--- title: "10 First time Quotes By Donna Kauffman" description: "10 First time quotes by Donna Kauffman. Plus more from Donna Kauffman and more First time sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_my-my-she-teased-her-heart-full-to-burst_275809.jpg" --- > [“My, my,” she teased, her heart full to bursting, “what a big…sword you have.” “All the better to pillage you with,” he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/my-my-she-teased-her-heart-full-to-bursting-what-a-big-sword-you-have/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_my-my-she-teased-her-heart-full-to-burst_275809.jpg) > [“Cooper,” she said, the two syllables not much more than a broken whisper. She cleared her throat. “I never said--you knew I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/cooper-she-said-the-two-syllables-not-much-more-than-a-broken-whisper/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54d/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_cooper-she-said-the-two-syllables-not-mu_859440.jpg) > [“Lani couldn't respond. She was too busy reveling in just how amazing they felt, joined. She'd thought maybe it was the delirium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/lani-couldn-t-respond-she-was-too-busy-reveling-in-just-how-amazing/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/donna-kauffman-2275_bits-and-pieces_lani-couldn-t-respond-she-was-too-busy-r_648003.jpg) > [“She gave Cooper a quick nod, indicating she was going out the back, and didn’t wait around to see if he understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/she-gave-cooper-a-quick-nod-indicating-she-was-going-out-the-back-and/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_she-gave-cooper-a-quick-nod-indicating-s_2720364.jpg) > [“A slow grin slid across his face, lighting his eyes with a very different, decidedly wicked glow. For the first time, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/a-slow-grin-slid-across-his-face-lighting-his-eyes-with-a-very/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/donna-kauffman-2275_baxter-dunne_a-slow-grin-slid-across-his-face-lightin_2383010.jpg) > [“First time on a sailboat?” she asked, as casually as if she wasn’t standing there, gripping the wheel of a sleek, forty-foot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/first-time-on-a-sailboat-she-asked-as-casually-as-if-she-wasn-t/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_first-time-on-a-sailboat-she-asked-as-ca_2322629.jpg) > [“The way I see it,” she went on, “our friendship, and our working relationship, were solid foundations we built over time. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/the-way-i-see-it-she-went-on-our-friendship-and-our-working/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_the-way-i-see-it-she-went-on-our-friends_1873747.jpg) > [“Is it too late to enjoy some lunch?” “No,” he said, not looking as relieved as she’d hoped; but then, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/is-it-too-late-to-enjoy-some-lunch-no-he-said-not-looking-as-relieved/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bb/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_is-it-too-late-to-enjoy-some-lunch-no-he_775000.jpg) > [“Did you ever think maybe you’d just stay, ride it out, see what happened? Was that an option for you?” He didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/did-you-ever-think-maybe-you-d-just-stay-ride-it-out-see-what/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/donna-kauffman-2275_adult-life_did-you-ever-think-maybe-you-d-just-stay_1737739.jpg) > [“Cooper’s gaze was locked exclusively on hers, and suddenly it was as if they were the only two people in the room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/cooper-s-gaze-was-locked-exclusively-on-hers-and-suddenly-it-was-as/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/donna-kauffman-2275_every-single-day_cooper-s-gaze-was-locked-exclusively-on_966566.jpg) ## Other authors on First time ## More by Donna Kauffman > [“She was every bit of everything he remembered about her, all at once and all at the same time. That was Kerry McCrae in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/she-was-every-bit-of-everything-he-remembered-about-her-all-at-once/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“Kerry had headed up the back stairs of the pub, and even as exhausted as she was, she’d still found it impossible to wipe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/kerry-had-headed-up-the-back-stairs-of-the-pub-and-even-as-exhausted/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“I got waylaid by another of your throng of supporters and well-wishers so you only have yourself to blame.” “So I heard,” he said.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/i-got-waylaid-by-another-of-your-throng-of-supporters-and-well/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“What’s so amusing, wench?” came a gravel-throated voice from behind her, followed by a gentle swat across her sheet-covered backside. “Just plotting my mutiny,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/what-s-so-amusing-wench-came-a-gravel-throated-voice-from-behind-her/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“He was very tall, with long arms and legs that would be gawky and awkward on anyone else, but were graceful and elegant on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/he-was-very-tall-with-long-arms-and-legs-that-would-be-gawky-and/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“A clearing of a gravelly throat pulled him from his thoughts. He turned and looked at Thomas, the boat captain, who was seventy if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/a-clearing-of-a-gravelly-throat-pulled-him-from-his-thoughts-he/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“Cooper,” she