Jennifer Peel > Quotes

“Those who are fearless aren’t that way because they’ve never been scared. It’s because they’ve stood in the face of fear and didn’t back down.”
― Jennifer Peel, The Holiday Ex-Files

“But he wasn’t in love with her. At least not yet. The possibility existed, but he’d hoped to have time to explore his feelings for her, to see if his affection could become something more and lasting.”
― Jennifer Peel, Forgettable in Every Way

“Izzy, love is complicated. In many ways it feels like a guessing game. All I’m saying is, don’t leave the game until all the pieces are in play and you know whether it’s worth trying to win.” Wow. That was actually insightful, even poetic. Maybe it was a line from a script he’d read. I had to stop thinking like that if we were going to become friends.”
― Jennifer Peel, Christmas at Valentine Inn

“You see, our mothers were sisters who married brothers, which made us cousin cousins. It was like inbreeding, but the legal and non-gross kind.”
― Jennifer Peel, A Pumpkin and a Patch

“Life has a way of giving us what we need, not always what we want, but if we’re smart, we’ll realize that’s what we wanted all along.”
― Jennifer Peel, Professional Boundaries

“It started with Isabella trying to escape from Dexter, who Miles led you to believe at the beginning wasn’t a good guy, except he tries to keep Isabella comfortable and he never touches her. But she’s being held against her will, so that didn’t engender any warm and fuzzy feelings between them. In fact, the insults she lobbed at him were fantastic, like, You pikey pillock. [...] Dexter, for his part, took them all in stride and never retaliated, not even when she told him his mother must have been a slag. Yikes.
The only time Dexter exerted any force was when he came in to bring her food and she used her feminine charm on him. Poor Dexter was stupid enough to believe it might be real. Wishful thinking on his part. Except when Isabella did get close to him, she felt a little something and it startled her. [...] She kneed him in the groin anyway and ran away. Dexter recovered quickly enough to catch her. That’s when he started sleeping in her room to make sure she didn’t escape. And that was when things started to get interesting. Isabella meant to lure him into believing she was interested in him to gain his trust, but the more she got to know him, the more she can’t help but like him.

I read their exchanges as they talked late into every night, with him on the floor and her on the bed, asking all sorts of questions from his family to how he felt about politics. [...] [Dexter] possessed a calm reassurance about himself and a deep understanding of people and situations. [...]

Poor Isabella thought she was getting the upper hand in all of this, but it didn’t take her long to realize she was losing ground. She began looking forward to their nights spent talking and sometimes playing Stop the Bus, a card game she used to play with her father. Dexter began using these moments to gain her trust, to start telling her the truth of her situation. It was enough that when they were discovered by two men clad in black who claimed to be there to rescue Isabella, she chose to flee with Dexter after some kick-butt fight scenes.
[...]
Isabella and Dexter fled to France. They almost kind of had a moment there. Isabella was furious with him because she felt like he was hiding something from her. She goes to slap him, but he grabs her hand before she can make contact. The unspoken words and emotion between them were totally hot. You thought he was going to kiss her, and so did she. She found herself yearning for it and she hated herself for it. [...]

While in Paris, Isabella discovered a clue in her father’s journal that led them to Colorado. It had to do with a town legend involving a tree where lovers carved their names. It was said any pair to carve their name into the Aspen tree would only be parted by death. I loved that he used an Aspen tree. That was where they began to see how intertwined their lives were. Dexter’s mother’s name and Isabella’s father’s name were carved together into the tree long before either of them was born, but Isabella’s father’s name was crossed out.

At first, I was grossed out thinking that they might be siblings, but Dexter was ten years older than Isabella, and his mother died before Isabella was born. But their parents were lovers. Interesting. [...]

While they tried to figure out who might have crossed out Isabella’s father’s name, Isabella and Dexter started dancing on the edge of their feelings. Miles made the cabin they were staying in at the Ranch one room, not just one bedroom. A large, single room with only a bathroom for any privacy. Inch by inch, the sexual tension between them grew. Little touches here and there. But more than that, there was an emotional connection. Isabella began to let down her guard. She owned how afraid she was that her life had been a lie. But on the flipside, she had this desperate hope her father was innocent. More than that, she longed to be able to trust someone, but she didn’t know how.”
― Jennifer Peel, My Not So Wicked Boss

“Simon wondered if she hated him now, or perhaps she was embarrassed because of the photo album. She needn’t be. He found it more than charming.”
― Jennifer Peel, Forgettable in Every Way

“The more he gazed at them, the more he knew he had to figure her out. Never had a woman called to him like this before. Not even Penelope. Though he hated to make the comparison to his ex-wife. With Penelope, it was fireworks and adrenaline. Jules was different. She was cozy nights and warmth—home, even as odd as it sounded.”
― Jennifer Peel, Forgettable in Every Way

“If you need to know exactly why I want to get to know you, here’s my list: You’re a little crazy,” he chuckled. “You’re passionate about everything you do, as far as I can tell. You’re talented and gorgeous. I can’t stop thinking about you,”
― Jennifer Peel, A Pumpkin and a Patch

