I was a wreck. Joel was gone, and I didn’t even know where to start looking. As far as I knew, he didn’t have any close friends he could crash with. There was that gang those detectives had been talking about, but I didn’t want to believe Joel was really mixed up with them. Joel had his issues, but he wasn’t a bad kid.

For the second time in twelve hours, I had called Vinnie. I had probably crossed a few lines in doing so, but once again, I didn’t know where else to turn. As a policeman, Vinnie had means at his disposal that I didn’t, which meant he also had a much better chance of finding Joel. That was what I told myself, anyway. If I was completely honest, something I tried to be whenever possible, I would have called him regardless. Because, the truth was, I really liked Vinnie. When he was around, I felt better.

That was something new for me. I wasn’t used to leaning on anyone for support—financial, emotional, moral, or otherwise—and hadn’t for a while. After my grandmother had passed away, my mom and I sold the house to pay off the second mortgage she’d taken out when we’d moved in and had used the rest for her funeral expenses. That was when my mom decided to take her gentleman friend up on his offer to move to Arizona. She had worried about leaving me, but I’d encouraged her to go. He seemed like a nice enough guy and, from what I could tell, made her happy.

I had been nineteen at the time, working full-time and picking up night classes when I could. I’d been on my own ever since. And not once in all that time had I ever met someone I felt like I could call for help, let alone want to.

But Officer Vinnie had changed all that. He changed a lot of things, including my plan to keep my heart to myself. Despite my efforts, it had slipped away a little more every time he came to the diner and smiled at me, talked to me, or said something kind or funny or insightful. The funny thing was, I didn’t think he was even trying. He had won me over just by being himself.

I didn’t want to lose that. I could only hope that, once things were sorted out, Vinnie and I could take a few more steps forward and see where things led.

I was still pacing back and forth, trying to work things out in my head, when the knock on the door startled me. I opened it, expecting to see Vinnie, and was overjoyed when I saw Vinnie and Joel standing there.

I wasted no time in wrapping my arms around my brother and giving him a fierce hug. “Oh, my God! I am so glad you’re back!” Then I backed up a step, grabbed his wrist, and dragged him inside. “But what the hell were you thinking?”

“We’ll talk later, okay, Haven?” Joel said, his smile turning serious. “Vinnie’s taking me down to the station. I just wanted you to see for yourself that I’m okay.”

“What?” I looked at Vinnie, stunned. “You’re arresting him?”

His eyes widened, and I saw a flash of hurt there. “No. Joel has agreed to tell us what he knows so we can finally get Slash and his boys off the streets.”

“Oh.” Shame washed over me. I felt horrible for jumping to the wrong conclusion and thinking the worst. “Let me just grab my jacket, and I’ll go with you.”

“No, Haven,” Joel said firmly. “I appreciate it, but I got myself into this. I need to fix it.”

“Oh.” I looked to Vinnie. “Don’t I have to go because he’s a minor?”

“No. We urge those not of legal age to have a parent or guardian present during questioning, but it’s not required by law. Joel is doing this voluntarily, Haven. No one is forcing him.”

“Okay.” I lowered my gaze.

I felt my brother’s arms go around me in a quick hug. The gesture caught me by surprise. While I had hugged him plenty of times, him initiating the contact was a first.

“But, if you want to make your special stroganoff for dinner, I wouldn’t say no.”

I laughed and sniffled at the same time. “It’s a deal.” I looked to Vinnie. “Will you join us?”

His expression was unreadable. “I’d like that, but maybe tonight isn’t the best time.”

My heart fell. I had offended him. That was something else I was going to have to fix later. I added it to the high priority items on my growing mental list, which already included “have a serious talk with Joel” and “find a job.”

I summoned a weak smile. “Oh, okay. Well, if you change your mind, the offer stands.”

He nodded, then he and Joel left.

Not a minute had passed when another knock sounded at the door. I opened it and saw Vinnie.

He cleared his throat. “Just to be clear, I would very much like to come for dinner,” he said, “but I don’t want to intrude on family time. You and Joel have some talking to do.”

What was left of my heart melted at that point. Not only had Vinnie somehow known that I was worried, he was also proving he was every bit as kind and thoughtful and intuitive as I thought.

“Thanks for that,” I told him, impulsively going up on my toes and planting a kiss on his cheek. Before I could step back, though, he grasped my hips and kept me right where I was. Then he leaned down and gave me a proper kiss, right on the lips, and stole my breath away completely. When he released me, I was dazed and dizzy, and the only word buzzing around in my head was more.

“Seriously? Can’t you guys do that some other time?” Joel’s voice called from down the hall.

I felt heat rush to my cheeks.

Vinnie looked at me with another kind of heat and promise. “Oh, we will definitely be picking up where we left off,” he murmured. He then kissed my forehead and left a second time.

Feeling slightly giddy and definitely in better spirits, I grabbed my purse and locked the door behind me. If I was going to be making a stroganoff for dinner, I needed to pick up some things from the grocery store. While I was at it, maybe I would pick up stuff for a cake, too. For some reason, I felt like celebrating.

When Vinnie brought Joel home later that night, I reissued my invitation to stay for dinner, and this time, Vinnie didn’t defer.

Over homemade noodles, beef stroganoff, and a pitcher of sweet tea, he and Joel filled me in on what had happened. Joel had been able to point the finger on the ones who had attacked Cal and busted up the diner. Apparently, Cal had yanked off one’s ski mask during the fracas and the camera had gotten a clear picture. That had been enough for the police to pick up the guy for questioning, and he, in turn, had sung like a canary. Evidently, the guy was on parole for something else and desperate to make a deal.

I didn’t care about any of that. What I did care about was that it took some of the heat off Joel, and people would be less likely to point fingers at him as the stool pigeon. Not that anyone would be coming after Joel.

Between the information Joel had been able to provide and that of the guy on parole, Slash wouldn’t be seeing the light of day anytime soon. He was twiddling his thumbs in a holding cell while the DA drafted a laundry list of crimes against him. And the hot water Slash found himself in was just getting deeper and deeper as many of his so-called “loyal followers” were only too happy to rat him out to save their own heinies.

By the time they finished, we were all stuffed and tired. It had been a very long and eventful day all around. I wasn’t complaining, though. Joel was back on a good path, and I felt as if Vinnie and I had turned a few corners, too.

I gave Joel a pass on helping with the dishes, and unsurprisingly, he didn’t argue. I gave Vinnie a pass, too, but he picked up a dishtowel and helped anyway. In addition to being sexy, brave, and an incredibly good man, he was a boss at doing dishes. He laughed when I told him so, crediting growing up in a restaurant for honing his skills.

I jokingly asked if he could enroll Joel in a similar training program, but Vinnie was completely serious when he readily agreed.

“A job will be good for him,” Vinnie said. “It will teach him responsibility, time management, discipline. Plus, what kid doesn’t like having a couple extra bucks in his pocket?”

I couldn’t argue with him there. Working my way through school had given me an appreciation for the value of a dollar and a sense of accomplishment I wouldn’t have had otherwise. Besides, as much as I hated to admit it, having Joel earn some money on his own would help us both out. Things were going to be pretty tight financially until I found more work. Once I got back to school and earned my degree, things would be better, but until then, I was only qualified for lower-paying positions.

“Think there’s a waitressing job there, too?” I joked ruefully. “I know a girl.”