But risk is just part of relationships. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

Once I’m done with a book, I’m done! I’m just not a sequel kind of girl. By the time I’ve finished a book I’ve read it so many times that it’s time to move on.

When he first put his arms around me, it was tentative, like maybe he expected I'd pull away. When I didn't, he moved in closer, his hands smoothing over my shoulders, and in my mind I saw myself retreating a million times when people tried to do this same thing: my sister or my mother, pulling back and into myself, tucking everything out of sight, where only I knew where to find it. This time, though, I gave in. I let Wes pull me against him, pressing my head against his chest, where I could feel his heart beating, steady and true.

If you expect the worst, you'll never be disappointed.

But those words were only the middle of the story. There was a beginning here, too.

I told you, everyone understands a quest.

Life has a way of disregarding even your best intentions.