Imagine an autumn night lit by the twinkling white lights of a rooftop bar, a
bucket of ice-cold Rolling Rock beer, and little ole me, walking through a crowd
of unfamiliar twenty-somethings toward “The One”. Granted, I didn’t know yet
that he was the one I was going to fall for. In fact, as I strolled toward the
spot where he was debating the merits of dating with my BFF, the only
thing I knew was that my friend had a crush on the guy. I was there to check him
out…for her.
Unfortunately for me, after about ten minutes, she wasn’t the only one with a
crush. He was lovely. Self-deprecating and funny…and yes, IMHO, pretty darned
hot. The elusive dating trifecta. I felt like I could talk to him…forever. Or
maybe I’m just a sucker for a rooftop bar.
But did this love-at-first-sight experience lead to even one date? Nope. Not for
two years. Because when your BFF calls and asks you to hightail uptown to meet
the new guy she’s got a crush on…you go. But when you end up falling for the
guy, well, you’ve got trouble. Major trouble. Maybe it’s the girl code, or maybe
when you meet your BFF in the fifth grade, you’re as close to her as any other
person in the world, and no guy…even if he’s The One…can get in between you and
your friendship.
But as it turned out, there was no romance in the cards for my BFF and The One.
She found (and married) a Southern California guy who taught yoga and embraced
her study of Buddhism, her perfect match in every way. And I ended up with the
guy from the bar.
That’s right. In the intervening years between our meet-cute and eventual
wedding, Bar Guy and I seemed to run into each other everywhere…happy hours and
late-night diners, Jimmy Buffett concerts and invitation-only Sumo wrestling
events (honestly, not even worth asking.) But the truth of the matter is that my
first “official” date with The One was a bit of a Hail Mary. Fact was I needed a
last-minute date for a work event, a midnight river boat party…music, dinner,
dancing…unusually swanky fun for a girl from the Burgh. And I could only think
of one guy to call. Luckily, he said yes. That night, two years after we’d first
met, he took my hand as we climbed the narrow stairs that led to the upper deck
of the boat and I thought, “Holy hell, I’m going to marry him, the guy
from the bar, he’s The One.” Crazy, but I knew it. Right then.
Another year later, on another beautiful fall day, we got married in a sweet
church in the town where we grew up. We’re still married. And yes, my BFF is
still my BFF. In fact, she was the maid of honor at our wedding. I guess my love
story is one of friendship and love-at-first sight.
What’s your story? Do you believe in love at first sight? Or are you more a
friends-to-lovers person? My debut novel, BREAKING THE
BACHELOR, is a friends-to-lovers story about a criteria-loving
matchmaker and a smokin’ hot bachelor committed to showing her the rules of
passion. I’d love to share it with you. Leave a comment and you’ll be entered in
a random drawing to win a five-dollar Amazon or BN.com gift card! And thank you
for stopping by Fresh Fiction!
About BREAKING THE BACHELOR
Goaded by her competition, matchmaker Jane Wright makes a very public bet that
she can find the “perfect” match for Manhattan's hottest confirmed
bachelor—sexy-as-sin bartender Charlie Goodman. Unfortunately, Charlie is also
Jane's ex-lover, a man she broke up with on a cocktail napkin. With her company
on the line, Jane has no choice but to convince the man of her most impractical
dreams to dive back into the dating pool.
Charlie doesn't want to see Jane's business fail. He just wants a little
revenge. Determined to prove to Jane that chemistry always beats compatibility
algorithms, he plans to drive her crazy with desire...then walk away. And his
plan is working. A little too well, actually. Because even as Jane scrambles to
calculate Charlie's best match, the heat building between combusts. But
Charlie's been so busy outsmarting Cupid that he hasn't noticed he's the naughty
cherub's next target...
About Maggie Kelley
After ten years of survival, aka working, in Hollywood, this former actress and
current author of sexy contemporary romance is living happily-ever-after in
Pittsburgh with her longtime sweetie and their two punky kids. When not
carpooling to birthday parties or testing her gourmet cooking skills by throwing
a frozen pizza into the oven, Maggie daydreams about sneaking off to the Vegas
or Napa, or even just the movies. A love of red wine, Italian food, and music
round out her list of life's greatest joys. Oh, and Tuesday night karaoke,
totally underrated fun.
7 comments posted.
I do believe in love at first sight... I know of a few examples... but friends to lovers is a great way to grow a relationship.
(Colleen Conklin 1:02pm March 18, 2015)
Thank you for your comments, everyone! We'll be posting the winner of the gift card today! Happy Monday!
(Maggie Kelley 9:42am March 30, 2015)
Denise, By random drawing, you are the winner of the $5 Amazon gift card! YAY! Please send your e-addy to me at [email protected] so I can get it over to you. And thank you to everyone for reading and commenting. Happy Monday! Maggie
(Maggie Kelley 9:05pm March 30, 2015)