Mr. Lytle quickly denied that accusation and offered his own defense. They were going out eating every day but I was bringing my own lunch, trying to eat healthier, and reading a lot, he said. I guess I was just trying to make the best of the situation, because jury duty is usually never any fun.

But he found out otherwise on May 30, 2014 which happened to be his 27th birthday when he finally accepted one of those lunch offers, and went along with Ms. Nelson and two other jurors to a nearby restaurant/bar.

That day I learned that he has a very funny, subtle and surprising sense of humor, Ms. Nelson said. He notices small quirks in people.

He noticed a lot more than that in Ms. Nelson. She was very attractive and made me laugh, he said. She was also a very intelligent person who knew a lot about science and had a very interesting career.

They began going out for lunch with greater frequency, and one night in June, they went for drinks with four fellow jurors, all of whom disappeared during the course of the evening, leaving Ms. Nelson and Mr. Lytle alone in a social setting for the first time.

Ms. Nelson invited Mr. Lytle back to her apartment to watch an episode of The Bachelor, along with her roommate, and Mr. Lytle accepted. When the show ended, they went dancing at a Manhattan bar.

That was kind of the turning point in our relationship, said Ms. Nelson, who was living on the Upper East Side at the time, while Mr. Lytle lived in Washington Heights.

They were soon dating, and became a more serious item in the days after the trial ended in late July 2014.

The nicest thing about Jordan is that being with him always felt so natural and right, Ms. Nelson said. I met him at a time when I was going on a lot of first dates, and most of them always felt very childish, but Jordan was always kind and considerate and never one to play games. We just seem to balance each other out very well.

Recently, a friend of Ms. Nelsons called to bemoan the fact that she had received a jury duty notice.

It might not be as bad as you think, Ms. Nelson told her. You never know, you might meet your future husband there.

Read the original here:

Finding Love in a Lower Manhattan Courthouse - New York Times