"She wasn't going to let herself think it was anything to do with the baby she'd lost, with her past. Not that again. That was behind her and she wasn't going to let it get to her anymore. It was the events of the morning, that was all. She'd just toughen up. That was it, that was what she'd do," Chapter 4, p. 39.

"The fucking chintzy little fifteen-hundred-dollar, quarter-carat trinket—he wanted to rip it off her finger, stomp it under his foot, slap her silly for accepting the stupid thing. But he wasn't going to do that. He was going to smile and say, 'It's really nice Christina. I'm happy for both of you,'" Chapter 8, p. 84.

"Dooher wasn't prepared to be a loser, however. Not to this little upstart gook. That wasn't going to happen. Not now. Not ever," Chapter 9, p. 110.

"The past twenty-five years of...