Joseph Morelli

Joe Morelli is Stephanie 's on-and-off boyfriend, a former bad boy turned vice cop. He is also known as Officer Hottie or the Italian Stallion. Her history with Morelli started with a "choo choo" incident when she was six. At the age of sixteen, Stephanie lost her virginity to Morelli in the Tasty Pastry shop behind the éclair stand, after which he never called (but left quite a few flattering messages in bathroom and stadium walls around town). Three years later she saw Morelli and ran over him with her father's Buick, breaking his leg. A few years later in One for the Money Morelli was suspected of murder and was her first FTA, and Stephanie chased him around town, much to his annoyance. Eventually, she turns him in (after locking him in a freezer truck with three bodies) and clears his name. In Three to Get Deadly, she notices that he's stopped flirting and trying to get her into bed. After she asks him why, Morelli claims that "A man would have to be a total masochist to be interested in you", but by the end, he is interested in her again. Their relationship has since evolved into a romance that runs alternately passionately hot and ice cold.

At various times, both Stephanie and Morelli have seriously considered marriage, but never at the same time. They both know they are not ready for commitment, but often comment on the idea together and have lived together more than once. Their relationship runs cold as a result of many arguments—usually over her job (she has been known to stress Morelli enough that he takes Rolaids & Maalox and tells her that he is quickly deteriorating because of her) and they eventually lead to her relationship with Ranger. Being that both were born and bred in Trenton, whatever happens to/around her usually has a number of others calling Morelli to inform him—cars being blown, bodies being found, etc. He has said that he does not even need to listen to the radio anymore; he knows she is always involved (usually by some illegal means) and that he always gets calls about her and the latest situation she is in. By the later books, Morelli has resignedly accepted it to be almost normal, but it does not make him any less stressed or worried.

Morelli has told her that he trusts her, but he doesn't trust Ranger (same with Diesel) and she often has bouts of jealousy when Morelli's name is said with other women. She has been prone to sneaking around his house to spy when that happens. Later on, it appears that he has finally accepted her job (not so much the Ranger part), but it does not make him worry less or try less to protect her. In the more recent books, he often tag-teams with Ranger for her protection, much to her extreme annoyance at being shuffled back and forth between the two men like luggage.

Stephanie also stays at his house often, which he inherited from his Aunt Rose. She comments on how he is different from his infamous Morelli male relatives and has domesticated since his "wild-oat sowing days." In Seven Up, Stephanie and Joe announced their engagement under pressure from their families, but called off the wedding in book seven. When asked if Stephanie and Morelli will end up in a permanent relationship, Evanovich responds, "I don't want to tie Stephanie down to Morelli yet. Maybe some day, but certainly not for several more books."

In Twelve Sharp, Stephanie is finally able to tell Morelli that she loves him, but omits the part about how she loves Ranger as well.