“Thank God. I was running out of hope." His arms coming around her, he drew her close and rested his cheek on her hair. "I could never live without you, Lily. I could never be happy alone, now that I know what happiness is." He laughted softly. "I thought I was perfectly content until I met you. I never realized how much I was missing until then. I haven't been the same man since I kissed you in that stable loft.”

“No, I won't let you go, Marcus thought fiercely. He was conscious of a savage urge to carry Arabella far away from here, captive, in his sole possession, until she finally agreed to wed him and give him her heart.”

“I believe it is love, but how does one tell?”Her friend’s gaze grew thoughtful. “The signs are usually recognizable. When you love a man, he becomes the center of your world. You yearn to be with him, and when you are not, he is constantly on your mind. He brightens your day. His simplest touch sparks passion in you... a tender look fires awarmth in your heart. Life feels empty without him.”

“My capitulation wasn't dependent on a legend or a Shakespearean play, however. You were the reason I fell in love, sweet, precious Sophie." His gazed softened. "How could I help but love you? I feel joy just being with you. I feel pleasure at the sound of your voice...”

“I never realize how much I miss you until I see you again,” hewhispered in her ear.”

“So much of my life had been spent taking and taking and taking. Thinking it was all about me, believing that everything came down to me and how I felt, what I wanted. Even in my grasping attempts to know God, I did exactly that: I grasped. I sought. Sometimes I waited. But I never opened myself, spread my soul wide as an offering so He could come and capture me. I never let Him run strong fingers through my soil, watering it with His grace so my fruit could grow and grow above the weeds that threatened to choke it out.”

“You cold?' He chafes my arms. I haven't been cold since I moved here. This is something else. 'No. But you can put your arms around me anyway.”