“So he was a sweet-talking, cross-dressing, fortune-telling...surfer?”

“Minx,” he whispered before he left me to get dressed so that we could plan our new destiny.”

“Apparently, during the ‘80s, nobody really dressed like Madonna except for Madonna.”

“How can I be sure? Tell me something only you would know.” There went his hands to his hair again. And when that frustrated him, he did the fist thing. So far,he was very convincing. “You want trivia right now?”“Yes!” Why did he always make things so difficult? Add another check to the “He’s probably Gabe” list.“Like what?” I had to stop looking at his head. “I don’t know.What tattoo do I have on my left boob?”“I thought you said to tel you something only I would know.”

“If I ever offer to plan your wedding or sweet sixteen or something, do yourself a favor and run away screaming.”

“I just called to tell you good night. Get some sleep, Theia. Tomorrow is a big day.”“I would sleep much better if you were here.” As soon as the words spilled out of my mouth,I wanted to die of embarrassment. Haden and I were close, but we hadn’t gotten that close yet. “I mean . . . it’s just that when you’re near I’m not as agitated. Not that I want to sleep with you.” I needed to stop talking—I was making it worse.“You don’t?” He was teasing now. “Now you’ve hurt my male pride.”

“Sometimes, talking about our fears can lessen the fear.”