acted out, impulsively deleting engineering schematics that had cost his company millions of dollars. Everly wanted him to pay for leading her sister on and then turning his back on her. From the picture Everly had painted of him, Zoe easily perceived him as someone who deserved payback.
But how was she to reconcile that version of Ryan with the man she’d met? The disconnect worried Zoe and made her question the wisdom of what she’d joined Susannah’s campaign intending to do.
“Where can I pick you up?” he asked, interrupting her train of thought.
Zoe shook her head. He would expect her to be renting an apartment or a house. Her living arrangements were far less conventional and he would ask too many questions she didn’t want to answer.
“How about I meet you at the restaurant?” she suggested.
His eyes narrowed as he surveyed her. “How do I know you’ll show up?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“That’s an interesting question.” He leaned forward and his powerful presence enveloped her. “There’s something about you I can’t put my finger on, but you intrigue me.”
His declaration gave Zoe goose bumps. And only some of them were the good kind.
“Me?” She huffed out a laugh and shook her head. “That’s funny. There’s not a single interesting thing about me.”
“Let me be the judge of that. I’m looking forward to getting to know you much better. How about we meet at Charleston Grill at seven?”
The last thing Zoe wanted to do was to eat anywhere close to downtown Charleston where she might run into someone she knew.
“That’s a little too fancy for me,” she said, thinking fast. “How about Bertha’s Kitchen at six?”
The iconic soul food restaurant was located in North Charleston and famous for its fried chicken and Southern sides. The hearty helpings of delicious soul food were served cafeteria-style on no-frills foam plates. Not necessarily a place she’d expect a wealthy businessman like Ryan to dine.
To her surprise, he nodded without hesitation. “I’ll see you at six.” He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Here’s my number if anything changes.” When she started to pull it from his fingers, Ryan tightened his grip. “But you have to know I’ll be crushed if you stand me up.”
She doubted that anything could crush him, but rushed to assure him. “I won’t.”
With a quick, heart-stopping smile, he got to his feet. “See you tomorrow, Zoe Alston.”
“See you tomorrow,” she echoed faintly, her whole body buzzing with energy. “Ryan Dailey.”
* * *
Buzzing with satisfaction, Ryan headed for his sister’s office. As he entered, Susannah leaned back in her executive chair and the springs creaked ominously. Although his sister had more than enough money to furnish her campaign office with all new furniture, she’d chosen to downplay her wealth by sticking to a strict budget.
“Thanks for calling me with a heads-up that Zoe had returned,” he said, sliding into one of her guest chairs.
“I’m always happy to help out my big brother.” Susannah was five minutes younger than Ryan, but her serious nature had always made her seem years older. “Did you ask her out?”
“I invited her to dinner.”
Susannah arched an eyebrow. “And is she going?”
“What do you think?” He made no attempt to hide his smirk.
“That she’s not exactly your type.”
Ryan knew his sister was referring to the fact that all the women he dated came from their social circles. Interchangeable beauties that came from wealth. Good families. Good schools. Good manners. Good careers. By marrying any of them he would’ve fallen into a predictable pattern. He wanted a woman who riled his emotions and challenged him.
“I’ll admit her style isn’t what I’m used to, but I’d like to think I’m not that shallow.” Ryan flashed a disarming grin. “She’s mysterious and there’s something tragic in her eyes.”
“And deep down inside you have a knight-in-shining-armor complex that gets you into trouble.”
Susannah was talking about Kelly Briggs. He’d tried to help her out and the whole thing had backfired.
“Just because you haven’t needed my help since middle school doesn’t mean others don’t appreciate some assistance now and then,” he said. “And you’re not exactly one to talk. No one likes to help out more than you.”
“Help,” she said. “Not rescue.”
“Zoe doesn’t strike me as a woman who needs to be rescued.”
“Yet you just said there was something tragic about her. It worries me after what happened with Kelly.”
It still bugged Ryan that he’d mishandled the situation with Kelly Briggs. Well, maybe mishandled wasn’t the best description for what had happened. He’d taken her at face value and failed to look below the surface for what had motivated her.
From the first Kelly had shown great promise, establishing herself as a clever and talented member of his team. She was also beautiful and if she hadn’t been his employee, he might’ve dated her. They’d had wonderful chemistry both professionally as well as personally. Several times he’d been tempted to cross the line, but he never had.
That wasn’t to say things didn’t get blurry from time to time. Especially after he’d discovered that Kelly’d had ongoing troubles with an ex-boyfriend who had refused to accept that they were done. Ryan hadn’t considered there might be repercussions when he’d come to her rescue one evening in the company parking lot. Or that he might be sending the wrong signals when he’d offered to help her out if the guy came around again.
“What happened with Kelly was a brief lapse in my judgment. And Zoe’s different. She’s wary and prickly. I think she’s been through something difficult and hasn’t fully healed.”
He had a hard time picturing Zoe as someone who was going to fall for him just because he was nice to her. No, if he wanted Zoe, he was going to have to work damned hard to get her.
“Do you think it’s a good idea to get involved with someone like that? Can’t you find someone uncomplicated to date?”
“Uncomplicated is boring.”
“As an old married woman who adores her husband and two darling children, I can tell you that uncomplicated is perfectly wonderful.”
“So much so that you decided to run for office? If you were as completely happy as you claim, then you’d be satisfied with your brilliant law career and perfect home life.”
She frowned at him. “That’s unfair. Being satisfied doesn’t mean you don’t want more. Part of being happy with my life is challenging myself and growing as a person. Running for office is part of that.”
A knock sounded and Ryan glanced around to see Gil standing in the open doorway. Susannah invited him in and he took the chair beside Ryan.
“What’s going on, Gil?” Susannah asked.
“What do you know about the woman you were talking to?” Gil asked Ryan.
“Zoe?” Ryan glanced at his sister to gauge her reaction and saw she was equally puzzled. “I don’t know anything about her. Why?”
“I was talking to Tonya and she says she’s getting a bad vibe off of her.”
“What sort of bad vibe?” Susannah asked, beating Ryan to the punch.
“She’s just been very evasive about her background and why she wants to work