“My beautiful Win. I wanted to kiss him on every last broken place, but his mother and my lawyer were there. So, instead I started to cry.”

“But I wondered if all this kissing was a bad habit with him and me. The thing we did with our mouths instead of talking.”

“I was crying a little for the boy I had wanted him to be and the boy he hadn’t turned out to be.”

“My heart was a little bit broken, but I still had to go to school. I buttoned my dress shirt over it and my winter coat, too. I hoped it didn't show too much.”

“Though I hadn't had a stroke like Uncle Yuri, it was still difficult for me to express what was in my heart. I wanted to tell her that I loved her, that she was the most important person in the world to me, that I was truly sorry for having lied to her about Liberty. Instead, I asked her what she wanted for dinner.”

“Why are the cute ones always such sociopaths?""Win doesn't seem like so much of a sociopath," I replied without thinking."Oh, really? So, you think he's cute, do you? At least you're admitting it now."I shook my head. Scarlet was incorrigible."Admitting it is the first step, Annie.”

“His eyes were blazing and I swear I could smell the testosterone coming off him.”