“Will you please stop peeking at me like that? This is degrading enough as it is.""Did it ever occur to you," I said, with a sly smile and a wink, "that you're irresistibly handsome, I can't keep my eyes off of you?"He threw his head back in a laugh. "Of course. I should have realized.”

“Weel, hallo there,” he said in a thick accent… He threw his head back and laughed—a rich, joyous sound that bounced off the water… “Aye, that I am, indeed. Aiden MacRae of Eilean Donan. Very pleased to be meeting you.”

“So, are you two going to get married already or waht?"I laughed. "Excuse me?"Carlee rolled her eyes. "Please. You don't even look at other guys. And I have never seen a guy that crazy about a girl before. You're like, his entire world."I shrugged, smiling. "I can't imagine ever finding someone better than Lend. He just--knows me. Totally. Everything. And miraculously he still likes me.""Likes? Girls, he head-over-heels-freaking-loves you.""It's mutual!”

“He was smiling and motioned for me to turn around, and as I did, he stopped me. "What size shorts did you get?""A four. Why?""Maybe you should have gotten a six, those are awfully snug." He didn't take his eyes off the shorts.”

“How did you know to turn back?" I said.With his head still down, he said, "I waited for you.""But its a race. Why did you wait for me?"He lifted his head so that his eyes met mine. "I always wait for you." He took a deep breath, my ankle still in his hands. "I'm always waiting for you."In an embarrassingly breathless voice that didn't sound like my own, I said, "Because I'm so slow?"He smiled. "Yes. But not in the way that you think.”

“You look very handsome, Papa," I say.The twinkle is back in his eyes. "Smoke and mirrors," he says with a wink. "Smoke and mirrors.”