My Favorite Romantic Post – 1st Year

I’m celebrating the first year of my blog by rerunning my all time favorite romantic post from the first year of The Inkslinger. See if you agree. Drumroll please: Julie Jarnagin’s proposal gets my vote. Many posts made me laugh or cry, but Julie’s did both. Any comments will go in the drawing for the choice of Delia Latham’s books: Destiny’s Dream or Kylie’s Kiss or Miralee Ferrell’s Love Finds You in Sundance Wyoming. Deadline: Sept 10th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Julie:

The Proposal
             When Kevin and I were dating in college, our favorite spot was a local coffee shop. We spent hours sitting in a booth, getting to know each other. One of our favorite things to do over sugary coffee was taking turns coming up with questions, which we would both answer. “What is your favorite movie?” “What was the best vacation you’ve ever taken?”  “If you had gone to an out of state college, which one would you have chosen?” It was fun, and we laughed a lot.
            One night, it wasn’t unexpected when Kevin asked me to meet him at our regular spot. It was a nice, spring night, and when I arrived, he was sitting at a table outside waiting for me. Kevin said he had already ordered for us, but when I saw the barista carrying our coffee out to us, I told Kevin he shouldn’t have made her bring it out to us.
            He scrambled to the door to meet her, and before he could get to her, I saw a flash of light reflect off the top of the whipped cream, and I knew what was about to happen.
            The love of my life was about to propose to me at our place, the place where we had gotten to know each other and essentially fallen in love. I kicked myself for almost ruining the moment.
            I fought back the tears as he sat the drink in front of me. The diamond engagement ring was perched on top of the whipped cream.  The next thing I knew, a nervous Kevin bent down on one knee. In the process, his leg bumped the metal table, spilling the iced coffee, which poured down my arm and leg.
            The next few moments were a blur of laughter, tears and Kevin’s sweet proposal.
            A little sticky from the spilled coffee and with an engagement ring on my finger, I gave him a squeeze and a kiss.
            “I guess that means yes?” he asked.
            To this day, he still argues that I never actually said “yes.”
            I later found out that he had purchased the engagement ring that day and told my mom that he was going to wait a little while before popping the question. Kevin is not the most patient person, and by the end of the day, he had waited long enough.
In June, we celebrated our nine-year wedding anniversary, and over dinner, we found ourselves taking turns asking each other questions just like we used to do over coffee.
About Julie: I grew up in a rural community where my family farmed and raised cattle, inspiring me to set much of my fiction in small towns. I earned a B.A. in Journalism/Professional Writing from the University of Oklahoma, and I’m a member of America Christian Fiction Writers. My articles have appeared in local and national publications. Through my writing, I hope to share stories that inspire readers through reflecting God’s love. I live in Oklahoma with my husband, Kevin, and our energetic young son. My debut novel, Canyon Walls, is available through Barbour / Heartsong Presents in April 2011. Learn more: http://juliejarnagin.com/
About Canyon Walls: Sunset Camp changed Cassie Langley’s life as a teen. A decade later she is the new director attempting to prevent the struggling Christian camp from closing. She is determined to show her overbearing mom, perfect sister, and nosey small-town residents she can do it on her own.
Charming Will Overman volunteers as a camp counselor, attracting Cassie’s attention–and her suspicions. Is he there to help the kids or scout out the camp as a possible development site for his family’s real estate business? With the camp in serious financial trouble, Cassie must fight her feelings for Will to protect the camp.
On Sept 17th, I’ll begin the countdown to readers’ favorite picks for the year. In the meantime, come back Sept 12 for Historical Romance author, Connie Stevens.