Real-life Romance: Keeping a Secret

Can your spouse pull a surprise on you? How about after you've been married a while? Like 18 years? I've got to admit, I love this story fellow author Cindy Bonds tells of her husband a secret he was finally able to keep. Definitely romantic in my book. See if you agree.

​First off, I love the idea of finding real life romance in the every day life of a married couple! It’s not always flowers, date nights and gazing into each other’s eyes. Love moves, ebbs and flows, emerging as romance in the most amazing places as a marriage grows.
My husband and I have been married for almost 18 years. A lot of houses, two kids, jobs galore, God’s guided us through all of it. Those little things that show up right when we need it are the threads that hold us together when everything else seems less than stationary.
In the past few years, I’ve hit a couple of milestones; first published book, hitting a milestone birthday, going back to a full time job, sending our first child into Jr. High …
To begin, my husband tends to have terrible timing and can’t keep a secret to save his life. I never get presents on my actual birthday or anniversary, he can’t hold on to it that long and has to give the gifts early! 

​But last year around this time, I had a big 4-0 birthday I wasn’t all that thrilled about. I never thought I’d be one of those people that shunned my age being mentioned, but here I am. He promsied me a fully cooked dinner, nothing for me to cook or clean for the whole day.
It sounded like a winner and I was just fine with driving the 25 minutes to a local steak place instead of an hour to the next large town that had more than a Mexican restaurant to enjoy. (Ah, the joys of rural life and small town living!)
As we walk in, I hear a commotion coming from the back of the restaurant and turn to see family and friends yelling ‘happy birthday’ with a giant 40 balloon extraveganza filling the back wall.
One thing I should’ve mentioned, I’m an introvert. I’m not big on public displays of any kind. I can speak in front of a large group of people without isuse, but relational conversations and center of attention situations aren’t my cup of tea.
As I turn to my husband, he has a giant grin across his face, holding back laughter as he guides me to the back of the restaurant so I can receive my sash and tiara- a set of items I’ve never worn in my life.
Although I’ve painted a very un-romantic picture, it was a big deal. For the first time since we met, he was able to plan and pull off a surprise that I had no idea about. (One day I’ll share how I found out he was going to propose through a message on an answering machine at a friend’s house, swiftly ruining the surprise he thought he was going to spring on me. But that’s for another time …)
I wasn’t feeling all that great about where my life stood in that moment, but his surprise was a wonderful reminder of why I fell in love with him in the first place. It doesn’t always have to be the perfect timing that makes it romantic, but the willingness to life your spouse up, give them joy in a time of need that makes it perfect.

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​Cindy Bonds lives in rural Arkansas where she works for an aviation insurance agency and spends her free time with her husband and children. In between ball games and gymnastics, she loves to read and work on her crafting skills.
Writing has become an outlet for her creativity and she is excited for book two in her first series, Protector, to come out on June 28th.  Fighter, the first book in the series is already available and can be found on Amazon as well as the Books-a-Million website.
https://scrivenings.link/fighter
Fighter by Cindy Bonds (booksamillion.com)
You can sign up for her newsletter at www.cindybonds.com where you can also learn more about her, her family, as well as previous novels available. She’s also on Facebook @cindybondsauthor and Instagram @authorCindyBonds. Follow her for more information on new releases as well as chances to win a free copy of Protector!

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​Danica Freeman has put her past firmly behind her. She’s found happiness and a place to belong within the TRT. But as her new family comes under attack, the chain of events makes her wonder if this is less about the team and something more personal.
Haiden Blake overcame his tragic childhood and found himself in the Army. Now a retired sniper, he uses his skills to protect and defend on American soil. He’s found a family in the TRT, but something more with Danica. She’s his close friend, as close as he can allow her to become.
Danica and Haiden leave sparks to burn, unwilling to risk it all to move forward to something more. But another attack puts Danica in danger and Haiden is unable to protect her. At the risk of losing Danica forever, Haiden takes a leap of faith, praying God will catch them both.
The past haunts. But will it become her reality again?

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