Page 59 of Hot Cops

Sunnie stayed behind to help him put the albums back.

“Pop Pop?” she said.

“Yes, lass?”

“I like my name.”

He smiled, blinking back unexpected tears. “It suits you, love.”

She gave him a hug, repeating her promise to marry him.

He knelt in front of her. “Much as I’d like that, I’m simply too old. So how about another promise?”

She listened intently.

“Promise you’ll marry a boy who loves all those things that make you special, your sunshine and your warmth. Find yourself a boy who appreciates how wonderful you are.”

She nodded. “Okay. I promise.”

Then he gave her a wink and a grin. “And if you can’t find one of those, marry Landon. He has his heart set on being a Collins.”

CHAPTERONE

“And the winner ofFebruary Stars…”

Sunnie could swear every person in the pub was holding their breath, waiting for the announcer to declare a winner. For one month solid, she, her family and the regulars at the pub had gathered around the big-screen TVs to root for their hometown boy, Hunter Maxwell.

“By only twelve votes…”

“Oh my God,” Finn yelled at the screen. “Just announce it already!”

Landon caught her eye, winking at her. He and Finn had placed a wager on the competition—Finn putting fifty bucks on Hunter, while Landon remained firmly in Rory Summit’s camp.

“The performer who is going to open for The Universe on their worldwide tour is…”

The announcer drew out the word “is” for dramatic effect, producing another curse from Finn. “Where did Les find this tool?”

Les was their aunt Teagan and uncle Sky’s band manager, and he’d set up theFebruary Starscontest, looking for the “next big act.” Hunter had been a last-minute fill-in for one of the performers, and he sure as hell hadn’t been expected to last more than the first round. Prior to the competition, he’d really only played with the equivalent of a garage band in his early twenties and, lately, as a pub singer here at Pat’s.

“Rory Summit!” the announcer yelled.

Finn groaned as half the pub erupted in cheers, the other half in anger. While Hunter was much beloved at Pat’s Pub, his fellow finalist, Rory Summit, had won her way into their hearts as well.

Landon held his hand out, palm up. “Sorry ’bout your bad luck, bro,” he teased. “Guess you don’t know true musical talent like I do.”

Sunnie snorted. “You weren’t betting on Rory’s talent. You have the hots for her, same as every other guy in here who put money down on her to win.”

Landon didn’t even bother to deny it. “Maybe. But the fact still remains I now have fifty bucks to woo her with when she shows up later for the after-show celebration.”

Finn slapped the cash in his best friend’s hand, losing it with zero good grace. “It would take a hell of a lot more than fifty dollars to get her to look at you…especially withmehere.”

Landon and Finn had been friends since preschool, and their constant games of one-upmanship and practical jokes had become the standard operating procedure. Sunnie and Finn’s dad, Aaron, had refereed more than his fair share of fights between the two when they were young, when the competitiveness got too heated. Dad claimed the two of them were more like brothers than best friends, and no one had ever disagreed with that assessment.

“Tell your brother he’s delusional, Sunshine.”

She raised her hands. “Nope. Personally, I think you’re both out of your minds if you think someone as talented and cool as Rory would give either of you a second glance. Besides, Landon, you’ve got a girlfriend.”

Landon glanced around the bar, caught Audrey’s eye, and waved in a terribly lovestruck, smitten way that had Sunnie rolling her eyes. She pretended she was going to be sick as Finn laughed and picked up on the joke. “I keep trying to figure out what a hot ticket like Audrey sees in Landon.”

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