Sara Desai QUOTES

1 " What have you been eating?"
"Jalebis." Anika held up a bright orange, pretzel-shaped sweet similar to a funnel cake.
"Yesterday, we helped Dadi make chocolate peda," Zaina informed her, using the Urdu term for "paternal grandmother."
"And the day before that we made burfi, and before that we made-"
"Peanut brittle." Anika grinned.
Layla bit back a laugh. Her mother had a sweet tooth, so it wasn't surprising that she'd made treats with her granddaughters in the kitchen. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

2 " She was the light in his life, the sun to his shadows. She was smart, warm, loyal, sexy, and funny and it was impossible to resist her sweet exuberance. Life was interesting and exciting when she was around. She made his heart pound just being near her, and he was damn sure he made her heart pound, too. "

― Sara Desai , The Singles Table (Marriage Game, #3)

3 " At your age, I would expect you to have had a boyfriend or two, but if you've had intimate-"
"I'm not that old." Layla bristled, cutting him off.
"In this market you are." Sam smirked. "Most of the girls who have responded to my desilovematch.com profile are under twenty-one. You're practically an auntie. I'm surprised your profile got as much interest as it did. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

4 " I'll borrow my mother's car because my Jeep will be a bit of a challenge for the transfer. It's no problem."
Sam frowned. "You know about transfers?"
"My grandmother was in a wheelchair most of her life. She got polio when she was young. We all learned how to help. Nisha will be safe. Trust me."
How could he not trust her? She had just seen the most private, cherished, and personal part of his life and had embraced it. Instead of just politely greeting Nisha and walking away, she had befriended his sister and welcomed her into her family.
"I'll be fine, bhaiya." Nisha smiled. "I want to stay with Layla."
And in that moment, so did he. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

5 " Max stood on his hind legs and pawed at Liam's chest, tail wagging, furry face nuzzling until Liam stood and lifted him into his arms. Max licked his face and Liam's tension eased.
He won't know that Max is a very special dog.
"He sure likes you," Daisy's neighbor said. "He's not usually that friendly with strangers."
"I'm not a stranger. "

― Sara Desai , The Dating Plan (Marriage Game, #2)

6 " We're going to give them one hell of a good time."
"This isn't my idea of a good time." Meeting Layla's crazy family, eating masala dosas, and going public with his feelings for the woman who had accepted him despite his failings was his idea of a good time. Holding her in his arms while the warm afternoon sunshine slid lazy fingers through the cracks in his curtains was his idea of a good time. Looking up from his desk to see her chewing on the end of her pencil, deep in thought, while a pile of donuts lay untouched beside her, was his idea of a good time. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

7 " You can’t fix anything until you fix yourself. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

8 " He was a captain in the air force, and now he is CEO of a security company. I didn't have time to find out more about him, but I'm sure he can tell you anything you need to know."
A wave of nausea crashed through Zara's gut when she recalled their conversation in the bar. I'll bet he's one of those wannabe military types who spends his weekends playing paintball with his geek friends, pretending he's the real deal. What had she been thinking? But that was the problem. She was always living in the moment, not thinking at all.
"Thank you for your service," she mumbled, her cheeks burning. She could only hope he'd been as drunk as she'd been and didn't remember the slight.
"Pleasure." The deep rumble of his voice made her toes curl. "I'm the real deal, after all. "

― Sara Desai , The Singles Table (Marriage Game, #3)

