“... to me, a restaurant with no menu, headed by a chef I trusted, would be ideal. In such a utopia, guests could specify deathly allergies, hunger level, and time constraints, but then they would unfurl their napkin and surrender".”

“This was what she needed… the quiet turning to the other in the middle of the night, the wordless meeting of lips, skin, breath. The trust, unfurling one pale petal at a time, that he would be there.”

“I would never appear on any television show that would have me for a guest.”

“What we want, of course, what lies in the cupboard marked 'important,' is connection, love: If the deepest source of human hunger had a name, that would be it; if the boxes of constraint in which so many women live could be smashed to bits, that would be the tool, the sledgehammer that shatters emptiness and uncovers the hope buried beneath it.”

“I was just reminding myself that I could get over heartbreak if it happened another time. ... I'll be back again.Yes, I would be back. I could take chances with my heart and I would be able to bounce back, and anything that might hurt me would just make me stronger in the end.And I did deserve everything I wanted-- somebody who would appreciate me, someone I could trust, someone who liked me for me.”

“It was a simple lesson, really. He could never, ever allow misplaced ideals to seduce him. He would not employ death as a tool.”