“Mama wasn’t Mama anymore, she was Mother, usually followed by a “pallease!”

“How did you wage a battle for a man’s spirit when the man himself wasn’t sure he wanted you to win?”

“You don’t have to be scared anymore, Abby. We’ll figure something out, I promise. We’re in this together.”

“That was also the year I discovered Boys. Or maybe I should say they discovered me. By then I knew what they wanted and I wasn’t buying it.”

“You can’t turn love on and off like a light switch, no matter how hard you try. All you can do is wall it off, one brick at a time, until you’ve created an impenetrable fortress around your emotions. And once that fortress is built, you camouflage it so well that even you can’t see it anymore.”

“Let me come in, please. I’m tired of being alone.”

“Nick? Have you ever…” ”No.” He lifted his head again, studied me. “I’ve thought about it, but it never seemed right.” The idea of him making love to anyone else sent a shaft of pain straight through my middle. “You better wait on me, damn it.” ”I don’t think I have much choice.” He brushed my hair back. “You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted, Alix, the only one I’ll ever want. That’s a promise.”