“Nothing's going to happen between us until you're ready for it to happen."She stared at him, stil clutching her stick in a death grip, then finally nodded and silently walked to her car. She let Toby in the backseat, then opened the passenger door and slid the tip of her stick on the floor to lean it against the console."Jess," Ian said quietly.She turned, still not saying anything."Just so long as you know that it is going to happen.”

“Nothing's going to happen to you," Max interrupted, gripping my shoulders and forcing me to look at him. "Because you're not going to do it. You're going to tell her to go to hell!”

“At the door, she made him promise to go without goodbyes. She closed the door on him. Laila leaned her back against it, shaking against his pounding fists, one arm gripping her belly and a hand across her mouth, as he spoke throughout the door and promised that he would come back for her. She stood there until he tired, until he gave u , and then she listened to his uneven footsteps until they faded, until all was quiet, save for the gunfire cracking in the hills and her own heart thudding in her belly, her eyes, her bones.”

“When you get to be my age," Maude said "most things were a long time ago. But in here?" She tapped her chest... "Some things happened yesterday.""I nodded. I could feel how that was going to happen. It was already happening.”

“He nodded slowly. “Okay.” He squeezed her shoulder gently, then leaned forward until his lips were almost touching her ear. “But for what it's worth...I'm not sorry.” And then he turned his head and kissed her. It was a dirty trick, right in the middle of the break room, where anyone could walk in. But she couldn't help kissing him back, smelling his scent, familiar as always, but now somehow new—it made her shiver. But when she finally leaned into him, to steady herself, to let him steady her, he wrapped his hands around her upper arms and moved her back, just an inch. Then he placed one final, close-mouthed kiss on her primed lips. “Have a nice class, Emma.” Then he turned and walked away. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. Then opened and closed it again. Giving up, she crossed her arms, rubbing the skin that Noah had just touched. And she was ten minutes late for class.”

“Susan hardly had begun to slow down when Tera appeared from between a couple of buildings and loped over to the car. I leaned forward, opened the door, and she got into the backseat. I threw her the extra clothes I had picked up, and she began to dress without comment.It worked," I said. "We did it."Of course it worked," Tera said. "Men are foolish. They will stare at anything female and naked.”