“I haven’t felt like myself without Holly and Christian as part of my life. Is that as lame as it sounds?” I thought over the years I would find friends—and women—to fill the void they’d left. But it hadn’t mattered how many friends and associates I’d made or how many beautiful women I’d dated—something always felt like it was missing. Mom stood resolutely. “Don’t you ever be ashamed of your feelings. That is the manliest thing I’ve ever heard you say. Now let’s go get the girl.”
― Jennifer Peel, Merry Little Hate Notes

“there is deeper regret in waiting so long for the things you already have.”
― Jennifer Peel, Honeymoon for One

“Not to say I wasn’t imagining him doing the very same things to me. It was easy to do, as I had already had that fantasy about a thousand times.”
― Jennifer Peel, Forgettable in Every Way

“Don’t you think for one second you mean nothing to me. My director didn’t want me to take this assignment because he’s well aware of my feelings for you, feelings I should never have had. But there was no way in hell I was going to stand by knowing you were in danger. I know I’m a bastard and you have every right to hate me, but the only reason I’m here is because of you.”
― Jennifer Peel, The Spy Who Ghosted Me

“Their entire relationship was a lot like that. She always wanted anything but what they had.”
― Jennifer Peel, Forgettable in Every Way

“call”
― Jennifer Peel, The Sidelined Wife

“Am I enough to show my son how to be a man? A better man than the one I chose for him? Does he know that there is nothing more “manly” than showing his emotions or admitting when he’s made a mistake and then trying to do better? Does he know the influence he has to empower the future girls and women in his life? Have I empowered him? Will he know what it means to be a partner when I feel like I’m just learning that lesson now? Does he know that sometimes the strongest thing he can do is be gentle? Or that saying no to his own desires in place of another person’s shows strength beyond compare? Will he be brave enough in the tough moments to do the right thing?”
― Jennifer Peel, The Sidelined Wife

“remembering I had been here before with him. How many times had we sat waiting for a call from his agent to see if he’d gotten a part? During those sweet moments that meant so much to me, he would hold my hand, squeeze my knee, even kiss my head, trying to keep his nerves under control. Of course, it only gave me false hope that he had more than friendly feelings for me.”
― Jennifer Peel, Forgettable in Every Way

“Did you find a dress, Chloe?” Miles asked while we all sat down to a traditional English roast beef dinner, complete with roasted potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. What Miles meant when he offered to make dinner was that his chef would be preparing the feast before us that smelled divine.
Chloe poked her Yorkshire pudding, trying to figure out why pudding looked like a puffed piece of bread. “I did. It’s so pretty.”
― Jennifer Peel, My Not So Wicked Boss

“Perhaps to see if friends truly do make the best lovers. Somehow, he and Penelope had skipped becoming friends, and it had hurt their relationship.”
― Jennifer Peel, Forgettable in Every Way

“It made him wonder if he could be blind to Jules. What else had he missed? Who else had he hurt?”
― Jennifer Peel, Forgettable in Every Way

“That just goes to show that you should never compare your life to the one people portray, especially online. We all have our personal demons. Some are just better at hiding theirs.”
― Jennifer Peel, A Pumpkin and a Patch

“Drake stood and hit me with those eyes of his. “Don’t let anyone make you feel insignificant today, especially yourself. See you soon.” He turned and walked away as if he hadn’t just given me the most beautiful advice, making me want to kiss him all over. Maybe it would all be okay.”
― Jennifer Peel, The Valentine Inn

“What’s changed?” That was a simple answer. “Me, love. I’ve changed.”
― Jennifer Peel, Forgettable in Every Way

“I knew there was something going on between you and that fine, fine man,” she drawled. “Darlin’, let me know if you want to learn how to hog-tie.” Oh. My. Shiz.”
― Jennifer Peel, A Pumpkin and a Patch

“They wanted to protect Andi as much as anyone. No one was sure what to do about Nicolette. They all knew they couldn’t change her or make her get help, as much as they wished they could. The focus now was on Andi.”
― Jennifer Peel, A Pumpkin and a Patch

“Unfortunately, he was charming. That trait in a man was the worst, because it was the best until they weren’t so charming.”
― Jennifer Peel, A Pumpkin and a Patch

“But I hadn’t even remembered myself, so how could I blame him for forgetting me?”
― Jennifer Peel, Forgettable in Every Way

“Yeah, they looked at you like you are too good to be true. Obviously, they’ll find out that you are just like Mary Poppins—practically perfect in every way.” She giggled.”
― Jennifer Peel, Christmas at Valentine Inn

“He remembered holding her hand before, when crossing a busy street to pull her along or to keep her steady when ice-skating, but he didn’t remember the searing connection.”
― Jennifer Peel, Forgettable in Every Way

“He didn’t remember much of what they talked about, but he remembered thinking how he’d never met a woman so content with the simple pleasures in life. It was something he admired about her. That, and she’d brought with her butterscotch biscuits, or cookies, as she called them.”
― Jennifer Peel, Forgettable in Every Way