Ever ride a bike? Did you notice that the slower you turned those pedals, the wobblier the exercise became, and the more likely you were to fall off?
In Pinky Promise, Ian Tomlinson is watching his girlfriend teach his six-year-old to ride a two-wheeler. It strikes him that relationships might be that way. That maybe taking things too slowly is a danger in itself.
Whoa.
We don’t usually think of romance as something that ought to be rushed. But for every story of a couple who took several years to commit to each other long term, we hear of others who were married quickly and did not regret it.
My husband decided I was the girl for him in twelfth grade. I was not convinced. ;) But we married three years after graduation… thirty-five years ago this summer.
Back to Pinky Promise. Ian and Kelly, both single parents, meet through their daughters. The little girls share a birthday and form an instant bond, catapulting Ian and Kelly together. Only a forced pinky promise keeps Kelly’s daughter from asking Ian to be her daddy…again. And only a stern talking-to prevents Ian’s daughter from asking Kelly to be her mommy.
How can two single parents withstand the force of their determined mini-matchmakers? Especially when they do feel the lure of attraction, but are afraid to let it show for fear of adding fuel to the little girls’ hopes?
I love writing. I really do. Yet Pinky Promise is special. Yes, they all are, but I honestly had more fun than a barrel of monkeys pitting Kelly and Ian against their daughters, Elena and Sophie, while Ian tried to figure out if going faster or slower was going to keep their relationship moving ahead.
Opening of Pinky Promise
“Hi, Mommy!” Elena ran across the schoolyard, her long curls streaming behind her. “I met my twin sister today.”
Kelly Bryant knelt and braced herself for the collision. “Did you now? That’s interesting. I never knew you had a twin.”
Wham. The sturdy little girl hurtled into her arms. “But I do! Miss Jamieson said so. She said, why look at you two. You have the same birthday and the same cute noses. You must be twins.”
Time to explain how it worked… or not? Kelly hugged her daughter. “That’s great. I’d like to meet her.”
“Well, good, ’cause she’s right over there. See her, Mommy? She’s waving. And she has a daddy but no mommy. Why don’t I gots a daddy?”
“You don’t have a daddy.” Kelly smoothed Elena’s tangled blond hair, wild from swinging and climbing and sliding, and followed the pointing finger to see a little girl with a brown bob clinging to the hand of a tall man. The pair turned and looked at them, and the girl jumped excitedly, pointing back.
Looked like Kelly was going to be a victim of childhood matchmaking. Temporary victim. “Okay, baby girl, let’s go meet them.”
“Yay!” Elena tugged Kelly to her feet and dragged her forward a few steps before abandoning her to run into the other child’s arms. “Sophie!”
Kelly trailed along. Sure, she wanted to meet a great guy. Most single moms probably would. But the older Elena got, the more demanding she got on the subject. The girl was certain all that mattered was the daddy part. But a man who’d cherish them both? Like that was going to happen.
“I don’t gots a daddy.” Elena planted both hands on her wee hips as she tilted her head up at the tall guy.
“Elena. The word is have.” How many times had Kelly tried to break her daughter’s habit? And never more embarrassing than the present moment. “You don’t have a daddy.”
The man chuckled. “They say it like they see it, don’t they?”
Kelly shook her head and tried to smile. “Apparently. I’m Elena’s mom, Kelly Bryant. Your little girl is Sophie?”
He nodded. “I’m Ian Tomlinson. Sophie and I just moved to Riverbend. I’m the new Public Works Manager for the town.”
It got better and better. That made him the new boss she’d heard was coming. “Um, welcome. I’m one of your serfs.” And not one who would be seen trying to climb the town ladder by schmoozing her boss. Not that she was interested, anyway. He wasn’t that good looking. Just because he was tall with broad shoulders and brown hair that curled around his ears, brushing his collar. Just because he had an adorable grin turned on all three females in his presence. Just because he caught her staring, and the grin grew a little wider, crinkling his eyes. No, she’d never be attracted to a guy like that.
Pinky Promise is available an e-book on Amazon only. You can pre-order it for 99¢ or borrow it for free on Kindle Unlimited after April 7.
Valerie Comer is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner who writes where food meets faith and fiction. She injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances. Her life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.
My hubby and I hadn’t even been dating a week before he mentioned marriage. We were engaged less than 6 weeks later, married 3 months almost to the day after we first SAW each other, less than that after our first date. People said it would never last – we were too young (almost 26 and almost 23) and we didn’t know each other very well. Here were are going on 22 years later… :)
I love the excerpt from that novella! Do you have any plans to eventually put your novellas in paperback for those of us who don’t read e-books?
First, thank you for sharing your story! Congratulations!
Second, let me pause and absorb the lack of e-book-reading!! I’m an e-book addict.
