“Because sometimes when things are going really well, we find the one thing we're pretending we're not looking for.”

“Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes.”

“Sometimes you have to accept how things are. You can make it easy on yourself, or you can make it hard. The choice is yours.”

“I thought I was looking for something. Now I get that I was looking for someone. You. I'll go back to school and get my degree because it will make you happy. But also because it will make me the kind of man you want. This all about you, Aurelia. Don't you get that?”

“The biggest problems we have in this world are because of what we assume about each other. People make decisions based on appearance or gender or race, without getting to know anyone in that group. Or they have a very limited sample. Then they say things and other people hear them and start to believe them. Pretty soon we have a cultural bias that affects all kinds of decisions.”

“I'm starting to remember that it's okay when things don't turn out right the first time. I can always try again and get it right.”

“I'm a librarian in town,' she began. 'You sure about that?'The words popped out before he could stop them. Annabelle raised her eyebrows. 'Fairly. It's my job and so far no one has told me to go away when I show up for work.' smooth, Stryker, he thought, very smooth. 'I was expecting someone wearing glasses. You know. Because librarians read a lot.' The raised eyebrows turned into a frown. 'You need to get out of the barn more.”