Janet Romano

“Troy rose from the bed and walked to his chest of drawers. He pulled a pair of black boxer briefs from the top drawer and handed them to her, watching her warily for some type of reaction to what they had just done, before turning his back. She shimmied out of her underwear and slipped on his, glad for the warmth they provided. After a minute, he climbed into bed and pulled her back against his chest to plant a kiss on her shoulder. Ruby automatically stiffened at the tender gesture. He laughed under his breath. “Now you’re shy? What happened to the girl who walked out of my bathroom naked?” When Ruby didn’t answer, Troy sighed. “Sleep now, hustler. You can go back to being your difficult self in the morning. I’ll even let you run your mouth as much as you need to. All day long. But when the time comes where I take you to bed, that’s when I put a stop to it. Can you live with that?” “I’ll tell you in the morning,” she whispered, grateful for the darkness. “Fine. Good night, Ruby.” “’Night.”
― Tessa Bailey, His Risk to Take

“Eyes landing on the flowers, she pursed her lips in confusion. “Okay, a puzzle. I like puzzles. You bought me flowers, but you’re clearly angry with me. Were they that expensive?” “I didn’t buy them.” Daniel took little comfort in her look of surprise. He couldn’t think past the foreign emotions burning through his gut. “They’re from him.” “Him…who?” Recognition dawned in her eyes. “Fisher? Why would he send me flowers?” She shook her head. “Roses, at that. He always bought me sunflowers.”
― Tessa Bailey, Officer Off Limits

“...You should love something while you have it, love it fully and without reservation, even if you know you'll lose it someday. We lose everything. If you're trying to avoid loss, there's no point in taking another breath, or letting your heart beat one more time. It all ends." His fingers curl around mine. "That's all life is. Breathing in, breathing out. The space between two breaths.”
― Leah Raeder, Unteachable

“Because when you love someone,” she met my gaze in the mirror and said without a flicker in her confidence, “their world interests you more than your own. So much so that you disappear into them, and the only choice you have is to merge your life with theirs. Because otherwise, you cease to exist at all.”
― Laurelin Paige, Hudson