“For one never thinks of you alone, Cremuel, but in company, studying the faces of other people, as if you yourself mean to paint them. You make other men think, not “what does he look like?” but “what do I look like?”

“What do you think? Does this face make me look fat?”

“Nuala shot me a hard look. "Shut up. I don't think love has anything to do with how the other person is. I mean, maybe a little. I think what really matters is you yourself. Like, you know, let's say you lo- really liked a self-involved ass. That doesn't matter. What matters is how that ass makes you feel. If you feel like the best person in the world when you're with him, that's what makes you like him. It really isn't about how nice of a person he is at all.”

“If you do not like a certain behavior in others, look within yourself to find the roots of what discomforts you.”

“I don’t like the way he looks at you.”My stomach lurched. “What do you mean? How does he look at me?”“Like you’re not a student and he’s not a teacher.”

“Do you know what the name Astrid means?" He switched gears again and I was helpless to follow."No."It means 'star'. That's what I think of you as, Abbey. One day I looked up, and there you were. A fiery spot of light surrounded by darkness. You make me feel like anything is possible.”