“The last time you came to see methere were anchors in your eyes,hardback books in your posture.You were the five star general of sureness,a crisp white tuxedo of a man.I was fiddling with my worn coat pockets,puffing false confidence ghosts in the cold January air.My hands were shitty champagne flutesbrimming with cheap merlot.I couldn’t touch you without ruining you,so I didn’t touch you at all.It’s when you’re on the brink of somethingthat you lose your balance.You told me that once.When I can’t bring myself to say what I need to,my heart plays Russian Roulette with my throat.I swear I fired that night, but, nothing.Someday, I’ll show you the bullet I had for you,after time has done the wash.I’ll take it out of the jar of missed opportunities.We’ll hold it up to the light.You’ll roll it around your mouth like a fallen tooth.You won’t forgive me exactly,but we’ll laugh about how small it is.We’ll wonder how such a little thingcould ever have meant so much.”

“Layla, the first moment I laid eyes on you I knew I had to have you. Iwatched you walk across that street to the coffee house in a complete daze. You were breathtaking. Fumbling around in your purse, your hairblowing in the breeze around your face. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. In fact I was so stunned I never even noticed how close I was standing to thedoor when you backed your way into it. So when you asked me how I didn’t see you through that glass, I did see you. Then when you told me youworked here, oh Layla, I can’t lie, I was thrilled and worried all at the same time. It meant I would be able to see you whenever I wanted. That’s why Icame in the next day and every day after that, just to see you here. When you agreed to go on a date with me, I thought my head and chest wouldexplode from the sheer joy I felt. You were so easy to talk to and wonderfully fiery, sarcastic, yet warm and caring at the same time. I feel like I’veknown you forever. I’ve never shared a connection with anyone like the one I have with you. So no, I don’t think it’s fast”

“Now, let’s go back to me bein’ like chocolate that melts in your mouth.” “That isn’t exactly what I meant,” I told him, his arms went around me and he rolled to his back, taking me with him. Then his hand sifted into my hair, fisted gently and my head came up. “I would hope not, darlin’, seein’ as every time you take me in your mouth, the last thing I do is melt.”

“To my unsuspecting love.When I look into your eyes, I lose all sense of time and place. Reason robbed, clear thought erased, I am lost in the paradise I find within your gaze.I long to touch your blushing cheek, to whisper in your ear how I adore you, how I have lost my heart to you, how I cannot bear the thought of living without you.To be so near to you without touching you is agony. Your blindness to my feelings is a daily torment, and I feel driven to the edge of madness by my love for you.Where is your compassion when I need it most? Open your eyes , Love, and see what is right before you: that I am not merely a friend, but a man deeply, desperately , in love with you.Longing for you.”

“Junco, I did save your life. Ya had a bad concussion. It was a mistake to fall asleep. I was just tryin' ta help when I brought ya out of it."This revelation jolts me out of my trance and I fight to shake off my weariness to get this story straight. "Wait," I say as I painfully push my body back up into a half-sitting position. "What? You were touching me when I was sleeping?"He squirms a little at my tone. "No, look, it wasn't like that. You weren't sleeping, you were unconscious – I just – wrapped ya in my wings so I could bring ya back up.""You were touching me." It's a statement this time, not a question. "In my sleep.""Look, I saved your life, for Christ's sake!”

“You told me one time that . . . I was your compass. I gave you direction when you were lost,” Ty said, nearly choking on the words. He glanced up, eyes reflecting like liquid in the low light. “Well, you were my anchor. You were something solid for me to hold onto. I wanted you to remember that.”