How I Met My Other: True Engagements, Forever Love

Description

Will you marry me?

We all want forever love with that one special person who lights up our lives with joy. Many people picture the perfect moment, but sometimes reality can surprise us. In this collection of true stories, authors share their one-of-a-kind engagement stories, filled with humor, surprises, and most of all, happiness.

Inside are stories of unexpected beginnings, second chances at love, tales of just-right timing, and experiencing the magic in every day. Join us in a celebration of forever love!

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iX

Unexpected Beginnings

More Than This, Stephania Thompson . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Someday, Diana DuBs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Just My Bill, Paul Iasevoli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Chatroom Love, Marie Montgomery . . . . . . . . . . .69

Another Chance at Love

EXtraordinary Engagement, E.M. Hector. . . . . . .89

Easy, Dan Carroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Lost & Found, M.R. Shorey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Smitten, Mona Posinoff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Timing Is Everything

He’s a Keeper, Rita Angelini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

A Diamond Is Forever, Chelsea Fuchs . . . . . . . . . 171

On Top of the World,

Renee Adamowicz-Schwartz . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Yesterday, Today, and Forever, Sharon Rhyce . .197

Living the Story

All the Ordinary Moments,

Miranda L. Scotti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

The Love Story of Margrethe,

Madonna Dries Christensen . . . . . . . . . . . .231

The Dance of Destiny, Jasmine Tritten . . . . . . . . 247

It’s a Love Story, Afterall, Jenna Wilson . . . . . 259

Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Meet the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

More In this Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Sujets

• Magical Love
• Dating
• Romantic Comedy

Informations

• Publié par: Orange Blossom Publishing
• Date de parution: 08 février 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781949935332
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Table o f Contents
Dedication
In troduction
Unexpected Beginnings
More Than This
by Stephani a Thompson
Someday
by Diana Dubs
Ju st My Bill
by Pau l Iasevoli
Cha troom Love
by Marie Montgomery
Another Chan ce at Love
Extraordinary Engagement
by E .M. Hector
Easy
by D an Carroll
Lo st & Found
by M .R. Shorey
Smitten
by Mon a Posinoff
Timing Is Everything
He’ s a Keeper
by Rit a Angelini
A Diamond Is Forever
by Che lsea Fuchs
On Top of the World
by Renee Adamowic z-Schwartz
Yesterday, Today, a nd Forever
by Sh aron Rhyce
Living the Story
All the Ordina ry Moments
by Mira nda Scotti
The Love Story of Margrethe
by Madonna Dries C hristensen
The Dance of Destiny
by Jasmi ne Tritten
It’s a Love Story , Afterall
by Je nna Wilson
Discussion Questions
Meet t he Authors
Meet the Editor
More in T his Series





© ٢٠٢٢ Arielle Haughee, combined co llection
Individual story rights retained by authors
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, in part, in any form, without the permission of the pu blisher.

Orange Blossom Pu blishing
Maitland, Florida
www.orangeblossomb ooks.com
info@orangeblossomb ooks.com
Cover Design: Dio go Lando
Interior Formatting: Autu mn Skye
Copy Editing: Lauren Stendel
All stories based off true events. Some names have been changed for privacy p urposes.
Printed in th e U.S.A.
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-949 935-32-5
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-949 935-33-2


