More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
“To love is to burn, to be on fire.” —Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility (1995)
People mistake me being quiet for being shy, but I’m not shy. I don’t think I’m even that quiet, it just looks that way because of how loud everyone else is. I prefer to sit and listen than be the focus of everything, unlike my teammates. There’s too much pressure with being the center of attention, too many opportunities to fuck everything up. I’m much happier being an observer, watching from the outside.
Someone much smarter than me once said something poetic and clever about love being when you give someone the power to hurt you but trust them not to, but I can’t imagine ever trusting someone that much. If I want my feelings hurt, I am more than capable of doing it to myself. It’s a skill I’ve honed over many years, and arguably my best one. I’d like to trust someone one day, though, maybe.
somewhere along the way I’ve found myself in this limbo of happily doing whatever I want because people don’t care, and then being hurt that I can do whatever I want because people don’t care.
“I’ve decided I don’t care,” I announce to Emilia. “That’s good,” she says nonchalantly, trying not to trip over Salmon, who’s weaving around our feet as we walk, trying once again to eat shoelaces. “What are you talking about exactly?” “Everything.” “That feels healthy and definitely not like it’ll backfire on you in the future.”
Sprinting in a bikini is possibly the worst idea I’ve ever had—and I’ve had so many terrible ideas. If I get a concussion from being hit in the face by my own breasts, I’ll never recover from the embarrassment.
“I have a habit of leaving a path of destruction in my wake, both literally and metaphorically.” “Like a wildfire.” She nods, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “I don’t mean to be.”
I love this place, but that sucks, Russ.” Jenna scowls at her. “Uh, family legacy? Rude.” “You’re the farmer equivalent of a nepo baby, calm down,”
“I don’t trust poetry. You think you’re reading about an intense love story but then you find out it’s actually about a shoe.”
“Move here, open a rival bookstore, join the community commitment to nonsense, or whatever it’s called, sell dirty romance books, and scandalize the townsfolk.” “I love scandalizing people,” she says proudly. “And what are you going to do while I’m running my bookstore and corrupting the masses?”
“You are the brightest thing in my life, Aurora,” he says. “And you’re a living reminder of the good things that can happen when I allow myself to be happy.”
“If I knew you wanted to take me against a tree, I’d have fallen down so much earlier.” “Take you?” he echoes. “No, I need your undivided attention while I talk to you about hockey pucks.”
“And Russ, I have a million places to bury a body if you break her heart. We have acres you don’t even know about. They’d never find you.” Jenna is kind of terrifying and I wholeheartedly believe her. “Noted.”
“Would you like me to lie to you so your feelings don’t get hurt?” I ask carefully. “Yes. If that’s an option, I’d like you to always take it,” Bobby says. Before I even have a chance to answer, Henry beats me to it. “You’re really good at hockey.”
It’s no secret that I love books. I love stories about people I don’t know, and places I haven’t been to. I’ve lived a thousand lives between a thousand pages, but no story, no life, no page has ever made me as happy as you do, Russ Callaghan.”
“Before I met you, I hadn’t considered what my happy ending might look like. I wasn’t sure I’d get one. You’re my happy ending, Russ. I fell in love with you in Meadow Springs, and watching you help build our life here has made me fall in love with you a million more times. Thank you for giving me a life that feels too good to be true. Thank you for letting me bring home animals even when you say no. Thank you for letting me live my dreams every day.”
