Iris Kelly Doesn't Date (Bright Falls, #3)

by Ashley Herring Blake

She simply was, with another disaster by her side—because Stevie was one hundred percent an adorable disaster—and it felt like that first gulp of cold water after a long hike.

“Show me what?” she asked one more time. “Stevie.” Stevie pressed her forehead to Iris’s. “That you’re worth loving.”

She knew Iris wasn’t lying—Iris never lied about this sort of stuff, never did anything she didn’t want to do.

I've struggled with this trust. Especially with someone who's never lied, trust they won't do anything they don't want to do.

Adri was controlling. I see that now, okay? I let her call the shots, yeah, but Iris is not like that. She gives me control. She talks to me, works through my anxiety with me. She’s not like Adri at all.”

But that was the tricky thing about love—it was selfless and also needy; generous, but greedy and desperate too.

Love can be many things, that's what makes it not easy but does make it uniquely beautiful.

“I’m the one who needed confidence. I needed to take a chance. I needed to be brave. But really, all this time, it was you. You’re the real coward, Iris. Aren’t you?”

“I spent a lot of time,” Iris went on, “convincing myself I wasn’t built to last, wasn’t built for romance, for love. But maybe . . .” Tears bloomed into her eyes. “Maybe I was just built for you.”

Crying. Hopeless romantic.