Third, there will be five novellas in the Riverbend series this year, one for each season. Secretly Yours is the winter story and Pinky Promise the spring novella. After summer and autumn will come a Christmas novella. Yes, I plan to combine all five into a paperback at the end of the year. it will be a good thick book, lol. :)
I will most definitely be watching for it and look forward to reading it. My mother and I both love your work! :)
Re: e-reading – Aside from the fact I thrive on the feel of a hardcover or paperback book in my hands – LOVE the texture, smell, weight, and all – my learning style doesn’t lend itself well to e-reading (studies have even been coming out showing that students with some learning styles aren’t learning anywhere near as well when their schools switch to e-textbooks). I require the tactile nature of a book and position of text within the book for my brain to retain information for more than a few minutes. I LIKE to remember characters and story elements more than 10 minutes after I put a book down. *G* When I read in hard form, I remember characters and stories I enjoy for YEARS. In e-book, I’m lucky if I remember any of it after about an hour. Also, I forget elements of the story as I read because I don’t retain it even as I’m reading. So I don’t recall what happened 3 or 4 chapters, especially if I have to put it down to fix dinner or something along those lines.
Besides that, most e-reading devices have a weird texture on their shell that really weirds out my damaged nervous system – makes me physically ill. Like the heavy matte cover on some paperback books. Thankfully, the issue with paperback books I’ve overcome with a fabric book cover my mother made for me that I swap from one book to the next, so I can read those heavy matte covers without ending up sick. I could probably come up with something similar for e-readers, but what’s the point? Since I can’t retain what I read in that form anyway, I don’t enjoy the reading as much.
For a long time, I thought I was truly bizarre, but I’ve been running into more and more readers who have the same, or similar, issues. Like me, they thrive on hardcover or paperback books but struggle with e-reading and/or the matte book covers. I’ve been able to share my experiences and help them get past the matte book cover issue. The e-reader, I can’t help with. You can either retain information from that style of reading or you can’t. That can’t be changed. Only resolution for that is to read hard format books.
Wow, that is fascinating! I have such poor vision that ereaders make it possible for me to continue reading for enjoyment. We all have our own issues that come into play, don’t we!
If you’re on my newsletter list, you’ll find out when the Riverbend stories come out in paperback. I just couldn’t see the value in having a bunch of skinny little books at the price I’d be required to place on them. What do you think?
Some readers love skinny little books as much as big ones. I buy both. *G* I buy hardcover, too, so I’m willing to pay the prices asked for hard copy books.
The skinniest book I’ve personally published is 58 pages – an almost 19K novelette. It may eventually be part of a collection, but for now, it’s all by its little lonesome. *G* It’s really a matter of personal choice. I don’t know if that little novelette of mine will ever be part of a collection, so I’ve made it available in both formats in case readers want paperback (I’ve had several want that format, so it was worthwhile). Since you know you’re going to compile your novellas into a collection, you could always wait. Either way, your readers will be able to get these stories. :)
Oh, and yes, I get your newsletter, so I’ll definitely be watching for the Riverbend stories to be released in paperback.
Thanks for that input, Dawn. Much appreciated, and much to think about :)
Valerie, my grandparents met on a blind date and were married two months later. :) They weren’t married terribly long, because he died of a heart attack (while flying a plane) about thirteen or fourteen years later. But they had a good marriage, it sounds like.
I know I’m the type to be more cautious and take time, but then again, when you’re falling in love… It can be real hard to fall slowly. :)
I’m sorry to hear of your grandfather’s untimely death.
I think only Alice in Wonderland mastered the art of falling slowly…
Pinky Promise is on my TBR list! My parents had one of those quick romances. My dad was in the hospital for knee surgery and my mom was his nurse. They went on a date and 6 weeks later eloped! They’ve been married for 47 years this year.
Oh, I love that story, Becky. They had to wait until his knee healed up enough to elope!
I hope you enjoy Pinky Promise.
The Pinky Promise sounds like a cute story! I can just see 2 precarious little girls plotting a romance between their parents in all the fun ways little girls have :-) Perhaps they envision a fairy tale ending like in all the Disney type princess movies!
My own marriage has been almost 18 yrs of love, devotion, laughs & growing together in the Lord. We have a bit of a complicated love story, but suffice it to say, we were great friends. We had to be since we were married to other people at the time when we first met. But a strong bond was formed way back then. I believe the Lord grew it into a romance at the right time for both of us :-) We have the firm foundation of a strong friendship & truly enjoy each others company. I didn’t have the best example of what a marriage should be in my parents, so I’ve struggled at times. I just let God lead me & teach me in His infinite way how to be the wife my husband needs. I wouldn’t want to do it any other way!
Maybe I’ll have to pick up a copy of your book, Valerie! Sounds too good to pass up! Thank you for sharing about it in today’s post. Blessings!
Thank you for sharing, Trixi! Our paths are not all the same, for sure. Blessings on you and your husband, and I hope you’ll enjoy Pinky Promise. :)