“I'm not short," Daisy muttered. "Short women are never mysterious, or elegant, or pursued by handsome men. And they're always treated like children. I refuse to be short.”

“I’m not short. I’m…vertically disadvantaged.”

“Hello?""How's it going?" Dane asked.I relaxed at the familiar voice. "I'm having a fling with a younger man," I told him. "He's kind of short for me, and there's a little incontinence problem . . . but we're working to get beyond all that.”

“All my relationships are short and sweet. Well...short, anyway.""Mine too."I sat in a leather chair near the sofa. It was stylish but uncomfortable, shaped like a cube and encased in a polished chrome frame. "I guess that's bad, isn't it?"He shook his head. "It shouldn't take a long time to figure out if someone is right for you. If it does, you're either dense or blind.""Or maybe you're dating an armadillo."Gage shot me a perplexed glance. "Pardon?""I mean someone who's hard to set to know. Shy and heavily armored.""And ugly?""Armadillos aren't ugly," I protested, laughing."They're bulletproof lizards.""I think you're an armadillo.""I'm not shy.""But you are heavily armored."Gage considered that. He conceded the point with a brief nod. "Having learned about projection in couples counseling, I'd venture to say you're an armadillo too.""What's projection?""It means you accuse me of the same things you're guilty of""Good Lord," I said, lifting the wineglass to my lips. "No wonder all your relationships are short.”

“So if you were dating the UPS guy, he could buy you whatever the hell he wanted. But I cant."well...yes, but I'd never date the UPS guy. Those brown shorts are just not a turn-on for me.”

“Come on, Ella. Sleep green.'Ignoring him, I got into bed wearing a T-shirt and boxer shorts printed with penguins. I reached over to the nightstand and flipped off the lamp.A moment of silence, and then I heard a lecherous murmur. 'I like your penguins.”

“But one wrong half turn of a steering wheel, one patch of wet road, one out of control moment, and the amount of life measured out to Victoria Nolan had run cruelly short.”