“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.”

“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.”

“Now very much against her will, she thought of the way Jace had looked at her then, the blaze of faith in his eyes, his belief in her. He had always thought she was strong. He had showed it in everything he did, in every look and every touch. Simon had faith in her too, yet when he'd held her, it had been as if she were something fragile, something made of delicate glass. But Jace had held her with all the strength he had, never wondering if she could take it--he'd known she was as strong has he was.”

“He came to be very glad that he had known her, and that she had had a hand in breaking him in to life. He has known pretty women and clever ones since then,-- but never one like her, as she was in her best days. Her eyes, when they laughed for a moment into one`s own, seemed to promise a wild delight that he has not found in life. "I know where it is," they seemed to say, "I could show you!”

“She is gambling that he is good. There on the table, neither frozen nor yet moving, Lane Dean Jr. sees all this, and is moved with pity and with also something more, something without any name he knows, that is given to him to feel in the form of a question that never once in all the long week's thinking and division had even so much as occurred -- why is he so sure he doesn't love her? Why is one kind of love any different? What if he has no earthly idea what love is? What would even Jesus do? For it was just now he felt her two small strong hands on his, to turn him. What if he is just afraid, if the truth is no more than this, and if what to pray for is not even love but simple courage, to meet both her eyes as she says it and trust his heart?”

“Wait for me.”If his voice was just a bit hoarse, she didn’t seem to take note of it. She looked at him as though he had reached over and slapped her. “You don’t trust me? After all that talk of taking me for my word—”“This isn’t about trust.”“That is precisely what this is about.” Her fingers fisted in her skirts. “Because I’ve trusted you.”It hurt him to hear it. He didn’t know what else to do. He had no contacts left. He was walking around now like a blind man. He didn’t need the added weight of her safety on his conscience. Caine’s eyes fell away again. “Maybe you shouldn’t.”That earned him a flustered: “You told me to!”

“After that, Lily was recuperating and thendealing with significant financial hardships. Thebirth was described to me by Lily and also byher obstetrician, who I spoke to myself yesterday.The doctor, in his own words, remembers whathe describes as that ‘hideous day’ like it was yesterday.The labour, intense and excruciating, lastedfor days. In the end, in extreme distress atthe length of the labour, the baby nearly died.Lily did die. She was flatline for two minutes andthirty-eight –”Alistair didn’t get the opportunity to finish hisgrand statement because Nate surged out of hischair so fast, it flew on its wheels and shot acrossthe room, slamming into the wall.“Mr. McAllister…” Alistair said warninglybut Nate was coming swiftly around the table,coming at her.At this sight, Lily, too, jumped out of her chairin a panic, her numbness not that complete, andbacked away in self-defence as Nate came at her,came at her with purposeful, long strides. Shebacked up jerkily, one hand behind her, one handin front, retreating until she hit the wall. Beforeshe knew what he was about, his hard chest cameup against her hand, pushing it back and his bodypressed against hers.Terrified and confused at this sudden change,she looked to the right and to the left, anywherefor escape, anywhere but at Nate.And to her shock, his hands caught her face,resting one on either side, gently trying to forceher to look into his impossibly dark eyes.“I didn’t know,” he whispered and the absoluteache dripping from his first words said to hersince she found out he was alive cut through herthin shield of numbness like a razor.She attempted to pull her face free but hishands tightened.“Lily, I didn’t know,” he repeated, and shecaught his eyes and they were glittering dark withsomething that she couldn’t read, somethinghideously painful and she had to get away fromit. Was desperate to get away from it. She neededto flee.She tried to look over his shoulder but he wastoo tall, too close. Things were happening in theroom, there was urgent talk, maybe even a tussle.But all she could see was Nate.”