...I told him a story of two people. Two people who shouldn't have met, and who didn't like each other much when they did, but who found they were the only two people in the world who could possibly have understood each other.

I felt something rise inside me then, a feeling of joy and anticipation so great that it seemed as if this world had briefly stopped turning, like there was just me and the universe and a million good things that could happen if you only hung on in there.

The thing about being catapulted into a whole new life--or at least, shoved up so hard against someone else's life that you might as well have your face pressed against their window--is that it forces you to rethink your idea of who you are. Or how you might seem to other people.

She is probably slightly too old to pout, but they've been going out a short enough time for it still to be cute.

Because even if the whole world was throwing rocks at you, if you still had your mother or father at your back, you'd be okay.

He dropped his head and kissed her. He kissed her and it was a kiss of utter certainty, the kind of kiss during which monarchs die and whole continents fall without your even noticing. When Jess extricated herself, it was only because she didn't want the children to see her lose the ability to stand.

Quise apretar mi cuerpo por completo contra él. Quise inspirarle un deseo. Quise entregarle toda la vida que sentía y obligarle a vivir. Comprendí que tenía miedo de vivir sin él ¿Cómo es que tienes el derecho a destrozarme la vida, quise preguntrale, pero yo no tengo ningún poder en la tuya?

I thought how lucky you might be to find not one but two extraordinary men to love - and what a fluke it was if they happened to love you back.

Because even if the whole world was throwing rocks at you, if you still had your mother or father at your back, you’d be okay. Some deep-rooted part of you would know you were loved. That you deserved to be loved.