said. “Cooper Jax.” As if saying his name would someone break the spell, vanquish the mirage she was still faintly hoping she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/cooper-she-said-cooper-jax-as-if-saying-his-name-would-someone-break/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“I accept your lovely invitation,” he said, then added, “I only have one caveat.” Her relief turned to wary suspicion as she eyed him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/i-accept-your-lovely-invitation-he-said-then-added-i-only-have-one/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“\*\*“I get it,” he said. “I was supposed to give you your space. I didn’t want to. So...I compromised. Only, you frustrate the hell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/i-get-it-he-said-i-was-supposed-to-give-you-your-space-i-didn-t-want/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“Running halfway around the world apparently hadn’t been far enough to leave him and all of what had transpired between her and the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/running-halfway-around-the-world-apparently-hadn-t-been-far-enough-to/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“She shielded her eyes from the sun, her truck keys dangling down the back of her free hand, as Cooper lowered the passenger window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/she-shielded-her-eyes-from-the-sun-her-truck-keys-dangling-down-the/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“I can’t believe I’m thirty-one-years-old, lying on my back on a pier in broad daylight--in my own hometown, I might add--trying to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/i-can-t-believe-i-m-thirty-one-years-old-lying-on-my-back-on-a-pier/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“Colm sighed... -She's quite beautiful. Like a fairy and a goddess all wrapped into one. -How very... poetic of you. ... He felt a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/colm-sighed-she-s-quite-beautiful-like-a-fairy-and-a-goddess-all/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“She pondered the best way to handle the laundry situation after they got back to dock. If she thought she’d been a bit pink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/she-pondered-the-best-way-to-handle-the-laundry-situation-after-they/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“You’ve made yourself quite at home, I see.” “You’ve a nice one here, Kerry,” he said quite sincerely, his smile still sparkling with equal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/you-ve-made-yourself-quite-at-home-i-see-you-ve-a-nice-one-here-kerry/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/donna-kauffman/#itemlist", "name": "10 First time Quotes By Donna Kauffman", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“My, my,” she teased, her heart full to bursting, “what a big…sword you have.” “All the better to pillage you with,” he murmured, lowering his head again. “I should tell you one more thing,” she whispered, making him lift his head a bit, an eyebrow raised in question. “I’m protected. Makes traveling easier when you know what will be happening when,” she explained. “So if you’re okay with, uh, keeping your sword there unsheathed, I’m okay with--” “Oh, aye, I’m very okay,” he said, eyes gleaming that much more brightly. “Good,” she sighed, then tipped her head back and arched up into him. “Please feel free to pillage away.” He laughed, a deep, sexy, guttural laugh, full of joy and promise. He moved slowly inside her this time, both of them groaning in appreciation of the increased pleasure with no barrier between them. Their lovemaking was slow, yet all the more intense for the increased intimacy, as they kept their eyes open, looking at each other, kissing, playing, moving, enjoying. And, for the first time, she let herself believe that maybe he was right, maybe there was a way to have it all.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Kauffman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/my-my-she-teased-her-heart-full-to-bursting-what-a-big-sword-you-have/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_my-my-she-teased-her-heart-full-to-burst_275809.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_my-my-she-teased-her-heart-full-to-burst_275809.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_my-my-she-teased-her-heart-full-to-burst_275809.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My, my,” she teased, her heart full to bursting, “what a big…sword you have.” “All the better to pillage you…” — Donna Kauffman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Cooper,” she said, the two syllables not much more than a broken whisper. She cleared her throat. “I never said--you knew I wasn’t coming back. You knew when I started that I wasn’t staying.” “When you started, yeah,” he said, then moved another inch closer, and what little air she seemed to have pulled in deserted her just as swiftly. “But by the time you left…I thought…” She let herself sink deeper and looked into his eyes. “You thought what?” “It’s been a year,” he repeated, and for the first time, she saw something behind that bold, fierce, confident gaze of his, something she’d never seen before, though she couldn’t quite say what it was. “And I realize now that I should have asked then.” “Asked me to stay?” she said, hating the tremulous waver in her voice, hating more that she wasn’t quite sure how she’d answer him if he asked now. “You could have just called.” A titter went up in the crowd and was just as swiftly snuffed out by shushing sounds. It all barely registered wither. “No, not that. I mean, yes, I wanted you to stay. But not as a jillaroo. Or not only as one.” And then she realized what it was she saw. She would have recognized it right off if she’d let herself acknowledge that it was the same thing she’d seen in her own eyes. Fear. What could Cooper Jax possibly be afraid of? Fear of wanting what he can’t have? Of losing what he wanted most? But that couldn’t be, because that would mean-- “I wanted you to stay, Kerry. As my wife.” The crowd gasped as one, and she might have gasped with them. “I’ve come all this way, Starfish, because I need to know. If I’d asked you then, if I’d pursued it, pursued you, would you ever have considered marrying me?