Dedication
To Jon and Mary, for having a beautiful love story that k eeps going


In troduction
Rings are circles, signs of the eternal promise two people give to each other. The excitement and anticipation of that one moment, when one person asks another to be together for all their days, can be overwhelming at times. In 2008, I swore to my then boyfriend, Tim, that I would not move to another town with him and leave a job I loved without a ring on my finger.
Christmas came and went, and my finger was still bare. Didn’t he want to be with me forever? Tim would graduate law school in May and was due to move shortly thereafter. If I was supposed to move in with him in a few short months, I had to find a new job and a place to live. For me, the clock was running out. In January, we planned a trip outside of Boone, North Carolina for Valentine’s Day. This would be a great opportunity—he bette r take it!
One evening, while chatting with my dad on the phone, he mentioned something that stopped me in my tracks: “So I talked with Tim the other day about marriage.”
My hear t paused.
“What are you talking ab out, Dad?”
“He drove into town, and we had lunch. He asked me about getting married.”
“Dad! You’re not supposed to tell me that!”
But secretly I was thrilled. I could finally sleep soundly knowing it was coming. The Valentine’s trip now seemed more promising than ever.
Tim and I openly communicate about everything, and I couldn’t contain my excitement when I saw him later that day.
“So I had a talk with D ad today.”
“Uh huh,” he said without looking up from his cl ass notes.
“He told me you drove down to see him and talked about marriage.”
“WHAT?” The notes were suddenly forgotten. “He told you ab out that?”
My smile was a mile wide . “Maybe.”
Tim scowled. “Well you don’t kn ow when !”
He stomped out of the room.
On the morning of the trip, I kept a close eye on what Tim packed in his suitcase. Maybe I could spot him sneaking a small box in there. No luck. It had to be this trip, right? He wouldn’t ask me in May and expect me to move the next day. At least I hoped he wouldn’t.
The drive felt interminable, but we finally arrived. Tim’s neighbors had graciously lent us their cabin tucked into the Blue Ridge mountains. Bare trees sprinkled with snow scattered over soft, rolling peaks showed through the fron t window.
A beautiful backdrop for hopefully a beautifu l moment.
As Tim unpacked his suitcase, one of his sock rolls landed with a thud in the dresser drawer. Interesting. I kept my smile to myself, not wanting to upset him further. We planned a hike at Grandfather Mountain the next day. Tim mentioned he’d been there as a child and loved it.
I soon learned why. After viewing rescued animals and seeing that bald eagles are as tall as a three-year-old, we headed for the trail, a mysterious winding path through the trees. Full of that excitement and anticipation, I hugged Tim, and felt a square box in his coat pocket. This was truly going to be it!
We stopped at a beautiful, ice-filled stone enclave. No proposal.
Then a small, frozen waterfall with droplets trickling onto smooth stones. No proposal.
What was he waiting for? Maybe he wouldn’t propose on this hike. Maybe he was waiting for me to say or do something, and I would never do it. My mind swirled w ith doubt.
Then the trees thinned, and an enormous boulder blocked the hiking path. We couldn’t go around it, so Tim put out his hand and together we climbed up. I focused on each footstep, not wanting to slip on the wet stone. He helped me up the last bit, still clasping my hand.
I finally looked up an d gasped.
Miles and miles of beautiful rolling hills and soft blue mountain tops unfolded in a breathtaking vista. My eyes could barely take in the entirety of the unbelievable view… let alone see what Tim was doing. When I finally looked over to say how amazing this was, he dropped down on one knee, and pulled the square box out of hi s pocket.
Wow, did he pick a per fect when.
Inside the box was a promise for the future , a ring.
The authors in this book share their stories, their moments of forever love, when a promise was made to deeply care for each other forever. Some folks had to wait for just the right moment, like Tim did, others found a second chance at love, while still more were caught by surprise.
I hope you see yourself in some of these tales, and feel the love that flows in perpetual motion, back and forth in a circle.
Arielle


Unexpected Beginnings


More Than This
by Stephani a Thompson
Skirting the Truth
Stephania
I was freezing.
Should’ve worn pants , that little internal voice lectured, ticking in staccato to the tap, tap, tap of my heels on the pavement.
“Your skirt’s too short,” Collin had warned, frowning as I hurried out for work this morning. “You’re going to be cold.”
Oh, how it burned when he was right!
It might have been June in Baltimore, but the temperature hadn’t spiked above sixty for days. If it was this chilly on the city streets, my office was sure to feel like an icebox.
But the too-small, mid-thigh, stretch blue mini wasn’t a fashion statement—it was an act of rebellion. Collin hated short, tight clothing, and damn if a little chill would prevent me from pissing him off.
He and I were on year one-too-many of a toxic relationship. We’d reached that point where every interaction disintegrated into insults, snide comments, and cutting glances. It was time to jump ship, but my self-esteem had taken a beating, and I wasn’t sure I deserved more than this. And so, I stayed.
Thankfully, work kept me sane. I’d paid my dues in the staff accounting pool and had finally landed my dream job as a financial analyst at a large, well-respected asset management firm. The market was booming, and I was racking up the hours. One benefit of a miserable home life? You don’t mind the overtime.
I slumped into my cubicle, shivering as I tugged at the offending skirt, and let out an exhau sted sigh.
“What’s wrong, muffin?” came the cheery voice of Heidi, my cubemate. “Trouble in paradise?” Unlike me, the twinkling-eyed blonde was never without a smile or an encoura ging word.
“Always,” I muttered, rubbing vigorously at my skin to generate some warmth. Low wall cubes only allowed for so much privacy, and with a sea of young accountants packed onto one floor, drama was forever unfolding.
But that was one of the best parts. Camaraderie. Friendships formed in the trenches. Did we know far too much about each other? Probably. But there was comfort in that. A bond of familiarity forged in the shared drudgery of account recs, reheated coffee, and late-night revisions. We were family, albeit a dysfunct ional one.
Which is why Heidi wasn’t surprised when, five minutes later, I poked my head above the wall and whispered, “Have you seen him yet?”
Him , being Terry. Heidi’s new boss.
He’d been working a month but remained something of an anomaly. Distant or shy—we couldn’t tell—he’d kept to himself, interacting mostly with his direct reports and a handful of managers.
Naturally, the rest of us were curious. And his drop-dead good looks weren’t hurting the cause. Solid and ruggedly built, he had golden, sun-warmed skin, silky brown hair, and eyes like twin emeralds. He didn’t smile often, but when he did, the room brightened, as if a ray of sunshine had found it s way in.
Speculating about Terry had become something of a sport for us girls. A harmless enough pastime. I was with Collin, after all, everyone knew about him. Including Heidi, who’d become a trusted confidant and clos e friend.
She shook her head. “Haven’t seen him,” she said, then pulled a face. “Kind of strange, now that you mention it. He’s never t his late.”
My eyes traveled down the row to his desk. Empty . Heidi was right, since starting last month he’d routinely beat us in. The telltale sign of his odd little b