Isabella Swan?” He looked up at me through his impossibly long lashes, his golden eyes soft but, somehow, still scorching. “I promise to love you forever—every single day of forever. Will you marry me?” There were many things I wanted to say, some of them not nice at all, and others more disgustingly gooey and romantic than he probably dreamed I was capable of. Rather than embarrass myself with either, I whispered, “Yes.” “Thank you,” he said simply. He took my left hand and kissed each of my fingertips before he kissed the ring that was now mine.

It sounded like you were having Bella for lunch, and we came to see if you would share.

Do you think I’ll ever get better at this? That my heart might someday stop trying to jump out of my chest whenever you touch me?

I wondered – would a bullet through my temple actually kill me or just leave a really big mess for me to clean up?

I do a good job of blocking painful, unnecessary things from my memory.

For one half second, I wondered what it would feel like to put my hand in the fire. What it would feel like when I burned.

I’m afraid you’re going to have to make a choice.