From Lukov with Love Quotes

“i love you so fucking much, jasmine, that if i broke my ankle during a program, i would get up and finish it for you, to get you what you've always wanted”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“Yeah. I couldn’t ignore shit. Had I ever been that annoying? That girly?”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“If you were going to cry for anyone, it was going to be me.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“Jasmine, this body—these thighs you think I’m going to make fun of you over, and this ass you think the same thing of—are going to win us first place from now on. I wouldn’t make fun of it. I wouldn’t make fun of you. We’ll do it like we always do. When we step out on the ice, it’s work. It’s us focusing, not fucking around.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“You’re the best figure skater I’ve ever seen,” this man whispered directly into my ear, his hold the strongest thing I had ever felt in my life. “You are. The most athletic. The strongest. The toughest. The hardest working—”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“You’re not ever going to be anyone else’s partner. Not while I’m alive, Meatball. I will drag your stubborn, beautiful ass kicking and screaming back to me because nobody else will ever be good enough for you.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“From waking up late to not being able to land a jump that morning either, to spilling coffee down my shirt at work twice, opening my car door and having it almost break my kneecap,”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“You’re my friend, Jasmine. Not just my fucking partner.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“To Meatball From your best friend, Ivan”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“I loved him. I loved this man so much that losing him was going to break my cold, dead heart into so many pieces I was just going to have to stick them in the same box I kept my dreams and carry it around with me forever. I didn’t want someone to pat my cheek and tell me everything was going to be okay. I wanted this man who would never take my shit, who would never let me quit, and I had a feeling would never quit on me. Not ever. Not if I screamed, not if I kicked, not if I told him to go eat a thousand mounds of shit. This was my partner. This was more than my partner. He was my other half. And the only thing I could do to thank him for this gift he’d given me, this knowledge that he thought I was invincible, was to make sure we won. I’d give him the thing he had wanted me for in the first place. I’d give him my fucking all.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“Even if I won all the upcoming races, I'd still be just stupid, incompetent Jasmine to my dad. Very disappointing. Cold, thin, angry Jasmine with her dreams that cost a lot of money and are a waste of time. I wasn't good enough when my dad left us, and I'm not good enough now.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“My dad thought it was funny to say that I only had two emotions: indifferent and pissed off.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“But my mom had told me once that regret was worse than fear. I hadn’t understood it then, but I did now.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“Because I’m okay with you have ten other people be your favorite. But you’re always going to be my favorite person.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“What is Ivan’s favorite color?” I glanced at Ivan and made a face. “Black,” I answered, but mouthed like your heart. He rolled his eyes. “Is that true?” the other woman asked, moving her gaze from the computer back to us. “I don’t have a favorite color,” Ivan answered. “What is Jasmine’s favorite?” she asked. He glanced at me at the same time the woman looked away, “Red.” Then added like the blood of the children you eat.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“She’s been giving me a lot of sass this morning, picking on her sisters, trying to steal food, peeing on one of the beds because she got in trouble,” he explained like it was the most natural thing in the world. I didn’t know what to say. The dog had been giving him sass, picking on her sisters, trying to steal food, and had peed out of revenge. Just like that. So I didn’t say anything else. Because what the hell else was I supposed to do?”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“And then he cut me off. With his mouth. His lips pressed to mine. Surged to mine. Covered them. Hard. And then he kissed my upper lip between his while I was still trying to figure out what the fuck was happening. Ivan was kissing me. Kissing me.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“I love you so much I spend all day with you, and it still isn’t enough for me,”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“We both know you love me.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“You're enough. You will always be enough.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“God forbid, you have kids with someone that’s not perfect. Dumbass.” “Right?” He snorted, looking down at the baby before glancing back at me with a smile I wasn’t a fan of. “They might come out short, with mean, squinty, little eyes, a big mouth, heavy bones, and a bad attitude.” I blinked. “I hope you get abducted by aliens.” Ivan laughed, and the sound of it made me smile. “You would miss me.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“Hesitating for just a moment, I extended my hand out toward him. And it hovered there. For a second. For two seconds. For three seconds. Three more seconds and I was going to slap him in the face.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“You don’t have to… kiss… or anything like that. Just… be friendly, smile at each other, don’t act like… like… you think the other has cooties,” she offered, as if that was better. I was going to ignore the fact she’d used the word cooties to describe what we thought of each other. I thought he was the devil, or at least an immediate family member to him… or her; I didn’t think Ivan had cooties.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“I should have known that today would be the day this would happen, I thought to myself, as I turned the key in the ignition and heard nothing. Not the choke of the engine trying to turn on. Nothing. Just a click. “Goddammit,” I hissed as I banged my forearms on the steering wheel and hissed out, “Mother-fucking-son-of-a-bitch-ass-whore. FUCK ME!”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“And one of the best lessons I’d ever learned figure skating was that when you fell, you got right back up and acted like nothing had happened to begin with. You made things important, or you didn’t. And if you got up and smiled and held your head up high… you still had your dignity.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“I blinked. “I hope you get abducted by aliens.” Ivan laughed, and the sound of it made me smile. “You would miss me.” All I said, while shrugging was, “Meh. I know I’d get to see you again someday—” He smiled. “—in hell.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“What is it?” as he turned to his giant rolling suitcase and dug his hand into large pocket on the outside of it. “I thought we were past you thinking I’m going to randomly kill you.” “I don’t think we’ll ever be past that.” Ivan laughed with his back to me. “My plan is to kill you after worlds. Get it right.” “I’ll write it down in my calendar then. Thank you for the warning.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“I love the way you smile,” he said with a dreamy, sleepy expression. “I want to tell you to do it more often, but I don’t.” I took in every inch of that flawless face. “Why?” He didn’t even have his eyes open as he responded. “Because you don’t give it to everyone.” His cheek rested against mine, that sweaty chest did the same as he said, “And I don’t plan on sharing you.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“Most importantly, it had been nine years since we’d gotten married. Nine years and three months from the moment he had said, panting and red-faced, out on the ice at the end of our long program while the crowd went fucking nuts, “I think you should marry me, Meatball.” I’d only made him ask three times.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“With her favorite red scarf”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love