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“You could be the star You have the leading-man looks”

“God, I don’t have leading-man looks”

He couldn’t possibly believe he was ugly “You do have a ht?” Paul asked

“George Clooney has leading-man looks,” Ian said “Me, I’m just…”

“What?”

“Well, ‘pretty’ is always the word that people use”

Well, of course, Paul thought It was the right word The softness and the delicate vulnerability of Ian’s face ignited the same protective instincts he’d felt when attracted to a woman But it was not the feminine aspects that excited Paul Prettiness in a woman was perfectly ordinary, expected, and therefore not i

ntriguing It was the coy—his angular shapes, the deep voice, his confident stance: yin and yang in one form Masculine prettiness fascinated

“That’s not bad, is it?” Paul asked

“Not if you’re a little girl”

“They probably mean it as a compliment”

“It’s not very serious Handsome is serious Pretty means, ‘Well, he’s nice to look at, but I think I’ll have a conversation with someone else’”

“They wouldn’t say that if they knew you”

“The kids at school would laugh and say, ‘Are you a boy or a girl?’”

“Kids always tease you about sos you could have been picked on for than being too good-looking”