Hubs and I are coming up on an important anniversary: ten years ago, we became a couple at that most playful, flirtatious, sexy occasion of all–a Halloween party.

Okay, we look pretty goofy in this photo, but hear me out.

D and I worked together in a high school on a U.S. Air Force base in Germany. Just friendly co-workers, we’d both been through nasty, antagonistic divorces and were starting to catch our breath. We’d both considered the downside to flirting with a co-worker in a small, close-knit community where everybody’s all up in our business. And we’d both heard the unwisdom of investing our hearts in a rebound relationship. Red flags everywhere.

One Friday night in October 2010, a group of us gathered at a bar near the base to console a coworker who’d just split from her husband. Those who’d been through a divorce lingered late into the night, offering solace and advice. D caught my eye again and again, flashing the sweetest sympathetic smile. Turns out he hadn’t heard the ugly details of my split–neither of us is the type to broadcast our business in a bid for sympathy.

Imagine my surprise and delight on Monday when I bumped into D at the copy machine and he asked me out for coffee. I hadn’t been on a date in twenty years!

That coffee date led to a dinner date in the town of Wittlich, home to an enormous costume shop–the reason our circle of friends had so many fun costume parties. Nervous about being seen together, naturally we ran into colleagues in the costume shop, along with students and their parents. So much for privacy.

Our third date: the Halloween party at our friends’ house. They pulled out all the stops, festooning their home and yard with creepy, gory decorations. I almost didn’t make it as my GPS (remember those?) struggled to hold a signal on the hilly, curvy country roads. I finally arrived to find D in the most adorable, ridiculous costume ever: a giant Shamrock, a curly green wig, and green tights. On his chest, a sign read “Try me Lucky Charms.” On the back, “They’re magically delicious!”

Reader, they were.

The year that followed was filled with scandal (Older teachers dating? How shocking!) and costume parties, including a Puttin’ on the Ritz party we hosted, where all our friends dressed up in formalwear. There were twinkle lights, fahncy finger food, a hundred tea candles, and bubbly galore–one of my fondest memories.

A year later, we moved in together. In June 2014, we left our teaching jobs, moved back to the U.S., got married, and started this new chapter together. Not a Halloween goes by without my thanking the GPS gods for delivering me to that party, our friends for hosting it, and Lucky Charms for delivering me my perfect partner.

May your Halloween be filled with sweet surprises!

Speaking of Halloween: I don’t have a spooky story to offer you, but a Halloween party plays a pivotal role in my steamy bookshop romance Love, Art, and Other Obstacles.

She’s a free spirit. He’s a one-woman man.

Rejected by her family for her bisexuality, graphic artist Margot DuPont yearns for a life with no fences, no limits, and no family ties. Between college, work at Book Nirvana, and an art competition, she barely has time for her part-time girlfriend, much less a flirtation with her competitor.

Dumped into the foster system at a young age, ceramics artist Elmer Byrne craves a big, loving family of the heart. His artist family almost fills that need, but something is missing…until Margot. But when he offers his heart, her thorny defenses shatter him.

Thrown together in an art competition that could jump-start one artist’s career, but not both, their irresistible attraction forces them to reconsider the meaning of success.

Get your copy from your favorite online bookseller: https://books2read.com/u/bar2RP

This post originally appeared on the Sweet N Sexy Divas blog. Meet lots more romance authors here: http://sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com/

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