More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation. —Rumi
So the Hottest Firefighter in the World is named Ash, I thought. Made sense. He probably set panties on fire.
Lol
“How did this happen? I came here for personal growth. Does this look like personal growth to you? My entire trip is ruined.” “Maybe not,” I said. “How long are you here for?” “Two weeks.” “That’s not so bad—” “I got here yesterday.” “Oh.”
Awww lol
“I thought you didn’t like me.” “What makes you think that?” “Oh, nothing. Just everything you’ve said to me since the moment we met.” “Maybe you’re growing on me.” I shot her a half-smile. “Like a barnacle.”
Lol
“The abridged version? That lifestyle was chaos. Lots of booze, drugs, sex—” “Where do I sign up?” I couldn’t hold in my laugh.
Lol she is rather cute
“No, I have no online presence. The internet is a hoax.” “A hoax.” I arched a brow. “Tell me more.” “It isn’t real. At best, it’s a bunch of people showing off filtered photos of their lives and pretending they’re happier than they actually are. At worst, it’s a virtual townhall to bitch and moan and treat opinions like facts instead of the polished turds that they are.”
Truth
“It sounds stupid or cheesy, but I feel connected to something bigger when I sit with the ocean. Like I’m a part of something old and deep.” Asher grasped a handful of sand and let it sift through his fingers. “I felt untethered to anything real or permanent when I was a kid. Maybe this is me making up for it. But I’m grateful, and I think it’s the gratitude that makes me feel connected. I’m grateful to the ocean just for being here.”
Gotta love a deep guy
“Do you need anything else?” “Nope. I’m just peachy.” “You sure? Because—” “I’m good,” I said. “You’ve already given up more of your day than you were supposed to.” “I don’t do anything I don’t want to, Faith.” Lord have mercy… I waved my hand. “That’s enough of your masculine gallantry for today, firefighter. A gal can only take so much and keep her clothes on.”
Whatever the deal, it was beginning to get under my skin how much she was getting under my skin.
I knew better than anyone that when you were trying to do better, anyone giving you shit—even well-meaning shit—felt…shitty.
This is actually very profound lol
“Are we in trouble, firefighter?” I understood her meaning. Because I could read her, and she could read me, and neither one of us wanted to do much else besides figure each other out. “Not yet,” I said quietly. “But we’re getting there.”
Uh-huh. Least you two are aware.
What I did not trust was my stupid heart. My body lusted after Asher Mackey; that was to be expected. But I was beginning to want him in a way that had nothing to do with sex, and that was downright terrifying.
Ahhh when real love beckons.
“But I can’t help myself around you. I know, rationally, we’re different people. There’s a literal ocean between us, and yet…” He reached across the table to take my hand. “I don’t see how this can go anywhere, but the last fucking thing I want to think about is saying goodbye.”
Adulting, eh?
I stared at the ceiling in perfect conflict—contentment and belonging making my heart warm while one thought clamored through my mind. We’ve made a terrible mistake…
Yep
Finally sleeping with Faith—touching her, kissing her, being inside her… Fucking bliss. And it fixed nothing. My grin faded as I swung my legs over the side of the bed and hung my head in my hands. “Shit.”
Yep!
“It was at the hospital later that he really rescued me.” She smiled softly at me. Gratefully. As if she weren’t rescuing me right back.
Awww
“We’re stuck, aren’t we? Trapped somewhere between hello and goodbye.”
Perfect name drop!
I held my head in my hands. “Ugh. Being an adult isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
RIGHT?!
Because I’m in love with Faith Benson. I rested my elbows on my desk and held my head in my hands as I let myself have the thought for the first time. No use denying it or pretending it was something else. I was fucking crazy in love with her, and the thought scared the shit out of me while flooding me with serenity at the same time. The serenity I’d been searching for my whole life.
Sounds incredible.
I went back to my place, too big for just me—huge and empty.
He is going to move with Faith and give house to his brother probably.
Because that is the measure of a life, my dear. The love you have. It’s worth everything.”
Truth.
“We’re going to be okay. We’ll miss you like hell, but we’ll be okay.” Sudden tears flooded my eyes. “The fuck. Are you kicking me out?” “Yes,” Momi and Morgan said together. My brother chuckled. “We are voting you off the island.”
Lol
I have a feeling a lot of the misery we go through is because of the story we tell ourselves.” I shrugged. “You rewrite the story, and you get a different ending.”
“I’m supposed to attend that awards show with her on Sunday night,” Silas said. “I was going to pick her up at six, take her to dinner, then to the ceremony at Bell Harbor.” He shrugged with a smile. “You show up instead.”
Awwww perfect!
“We slept together,” I murmured, my eyes falling shut. Asher… “A year ago,” Jack clarified. “Last night…not so much.” My head shot up. “We didn’t?” “Nope. You cried on my shoulder for half the night, telling me over and over how you’re in love with some firefighter, and then you passed out.” He smiled dryly. “It was a super fun time for me.”
Aww poor dude lol
Where’s Silas? You two are clearly in cahoots.” “Nope,” Asher said as we moved toward the door. “I clubbed him on the way over here, stole his town car, and stashed him in the trunk.”
Lol
“They’re gone. Both of them.” “Both?” I could hardly speak over my own pounding pulse. “Who? Not…” “Nalani and Morgan. Morgan is dead.” Asher looked at me helplessly. “My brother is dead.”
OMG WHAT?!? ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!?!?!?!
Other people had to tell me what happened because I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there.
Omg this is so awful! I'm freaking BAWLING!
And it all boiled down to that one sentence. That one unrelenting fact. I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there because I’d been with her.
Ugh dammit this hurts so much and I'm not even IN this story!
I pushed the door open all the way. His bed was empty. Desk chair, empty. The room was empty, but the window was open, and Kal was gone.
Oh no! He probably ran off to his home. :(
She crossed her arms and tilted her chin up. “I live here.” “You…live here.” “With Asher, yes.”
Ohhhhh this vile woman!
grief and love at the same time. Because in the end, they were the same thing.
Truth.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I don’t know much of anything anymore, but I know that. Whatever is left of me, is yours.”
Love prevails in the end, even amidst the sadness.
“Wait, you haven’t looked at it?” “Nope, and I think we need to take a moment to appreciate the Herculean amount of willpower I have exhibited on that front.” He laughed and shook his head. “God, Faith. How can I laugh right now? How can I be so crazy in love with you when my heart feels like it’s been trampled a thousand times?” “Because we have an infinite supply.” I reached out and touched his cheek. “Your heart is safe with me. I’ll take good care of it. I promise.”
Awww
My hand slipped to my belly for the millionth time. Not to mention, I need to share the latest developments with my husband, that sexy bastard.
Lol
“This is our baby,” I told Asher and watched his face melt with pure joy and love. Then I moved my finger. “And this is our other baby.” His eyes widened and he stared at me, then to the sonogram, then back to me. “Twins?” “Indeed, firefighter. You are too damn virile for your own good. I used to joke around that you only needed to look at me sideways and I’d get pregnant, but I’m beginning to think I was right.”
Yayyyy I called it!
To survive and thrive and to know that our capacity to love doesn’t diminish with loss. The single candle can light a thousand more, and we find our way out of the dark again.
I have always maintained that everyone is worthy of love despite the odds, despite trauma, despite our own self-destructive voices, and I strive to show that in every book.
Mission frickin' ACCOMPLISHED, Emma Scott. Thank you for this.
