Heart and Soul by Jackie May (reading list .TXT) 📗

says. “And Shayne, I hear you. Respect. Watching out for us.”

“Watching out for Jay’s breakfast,” I correct.

Jay mimics his partner’s cadence. “Breakfast. Gotta love it. Gotta have it.”

Russo claps his hands together with an explosive laugh. “Solidarity! You two putting me under the lights?” He jabs his fists like a boxer. “One-two! Loving that. But let’s pump the brakes a second. This ain’t my first rodeo with a badge bunny.”

I bite the hook. “A what?”

“Badge bunny,” Brenner answers. “A cop chaser.”

“That’s a thing?”

Russo chuckles. “Big time. The badge, the authority, the uniform. She digs it, I dig it. We’re gonna do our thing for a couple weeks, and then she’ll move on to another badge, and I’ll have some lively memories to go with my steak and eggs.”

“Oh, I see. So all that talk about ‘the spark’ is bullshit. You’re not waiting for the right one to come along. You’re waiting for the next one to come along. Some pretty young thing to worship your…badge.”

“Hey, ‘the spark’ is still a thing, and it’s sacred, but we can’t all be Brenners, can we?” He slaps Brenner’s knee, then pinches the back of his neck like an obnoxious older brother. “I pegged him as a ‘one-and-done’ from the start.”

I swat his hand away. “Until Kirsten goes after his badge next.”

“You think she hasn’t tried?” Russo teases.

I pretend to be miffed. “Oh, really.”

Russo’s voice takes on a nostalgic air, as though he’s regaling me with a tall tale. “Hear this, Shayne Davies. Many a fine young thing has thrown herself at Detective Brenner over the years. But all—I repeat, all—attempts were met with crushing failure, until you came along.”

Unconvinced, I narrow my eyes at Brenner, as if to demand confirmation.

“Well…” Brenner tilts his head, and he makes an uncertain gesture with his hand. “Maybe not all.”

I make crazy eyes. “Wrong answer.”

Brenner winks at Russo, who throws his hands up and blurts, “I don’t know you.”

Before I can take another stab at Brenner’s knee, an uproar rises from the crowd. One of the Tigers players is hauling himself up on top of the dugout right in front of me. When he stands to his full height, I nearly die with shock to see that it’s Ardee Todd. In full uniform. My pick for nine-out-of-ten on the scale of hottest guys. My not-so-secret celebrity crush for the last five years.

After waving to the crowd, he locks eyes with me, smiles, and says, “Shayne Davies?”

And then…

And then…since I have a spotty recollection of the next few moments, I’m going to get another POV to help fill in the blanks. Be right back…

RUSSO

I remember everything about that moment perfectly and accurately, so prepare yourself for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, directly from the mouth of an officer of the law, sworn to the duty of upholding life, liberty, and the mother-loving American way. With one hand on the Bible, I solemnly swear that when this Ardee Todd fella appeared, a divine glow shone from his face, every set of panties in that stadium immediately burst into flames, and I was struck down by the undeniable fact that we had underestimated how much better-looking he is than Brenner. Lowball estimate, at least ten times better-looking than—

SHAYNE

You know what, forget it. That’s the last time I try dual POV.

Anyways.

After convincing myself that this is no dream sequence or fake prologue, I stand up to face Ardee Todd. He steps down into the aisle, ignoring all the other women shrieking for his attention. He shakes my hand. “Hey there, good to meet you. I’m told you’re a super fan. That’s awesome. I always tell everybody we got the best fans in the world.”

He stops talking, because by now I should have said something, or done something—anything—in response. But I’m just standing there, frozen, so he nods hello to Brenner. “Hey man, you must be Detective Brenner?” He leans past me to shake Brenner’s hand.

“Thanks for stopping by,” Brenner says. “Means a lot.”

“No worries. Happy to. You guys are the real heroes. Be safe out there, yeah?” After getting a hardy shake of the hand from Russo, Ardee Todd returns his attention to me, producing a black marker from his pocket. “Can I sign something for you?”

Gathering the hem of my Tigers jersey in both hands, I lift my shirt up to my armpits, exposing my black bra on the Jumbotron. Whistles and catcalls fill the stadium. I angle my ribs toward him, showing off the tattoo of the Tigers’ letter D logo just beneath my left Pointer Sister.

Todd stammers, “Oh…right.”

As he dives down there to sign his name across my ribcage, I crane my neck toward Brenner. I’m practically breathless. “You set this up? You did this for me?”

He smiles. “Cross it off your bucket list.”

“Oh my gosh, you did this for me?” I repeat.

Now the crowd is cheering again. I look at the enormous Jumbotron, where the Kiss Cam logo has reappeared next to my grinning face. Hell, you don’t have to tell me twice. Dropping my shirt, I turn and throw myself at Jay, kissing him long and hard. The crowd’s cheering becomes a deafening roar.

Jay pulls back, chuckling. “Shayne, not me. Him.” He gestures to Ardee Todd, who, totally left hanging, throws his hands out in a big question mark to the audience.

I’m in a daze. “Him?”

“Your bucket list,” Brenner urges. “To kiss Ardee Todd. It’s now or never, babe.”

“You…” I point to Brenner, then to Ardee Todd. “Him?”

It’s too late. Women are already lining up to do what I didn’t. Ardee Todd gives each a kiss on the cheek. The whole stadium goes wild.

“You did this for me?” I ask Brenner one more time, before snatching his hand. “Boy, I need you to come with me. Now.”

I can tell he’s trying to conceal his eagerness when he says, with mock surprise, “Now?”

“Yes, now. We’re about to cross something else off my bucket list.” I pull him