“Taking the leap felt appropriate. Only it wasn’t just a short hop. It was a full plunge off a cliff.”

“Is there something wrong?” he asked.She gave a short negative motion with her head. And then words, so sweet, like a cool northern breeze blowing off the lake. “You could hold me now.”It was almost his undoing.“Ah baby.”

“Was he demanding? Hell yes, but he wasn’t selfish. He took. He was ruthless in his demands. But he gave her back so much. Not just materially but emotionally, though he’d likely deny he did any such thing.”

“No. I don’t regret it. It wasn’t the right thing to do, but I don’t regret it.- Toni”

“She wanted happily ever after more than he could possibly know. She wanted forever. Problem was, she just wasn’t sure she believed in it anymore. It was why she clung to her fiction so much. She immersed herself in books because there she could be anyone and it was easy to believe in love and happily ever after”

“Fantasies were safe. It was a break from reality. A chance to act on desires for a short period of time.”

“The laird wasn’t uppermost on her mindthis morning. Sleep was.Another giggle raced around the room,and Mairin realized that once again, she’dgiven voice to her thoughts.”