That time I almost killed him, but he married me anyway...aka Why I Write Romance

The road to happily ever after started with food.That's what I thought when I made him that first dinner.I had it all planned. Salmon loaf--even though I hate canned salmon--, garlic toast and cherries jubilee, this sexy dessert I could set on fire...impress, impress, impress.He showed up and my heart did this little jig because he looked hot. Hot like the salmon loaf ready to dish. Hot unlike the stupid Pepperidge Farm frozen disaster. I don't know who comes up with the time on ready-to-cook bread packaging, but they are crazy. Follow the instructions, and it will be burned or a long way from finished. NEVER done."I'll go ahead and eat the salmon," he said, trying to show me the bread didn't matter.The bread did matter. But he could start without it.He sat at the table and dug in while I watched the bread. And watched the bread. And...something about his silence should have clued me in. But I'm slow. So I didn't catch on. No. I talked through the bread disaster until FINALLY it was done.I grabbed two pieces of piping hot garlic toast, gave him one, and sat down ready to use it as the disguise for how much I didn't like salmon."How is it?" I asked cutting a small slice of the smelly meat."Hmmmmm," he said shaking his head and taking another bite.Victorious. Who needed bread? I had salmon loaf. I was a rockstar in the kitchen. Paula Deen had nothing on me.I took a bite of the steamy buttery goodness and told myself salmon loaf was a small price to pay to win his heart. Worth it, worth it, worth it.OHMIGOD.I spit the meat out and jumped up from the table horrified.The entire middle of the loaf was raw.Salmon loaf=nasty. RAW SALMON LOAF....worst thing ever.I wanted to die right there. If I could have disappeared Wicked Witch water style, I would have.He laughed and told me not to worry about it. When I asked him WHY he'd continued eating when it was NOT DONE, he said he didn't want to hurt my feelings.He ate nasty raw salmon. On purpose. Because he didn't want to hurt my feelings.I should've stopped there. But I had that sexy dessert to share. And a point to prove. I was a woman, and I could rock the kitchen.SOAfter a dinner of garlic toast and wine, I laid the pillows I'd bought for the occasion out on the floor and told him to make himself comfortable. I set out our plates and silverware, brought the crystal bowl of deliciousness to him and smiled.He suggested we eat the dessert like that. It was pretty. And looked yummy.He was probably starving, but, again, I was slow. And I had that point to prove.So no."Just wait. It's going to be awesome," I said.And...started my living room carpet on fire.One minute it was just us looking at the best dessert ever. The next flames were leaping from the floor.
So much for dinner. 
It's funny when I look back at that night. Mostly because I missed it. The real proof that I had the best guy ever. That it had nothing to do with cooking or the wine or impressing him.It wasn't even when he ATE that stupid nasty smelling salmon loaf when it wasn't cooked. Or when he didn't dump me after I accidentally almost killed him in a freaky fire. I mean all of that was pretty awesome.But the thing that should have made it clear that he was my heart, my love, my one and only?That was when I asked how is it? And he answered "Hmmmmmm." Not a lie. A simple truth. One that showed he understood me more than I even understood myself. We've laughed a lot over the years. And I love him more now than I did then.He's my best friend. My love. My partner for life.
And that's one reason I write romance. Bringing that kind of relationship to life. Maybe they're running from bullets fired or he's a prince and she's his runaway bride, or maybe she's a small town girl and he's the guy she's always liked or....the list of love stories is endless, but the main story is the same. He's a man who understands she is the woman she is meant to be and when the story ends, she knows that too. When the story ends, they're in it forever. Love and more. Not sometimes. Not for a little while. But always. 
<3

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