List Maniac #17 - The Men I Would Marry

First off, HAPPY V-DAY, EVERYONE!!!

Here in Mexico is not only a day for lovers, is also a day to celebrate friendship! Because friendship is as much as a relationship as a romantic one. It can be maddening and it takes just as much effort to make it work and last. So, here it is! To Lovers and Friends!


And now! onto the List!

John Kowalsky (Simply Irresistible) - He's a bad boy hockey player, and did questionable things in his past. Among them, to have a one-night stand with his boss' fiance, Georgie, and then dumping her in the airport. But he cleaned up his act, and he did it for himself. And when he sees Georgie again and realizes he has a daughter, he doesn't run from the responsibility of his child, he demands it. And when push comes to shove, he has it in him to admit he not always handled his life well, to get over the fact that Georgie kept his child from him for years, and to pick his family over his career.

Jack Travis (Smooth Talking Stranger) - Here is a man who doesn't run from commitment, he welcomes it. He's a man who can deal with baggage, who isn't afraid of hard work in a relationship and who is open about his feelings. There is no second guessing with him, he says what he means and means what he says. He's not afraid of a smart woman, and he's still very much a gentleman. 

Anthony Bridgerton (The Viscount Who Loved Me) - He has been the head of his family since he was 18, and much as he loves to be a rake about town, his family comes first. He once tells one of his sisters that Bridgertons behave with honor and honesty, not because it's what expected of them because that's who they are; he believes it and he lives by it. It takes him a bit to understand he's in love with his wife, but through it all, he's thoughtful and sweet toward her. 

Hugh of Harrowfield (Daughter of the Forest) - Though he's in his early-to-mid twenties thought the story, in the time and age it's set, he's already a man. Everyone loves him and respects him as a leader, and he loves and respects his people. But when he falls in love, he doesn't hesitate to leave everything behind - his very position as lord of the manor - to follow the woman he loves. He's not one to talk bout his feelings, but his actions always speak volumes. And when he does speak about his feelings, he says "It matters not if you're here, or there, for I see you before me every moment. I see you in the light on the water, in the swaying of the young trees in the spring wind. I see you in the shadows of the great oaks, I hear your voice in the cry of the owl at night. You are the blood in my veins and the beating of my heart. You are my first waking thought, and my last sigh before sleeping. You are bone of my bone and breath of my breath". Enough said.

Mathew Swift (Scandal in Spring) - He's dependable and constant, and I love me some of that. I think most people underestimate how much those things mean, how important it is to be able to rely on someone, that there is more to romance that someone who gives you the thrill of a lifetime (though Mathew certainly does thrill his woman). Mathew sees the importance of responsibility and values it. At one point his fiancee tells him that she doesn't want to be 'his responsibility', and he explains to her that she is, that he's responsible for his well being, her pleasure and satisfaction and that he takes that very seriously. How can you not love that?