Thread: Question about point of view

Hi,
I'm new to the forums, looking for some advice about changing points of view.

I know the rules about changing points of view, such as not doing so within a section or scene. My question is if it's within the rules to change to the perspective of a newly introduced but important character.
I would like my protagonist's love interest to have a perspective, but not until he's introduced. Her story spans a large time frame. I could give him a perspective immediately and have a second main character, but her story is longer than his and I don't think I want to go into his background other than to establish it as his background. He has a story, but he's the love interest. I feel like it would be too much information, and might also give away the fact that he's intended for her, which isn't meant to be obvious.
For a little context, here's the story:


My protagonist is a young woman in the trades ( a construction carpenter) named Edie (Ed for short) whose dream is to own her own construction company. She grew up working alongside her grandpa, who owned his own construction company. She took an interest in his work when she was a kid and he took her under his wing and taught her a trade. She is set to inherit the business, but when he dies it's discovered that someone was swindling and the company is now bankrupt. Dream crushed, or rather delayed, she sets out looking for a job as a woman in the trades, this time without nepotism. She's quite capable, but now she has to prove it, and prove it she does. She furthers her career, working towards the greater goal of building her own company. She enrolls in college to learn the business and financial sides of running a business.
She is focused and driven, and wise beyond her years. Her peers bore her. She has high expectations for men and as a result she doesn't date much. She has one goal and that is to realize her dream.
By the time she's 23 she's close to getting her degree and starts a new job, where she quickly gains the respect of her boss and they develop a good rapport and a solid friendship.

The second main character is Charles. He's a 41 year old man that owns a construction company. He's divorced with 3 children, but his ex-wife moved them out of state and he rarely sees them, which is something that brings him much grief. The business keeps Charles from making trips to see them frequently. They've grown up with a step father and Charles feels wedged out of their lives. He longs to uproot the business and move it to Texas, where his kids live so he can finally be closer to them. His oldest child is already almost a teenager and he's yet to accomplish that goal.
A bit of a loner, his work is his life. He's happy to be a man with his work and his dog. He doesn't take much interest in women, he's already been down that road and the price he paid was losing his children. He's the kind of man that looks at a woman and sees a person, instead of something to leer at. He makes friends with women easily because he's genuine towards them.
He's honest, hard-working, mature, humble, intelligent, and upright.

These are traits that Ed values and after a year or so of friendship with Charles, she begins to harbor feelings for him.

Charles is oblivious; he's never looked at her that way. He's never looked outside of his age range when dating. He values more than appearances, so the idea of dating a younger woman, which would likely occur after becoming attracted to them, has never occurred to him because he needs more than attraction to base his interest on.

At first Ed tries to brush it off: she's never been interested in older men and she's not going to start now. But her feelings are sincere and she struggles to smother them. He's one of her best friends and he's everything she wants in a man, something she's yet to find in a man her age. Now she's down with it. She's found a good man, one that meets all of her standards that so many men have fallen short of, and she accepts the age difference.

Something finally comes of it when she and Charles are watching the football game together. After their team wins the game, they jump up and Charles grabs her up in a big bear hug, just like he would one of his guy friends: a hug, but brief, and arms around the shoulders. He gave her a man hug, but Ed gets caught up in the fact of their close proximity and kisses him. His response is not positive. Flabbergasted and uncomfortable, he leaves. He feels like a pervert, even though he did nothing. He feels like he's given her a wrong impression and feels like crap about it. Things are awkward for awhile; the subject is dropped.
Ed is mortified and cannot fathom the fact that she of all people has done something so stupid. Things smooth out, but she's planted a bug in Charles' ear, who has now begun to see her in a new light.
Now it's his turn to approach her. At first revolted by the flickering of feelings, he now wants to explore them, but shuts down again because he feels like a pervert. He becomes aware of the great amount of time they've spent together over the last year, something he'd never questioned, and how much she's enriched his life.
So he comes to accept a romance with the woman that's been making him happy all this time.
Eventually they get married and move to Texas, keeping the company open while Ed opens her own company in Texas with Charles as partner.
They have a child, possibly a set of twins (haven't decided yet), and alternate work schedules so that they each are able to spend time at home raising the kids. Charles is thrilled to be living near his older children and finally catching the boat he thought he'd missed years ago as a father present in his childrens' lives.
All thanks to a woman named Ed.

So that's my story. Just wanted to know if he could show up later with a perspective without giving away the ending.

I'm a little worried the answer is no, in which case any alternative suggestions are welcome.

Sorry, there's no such rule as not being allowed to change POV within a scene. It's bogus. As long as you have a transition sentence which makes it clear to the reader you're changing to another perspective, you can have as many POV changes as you like in a scene.

That's one of those things that fall under the heading of "If you have to ask, don't do it."

Haha. Yeah, I figured. Any suggestions for a solution?

@ Sam W, I didn't mean to say scene. I know I can change perspective in a scene as long as I start a new section so the reader doesn't get confused.

Oh, if you're not talking about jumping viewpoints within a scene, there's no problem. You probably should have at least a scene or three from his viewpoint, so the reader can understand his motivations. (It's a rare 41-year-old heterosexual man who wouldn't be interested in an attractive 23-year-old woman....)

^Which is what sets him apart. It takes a lot to get her attention so if he's got it he's pretty special.
I guess I'm just worried it's bad form to be a hundred or so pages into the book before the second perspective occurs.

Eh, I wouldn't worry about that.

Thanks, Chrono. Any other yea sayers before this becomes written in stone?