“Oh, man…” Joelle’s eyes rounded as we were seated at a table near the window, facing out over the ocean.

This was one of my favorite places, mostly because of this view right here.

I was glad she appreciated it. The smile that lit her face chased away some of the fatigue from my sleepless night, and I grinned at her. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It’s gorgeous.” She gave me a happy smile.

I had to resist the urge to reach over and hug her. Mom had always been open and easy with her affection, which had made me the same way, but I had to remind myself that I barely knew these girls.

And they were still wary around me.

That was part of the reason we were here, just the three of us. Kian had traveled back home to LA to visit with his mom and check on some things in the garage he owned. I’d overheard him telling Suria he wasn’t comfortable leaving her just yet, but he had to keep an eye on things at the shop too. I admired him for tackling both responsibilities, although I doubted he’d look at Suria as a responsibility.

While I’d never been in love, I had a feeling that I wouldn’t look at the woman I loved as a responsibility.

Still, in a way, the need to keep the people you loved safe was just that, and the way those two felt about each other was obvious.

Suria had been decidedly quieter ever since he’d left. Now, directing a smile at her, I said, “Are you hungry?”

“I’m almost always hungry, Nicco.” She gave me a wan smile that did little to lift the shadows from her eyes.

The three of us lapsed into silence as a server appeared to pass out menus and take drink orders. I stayed with coffee but urged Suria to try a mimosa, which she did.

Joelle went with orange juice, and we were once more left alone.

“The Nutella French toast is amazing,” I told them both.

“Nutella French toast?” Joelle’s eyes widened even more before she bent over the menu, busily searching the item out. “Oh, I know what I’m getting…and bacon! Can I get bacon?”

Suria opened her mouth. “I don’t–”

I held up a hand. “You get whatever you want.” Suria frowned, and I arched a brow at her. “I haven’t been able to treat my sisters to anything my whole life. Are you going to deprive me of that now?”

Suria made a face at me. “When you put it like that…” Sighing, she flipped open her own menu. “Nutella French toast, huh?”

Ten minutes later, we had our orders placed and very little to talk about. I asked plenty of questions, but once they’d answered, they lapsed into silence.

Biting back a mental groan, I fumbled for some way to break the ice, but every scenario I came up with seemed either too lame or made it clear I was trying too hard.

And I was trying. They didn’t need to know I was mentally sweating bullets trying to come up with ways to get them to relax and feel comfortable around me.

“What are you planning on doing when you get out of school, Joelle?” I asked, falling on the one question every adult tends to ask a kid her age. I’d ordered myself not to ask it, but I was at my wit’s end.

To my surprise, Joelle didn’t look annoyed by the question. In fact, she looked a little stunned. “Do?” she asked. She turned her eyes toward her sister, and a weak laugh escaped her. Suria reached out and covered Joelle’s hand with hers, squeezing lightly.

It didn’t hit me until then that Joelle probably hadn’t ever considered the fact that she’d have much say in the matter.

“I’ve always wanted to be an artist,” Suria said lightly, twining her fingers with her sister’s, holding my gaze with hers intently.

It was an attempt to give her sister some privacy, a few seconds away from my watchful gaze, and I knew it. Because I understood, I nodded and watched Suria. “What kind of art?”

“I like most kinds. Photography, sketching, oils, mixed media.” She lifted a shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “You can imagine I never really put a lot of real thought into it because it was always a pipe dream.”

“Are you any good?”

She rolled her eyes, and I glimpsed some of the humor I’d seen over the past few days making a reappearance. “I’d like to think so, yes.”

“Do you have any pieces you can use to make a portfolio?” I asked her. From the corner of my eye, I could see Joelle’s face, and there was an expression on her features that made my heart clench a little. Dazed wonder. Awe. Like a child discovering something completely new. It also pissed me off, because she shouldn’t be that amazed at the thought that she had options in front of her.

That bastard father of ours.

“I used to,” Suria said, drawing my attention back to her. Lips parted, she started to continue.

Abruptly, her features froze, and her hand tightened on Joelle’s.

Her eyes strayed to the left, and I immediately saw why.

Two cops had just come in.

Under the table, I nudged her toe with mine. “It’s okay,” I said gently. “Cops like the coffee and sandwiches here. They’re probably just here to grab some lunch.”

Suria swallowed, her face pale, but she nodded. Next to her, Joelle had reacted in pretty much the same fashion.

Leaning back, I maintained a relaxed air as I held Suria’s gaze. Joelle was staring at the table. She’d take her cues from her sister, I already knew that. Hoping that Suria was as sharp as she seemed, I glanced at Joelle, then back at her.

Suria gave herself a slight shake, like a woman coming out of a fugue. Then she leaned over and hugged Joelle. “There’s nothing to worry about,” she said, keeping her voice light. “We always had to be on our toes back in LA because of the trouble Dad had gotten into, but he’s not here. It’s like a fresh start.”

“Exactly.”

Bit by bit, Joelle breathed easier.

It helped that the cops were no longer in her line of sight, although I think Suria would have felt better if she could see them.

“I’m keeping an eye on them,” I told her mildly. “Just getting coffee and sandwiches, like I said.”

They looked like partners, the two of them talking easily. The woman was a fair amount younger than the man, and gorgeous. Her skin had a sunkissed look to it, warmed even more by the bright red of her hair. I thought most redheads tended to freckle or burn, but from the looks of it, her skin loved the sun, taking to it like a peach ripening in summer.

You don’t have to ogle her to keep an eye on them, I told myself, looking back at Suria and Joelle.

Joelle had relaxed enough to drink some of her juice, and she asked for me to pass her the basket of sweetbreads that had been passed out when our drinks arrived.

Trying to go for more casual this time, I glanced back at the two cops. They’d turned in profile toward me now, allowing me a better look at her – a much better look.

And she really was gorgeous.

A tip-tilted nose, full lips. Those lips were spread into a smile by whatever her partner had just said, and she shook her head in response. Her hair, that vivid bright red, was cut in an almost brutally short fashion, but it suited her.

It suited her as well as her uniform did, and I had to say, I’d never much cared for the way police uniforms looked on anybody.

But she wore hers well.

I shifted my attention back to Joelle and Suria, reaching for the coffee as a means of distraction, although I knew it wasn’t going to work.

Already my eyes wanted to return to the cop, roam all over–

“Are they still here?” Joelle burst out.

I slanted a look at Suria, then looked past her to the two cops still chatting at the counter.

“Getting a pick-up order,” I said easily. “Relax, sweetheart. They’re not here to bother you or your sister.”

“But–”

“It’s okay,” Suria said, leaning over to console her sister.

And even though I felt like an utter jackass, my gaze roamed right back to the sexy redhead.

I’d never realized I had a thing for tall, sexy redheads.

Or maybe it wasn’t so much that I had a thing for them. I’d never really been one to have a type.

Type or not, though, she’d sure as hell caught my attention.

I looked back at Suria, feeling her eyes on me. She cocked a brow.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, although I didn’t know what.

But movement from the corner of my eye had me glancing over.

It was the two cops.

They had their food and coffee, as expected.

And they were heading toward the door.

“They’re leaving, sweetie,” I told my youngest sister.

She breathed out a sigh of relief and gave me a smile so innocent and sweet, I wanted to hug her.

I also wanted to turn around and check out the cop’s ass one more time.

I was a messed-up piece of work.