“My futon was a fancy one with armrests and everything. It was a pain in the ass to get open because it weighed a ton. I figured I’d make the bed when Luke got back. He’d probably be able to pull it out by glaring at it.”

“The phone at my ass started ringing, I leaned forward and pulled it out. “Don’t answer that,” Noah ordered.“Fuck you,” I shot back, saw the display said “Luke calling” and flipped it open.“Yo.”“Babe,” Luke replied.“I’ve been kidnapped again,” I informed him.“I know. I’m following.”

“It was silly, but I couldn’t let go of the hope that one day he’d walk in, look at me, smile and maybe popby my table to have a chat where I would boggle his mind with my brilliance. I’d charm him with mymanner. Then he’d ask me out on a date. At the end of which, maybe, hopefully, I’d finally be able totouch his hair (amongst other things).This never happened.”

“She doesn’t look like a Buster,” I declared, “more like a Princess Fancy Pants.”Tate was bent and pulling a skilled out of a cupboard. His head tipped back and his eyes locked on mine.“You call my cat Princess Fancy Pants, Ace, we got problems.”

“I figure I’d find my way to beauty eventually. And I’d find absolution because I’d know, I earned the love of that woman, a woman who’s got so much to her it’ll take years to dig down and find the heart of her, that would be my reward.” Ohmigod. Ohmigod! Ohmigod!”

“Darlin' you're the greediest piece of ass I've had in my bed in a long fuckin' time. I got a taste for greedy, you think I'm not gonna take it?”

“I lay under Luke, pretty certain I was going to die and wishing I’d made a will. Now, my sisters and mother were going to get all Aunt Ella’s money. I should have left it to Sissy and a cat shelter.”