More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
A reminder of that desire was shoved in my face when I spotted Callum and Layla hunched over a high-top table, sharing breakfast. From the looks of it, they were catching up over chicken biscuits. Callum looked to be preparing to go into work at the police department while Layla had just gotten off her shift at the AirCare base.
She was like a pile of smoldering coals, and I was a kid with a stick, poking around to see how much I could make her flare.
“Is … is this where I’m supposed to touch you?” A slow grin worked its way up his mouth. “Sweets, you can touch me anywhere you want.”
“All doe-eyed and innocent. You make me want to ruin you. The way you’ve been dancing around me, like you don’t know exactly what being around you does to me, makes me want you that much more.”
“Acting like my dad is not a turn-on.” I grinned as I ripped her leggings down and threw them off. “Sugar, I’m not your dad, but I can sure as hell be your daddy.”
“I’m not going to take your virginity, Caroline. You’re gonna give it to me.”
“Now, take me like a good girl.”
My libido sure hadn’t hallucinated it. She remembered everything in great detail.
“Florists are for anniversaries and apologies. Gas station roses aren’t planned. It’s something that says, ‘I saw this and thought of you.’ Gas station roses die in, like, five minutes. A gas station rose means I thought of you and I had to see you before I did anything else because I’ve been thinking about you all week and couldn’t go another minute without seeing your pretty face.”
“I want you to watch yourself get fucked.” His fingers pressed into my cheeks until I caught our reflection in the mirror. His heavy cock jutted out, hanging over my stomach. “Watch what it looks like when you’re feeling on top of the world.”
“Tell me what feels good. Talk to me. Tell me what you want. Do you understand me?”
You are Loved, I Believe in You, and Kindness Matters.
I wanted her to have everything she wanted out of life. I didn’t want to clip her wings; I wanted to fly with her.
“It makes me feel better about you living away from home, knowing that you’re on top of things like that.” Caroline was on top of many things. Me in particular.
“No one’s commentary on your life matters except your own.”
You and your buzz cut are well versed in life-altering hair decisions.
“Sneak around all you want, but that boy’s got dinner plates for eyes when it comes to you.”
“I don’t need your help!” she shouted, eyes welling up with tears. “I don’t need you to fix me. I just need you to be here to tell me it’s going to be okay.”
I’m sure he’d love some company while he keeps Muriel the pig from terrorizing the town.”
“Sugar, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I am old.”
“Just because your pain is different than mine doesn’t make it any less valid. Life hurts. Things are never black and white. It’s not even shades of gray.”
“Give yourself space to acknowledge where you are and what you feel. Allow yourself to feel it regardless of how you think it compares to what other people are going through. It’s the only way to heal.”
I suppose feeding you breakfast is the least I can do after kidnapping you in the middle of the night.”
“Maybe sometimes it’s better to wait and seize life when you’re ready for it, rather than just floating along, letting life happen to you. You feel like you’re behind, but you’re not. You have miles more earned empathy and life experience under your belt. Not despite everything you’ve been through, but because of it.”
“I mean, what do I say about why I’m here? I can’t just be like I got snowed in with your son and spread my legs the first chance I got and now we’re here.”
“There are infinitely more things than just sex that make your body feel good.” “You,” she said and went still, her breathing steadying. “You make me feel good.”
“Let yourself be wanted; not just needed. Fulfilling needs is easy for you. Letting yourself be wanted isn’t. You’re the guy whose arms people leap from after you rescue them. You watch them run to someone else time and time again and it kills you. You’re bleeding out inside while pretending to be strong enough to survive it.”
“Brave. So fucking brave.”
“Most of all,” he said, catching his breath. “My favorite thing about you is that you’re mine.”
“One more thing.” I raised my eyebrows. “I’m happy for you two.”
“Actually, I was gonna ask if you wanted to come over and sleep with me.”
“Careful, Sugar. Don’t threaten me with a good time. There’s quite a few things I’d like to do to your ass.”
“Because it’s what we do for the people we love. We hurt with them. We carry them. We bleed for them. We save them. And we help them heal.”
“Don’t tiptoe through life. Make it messy. Make it loud. Take up space. Try something new.”
“One, I want to marry you. Two, I want to have a family with you. I know you’ve got some worries about that, but all I’m asking is for you to let me worry with you. Three, I want to grow old with you, for as long as time sees fit for us to have each other. Four, I want to keep making lists with you. I want to keep living. I want to keep seeking adventure. I want to keep growing with you.” He shoved the crumpled paper into his pocket, trading it for a small velvet box. “I want all your firsts. I want it all, and I want it with you.”
