Operation Babe-Magnet. Kristin Gabriel

Doogster doesn’t need lessons on how to do the horizontal hustle,” he chortled into the microphone. “But for you losers out there who are tired of those blowup dolls, check out Harry Hanover’s new guidebook, How To Jump-Start Your Love Life. It might be a waste of money, but it could fill up another lonely Saturday night. This is 1240 KROC, rockin’ you in the morning.”

      Then Doogie flipped a switch and loud music reverberated from the speakers. He turned a dial, then swiveled his chair to face Dexter. “That’s a wrap. Thank you so much for coming in this morning, Mr. Hanover. I’m sure my listeners will enjoy your book.”

      Dexter blinked, surprised by the transformation. “You’re welcome.”

      Then Doogie nodded toward the control booth. “So is your publicist unattached?”

      Despite the fact that Doogie might not really be as bad as his shock jock persona, Dexter wasn’t about to let him anywhere near Kylie. “Sorry, she’s not available.”

      Doogie picked up a copy of the book. “Good stuff here. I especially like chapter sixteen.”

      “Why Men Can Cry?” Dexter asked in disbelief. “You actually read it?”

      Doogie smiled, placing a hand over his heart. “Hey, I’m a sensitive guy. Ask anyone.”

      Dexter shook his hand, the urge to punch Doogie in the jaw gradually fading. But he found Kylie wasn’t ready to be so forgiving.

      “Can you believe that?” she asked, as they walked out of the radio station. “He ripped you and the book to shreds! We’ll be lucky if anyone in Columbus buys it now.”

      “Aren’t you the one who said any publicity is good publicity?”

      “He made you sound like a pimp!”

      “Not me. Harry.” He slowed and turned toward her. “There is a difference.”

      She took a deep breath. “I know that. I just wish the Doogster would have been a little more supportive of How To Jump-Start Your Love Life instead of making it sound like it was just written for losers. Ridiculing the author and the book certainly isn’t going to help sales. I should have complained to the station manager.”

      He clasped her arm, pulling her to a stop. Her cheeks were flushed and her brown eyes glowed with angry sparks. He wanted to tell her she was beautiful when she was angry, but Hanover’s book had specifically warned against using tired clichés. So he tried to calm her down instead. “Look, anyone who listens to Doogie’s show expects him to act that way. That’s the reason they tune in. If he had gushed over the book, they never would have believed him. This way they got a few laughs at the same time they got exposed to the information.”

      “Exposure is good,” she conceded grudgingly.

      “Right. And the next time they’re in a bookstore and see How To Jump-Start Your Love Life, they’ll remember it. More importantly, they’ll probably buy it just to see what Doogie was making such a fuss about.”

      She smiled up at him. “You’re pretty smart, Harry, did you know that?”

      He thought about his decision to kiss her instead of Gertrude.

      “I have my moments.”

      Kylie squared her shoulders. “Okay. Doogie set the ball rolling. So now I just need to think of some way for us to take advantage of it.”