“I ran after him, but he was already back with the others. My footsteps echoed in the hollow space below the dock. I stopped. If he'd wanted me to catch him, he'd have let me.”

“He left slowly, as if he had to pry himself away before he something improper. A growing part of me wished he'd stayed.”

“We're going to die, aren't we?" I asked bitterly. He held me so tight I could hardly breathe. But I wanted tighter still. "Not here. I swear it.”

“My heartbeat faltered. He pulled away, taking a little piece of my heart with him.”

“The ways of men and women are such a puzzle. And I could barely decipher my own feelings, let along anyone else's.”

“Thwack. The nail drove deeper, as if Montgomery was driving it into my very heart. How hard was it to fix a loose nail? He hit it again and again, determined to set that bookshelf straight. Determined to do something right, after so much wrong.”

“I folded my arm. "You know, I suspect you and Edward would be friends if it weren't for this place."His eyes were on fire. "It's not this island keeping us from being friends."My pounding heart stole the words to reply to that.”