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I’m not a cook. In fact, I can burn a good pot of boiling water any day of the week,
actor Giulio Berruti
She ate mostly raw foods, while the only thing I ate raw was cookie dough.
my alcoholic dad. The child me still wanted answers to why he’d loved drinking more than his family, and Nix thought it needed spoken of often so I wouldn’t have negative trapped energy.
Camden came in to check on me. If he turns up dead, I can’t be held responsible. She texted back immediately. I suggest poison. Maybe Anthrax or Sarin. Since those work through inhalation, they’ll be difficult to trace back to you.
She totally got me. You’re my favorite.
Though as your roommate, your knowledge about methods of murder is a tad disturbing. Don’t cross me, babe.
you need to consult 2 Timothy 2:22. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness.” “I’ll get to work embroidering that on one of my pillows.”
You’re going to have to trust me and let me make my own choices.”
You really know how to make a fake girlfriend feel special. Nothing but the best. Since peanut butter can be turned into diamonds, it’s probably the most valuable meal I could offer. He linked a TikTok video to the message showing someone dipping burning hot coal into peanut butter and freezing it. When they rinsed off the peanut butter, they were left with a diamond.
It’s science, Albright. Rocks change with temperature and pressure. The crystal structure of coal converts to diamond, and peanut butter just happens to be full of carbon.
he asked what Neal did for a living, I said he was an ivory carpenter.
“That’s when I knew you were my person. The rain didn’t faze me, and it was the first time in my life I’d been able to relate to Shakespeare. ‘Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.’
I had let myself fall for him. Completely, head over heels, want-to-be-his-permanent-Taboo-partner, fallen for him.
How did he kiss in a way that made me feel so cherished?
Mum only opens her mouth to change feet.
We might both be shy, but there’s something kind of bold in how Georgia owns her awkwardness, whereas I feel like awkwardness has always owned me.
Mismatched tables and chairs, wooden floors, tealight candles aglow in a variety of glassware. Hand painted china plates on the butter yellow walls, the shelves lined with vintage teacups and teapots galore, like a dozen Nannas had got together and flung their collectables on the walls.
my conscience is at war with some stupid attraction, creating cognitive dissonance. That was bound to make a person feel unwell.
Last time I saw Grandpa he was fit as a fiddle and saying everything that was outside the new millennium criteria for political correctness.
Mum is a whole other level of please, no.
Elissa Bennett might have the manners of a barracuda, but there is something else there, a loyalty to her family that I appreciate and understand, and the fact she’s not impressed by money or looks is refreshing to me. And honestly, after years of being chased by scores of predatory women, I’m kind of drawn to being the one who has to make the effort. For I feel she is a prize worth having, her passion and quick wit even more appealing than her looks.
But I’m not ready to take the lid off this particular can of worms yet.
want a future with her. I wasn’t messing around. “I’m playing for keeps,” I say aloud, the words ricocheting through my ears and heart and brain.
My mother’s tone is as stern as the look she shoots me. She could turn a pot of boiling water to ice with that stare.
But seeing her standing in front of me looking like some southern version of an Amazon, I decide it’s in my best interest to keep my mouth shut.
Jace and Aiden had to be the hottest freshmen on campus. Both tall, athletic, and broad-shouldered. Jace, dark-haired,
with eyes the color of a glacier, and a chiseled profile that would’ve made Michelangelo’s David hide in shame. With his full lips constantly upturned in a lopsided, confident smirk, he was the essence of casual, endless charm. And Aiden, fair, blond, everybody’s All-American dream. His face beautiful, elegant, and ageless—in a hanging on the walls of The Louvre kind of way. But his expression was never arrogant and his blue eyes were always gentle and warm. Jace was the personification of danger and excitement. Aiden, an angel fallen on earth.
that fake ceramic in her mouth should come with a potentially-damaging-to-the-eye warning.
Did he say hot, single friend? I think he did. I roll my eyes. “Please, you seriously expect me to believe perfect, posh Kirsten saw me as a threat? In what universe?” “I’d pick you over her a million times.”
“Well, I guess you’re not interested in getting breakfast, then.” Now they get up, tails raised straight up into the air, and stroll toward their bowls, regaling me with the sight of their displeased kitty bums.
dissoluteness,
“I promise to wait for you for as long as it takes for you to be sure. And to love you, your four cats, six hens, and thousand rescue books for as long as my heart shall beat. I promise to love you even when you finish all the hot water in the shower and sing Taylor Swift at the top of your lungs for half an hour non-stop.”
promise to always be there when you need me and be strong when you’re vulnerable. I promise to never lie to you, to always tell you the truth, even when it hurts.”
an antique white gold ring with an intricate geometric pattern. She pulls it out of its stand. “This is an orange blossom pattern, but the antique dealer assured me it has a very masculine feel.”
I mourned our relationship until I realized we weren’t good together. I didn’t miss him. I missed the familiarity. I missed having someone to call after a bad day. I missed physical connection.
“You loved him,” she agreed, “but I don’t think you were ever as in love as you thought you were. You held back, and I think there was a reason for that.” I tipped my glass in the direction he’d disappeared. “Apparently.”
I wanted to tell Willa. This was new for me. I hadn't had someone to share exciting news with in a while. I hadn’t had another person I wanted to run to or celebrate with.
She grinned and put two slices on her plate. “And you’ve finally accepted it.” I shook my head. “No, I accepted there was no changing your mind.” “The greatest lesson in life.”
“If only she had a reliable partner to help her through the many challenges of life,”
If only. It made me think of James, and how he would be here in a heartbeat if any of us called. He was such a good man.
and now when I was craving support and comfort.
But there was one thing I could do. I could take care of her. I could comfort her. Provide for her, so she didn’t have to think or deal with anything but getting home and unwinding.
Willa was the first woman I actually wanted to be around in years. I wanted to spend the night, talking about everything and nothing. Important things, like her hopes for the future, and silly things like her favorite cartoon.
didn’t give up. I fought until the bitter end. Then I quit. Just like I quit my marriage. And my job.
The little things mattered more. The small touches. The familiarity. The sense of being at home with him. Not necessarily because of our physical location. But how it felt being together.
“Your mom likes to say that fate brings things together and they just fit, but that’s a load of crap. There is no fate. There’s only fight.”
“You will have a life full of regrets if you only do what you think you should,”
“For being there when I need you.” My heart swelled. That was something I always craved in relationships, not to be needed in a dependent sort of way, but to be able to provide for my partner, something they couldn't provide for themselves, even if it was just a bit of comfort.
we'd still be together. Even if I was miserable. I wouldn't be alone, not on paper. It took me a while to accept that life alone was better than a fake life with her.
