Susan Mallery

“Better to keep trying until you find something that makes you happy rather than choose something now and hate your job for the next twenty years”

“I think that’s everything,” she said, rising to her feet. “Thank you, Mr. MacIntyre.”He shook his head. “Lucas. Or the deal is off.”She pressed her lips together. “All right. Lucas. And I must tell you, I don’t particularly care for you shortening my name. Emily is perfectly fine.”“I know, Em. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“... the only thing that makes life worthwhile is loving orher people and being loved by them. - Pia Obrian”

“Want to get Chinese?""I though you cooked.""Like I know how.""That's my girl.”

“... A little word can have a big impact. The difference between all and some. - Liz Sutton”

“Knowing what to do is the easy part. Finding the right person to do it with is a whole lot harder. - Josh Golden”

“Love is supposed to be scary. If it was easy, everyone would do it.”

“It's about risking everything. Putting your heart on the line, even when you don't know what's going to happen. It's risking having the person you love rip it out and stomp all over it in public.”

“The ablity to hurt someone is usually in direct proportion to how much that person cares about you.”

“She looked both hurt and broken. As if her spirit had received one too many mortal blows.”

“I'm a librarian in town,' she began. 'You sure about that?'The words popped out before he could stop them. Annabelle raised her eyebrows. 'Fairly. It's my job and so far no one has told me to go away when I show up for work.' smooth, Stryker, he thought, very smooth. 'I was expecting someone wearing glasses. You know. Because librarians read a lot.' The raised eyebrows turned into a frown. 'You need to get out of the barn more.”

“you're Shane, right?'He inched away from her and managed a quick nod as he twisted the rag he held in his fingers. 'Heidi sad you were willing to teach me how to ride.' Her expression shifted from entertained to confused, as if she was wondering why no one had mentioned he was a can or two shy of a six-pack. 'A horse,' he clarified, then wanted to kick himself. What else but a horse? Did he think she was here to learn to ride his mother's elephant? One corner of Annabelle's perfect, full mouth twitched. 'A horse would be good. You seem to have several.'He wanted to remind himself that he was usually fine around women. Smooth even. He was intelligent, funny and could, on occasion, be charming. Just not now, with his blood pumping and his brain doing nothing more than shouting "it's her, it's her" over and over again. Chemistry, he thought grimly. It could turn the smartest man into a drooling idiot. Here he was, proving the theory true.”

“I'm starting to remember that it's okay when things don't turn out right the first time. I can always try again and get it right.”

“He knew he could force the issue. Be blunt. But in getting his way, he would have to watch the bright light go out of her eyes. He would see her slim shoulders slump and know he was the cause. Damn it all to hell, he didn't think he could stand that.Yet another testament to how bad he had it for her. Women, he thought with a sigh. What had God been thinking?”

“Career now....Men, whenever.”

“It's okay to screw up. It's what we do afterward that defines us.”

“I'm a forever kind of guy," he murmured, right before he kissed her. "That's how long I want.”

“He grinned like a proud male and moved closer. “It was good.”“Are you asking or telling?”“I know it was good.”She’d just experienced the longest orgasm in modern history. Who was she to be critical? “It was amazing.”He cupped her face and kissed her. “We could do it again.”“I don’t think that’s possible.”Instead of answering, he bent down and drew her nipple into his mouth. Then he reached between her legs and lightly touched her. Instantly jolts shot through her. She found herself wanting to pull him close and beg to be taken.He drew back. “What do you think?”She looked into his amused eyes. “That maybe I might have a little more time to make up for.”“I figured.”“Did you bring more condoms?”“Yes.”“Thank God.”

“The worst part is the unknown. The pain of being alone, the loneliness, is familiar. You've dealt with that. You understand it. But loving someone, risking everything, is unknown. There's no way to know how bad it's going to be. You barely survive the pain of being alone, so how can you deal with anything worse? So you don't bother to try.”

“To the stupidity of men, " Dakota said, raising a glass. "And my brother, who is their king.”

