Conventionally Yours (True Colors, #1)

by Annabeth Albert

I was setting myself up for the gamble of a lifetime. If I failed, chances were high that I’d come back to no place to live, no steady job, no plan B.

Mom and Mimi had often despaired over what they termed my lack of empathy, but I preferred to think of it more as selective caring.

Sympathy was a dangerous emotion—I knew full well the consequences of letting feelings guide my actions.

Life has a way of screwing people over regardless, so you might as well find fun where you can.”

You can’t simply stop loving someone.”

I’d never really stopped to appreciate how awesome holding hands was. It was a different sort of closeness,

I liked this almost as much as the kissing, liked the calm closeness of simply being here like this.

Him caring about me like that, and having him to care about in return, felt good

love could be yanked away without warning. Love hurt.

It was what I’d most wanted—acknowledgment and validation from my parents,

Their love had been conditional, and that was no love at all.

Real love didn’t have conditions and limitations.

I never would have thought I could be as happy for another person as for myself, but he’d proved me wrong,

others. By not chasing after him, I was protecting myself from more rejection, but I was also shutting out the possibility of getting through to him.

I wanted him to know that he had me, win or lose.

I finally believed that I was enough, exactly as I was. And even if Conrad and I weren’t meant to be, he’d given me that gift.

I got to determine whether I was a success, not my mom, not my dad, not even Alden. Me.