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“Just wanna make sure you’re ready to put your hobbies aside and make a commitment.” Wow. Commitment? Like coming back to Hawksburg halfway through senior year of undergrad to pick up the slack at the restaurant and take the pressure off her kid sister? Like putting her bakery dreams on hold to help run Honey and Hickory for seven years?
A tendril of hope wound its way into the long-barren soil of his heart, taking root. Who knew what the future held? For once, uncertainty was his ally.
I’m studying extinct creatures to impact the future. It’s the very definition of making a difference!”
Three degrees and fifteen years after disappointing his father by choosing a career in a field Dad insisted was on its way to extinction, Quentin yearned for a return to their old bond. But the harsh words wedged between them had created an impenetrable wall, mortared with a mix of venom and contention.
Alisha’s knees almost gave way. Up until this moment, she would’ve put weak knees right up there with Bigfoot in the realm of myth. But the man’s electric gray-green eyes short-circuited her nerve endings and left her legs wobbly as Bambi’s.
The textbook definition of a sexy scientist stood a few feet away, smack-dab in the middle of her grandparents’ future swimming pool.
Nuh-uh. She didn’t get to grin at him like that, Little Miss Rain on His Parade.
If he were prone to daydreams, a beautiful stranger materializing out of thin air at a dig might’ve ranked high on the list. But that woman would be treading lightly, not trampling fossils like a T. rex at a tea party.
Must. Not. Be. Distracted. By. Her. Sexiness.
I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you were . . .” “Related to a white woman? Yeah, I get that a lot.”
He finally peeled the coat all the way off Alisha’s shoulders and gulped. Underneath, she wore a plain white tee, nothing racy, but something about helping a woman undress felt, well, like helping a woman undress.
Backlit by warm light spilling out of the house, with muddy braids and dirt-splattered jeans, she was beauty incarnate. A warrior princess.
“Are you saying that because you really don’t want my help, or because you don’t want to accept my help?” “What’s the difference?” “The difference is, one way I’m getting in your way, and the other, I’m taking a burden off you.” His gray gaze met hers. “So which is it?”
Turned out he was fluent in GIF, which pretty much cemented his spot in her heart—if she had a spot in her heart for a man. Which she didn’t.
“Girl, forget what I said.” For once, she didn’t shout. “Please do throw yourself at that man. Hard, and as many times as it takes.”
she never should’ve chosen a former cheer captain for a best friend.
“I refuse to do a rom-com-style outfit montage for you, Marge.”
Bodybuilders lift weights for aesthetics as well as strength. Bodybuilding competitions are about symmetry and well-developed muscles. They get onstage in bathing suits. But powerlifting has nothing to do with looks. When we compete, it’s all about who can lift the most weight at the meet. How we look is a side effect, not the goal.”
Whenever feelings arose, real feelings, she bailed. Opening her heart left her vulnerable to getting hurt. Or hurting someone else.
“Double-dare you.” “Meg, we’re adults.”
Great outdoors? Fine by him, especially with fossils nearby. But straight-up country? Outside his comfort zone by miles.
“It’s high time you stopped using me as an excuse not to go after what you want.”
“You, little lady, were not and are not, not ever, responsible for your father’s mistakes.”
“You guard your heart so hard I’m surprised it hasn’t turned to coal. But instead it sounds like you found a guy who sees you for the diamond you are. And whether you realize it or not, you’re worth it. You deserve happiness, on your own terms.”
“Life isn’t always safe. Falling in love is never a sure thing. But if you don’t take down your walls and be honest with people, no one will get in, and you’ll end up alone.”
“Two thumbs down.” “For once I concur with Margaret,” said Simone. “Zero out of five stars. Would not recommend.”
“I want you to know I’m here for you now, and I’ll be here for you, as long as you’ll have me. Our future isn’t written in stone, but I want to be with you, Quentin. Even with all the uncertainty and the messiness and the what-ifs, I choose you.”
