Erin McCarthy

“I still wasn’t convinced that tossing a shoe didn’t mean you harbored an anger-management problem, but I did understand love now. How it wrapped around you and made you more aware of the prickles on your skin, the roots of your hair, the intensity of every touch and every inch of you. It was like life on hi-def. Everything was sharper.”

“Our relationship felt like a Christmas gift that you hadn’t asked for and weren’t expecting to receive, but the minute you saw it, you knew it was perfect for you.”

“But I figured every girl on the planet had found herself wishing she had a free pass inside a man’s mind at one point or another. Maybe it was self-preservation that we didn’t have such powers. It might be holy-crap creepy in there.”

“Because that was what we all did—we searched for labels for people until we found one we thought might fit, and then we sighed in relief that we had placed them.”

“Literature wasn’t intended to be about perfect people, it was about flaws, very real and very deep human flaws.”

“A movie playing on the TV screen in front of us. Some sort of bad Tom Cruise drama. I've never liked Tom Cruise. He always reminded me of someone's creepy cousin, who smiles too big before he touches your butt and whispers something gross in your ear with hot whiskey breath.”

“There is no memory less satisfying than a temptation that we resisted.”

“But there was something about Diesel... it started with his name and ended with his butt.”

“Then he was forming letters again, one at a time on her back, while Laurel clung to him, full of heart and body, still joined to him intimately. Wanting his words, needing them, moved profoundly by them.I love you.One letter after the other, until they were all there, telling her everything she needed to know here in the dark.”

“I want to have sex with you" he told her back. "Touch you until you squirm with pleasure."Laurel's head shot around. "What did you say?"Oh, shit. He had never actually verified how much or how little Laurel could hear.”

“Laurel watched his lips intently as he spoke. He thought it was pretty amazing that she knew what he was saying just from reading his lips. But it also meant a lot of times her eyes were on his mouth, not meeting his gaze. Which gave him the sneaky ability to watch her more closely than he could anyone else, without her thinking he was staring.”

“Once upon a time she had liked to dance. When she had been about the same age as the little brunette out there who kept lifting her dress up over her head. Now that was living. Just lift your dress if you wanted to get down and don't worry what anyone thought.”

“Amanda meant to move, but somehow her feet didn't do anything. They were like Quebec, determined to be independent.”

“What are you looking at?""The woman I love." With all his heart and soul.Reese looked over her shoulder. "Where? I don't see any one." Then she laughed, hitting the glass table with the palm of her hand.”

“Instead he leaned closer, gaze meeting hers from behind his horn-rims. "Then go fix it. If you love him, it's worth it, Reese.”

“That sounded like an insult, but he wasn't sure. "What's a dillweed?" "You. You're a dill weed." Well, that cleared things right up.”

“Can I get you anything? A drink? A fresh change of clothes? A membership card to Hypocrites International?”

“He was a glass half full kind of person and she was...what? The glass is going to break before you can even pour kind of person. Yikes.”

“Not perfect, not tidy. Just Happy.”

“I was born without the flirt gene. It's truly awful for me." That was no exaggeration. " I mean, look at how I screwed up last night with Ty. He was flirting and tossing off sexual innuendos, and I just looked at him and said I would not have anal sex with him.""You what?" Suzanne shrieked so loud that Imogen saw half a dozen other fitness patrons swivel their heads to look at them. "Did he ask you to? At the party?""No, of course not." Which was what made it all the more ridiculous. "We were in the car and he was hinting about positions, what was to come, etc., and I just blurted out that I wasn't doing that with him.""Girl..." was Suzanne's though on the matter, her expression one of total horror. "Do not bring up the back door unless he's knocking on it.”

“Scars fade with time. And the ones that never go away, well, they build character, maturity, caution.”

“He was really having a hard time with this. He was not a seductive kind of guy, and if he tried to be sexy, he was going to sound like Romeo, the porn version.”

“Corbin glanced around as his fellow classmates all crawled around the room, trying to get into the exercise, but all looking distinctly uncomfortable, except for Dave, whose enthusiasm had him zipping around the entire room. Travis had flopped onto his back."Is it time for my bottle and a bath yet?" he asked Corbin, and they both started laughing. If this was Brittany's idea of normal, then Corbin was damn grateful they were probably never going to fit in.-Corbin at Baby Boot Camp”

“Corbin wanted, quite simply, to die.He had wished for death many times over his long lifespan, but never as fervently as he did while Beth Adams rattled off breastfeeding statistics, her baby sucking industriously, mouth fully around the entire areola, as Sam was quick to point out, finger outlining the area in question. Corbin was speechless. -Corbin at Baby Boot Camp”

“-Hello, welcome to Wal-Mart.Amanda lifted up her pink sunglasses to gape at the old guy in the requisite blue vest.- Ohmigod, it's just like the commercial. If a smiling yellow dot bounces toward me, I'm going to freak out.”

“When she quieted the jet engine buzz of worries assaulting her brain, when she stopped thinking altogether and just felt, she knew this was right. Feeling the silence of peace and conviction was so foreign to her she wasn't even sure what to do with it.”

“Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit..." Suzanne”

“Just what she needed. She was single and pregnant and her nipples had suddenly become supersensitive $luts looking for action.”

“This is really disturbing. I think I'm being scarred as we speak. It's like paranormal porn."Alexis did look a little pale. "Do you want me to turn it off?""No, are you kidding? I have to see what happens. It's like a car accident, but with tongue. You don't want to look, but you have to.”

“Feeling downright giddy, which must be the lack of blood, Ethan flung his arm over his face and winced. Doubled over."What? What is it! Are you bleeding again?" Alexis reached for him.He dropped his arm and smiled. "No. It's just that I was momentarily blinded by your beauty."Her jaw dropped and she slapped his arm. "Idiot."But as he laughed, he saw her struggle not to grin.”

“And the thing is, we can’t fail. We’ve already hit the bottom and come out of it. From here on out, if we just love and listen, we can’t go wrong, babe.”

“Why?” she whispered. “Why should I dance with you?”“Because I love you. Because I love you so much I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it go differently this time.”... "Because we should be a married couple, because I never wanted to not be married to you. Because all these men out here dancing with their wives can’t possibly love them as much as I love you. Because for me, there is only one woman, and I’m sorry to break it to you, but you’re it.”

“Suzanne had totally forgotten about their court date since she'd been a little busy having tons of condom-free sex with Ryder, planning Nikki's wedding, and forming a placenta.”

“I mean, it's okay if you're the one with the low sex drive. We'll just have to adjust and learn to accommodate that.”

“Diesel better have a big dick, that's all she was saying.”

“Her bun was baking, but her bloody heart was breaking.”

“This was fun. We should find out we're still married more often.""Why, so every day can be a special new plunge into hell?""Nobody I'd rather burn with than you, babe.”

“You need to decide whether you're willing to risk being hurt, plain and simple. You can go for it and have a wonderful relationship. Or you might go for it and crash and burn brilliantly. It's up to you if you want to take that risk, up to you if it's worth it or not.”

“Honey, nobody ever knows someone completely. You have to just enjoy what you do know and have faith in the rest.”

“I am successful because of my brains and my guts, put together, and I don't need some fancy-ass degree from a bunch of sweater-vest-wearing pricks who haven't gotten laid since Bush Senior was president... Do you know who studies sociology? People who would rather observe life than live it.”

“Imogen looked at Ty, at the one man who could halt her stone-cold logic and make her just feel.... She needed that, to be caught off guard, to learn to trust her first gut reaction to her emotions. There had been no hesitation on her part - he had asked and her heart had sung out a big fat yes.”

“I think perfect love is any time you love unconditionally, without selfish intent, without concern for personal gain.”

“Love, no matter how it’s expressed, is still love. We all have flaws, and so our love will be flawed. But that doesn’t diminish it.”

“Alexis grabbed his arm. "Tom Jones? Wow, I totally love Tom Jones. He's like quintessential Vegas—over the top and indecent fun. Let me just go grab a pair of underwear to throw at him and we'll be all set."Over his undead body. If anyone was getting her underwear tossed in his face, it was going to be him."I don't think so, Ball Buster. You're not giving your panties to an old man.""Oh, and you're so young, Garlic?""Garlic?" What the hell was that?"Yep. Now we have pet names for each other, isn't that adorable? You're Garlic and I'm Ball Buster. Now everyone will believe we're a real couple.”

“And everyone is always saying that marriage is really hard and takes a lot of work. But the thing is, when you know that you love someone, those things don’t matter. You have to push all the everyday things and the outside world away, and just enjoy knowing that this is the man who has the chest your head is meant to lie on.”

“But the truth is, I want to be some woman's work boots, not her high heels.""Work boots?" What was sexy about that? And did women have work boots?"Yeah. You know, the boots she pulls out when she wants to get down and dirty, hiking or gardening or boating or painting the kitchen. The ones she relies on and trusts and lives her life hard and good and on her terms in. Her favorites.”

“Did I ever tell you the difference between a Northern fairy tale and a Southern one?" she asked him, indulging herself and letting her head rest on his shoulder. God, he felt good. Her man. Where her head was meant to lie, right there, on him. "What's the difference?""A Northern one starts 'once upon a time,' while a Southern one starts 'y'all ain't going to believe this shit.”

“Sounds like a plan. I owe Tammy a big thank-you.” Ty sighed. “I think I’m too old for this bachelor party crap.”“We’ll be planning yours soon enough.”That was so not appealing, Ty was almost scared. “Let’s just go fishing and call it good.”“Done.”

“Alright, good night,” he said, his words a little slurred. “But before I pass out, I want you to know that you’re the hottest biscuit this side of the gravy boat.”

“Though Trish and her bad boy types weren't exactly Kindra's style, she had to agree that Violet went for quiet and uninteresting. Sort of like mild salsa. Why even bother? You'd be better off just biting a tomato.”