Love in the Afternoon (The Hathaways, #5)

by Lisa Kleypas

P.S. I share your affection for mules. Very unpretentious creatures who never boast of their ancestry. One wishes certain people would be a bit more mulish in that regard.

the longer I stared, the more the sky seemed like an ocean, and then I saw an entire fleet of ships made of stars. A flotilla was anchored at the moon, while others were casting off. I imagined we were on one of those ships, sailing on moonlight.

Beatrix's whimsy here is so delightful.... and also shows how good Lisa Kleypas is at English.

“I have no wish to reform bipeds,” Beatrix said.

“Those of us who have a difficult time with godliness,” Amelia replied with a grin, “must settle for cleanliness.”

In a display of rank insensitivity to the reproductive rights of small mammals, Christopher had buried his face in a pillow, his shoulders shaking. “What is so amusing about fornicating squirrels?” Beatrix asked irritably.

“He’s a man, dear,” Amelia explained kindly. “Sustained thinking is very difficult for them.” “As opposed to women,” Leo retorted, “who have the remarkable ability to make decisions without doing any thinking at all.”

the more Christopher learned about Beatrix, the more he perceived the vein of insecurity that ran deep in her. A sense of otherness that often inclined her toward solitude.

Oh Beatrix <3

“The trick was forgetting about what she had lost … and learning to go on with what she had left.”

Forgive me for not being able to survive … and forgive yourself for surviving.