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Kauffman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/cooper-she-said-the-two-syllables-not-much-more-than-a-broken-whisper/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54d/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_cooper-she-said-the-two-syllables-not-mu_859440.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54d/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_cooper-she-said-the-two-syllables-not-mu_859440.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54d/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_cooper-she-said-the-two-syllables-not-mu_859440.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cooper,” she said, the two syllables not much more than a broken whisper. She cleared her throat. “I never…” — Donna Kauffman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Lani couldn't respond. She was too busy reveling in just how amazing they felt, joined. She'd thought maybe it was the delirium of the first time that had her thinking rosy thoughts. Well, and the second time. And the third. \"How is it even better this time? How?\" she panted, moving on top of him. She squealed an instant later when she found herself neatly on her back once again. He pushed deeper, and growled a little. \"Am I hurtin' you?\" \"No. Don't stop,\" she panted, then growled a little herself as he thrust into her, again and again. She knew now, when he was fully beyond controlling himself, bits and pieces of his childhood accent resurfaced. For whatever reason, that was just hot as hell to her. It was earthy, primal. \"Oh,\" she said, then, \"Oh!\" when he pulled her thighs up higher along his waist, tilting her so she was just at the right angle to- \"How do you- do that?\" she managed. That was it as the crescendo of sensation washed up and over, taking her on a hard, fast ride in to shore.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Kauffman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/lani-couldn-t-respond-she-was-too-busy-reveling-in-just-how-amazing/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/donna-kauffman-2275_bits-and-pieces_lani-couldn-t-respond-she-was-too-busy-r_648003.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/donna-kauffman-2275_bits-and-pieces_lani-couldn-t-respond-she-was-too-busy-r_648003.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/donna-kauffman-2275_bits-and-pieces_lani-couldn-t-respond-she-was-too-busy-r_648003.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Lani couldn't respond. She was too busy reveling in just how amazing they felt, joined. She'd thought maybe…” — Donna Kauffman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She gave Cooper a quick nod, indicating she was going out the back, and didn’t wait around to see if he understood her meaning. She pushed through the swinging doors to the small kitchen in the back, snagged the keys to her truck from the hook, and replaced them with her apron. She gave a quick glance to the grill, making sure Sandy hadn’t left anything to burn on it when he’d been pulled out front, but everything looked in order. Stop stalling. She sighed, shook her head, but the rueful smile that accompanied the movement was fleeting. For what might be the first time in her life, she had absolutely no idea how she was going to handle what came next. “Only one way to find out,” she murmured. Tightening her grip on her keys, if not her emotions, she let herself out the back door of the pub and found herself staring straight up into the crystalline blue eyes of Cooper Jax.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Kauffman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/she-gave-cooper-a-quick-nod-indicating-she-was-going-out-the-back-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_she-gave-cooper-a-quick-nod-indicating-s_2720364.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_she-gave-cooper-a-quick-nod-indicating-s_2720364.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_she-gave-cooper-a-quick-nod-indicating-s_2720364.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She gave Cooper a quick nod, indicating she was going out the back, and didn’t wait around to see if he…” — Donna Kauffman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A slow grin slid across his face, lighting his eyes with a very different, decidedly wicked glow. For the first time, she could honestly believe he'd come from the rough part of town. There was something elemental in the way he was looking at her, like a man willing to brawl, to fight with his bare hands, if that's what it took to get what he wanted. It made her skin prickle with awareness... and her muscles shudder with need. And her heart ache with want. \"But you should know, Lei, that kissing you, feeling you kissing me back... didn't feel much like torture.\" He stepped in, and lowered his mouth until his lips were almost, but not quite touching hers. A mere breath of air separated their bodies. Her breath caught in her throat as his warm, spicy-sweet breath fanned her lips... lips he'd so recently taken with his own. She quivered when he framed his hands, palms in, then moved them slowly down the outline of her body without ever once touching her. She was trembling by the time he finished. \"And this,\" he whispered gruffly, \"is never going to go away, whether we will it or not.