“Like many people the young man was caught between conflicting cultures, diametrically opposed to each other, and through this he had to navigate. I carry suspicions about him.”

“Doby started to swallow but his throat was so dry he coughed. How would he explain that one to von Portzer? One million dollars stolen.”

“Then the boy made a small cough, and then coughed deeper, and again, and then vomited some salt water. Oh God, thank you!”

“He let you have the pants anyway?" she asked. I had started talking about Maxon as soon as I could, eager to know how their conversation had gone."Yeah. He was very generous about it all.""I think it's charming that he's a good winner.""He is a good winner. He's even gracious when he's gotten the raw end of things." Like a knee to the royal jewels, for example.”

“He let out a sigh. With my head there against his chest, I could faintly make out the sound of his heart beating through his suit coat. It seemed to be rushing. His hand, gentle as ever, reached to cup my cheek. As I looked into his eyes, I felt that unnameable feeling that was growing between us. With his eyes, Maxon asked for something we'd both agree to wait on. I was glad he didn't want to wait anymore. I gave him a tiny nod, and he bridged the small gap between us, kissing me with unimaginable tenderness.”

“He gave a dark chuckle. “But you’re not, so you had absolutely no qualms about kneeing me in the groin, right?”“I hit your thigh!”“Oh, please. A man doesn’t need that long to recover from a knee to the thigh,” he replied, his voice full of skepticism.”

“I remembered suddenly that Aspen had always been this way. He sacrificed sleep for me, he risked getting caught out after curfew for me, he scrounged together pennies for me. Aspen's generosity was harder to see because it wasn't as grand as Maxon's, but the heart behind what he gave was so much bigger.”