“But Fazire didn’t do exactly what she said.He did make her perfect.He made her bright and funny and very, verytalented.He made her sweet and thoughtful and very,very caring.He made her generous and kind and very, verylovingHe decided not to make her beautiful, at leastnot at first, because she should know humilityand not grow up with conceit.Though, she would become a beauty, a splendidbeauty beyond compare.Just… later.”

“One day, I wish to find a man like in mybooks. He has to be just like in one of my books.And he has to love me, love me more than anythingin the world. Most important of all, he hasto think I’m beautiful.”“Lily, I need to tell you something.” Fazirewas going to tell her about Becky’s wish and hismistake and let her look forward to something, lether look forward to the incomparable beauty shewas going to be.Most of all, he had to stop her wish now. Hedidn’t want her wasting it on some fool idea. Hewanted it to be special, perfect, to make her worldbetter like she had made Becky and Will’s and,indeed, his.But again she didn’t hear him. Her eyes werebright and they were steady on his.“He has to be tall, very tall and dark andbroad-shouldered and narrow-hipped.”Fazire stared. He didn’t even know what“narrow-hipped” meant.“And he has to be handsome, unbelievablyhandsome, impossibly handsome with a strong,square jaw and powerful cheekbones and tannedskin and beautiful eyes with lush, thick lashes.He has to be clever and very wealthy but hardworking.He has to be virile, fierce, ruthless andrugged.”Now she was getting over his head. He didn’tthink there was such a thing as impossibly handsome.How cheekbones could be powerful,Fazire didn’t know. He was even thinking hemight have to look up “virile” in the dictionarySarah had given him.“And he has to be hard and cold and maybe alittle bit forbidding, a little bit bad with a brokenheart I have to mend or one encased in ice I haveto melt or better yet… both!”Fazire thought this was getting a bit ridiculous.It was the most complicated wish he’d everheard.But she wasn’t yet finished.“We have to go through some trials and tribulations.Something to test our love, make it strongand worthy. And… and… he has to be daring andvery masculine. Powerful. People must respecthim, maybe even fear him. Graceful too and lithe,like a… like a cat! Or a lion. Or something likethat.”She was losing steam and Fazire had to admithe was grateful for it.“And he has to be a good lover.” Lily shockedFazire by saying. “The best, so good, he could almostmake love to me just by using his eyes.”Fazire felt himself blush. Perhaps he shouldhave a look at these books she was reading andshow them to Becky. Lily was a very sharp girl,sharp as a tack (another one of Sarah’s sayings,although Fazire couldn’t imagine a tack ever beingas clever as Lily) but she was too young tobe reading about any man making love to herwith his eyes. Fazire had never made love, neverwould, genies just didn’t. But he was pretty certainfourteen year old girls shouldn’t be thinkingabout it.Though, he was wrong about that, or at leastBecky would tell him that later.Then Fazire realised she’d stopped talking.“Is that it?” he asked.She thought for a bit, clearly not wanting toleave anything out.Then she nodded.”

“<…>Days before, seconds after she told him she wanted to have breakfast with her husband and he liked hearing her say that, he liked it too fucking much, he fucked up. Then he kept fucking up. Then he kept fucking doing it. He knew it and he couldn't stop. Then, the instant she pressed her mouth to his, her soft body in his lap, overwhelmed with emotion and sharing that with him he lost control and he knew he couldn't do that. And the only way he could manage to keep control was to stay the fuck away from her, her sweet smiles, her soft voice, her brightness, that fantastic fucking body. He couldn't hold up. So he stayed the fuck away from her and spent a lot of time thinking about how to encourage her to stay the fuck away from him.<…>”

“You told me you’d never let me go,” shewhispered but it was an accusation.His eyes closed and the pain in them sweptover his entire face and settled there like it wouldnever, ever leave.Then he shocked her again. He dropped hisforehead to hers and kept his hands on her.Something out of her control made her continue.“You told me,” she said in a shaky voice,“you’d always take care of me.”He opened his eyes and stared into hers. Hewas so close that if she moved the lower half ofher face forward, less than an inch, she wouldhave been kissing him.“You didn’t take care of me,” she murmured,stating the obvious.”

“But she was one of those skanky skanks who looked cool. Who worked her skankedness. Who made skankdom something you'd consider aspiring to.”

“Sjofn is the Goddess of Love. And love,” her eyelids suddenly fluttered dreamily, “love,” she breathed then she focused on me with a strange intensity that made me, even me, squirm a little, “love is everything.”

“She nodded, grabbed her purse out of the drawer and skedaddled, walking like she was on a catwalk, one foot in front of the other, her ass swaying under the skirt of her expensive, tailored suit.Bitch. I thought again, watching her go.“No comparison,” Luke said after the door closed behind Dawn and I turned to him.“Excuse me?”“Dawn’s a man eater. You’re not. No comparison,” Luke answered and I didn’t know how to take that.“Is that good?”The half-smile came back.“Most men prefer to do the eating.”Holy fucking cow.”