"Wow." He raised his brow at her, blinking in childlike fascination. "I guess it really was a good idea to leave assaulting you out of the picture."

He spread his hands out against the counter-top, nails tapping against the counter as he mulled over what to say next. Try to rile her up, calm her down, console her? That last one was out of the question. "No wonder he's so obsessed. But why, oh why, did you need to beat him so badly in the first place? See, I thought he was your, uh, abusive boyfriend, remember? But you said he wasn't. So..."

He looked at her expectantly, leaning against the counter.