Once upon a time, I was married to a man everyone warned me about. I was young and thought I knew better than them. Turns out they were correct. My first marriage ended in divorce with restraining orders. I won’t go into detail, but let’s just say I wasn’t in a hurry for another relationship.

At the time, I worked in a women’s prison in New Jersey as an emergency medical technician and had been there for several years and made many friends. There was always an influx of new correction officers. They came, they went. I never really paid attention. Remember, I was not long past an ugly relationship.

Several of the officers and nurses I was especially close with had taken a liking to one of the “new boots” (a term for recent hires who still had a shine on their boots). The C.O.s were quite persistent about him and his charms. One kept telling me how interested he was in me and wanted to take me out.

That so wasn’t happening. I had a child and often worked sixty hours a week trying to save my home from foreclosure due to the aforementioned husband and his drug problem, and I was a volunteer on the local rescue squad. No time, no interest, totally gun-shy. Little did I know that one of the other officers was telling him how interested I was in him and wanted to go out.

Long story short. One of our first conversations was, “well, you wanted to go out with me.”

“No, you wanted to go out with me.”

The badgering continued, and we went on a first date which was my annual squad banquet. Pete was the first man to ever bring me flowers. We ended up going to the banquet and dancing all night.

The banquet was in March. We became engaged in May of the same year. I believe the statute of limitations has run out. Most of the people involved are retired or gone, so here’s the fun part.

As an EMT, I had responded to a call for an officer down in our administration building. Joe happened to be a friend. While waiting for the local ambulance to come, my radio kept going off and asking me if I was coming back to the hospital. About the third time, I was angry at the interruptions. “I’ll be back when I’m done!”

Joe went off to the hospital (he was okay). I returned to my office, still fired up and ready to give the report to my nursing supervisor. As I moved past my desk, a balloon, and a twinkle caught my eye.

My supervisor stopped me in the doorway (we had connecting offices), gently pushed me back, and closed the door.

Pete was behind it.

I’m guessing you realize what the twinkle was. We married one year later. Oh, the reason everyone kept bugging me to get back? The entire prison was shut down, waiting for Pete to get to line up.

That was over twenty-eight years ago. Since then, we’ve never been apart for more than a week except when he goes on an annual mission trip to restore houses in West Virginia.

Often people say you are attracted to the same sort of person. I’m here to tell you that’s not true, at least in my case. I’m living my best life with a man who loves and supports me. Is it always sunshine and rainbows? Nope. There’s the occasional “dust-up”. But we both love and respect each other.

Love and marriage are never a 50/50 deal. It’s 100% as often as you can. That way, when the other person is unable to give it, the partner can work with what’s in the bank.

Hi, my name is Donna, and I write as D. V. Stone. Thank you for letting me share about love and relationships. Happy Valentine’s Day!

I’d love to share with readers about my latest release Sea Hunter, and a free sample of the series. My first historical/adventure/romance is coming out on March 16^th as part of a seven-author series about couples who need help finding the love of their life. All the books are stand-alone novellas in different genres. To tempt you, we put together a sample series available for free at

https://dl.bookfunnel.com/b1ytv2r7nq

And if you’re interested, Sea Hunter is on a pre-release sale for only .99¢ at Amazon.

Here’s a bit about it

On the turbulent high seas, an archeologist must protect a historic shipwreck from treasure hunters—not fall for one. 

Zahra Corbyn.

I’m a Sea Hunter. As an underwater archeologist and professor of antiquities, it is my duty to stop treasure hunters and looters from raiding Sea Wraith. But fate is a funny thing. Now I find myself working with Jack Alexander, a treasure hunter, to protect history from a known looter. Did my heart’s desire change?

Captain Jack Alexander.

I’ve been told women on a ship are unlucky, but this one has the two pieces of the map I need to finally claim Sea Wraith. Now I find myself in a deal that makes me one-third partner with her and a known scoundrel.

Can the two unlikely allies work together while safeguarding their hearts against the power of the Mortar and Pestle?

If you like Lara Croft and Indiana Jones, you’ll love Zahra Corbyn and Jack Alexander.