“...as a woman who was raised with the idea that the world was at my fingertips, that anything I wanted could be mine for the taking, on the eve of my thirtieth birthday I am ready to stand up and say that trying to have it all is not all it's cracked up to be.”

“Without a bellyful of liquor, all I am is a woman who cracks stupid jokes to make up for being shy.”

“When's your birthday?"I was taken aback by the question. "I don't like presents,"I said quickly, in case he got any ideas. "Who said anything about presents? I'm just asking for your date of birth.""Thirtieth of February," I said, throwing out the first date that came to mind.Xavier raised an eyebrow."Are you sure about that?"I panicked. What had I said wrong? I ran through the months in my head and realised my mistake. OOPS--there were only twenty-eight days in February! "I mean thirtieth of April," I corrected and grinned sheepishly.Xavier laughed. "You're the first person I've ever known to forget her own birthday.”

“But I recently celebrated my thirtieth birthday and became acutely aware of my age, and the passing of time.”

“I want the world, I want the whole world. I want to lock it all up in my pocket,/It's my bar of chocolate/Give it to me now! I want today/I want tomorrow . . . And if I don't get the things I am after/I'm going to scream!”

“Ready?"Despite the grim mood, I smiled and cracked my knuckles. "Ready to wrestle with my gorgeous boyfriend? Oh, I'd say I'm ready for that."Amusement softened his eyes. "I'll try to control where I put my hands, but in the heat of things, who knows what could happen?" I added. Patch grinned. "Sounds promising.”