Leaping Hearts Quotes

“Tell you what,” A.J. offered. “I’ve got some errands to run today. We’ll hijack the truck and pick up a new one together.”
“You askin’ me on a date?” Chester asked wolfishly.
“I suppose I am.”
“You buyin’ or am I?”
“If you’re talking about the wheelbarrow, I am,” Devlin interjected.
“But what about food? If it’s a date, ya need food.”
“Probably not a lot of that at the local hardware store,” A.J. said with a grin. “Considering your days of eating nails are over with.”
“Well, I’ll pay for lunch if we go to the Pick a’ the Chicken.”
“Okay, but you should know, I don’t kiss on the first date.”
“Neither do I.”
― J.R. Ward, Leaping Hearts

“I have a trainer,” she confirmed while searching for an escape route.
Standing closer to this man is like being stuck in an elevator, she decided. You’d bargain with God to get free.
“But not just any trainer. Not only does this woman tackle a stallion no one else can seem to tame but she resurrects the dead, n’est-ce pas? You have done wonders to stir McCloud’s blood again, or so I have heard.”
A.J.’s mouth dropped open at the insinuation. “What are you talking about?”
“Surely you jest. The news is all around.” He gesticulated with a limp wrist. “Although I must say, you are faithless to leave your family in favor of a man who is not your husband. No matter how good you find his services.”
Her vision narrowed on the man’s jugular. “Why, you little—”
Devlin appeared at her side. “A.J.! Time to go pace off the course.”
“Ah,” Philippe said grandly. “And here is your good teacher, the man you gave up so much for. Myself, I could not imagine leaving my family for someone else’s stable, but I am French and we are known for our loyalty. Then again, I also don’t need the particular kind of instruction this McCloud offers.”
A.J. could sense her face tuning brick red and felt like a boxer winding up for a punch.
“Come on,” Devlin said.
“Yes, run along, you two. I imagine there is much you must do to each other.”
That did it. She lost it.
“Why, you tar-mouthed gossip hound—”
She was itching to go further but Devlin put a firm hand on her arm and began to lead her away.
“And speaking of gossip,” the Frenchman called out as they left, “you would do well to keep your ear to the floor. I myself am going to make an announcement soon.”
“That’s ‘ear to the ground,’ you—”
“Enough,” Devlin hissed, dragging her off.
When they were out of range from the crowd, A.J. whirled on him, eyes flashing turquoise.
“How could you let him go on like that? You didn’t give me the chance to defend us!”
Devlin said nothing, which infuriated her further. He just stood there, staring at her calmly. Didn’t he have any pride?
“I mean, come on! Marceau made insinuations that were insane and you hauled me off before I could respond.”
When that didn’t get any reaction, she frowned.
“Hello?”
“You finished?” he asked. “Or do you want to give him more of what he’s after?”
A.J. looked confused.
He said, “Tell me what you’re thinking about right now.”
“How I’d like to crown him with a bag of feed.”
― J.R. Ward, Leaping Hearts

“In A.J.’s experience, she wasn’t really the kind of woman men would break down a door to get to. Well, maybe if a house was on fire and they were a Good Samaritan with ax and an air mask.”
― J.R. Ward, Leaping Hearts

“Now that you’re my wife, I only need one more thing to be complete.”
“What’s that?” she asked breathlessly.
He pulled back, and began plucking pins from her hair, releasing the waves from the chignon. “What the hell does A.J. stand for?”
Laughter filled the room.
“Didn’t you look at the marriage license?”
“I was too blinded by love. So?”
“You aren’t going to believe it.”
“Try me,” he said, as the last pin fell to the floor. He buried his hands in her hair, shaking it out around her shoulders.
“The first is Arlington.”
“Not bad. Better than a lot of other words that start with A.” His smile was warm.
She cast him a dry look. “It was the city I was born in.”
“Makes it easy to remember.”
“The other is Juniper.”
He froze in disbelief. “You’re named after a bush?”
“It’s a damn nice planting, a hearty shrub.”
Devlin was laughing as he said, “And the connection is . . .”
“I think I might have been conceived under one.”
“That’s adventurous.”
“I haven’t asked a lot of questions.”
“I can see why.”
― J.R. Ward, Leaping Hearts

“A.J. nodded, covering her smile with a hand as Devlin emerged with his hair messed up and hay hanging off his sweater. He looked like he’d been through a war.
“You okay there, champ?” Chester asked. “Those there grain bags can be tough when they come atcha in a pack like that.”
― J.R. Ward, Leaping Hearts

“If she insists on keeping that animal, the least she can do is behave respectfully and stop shacking up with this limping has-been.”
A.J. gasped and watched as Devlin, who had been silent, closed the distance between himself and Peter. Her step-brother’s response was priceless. He looked like someone who’d stepped into the path of an avalanche.
“I’m going to do you a favor,” Devlin growled, “and forget you ever said that.” Turning to A.J. and her father, he continued with a disarming softness. “I think this argument is best left between family members. However astounding it is to witness the collective wisdom of the Sutherlands, I’d rather do something more constructive. Like watch paint dry.”
He turned and began walking away.
A.J. immediately went after him, reaching out and taking his arm. “I’m sorry he’s such a—”
Devlin carefully removed her hand. “I think you better settle this with your family first. Then we can deal with what’s going on between you and me.”
After he’d dissolved into the crowd, A.J. wheeled on her stepbrother.
“If I didn’t think he’d give you a shiner that would clash with your Day-Glo tie, I’d demand you go and apologize.”
― J.R. Ward, Leaping Hearts

“She was on the way downstairs, running through the checklist of things to do in the morning before they left for the show, when she heard cursing. Curious, she followed the expletives into Devlin’s study. He was crouching in the corner of the room, frustrated.
He looked up as he heard her approach. Their eyes met in the dim light, and the flash of attraction, which always flared whenever they were together, made her feel warm inside.
“Sorry for the colorful language.” His voice was deep and low.
“Highly descriptive as well as educational.” She tried to smile nonchalantly. “I didn’t know you could do that to a filing cabinet.”
― J.R. Ward, Leaping Hearts

“I look at that woman and all my neurons start firing at once,” Devlin said. “My head shuts down and that’s not the worst of it.”
But he wasn’t about to describe the effect she had on his body. Even if the stallion was looking particularly supportive. The memory of A.J. in his arms was potent enough without adding to it the power of words.
“What the hell am I going to do?”
If the stallion had an answer, he wasn’t sharing, and Devlin pulled away from the stall with a frustrated groan.
“To top it off, she’s got me turning to a horse for advice.”
― J.R. Ward, Leaping Hearts

“Considering how long it's been since I said it, I would've assumed I'd be more rusty. Well, that and the fact that the last time I was talking to a horse.”
― Jessica Bird, Leaping Hearts