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Kindle Notes & Highlights
sometimes the hardest decisions a person can make will most likely lead to the best outcomes.
Ryle is the father of my daughter. No matter what man comes and goes in my life from this point forward, Ryle is the one constant that I’ll always have to appease if I want the most peaceful experience for my daughter.
Do I sacrifice what I know will make me happy for the sake of avoiding the inevitable disruption Atlas’s presence would cause? Or will I always have an Atlas-shaped hole in my heart unless I allow him to fill it?
If Ryle did these things to me at the highest points of our relationship, what would he be capable of at the lowest?
I don’t know how he calmed me down without even talking, but he did. Some people just have a calming presence about them and he’s one of those people.
“And what if they don’t have a Lily to save them?” It takes a few seconds for what he says to register. When it does, I don’t smile. I swallow the lump in my throat, hoping he can’t see my internal reaction to that. It’s not the first time he’s mentioned I saved him back then, but every time he says it, I want to argue with him. I didn’t save him. All I did was fall in love with him. I can see why I fell in love with him. What owner is more concerned about the situation of the person vandalizing their business than they are with the actual damage being done?
Why would I waste time with a phone call when I can look at you?”
Anyone who has ever left a manipulative, abusive spouse and somehow stayed that course deserves a medal. A statue. A freaking superhero movie.
Nothing you have done and nothing you could do would excuse any man’s hands on you out of anger. Remember that, Lily. You made the right choice by leaving that situation. You should never feel guilty for that. Pride is the only thing you should feel.”
else. There’s something about getting validation from someone who loves Ryle like a brother that’s reaffirming. Empowering.
“You’re going to drive five miles just to give me a hug?” “I’d run five miles just to give you a hug.”
Life is a funny thing. We only get so many years to live it, so we have to do everything we can to make sure those years are as full as they can be. We shouldn’t waste time on things that might happen someday, or maybe even never.”
He’s a broken man, but he isn’t broken because of me. He was broken before he met me. Sometimes people think if they love a broken person enough, they can be what finally repairs them, but the problem with that is the other person just ends up broken, too.
My loyalty is to the people who bring positivity into my life. My loyalty is to the people who want to build me up and see me happy. Those are the people I’m going to make decisions about my life for.
I want everything with you. I hate that we have to pretend like we don’t already know we’re spending the rest of our lives together.”
There’s this toxic belief that family should stick together simply because they’re family. But the best thing I ever did for myself was walk away from them.
what kind of man could have a son and not want to know him?”
“It blows my mind that this man has you for a son, and you want to be in his life, yet he still hasn’t made an effort. You’re a privilege, Josh. Believe me, if I’d known you existed, I would have knocked over buildings to find you.”
“I can draw a seedling with two tiny branches. Yours and mine. We’ll be on our own brand-new, tiny family tree—one that starts with us.”
I had Emmy on my hip, a purse and a diaper bag on my shoulder, and coffee in my free hand. I managed to bend and pick up the note without spilling any of it. Supermom.
and I have no idea if that’s what love feels like for everyone, like it’s an airplane that just fell from the sky and crashed right through you.
“Do you need me to come over and give you a hug?” “You mean do I need you to come home and give me a hug?” I smile when he says that. “Yes. That’s exactly what I meant. Do you need me to come home and give you a hug?” He nods. “I do, Lily. Come home.”
If someone would have told me when I was a teenager that I would have a fifty-fifty chance of living my entire life with you, I would have felt like the luckiest human on the planet.
