Oh no. Oh God. I couldn't possibly be so stupid." "Don't limit yourself. You can be anything you wish.

Is it truly so unfathomable, that an imperfect girl might be perfectly loved?

He laughed. A strained, ha, ha, ha, I may die of this laugh.

Cleverness is like rouge - liberal application makes a woman look common and desperate. Wit is knowing how to apply it.

She couldn't "heal" him. No woman could. Events that far in the past just couldn't be undone. But perhaps he didn't need a cure, but . . . a lens. Someone who accepted him for the imperfect person he was, and then helped him to see the world clear. Like spectacles did for her.

I know how mirrors work. They're all in league with the cosmetics trade. They tell a woman lies. Drawing her gaze from one imagined flaw to another, until all she sees is a constellation of imperfections. If you could get outside yourself, borrow my eyes for just an instant... There is only beauty.

A man might engage in flirtation with distinterest, even disdain. But he never teases without affection.