“Montana," he said, dragging her against him."Montana, I'm so sorry. I was wrong. What I said, how I treated you." He drew back so he could see her face. "I love you. I have from the first. You're the best part of me. You are the light to my dark and without you, I'm blind. I'll give you anything, if only you'll stay with me.”

“I don't do this," he continued. "I don't get involved. But I've never wanted anyone as much as I want you. It started out as chemistry, pure sexual attraction. I don't even know what to call it. But it's different now. It's bigger and I can't control it and I can't not be with you.”

“She hesitated before opening the envelope, telling herself there was nothing he could say that would change anything. But she opened it anyway and read the note. "I'm not very good at this. I'm sorry.”

“He looked at her. "I will miss you, Montana. For the first time in my life, I'll regret leaving someone behind.”

“I don't want to hurt you," he said."Too late.”

“He moved toward her and cupped her face in his hands. "You are so beautiful that sometimes it hurts just to look at you. Your eyes are a thousand shades of brown and gold with hints of blue and green." He touched her cheekbones with thumbs. "Your freckles are like the girl-next-door fantasy brought to life. Your mouth is sexy and soft and when you smile, the world seems like a better place. Swear you'll never change anything. Swear it.”

“I belong where you belong”

“I didn't want to hurt you," she blurted. "I never wanted to be someone you would regret. I'm not afraid for me. I'm afraid for you.”

“I thought I was looking for something. Now I get that I was looking for someone. You. I'll go back to school and get my degree because it will make you happy. But also because it will make me the kind of man you want. This all about you, Aurelia. Don't you get that?”

“I could never regret you. Us”

“This is bullshit. You think I care what other people think? What does age have to do with it? Why can't you be that girl? As for what I want to do with my life, why can't I figure that out with you?”

“Because sometimes when things are going really well, we find the one thing we're pretending we're not looking for.”

“I'm not sure you need protecting.""Everyone needs protecting now and then.”

“The last time I dated, dinosaurs roamed the earth. We didn't even have electricity.”

“The biggest problems we have in this world are because of what we assume about each other. People make decisions based on appearance or gender or race, without getting to know anyone in that group. Or they have a very limited sample. Then they say things and other people hear them and start to believe them. Pretty soon we have a cultural bias that affects all kinds of decisions.”

“Doing what’s right isn’t supposed to hurt someone you care about.”

“I think experienced makes me sound like an aging hooker.”

“I'm like those placid dogs a family buys when the dog they choose first is too high strung. I'm the pet's pet.”

“You look good.""You look like shit.""That's how I feel.""Good. What do you want?"He gave her a faint smile. "To tell you how much I love you, Izzy. I probably have from the first moment we met.”

“Because the reward is worth the risk.”

“What do you mean she left me the embryos? I'm supposed to get the cat.”

“A lot of people think I chose these children because they have problems. That's not true. I chose these children because they touched my heart.”

“Why would men want to do without women? We adore women.”“Because they serve you,” she grumbled.“No.Because they complement us. And I mean complement with an e,not an i. Women are our other halves. Men need women.”

“I don‟t hate men,” she said, giving him a quick glance before returning her attention to keeping her horse in line. “I think you‟re a bit overrated, butthat‟s not hating . Men have ruled women and the world by virtue of their gender for several hundred years.”“Cream always rises to the top,” he replied.“This isn‟t about cream. It‟s about ruling through physical and mental intimidation. We all have strengths and weaknesses. The difference is,most women are willing to discuss both, while most men only want to talk about their strengths.”

“They say people whodon’t learn from history are destined to repeat it.”

“Sometimes you have to accept how things are. You can make it easy on yourself, or you can make it hard. The choice is yours.”

“Love is always enough.”

“Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes.”

“Marry me, Gracie. Marry me and let me take care of you. Let me love you and prove it each and every day.”

“He tucked her hair behind her ears and kissed her. "I love you Gracie Landon," he said quietly.”