Shannon here: Rebecca Reed shares how she met her husband and how her hero and heroine met in an excerpt from her Contemporary Romance, Framed with Love Comment or answer the question in any post dated Jan 1st – 13th to enter the drawing for an e-book copy plus 3 other titles in my January Book Bundle #1. Deadline: Jan 24th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Rebecca:
Everyone warns against workplace romances, and I suppose if we hadn’t been employed in a large factory, ours might not have panned out. My husband and I met while we worked at a large semi-trailer manufacturing plant––one of the many jobs I had before becoming a teacher and an author. He was a welder, and I was a lead person in the metal fabrication division. He worked on the north side, and I worked on the south side of the same ginormous building.
Because of the nature of my job, I traveled to various parts of the factory checking to see if the parts my workers produced fit properly. I heard a rumor that a certain welding station kept a stash of chocolate, and one day, I was craving a good chocolatey snack, so I happened along to see if the rumor was true.
Turns out, not only was the chocolate real, but the person stashing it was pretty sweet as well. We married about a year later.
In each of my published novels, the hero and heroine have had unique meet cutes. My latest, Framed with Love, is set in a fictional beach town in the Florida Panhandle. The following excerpt is one of my favorite scenes because: pets and humor. Though Olivia wasn’t laughing. What do you think?
Excerpt from Framed with Love by Rebecca Reed:
Olivia Perez closed her eyes against the brilliant dawn firing the water and breathed in. Her slow exhale reached all the way to her bare toes, worries eased by the extravagance of having the beach to herself. The velvety bundle in her arms wriggled, threatening to conjure the long list of items on today’s to-do list. She lifted the rabbit until they were nose-to-nose. “Which way, Sable?”
Lowering the protesting bunny, she raised her face to the horizon. A sea breeze caressed her cheeks in welcome. Salt clung to her frizzing hair. Shoving her cares away, she traversed the shifting sand until it firmed, glancing toward the cluster of high-rise buildings half a mile up the beach. Nothing moved at this early hour except the retreating tide and a few sandpipers and scuttling crabs. Overhead, the discordant cries of gulls broke the soothing rhythm of the waves.
After a moment’s hesitation, she turned her back on the hotel district and the pier stretching far into the Gulf and faced the stretch of cottages and homes that lined the beach road winding westward from Summer Shore. Her step faltered at the dark silhouette crouched at the water’s edge, face to the sea. Her eye tracked to the large dog bounding through the surf. Perhaps today wasn’t the day to change direction.
An echo of Mama’s voice gripped her. “There’s never a good time to step into the unknown.” God knew she’d been in stasis the last few years, but decisions had never been her friends. Her shoulders rounded, courage leaching away. Maybe tomorrow.
She rotated east as Sable squirmed again. Olivia placed the rabbit on the sand and looped his leash over her wrist. They made their meandering, hopping way toward the pier, an echo of a hundred similar walks she’d taken since moving back six months ago.
The skin on her neck prickled. Something felt off. She glanced around, seeing nothing.
Wishing for her camera, she pulled out her phone and bent to photograph her pet’s tiny trail then added more shots of the rabbit. Standing, she scrutinized the results. Not as good as the Canon could do, but not awful. She admired how the sun’s rays crossed the sand to dust Sable’s brown shades with gold.
A rhythmic pounding registered seconds before the leash pulled taut, the jerk sending her phone tumbling––exactly why her camera was safe in her third-floor room at The Summer House.
A bark and passing blur triggered her lunge toward Sable. She caught the slobber-furred rabbit as a sharp command delivered it from the black dog’s jaws.
“Stella, sit,” rumbled a second command.
She spun to face the voice, legs tangling, rear plopping onto the sand. Her phone skidded out of reach, but she clutched the bunny tight to her chest. Squeezing her eyes closed, she quivered in anticipation of the dog’s onslaught. When seconds passed with no attack, she cracked one eyelid to find bare tanned feet beside the dog who sat on her haunches, pink tongue lolling.
Some magnetic force dragged Olivia’s gaze up muscled calves to fuchsia flower-patterned board shorts riding low on narrow hips. A white tank accented rather than covered the man’s toned abs, chest, and shoulders. White-blonde hair flowed past his ears in silky filaments, making her want to gather them between her fingers. But his stunning, cut-glass eyes stole her breath––the blue so intense, she forgot everything else.
Reader Question: Which meet cute is “cuter,” my real life or Olivia’s? Are you Team Chocolate or
Team Pet?
Jan Book Bundle #1
A Texas Bond by Shannon’s Taylor Vannatter, Contemporary Romance, print
Building Hearts by Julie Arduini, Contemporary Romance, print
A Cedar Haven Christmas by Charlene Amsden, Romantic Suspense e-book
Framed with Love by Rebecca Reed, Contemporary Romance, e-book
About Rebecca: Rebecca Reed writes romantic tales filled with journeys of discovery, hope, and horses, fulfilling a lifelong calling as a storyteller. A lover of Jesus, animals, music, and nature, she might be found listening to audiobooks on her rural Indiana farm. As a wife, mother, and grandmother, she’s learned to embrace joy where she can find it––in life’s unexpected moments and inside a good story.
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About the book – Framed with Love:
She might need his skills to create the perfect wedding images, but falling in love isn’t in the picture.
Photographing people gives Olivia Perez the jitters, but she’s determined to prove her friends’ loyalty isn’t unfounded. This secret celebrity wedding is do or die for their business. When her videographer quits, Olivia needs a replacement––fast. The diving instructor is the last person she expects will fit the bill. If only she’d curbed her tongue at their first meeting.
Stirling “Mac” MacAllister isn’t ready to come out of hiding––or is he? When his Labrador’s antics bring him face to face with a dark-haired spitfire and her pet rabbit, sparks fly, and he begins to wonder if he wants more than his solitary, beach bum lifestyle.
When Olivia invites Mac to be her videographer for an upcoming wedding, he dusts off his equipment, but soon discovers she needs more than his technical skills.
A flooded yard forces the wedding indoors, and Olivia’s insecurities undermine her confidence. With everything––including their hearts––on the line, Mac and Olivia must trust God and each other if they’re to frame a future together.
Framed with Love is a wholesome, faith-filled, contemporary romance with heart, humor, and a seaside town you’ll wish was real. Welcome to Summer Shore.
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Interested in Rebecca’s other titles? Get your copy/copies now!
Framed with Love Rebecca’s Books
Come back Jan 15th for R.F. Whong!
I do love pets, but for this, I have to go with Team Chocolate. A man who stashes chocolate gets my vote every time.
Team chocolate is definitely a winner!
I’ll go with Team Chocolate.
Can’t go wrong with chocolate!
I’m on both teams. I want to continue reading!!!
Yay!! Thanks for that. It makes my author heart happy!
I’ll go with Team Chocolate. My parents also met at work.
Aw, fun!