From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City.To the Green-eyed Lovebird:
We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House.
You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more.
We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other.
Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding…
I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello.
After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half?
M
Oh Matthias…he knows exactly what to say to make me swoon!
Keep reading to see the full Love Note!
To my Green-eyed Lovebird,
There are so many things I wish I had said to you that Valentine’s day our senior year…before I went away… before everything changed…before I lost you. We were together then. Everything was vibrant, real, crisp tangible. You were lying in that tiny bed in my dorm room, watching me, enthralled as I inspected negatives. I caught you starring, and then in an instant, nothing else mattered. No photograph could ever be as captivating as you lying there, an arm’s length away, propped on one elbow, your hair –a sexy mess, no make-up, just your smooth bare legs peeking from bottom of one of my tattered t-shirts. I remember crawling under the covers, pulling you to me, burying my head in your chest and you wrapping your tiny arms around my shoulders. We were holding on for dear life, weren’t we? How were we ever able to let go when it felt like we had everything we could possibly need under a thin sheet on a cheap cot, in a tiny cold room with a broken furnace?
You always tell me now to stop looking back at the time we lost, to stop mourning what could have been. Today I’m choosing to do that.
This Valentine’s day you said no chocolates, no flowers, that’s not our style and you’re right. So, what I can give you is a few promises for our future.
I promise to never take the feelings of comfort, wonder, intimacy and trust for granted ever again, because we earned all of that fair and square and I’m not ever giving it up.
I promise that I will appreciate every second that your naked body is against mine, even if we’re just sitting in bed reading, eating dry toast and drinking coffee. No one needs clothes for that.
I promise more breakfasts for dinner and more going out in our pajamas and I promise to take myself less seriously.
I promise to never stop taking photos of you –that one is easy because there has never been a better subject, a better muse than you. Even as we age together and I see new lines, they remind me of your beautiful laughter, our beautiful children, our beautiful life together. You are the art of my life, the greatest piece I’ve witnessed and I had nothing to do with it at all.
I promise that every time your fingers or bow hit the strings of your cello, I will stop doing whatever I am doing, close my eyes and listen, because I know that’s how you sing to me.
And I promise to never ever forget that you were always part of my dream, even when I was determined to have the perfect career, it was only perfect because you were there and we were celebrating each other’s successes, feeding off each other’s enthusiasm…inspiring each other. I will never take that for granted again.
Happy Valentine’s day, my sweet, beautiful, goofy, talented, loving, tender wife. I loved you then. I love you now and I promise I’ll love you forever.
I’m a California native currently residing in a beach town in Southern California where I live with my husband, our two boys, and our sweet dog, June. Even though I’ve lived in California my whole life, I’ve had a long-standing affair with the big city. New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles are some of my favorite places. I like to place my characters in different settings where I can use the unique qualities of the location to help tell the story.
I started writing creatively as a teenager, first with poetry and short stories, and then finally to the long prose as an adult. I’m obsessed with love stories and the drama and complexities that exist within our intimate relationships. In 2002’ I received a film degree and thought I would see the stories in my head play out on film but something always brought me back to the written word. My time as a seventh grade English teacher helped to reacquaint me with my love of reading and writing and soon I was devoting much of my free time to it.
Music also plays a huge role in my life. I’ve often referred to music as my lifeblood so that’s why I’ve included an on-going, ever-changing playlist on my website to share some of the songs that have inspired and evoked emotion in me, especially in my writing. Whether I’m writing about musicians or cowboys, I’m always listening to music, so I love getting new recommendations.
I’ve said before that my first friends were the imaginary kind and in many ways they still are. I love writing these stories and watching my characters grow and I’m grateful to be able to share them with you. I also really love hearing from readers so please drop by my Facebook page or twitter and say hello.
My Valentine boyfriend would be Roarke from J D Robb’s In Death series.
My book boyfriend would be rule archer from rule by jay crown over!