All the stupid things he had said, the way he had prejudged Valeria, the way he had used Alice and Alice's father to annoy her... Christ, it was almost better to open a hole in the ground and throw himself in rather than face Valeria now that he knew the truth!

“Do you like my sister?” Alice asked point-blank.

“Eh? What?”

“Do you like my sister?” Alice was already doubting his intelligence when Nick seemed to wake up.

“Yes,” he admitted, “I like your sister, but I don't think I've been very