“... I think I know the secret to a long and happy marriage - just choose someone you can't live without.”

“Dear Jack,I love you, too.And I think I know the secret to a long and happy marriage— just choose someone you can't live without.For me, that would be you.So if you insist on being traditional . . .Yes.—Ella”

“Do you think I should stay away from him?"I asked in a scratchy voice.Todd took a long time to answer. "My advice is, if you're inclined in that direction, go with your eyes open. It's okay to let someone play you, Haven, as long as you know what's going on.”

“May be, Churchill had pointed out, I should stop trying so hard not to love Hardy, and accept the some part of me might always want him. "Some things," he said, "you just have to learn to live with.""But you can't love someone new without getting over the last one.""Why not?""Because then the new relationship is compromised."Seeming amused, Churchill said that every relationship was compromised in one way or the other, and you were better off not picking at the edges of it.I disagreed. I felt I needed to let Hardy go completely. I just didn't know how. I hoped someday I might meet someone so compelling that I could take the risk of loving again. But I had serious doubts such a man existed.”

“Can't you just tell me now?""No, I need someone to eat with."A slight smile rose to my lips. "Am I supposedto believe that I'm your only option?""No. But you're my favorite option.”

“It was a confirmation ofa connection that already existed. And it wasa bond that extended far beyond the bordersof a shared living space. We would havestayed together even without a marriage certificate. . . but I believed in the permanenceit represented.It was a piece of paper you could build a life on.”

“Lately I've become so damned distracted that I can't make a decision about anything. I can't think clearly. I've got knots in my stomach, and constant pains in my chest, and whenever I see you talking to any man, or smiling at anyone, I go insane with jealousy. I can't live this way. I—" He broke off and stared at her incredulously. "Damn it, Evie, what is there for you to smile about?""Nothing," she said, hastily tucking the sudden smile back into the corners of her mouth. "It's just… it sounds as if you're trying to say that you love me.”