He was so far from the gallant knights in her romantic fantasies...He was tarnished, scarred, imperfect.

Leo knew next to nothing about governesses, save for the drab creatures in novels, who tended to fall in love with the lord of the manor, always with bad results.

I understood finally that the thing I should have feared most was not loss, but never loving. The price for safety was the regret I felt at this moment. And yet I would have to live with it for the rest of my life

She smiled at him, though her hazel-green eyes were wary beneath the brim of a sodden hat. Right at that moment, staring at her across the hall, Gideon Shaw, cynic, hedonist, drunkard, libertine, fell hopelessly in love.

I've always thought it was about finding the right person. But it's about choosing the right person, isn't it?

She was yours, if you'd truly wanted her," Harry continued, a pitiless smile touching his lips. "But I wanted her more.

Anyone who had ever read a novel knew that governesses were supposed to be meek and downtrodden.