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Kauffman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/a-slow-grin-slid-across-his-face-lighting-his-eyes-with-a-very/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/donna-kauffman-2275_baxter-dunne_a-slow-grin-slid-across-his-face-lightin_2383010.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/donna-kauffman-2275_baxter-dunne_a-slow-grin-slid-across-his-face-lightin_2383010.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c32/donna-kauffman-2275_baxter-dunne_a-slow-grin-slid-across-his-face-lightin_2383010.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A slow grin slid across his face, lighting his eyes with a very different, decidedly wicked glow. For the…” — Donna Kauffman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“First time on a sailboat?” she asked, as casually as if she wasn’t standing there, gripping the wheel of a sleek, forty-foot sailing vessel while looking like sex candy on a stick. “First time on any boat,” he told her. She turned that smile on him again, and his body leaped to attention, while his mind leaped to wondering just what it was she had in mind. Looks might be deceiving. But he was beginning to hope they weren’t. “Looks like you’ll be getting a few firsts this afternoon, then.” With that little bombshell dropped, she calmly looked back to the water as she navigated the boat away from the pier and through the other vessels tied up along the maze of docks and piers, some of them sailboats but more of them working ones. With nothing else to do, and fairly certain if he stared at her in that tropical print napkin any longer he’d simply lunge at her, he made his way over to the picnic basket and cooler and stowed both in one of the big storage bins Thomas had showed him earlier.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Kauffman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/first-time-on-a-sailboat-she-asked-as-casually-as-if-she-wasn-t/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_first-time-on-a-sailboat-she-asked-as-ca_2322629.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_first-time-on-a-sailboat-she-asked-as-ca_2322629.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_first-time-on-a-sailboat-she-asked-as-ca_2322629.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“First time on a sailboat?” she asked, as casually as if she wasn’t standing there, gripping the wheel of a…” — Donna Kauffman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The way I see it,” she went on, “our friendship, and our working relationship, were solid foundations we built over time. Now you’re here wanting more, and the way we started that next step was with a kiss. So I feel like we’ve done just about everything two people can do in getting to know each other except…finish that kiss. It seemed to me that the logical next step, the next piece of information we needed to know, was what comes next when we let that kiss go to its natural conclusion.” She did smile then, and her emerald green eyes blazed as she let down a guard he didn’t know she’d still had erected, letting him see for the first time the rest of what she was feeling. “Or at least that was my rationale for finally letting myself have what I fantasized about having, all those months I worked next to you.” He opened his mouth, then shut it again when her words sank in. “I--what did you just say?” Her smile remained, but there was a new light flickering in the depths of her eyes now, one that somehow managed to look bold, excited, and endearingly nervous all at the same time. “You weren’t alone, Cooper, in wanting…what you wanted. At least the physical attraction part anyway. I should have been more forthright about that when you showed up at the pub, or afterward. But at least try to see this from my perspective. Suddenly, out of the blue, the man I lusted after all those months was standing, quite improbably, right in front of me, in his full, Technicolor gorgeousness, looking even better than the guy I was sure I’d exaggerated and romanticized. Right there, in the flesh. And before I could even begin to get a grip on that, you went all going down on bended knee on me, and--it was all so much, too much, to even begin to process.” She let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Maybe if you’d just dragged me into your arms and not given me a chance to think, I might have surrendered right there on the spot, and the rest of the Cove be damned. But instead you’re all sincere, with your big, beautiful heart hanging on your sleeve, all earnest and lovely, and I so didn’t deserve anything like that, not after the way I left things between me and your entire family. I didn’t have the first clue what to do with that. With you.” Her smile turned decidedly rueful. “So, naturally, I resorted to form. I shut you down, told you to go away. If I couldn’t run away, I was going to make damn sure you did. I mean, it was one thing to leave Cameroo, then insult you and your family by not keeping in touch. It was another thing entirely to do it again, right to your face.” “I hate to interrupt,” he said, trying like hell not to grin, then drag her into his lap to do what he apparently should have done the moment he’d laid eyes on her again. “But I haven’t heard a word you’ve said since that part where you’ve been lusting after me for two years.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Kauffman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/the-way-i-see-it-she-went-on-our-friendship-and-our-working/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_the-way-i-see-it-she-went-on-our-friends_1873747.