Her mind was made up. No one, not even this man, her angelic gift from above, was going to get close enough to hurt her again. Her heart had suffered enough bruises and cuts to last a lifetime and she would be damned before she allowed it to happen again.
But a part of her wanted to believe, if only for a moment, that his sugar-coated words could be true; that she was gifted with both his heart and his mind. There were always those doubts though ... those self-defensive words that crept into her heart just when things looked too perfect. "If it seems too perfect ... then it's not." And this was too perfect ... he was too perfect. But she blindly allowed it to continue, for her mind to be fooled into thinking that maybe, just maybe, he could be the one. Her heart ached to be loved, to be healed from those past wounds that had hardened it so and here before her, was her beacon of light. He shone brightly out among the others, as if sent straight down from heaven above to heal the girl that cried out in pain when alone with her dreams.
She was falling in love ... that much was obvious; not only to herself, but to those around her. They noticed that something different in her mannerisms; the endless smile, the extra bounce in her step, the light in her eyes. It was beauty to behold because for so long she had that dull expression that comes from being trampled beneath the feet of uncaring men. But now ... now her fire was returning and it was glorious indeed. Everyone said so.
But still there was that part of her, that anger that simmered beneath her skin, never too far from her thoughts, over the past heartache and lies that had come her way down this lonely path of love. Even as she sat for hours on end in conversation with him, getting to know him better and allowing him to get to know her, she couldn't help but look at him at times and wonder if he was a master at lying through his teeth. She was starting to think what man wasn't a liar, a thief of hearts, an untamed rogue that could care less of the disasters he left behind in his wake.
In still moments though, she allowed herself to believe ... to dream ... to hope. Perhaps he was the one that would make it all better, to make her past stop haunting her in tormenting moments and allow her to blossom beneath his care and attentions. He was everything that she had hoped for and he was so down to earth, realistically speaking. Financially, he was in control. He had a good head on his shoulders. He was confident about his goals and his abilities to make her dreams a reality. They had so much in common. Would it be so wrong to let him in close?