Unexpected Quotes

“I’ll bet he misses it.”
“Almost as much as I miss him being on the road.”
She frowned. “You don’t really mean that.”
“Mostly not.”
“Good. But I do sort of get it,” she said slowly. “The siblings-driving-you-crazy thing. My sisters . .
. well, they’re perfect. As far as my parents are concerned.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. They’re married.”
“And that’s perfect, huh? What about you? You’re successful, right? Your column is pretty big.”
“Oh, it’s huge,” she said, her tone overdramatic, earning a chuckle from Cole. “I’m kind of a big
deal. But I don’t have a husband, so . . . my parents think maybe I’m not such a big deal.”
“So, you’re the black sheep.”
“Baaaaa.”
“Nice.”
“Thanks.”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“He was nice. But the waitress spilled a drink in my lap during dinner, and then I noticed he had a
piece of spinach in his teeth, and . . . you know, there’s nowhere to go but down from there.”
“And then what?”
“I faked a work emergency.”
“Do newspaper columnists have work emergencies?”
“I might have led him to believe I was an ace reporter. And that there was a robbery somewhere”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“Relax, Cole, I wasn’t proposing.” She put her hand on his shoulder for a second, and when she
removed it, the impression of her warmth lingered. Burned.
And for a moment he wondered if marriage wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“He flexed his fingers and fought the urge to put his hand on her stomach. It was a possessive
gesture, and he felt a little bit possessive”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“But she didn’t pull away from him. If anything, she seemed to sort of melt against him. It was the
first time she’d willingly accepted something from him without getting stiff and defensive and
generally annoyed”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“So I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“Yeah.” His heart rate picked up. She really did make him feel more like a kid than a grown man.
Although the desire she made him feel was certainly a man’s desire. “Do you want to have lunch with
me tomorrow?”
“Lunch?”
“Yeah. A picnic. I want to show you this place”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“Yeah.” He touched
Kelsey’s arm and felt a shock, like static electricity. But this went deeper, beneath his skin. “I’m
going to go see what Cade needs. See you later?”
She licked her lips, the action sending a different kind of electricity down south. What a time for his
libido to make a reappearance. “Yeah. See you later”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“She shook her head and dropped the focus of the light down to the ground. “Well, thanks for . . .
everything. Dinner. And stuff. Showing me the ranch.”
Why were things so awkward with him?
“Sure.” He put his hands in his pockets. “See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Tomorrow.”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“He found himself fighting the urge to reach out and take her chin between his thumb and
forefinger. To tilt her head so that she had to look at him. So that her lips were so close to his a slight
movement would—”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“Hi.” He turned and saw Kelsey standing in the door of the kitchen, looking . . . Well, she was
glowing. That pregnant woman glow, maybe? Or just the sun hitting her face at the right time. Either
way, she looked hot, and he noticed”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“Yeah, I will. Why do you
care so much all of a sudden?”
Cade shrugged. “I don’t have anything else to do. And like I said . . . you and Lark and this ranch
are all I have. Makes you cling to things tighter when you realize how easy it is to lose them.”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“And Amber?”
Cade looked stricken at the mention. “I knew her before she had breasts, so she doesn’t count.”
“I’m sure she’d love to hear that.”
“She won’t.” His eyes narrowed in warning. “Ever. Now seriously, what’s the deal with you and
Kelsey?”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“What the hell, Cade? You knew, and you never thought . . . ‘Hey, maybe I should tell my
brother’?”
“No, Cole, I never thought that,” Cade said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“And why the hell not?”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“See? Grumpy. And defensive. If you need help, ask me, you stubborn asshole.”
“Right, like you ask for help or time off when your leg hurts?”
“My leg is fine.”
“What a coincidence,” Cole said. “I’m fine too. I’m so damn fine it’s not even funny. Everything’s
great. The ranch is great.”
“Seems like it.”
“Obviously.”
“You’re as screwed up as I am,”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“It surprised him how badly he wanted her to stay.
It was that male possessiveness again.”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“Kelsey breathed in deeply. “He asked me to stay.”
“Here?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Until . . . until I want to leave, I guess. But he doesn’t want me to go yet, and . . . I’m thinking of
accepting the offer.”
