Shelly Pardy

“He wanted to tell Shane that the closest he felt to home was when he was with him.”
― Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry

“Ilya nodded to the ring.
"Yes," Ilya said again. "I am saying yes, Hollander."
"Oh." Then Shane’s lips spread into a wide grin. "Yeah?" He scrambled to his feet and into Ilya’s arms.
They kissed, and Ilya said, "Yes." They kissed again, and Ilya said, "Of course."
They kissed some more, and Shane said, "I love you."
By the time they finished kissing they both had tears streaming down their cheeks. "Is this because I almost died?" Ilya teased.
"No. It’s because I almost died."
Ilya brushed the tears on Shane’s face with his thumb. What could he even say to that?”
― Rachel Reid, The Long Game

“Do you think we looked like that to them?” “What, sexy? I probably did.” “No, like...in love?” Ilya seemed to consider the question before answering. “We are very good at pretending to not be in love. Maybe we are bad at showing it when we are allowed.”
― Rachel Reid, The Long Game

“I’m fucked,” he murmured in Russian. “I am so fucking in love and it’s horrible.”
― Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry