Shannon Stacey

“If somebody wants you to pin a label on my place in your life, just tell them I'm yours. It's that simple.”

“There wasn’t an official rule book that he knew of, but he was pretty sure a guy didn’t bend his best damn friend over the kitchen table.”

“You. I want you and I don’t want to be a luxury. I want you to need me. I want you to not be able to concentrate because you’re thinking about me. I want you to reach for your phone because you thought of something you have to share with me. I want you to not even be able to breathe at the thought of never seeing me again, because that’s how I feel about you, Paige. I want to be a necessity.”

“What if I hate it?" "As long as you've given it a fair shot, then we'll talk about it and figure it out." "If it really, really sucked, I could move back and live with Dad." "Yeah, you could. Though I'd like to think living with me wouldn't really, really, suck." "I've never moved out of Whitford, either. What if I hate Brookline?" "You sure as hell can't go live with Dean.”

“Ryan: Lady, I ain’t a boomerang. You throw me away again, I’m not coming back.Lauren:You call me lady in that tone again, it’s your balls that won’t be coming back.”

“I'm just afraid if I get used to leaning on you and you decide to walk away, I'll... fall over.”

“Cuando Keri vio a Joe caminando hacia ella, con sus manos en sus bolsillos y sus hoyuelos visibles desde la luna, ni siquiera podía articular todas las cosas que quería decirle.Se conformo con-: Tú no me vas a hacer buscar garrapatas, Joseph Kowalski.-Demonios, nena, no vayas aplastando todas mis esperanzas en el primer día.- Era Keri la que se sentía como una idiota pero era Joe el que se estaba sonriendo como uno- Veo que encontraste a Terry.- No voy a montar uno de esos.- Señalo a los remolques de los vehículos todo terreno.-¿Vez ese nuevo rojo brillante? Ese es tuyo, nena. Y no me digas que ya olvidaste las reglas.Como si pudiera. Las Reglas habían sido entregadas a la casa de sus padres antes de que ella se hubiese levantado de la cama esa mañana.”

“Joe metió la mamo en el bolsillo trasero de sus pantalones vaqueros y sacó una hoja de papel doblada de un cuaderno de espiral.-Aquí hay una lista de cosas que necesitaras. Lo anoté en el estacionamiento.Keri desdobló el papel y leyó la lista dos veces, tratando de tener una idea de lo que de ella se esperaba.TRAER: Repelente de insectos, vaqueros, camisetas, sudaderas varias, al menos una con capucha, una camisa de franela (obligatoria), pijamas (opcional), ropa interior (también opcional); traje de baño (de preferencia escaso), más repelente de insectos, zapatillas de deporte, botas impermeables, buenos calcetines, protector solar, dos rollos de cuartos de dólar.NO TRAER: Teléfono celular, BlackBerry, computadora portátil, cámara, ya sea fija o de video, reloj alarma, grabadora de voz, y cualquier otro tipo de componente electrónico.Ella no tenia idea de lo que esto significaba, que no fuera otra que Joe la quería media desnuda e incapaz de enviar mensajes de texto por ayuda.”

“He could do this. He'd survived boot camp. He'd survived combat and the harsh weather of Afghanistan. He could survive broccoli. Probably.”

“Honey, love isn't like rappeling into a cave, where you can control your descent and how deep you go. It's just falling into the hole.”

“If you are looking for sympathy, it's betweem shit and syphillis in the dictionary.”

“I do need you, because I love you and you make me happy. I can live my life just fine on my own, but it will be so much better if I live it with you.”

“Oh yes, Sean Kowalski. Your amazing kisses have made all rational thought fly out of my besotted brain. If only you could fill me with your magic penis, I know we'll fall madly in love and live happily ever after.”

“Who’s Beth?” Keri asked.“The bartender at your wedding.”“Oh, that’s right. How could I forget whenmy husband almost got thrown out of our ownreception for trying to hire her like a hooker orsomething.”“What’s a hooker?” Bobby asked.Keri’s island tan flushed pink. “Oops.”“You put it on the end of a fishing pole,dummy,” Brian explained.Bobby frowned. “Uncle Joe tried to hire aworm?”

“I'm having a cheeseburger," Anna said. "With fries smothered in vinegar and salt.""I told you I wouldn't kiss you again. You don't have to poison your mouth.""Very funny. What are you having?""Something with onions and garlic.”

“She wrapped her arms around his neck and gazed into the face of the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with. "Just promise to love me forever.""This is one story that's going to have a happy ending," he told her, and he lowered his mouth to hers.”

“I don't think we have a future. I know we do. I want to marry you and have kids and be a stay-at-home writer dad while you take Boston journalism by storm. I want to wake up beside you every day for the rest of my life.”

“The waitress tapped her pen on the tab. "So do you guys know what you want?"And then he did it, just as he always had whenever he'd been asked that question―he looked straight at Keri with blatant hunger in his eyes and said, "Yes, ma'am, I do.”

“Now she had to pretend not to love the man she was pretending to love while pretending she wasn't sleeping with him.”

“Josh: Just because you’re not looking for something doesn’t mean you won’t find it. Sean: Well, aren’t you quite the fucking fortune cookie.”

“Kevin slapped a box of hot dogs down on the rock. “What the hell was that?” “A kiss. It’s something guys like me do with girls we like. But don’t worry, someday you’ll find one drunk enough to let you try it.”

“She said you were probably plastic and Uncle Kevin said he’d give you a feel and let her know and then Uncle Joe punched him in the shoulder and said the only thing he’d feel is his A-S-S getting kicked if he tried.”

“It's a good thing you don't bring Lily in to the bar. If they see what a beautiful baby you made, we'll have to double our napkin orders."He propped his elbows on the bar so his face was very close to hers."I can't make magic like Lily with any woman but you.”

“For each full day you stick it out with the Kowalskis, you get to ask me one question.”Keri, unlike Joe, did have a poker face and she made sure it was in place while she turned his words over in her head. “When you say the Kowalskis, you mean…”“The entire family.” The dimples were about as pronounced as she’d ever seen them. “Every one of them.”Her first thought was oh shit. Her second, to wonder if People was hiring.”

“Let’s see if I can synopsize our situation,” he said. “I never give interviews. You want an interview. No, strike that. You need an interview, because the rabid jackal you work for has made it clear your job is on the line. Am I close?”The sizzle receded to a tingle. “You’re in the ballpark.”“I’m not just in the ballpark, babe. I’m Josh Beckett on the mound at Fenway. If I don’t give you what you need, you’re hiding behind palm trees waiting for drunk pop stars to pop out of their Wonderbras.”And that pretty much killed the last of the lingering tingle. “Payback’s a bitch and all that, right, Joe?”The dimples flashed. “Isn’t it?”