“You know who used to scare me when I was a little kid? Snuggle the Bear.""Do I know Snuggle?""In those TV ads for that fabric softener. Somebody would say how soft their robe was or their towels, and Snuggle the teddy bear would be hiding behind a pillow or creeping around under a chair, giggling.""He was just happy that people were pleased.""No, it was maniacal little giggle. And his eyes were glazed. And how did he get in all those houses to hide and giggle?""You're saying Snuggle should've been charged with B and E?""Absolutely. Most of the time when he giggled, he covered his mouth with one paw. I always thought he didn't want you to see his teeth.""Snuggle had bad teeth?" she asked."I figured they were rows of tiny vicious fangs he was hiding. When I was maybe four or five, I used to have nightmares where I'd be in bed with a teddy bear, and it was Snuggle, and he was trying to chew open my jugular and suck the lifeblood out of me."She said, "So much about you suddenly makes more sense than it ever did before.""Maybe if we aren't cops someday, we can open a toy shop.""Can we run a toy shop and have guns?""I don't see why not," he said.”

“When I snuggle Aunt Elizabeth says I squirm. The idea of anyone not knowing the difference between snuggling and squirming.”

“Seth threw me a mischievous grin. “I can’t have Marcus just walking in on us. What if I want to snuggle on these cold New York nights?”My frown increased. “We don’t snuggle.” He dropped his arm over my shoulder, and the scent of mint and something wild tickled my nose. “How about we cuddle?” “We don’t do that either.” “But you’re my cuddle bunny. My little Apollyon cuddle—” I punched him in the side.”

“She sat down on the bed next to Crispen,and he snuggled into the crook of her arm.“I’m getting you dirty,” he whispered.“I don’t care.”“What are we going to do, Mairin?”

“He stared at me. "She liked you, boy." The intensity of his voice and eyes made me blink."Yes," I said."She did it for you, you know.""What?""Gave up her self, for a while there. She loved you that much. What an incredibly lucky kid you were."I could not look at him. "I know."He shook his head with a wistful sadness. "No, you don't. You can't know yet. Maybe someday..."I knew he was tempted to say more. Probably to tell me how stupid I was, how cowardly, that I blew the bestchance I would ever have. But his smile returned, and his eyes were tender again, and nothing harsherthan cherry smoke came out of his mouth.”

“She smiled at him. “How did you know just what I’d want to see?”“How could I not?” he said. “When I think of you, and you are not there, I see you in my mind’s eye always with a book in your hand.” He looked away from her as he said it, but not before she caught the slight flush on his cheekbones. He was so pale, he could never hide even the least blush, she thought — and was surprised how affectionate the thought was.”