Over the years I’ve collected a thousand memories of you, every glimpse, every word you’ve ever said to me. All those visits to your family’s home, those dinners and holidays—I could hardly wait to walk through the front door and see you.” The corners of his mouth quirked with reminiscent amusement. “You, in the middle of that brash, bull-headed lot…I love watching you deal with your family. You’ve always been everything I thought a woman should be. And I have wanted you every second of my life since we first met.

But it was too late now. A lifetime too late. A million wishes too late.

For God's sake, Marks, do you think anyone really wants a glance at those dried-up matchsticks you call legs?

He never knew what hit him, and that would have comforted me, except . . . just for one second, he would have had to know, wouldn't he? There must have been a blur, a sense of the world exploding, a flashpoint of receiving more damage than a human body could endure.

Babies were dangerous . . . they made you fall in love before you knew what was happening.

I feel like I've been shut in a closet, and he's on the other side, and he doesn't have the key to unlock the door.

He was unbelievably hard. Everywhere. He was in control, infinitely stronger, and he wanted me to know it. -Ella