Publishing is a business. Writing may be art, but publishing, when all is said and done, comes down to dollars.

Good and bad, strengths and faults, he was hers forever.

But even though she was attractive, there was something else about her that caught his eye. She was intelligent, he could sense that right away, and confident, too, as if she were able to move through life on her own terms. To him, these were the things that really mattered. Without them, beauty was nothing.

A sad smile crossed her face, and I knew right then what she was trying to tell me. Her eyes never left mine as she finally said the words that numbed my soul. I'm dying, Landon.

Life, I've learned, is never fair. If they teach anything in schools, that should be it.

If it makes you feel better, I promise to forget.

All I know is that I fell in love with you, and I've never been more frightened about anything in my entire life.