Alissa Johnson > Quotes

“He'd become so accustomed to having her there, right there next to him, that he found he could no longer go the day without needing to see her. Even the space of a few hours made him feel restless and dissatisfied.”
― Alissa Johnson, Nearly a Lady

“Let me enlighten you. We are a pack of liars, thieves, and wastrels, the lot of
us...There is not an honestly gained parcel of land in the whole earldom. Every acre, every village was stolen through one reprehensible manner or another. Deceit, blackmail, extortion, all of
it. It’s disgusting.”

Alex waited a moment to make sure Whit was quite through before asking, “How long ago?”

“Did we steal the land, do you mean?”
Alex nodded.

“Up until about a hundred years ago, then the wastrels took over.”
― Alissa Johnson, As Luck Would Have It

“Thank you all for such a warm and generous welcome. As we all are perfectly aware, my first act as mistress of the house shall be to bed your master. Do excuse.”
― Alissa Johnson

“Much of how a person defined himself was through his interactions with the world. When that world was very small, it probably felt as if the opportunities for definition were very limited.”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“Aside from the inescapable realities of birth and death, we’re responsible for the paths our lives take. We each make our own choices.”
― Alissa Johnson

“I wasn't about to admit to the lady I was hoping to impress that I wished to be a man of business. I wasn't that drunk."

Anna was certain that, for as long as she lived, she would never understand how it was the inebriated sorted out their priorities. Drunk enough to offer marriage, but still sufficiently sober to keep his secret? It was baffling.”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“My father used to say morality was a currency. The very poor sell it off quickly because it is the only thing of value they possess, and the very rich spend it frivolously because they’ve other commodities with which to replace its value.” “And the middle class?” “They’re stuck with it. They don’t want it, necessarily, but neither can they justify its expenditure.”
― Alissa Johnson, A Talent for Trickery

“Choose the one you want," he told her.

She giggled as the puppy contorted itself in an effort to lick her hand without rolling off its back. "Oh, you are silly, aren't you? Just the silliest little ..." Her hand stilled on the puppy. Her eyes shot to his. "What did you just say?"

"Choose which pup you'd like as your own."

"My own?"

"You wanted a hound," he reminded her.

"Yes, I ..." She looked at the dogs, then back at him. "Are you giving me a dog?"

"For the sake of propriety, we are to say it is a gift from your brother, but ..."

"But it's from you. You're giving me a dog," she said, and there was a notable catch in her voice.

"Well ... More or less." For reasons that baffled him, he suddenly felt equal parts embarrassed and pleased. "It was my idea." He cleared his throat, fought off the urge to shift his feet.”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“Perhaps we might start again?" she suggested. It was never truly possible to start over, of course. One could no more erase the past than predict the future. But sometimes, a second chance could be had. Perhaps their meeting again, after so many years, was such a chance.
"I would like that.”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“Crying never solved anything. She’d succeeded in making herself stuffy and exhausted, nothing more.”
― Alissa Johnson, An Unexpected Gentleman

“You want a hound. Like your mother’s pug?” “No, not a lapdog. A hound,” she emphasized with a hint of excitement. “I want a sturdy sort of dog I can stroll with through a forest or have run beside me when I ride. Something not apt to disappear into a well or be trampled under a carriage.”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“She was fascinated by Max Dane. And not simply because he was handsome, though that detail had not escaped her notice. He seemed such a contradiction to her, at once both playful and dangerous.

His mischievous charm delighted her. His deep-set, hazel eyes held the unmistakable light of humor, and the loose curl in his tousled hair of rich brown lent him an endearingly boyish look. Though she imagined he'd not be pleased to hear it, there was something about the man that struck her as being just a little bit adorable.”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“But it was the aforementioned stubborn streak that had him executing his plan by striding down the halls of Lord Welsing’s London townhouse, peering into rooms and stopping to question any passing staff, while guests danced and laughed in the ballroom. The young lady crucial to his matrimonial campaign had gone missing. Again. Miss”
― Alissa Johnson, A Christmas Dance

“I said I had an explanation, not an excuse. If I had an excuse, I wouldn’t need to be apologizing.”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“He'd never given her any reason to doubt his navigational skills, and England was a fairly well-populated island. How long could they possibly travel before finding civilization? Three hours later, Sophie was beginning to consider the possibility that they had left England behind—and were now well into Scotland—when they stumbled out of the thick woods and onto a road.”
― Alissa Johnson, As Luck Would Have It

“He was quiet a moment, studying her. "I don't have a mistress."

