“Ready for your first concert?” Sean asked as he turned off the engine of our cruiser.

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t think I can hack it, do ya, Whistler?”

Sean rubbed the back of his neck before reaching for the door handle to get out of the car. “It’s just a big event. They’re a whole different animal than our normal beat. You know I have complete faith in you, McBee.”

Our playful banter was normal, but the way it was making me feel was new. I really needed to get my feelings for my partner in check, or shit was going to escalate extremely fast. I knew neither of us was ready for something like that. I definitely was not ready for Sean to not be my partner anymore, and if my feelings for him got out, that was exactly what would have to happen.

We started walking toward the area where the tour buses were about to pull in with the bands and their crews all loaded inside. “I guess I’m just going to have to stick close to you, then. Oh, captain, my captain.” I hooked my arm in his for a brief second to finish out the joke, but he pulled away from me.

“Sorry?” I dug my hands into my pockets, feeling a little scorned. Did I take it too far? I felt like it was a completely normal move for us—how could I be reading him so poorly all of a sudden?

Sean nudged me with his elbow. “There are going to be a lot of us here, and I don’t want anyone to get the wrong impression.” The frown that consumed my partner’s face was alarming. I had never seen him look so disappointed in all the time we had spent together, and I had no idea what he was actually upset about. We always joked around when we were working. I guess concerts really are that different.

Quickly, my attention was taken away from the awkward situation as the door of my favorite band’s tour bus swung open.

Deep breaths.

Deep.

Slow.

Breaths.

I had to force myself to not start fangirling as I watched the members of The Hysterics start to descend the stairs of their gigantic bus, making their way backstage.

The drummer, Dane, was hand in hand with his wife, Fallon, and I totally melted on the spot. Their story was one for the ages, and I couldn’t help but be completely infatuated with them and how much they loved each other. Fallon Dunbar and Dane Pearson ranked up there on my celebrity couple list as high as Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness—they were just couples you rooted for to beat the odds.

I was so stoked to be working an event where I would finally get to see The Hysterics live for the first time. It was a damn dream come true.

“I hope they play The Lifespan of a Firefly,” Sean whispered as we both watched them walk only a few feet away from us.

“No way!” I punched him in the shoulder.

Taking a step back, he gave me a bewildered look. “What the hell?” he asked while rubbing the spot I’d just hit.

“How did I not know you’re a fan too?” I started to let a little of my crazy loose as I bounced in place.

Sean gave me a small crooked grin. “I’ve been following them since that concert where Dane broke his hand on that douche Kenneth Rhodes’ face and Fallon had to play for him.”

I squealed a little. “That was freaking epic! I remember reading about that on Raging Underground’s site the next morning.”

“Yeah, I was actually there that night. Gavin had a game in Chicago and the night after, we went to that show. It was pretty incredible. Fallon is a seriously talented drummer, and I couldn’t believe she outed herself like that.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to try to stop the goofy grin that was taking over my entire face.

“What?” Sean asked.

“You’re just something else, Whistler. I’m really glad we’re partners.”

He gently tapped me on the shoulder, almost like he was going to hug me, but then changed his mind. “I’m glad we’re friends.” His broad chest puffed out as he sucked in a deep breath. “Now, enough of this sappy bestie shit. We have a job to do.”

* * *

Most of our night was spent keeping drunken concertgoers from becoming a drunk and disorderly mob. It was an exasperating job, to say the least, but I hadn’t had so much fun working in a while. Right after Three Ugly Guys played their encore, The Hysterics took the stage, opening with Sean’s and my favorite song. I swayed to the music as I sang every word of the chorus to myself.

As the song came to an end, someone crashed right into me, tumbling down at my feet. As he clambered to stand, I spun around on my heels. Suddenly, I was face to chest with the same guy from the bar and the mall—Vinnie.

“We have to stop meeting like this—and lookie there, you actually are a lady cop, prettiest one I have ever seen. Definitely no man hands there.” Vinnie’s words slurred together as he rambled, and I could see Sean going into defensive mode.

“How much have you had to drink tonight, sir?” Sean’s chest puffed out and I could tell he was about to get in Vinnie’s face.

Vinnie threw his hands in the air as I stepped between them. “Sean, this is Vinnie. He was one of the guys in the fight the other night at the bar, and then Myla and I ran into him at the mall a few days later.”

Sean growled in my ear. “You can’t let punks like this think we’re their friends when they act like fucking ruffians.”

“Ruffians? What has your panties in a twist, Whistler?” Sean getting so flustered over us running into this guy was completely out of character. Usually, he was the first one to jump in with a witty comment or perfect little jab.

“Yeah, Whistler.” Vinnie was not helping matters, and Sean was getting ready to fly off the rails.

“What did you say to me punk?” Sean spit out through gritted teeth as he stepped around me to get closer to Vinnie.

Quickly, I got back in between them. I put my hand on Sean’s chest and turned to Vinnie. “Why don’t you go find your friends and enjoy the rest of the concert? Maybe we’ll run into each other another time.”

Vinnie bowed his head as he started to walk away, heading back toward the stage. “Yeah, okay. Sorry, officer.”

Once Vinnie was out of earshot, I glared at Sean. “What in the ever-loving fuck was that, Sean?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “What was up with that guy? Are you trying to date criminals now?”

I threw my hands in the air. “Wow! Now you have definitely lost your damn mind. It was questionable there for a second, and now I know for sure—you’re fucking crazy.”

I started to walk away from Sean to be sure I counted to ten enough times to not jump completely down his throat. Before I could even make it five steps away, Sean’s hand was on my wrist, pulling me back toward him. He took a few deep breaths before making eye contact with me, his hand still firmly gripping my arm.

“You’re right, I am crazy.” Before his words could even register in my mind, Sean’s fingers were knotting in my short curls as his lips crashed against mine.