by
Patty Froese
Anne Stanborough, a well known mystery writer,
inherits her maiden aunt's book store, Perfect on Paper. The lawyer handling
her aunt's estate is none other than the handsome Jake Harrison, but despite his
attraction to the beautiful author, his painful divorce has made him wary of a
marriage between two driven professionals. Anne can't let go of the career
she's worked her entire life towards, and he isn't willing to make a second
mistake in marriage. It looks like they should call the whole thing off until
Anne discovers that her late maiden aunt might not have been so
"maiden" after all… A love story from the past tugs this couple back
together again, but will it be enough to prove that a love founded in God
really can overcome anything?
How much are you willing to give up for love?
In movies and books, we see people faced with incredible
odds, willing to give up the world to be with the person they love, but in our
real lives, are we really so adventurous?
We all know that a successful marriage is built on a lot
more than a feeling. Shared values and goals help to solidify a relationship.
In fact, the leading cause of divorce is a lack of communication, followed
closely by money issues. [ 1 ] Falling in love is important, but having some
staying power in that relationship is equally important!
So I ask you, how much would you give up for love? Would you
be willing to be disowned by your family? Would you be willing to give up a
friendship? Would you be willing to abandon a career you love? Just how much
are you willing to pay for love?
My husband and I are very different. He's conservative where
I'm a free spirit. He's technical, where I'm creative. He sees black and white,
where I see gray. But while we have very different personalities, we share the
same goals financially, the same desires from our relationship and the same
commitment to talk things out until we reach an agreement. We got engaged after
two weeks and everyone we knew thought we were crazy. We've lasted, though! From that first spark
of love until now, we're crazy about each other.
Everyone has to make the decision: how much am I willing to
give up for this person? How much can I compromise on, and how much is simply
non-negotiable?
In my book, Perfect on Paper [2], Anne Stanborough faces
that same questions. She falls for a sweet lawyer who wants a housewife. She's
a driven novelist who has worked her tail off to get where she has. Is she
willing to give up her career to be with the man who captured her heart? Or is
that price too high?
EXCERPT
"I thought our business was complete?" She crossed her arms and watched him with humor in her eyes. He laughed and shook his head, looking a little bashful.
"It doesn't have to be, does it?"
It was Anne's turn to blush. She thought for a moment, trying to keep her face from betraying too much. She busied herself with getting the mug and teabag ready.
"Unless you'd rather not..."
"It's just..." Anne started.
"You'd rather not." He sounded embarrassed, and her heart went out to him.
"No, I would," Anne said quickly, then blushed again and shook her head. "Except... Oh, I don't know. We want different things, Jake."
"But I'm fun," he reminded her with a playful look.
"You're fun, I'll give you that."
"And I know all the decent restaurants around here. I'm pretty useful."
"You know the good restaurants too." She couldn't help but chuckle.
"What do we want that is so different?"
"I want a career. You want... a housewife."
"Maybe I do." There was no apology in his voice.
"I'm pretty much the furthest thing away from your domestic bliss that you could find."
"Isn't it a bit early to be worrying about that?"
Anne felt the heat rising in her cheeks again. Maybe it was... maybe it wasn't. It wasn't like she was planning her wedding colors after one date, or rather business dinner, but she could see the writing on the wall. She also didn't like to toss her emotions into the fray just to have her heart broken when the inevitable happened.
"We aren't kids anymore," Anne said. "Why start something that doesn't have a future?"
"You have a point." His voice was soft and low. "But it was tempting."
EXCERPT
"I thought our business was complete?" She crossed her arms and watched him with humor in her eyes. He laughed and shook his head, looking a little bashful.
"It doesn't have to be, does it?"
It was Anne's turn to blush. She thought for a moment, trying to keep her face from betraying too much. She busied herself with getting the mug and teabag ready.
"Unless you'd rather not..."
"It's just..." Anne started.
"You'd rather not." He sounded embarrassed, and her heart went out to him.
"No, I would," Anne said quickly, then blushed again and shook her head. "Except... Oh, I don't know. We want different things, Jake."
"But I'm fun," he reminded her with a playful look.
"You're fun, I'll give you that."
"And I know all the decent restaurants around here. I'm pretty useful."
"You know the good restaurants too." She couldn't help but chuckle.
"What do we want that is so different?"
"I want a career. You want... a housewife."
"Maybe I do." There was no apology in his voice.
"I'm pretty much the furthest thing away from your domestic bliss that you could find."
"Isn't it a bit early to be worrying about that?"
Anne felt the heat rising in her cheeks again. Maybe it was... maybe it wasn't. It wasn't like she was planning her wedding colors after one date, or rather business dinner, but she could see the writing on the wall. She also didn't like to toss her emotions into the fray just to have her heart broken when the inevitable happened.
"We aren't kids anymore," Anne said. "Why start something that doesn't have a future?"
"You have a point." His voice was soft and low. "But it was tempting."
Patty Froese
Patty Froese is an inspirational writer who blogs
Monday to Friday about the lighter side of a writer's life. Come find her at
her blog, pattyfroese.com, [3] or on Twitter. [4] She'd love to see you!
Welcome to the Grapevine, Patty! Thank you so much for being my guest.
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me, Tami. I'm thrilled to be here. :)
ReplyDeleteWaving to you both Tami and Patty. Very interesting concept of marriage, Patty. I suppose I chose for the right reasons since December 8th will be our 44 wedding anniversary. I didn't reason it out, though, I decided the moment I laid eyes on him that he was the one I wanted. Luck was with us as we have had a happy marriage and I wouldn't trade him for anything. Bless his heart, he even gets more excited about my writing career than me, and he hung a framed movie poster of Gerard Butler on the wall in the TV room. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to think about. And wonder. We have little in common but are long--and happily--married. Only in retrospect do I see we probably both gave some things up, but I don't think either of us ever really missed those things.
ReplyDelete