“She watched him, her head angled. He sometimes felt that she looked at him the way a cat regards a mouse. He just wondered how long it would take for her to pounce.”

“Sometimes he felt her watching him in return. Studying him. Once he heard her breathing stop, then start then stop again. 'What is it?' he asked, and she frowned a little. I'm trying to breathe with you.”

“He wondered if that was her version of a green light. He hoped it was. If he thought she would believe him, he'd tell her how he wanted to protect Miracle, how he wanted to make her happy forever and make sure nothing happened to her, to make sure she never shed another tear as long as she lived.”

“She sometimes thought she was going crazy. Her first thought when she woke up was always how to get him out of her thoughts. And she would keep watch, hoping to see him next door, while plotting ways to never have to see him again. ”

“She would tell him what she wanted in her life--her hopes and dreams for the future--and he would listen intently and then promise to make it all come true. And the way he said it made her believe him, and she knew how much he meant to her.”

“Whether he loved her or not didn't change how she felt about him. She loved him independent and regardless of whether he loved her.”