“You make me proud every day.” Lucy and I start to groan, ready to tell him to stop being so sappy, when he laughs. “And I’m most proud when you’re home by curfew without any boys around.”

“Every man in this room wants you, Caro. I’m so fucking proud, I can’t stop smiling.”

“You’re going to make me dance to this, aren’t you?” he asked.“It’s Valentine’s Day, Finch. Pretend I’m a boy.”He laughed, pulling me into his arms. “It’s hard to do that when you’re wearing a short pink dress.”“Whatever. Like you’ve never seen a boy in a dress.”Finch shrugged. “True.”

“I was proud to be brown in my own way. Well, I was at school; at school I was brown about the funky stuff that came with being vegetarian, like being really arrogant about it, declaring proudly to a room full of beefeaters when Mad Cow disease initially broke that it was 'Vishnu's way of telling y'all to stop eating and start worshipping'.”

“I'm so proud of you that it makes me proud of me. I hope you know that.”

“Just so you know, I’m goin’ to enlist.”“I’m proud of you. But why?”I groan against the pain but manage to give him a half smile. “I want to make sure Kiara’s got a boyfriend who has more to offer than a hot bod and a face that could make angels weep.”