“Aliens—if they exist—are little green men with big eyes and spindly arms or…or giant insects or something like a lumpylittle creature.” Daemon let out a loud laugh. “ET?”“Yes! Like ET, asshole. I’m so glad you find this funny.”

“I changed your life.” She looked down at the peach they shared. “You changed min. I’m glad of it.” And back into his eyes. “Every day. I’m glad of it. I’d like a pond, and maybe something to sit on so we could watch the creepy, interesting fish.”“That would suit me very well.”She linked her arms around his neck, laid her cheek on his. Love finds a way, she thought.”

“Nothing is funnier than unhappiness, I grant you that… Yes, yes, it's the most comical thing in the world. And we laugh, we laugh, with a will, in the beginning. But it's always the same thing. Yes, it's like the funny story we have heard too often, we still find it funny, but we don't laugh any more.”

“I’m surprised Cole let you stay. What we do here is slightly unconventional.” Bea looked suspicious and in-the-know at the same time.“I’m in love with his brother.” Saying this out loud to Bea felt like jumping out of an airplane—thrilling and irreversible. In that instant Livia knew her love for Blake was as real as the church walls around her.Bea took in Livia’s face with wise eyes. “Why, yes. Yes you are.”

“My asshole smells like a bookstore. So, are you a big reader?”

“Making a sound that was both a laugh and a sob, Kellan stared into his son’s eyes. “Hey, little man,” he whispered. “I’m your dad, and I love you . . . so much.” Voice quavering, he added, “I’m so glad you’re here.”