9 " What else do you assess during these test drives?" He felt electricity, every nerve in his body firing at once, this attraction raw and unexpected. "Tires?"
As one, they slowed a few feet before the sidewalk, stopping in the shadows as if neither of them wanted to step into the glare of the lights.
She turned to face him, her gaze dipping to his shoes. "They do seem to be in good working order."
"Suspension?" He took a step closer and heard her breath catch in her throat.
"A little bit stiff." She licked her lips. "I think we're in for a rough ride."
"Acceleration?" Jay shoved the warning voice out of his head and cupped her jaw, brushing his thumb over her soft cheek. Her gaze grew heavy and she sighed. Or was it a whimper? He could barely hear over the rush of blood through his ears.
"A little too fast," she whispered, leaning in. She pressed one palm against his chest, and in that moment he knew she wanted him, too. "Maybe I should test the handling."
Dropping his head, he brushed soft kisses along her jaw, feathering a path to the bow of her mouth as he slid one hand under her soft hair to cup her nape. He felt like he'd just trapped a butterfly. If he didn't hold on tight, she might fly away. "Or the navigation."
She moaned, the soft sound making him tense inside. His free hand slid over her curves to her hip and she ground up against him, a deliciously painful pressure on his already-hard shaft.
"Navigation it is." He breathed in the scent of her. Wildflowers. A thunderstorm. The rolling sea. "

― Sara Desai , The Singles Table (Marriage Game, #3)

10 " I think you need to get to know me better," he said, nuzzling the slim column of her throat. "Then you'll know my perfect match when you see her."
"Mmmm." She tipped her head to the side, giving him better access. "Good idea. I really shouldn't have jumped into this without doing the proper research. Usually I know the people I'm matching, but you are still a bit of a mystery."
A smile spread across his face. "I am open to being unraveled. "

― Sara Desai , The Singles Table (Marriage Game, #3)

11 " What the hell?"
Too late, she remembered she was wearing her Iron Man bra, a red and gold mask covering each breast, silver eye slits glaring into the great beyond---or in this case, at the man who had dared take off her clothes.
Liam barked a laugh. "Is that meant to scare dudes away?"
"You know I like the Avengers." She shrugged. "I just wasn't expecting to be... sharing the visual."
"So I see." His hands closed over her breasts. "I'm going to cover his eyes. I can't perform if Iron Man is watching."
"Afraid you won't measure up?"
"More like I'm afraid he might break down the door and take me out. "

― Sara Desai , The Dating Plan (Marriage Game, #2)

12 " We don't want to wake your dad and Priya." He parted his legs, forcing hers to follow, leaving her vulnerable to the exquisite sensation of his hard shaft pressing against her beneath his fly.
"They aren't here." Her breath was already coming too fast, her body going liquid. She'd wanted to control this encounter, but the minute he touched her she couldn't think.
Liam froze, his hands mere inches away from her breasts. "Then why didn't I come in the door?"
"Because you left me and broke my heart," Daisy said. "And I liked watching you climb more than I would like to see you grovel or eat five containers of Shark Stew."
"Wicked woman. "

― Sara Desai , The Dating Plan (Marriage Game, #2)

13 " Do you know what you get to ride?" He stood and swept his desk clear, spilling papers, pens, pencils, and his coffee cup onto the floor.
Languid in the chair, she licked her lips when he yanked open his belt. "Do I get three guesses?"
"You get one." He shoved down his pants and boxers. "A big one. "

― Sara Desai , The Singles Table (Marriage Game, #3)

14 " Without warning, Jay reached over and grabbed her belt. With a hard yank, he pulled her toward him. Her robe slid up her thighs and Zara licked her lips in shameless hunger. Did he know how wet she was? How her breasts ached? How desperately she wanted him?
Jay gave a satisfied growl, holding her in place. "The law requires your consent for a search." He pulled her closer, his gaze hot and roaming. "I have to warn you. I am very thorough."
"I have nothing to hide." She was burning. Liquid fire rushed through her veins, pooling between her legs. It was like Jay had plucked her deepest darkest fantasies from her mind and was making them all come true.
He gave a small, calculating smile. "I don't leave anything untouched, sweetheart."
"I'm not your sweetheart."
"You will be when I'm done with you." He devoured her with his gaze, his eyes so dark they were almost black. "Robe off. I need to assess the search area."
She slid the robe over her arms and lay back on the bed. "How's this?"
He inhaled sharply, his gaze raking over her body, and then again more slowly in blatant sexual appraisal. "I see you've decided to make things difficult, but I can't be distracted."
"I'm not afraid of you." She arched her back, parted her legs just enough to tease. Did he think he was the one in control?
"You should be." His voice dropped to a husky growl. "

