Sara Desai QUOTES

141 " I have a sweet tooth and I am not ashamed. That's all there is to it. No need to mention donuts at all."
"How about buns?"
She looked back over her shoulder and caught him staring at her ass. She was wearing a tight black skirt for no other reason than she'd had a strange urge to feel sexy after Hassan shredded her the other day.
She gave a little wiggle before she walked into the restaurant and was rewarded with the sound of his sharp intake of breath.
"Layla?"
"Yes?" She turned in the doorway, caught a cheeky smile.
"I like sweet things, too. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

142 " He curled his arms, popped his biceps. "The Hulk is no match for the power of these pythons."
"I see another python is also proud of the fact that my room is destroyed."
Liam cupped his semi-erect length and gave a manly tug. "The desk is next. Or should we do it on your dresser? You've got a weapon of mass destruction at your beck and call. Just point me in the right direction."
Laughter bubbled up in her chest. She loved this playful, joyful side of Liam. Maybe he'd never really had a chance to embrace that part of his personality when he was growing up, but he was definitely making up for it now.
"Are you seriously comparing yourself to a weapon of mass destruction?"
"Look at this room." He opened his arms wide. "We rocked the fucking world."
Daisy made her way across the broken shambles of the bed. It didn't look girlie anymore. They'd managed to knock off the pink duvet, and all the fluffy pillows, and tangle the delicately flowered sheets in a heap.
Definitely time for a change.
"Where are you going"----he growled----"wiggling that sexy little ass at me?"
Daisy looked back over her shoulder and smiled. "You said something about a desk? "

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

143 " If you hadn't pulled me away, I would have decked them for insulting you." His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
"Insulting me?" She raised an eyebrow. "They were insulting you. Of course someone like you wouldn't be with a beautiful, sexy, curvy, brainiac goddess like myself. How many science fairs did you win in high school? How many math competitions? How many tech companies were beating down your door when you graduated from college with the gold medal? Did you know that the longest English word is 189, 819 letters long? Or that the French word for bastard is salaud? "

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

144 " She'd ordered the curated wild Alaskan sea cucumbers, sprinkled with artisanal milk thistle foraged at dusk from Springdale Farms and served in a sea of pureed stinging nettles. At least Sam thought that's what it was. She'd eaten the entire cucumber slice in one bite.
"Are you sure you wouldn't like something, sir?" The waiter, dressed in a grain sack with cutouts for his head and arms, hovered at Sam's shoulder.
"No, thank you." Sam rubbed his belly and let out a small burp. "I shouldn't have had that second Reuben on my way over. Or maybe it was the Cobb salad. I'm so full I couldn't even handle an amuse-bouche of fermented sardine foam or dihydrogen-monoxide consommé. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

145 " We don't need a plan. We'll tell them the truth. We met when we needed to meet. We found each other when we needed to be found. We fell in love because it was meant to be. And you became mine at a bus stop in the rain. "

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

146 " I like to watch sports, not play them. If you remember, I'm lacking in body awareness."
Liam's voice dropped to a sensual purr. "I'm very aware of your sexy body, so that's not a problem."
He thinks I'm sexy. She shoved that delicious little nugget away to savor later. "

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

147 " Liam had just gotten comfortable on the couch when Daisy walked in wearing a tiny pair of worn shorts and a Marvel superheroes T-shirt cut low to reveal the crescents of her breasts.
Liam's mouth went dry and he choked on his pastry. No, she definitely wasn't a little girl anymore, and the things he was thinking were definitely not appropriate for Mr. Patel's worn couch. "

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

148 " He stiffened and she realized that she'd pulled him close. She could feel the heat of his body against her skin, draw in his scent of cool dark forests and fresh mountain air. His pulse beat strong and steady beneath her fingertips, sending a current of electricity arcing through her veins. "

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

149 " He's no better than my dad."
Joe shrugged. "Desperate people do desperate things. You're planning to marry a girl you don't love. Are you any different?"
"Yes." He stared out over the sea of wildflowers dancing in the green fields surrounding them. "I do love her. I always have. "

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

150 " You'd make a good lawyer."
"And you made a good security guard, although you never figured out what was stolen from the City Club."
She tipped her head to the side, frowning. "What was stolen?"
"My heart. "

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

151 " You more than like me." He scooted over until he was only inches away, his voice darkly teasing.
"Are you attempting to cross-examine something out of me?" She pushed herself up on her elbows. "Because I am a cross-examination master and I can see through your tricks."
"Is it a trick to admit a truth?" he asked softly. "I more than like you. "

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

152 " Zara lifted her weapon and aimed it at the unmarked side of his ass. If anybody deserved a second shot it was him.
"I wouldn't advise it," he said without turning around. "Your ammo is better served taking out the enemy."
"That's exactly what I was thinking. "

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

153 " I love a man in uniform. And he's got a big hose. I'm getting hot just looking at it."
"I can hear you," Sam called out. "This is an office. Please keep the discussion to a PG level."
"How about you keep your dirty R-rated thoughts to yourself," Daisy retorted. "We're looking at a picture of a firefighter holding a hose on the street to cool people off on a hot summer day. In my innocence, I can't even imagine what you were thinking."
"I thought you were using a metaphor," Sam said. "But clearly I shouldn't assume..."
Layla glanced down at the picture. The firefighter was bare chested save for the suspenders holding up his fireman pants, which were unzipped in a way that suggested he wasn't on his way to a fire. "That's... some hose."
"I can still hear you."
"He's jealous," Daisy whispered. "He wishes he could have a big hose that makes women wet. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