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_the-way-i-see-it-she-went-on-our-friends_1873747.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_the-way-i-see-it-she-went-on-our-friends_1873747.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The way I see it,” she went on, “our friendship, and our working relationship, were solid foundations we…” — Donna Kauffman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Is it too late to enjoy some lunch?” “No,” he said, not looking as relieved as she’d hoped; but then, it was what it was. Both of them would have to find their way past their personal disappointment on their own. “Not at all.” He reached for the wine again as she took the rest of the containers out of the hamper and began setting out a more organized spread. “Although,” he said, easing the cork up and out as his grin flickered back to life, like a long-awaited ray of sunshine after a storm, “I don’t suppose you have anything else to wear.” She gave a little spurt of laughter at that, relieved that he wasn’t going to make it harder on either of them, and was perversely that much more turned on. His eyes widened when she grinned and held up a finger, then scrambled back aft and retrieved her canvas tote. She came back wearing the faded hoodie and ancient fishing hat. “Better?” she asked, plopping back down on the blanket and modeling her new look. His gaze skimmed over her legs, then back up to her face, his own eyes glittering now. “Not in the least.” She swallowed. Hard. When he surprised her by not looking away, her palms began to sweat. Then he shocked her speechless by reaching behind his neck, grabbing the back collar of his shirt, and pulling it over his head and off. A life spent on a cattle station had given him a deeply golden, well-muscled torso. One she’d thought about often, though, it turned out, her imagination hadn’t remotely done justice to reality. Even though she’d been on Cameroo Downs for a full year in a wide variety of different situations, this was the first time she’d ever seen him with his shirt off. He grinned for real at her dumbfounded expression, then began filling his plate as if he’d done nothing more than take off his hat. More at ease than she’d seen him since she’d arrived at the dock. “I suppose I deserve that,” she said, shaking her head in a silent touché. He just winked at her, then went back to filling his plate with another lobster roll, a few more hush puppies, and a small mound of blueberries. She laughed--what else was there to do?--then shook her head as he handed her a glass of wine. She lifted it in a toast. “To good food, good company, and a few hours of solid torture on the high seas.” Chuckling, he lifted his glass, tapped hers, then held her gaze over the rim as he took a sip. She was now intimately acquainted with his reference to aching teeth and need. You’re in so much trouble, Kerry McCrae. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Kauffman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/is-it-too-late-to-enjoy-some-lunch-no-he-said-not-looking-as-relieved/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bb/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_is-it-too-late-to-enjoy-some-lunch-no-he_775000.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bb/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_is-it-too-late-to-enjoy-some-lunch-no-he_775000.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bb/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_is-it-too-late-to-enjoy-some-lunch-no-he_775000.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Is it too late to enjoy some lunch?” “No,” he said, not looking as relieved as she’d hoped; but then, it was…” — Donna Kauffman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Did you ever think maybe you’d just stay, ride it out, see what happened? Was that an option for you?” He didn’t ask defensively, though it took a bit to keep the edge from his voice. He was all but grilling her so he couldn’t go and get upset if he didn’t like the answers he got. But he was human, and this wasn’t any easier on him than it was on her. “It might have been.” “If?” He heard her take a steadying breath and felt himself bracing for her response. “If I’d felt about you the way I felt about the rest of your family. Like you were a brother or something.” “But?” “Looking for a little ego stroke?” She swatted at him then, tried for a playful laugh, but the serious undertone remained. “But I had feelings for you. Well, lust and feelings. We had a friendship, then I had lust. And I really didn’t think, even if you were interested in me, that was something you’d pursue, given your position as employer and me being temporary. So…I don’t know…” “But when you came back here to Maine you didn’t head out again.” “I didn’t go back to Australia either,” she reminded him. When he didn’t say anything for some time, she said, “What are you thinking? I’ve been pretty frank so go ahead, be honest with me.” “Okay,” he said. “I guess I can’t help but think that you didn’t head back out on the road, you didn’t come back to Australia either--but you also didn’t write, keep in touch. And not because you were out in the jungle somewhere, unable to drop a postcard in the mail. You were right here, with all the modern technological conveniences at your fingertips. But you didn’t send a single e-mail. Not even to Sadie. And I can’t help but think that maybe that means we were all a lot more important to you than you wanted to admit or keeping in touch, at least with her, would have been no big deal. You also haven’t even mentioned us to anyone here, as far as I know, other than your uncle. Which, given how long you stayed and