Kimberly Rose Johnson – Real Life Romance & Excerpt – Part 1 of 1

Shannon here: Kimberly Rose Johnson shares how she met her husband and how her characters meet in her latest, Contemporary Romance, Island Christmas. Comment or answer the question at the end of the post to enter the drawing for a kindle copy – US and Canada only. Deadline: Nov 14th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Kimberly:

I met my husband in August of 1988. We were both in the same orientation group at college. I won’t say it was love at first sight, but we did hit it off right away. 🙂 Our first date was to the Puyallup Fair in Washington State. We married two years later and celebrated out 25th wedding anniversary this past August.
The characters in Island Christmas are little older and in a different place in life than my husband and I were when we met. Rachel and Chris have both come to Wildflower Island for a fresh start.
Chris is there with the hope of investing in the hot real estate market, and Rachel is there for a new job as the Sous Chef at Wildflower Fresh. They are both guests at the Wildflower Bed-and-Breakfast and meet in the sitting room when her three-year-old son knocks over a lamp. Here’s a short excerpt of the meet cute.
Excerpt from Island Christmas:
“Welcome to Wildflower Bed-and-Breakfast. You must be Ms. Narrelli.”
Rachel nodded. “Please call me Rachel. Ms. Narrelli makes me feel old.” At twenty-six, she was not old.
Jill nodded then handed her a key and a card. “All the information you should need is on the card, but feel free to ask if you have a question. Mrs. Jackson requested you be assigned the Poppy room. I trust it will be to your liking.”
Rachel nodded and wondered how this ultra-professional woman could possibly remind Zoe of her. A crashing sound in the sitting room accompanied by her son’s shrieking cry sent her running into the room. She sensed Jill close behind. A lamp lay overturned on a room-sized rug that covered the wood floor, and a frowning man bent over to pick it up.
When he stood his vivid blue eyes caught hers. “Is this little dude yours?”
Jason raced to her and clung to her leg.
Rachel rested her hand on his shoulder as his body trembled. “What happened?” Jason could be a handful at times. She bit her bottom lip, determined to remain calm and polite.
Jason looked up at her. “I was playing ring-around-the-rosie.”
“Sorry about this,” she said to Jill and to the man who stood nearby. “Jason, please apologize.”
He looked to the ground. “Sorry.”
“No harm done,” Jill said, but her pinched smile indicated otherwise.
The guy shrugged. “I’m sure I knocked over more than my fair share of things as a boy. Look, the lamp is fine.” He placed it on the end table beside a leather chair.
Jason’s head popped up, and he gazed with admiration at the man, who in turn winked at her son.
Jill turned to her. “I assume you know your way to your room?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Excuse me then.” Jill pivoted and left the room.
Jason held up his arms. “Up.” Her precocious son, though very verbal for a three-year-old, still needed an afternoon nap, which he’d missed. She lifted him into her arms and warmed as he snuggled close.
The man stepped forward. “I’m Chris.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Rachel.”
He brushed a longish swoop of brown hair out of his eyes. “You’ve stayed at the Wildflower B&B before?”
She nodded as Jason went limp in her arms. Although he was a little guy, when he was completely relaxed, he quickly became heavy. “Excuse me. I should lay him down for a nap.” She turned and trudged up the stairs, torn between wanting to visit with the attractive man and taking her son to the room.
Kimberly: As I sit at my computer I’m trying to find a way to conclude this, I’m thinking about my husband’s and my meet cute. We were in our orientation group and we were each supposed to give a one-word description of ourselves that started with the same letter as our name.
My husband said “Radical Robert.” I thought he looked pretty rad with his spiked hair. LOL. I couldn’t come up with one for K. Later he told me what he thought when he saw me. 🙂
About Kimberly: Kimberly Rose Johnson, a recent empty-nester, lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their yellow lab. Island Christmas is her Eighth published book and the third in her Wildflower B&B Romance series. Kimberly enjoys long walks, chocolate, and mochas, not necessarily in that order. Learn more and connect:

Kimberly’s Website            Kimberly’s Facebook             Kimberly’s Twitter             Kimberly’s Pinterest

About the book – Island Christmas:
Should Rachel take a risk, or play it safe and possibly lose the man who could help fulfill her dreams?
Sous Chef Rachel Narrelli returns to Wildflower Island looking for a fresh start for herself and her young son, but discovers that life has a lot of bumps in the road even on idyllic Wildflower Island. She is grateful when new friend Chris Campbell offers support as she faces obstacles with her new job and new life. She cares for Chris but must decide if she is willing to risk her heart to a man with an uncertain future.

Can’t wait for the drawing – Purchase your copy:  Island Christmas

Question for readers: Where was your “meet cute” with your significant other? Or tell us about a family member’s “meet cute”.

Come back Nov 6th for an update from me!