The lust and attraction are often a given in a romance novel - I

“The lust and attraction are often a given in a romance novel — I want to dig into the elements of true friendship that form a foundation for a solid, gonna-last-forever romantic relationship.” — in these words, Suzanne Brockmann, the master storyteller of love and valor, speaks not merely of writing, but of the eternal truth of love itself. Her reflection pierces the veil of fleeting passion to reveal the deeper, sacred architecture of enduring affection — the friendship that underlies all true romantic love. For while desire burns bright like a flame, it is friendship that gives that flame a hearth — something steady, enduring, and life-giving.

In the realm of human emotion, lust and attraction are the spark — quick to ignite, dazzling in their light. They awaken the senses and stir the heart, but like all fire without fuel, they fade if not sustained. The ancients knew this well. The Greek philosophers spoke of love in many forms — eros for passion, philia for friendship, and agape for the selfless devotion that endures even when beauty fades. Brockmann’s wisdom echoes this ancient understanding: that the truest and most lasting love is one built upon philia, upon companionship, laughter, respect, and the quiet strength of shared understanding.

History, too, offers us countless examples. Consider the union of Abigail and John Adams, whose letters remain among the most tender and intellectual correspondences ever written between husband and wife. Their love was not founded on mere passion, though such affection surely existed. It was founded on friendship — two minds that challenged, supported, and delighted in each other across years of war, separation, and duty. “You are my dearest friend,” Abigail wrote to John, and in that phrase lies the soul of their enduring bond. They were lovers, yes — but more importantly, they were allies of the spirit.

Brockmann, as a writer of romance, seeks to remind both reader and lover alike that romantic love is not only about the thrill of hearts colliding, but about two lives intertwining. When attraction fades — as all passions wax and wane with time — what remains is the friendship that endures beneath it. It is the shared laughter at dawn, the mutual forgiveness after quarrels, the steadfast presence through seasons of sorrow and change. Such love does not blaze like wildfire; it glows like the embers of an ancient hearth — humble, steady, and immortal.

Indeed, it is friendship that teaches patience, humility, and loyalty — virtues without which even the most fervent romance cannot survive. To be a friend to one’s beloved means to listen, to forgive, to admire not only the beauty of the face but the depth of the soul. It is to love the other as they are, not as one imagines them to be. The ancients would call this the alchemy of love — the transformation of passion into partnership, of longing into loyalty. Brockmann’s vision of a “gonna-last-forever” relationship is, in truth, a call to practice love as friendship refined by devotion.

Let every soul who seeks love learn this lesson well: desire may draw two together, but friendship keeps them bound. The beauty that first dazzles the eyes must one day give way to the beauty that shines from the heart. Do not seek only those who quicken your pulse, but those who calm your spirit. Find one whose laughter heals you, whose silence comforts you, whose truth challenges you — for such is the one who will walk beside you not just in youth, but in the long twilight of life.

And so, the wisdom of Suzanne Brockmann becomes timeless counsel for all generations: write your love story not merely in moments of passion, but in chapters of friendship. Cultivate love as one tends a garden — with patience, understanding, and care. Do not mistake the spark for the fire, nor the thrill for the truth. For love that lasts forever is not born in the blaze of attraction, but in the gentle and unwavering friendship that endures through every storm.

Thus remember, dear listener: to love truly is to be a friend eternally. And when lust and attraction have run their course, when time has grayed the hair and softened the voice, it is friendship that will remain — unbroken, unwearied, and radiant still, like a star that has burned quietly through the ages, guiding two hearts home.