how much we’d come to mean to you, seems odd to me, too. So…maybe the only way you thought you could get over us was to put us firmly in your rearview mirror. Only then…you never started looking ahead again either.” She said nothing, and a quick glance showed she was staring out the side window of the car, her hands in her lap, fingers twisting and untwisting. “Or maybe we really were easily left in the past, and the change in you is more because you got home and your entire family was living here, all together, for the first time in your adult life,” he said, giving her an out. “And it makes you want to stay, even though you don’t know what, precisely, you want to do here yourself.” He paused, then said the rest of what he was thinking, what he was feeling. “And maybe you stay because it’s the closest thing you can have to what you had started building with us, and remain safe while having it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Kauffman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/did-you-ever-think-maybe-you-d-just-stay-ride-it-out-see-what/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/donna-kauffman-2275_adult-life_did-you-ever-think-maybe-you-d-just-stay_1737739.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/donna-kauffman-2275_adult-life_did-you-ever-think-maybe-you-d-just-stay_1737739.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/donna-kauffman-2275_adult-life_did-you-ever-think-maybe-you-d-just-stay_1737739.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Did you ever think maybe you’d just stay, ride it out, see what happened? Was that an option for you?” He…” — Donna Kauffman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Cooper’s gaze was locked exclusively on hers, and suddenly it was as if they were the only two people in the room. Everything else fell away, and she felt herself getting pulled in, swallowed up. That was always how he’d made her feel, as if she was this close to drowning…and that maybe she should stop trying so hard to keep her head above water. He stopped a foot in front of her and she lifted her gaze--and her chin--to stay even with his. “Before, when you were there, working, living alongside us, I thought if I gave you room, gave you space, you’d figure out that Cameroo Downs was where you belonged,” he said. His words, the rumble of his deep voice, that accent of his, held her as surely as if he’d put his hands on her. But then, that’s why you left, wasn’t it? So you wouldn’t risk finding out what would happen if he ever did put his hands on you. “When you left,” he continued, “I told myself once you were gone, then you’d realize it--you’d have to--and you’d come back.” She struggled to listen to his words, to take in their meaning, but they were so completely at odds with what she’d thought, back when she was working for him and every single day since. Thinking he’d been business only, that her thoughts, her fantasies, about him, about them, were hers alone--that was the only way she’d kept her sanity intact, kept her yearning from consuming her. “But a full year has gone by. And you haven’t come back. Not so much as a word from you.” “Cooper,” she said, the two syllables not much more than a broken whisper. She cleared her throat. “I never said--you knew I wasn’t coming back. You knew when I started that I wasn’t staying.” “When you started, yeah,” he said, then moved another inch closer, and what little air she seemed to have pulled in deserted her just as swiftly. “But by the time you left…I thought…” She let herself sink deeper and looked into his eyes. “You thought what?” “It’s been a year,” he repeated, and for the first time, she saw something behind that bold, fierce, confident gaze of his, something she’d never seen before, though she couldn’t quite say what it was. “And I realize now that I should have asked then.” “Asked me to stay?” she said, hating the tremulous waver in her voice, hating more that she wasn’t quite sure how she’d answer him if he asked now. “You could have just called.” A titter went up in the crowd and was just as swiftly snuffed out by shushing sounds. It all barely registered wither. “No, not that. I mean, yes, I wanted you to stay. But not as a jillaroo. Or not only as one.” And then she realized what it was she saw. She would have recognized it right off if she’d let herself acknowledge that it was the same thing she’d seen in her own eyes. Fear. What could Cooper Jax possibly be afraid of? Fear of wanting what he can’t have? Of losing what he wanted most? ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Kauffman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/cooper-s-gaze-was-locked-exclusively-on-hers-and-suddenly-it-was-as/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/donna-kauffman-2275_every-single-day_cooper-s-gaze-was-locked-exclusively-on_966566.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/donna-kauffman-2275_every-single-day_cooper-s-gaze-was-locked-exclusively-on_966566.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/donna-kauffman-2275_every-single-day_cooper-s-gaze-was-locked-exclusively-on_966566.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cooper’s gaze was locked exclusively on hers, and suddenly it was as if they were the only two people in the…” — Donna Kauffman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/donna-kauffman/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/donna-kauffman/", "name": "First time Quotes by Donna Kauffman", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/donna-kauffman/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/donna-kauffman-2275_first-time_my-my-she-teased-her-heart-full-to-burst_275809.jpg" }, "description": "10 First time quotes by Donna Kauffman. 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