Starcrossed (Starcrossed 1)

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.?

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?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