“The costume is great," I said to Lysander, "but a crown? Really?"He glared at me, his black wings beating. I'd only been in his shop for thirty minutes, but I was pretty sure the guy already hated me. "It was my understanding that you were to go dressed as the goddess of witchcraft, and Hecate wears a crown.""It's not really a crown, Soph," Jenna offered from her spot on a nearby white satin settee. "It's more like a tiara." She had her chin in her hand, and there was practically a little black rain cloud over her head. We had taken Vix to the airport, so Jenna was Sulky McSulkerton.”

“She couldn’t have been more than twelve years old. In her hands was a sign that said RED-HEADS RULE! with a little crown painted in the corner and tiny stars everywhere. I knew I was the only redhead in the competition, and I noticed that her hair and mine were very nearly the same shade.”

“He crowned her with roses, girded her with verbena, in the costume of an amorous holocaust.”

“Sorry." he said, rubbing his temples. "Do you have any Tylenol?""Nope, sorry. Your doctor's appointment is today right?""Yeah.""Here take this." Jenna rummaged in her purse and took out two tablets.Robbie squinted at them, then tossed them down with the rest of his soda. "What was that?""Cyanide." said Sharon, and we laughed."Actually, it was Midol." Jenna said.Matt whooped with laughter as Robbie gaped at her in dismay."It'll really help." Jenna insisted. "It's what I take for my headaches.""Oh man." Robbie shook his head. I was almost doubled over with laughter."Look at it this way," said Cal brightly. "You won't get that awful bloated feeling.""You'll feel pretty all day." suggested Matt, laughing so hard, he had to wipe his eyes.”

“My eyes went straight to a soft woman who sat facing the wrong way at the bar top. Soft, because I knew if I were to touch her skin, it would feel like a peach, the kind of woman you could almost smell from inside the building. Instead of facing Andy, she had her back to him, keeping an eye on the door. That must be her. Her hair was exquisite. She was really the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. A golden crown of braids and curls complimented her sun-kissed skin. Her dress draped perfectly over her body, and in that moment, I needed her more than I needed air.”

“She ripped the wild bun down from the crown of her head, and then brushed her long hair with her fingers. I couldn’t stop staring while she rewrapped it and tied it back again. I imagined that this was what she looked like in the morning, and then had to think about the first ten minutes of Saving Private Ryan to keep my dick from getting hard.”