Valentine's Day Confession: The First Time I Spoke To My Husband by Emmy Laybourne + Giveaway!

In honor of Valentine's Day, the beautiful and ever-so-sweet Author Emmy Laybourne drops by to reveal how a random meeting with a totally gorgeous guy at a party changed her life!

THE FIRST TIME I SPOKE TO MY HUSBAND

So, he wasn't my husband at the time.  He was a cute guy ahead of me in line for the bathroom at a giant house party in West Hollywood.

I was an actress, a character-actress, to be specific, at a birthday party for a woman I knew remotely, but admired greatly, Teresa Mulligan. Teresa and I both improvised at the same theater - I.O. West, the Los Angeles base of the famous Chicago Improv Olympic.

I had recently moved to LA from New York and found an instant home at IO West. The improv was lean and dirty - with talented people knocking audiences out every night. I'm not kidding; I improvised with Angela Kinsey, Eric Stonestreet and countless other actors who you'd recognize from screens of one size or another. I was coached by Neill Flynn on one of my Harold Teams and by Scott Adsit on another. There were shows every night and parties after the shows and this was one of those parties.

To further set the scene, I will tell you that I was carrying a little straw handbag and out of that handbag was sticking a flask of Irish Whiskey. 

See, I had recently moved from NY after a bad breakup, and just that very day, a bunch of boxes had arrived from my NY apartment. I'd unpacked them and found my ex-boyfriend's flask. Hmmm. I didn't want it. That was for sure. But I also didn't want to just throw away good liquor. So instead I plunked it in my purse and brought it to the party. I figured I'd give shots to cute guys and then give the flask away at the end of the night and it would be out of my life.

So this very cute guy lets me go in front of him in line. And I decide to wait for him to come out. You know, just to say thanks . . . Not because he was tan and muscly and had bright blue eyes the color of a Carribean sea. No. Just to be polite.

He comes out of the bathroom and says, "Is that a bottle of whiskey sticking out of your purse?! That's the coolest thing I've ever seen a girl do."

We stood together in the hallway outside the bathroom and talked for the next three hours. Shot for shot, we drank our way through the flask.

Greg, as I learned his name was, tried to convince me I should go see the new Star Wars movie with him. (This was the one with Jar Jar Binks.) Greg said he could prove to me why Jar Jar was a good character. I remember being pretty taken by this odd and dorky claim - we were at a party filled with sharp comedians trying to best each other and here was Greg (a film editor, by the way, not an improviser) being open and enthusiastic about a commonly reviled character. Huh.

He said, "Well, if I'm going to take you to that movie, I'm going to need your number." 

I said, "I'll give you my number. I'm not scared of you."

And then a bell rang in my head. I am not kidding you. I had a sudden sense of recognition and a voice inside my head said, "Oh! He's a good guy. Like your cousin Zach. Like your brother. He's good."

I am not exaggerating in the least - that's exactly what happened. The voice said those exact words.

We did go to the movie. It was horrible. But he leaned over half-way through and pointed to some kids in the theater. They were laughing at Jar Jar Binks.

"That's why he's a good character," Greg said. "He makes kids laugh. Anyone who makes kids laugh is okay with me."

We married two years later and now Greg makes his own kids laugh every day. And me too. Like that prescient voice in my head told me, he's a good guy.

About the Author

Emmy Laybourne is a novelist, writing teacher and former character actress. Emmy has recently finished the final installment to the MONUMENT 14 trilogy: SAVAGE DRIFT, which will be released in May 2014. She is now working on a new YA thriller, SWEET. Emmy lives outside New York City with her husband, two kids and a flock of 5 nifty chickens. 

Where to Chat With Emmy!

Website/Goodreads/Twitter/Facebook

GIVEAWAY TIME!

We are also hosting a giveaway where ONE lucky winner will receive a SIGNED audio book of Emmy's first book in her Monument 14 Trilogy! Sorry international peeps but the giveaway is ONLY opened to U.S. & Canada fans. Must be 13 or older to enter.

Here's what you have to do to enter:

**You MUST leave a comment! If you're an Emmy Laybourne fan, let her know why you love her and her books so much!! If you're just discovering Emmy, tell us why you'd love to win the book!

**Fill out at least the first three sections of the giveaway form below (the rest is optional). We'll need this info to send the prize to you ;)

**Tweet about the giveaway! Win a SIGNED audio book of #Monument14 by @EmmyLaybourne via #TeamNerdReviews! @TeamFallen @tegdirbstrahin http://bit.ly/MRUVr3

**GIVEAWAY ENDS MIDNIGHT FEB 21, 2014**