154 " The name is Mr. Mehta," Sam interrupted. "Sam is for friends."
"Do you have friends?" Daisy inquired. "You don't look the type."
"Of course I have friends." He'd lost touch with many of them after Nisha's accident, but he still saw John regularly at the gym, along with his sparring partner, Evan.
"Are they imaginary or real?" Daisy gave him a condescending smile. "I'm guessing imaginary because no one wants to be friends with a jerk."
Sam scowled. "This is a place of business. If you wish to socialize, I suggest you go elsewhere."
"He's cute when he's annoyed," Daisy said. "Maybe you should keep him around for eye-candy purposes."
Layla gave him a sideways glance through the thicket of her lashes. "Don't compliment him. His ego is already so big, his top shirt button is about to pop."
The women chuckled and Sam's jaw tightened. Women adored him. Men admired him. Employees detested him. But no one ever, ever dismissed him. "He is, in fact, sitting right here."
"We're very aware of your presence." Daisy flashed him a sultry smile. "It's hard to miss the steam coming out of your ears. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

155 " It also says here that you're a good girl." His voice dropped to a sensual purr and he leaned toward her. "Are you a good girl, Layla? You seem very bad to me. If you need a husband who can keep you in line, you'll have to up your game. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

156 " I'll drive." Sam held out his hand.
"It's my car. I'll drive."
Sam bristled. "I'm the man."
"So?"
"The man drives. That's a man's job. Just like fixing things, building things, taking out the trash, proposing marriage, mowing the lawn, barbecuing, carrying heavy furniture..."
Layla snorted. "Wake up. It's not the '50's anymore. No one drives this woman's Jeep. I can build anything from IKEA without help, and if I ever do find someone I want to marry, I'll ask the dude myself. However, if you want to take out the trash or fix the leaky faucet in the restroom, knock yourself out."
"How about Layla takes her Jeep and Sam takes his car and I promise not to tell anyone that you two single-handedly destroyed the environment?" Daisy suggested.
"That's ridiculous," Sam snapped. "We're going to the same place for the same reason. We only need one vehicle."
"This is my gig," Layla said. "I'm driving my car. If you can't get over your traditional sexist patriarchal controlling self, then I'll meet you there. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

157 " Layla poured the batter into the pan, drawing circles with the back of a tumbler to create a large crepe. "I've made coconut chutney, green chutney, and red chutney to go with it, as well as sambar." She pointed to the souplike side dish that was one of her favorite accompaniments to masala dosas. The journey through the dips with their hints of salt, heat, sour, and spice were what made masala dosas special. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

158 " An unexpected breakup can cause considerable psychological distress. The social pain has been associated with a twentyfold higher risk of developing depression in the coming year. It's important to lean on family and friends for support. You'll find that brain activity in the craving centers will have decreased significantly after about ten weeks."
"Actually, it's been almost two weeks and I don't think of him at all," Layla offered.
"Then you weren't truly emotionally invested in that relationship," Charu Auntie said. "Or you're a psychopath."
"Definitely a psychopath." Daisy sliced furiously, decimating the onion as tears poured down her cheeks. "She didn't feel anything when she stole the pakoras from my lunch kit in sixth grade."
Charu Auntie balanced the basket on one hip and adjusted her glasses. "Distraction and self-care are important to prevent a craving response in the ventral tegmental area, the nucleus accumbens, and orbitofrontrontal/prefrontal cortex."
"I think she's saying, in her oddly complicated way, that she thinks you should hook up with fuckboy Danny," Daisy said. "Too bad the sexy beast upstairs is such a piece of-"
"Shhh. "

― Sara Desai , The Marriage Game

159 " He hadn't wanted her before and he didn't want her now---not the way she'd always imagined. No one wanted someone "weirdly smart" who preferred action figures to dolls, and math puzzles to fairy tales. Her mother had come back after a twelve-year absence to tell her so.
A disturbance at the door caught her attention. Rochelle had just brought Liam into the meeting and was eating him up with her eyes as he shook hands with Brad and Tyler.
Why was it so unbelievable that he would want to marry her? Why did she still hear her mother's voice in her head?
Fake or not, he was her fiancé, and in this game of pretend, a man like him loved a girl like her, and it wasn't okay for Rochelle to be slithering over to steal her man. "

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

160 " Hi...ah..." What did she call him? Honey? Babe? Darling? "...Humraaz." The Urdu term of endearment came out before she could stop it.
Liam's gaze shifted to her, and his face softened. Before he could ask her what it meant and ruin the performance, she rose up on her toes, pressed her hands against his chest, and kissed him.
Without hesitation, Liam wrapped one arm around her waist, pressed his mouth against hers, and bent her over backward in a full-on movie kiss.
Her breath hitched and her lips softened. His lips were firm and cool and tasted of coffee and something sweet. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and for a moment she thought her heart had stopped. But it didn't matter. Upside down, in front of her work colleagues, she was the woman she always wanted to be.
Then she was up and back on her feet, lips tingling, an ache of desire between her thighs.
"What does it mean?" he murmured gently.
"The one with whom we share our secrets."
"Then I am your humraaz," he said. "And you are mine. "

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