When Wishes Collide (19 page)

"Yeah, you don't look like you got much sleep last night."

"I slept on the couch," she said, heading into the kitchen.

Lindsay slid onto the stool by the counter. "And where did the hot cop sleep?"

"His name is Wyatt."

"Yeah, well, where did Wyatt sleep?"

"In the recliner."

"Really? And there wasn't any –"

"Lindsay, stop," she said quickly. "I told you it's not like that." She handed her friend a mug of coffee. "Do you want any cream or sugar?"

"No, black is fine."

Adrianna poured coffee for herself and took a long, hot sip, then leaned against the counter across from Lindsay. "We think that one of the girls who was with Ben a few months ago is Wyatt's missing daughter. He just left here to follow up on some leads on Ben's mother. It's a long story, but I think we're making progress."

"That's good."

Adrianna sighed at the doubt in Lindsay's voice. "Okay, what do you really want to say?"

Lindsay rested her forearms on the counter as she returned her gaze. "I've been worried about you the last two months. I was afraid you were never going to come out of the funk you sank into after Will's death. I know that Vincenzo's has been like a second home to you, and walking into that restaurant and seeing Will's blood on the ground changed the restaurant from being a safe harbor to being a dangerous, violent place. I wasn't sure that you could get past that."

"I wasn't sure either."

"But maybe you can," Lindsay said. "I admit I'm a little concerned that Wyatt is using you, and that you're going to get hurt –"

"He hasn't made me any promises, Lindsay. I know what's what."

"You are a smart girl in a lot of things, but not so much when it comes to love."

"This isn't love."

"But you like him. You like him like him," she teased.

"Maybe a little," she conceded.

"You've changed since you've met him. You're standing taller, and your voice is stronger, and you seem like you again."

"I still haven't made it inside the restaurant."

"I think that's coming."

"I think so, too," she said, smiling back at Lindsay. "Everything you said is true. I wasn't sure I could ever get over what happened, but now I feel like I might be able to move on. But it's not because I'm forgetting Will. I don't want you to think that."

"Of course you're not forgetting Will. But you don't have to justify feeling better and not being so sad, not to me anyway. Moving forward doesn't mean you forget your past."

"I don't want to disrespect Will."

"You couldn't possibly do that."

"Couldn't I? It's only been a few months. I'm in mourning. That's supposed to be at least a year, right? I shouldn't want another man."

Lindsay shook her head, giving her a sympathetic look. "There aren't any rules, Adrianna."

"Will didn't deserve to die."

"Of course he didn't deserve it. He was a great person. But you're alive. And I don't want you to be afraid to live, to be who you're meant to be. And that's a chef. Even if it's not at Vincenzo's, you need to be somewhere."

She nodded, moisture filling her eyes at Lindsay's thoughtful words. "You're a good friend, Lindsay. You're the closest thing I've ever had to a sister. And growing up without a family, it means so much to me to have you in my life."

"Oh, God, now you're going to make me cry," Lindsay said, her eyes watering. She took a sip of her coffee and cleared her throat. "Changing the subject..."

"As long as it's not to Wyatt," she said.

Lindsay gave her a pointed look. "Come on. If I'm like your sister, you can tell me the good stuff. Did anything go on last night?"

She hesitated for a long moment. "We had a kiss – two kisses actually, a few hours apart."

"Really?'

"It was a mistake – two mistakes," she amended, feeling a little foolish.

"Were the kisses good?"

"Yes," she said, finding it impossible to lie.

Lindsay nodded and grinned. "I knew I wasn't imagining the sparks between you two. I have a very keen sense when it comes to romance."

"It's not romance. It's … I don't know what it is."

"Did you talk about it?"

"No. I didn't want to. He's searching for his daughter, and I'm getting over Will. It's the worst possible time."

"That's usually when love shows up," Lindsay said, taking another sip of her coffee.

"I didn't say anything about love," she said firmly.

"Well, you never do, so that's not surprising. Is Wyatt a good man?"

"Yes, I think so," Adrianna replied. "I wasn't sure I could trust him at first, because he's a police officer, and I had some run-ins with the law when I was a kid. But the way he talks about his daughter, and his love and determination to bring her back just amazes me. He's the kind of man who loves with his whole heart and soul. I've never really known anyone like that."

"That kind of ferocious intensity can be very attractive, especially when it's turned on you."

"Well, it's not turned on me, not all the way anyway." She paused. "It's true that there's a chemistry between us. I feel it, and I know he feels it, too, but as I said it's the worst possible time, and we both have so much baggage."

"One thing I know about baggage, it's easier to carry it around when you have some help," Lindsay said, her eyes sparkling.

She grinned. "That's a good line."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Can I stop you?"

"Is it the timing that's holding you back? Is it his daughter? Or is it Will?"

"It's all of the above," Adrianna answered.

"But you like him."

"Yes, I admit it," she said, surrendering to the inevitable. "Are you happy now?"

"Only because I think
you
might be happy," she said. "So what are you doing today?"

"I'm going to hang out with Ben and see what Wyatt finds out."

"Then I will leave you to it. I guess you won't be coming into the restaurant any time soon?"

"We'll see," she said. "I'm taking it one step at a time."

"Well, at least you're taking steps."

"Exactly."

Lindsay set down her coffee cup. "I'm going to spin class."

"I hope you can breathe after the cigarettes you've been sneaking," she said, following her to the door.

