“Change is inevitable, they say. Struggle is optional.”

“Don’t leave. I want you to be with me.”“You’ll have your family.”I swallow before I say the words that will change this relationship forever. “You’re the one I need.”“But that would mean meeting your family.”It does, and I’m okay with that if it means she’s by my side. “I don’t care. I need you to be with me.”She smiles and cradles my face with her hands. “Of course. I’ll come if it’s what you want, but this is going to change everything.”“I know, but it’s what I want.”

“No and Yes. No, it doesn't change what I think about you, and yes, it validated you're still an asshole.”

“When you look back on this moment months from now, don't forget the one word I'm about to say to you, Claire Deveraux. Foreplay.”

“You must change in order to survive..”

“If I do this, something will go wrong and this man will hurt me. I know it as sure as I’m sitting here next to him feeling how much he makes me want to say yes.”

“We’ve shared countless kisses. They were almost always heated and demanding, but this one is entirely different. It tells me things he can’t or won’t say because it goes against everything he intends for our relationship.”