Who Needs a Dream? Who Needs Ambition?

"It's strange you should say that," Anatoly said, propping his chin against the palm of his hand. "Or not so strange as much as interesting. When I came here, I... well, I thought the opposite. I had resigned myself to a life without love, because I believed it was the right thing for me. I had hurt too many people. I never expected to find what I have here."

He imagined Sookie might be one of the few people he could trust with the story of Florence and what he had gone through but he was hesitant still to share that part of his past. It was still too painful, even now.