“Marry, don't marry,' Auntie Aya says as we unfold layers of dough to make an apple strudel. Just don't have your babies unless it's absolutely necessary.'How do I know if it's necessary?'She stops and stares ahead, her hands gloved in flour. 'Ask yourself, Do I want a baby or do I want to make a cake? The answer will come to you like bells ringing.' She flickers her fingers in the air by her ear. 'For me, almost always, the answer was cake.”

“What do you want, Annika?" He dipped his head so his lips brushed her ear."Make me come." "God, Creed. Make me come.""Don't say it like it's an order. Ask for it.""No.""That's my Ani," he murmured. "Too proud to beg." "You get what you want when I get what I want.""Please. Please make me come.""Too late for begging," he said against her ear. "I want more now.""What do you want?""I want the truth," he said. "I want to hear you say you want me.""Creed." "Say it.""Can't.""Say it.""I want you," she blurted, unable to stop herself or the giant sob that followed.~Annika/Creed”

“The way I see it, it's got nothing to do with all of that. It has to do with love...A person don't got a soul until that person is loved. If a mother loves her baby--wants her baby--it's got a soul from the moment she knows it's there. The moment you're loved, that's when you got your soul.--Diego”

“Look, I don't know what to do yet. I just knew that's what you wanted," he says eyeing her mussed appearance."That's not what I wanted.""If it wasn't, you wouldn't have let me do it," he told her simply."I wanted answers.""And I don't have any.”

“He turned the haggered, haunted face on her and said, "I want you to stop it.""Whatever you're doing....to try to make me like Pilar, it has to stop. Because it's not fair to her. She's upset right now because I'm acting crazy. But I don't want to be with her. It's you I love. And if you want to get rid of me, then tell me, but don't try to foist me off on somebody else.”

“Stop it," he hissed in her ear. "You'll just make it worse for yourself. It's better if you don't look.""Like you do?" she hissed back. "Shutting your eyes and pretending something's not happening doesn't make it not true, Jace. You ought to know better-”