I had never felt the allure of another human being this strongly, warmth and curiosity mixing to form an unspoken question in the air.

The trick was forgetting about what she had lost ...and learning to go on with what she had left.

He never knew what hit him, and that would have comforted me, except . . . just for one second, he would have had to know, wouldn't he? There must have been a blur, a sense of the world exploding, a flashpoint of receiving more damage than a human body could endure.

Be careful dear that you don’t end up as the queen of a lonely kingdom

Ah, there’s the governess voice. All stern and disapproving. It makes me feel like a naughty schoolboy.

I never take advice, good or bad. That would only encourage more of it.

Because letting someone in close meant they could hurt you. I knew all about that kind of fear. I lived with it.