"It was only a few, and I'm getting a nicotine patch later today."

"Good."

Lindsay gave her a hug. "If the hot cop wants to kiss you again, don't say no."

"Linds –"

"And if you want to kiss him, don't wait to be asked. That's my advice."

"Did I ask for it?" she grumbled.

"No, but we're sisters, so you get unsolicited advice."

"I think I'm going to regret calling you my sister."

Lindsay laughed. "See you later, Adrianna."

"Bye," she said, shutting the door.

As she walked across the room, she realized she was still smiling. It had been a long time since she'd smiled for so long. And she knew it wasn't just because of Lindsay, it was also because of Wyatt.

She touched her fingers to her lips. His kisses hadn't been just good; they'd been great. And she really did want to kiss him again. But she wasn't going to take Lindsay's advice – not yet anyway. First, they needed to find Wyatt's daughter.

Josh was at his desk when Wyatt arrived at the station Saturday morning.

"What are you doing here?" Wyatt asked. "Aren't you off today?"

"We made an arrest last night for the robbery/homicide at Vincenzo's."

He was more than a little surprised. "Really? I had no idea you were close to making an arrest. What happened?"

"A witness came forward late yesterday afternoon. She's the ex-girlfriend of one of the two teenage males involved. She said they didn't think anyone was inside the restaurant. When they were confronted, one of them got nervous and took a shot. They had no idea they had killed someone until they heard the news."

"Why did she wait so long to come forward?"

"She said she was afraid of her boyfriend, but that she's moving away, and she wanted to get this off her chest before she left."

"Is she credible? Or does she just want to bust her boyfriend?"

"Her story checks out, and she gave me the gun. It's in Forensics now. We found her boyfriend and his buddy at the bar where they work. Boyfriend tried to run when he saw us. The other one is willing to talk about how he didn't pull the trigger, but his friend did."

Wyatt nodded. "You've been up all night, haven't you?"

"Yeah, tell me why nothing ever breaks in the middle of the day, preferably a work day and not on the weekend?"

He smiled in sympathy. "At least you've solved the case."

"I didn't solve it. The answers were given to me. I just got lucky someone was willing to come forward."

"It doesn't matter how it happened. The victim gets justice. Two criminals are off the street. That's a good day in my book." He paused, as he remembered his conversation with Adrianna. "Was there any connection between the two men and the victim?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"The unlocked door."

"Apparently, just an oversight," Josh replied. "Victim's record clean as a whistle." He tilted his head. "Unless you know something I don't know?"

"I don't. Adrianna said her boyfriend was distracted that night. She didn't know why."

"She asked me about his cell phone, but the only calls he made or received were to his parents, and they had no connection with the shooter."

At least Adrianna would get some closure, he thought, but it would still be difficult for her to accept that two young men had taken the life of someone she loved with such casual disregard. "Well, I'm glad it's done."

"Everything but the paperwork." Josh rolled his head around on his shoulders and cleared his throat. "What are you doing down here?"

"I found one of the kids – the boy. His name is Ben. His mother's name is Rebecca Mooney. Mooney was her maiden name. Raymond is her married name. But the important thing is that she went to school with Jennifer."

Josh's eyes widened. "No shit! So the girl we saw on the video is really Stephanie?"

"Yes," his nerves tingling at the thought of how close he was to finding his daughter. "And Ben identified the woman who took her as Jennifer. I need to find out everything I can about Rebecca, where she's been living, who she knows, how she pays her bills, everything. She's the connection to Jen. We find Rebecca, we have a good chance of finding Jennifer."

"The kid doesn't know where his mother is?"

"No, apparently she disappears every couple of weeks for a few days. I'm thinking she's involved in some type of escort service. Ben said his mom usually isn't gone very long, but this time she's been missing about two weeks. Not long after his mother left, a woman showed up saying she was Emily's mother – he thinks of Stephanie as Emily."

"Okay, go on."

"This other woman, whose name Ben doesn't recall, said she was taking Emily back, but Emily-Stephanie threw a fit. She didn't want to leave her friends. So the woman also took Sara, Ben's sister, with her. She said she would watch them until Ben's mother got back."

Josh held up a hand. "I'm confused. How many women are we talking about?"

"Just two – Jen and Rebecca."

"And three kids?"

"Yes, and one of them is Stephanie, but she was living under the name Emily."

"The other two are Ben and Sara."

"Right. Stephanie was apparently staying with Ben and Sara when Jen was somewhere else – God knows where."

Josh shook his head, his expression filled with disgust. "Jen steals your child and then just leaves her somewhere?
 
I could kill her."

"Get in line," he said grimly.

"So where is Ben now?"

"He's with Adrianna."

"The chef from Vincenzo's?" Josh said.

"Yes, she's been helping me," he said, trying to ignore the new curiosity in Josh's eyes. "I used her as bait. I figured the kids might come out of the shadows if they saw her again in the alley behind the restaurant. And I was right."

"So, that's it? She's just – bait?" Josh asked.

He let out a sigh at the pointed look in Josh's eyes. "I don't have time for this right now."

"My questions? Or Adrianna? Because the two of you seem to be very close."

"Adrianna is helping me."

"Is that why you took her to the engagement party last night? I called Summer to tell her I was sorry I missed the party, and she filled me on you and some beautiful brunette that you couldn't take your eyes off of. She said you disappeared upstairs for over an hour."