"Oh. Well." What did she say to that? Good? Damned right, you don't?”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“The drawing Anna was thinking of wasn't particularly wicked, not so far as drawings in Anover House went. It was a colored sketch of a young man and woman embracing in a sun-dappled garden.

Her embarrassment was not in the nudity portrayed ... well, not all the embarrassment ... it was in the sentiment. The couple were entwined in each other's arms, lost in each other's gaze, seemingly oblivious to the world around them.

For Anna, the picture was a sweet bit of ink and imagination that epitomized every silly romantic notion she'd ever had about falling in love. And it was that silly romanticism that embarrassed her. It was always a little uncomfortable to admit wanting something you knew you couldn't have.”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“That which cannot be comprehended by man must therefore be wrong.” “Beg your pardon?” “Something Mrs. Culpepper said to me when I was younger. She is of the opinion that men are highly predictable creatures.” “Because we’re rational?” “Because you’re simple,”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“Men who dance with the least popular girls do so for one of two reasons. The first being that they are compassionate enough to realize that every young girl longs to dance, even if she is trying her utmost to appear disinterested. Those are the very best and sadly, rarest, of gentlemen. The second reason gentlemen dance with wallflowers is because their mothers have pressured them into that particular act of chivalry, and there is much to be said for a young gentleman who will dance with a wallflower just to please his mama.”
― Alissa Johnson, As Luck Would Have It

“How like a man to presume he could demand trust from a woman. How like one to take offense when that woman refused to cooperate.”
― Alissa Johnson, An Unexpected Gentleman

“Am I interrupting?" she asked as she crossed the room and took a seat in front of the desk. "Oh, never mind, I don't really care.”
― Alissa Johnson, Tempting Fate

“Courage is doing what is needed despite one’s fear. Without the fear, it’s merely . . . fearlessness.” He”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“I find taking orders offensive." "Everyone takes orders from someone," he pointed out. "Yes, but I don't take mine from you.”
― Alissa Johnson, McAlistair's Fortune

“Dreams of freedom and country cottages were all well and good, but Anna rather thought that she was nothing, if not practical. She would likely never have that cottage, never have true freedom. And she would almost certainly never have a chance such as this again.

Let them call her the Ice Maiden of Anover House, she thought. She would know differently. She, and no one else.”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“Do you mean to stay on at Caldwell?"

"For a time," he replied.

It took all her courage and determination to meet his eyes. "Then we've time to know each other."

She'd issued exactly two invitations for friendship in her life, both of them to Max. God willing, this one would fare better than the last.

His smile was slow and perfect. "I do look forward to it.”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“How had things gone so terribly wrong? She wasn't supposed to be returning to Murdoch House in defeat, and she most certainly was not supposed to be returning alone.

Lilly should be there. And Gideon. High-handed, muleheaded, wonderful Gideon. She'd never admitted it, not even to herself, but a part of her had expected him to come back to Murdoch House with her. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that no part of her had been able to imagine going back without him.”
― Alissa Johnson, Nearly a Lady

“He sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "Yes, all right. Call on you tomorrow."

"Next week," she reminded him softly.

His eyes remained closed but his lips curved. "Next week."

She was silent a moment, debating. He was drunk. He was part of a world she despised and sought to escape. He was everything her mother and, more convincingly, Mrs. Culpepper had ever warned her about.

In that moment, he was all she wanted.

She took a deep breath, and then the second biggest chance of her life.

"Do you promise?" she asked on a whisper.

"Promise," he mumbled. "Next week.”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“Regrets are like mistresses," he informed her.

"I ..." Her hand dropped from the handle. "What?"

"Good men don't have them."

She blinked at that, then broke into a soft laughter that sent pleasant chills along his skin. "That is the most ridiculous adage I have ever heard."

"I'm foxed," he pointed out and shrugged. "I'm cleverer when ... cleverer? Is it cleverer? Or is it more clever? Whichever. I'm brilliant when I'm sober."

"And less inclined to announce it, one might hope.”
― Alissa Johnson, Practically Wicked

“He’d said she mattered, and she believed him. But matter had a vague and varied definition. Revenge mattered. So did routine bathing. Did she fall somewhere in between?”
― Alissa Johnson, An Unexpected Gentleman

“Bold wasn't such a terrible thing, but dangerously bold very well could be.”
― Alissa Johnson, McAlistair's Fortune