Page 80 of Hot Cops

Sunnie shrugged. “Because it was easy. We’d go to the movies or dancing. He didn’t want a relationship and neither did I. Truth of the matter was, we didn’t even talk that much. Just sort of hung out. And he wasn’t hard to look at.”

Landon pushed her feet off his lap and reached for her hand, pulling her until she was sitting up. “Why are you so against relationships, Sunnie?”

“I’m not against them at all. I only graduated from college last month and I want to focus on my career, want to take some time to be a nurse. Look at my family, Landon. You know as well as I do how this is going to go down.”

“Go down?” he repeated, confused.

“I’m a Collins. There’s a curse. We fall in love and that’s it. Game over. Marriage, kids, forever. I’m not ready for that. I just want to be a nurse for now, sow a few wild oats, have a good time. I’m only twenty-five, for heaven’s sake.”

“Okay. I get that. Actually, that makes a lot of sense. I always thought you were anti-marriage.”

She didn’t realize that was the vibe she’d been sending out. “Of course I’m not. I come from a great family and my parents are an amazing couple. Why wouldn’t I want that? Eventually,” she added. “I’m just not super mushy-gushy about romance, like you.”

He rolled his eyes, used to her teasing him. “Very funny.”

“Actually, I think it’s sweet that you keep trying to make every woman you date ‘the one’.”

“I don’t do that.”

“Liar, liar pants on fire.”

Landon’s mom had gotten pregnant in high school. The sperm donor walked away, leaving a very jaded, very down-on-relationships Ms. Riggs behind. Her stance on that hadn’t changed until Landon was in high school, and his mom married a divorcee with two grown sons in college.

For some reason, Landon had gone the opposite way. As much as his mother rebuffed dating and relationships, Landon embraced them. Where Sunnie had a long list of short-term boyfriends, Landon had a short list of long-term girlfriends—three, to be exact.

Sunnie suspected he would have proposed marriage to Audrey, if she hadn’t broken things off. Or maybe it was more accurate to say they’d drifted apart because they’d simply wanted different things out of life. Baltimore had never been Audrey’s final destination. An aspiring actress, she’d headed to New York, desperate to make it on Broadway.

And while Landon had toyed with following her—both Sunnie and Finn terrified he would leave—Landon knew he wouldn’t be happy in the Big Apple. Baltimore was home, and he was as devoted to the city as Sunnie was.

Audrey had gone anyway and broken his heart, but Sunnie knew Audrey had been devastated as well. Why wouldn’t she be? Landon was a great guy.

And he gave stellar foot rubs.

And…

“Should we talk about that kiss?” Sunnie said, deciding they might as well address the elephant in the room.

He shook his head. “Nothing to say. You were being a pain in the ass and I put a stop to it. That’s all there was to it.”

That didn’t feel like all. Ever since April Fools, it felt like something had shifted between them. “That’s kind of a weird way to shut someone up.”

Landon closed his eyes, and she realized he looked really tired. Chances were good he hadn’t slept any better than she had.

He was a true friend. More than that, he was an honorary brother.

Or at least he had been. Until those two kisses.

“Yeah. I know.” He opened his eyes, his gaze capturing hers. “I’ve been thinking about it. Last night, you were pissed at Derek and you took off down that dark street. It was an impulsive reaction. Can you just accept it was the same for me? I saw that guy push you down, saw that mark on your face,” he reached out and touched the bruise gently, “and I reacted. I was terrified and relieved at the same time. It came out like that.”

“So…no more kisses?”

He didn’t reply immediately and when he did, she wasn’t sure what to make of his response. “If that’s what you want.”

What she wanted?

Wasn’t that what he wanted too?

“I don’t want this to change things between us,” she said. Landon wasn’t like other guys to her. She would never risk their friendship on a few kisses…or more.

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