“If it pleases you."And in his wprds, as always, Kate heard the echo of I love you.”

“She angled her chin proudly. “Very well. If you insist.I’ve come to invite you to my wedding.”He shook his head sadly. “That I cannot do, mylove.”“But it shall be the talk of London. I want you there.Desperately.”He gazed out to the sea. “I never thought you to becruel, Tess. I can deny you nothing. But please don’task this of me.”“But if you’re not there, my dear, dear Leo, thenhowever shall I marry you?She watched as the shock of her words rippledover his beloved features.“Me? But you always said no when I asked for yourhand.”“I was a foolish woman. Lynnford was the love of myyouth. And as we have talked these many weeks aswe’ve not been able to talk in years, so wediscovered that neither of us is the person that eachof us fell in love with. We were holding onto someonewho no longer exists.” She took a tentative steptoward him. “You love me as I am now. And I shall loveyou always. Marry me, Leo. For God’s sake, marryme.”

“Holding his daughter close with one arm, he pointed toward the distant horizon. "As far as you can see—it all belongs to you, Faith. Someday, I'll take you to the top of a windmill and teach you to dream. When you reach for some of those dreams, you might fall…but your mother and I will be there to catch you because that's what love means: always being there. I love you, little girl." He pressed a kiss to his daughter's cheek. "So much…it hurts. But I reckon that's part of love, too."-Dallas”

“I adore you, Frannie. You know that. I always have."She gave him the smile that had always warmed him, but it was not that threatened to bring him to his knees. He would kill to keep that smile on her face. But to keep Catherine smiling, he would willingly die."But you love Catherine," Frannie said quietly.”

“He rolled her over, rising above her, cupping her cheek. "I wasn't lying, Loree. I've always heard the music in my heart…but I lost the ability to do that when I went to prison. It was like the music just shriveled up and died. I thought I'd never hear it again. How could I play the violin if I couldn't hear the music? Then lately, I started going crazy because I'd hear snatches of music—when you'd look at me or smile at me. But I couldn't grab onto it, I couldn't hold it. Then last night, you told me that you loved me and I heard the music, so sweet, so soft. It scared me to hear it so clearly after I hadn't for so long. "Tonight, I hurt you—again. I was going to let you go, Loree. I was gonna take you back to Austin. But I heard my heart break…and I knew that's all I'd hear for the rest of my life. Don't leave me, Sugar." Joy filled her and she brushed the locks of hair back off his brow. "I won't."-Austin and Loree”

“The melody drifted into an aching silence. Austin lifted his head, and she saw his tears, trailing along his cheeks, glistening in the moonlight.She slipped from beneath the blankets, her bare feet hitting the cold floor. "What were you playing?" she asked reverently, not wanting to disturb the ambiance that remained in the room."That was my heart breaking," he said, his voice ragged.She felt as though her own heart might shatter as she took a step toward him. "Austin—""Don't stop loving me, Loree. You want me to learn what those little black bugs on those pieces of paper mean, I'll learn. You want me to play the violin from dawn until dusk, hell, I'll play till midnight, just don't stop loving me."She flung her arms around his neck and felt his arms come around her back, the violin tapping against her backside. "Oh, Austin, I couldn't stop loving you if I wanted.""I do know how to love, Loree. I just don't know how to keep a woman loving me.""I'll always love you, Austin," she said trailing kisses over his face. "Always."She felt a slight movement away from her as he set the violin aside, and then his arms came around her, tighter than before. "Let me love you, Loree. I need to love you."-Austin and Loree”

“Claybourne grabbed his arm, stopping his forward movement. “Do we have a plan?”“Get Emma out alive and I don’t care who the hell dies in the bloody process.” Breaking free of the hold, Swindler began running toward the gate.“I do hope he’s not including us in the ‘who the hell dies’ arena,” he heard Greystone mutter.“I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you,” Dodger responded. “I do believe the man’s in love.”