I know who you are in your heart,' Andres said. 'That's all that matters.' And that was it. That was the moment. Now I knew how I would feel if I ever lost him. That was how you knew love. My mother had told me that. All you had to do was imagine your life without the other person, and if the thought alone made you shiver, then you knew.

Jill and I have known each other our whole lives. One house separates our houses but we act as if it doesn't exist. We met before we were born and we'll probably still know each other after we die. At least, that's the way we're planning it.

They say that dogs may dream, and when Topsy was old, his feet would move in his sleep. With his eyes closed he would often make a noise that sounded quite human, as if greeting someone in his dreams. At first it seemed that he believed Sara would return, but as the years went by I understood that his loyalty asked for no reward, and that love comes in unexpected forms. His wish was small, as hers had been -- merely to be beside her. As for me, I already knew I would never get what I wanted.

Always love someone who will love you back.

That's the way love sounds, my mother told me. You think it should feel like honey, but instead it cuts like a knife.

There are none who can fight as fiercely as a mother and a daughter, and none who can forgive more completely.

Love was never a mistake, even when it wasn't returned.

Shelby is brutally honest. That's why Maravelle likes her. Maravelle is brutally honest too. You can't have many friends if you act that way, but you can depend on the ones you have.

To friendship," she agreed, although for the longest time they didn't let go of each other and she knew exactly what he was thinking—This must be fate—for that was what she was thinking as well.

Love was never a mistake, even when it wasn't returned. It was not unlike the phlox in Catherine Avery's garden, untended, ignored, but there all the same.

Who would have guessed you'd be crying over that old hay bag." But that wasn't it at all, Elinor saw that from the look on his face when he turned to her. That was the attachment, that was the way he held on to her.

They sealed this promise by hooking pinkies, the way they used to, long ago, when promises didn't hurt as much.