A False Start Quotes
"You’re going to bark at me? I’ll bite you back."
"I’m supposed to be chipper and polite. Both of which I’m not today."
"I never want to hear you say that about yourself."
"I swear I will spank you. Or dock your pay. Or something."
"I always force myself through the front door of this establishment. No matter how it turns my stomach."
"Feeling like the victor. Knowing that in my years away, I’ve grown stronger."
"Not after that kiss with Griffin. Once I knew what a kiss could be, everything else just came up short."
"That’s a line that would be frowned upon crossing. No matter how heart-stopping the kiss was."
"I don’t need him to roll out the red carpet. But telling me I’m hot and then ignoring me isn’t making me wet in the panties."
"I’ve worked hard at taming that spark inside me, the one that lights easily and races across everything I touch."
"Our get-togethers have that family vibe I’ve dreamed about my entire life."
"I still don’t quite know how to feel about that."
"Their support—their love—was and still is unwavering."
"I should steer her in the opposite direction and send her running."
"Hair. She’s worried about her fucking hair instead of her brain."
"I smile so hard my cheeks hurt. I can’t help myself."
"The scrappy little dog runs in circles around me... He is positively vibrating with excitement."
"He just had a leg amputated, but all he cares about is that I sat on the floor and talked to him in a baby voice."
"I have Stefan now. But he never came back for me... there’s still always this tiny packed-away part of me that’s sad I got left behind."
"My plan to erase my past and create a shiny new future. A secure career, white picket fence, two point five kids. I want the whole thing."
"Don’t you ever apologize for going after what you want. Don’t you ever let anyone stand in your way."
"I may not have experienced unconditional love before turning eighteen... but it’s better late than never."
"The good news is, I’ve pulled my fair share of ticks off animals in this line of work. So that’s what I’ll do. I’ll grab my imaginary tweezers and yank him out like a fucking bug."
"I wish I could save every horse at those auctions from that fate."
"That pinch in my chest is back, but for a completely different reason. I’m so lucky to have her and Stefan now."
"This could be something very minor. We could investigate further before you take such a drastic measure."
"Nursing Spot back to health made me feel a little less broken, and maybe this horse can do that for her, too."
"I don’t know how many minutes pass as I stand there breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, giving myself an internal pep talk."
"He’s more like a tick. All I did was brush up against a bush one night and he latched on. Now he’s stuck under my skin, poisoning me."
"The girl you want to be doesn’t crumble like this."
"Self-sabotage is a good friend of mine, ya know?"
"I want all that, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to let myself really have it."
"You are. You’re a surly prick, but I can tell you’re listening to me."
"You just t-t-told a man who barely speaks that he’s a good listener."
"Taking someone else’s pain is a hell of a lot better than stewing in my own."
"I can," I murmur back, fisting the back of his denim shirt in my fingers."
"In Griffin’s arms, I’m more at peace than I ever have been, and I can’t explain why."
"Okay." I’m not going to argue with him. That’s not what he needs right now."
"You deserve a woman who drives you crazy every damn day, and nothing less."
"And then his sinful lips latch on to my nipple, and I moan, letting my lashes flutter shut as I get lost in the feeling of his mouth on my body."
"I want him right down to the tips of my toes."
"Age is just a number, little Dalca. And the only number that counts is eight."
"Being physically exhausted after a full day of putting your body to use is the best feeling."
"People don’t like me for my words, Wildflower."
"I like all your words, Griffin. It’s what you don’t say that kills me."
"Anything that might be wrong melts away with the rightness of us."
"I’ve been far more exposed with other men in my life, but I’ve never felt more powerless than I do around Griffin."
"We all do the best we can with what we’ve got. Trauma is a tricky bitch."
"Living with shame is different from living with trauma. You? You come back stronger every time."
"The real difference between us is that I don’t pity you. You pity you."
"If you think I don’t want more, you’re out of your goddamn mind."
"Nadia’s warm coppery eyes? Fucking irresistible."
"Nothing makes gold sparkle quite like black."
"Hate and love are two sides of the same coin."
"I want to go watch the sunset from the flower field."
"It’s simple, it’s cozy, it possesses a wild and unruly sort of beauty."
"I watch her go and feel a jerk at the center of my chest, like she’s got me by a leash and just gave me a tug."
"She’s so beautiful, it almost hurts to look at her sometimes."
"We overuse that word, you know. Beautiful. Beauty. Full."
"I don’t feel peaceful. I feel so untethered. Like I’m lacking direction or purpose or my own family."
"Because the voice in my head that told me I was worthless was louder than the one that told me I deserved to be happy."
"I’ve spent a lot of years watching my life pass me by, but with Nadia around, I want more."
"My legs are moving toward her before I even have time to realize what I just figured out."
"I’m not asking your brother’s permission to take the one thing that has breathed life back into me since everything fell to pieces."
"Because my dick is the last one you’re ever going to ride."
"I never stood a single chance at resisting her."
"That sounds like a lovely idea," my mother says kindly. But she doesn’t get how incredible this woman is. How pure. How strong. How inspiring.
"I wake up in Griffin’s arms and have the strangest sense of belonging somewhere for the first time in my life."
"I have a bit of an inheritance. I’d like to put that money toward something good. Something helpful."
"It’s supposed to be a scorcher. Gonna get the horses worked before it’s just plain too hot for them."
"Just being near you makes the world feel like a better place. You make me feel happy."
"No." He laughs, scrubbing a hand over his face. "I’m in love with a fucking crazy person."
"I must be a crazy person, too . . . because I am head-over-heels for you, Wildflower. Please be patient with me."
"I know connections like ours don’t come along very often in life. And that fucking terrifies me."
"I’m especially talented at that, it would seem. Throwing a football and fucking everything up."
"I could never hate you, Griffin Sinclaire. I tried, and I failed. You hate yourself enough already."
"Having Nadia in my orbit for the past months has made me realize I was living before, but I wasn’t alive."
"This cup of coffee and I have more in common than I care to admit."
"But the sound of her car engine revving never comes."
"The wildflower I can’t get rid of no matter what I try."
"I didn’t make it through as much as I have to find the one and then lose her."
"You’re the very best kind of torture, Nadia. My special brand of hell."
"Because Nadia Dalca is it for me. And if I have to wait for the right moment to present itself, then I will."
"Doing the right thing feels like absolute shit."
"I think in some cases, age is just a way to measure the number of years you spent without the person meant for you."
"You can grow together but taking the time to prove to yourselves that you can grow on your own is wise."
"It doesn’t. It just gets worse all the time."
"Spring Beauty: Strong as fuck. Reminds me of you."
"I can do anything I set my mind to without you. But I don’t want to."
"I’ve ached for you. Never let me walk away again. Tie me up, lock me down, keep me forever."
"It will never be enough. I’ll spend the rest of my goddamn life repaying the favor, and I’ll do it with a smile."
"You’re the happiest accident I’ve ever known. The very best decision I’ve ever made. My reason."
"I’d do that for the rest of my life, too, if you wanted me to."