How do you know until you try? Zoey would always ask.
And it always worked out.
Naturally it wouldn’t be that simple for her. But she could try.
She had to relax and stop overthinking. This night was all about Tia and Tio, and she didn’t want anything to take the focus off them. Family was coming from as far as Hollister and pretty much everyone they’d ever worked with while running the pet store for decades would be there.
It meant that half the town was invited, so the party had to be held at a rented hall in town. The catering had been done by a friend of Zoey’s, Kayla, who was a wonderful chef and baker. It would be good to connect with old friends and family tonight, and Zoey needed to put her energy there and not on what it would be like to be out on a date with Ryan Davis. She would be on a date with Ryan. A fantasy she’d replayed often enough in her head even if clothing, of any type, hadn’t been involved.
After she’d changed from a pair of cute wedge sandals that gave her height and were easy to walk in to a pair of flats that would be easier to dance in all night (should the case arise), then back to the wedges and finally back to the flats again, Ryan arrived. Looking at him, she’d have bet he hadn’t agonized over anything tonight. Still, he looked amazing in black slacks and a blue button-down. Blue.
“Hey, we match,” Zoey said inanely as she stepped outside.
“Told you I give great date,” Ryan said as he opened the passenger door for her. “I planned that.”
“Really?”
He chuckled, coming around to slide into the driver’s seat. “No. Just teasing you.”
Of course. There would probably be a lot of big-brother teasing tonight, maybe even some head pats. It was her fault. She hadn’t ever done anything to show him that she’d like the trajectory of their relationship to change. If she wanted a shift it had to start with her. Tonight. Ryan would otherwise be the perfect gentleman.
“Jill said Carly met Levi a few weeks after your date with her,” Zoey said to fill the silence as he drove.
“Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
“Are you a good luck charm, sheriff? One date with you and then a girl meets the man of her dreams?”
This was her feeble attempt at flirting, but it didn’t seem to go over well.
He didn’t answer for a minute but simply cast her a sidelong glance before he turned his gaze back to the road. “I live to serve.”
While that had her wondering how many women he’d “served,” she understood it wasn’t what he’d meant. Best to get her mind out of the gutter.
The hall was filling up by the time they arrived and, no big shock, Ryan was stopped several times by residents wanting to say hello. Zoey was surprised when he took her hand after a few pleasantries and drew them away from all the well-wishers. His big warm hand swallowed hers and gave a sharp and thrilling tingle. Inside, there was a nice-sized dance floor and a DJ. Dessert and wine bars were set up in opposite corners of the room. Large banners read, Congratulations Gloria and Raul... A Partnership Forty Years in the Making. Balloons were everywhere.
They walked hand in hand to the courtyard outside, which was strung with fairy lights.
“This is great,” Ryan said, letting go of her hand. “No less than they deserve for hanging in there forty years.”
She smiled up at him and batted her eyelashes. One lash got stuck. She blinked and had to use her finger to push it back out of her eye. Stupid mascara. “D-do you think you could do it?”
“Is that a trick question?”
Embarrassed, she tucked her hair behind her ears. “I’m not sure I could. Forty years is a long time.”
“Long time to put up with someone else, that’s for sure. I’m not the best person to ask since I didn’t even last six months in an engagement.”
“Maybe she just wasn’t the right one.”
“No maybe about it.” Ryan glanced around the room. “Where are the folks, anyway? I want to say hello.”
With the sea of people in the room, for a minute it was hard to locate Tia and Tio. But it should have been easy enough to do. They were the couple flitting about the room together, making sure everyone else was having a good time.
“Mr. Sheriff!” Tia said as she approached them, arms wide. “Have a wonderful time here tonight.”
“Yes,” Tio added, clapping Ryan’s back. “We want to celebrate with all our friends and family.”
“Congratulations.” Ryan shook Tio’s hand and accepted Tia’s hug. “But this is about you. You two should enjoy this night.”
He’d taken the words right out of Zoey’s mouth. For once she wanted her hardworking folks to relax and enjoy the evening. But she also realized that this was what gave them joy, simply being surrounded by loved ones and tending to their needs instead of their own. Their only need was each other.
The DJ played a Selena ballad, “I Could Fall in Love,” and Tio drew Tia to the dance floor. “This is our song, mi amor.”
“Love those two,” Ryan said as the older couple drifted to the dance floor and joined the crowd.
“I’m so lucky they’re my family.”
“Want to dance?” Ryan smiled and a single dimple appeared in his cheek.
Gosh, if he gave her a smile like that again she’d do almost anything. But it might be bad luck to dance with him to a song in which a woman sings about falling head over heels for a man, right or wrong. Turned out Zoey didn’t have much of a choice in the matter because Ryan gently took her hand and lured her to the dance floor. He pulled her close and strong hands settled on her waist.
Enjoying being pressed up against him this way, she curved her fingers around the nape of his neck because that was what couples did when they danced. She only glanced up at him once and it was all too much. He was so close and he smelled so wonderful. Feeling shy, she brought her chin down, which meant she stared at his neck for a while since he was nearly a foot taller. How she wanted to kiss that neck and bury her face in it. She must have dreamed of kissing him at least a hundred times.
