“I don’t want a girl, or a woman, or a supermodel. I want you.”

“Don't stay because you want to. Stay because I want you to.”

“I miss you. I don't want to let you go”

“You want me?” I repeated, my bewilderment not abating, but growing. “I’ve never wanted anything more.”

“His eyes stayed trained on me, unblinking. "Fine." Convince me you don't want me like I want you.”

“I said those things and did those things because you'd hurt me," he continued, whispering just outside my ear. "And I wanted to hurt you. I wanted you to feel the same way I did when I woke up and found you gone. I wanted you to feel the anxiety I felt when I tried calling you and you wouldn't answer. I wanted you to feel the anger I felt when I showed up at the diner and watched you through the windows for a few minutes. Serving and talking to guests like it was just another day. Like you hadn't just broken my heart.”

“As I'd discovered this week, Jude was every kind of mystery that appealed to a woman and every kind she could never unveil. He was every enigma to which I wanted the answer to.”