Sunset Valley backbone

It was Gavrel's turn to be surprised -- and, though he would never admit it, a little hurt. Redd hadn't told her? Hadn't thought to tell her?

The fact of the former was somewhat easier to accept, easier to chalk it off to her usual closemouthed self. But the possibility of the latter scraped against him like fish bones in his throat, and he was unable to hide the furrow of his brows.

Yes, he began, although he felt as if he were speaking from very far away. Who else?

As he stood there, a question drifted shark-like over the seabed of his mind: how in the world could I let someone make me feel this way?

Whether this referred to Masque or Redd, even he was not certain.