I could fall in love Selena crooned, a heartsick woman. And I know it’s not right...
Snap out of it, Zoey!
She had a sudden random thought that should accomplish her purposes. “Did you dance like this with Carly?”
She expected to hear him say yes, because of course they’d danced together, and he probably danced like this with everyone. Why not? He was a wonderful dancer.
“No.” Then he pulled her even closer.
Okay, so much for snapping out of it. Much closer to him and she wasn’t going to be able to move. And she didn’t want to. Pulling together every last reserve of courage she owned, Zoey tipped her chin to look him in the eyes. Very beautiful green eyes that weren’t smiling and teasing her with a joke. He wasn’t lying. Tonight was different for him somehow. Just as it was for her. She couldn’t look away as something shifted and the air turned to a thick coil of electricity between them.
She fixated on his lips. “Ryan—”
A commotion at the entrance to the hall caused Zoey to turn to see who had arrived. Possibly the mayor, who of course had been invited, and would want to attend simply to reward Tia and Tio for being such a vital part of the community for so many years. But it wasn’t the mayor. Zoey saw someone who had not been expected tonight, or any other night, at least not in Fortune.
Not at all.
Chapter 10
Ryan wouldn’t have had to be looking deeply into Zoey’s brown eyes to know something was wrong. He sensed it in the way her entire body stiffened in his arms and she stopped the rhythmic movements of her body brushing against his and driving him crazy.
“She’s...she didn’t...”
“What’s wrong?” he asked, following her gaze to the group of people who had entered.
At the center was a woman dressed
in a sparkling floor-length black gown. She looked as if she was about to present an award at the Oscars. Total dress code overkill.
“It’s my mother,” she said with all the enthusiasm of a prisoner headed to death row. “She didn’t say she was coming.”
“Surprise, huh?”
“She excels at them.”
Zoey’s mother was flanked by a couple of well-dressed men in dark suits who followed her every move. Bodyguards? He hated to break it to her but this was Fortune, and she wouldn’t need a security detail. She opened her arms wide to Gloria and Raul, covering them both in kisses.
“I can’t believe you made it,” Gloria said. “How wonderful.”
“There’s no way I would miss this occasion. I wanted to surprise you both. Surprised?”
More kisses and hugs followed. Clearly Gloria and Raul were ecstatic to see Veronica. Meanwhile, Zoey had turned to stone next to him. He squeezed her hand. Ryan understood that Zoey hadn’t been close to her mother since she moved to Mexico years ago to pursue an acting career. But the tension and hostility that he felt radiating from her surprised him.
Veronica approached, one of the men following close behind her. “Zoey! How I’ve missed you. It’s been too long. You remember Jorge?”
“Hi, Mami,” Zoey said, though it sounded muffled when she was pressed up against Veronica’s ample chest.
The older man with a salt-and-pepper goatee shook Ryan’s hand and introduced himself as Veronica’s fiancé. When he moved toward Zoey, Ryan didn’t miss the way she took a huge step back. Fortunately that meant her back bumped into him giving him the opportunity to haul her closer while he tried to decipher what this meant. Because she’d flinched when Jorge approached. There was no doubt about it. He was sure anyone paying attention would have noticed.
“It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Veronica Milagros Caballero-Castillo, Zoey’s mother.”
Veronica, who apparently didn’t believe in brevity, smiled, shook his hand between both of hers and then embraced him. Clearly, Zoey’s mother was a hugger. He didn’t mind. It struck him that her entire demeanor, but particularly the way she dressed and presented herself, was the opposite of Zoey.
“Nice to meet you both. I’m Ryan Davis.”
“Zoey, you didn’t mention that you have a handsome boyfriend,” Veronica said, running her hand down his arm. “He’s—”
“The sheriff,” Zoey interrupted.
“And Zoey’s friend.” He was irritated that she would relegate him to his job and nothing more.
He hadn’t thought it was just him who’d had a moment on the dance floor. A moment when she’d lowered her defenses, stared him in the eyes and let him in just a little bit.
“The sheriff, oh my,” Veronica said. “You’re good-looking enough to be an actor. Isn’t he, Jorge?”
“Absolutely.” Jorge spoke in a heavy accent.
“He’s too busy protecting the people of Fortune,” Zoey said with such force that everyone stared, speechless.
Apparently only now realizing the hostility in her delivery, if not her words, Zoey pulled out of his arms. “I’m sorry,” she said and stalked away.
“Oh, no,” Veronica said, watching her walk away. “What did I say?”
“Don’t worry.” Gloria put an arm around Veronica. “She’s never been good with surprises. I’m sure she will explain later, probably with another apology.”
“I’m going to go talk to her,” Ryan said and followed her.
She’d headed to the courtyard, a good idea if she needed to cool off. Also a good idea for the privacy he’d need to ask her a few questions. Because he’d seen a woman flinch in front of a man once before, and it hadn’t come with a good backstory.
