From the Ground Up Quotes

“I miss you,” I say.
Her body sags against me, and tears immediately form in her eyes. She’s always been an emotional sap, but I know it’s more than just her normal emotions getting to her now. She feels it too. I need to do something about it, and seeing her to the point of tears breaks my heart. She should never feel that our relationship will cause her tears.
“Don’t cry. Please, Tess. It breaks my heart. I can’t take the tears.”
“I’m sorry.” She sniffles. “I can’t help it. it’s not just the sex. Yes, I miss it terribly, but it’s you. I miss you too. We have to find a way to get back to ourselves.”
“Come on now, I know it’s really just my magical penis that you miss,” I tease her.
She looks up at me with a watery smile and says through her chuckling, “You know it.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“Tess. I love you so much. You’re so beautiful, you take my breath away. I can’t believe you’re still mine after this many years, and I swear – on my life, I swear – I will never let you forget that again. Not for a single second. Not for a single moment in your life will you not feel the love I have for you, will you now know that I adore you with everything that I have. I want your heart, your mind…your soul. I want everything you can give me.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“Our passion and love for each other has built just as our kisses have, with grace and beauty that only love built from the ground up can provide.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“I love being yours.
There’s not a single person on this earth who I’d rather do life with.
You have my heart forever.
We fumbled.
We picked ourselves back up.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“This man.
He’s far from perfect.
But he’s perfect for me.
Our dream is wide awake, and we are living it.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“Tess, I’m not going to promise you the moon and the stars, but I am going to promise you that I won’t forget to dance with you under them anymore.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“I didn’t realize that I missed dating my husband.
He reminded me that I did.
He reminded me that I loved falling in love with him the first time.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“I love you, Tess. You need to understand that. You need to feel that my soul is empty without yours attached to it. My heart, my love responds only to you. Even after I take my last breath on this earth, my love is yours.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“Unlike my pretty girl, I’m not emotional in the least about saying goodbye to the kids for a week. I’m friggin’ ecstatic. An entire week alone with Tess has me giddy. We may not be at our best right now, but I’m about to make damn sure that we’re at perfection again before we leave that cabin.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“Tess, there is no other person on this earth who I would rather do life with than you. It hasn’t always been easy, and sometimes the mess got in the way, but it’s been perfect. I wouldn’t change a single moment.”
“Me either, babe. I’ve loved every moment of being married to you.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“I fell in love with Tess when I was seventeen, and I still am. Always will be. I forgot to show her that I’m in love with her, but that ends now.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“My gut clenches at the thought of her feeling less than anything but the love of my life. How did this happen between us? Did I pull away first, or did she? Or did it just happen because we both forgot to care? Forgot to put effort into each other and started to take the other for granted?”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“We used to go to the gym, but when it became clear that neither of us could do jumping jacks or jump rope without peeing a little, we thought it best to move our workouts to a more private location.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“When I was seventeen I fell in love. And I never fell out. I was lucky.”
“No, Barret. I was the lucky one. Still am.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“As we crawl into bed next to one another, alone for once, we take one look at the other and almost weep. It is so rare for us to be able to climb into bed at the same time, and we almost don’t know what to do with ourselves when we do.
Unfortunately, once again, exhaustion and questions over tonight’s dinner topic trumps sexy-time, and soon we’re both lying next to one another in silence, but at least we’re together and touching. Touching means more than sex at this point in our lives. Touching is intimate, and we are desperate for the intimacy. At least I am.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“I said no. End of discussion.”
“But, Dad, it’s not to get boys to notice me! The shirt is cute!”
“I have no doubt the shirt is cute. I also said no.”…
She throws her arms up in the air and screeches, “Inconceivable!” before stomping away. It’s possible we may have made her watch The Princess Bride one too many times.
Barrett roars with laughter at her response, smiles my way, clearly satisfied with the way his end of the discussion went.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“One day, boy. One day some other schmuck is gonna walk into her life and recognize her for what she is, and you’re not gonna know what to do with yourself.”
“Dad. We’re friends,” he says, but I know he’s saying it to remind himself as much as me. Meanwhile, his jaw ticks. It’s obvious the thought of her with another guy doesn’t sit well with him.”
“Yeah. I’ve never heard of friends turning into more. Ever. Good luck with that.” I chuckle and tip my coffee cup in his direction.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up

“Through the trials, tribulations, and arguments, we’ve never lost one thing. We’ve never fallen out of love. Never once have I wished for our lives to be different. Sure, it’s more fun to always be happy. But that’s not life. Life is ugly and mess, and marriages are hard. If it were easy all the time, no one would appreciate the wonderful times. It’s in the messy that we appreciate the pristine. And the pristine that is Tess and Barrett Ryan is a beautiful thing.”
― Jennifer Van Wyk, From the Ground Up