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Love wasn’t real. It was a fleeting emotion that confused you, then destroyed you in the end. (Gunner)

I wanted to look away, but then I never wanted to stop looking at him either. (Willa)

I had to shake out of this trance. She was just a girl. A seriously smoking-hot girl… (Gunner)

In a small town like Lawton there wasn’t much to do on the weekends, so the field parties were the one place all the teens could go to have a good time.

She wasn’t the little girl with pigtails and dirty knees from playing ball with us any more. It was more than that. She was harder, withdrawn, and untouchable. The carefree, laughing girl I once knew was gone. Completely. (Brady on Willa)

“I see something in her eyes that I recognize. There is hurt there. The deep kind of pain that changes you. The girl you once knew probably isn’t there now…. ” (Maggie on Willa)

Willa was mine. (Gunner)

A smile broke across her face and I swear my heart skipped (Gunner)

Gunner I trusted to be there no matter what. He and I had a bond that only two kids with parents who didn’t want them could have. (Willa)

“I’ll teach you. I have faith in you, Willa Ames. You’ll be my wingman before it’s all over.” – Gunner

They thought television romance was real. It wasn’t. This was not One Tree Hill. It was real life. (Maggie) <— This is probably my favorite quote in the whole book!

Something lost and hurt in her eyes said she needed protecting. I had to make sure to protect the little girl she had once been. (Gunner)

Most girls I knew wouldn’t get dirty playing ball or looking for lizards. She’d been fascinating to me as a kid. Now that she was all grown up, she was still different but beautiful. Willa was like this untouched flower that everyone wanted to get close to. (Brady)

He moved so quickly I didn’t have time to register what was happening until the warmth of his lips covered mine and his hand slipped into my hair.  (Willa)

His lips were soft and firm as they moved over mine. His fingers tangled in my hair like they wanted to be there. As if they had though of this moment, and now they would relish it. (Willa)

My lips were instantly chilled by the evening air, and I wanted to touch them to hold the warmth there. But I didn’t. This is all the fantasy I could get from Brady Higgens. (Willa)

“I wasn’t suggesting you go around kissing guys last night. Just me.” – Brady

Gunner was different. He frustrated and calmed me all at once. I didn’t question his motives; I understood them. (Willa)

I wondered if I’d always be this raw. Did a heart heal from something like this? (Willa)

Mornings with Willa were better. (Gunner)

My gaze fell to his lips, and I remembered how they tasted. How much I enjoyed it. How much I shouldn’t have enjoyed it. (Willa)

This I hadn’t expected, but, I didn’t want it to end. The peppermint taste of his gum mingled with mine, and I leaned in closer to breathe him in.  (Willa)

There had been a connection there that me want to pull closer to him. Soak him in and never let go. (Willa)

My head and heart were not ready for Willa Ames. She scared the hell out of me. (Gunner)

She deserved more. I was damaged. I’d never be good for her. It was time Willa had a chance of something better. (Gunner)

“Tragedy strikes us all at one point in our life. People make mistakes, and some are lucky enough to walk away without lasting marks, while others live a lifetime with the choice they made. Can’t change the past, Willa. But, you can help others not make the same mistake.” – Nonna

I needed Willa with me. Having Willa meant I could face anything. She calmed me and reassured me just being close. In my life there had never been someone like Willa. I think I knew that as a child. She was special. The kind of special you only get once. (Gunner)

I had someone on my side. I didn’t deserve her, but I was thankful I had her (Gunner)

Gunner was special. He wasn’t all he flashed around. He was damaged, but deep down he was kind. He cared. He was just too scared to show anyone. (Willa)

I didn’t want to love Gunner Lawson. Not in a way he could break me. I was too broken already. (Willa)

I was in love with Willa Ames. The girl she had once been and the woman she was becoming. (Gunner)

Maybe it had always been, but I hadn’t known nit or understood it. But I knew it now.
I loved Gunner Lawson. (Willa)

Knowing you love someone and saying it out loud are two completely different things. The first is startling, and the second is terrifying. (Gunner)

She’d broken through my walls, and I was glad. She made me happy. Being with her was a complete as I’d ever felt. (Gunner)

She’d given me hope. I hadn’t realized I had none until her. (Gunner)

It made all the cheesy romance movies I’d seen appear realistic. That one kiss that changes everything no longer seemed like a fantasy. It was real. (Willa)

He was using my love as a tool like he was using his money. I didn’t want to be a weapon to hurt anyone. That wasn’t what love was about. (Willa)

Loving Gunner Lawson would never be easy. I wasn’t sure he could love me in return. Didn’t matter. I loved him. (Willa)

Willa had saved me. SHe showed me how to love and took me from the self-Destructive path I was on. Without her in my life, I’d be a wreck right now. (Gunner)

In life you face obstacles, and you have to fight through them. If you’re lucky enough, you find someone to fight for you too. I was lukcy. (Gunner)

“…This might sound cliche and silly, but I mean it. I can’t be happy without you. You are my happy.” (Gunner)

A kiss from Gunner Lawton made me weak in the knees. And that was something I knew would never change. (Willa)

We had snuck off a few times and walked to the high school just to stand under the lights.  All of us. We made our plans and built our dreams. In all of those dreams Willa was there. (Gunner)

That day I caught her playing in my tree house had been the luckiest life of my life. What would I do without her? (Gunner)