Welcome, Valentine’s Day Gift Hop hoppers! Thanks for dropping by — please excuse the mess. Crossing the Lines (Neighborly Affection #2) is releasing March 3, and we all know housework is the first thing to fall by the wayside when life gets busy.
I would’ve put the laundry basket away, but the dog likes to sleep in it, and I don’t know what I’d do if my clean clothes weren’t covered in dog hair. And okay, maybe last night’s dishes are still soaking in the sink and the recycling hasn’t gone out and I’ll never manage to contain the pile of shoes by the door.
The thing is, romance happens in chaos all the time. It doesn’t have to be a special Valentine’s Day dinner date with overpriced flowers . (Although I’m a little jealous of Alice, because Henry and Jay have a doozy of a Valentine’s surprise for her in Crossing the Lines.)
But sometimes, the most romantic moments happen in quiet and unexpected ways, and they stay with us for years.
Eons ago, before my husband and I did the whole rings-and-vows thing, we were a couple of college students navigating relationship-land. He bought me a CD, apropos of nothing. It wasn’t Valentine’s Day. It wasn’t my birthday or Christmas or some special anniversary for us.
By itself, no big deal, right? Not worth remembering more than a decade and a half later.
Except he, who cannot stand listening to country music, bought this country music album for me, a woman who cannot go anywhere in the car without blasting the music and singing along, knowing he’d have to listen to it daily, on repeat, for months – just because he knew I’d like it.
Love doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. It shows itself in a lifetime of small gestures. And even now, when my CD collection has long since switched over to mp3 and my driving music is a playlist on shuffle – even now, when a song by that artist comes on, the first thought in my head?
My husband loves me.
Not bad mileage for an impulse purchase.
What reminds you of love?
Leave a comment below and you’ll be in the running to win a Valentine’s Day Gift Hop grand prize of a Kindle Paperwhite or a bundle of new adult romance ebooks.
Two commenters on this blog stop will win an ecopy of Playing the Game (Neighborly Affection #1) and a $5 Amazon gift card. The Rafflecopter below also offers extra chances to win.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And don’t forget to check out the rest of the hop participants – every comment you make on any of the sites counts as an entry for the grand prizes!