Partners in Love

I cut my teeth on the grand old partner romance TV shows of the 80s. You know the ones I'm talking about—Remington Steele, Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Moonlighting. Those shows that first elicited the question, "When are they ever going to get together?"

Then came the 90s, The X-Files and the quintessential partner lovers, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Dozens of knockoffs later, we have a fresh batch of new partner romances, including as Bones and Booth. Castle and Beckett. DiNozzo and Ziva. Michael and Fiona. And probably a dozen more on shows I don't watch.

Sexual tension between partners is an old, time-honored tradition, and why not? Partners in love rock!

When I was plotting my new series, Cooper Security, I knew I wanted to do at least one story about work partners who struggle past their fears and the conflicts keeping them apart to find love with each other. I enjoy starting a story where the characters already have a strong basis as friends. It's like having shorthand to the romance, in some ways. But the friendship also complicates the choice of taking the step into intimacy in a way that two strangers meeting and becoming involved doesn't. What if taking the relationship into the romantic/sexual realm destroys the camaraderie and connection that make the partners so good together? What if it changes the whole dynamic of the relationship, not only with each other but also with the people around them?

I also like undercover stories. The stakes go exponentially higher when a character must pretend to be something he's not, especially if having his cover blown put his life at grave risk. Toss in a faked death, an insular clan of redneck drug runners and a couple of ruthless mercenaries and you have my April book, Secret Hideout, featuring former FBI agent Isabel Cooper and the man she thought she'd lost but could never forget. How about a blurb?

They came after former FBI agent Isabel Cooper in her hotel room. Drugged and fighting for her life, she ran right into the arms of a dead man. But Ben Scanlon was very much alive, and now her life was in his hands, too.

His face was rougher and his hair longer than when they'd last met, but he still carried himself like a born Texan. Undercover with the same redneck mafia that was after her, Scanlon thought he could save Isabel without revisiting their past together. But when every step led to a trap, and every touch they shared had a consequence, he wasn't going to waste a second chance—or another bullet.

So, how about you? Do you love partner romances? Do you have a favorite fictional partner couple? Is there a couple on TV or in a book series you've read that you'd love to see finally release some of that sexual tension building like a wildfire between them? Tell us all about it!