I worked for a woman who told my teenage self that there was someone for everyone, if you are paying attention and grab them when they come into your life.

I met him because I was dating the guy who lived across the hall from him in the dorm. I saw him from time to time on campus and thought he was cute. He had a Southern kind of accent… And those amazing blue eyes.

We shared our first kiss before we ever had our first date. He invited me to his birthday party in the dorm. I was late for a date with someone else so I could accept the invitation to go to his party first. He walked me to my car and kissed me. It was remembering all the specifics of that kiss – on that February night standing next to my green Gremlin in the cold outside Scott Hall – that scored us big points in the Newlywed game we played at the church Sweetheart Banquet years later. When both of our answers matched exactly, the preacher said, “It must have been some kiss!”

In the fall, I stopped to see my friend, Susie, in that same co-ed dorm. She wasn’t in, but when I cut through the guys’ side, there he was. I must have been remembering that kiss. I invited him to come home with me for lunch, even though I was still dating someone else. He said yes. We had to make a detour on the way to my apartment, to the grocery store to pick up something to make for lunch – chicken noodle soup, bologna, bread and barbeque potato chips. If he thought it was odd that I had no groceries after inviting him to lunch, he didn’t say anything.

We had a nice lunch, sitting at my table in front of the big picture window of my first floor apartment. My landlord walked by and waved. He went back to the dorm after lunch. I was still thinking about him, when the guy I was dating called. He screamed, “You had a man in your apartment!” My landlord was his brother-in-law so news like that didn’t take too long to be delivered.

The long story made short is I called him sobbing about the break-up. I guess he felt sorry for me. In between sobs, he asked if I wanted to go out with him that night and forget my troubles. I said yes. On the way out the door, I dumped my penny jar in my purse. Much to the dismay of our waitress, we paid for our pitcher with two hundred pennies. The date was just what I needed. He was fun. He was smart and charming and those eyes… And the kiss six months earlier was only a preview of those to come.

After our impromptu date, there was no one else for either of us. Although, there was one old flame who liked to borrow albums from him so she could see him alone when he came to get them back. Her taste in music must have changed. When I picked up the borrowed album, instead of him, she never borrowed one again.

Now we celebrate two anniversaries every year – our first “date” and our wedding! That first kiss that started my romance was forty-nine years ago this month. The preacher was right… it was some kiss!

Kim Ligon has been writing stories for most of her life – some on paper and some only in her head. She has lots of source material growing up as the oldest child in a large family in a small town in Wisconsin. Her father was a veternarian so there were not only lots of children around, but all manner of house pets and farm animals too. Her love of reading comes from her mother who was seldom seen sitting down without a book in her hand. After a demanding career in healthcare information technology, she is now getting to do all the creative things she loves which includes writing her stories to share with you. She lives with her chief encourager and personal romantic hero, her husband of almost forever, in Alabama. Please follow her further adventures at www.spinningromance.com.

Kim’s debut novel, Polly’s List is available now.

CJ Reynolds couldn’t wait to escape his hometown. He’s loving his bachelor life as a software developer in California. So much so that he hasn’t been back in years to see the grandmother who raised him.

Mikal Benson believes he small town is perfect for raising her son, Will, alone. When Mikal finds her neighbor, Polly Rogers, sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood, barely clinging to life, she calls Polly’s grandson – CJ Reynolds – and insists he must come home. Now!

From her coma, Polly whispers three words that change everything. Did she fall or was she pushed? CJ, Mikal, and Will form an unlikely team coming together to discover the truth as danger engulfs and love transforms them into a family.

GOODREADS https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61135497-polly-s-list

BOOK BUB     https://www.bookbub.com/books/Polly-s-list-by-Kim-Janine-Ligon

AMAZON        https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZYVGWF1

BARNES & NOBLE https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pollys-list-kim-janine-ligon/1141488044