Cream and Punishment (King Family, #2)

by Susannah Nix

Wordnesia. When a task your brain usually performed on autopilot—like reading or writing—hit a mental speed bump, and the conscious part of your brain realized it didn’t know what it was supposed to be doing.

“Thank you,” I called after him. “Not many men would be so kind.” He paused in the doorway without looking back at me. “That says more about them than me.”

People’s lives are never as perfect as they seem from the outside.”

“Do you ever get that thing where you stare at a word too long and it starts to look wrong? Like it’s spelled wrong, but you can’t remember how it’s supposed to be spelled, and it looks like a random combination of letters you’ve never seen before instead of a real word? Or is that just me?” I smiled. “Wordnesia.”

“It’s just something I do to help me focus in meetings. I used to do it as a writing exercise. Doodling is supposed to help trigger freethinking and creativity.”

“Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.”

The best thing I’d ever eaten was Lucy, but there was no way in hell I was going to say that out loud.

“Finding the right person makes everything better, because then you can share each other’s burdens. It’s not a one-sided arrangement that holds you back. Love should be a partnership that builds you up and frees you to be the person you’re meant to be.”

As I looked at them curled up together on the couch like cats, a hollow ache of longing wrapped itself around my chest. I wanted what they had. I wanted someone I could rely on, instead of always having to be the person everyone else relied on. I wanted someone who didn’t mind taking care of me when I needed it. Someone to share my troubles with who wasn’t the cause of them. Someone who made me feel stronger rather than more powerless.

Seeing frailty in someone whose strength you took for granted was its own kind of trauma.

“My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject forever.”

“You know what you should do? Plan some big-batch meals that can be made ahead and frozen. Then you’d only have to cook once a week.” “I’ve thought about it.” Lucy fell into step beside me as we trundled down the aisle toward the beans. “It’s just I’m usually so tired, the thought of doing all that cooking at once is daunting. Even though I know it’s more work in the long run, somehow it seems easier to do a little at a time.”

If it weren’t for nepotism, I never would have been promoted past merchandiser.” “That’s not true. You’re white, male, and conventionally attractive. You would have been promoted regardless of your last name.”

“Being surrounded by books always makes me feel better. It’s like being wrapped in a soft blanket covered with words.”

Recommending a book was a big responsibility, especially when it was someone’s first experience with a new genre.

It’s your life, and you’re entitled to live it in a way that makes you happy.

“Of course he’d find a way to wriggle out of responsibility for this. A worm is the only animal that can’t fall down.”