Blessing

“Lia arched an eyebrow at me. “I didn’t cry when you were gone,” she informed me. “I didn’t break things. I didn’t feel like someone had put me in a hole.” For the first time since I’d known her, Lia’s voice caught on a lie.”
― Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Bad Blood

“She asked you to leave with her?” Teller asked. “No—the opposite. She was going to leave without saying anything, but at the last minute, she decided she couldn’t go without telling me goodbye.” He laughed, soft and sad. “Your sweet, selfless mother... she wanted me to have closure so I could move on without her. And something in me clicked. I took one look at the two of you, and I realized there was no sacrifice I wouldn’t make to keep you both in my life.”
― Penn Cole, Spark of the Everflame

“Too raw and brutally laid-bare. He’d stolen all my certainty with his lips, and now the only thing left of me were questions I wasn’t strong enough to answer.”
― Penn Cole, Spark of the Everflame

“In five seconds,” Michael said instead, his gaze intent on Lia, “I’m going to tell you that I love you. And if you’re still in the room when I say it, you’re going to know.”
― Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Bad Blood