― Sara Desai , The Singles Table (Marriage Game, #3)

15 " You think I'm hot?" She gave him a slow, sensual smile.
His hand dropped to her hip and he tugged her skirt up. "So hot, I think I need to do you over the sink."
When he looked at her that way, with heat and desire in his eyes, she couldn't deny him anything. "Did you lock the door?"
"Of course."
"Condoms?"
Liam sniffed. "I knew you were going to be at the conference. Did you think I'd come unprepared to service your needs?"
"We'll have eleven minutes for the good stuff. Three to clean up. Two to fix our clothes. Ten to get to our respective conference rooms. Does that work for you?"
Liam spun her around and yanked up her skirt. "I love it when you schedule our sexy times. It turns me on."
"That's good because I planned for this in advance and left the Avengers at home. "

― Sara Desai , The Dating Plan (Marriage Game, #2)

16 " Maybe I could pay you another way..."
His heart skipped a beat, and for a moment he thought his fantasy of her in those boots on his desk just might come true. "I'm all ears, sweetheart. And a whole lot of something else. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

17 " Don't bother unpacking the rest," she said, tearing the lease in half. "I'm kicking you out now."
She was almost as strong willed and stubborn as he was. But he had much better taste in furniture.
He snorted a laugh. "I'd like to see you try."
"I'm sure you would," she snapped. "It's probably the only way you can get a woman near you with that giant ego in the way."
"I am hardly lacking for female companionship."
Layla rolled her eyes in an overly dramatic fashion. "I'm not interested in hearing about your visits to the nail bar. I just want you gone."
"It's not going to happen, sweetheart. I have the document in digital form, and the law on my side."
"Family trumps the law." She folded her arms under her generous breasts. Sweat trickled down his back. Karen had nothing on this woman, even with her creative use of a toy blood pressure cuff.
"Not in the real world. My attorney works upstairs. If you need further proof, I can ask him to join us and confirm that the lease is valid. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

18 " I have changed. No glasses. No frizzy hair. Better clothes. Bigger boobs... Not that any of that matters. You made it clear what you thought about me."
"That was a long time ago." His voice was rough, strained. "I don't feel good about what happened."
"What a coincidence. Neither do I. "

― Sara Desai , The Dating Plan (Marriage Game, #2)

19 " And just so you know, I used to play capture the flag on the school playground and I always won."
"This isn't school." His deep voice was as clear as if he were facing her.
"It isn't a real war," she pointed out. "It's a game. We're at a paintball field in San Jose that gives a ten percent discount if you buy your paintballs in bulk and charges an extra five dollars to cover laundry fees. Maybe you should lighten up."
He glanced over his shoulder. "Maybe you should stop talking."
"Why?"
"Because I'm not listening."
Zara waited until he'd walked a good twenty feet away before she shot him in the ass.
"What the f---?" He whirled around to face her, his hand gripping the injured area.
"I was helping you on your way. "

― Sara Desai , The Singles Table (Marriage Game, #3)

20 " No physical contact means no sex."
"Ever?" Liam didn't like ultimatums. "What if you beg for it?"
"I have never begged for sex in my life."
A slow, sensual smile spread across his face. "You've never been with me."
"I'm not sleeping with you, Liam," she said firmly. "And no developing feelings, either. This is solely a business arrangement. I'll include my terms and conditions when I send you the final plan." She took a picture of the whiteboard and then wiped it clean. "I'll go get Tyler."
"Daisy?"
She looked back over her shoulder as she reached for the door. "Yes?"
"What if I beg?"
"I'll throw you a bone. "

― Sara Desai , The Dating Plan (Marriage Game, #2)