“Now he sounds like he’s proposing marriag”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“If it makes you feel better, Cole hasn’t kissed me at all. Not even affectionately.”
“Is that a thing? Are you thinking Cole might kiss you?”
“I don’t know.”
Alexa frowned. “Do you want him to?”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“He laughed and tightened his hold on her, suddenly conscious of the fact that he’d crossed an
invisible line.”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“You don’t have to be involved with my parents. Not if you don’t want to be. Yes, you’re the father,
but you aren’t my boyfriend or husband. My family is my problem.”
“I do,” he said, before he even realized what he was saying. “I do want to be involved. With all of it.
We’re talking about really making this work, about making a . . . I don’t know if we’re talking about a
family, not in the traditional sense, but we’re in this together, right?”
“I guess.”
“That means I get to help you with parent things, and other unpleasantness. And you have to know
my brother.”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“Are you okay?”
She looked up, her eyes glistening. “I just . . . I . . .”
“Hey.” He stood up and rounded the picnic table, sitting next to her on the bench. He wrapped his
arm around her, the feeling of her, so warm and female and way too tempting, sending a shock of
pleasure through him. “Hey, don’t . . . don’t do that.”
“I’m pregnant. It’s a pregnant thing,” she said.
“I’ve never seen you do it.”
“I don’t often.”
“I can tell.”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“Tupperware? I don’t know. That’s what my mom did.”
“Well, my mom had to bring bigger containers for food when the family ate outdoors. But she used
this when she and Dad . . .”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“She swallowed, her eyes dropping to his lips. And he knew she felt it too.”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“He relaxed his hands, lifted one and tucked a strand of wispy blonde hair behind her ear. She didn’t
move; she only looked at him. He wondered if she felt it too.”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“Kelsey laughed and the sound moved through him, made the hairs on his arms stand up, made his
heart beat faster”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“I was being sincere. Hold on to it as long as you can, Lark. Life knocks the stuffing out of you
eventually. Look at me. Look at Cade. As long as things are simple, keep them that way. As long as
unrequited liking is the least of your worries . . . it’s not so bad.”
“It feels bad.”
“I know. Take comfort in the fact that that actually makes you pretty normal.”
“Not comforted.”
He laughed. “That’s normal too.”
“Shut up.”
“Love you too.” He didn’t say it often enough. But it had never been easy for him to say.
That earned him a smile. “I do. Love you, you know. Thanks for trying. And thanks for . . . being
willing to kill someone for me.”
“It’s what brothers are for. ’Night”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“You haven’t met someone. Not a real, good someone anyway. Unless . . . Did you really hook up
with Kelsey in Portland?”
“Not your business, kid,” he said. “But no.”
“You seem to like her a lot.”
“She’s . . . nice.” And I’m stuck with her. And he still hadn’t figured out quite how to handle it. He
needed to handle it. Fix it.
“Maybe you could ask her out.”
“You’re cute.”
She frowned. “That’s patronizing.”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“He cleared his throat. “You noticed.”
“And guys just don’t seem to notice me at all!”
“Forgive me for not being too broken up about that”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“Damn, Lark, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”
She looked at him, blinking her owlish eyes. “You think I’m crying because of you?”
“I was a bastard.”
“Well, yeah, but you’re my brother. I’m used to it.”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“Sorry, I had to break the tension; it was making me uncomfortable. It reminded me a lot of some
of my dates in high school. Just before the guy copped a feel.”
“Sorry,” Kelsey said, her apology directed at Cole. “She doesn’t interact with people very often. It’s
. . . like a puppy that gets locked in the laundry room all day.”
“Should I get her a treat?” he asked.
“Hey,” Alexa said, her tone defensive. “Is the treat bacon?”
“Milk-Bone,” he said.
“Then I’ll pass and head to bed.” She looped her arm through Kelsey’s, and they turned, stepping
off the porch.”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected

“I’ll walk you to the path.” Cole stood too and followed them out of the dining room and into the
common area of the lodge.
“How do you feel?” he asked when they were out of earshot.
“Great. Fine. For the first time in . . . forever, pretty much”
― Maisey Yates, Unexpected