Page 101 of Hot Cops

Landon closed his eyes, pretending to be annoyed. It was a look he’d perfected over the years, simply because he’d seen it repeated on Aaron’s and Finn’s faces so often. The Young men had a patented look whenever Riley or Sunnie or Darcy said or did something outrageous. And they, like him, used it to hide the fact that rather than exasperated, they were entertained.

The Young women had an energy, a love for life that was undeniably fun. Landon used to laugh at Sunnie’s antics, until Finn insisted it only encouraged her to go even wilder. Somewhere along the line, Landon had chosen his side, crossed over and joined the men, adopting their fake impatience.

“We’re not making up some asinine story, Sunnie. For one thing, too many people know us and someone, somewhere, would contradict it. And for another, we don’t have time for it. We’re going on air in just a couple of hours.”

“Landon—” she started.

“Nonnegotiable.”

She leaned back and crossed her arms, though he didn’t think she looked angry as much as confused. “So our story is we’ve been friends forever, you kissed me after the mugging, and that was it? It was a lights-on moment and now we’re head over heels?”

From her tone, Sunnie seemed to think that concept implausible.

Landon knew better. Except his lights turned on at the April Fools party.

“Why do you find that so hard to believe?” he asked.

“Because wedoknow each other so well. If we were going to fall in love, it wouldn’t have been because of a kiss—or two kisses,” she corrected, recalling the April Fools party.

“How many kisses do you need to know you’re in love with someone?” It would have been a practical question if he’d been asking anyone besides Sunnie. But he knew her dating track record. She reminded him of the damn Tootsie Pop owl. She didn’t know how many kisses because she’d give a guy three licks, then crunch. End of the line.

She shrugged. “More than two.”

Sunnie was very good at saying things with absolute confidence. It gave people around her this misguided sense that she actually knew what she was talking about.

“How many?” he pressed, calling her on it. No guy had ever pushed the envelope with her. Primarily because she only accepted dates with men whose biceps were bigger than their brains. None of her previous boyfriends had challenged her, forced the issue of feelings and commitment because they were shallow vessels.

Sunnie was smart enough to know that, so she’d found the perfect way to guard her heart.

There was a small part inside him that thought he should have his head examined for even thinking about dating Sunnie, simply because he had a healthy dose of self-preservation himself, and he had no idea how this was going to end up.

All he knew was what he wanted.

Her. Forever.

However, her confidence was only overshadowed by her stubbornness. She wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“A ton of kisses. Close to a million.”

Landon shook his head and made a buzzer sound to indicate he was calling her on her bullshit. “Nope. I’m going to need a more practical answer.”

“How many times did you kiss Audrey before some ‘ah-ha, I’m in love’ moment?” It was a classic duck and cover move on her part. If she didn’t know the answer, she changed the subject, putting the questioner on the offensive instead.

“Four times.”

She snorted before she realized he was serious.

“Four times,” she repeated. “That sounds like you. You are a hopeless romantic, Landon. What happened to make it the fourth the one?”

“You’ve already heard my Audrey stories, Sunnie.” She, like Finn, had been his confidante the past seven or eight years. Typically, it was the three of them at the bar, talking about relationships, sports, future plans. She had been his friend every step of the way through the Audrey years.

“Never in this context. I mean, I heard about the dates and the getting-lucky parts. And I was there when she left.” Her eyes softened.

Landon had been brokenhearted when Audrey realized she would regret not taking her shot at Broadway if she settled down with him in Baltimore. He’d respected her honesty even though it had shattered him.

The night she’d thrown her stuff in the back of her car and taken off for the bright lights of the big city, Finn and Sunnie had shown up, armed with pizza and beer, and they’d cued up every John Cusack movie on Finn’s iTunes account. Sunnie’s brother had a serious man-crush on John Cusack for some reason.

“Our first date was a blind date, set up by one of the guys at the precinct. The second was a work function, summer picnic. She hung out with the other wives and girlfriends and taught three little girls how to play hopscotch after drawing the boxes out with sidewalk chalk for them.”

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