A few weeks ago I asked some of my friends at Romance Divas where they met their partners. The answers ranged from online dating sites to college to in the workplace. It was a fun conversation, bringing happy memories for many of us.
The truth is that it’s not always easy to meet a partner. Many of us are busy with work commitments that leave very little time for romance. In the book world, cute meets abound. I’ve read stories where the heroine and hero literally bang into each other and of course, there are plenty of work romances.
In Tea For Two Sam Norville and Hayley Williams meet at a work function. They aren’t formally introduced, but they end up meeting anyway.
Here’s a short excerpt:
Not tonight. No, tonight he didn’t want to play the mating game. All he wanted was pleasant company with no commitments. No promises or obligations. A third woman stopped the two who had waved at him. As one, they turned to scrutinize him, clear speculation written across their faces. Determination. Sam knew what a wild animal felt like, trapped with nowhere to hide. His gaze darted back to the dark-haired woman sitting on her own, and he came to a quick decision.
His savior—although she might not appreciate the fact.
A soft smile played across sensual lips while she watched both the dancers and the people at the bar. There was an intriguing stillness about her, as if she were content with her own company, but that didn’t stop Sam from striding away from the bar, navigating the dancers on the floor, to reach her side. Up close, she had a quiet beauty with creamy soft skin and sapphire blue eyes surrounded by a mass of dark lashes. She wasn’t a woman who screamed, “look at me,” but her full curves appealed to him. Nothing worse than a string-bean woman with jutting hipbones and stick arms. No, he preferred someone healthy and robust, who didn’t look as if she’d break when he held her.
“Hello, darling,” he said and he lifted her off the chair, hauling her into his arms. Before she had a chance to react, he lowered his head and kissed her. To anyone else, to the three women stalking him, it would appear like a quick peck between friends, but with this woman, something changed. Shock roared through him and he froze. He pulled back enough so he could stare down at her, trying to fathom the sense of possessiveness that had blindsided him without warning. Yes, her eyes were beautiful. Stunning. The freckles across the bridge of her nose were cute. She smelled of wildflowers, a light, natural scent that didn’t make his eyes water or bring on a sneeze.
This woman was…
No way. No how! Not possible. He wasn’t going to act on the instinct screaming through him. He’d traveled that road before. No, all he intended to do was chat, maybe dance and reassure himself that this love at first sight stuff really was a load of crap. And of course, avoid the three stooges stalking him at the same time.
He released the woman and offered her a grin, the charming type his mother and sisters accused him of using whenever he wanted something.
“Hello, I’m Sam. You don’t know it yet, but you’ve just saved my life. I can’t thank you enough.”
“If you wanted an original pickup line, you’ve found it,” she said dryly, cocking her head slightly to the side to look up at him. Her voice was low and throaty. Seductive. And her mouth. Oh, yeah. Her bottom lip glistened, the plump pink curve highlighted with a gloss of some kind. Sam wanted to touch, but curled his hands to fists to halt the impulse.
“You haven’t heard my best ones yet.” Sam held out his hand and waited for her to acknowledge his greeting.
“Oh?” The beginnings of a grin twitched at the corner of her sexy lips, but didn’t go any farther. Slowly, she stepped back to put a more respectable distance between them. Sam’s heart thudded violently without warning, and he found himself wanting to make her smile. He could imagine her face lighting up and wanted to see if his imagination matched the truth.
“How much will you charge me for a smile?”
~ * ~
Thanks for having me to visit today.
Shelley Munro lives in New Zealand and met her husband in a bank. Tea For Two, her debut book for Samhain Publishing, is now available for purchase in both e-format and print. You can visit Shelley at www.shelleymunro.com
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9 comments ↓
Hi, Shelley! I met the love of my life when I was fifteen. He was a friend of a friend, and I did not like him at first sight! However, the more I was around him, the more attractive he became. He was witty, charming and treated me with respect. His hair was golden blonde and slightly curly, and he had the most beautiful green eyes ever! Unfortunately, he also suffered from low self-esteem. We did not stay together, but he still has his hold on my heart.
I love the “opposite attraction” romance where the sparks fly! Sometimes we need someone who is quite different than we are to complete ourselves. There is always more to a person than what you see on the surface. What fun it is to discover the inner lover : )
I met my love of my life when he came to visit his friend who was renting an apartment in the complex I managed. I was over having coffee with her one evening and he showed up with 2 of his boys. I wasn’t particularly interested at the time but 2 weeks later I received a phone call and he was back at his friends and invited me out for supper. That started it all. We are now married 20 years.
I really like where one sees the other from a small distance and there is a spark of interest and then some time later comes across that person again and there seems to be a connection between them as they talk.
yourstrulee(at)sasktel(dot)net
Virginia – what a great story. I love reading romances where opposites find they like each other very much. As you say, it’s fun watching the sparks fly as the characters learn that what they thought they hated isn’t so bad after all.
Robyn – another great story. I met my husband in a bank of all places. I was a teller and he was a customer. I used to think he looked very grumpy all the time. He smiles a lot more these days.
I have to admit that I really enjoy stories and movies where the couple see each other across a crowded room. That magical spark is the stuff of romance.
Since I’m not lucky enough to have that special someone I’ll answer the second part: I like novels where the characters meet under adversarial conditions. I love it when the characters start out hating each other then come to tolerance and finally evolving into genuine passion.
My favorite meet set-ups in romance books are when a situation tosses two people into it and they have to deal with that situation. They discover each other thru solving the situation or getting out of it.
Anne – the sorts of stories you mention do make for great reading, don’t they, especially if the two characters are very strong and confident in themselves.
Joye – I really enjoy reading romantic suspense and this is the type of genre that works well with the set up you mention. Lots of bullets and fighting, escaping from danger have a way of bringing people together or alternatively wrenching them even further apart.
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