you that I don?t want anyone but you. I never have.?
?You?ve lived your whole life on this island, you don?t know what
?anyone? means yet,? he sighed. ?And you have no idea how . . . Attractive
isn?t the right word. It doesn?t fully describe the effect you
have on men. On me. Look, I?m not a jealous person, Helen, really.
All the other girls I?ve dated . . .? Lucas broke off, took a breath,
and regrouped his thoughts before starting again.
?You know, I never believed in ?The Face That Launched a Thousand
Ships? thing. I used to hate that part in the Iliad. I even
laughed at it,? he said. Then he paused and shook his head ruefully
as he raised his eyes to the sky for a moment, mentally kicking
himself. ?It?s ridiculous, when you think about it. A ten-year war
because some selfish coward ran off with an unfaithful woman? It
made me angry, and I hated Paris and Helen for being so weak.
Then I did something very, very stupid. I swore I would never have
made the same choices they did?that I would have been stronger.
Then, two weeks later, I saw your face for the first time.?
?Wait,? Helen said. She blinked with thirst, fatigue, and shock.
?I?m not Helen of Troy. I?m Helen Hamilton from Nantucket, and
no one is launching anything to come and get me. I think you?re
confused.?
280/395
?I wish I was,? he said hopelessly.
?Hamilton!? yelled Coach Tar, clutching her clipboard and
marching toward them with her eyes wide. ?Are you on fire?!?
Helen looked at where Coach was pointing and realized that the
ground all around her was seared and black. The exit door looked
like something out of a Dali painting.
Luckily, Lucas was a fantastic liar. As a bevy of teachers came
rushing to their aid, he explained that there had been some kind of