Though the writing prompt was adorably exuberant (!!!), the picture that accompanied it felt far grittier (isn't that Cole Hauser in a skull cap?!). For me, they didn't seem to be a natural pairing, so I was interested to see what direction O'Tierney was going to take this one.
So was Danny a gritty, no-nonsense, uber-alpha, toppy cop?! Ummm... Not quite. He was more of a big, fluffy approachable bunny with a weakness for awkward bibliophiles and precocious little girls. Was I disappointed? Not in the least! He was the perfect foil for our painfully shy librarian, Milo. Combine that with a meddlesome but well-meaning kid who's actions and dialogue actually read like that of a child (as opposed to a tiny adult), and a surprisingly well-behaved Rottie, and you had yourself the makings of an adorable short story, completely free of angst and grand misunderstandings but with enough self-doubt and second-guessing of actions to ground the story in the reality of first love.
My thanks to the author for participating in the Love's Landscapes event and for all of the behind-the-scenes work that editors, beta readers, and the MM Group Mods put into making this FREE event a massive success!