I'm thinking that it will be autumn soon," she said, lifting her gaze to his. "Autumn is my absolute favorite season. Spring is overrated. It's soggy, and the trees are still bare from winter. Winter drags on and on, and summer is nice, but it's all the same. Autumn is different. I mean, is there any perfume in the world that can compare with the smell of burning leaves?" she asked with an engaging smile. Matt thought she smelled a hell of a lot better than burning leaves, but he let her continue. "Autumn —is thexincgitsinagrechanging. It's like dusk." "Dusk?"" Dusk is my favorite time of day, for the same reason. When I was young, I used to walk down our driveway at dusk in the summer and stand at the fence, watching all the cars going by with their headlights on. Everyone had a place to go, something to do. The night was just beginning ..." She trailed off in embarrassment. "That must sound incredibly silly."" It sounds incredibly lonely.

— Judith McNaught

I think we women underrate ourselves when it comes to our courage and strength.

— Judith McNaught

I thought you were the loveliest, most enchanting creature God ever created.

— Judith McNaught

It was a kingdom of dreams — a place where things would be just the way I wanted them to be.

— Judith McNaught

I wanted you to have the best pears in New York and I wanted to be the man to buy them for you.

— Judith McNaught

Jennifer Merrick had stored all her tears inside her, and her pride and courage would never permit her to break down and shed them.

— Judith McNaught

Life was wonderful, so filled with people and activities, with love and laughter.

— Judith McNaught

My darling Julie, I know you'll never see this letter, but it helps to write to you every day. It keeps you close to me. G-d, I miss you so. You haunt every hour of my life. I wish I'd never met you. No-I don't mean that! What good would my life be without my memories of you to make me smile. I keep wondering if you're happy. I want you to be. Furthermore, I want you to have a glorious life. That's why I couldn't say the things I knew you wanted to hear when we were together. I was afraid if I did, you'd wait for me for years. I knew you wanted me to say I loved you. Not saying that to you was the only unselfish thing I did in Colorado, and I now I regret even that. I love you, Julie. Christ, I love you so much. I'd give up all my life to have one year with you. Six months. Three. Anything. You stole my heart in just a few days, darling, but you gave me your heart, too. I know you did- I could see it in your eyes every time you looked at me. I don't regret the loss of my freedom anymore or rage at the injustice of the years I spent in prison. Now, my only regret is that I can't have you. You're young, and I know you'll forget about me quickly and go on with your own life. That's exactly what you should do. It's what you must do. I want you to do that, Julie. That's such a lousy lie. What I really want is to see you again, to hold you in my arms, to make love to you over and over again until I've filled you so completely that there's no room left inside of you for anyone but me, ever. I never thought of sexual intercourse as 'making love' until you. You never knew that..... I wish I had time to write you a better letter or that I'd kept one of the others I've written, so I could send that instead. They were all much more coherent than this one. I won't send another letter to you, so don't watch for one. Letters will make us both hope and dream, and if I don't stop doing that, I will die of wanting you. Before I go--I see from the newspapers that Costner has a new movie coming out in the States. If you dare to start fantasizing over Kevin after you see it, I will haunt you for the rest of your life. I love you, Julie. I loved in Colorado. Furthermore, I love you here, where I am. Furthermore, I will always love you. Everywhere. Always.

— Judith McNaught

Now they are empty, Ramon replied with a shrug of broad, muscled shoulders on his six-foot-three-inch frame.... For the first time, a glint of humor touched Ramon Galleria's finely sculpted mouth and arrogant dark eyes.

— Judith McNaught

Royce Westmoreland stared at him with biting scorn. "I despise hypocrisy, particularly when it is coated with holiness."" May I ask for a specific example?"" Fat priests," Royce replied, "with fat purses, who lecture staving peasants on the dangers of gluttony and the merits of poverty.

— Judith McNaught