For a moment he stared at her figure in that sexy blue dress she wore, her back to him in the darkness, the blinking outdoor lights creating random shadows in her dark hair. Not for the first time he noticed that Zoey was incredibly beautiful. She tried hard not to be but there wasn’t much she could do about it. Her beauty was classic and understated. Rare. But she wasn’t the type of woman to enter a room and cause heads to turn. Instead she was the woman you noticed after a while and then wondered how you could have possibly missed her.
She turned to him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so rude.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” He drew closer until he was only inches from her. “Want to tell me what happened?”
Her lower lip quivered and she seemed to fight back tears. “For once, I don’t want my mother to walk into a room and steal all the attention from her sister. She’s been doing that all of her life and on a night like this I thought maybe she’d be kind enough to stay away.”
“So that’s what this is about. You’re upset for your aunt.” He took her hand, tugging her even closer. Her arms immediately came around his waist.
She nodded. “Mami always needs to be the center of everything. And that man. Jorge.”
“Yeah?” he said, hoping she’d go on without him having to play twenty questions. That always went so well.
“I don’t like him much. She shouldn’t have brought him here.”
“Her fiancé?”
“I didn’t know he was her fiancé. He used to be her movie director.”
He tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “And you know him.”
“Yeah. I know he’s creepy.”
He tensed, every muscle in his body at high alert. Rigid. “Tell me.”
“No. I don’t want to talk about it.”
While he silently wondered if his sheriff’s badge was also going to be an obstacle between him and Zoey talking honestly, he thought better of pushing her. But damn he was so over people he wanted to help not talking to him. Not wanting to share with him what was wrong so he could fix it.
And there was always the possibility that Zoey didn’t want or need his help. “I’ll keep him away from you.”
“That’s all I can ask.”
He tipped her chin to meet his eyes. “Actually, you could ask a lot more from me than that.”
“R-really?” She blinked up at him. “Like what?”
“Anything you want. I think you know that tonight, this thing between us, is different. I took Carly to a wedding but we didn’t dance the way you and I just did. And I didn’t follow her outside just so that I could be alone with her.”
“I like hearing that.” Her hands drifted up to his neck.
“Then tell me I’m not alone here.” He focused on her full sensual lips, the bottom one slightly pouty.
She shook her head. “You’re not. I’ve always—”
But she didn’t finish that sentence because he covered her mouth in a kiss. He’d meant it to be a short, sweet kiss. Testing the waters. But the way she responded to him revved him up as much as when she’d moved against him on the dance floor. He couldn’t have imagined in his wildest fantasies that he and Zoey would have this kind of explosive chemistry.
Whatever her skill level, she made up for it in enthusiasm. And she wasn’t just enthusiastic, she could kiss a man’s lips off. A new song now played, and the sound of Thomas Rhett singing “Die a Happy Man” drifted outdoors into the cool summer evening. Ryan could definitely die a happy man at this moment.
He broke the kiss before it got out of control but even then all he managed to do was stare into her eyes. They weren’t as dark as her hair, but a lighter brown with hints of copper in them.
“Is this really happening? Because I think I’m dreaming.” Her smile was tentative and her eyes soft and glittering.
He pressed his forehead to hers and reminded himself to cool down. Her entire family and half the town was inside and he’d have bet money their privacy wouldn’t last much longer.
“Querida,” a soft voice said from behind them, assuring him he’d have won that bet. They
both turned to see Veronica. “Can I talk to you...now?”
Ryan squeezed Zoey’s hand and waited. He wasn’t going anywhere until she told him to go. He didn’t care if Veronica was her mother. Something, he still didn’t know what, had happened to Zoey and he had a strong suspicion that no one had protected her. That would stop tonight.
“Um, okay.” Zoey’s hand rose to touch his arm gently and she looked up at him. “I’m fine, Ryan.”
“I’ll be right inside.”
* * *
Zoey couldn’t breathe. First, Ryan had kissed her, he’d kissed her, and that kiss exceeded her biggest fantasies. His kisses matched the way he looked: breathtaking. Now Veronica stood before her, staring with a mixture of confusion and awe. Because, hello, Ryan.
“I’m sorry I was rude,” Zoey began. She’d been raised to respect her elders and she always had. Even when they were wrong.
“No need. I’ve missed you so much, and I don’t want us to be mad with each other. What can I do to make this better?”
Stop stealing the show. Let Tia shine for once because she deserves it even if she doesn’t want it.
Keep that man away from me.
Protect me.
“Did you have to bring him?” Zoe said.
“Who? You mean Jorge?”
“Yes, Jorge, and since when is he your fiancé?”
“That all happened recently, and I wanted to tell you in person. We’ve grown so close over the years. All the movies we’ve made together. He’s been there for me. Paved the way. Defended me from jealous co-stars who wanted my parts. You understand. I see that your young man is quite protective, as well.”
Zoey almost gagged over the comparison between the two men. Ryan was nothing like Jorge. “I don’t think Jorge is protective of you.”
“Well, you don’t really know him yet.”
“I met him when I visited you.”
“Yes, that’s right. Just that once. It was right after I’d finished filming Mujer Bonita and we were celebrating. All those parties.”
Zoey took a big breath and wished for strength. “I remember that party, the one where you wanted us to dress alike.”
Home for a Hero Page 8
