“squats are a form of torture designed by people who don’t need to do squats in the first place”

“You need a place just a click over middle range. Don’t want to go all-out first time, but you don’t want to run on the cheap either. You want atmosphere, but not stuffy. A nice established place.”“Bob, you’re going to give me an ulcer.”“This is all ammunition, Cart. All ammo. You want to be able to order a nice bottle of wine. Oh, and after dinner, if she says how she doesn’t want dessert, you suggest she pick one and you’ll split it. Women love that. Sharing dessert’s sexy. Do not go on and on about your job over dinner. Certain death. Get her to talk about hers, and what she likes to do. Then—”“Should I be writing this down?”

“What are these?”Meg looked at the rings of keys in Nate’s hand, deliberately furrowed her brow. “Those would be keys.”“Why do you need so many keys?”“Because there are so many locks? Is this a quiz?”He jingled them in his palm while she continued to give him a sunny, innocent smile. “Meg, you don’t even lock your doors half the time. What are all these keys about?”“Well… There are times a person needs to get into a place, and hey, that place is locked. Then she would need a key.”“And this place that, hey, is locked, wouldn’t be the property of that person. Would that be correct?”“Techincally. But no man is an island, and it takes a village, and so on. We’re all one in the Zen universe.”“So these would be Zen keys?”“Exactly. Give them back.”“I don’t think so.” He closed his fist around them. “You see, even in the Zen universe I’d hate to arrest my wife for unlawful entry.”“I’m not your wife yet, buddy. Did you have a search warrant for those?”“They were in plain sight. No warrant necessary.”“Gestapo.”“Delinquent.”

“It’s good to be with someone when you know you matter. Not assume,” she qualified, “but know. To be with someone, who even when you don’t think you want or need it, will stand up for you. Someone who sends you flowers and buys you magic wands. I’m not going to look around the corner for what’s next.”

“She needs me. She needs someone who understands and appreciates who she is, and who she’s decided to be. And I need her, because who she is, and who she’s decided to be are—big surprise to me—what I’ve been waiting for all my life.”

“I don't kick a man when he's down, unless I'm the one who put him down in the first place. I don't put him down unless he deserves it. And I don't break my word if I give it. So I'll give you my word.”

“comparison are designed to make someone fall short”