at times, hurt on occasion, but she’d always bounced back, never truly having had her heart broken. Never having said, I love you.
    â€œI guess it’s not in my genetic makeup, so I’ll hang around with Ryan Baldwin and keep a close eye on him.” A very close, admiring eye.
    â€œJust be careful,” Quinn said. “I don’t want you hurt. You’re like a sister to me and if Baldwin turns out to be who he claims he is, I’d hate like hell to have to beat the crap out of Sam’s uncle.” He slammed his hand on the desk and muttered a succinct curse. “Uncle. This is going to kill everyone involved.”
    Connor nodded. “Let’s just hope like hell we find dirt on his family and maybe then there’ll be some way Zoe’s parents can keep Sam.”
    Zoe shuddered. The entire situation was a mess she couldn’t begin to decipher. Instead, she waved at her partners and headed home—before Ryan could show up and possibly alert her parents or Sam to the fact that something was wrong.

Chapter Three
    A FTER THE MEETING at the office, Zoe rushed home, skipping lunch because she was determined to get there before Ryan showed up for his visit. She’d expected to find Sam cuddled up with the pig near his cage. Instead the