Free Fresh Cut Romance by Dee Dawning

know they've only known each other a short time, but she is enthralled by him. And frankly, he seems every bit as beguiled by her."
    " I know. They even slept together."
    " She told you that?"
    " You know Laurel. She's an open book. After I figured it out she admitted it. That bothers me some, but not as much as the fact she can't remember."
    " Why Daddy?"
    " Something bad must have happened for her subconscious to expunge the memory."
    " Daddy. I think we better talk. I'll be there at eleven tomorrow. And don't make lemonade."
    " I thought you like my lemonade."
    " I do but for this discussion, coffee is in order. Oh. One more thing Daddy."
    " What Sweetheart?"
    " Julian reminds me of you."

 
     
    Chapter Seven – Laurel does it (sort of)
    "Thou art to me a delicious torment."   ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~
     
    I closed the lid on the cauliflower, flung off the apron and raced to the door. Peeking through the peephole confirmed my expectation. It was her. I yanked the door open, stepped outside, directly in front of her and taking her in my arms, kissed her madly.
    Coming up for breath and backing away slightly, she sighed, "Wow. That was some greeting."
    Smiling, I took hold of her hand and led her inside. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I haven't seen you for ten and a half hours. You monopolized my thoughts all day." I lifted her hand as I bent down and kissed it.
    " I missed you too."
    I broke an awkward moment by shrugging and asking, "So would you like a glass of wine? Oh that's right, no wine or alcohol."
    * * * *
    A flash of heat surged though me. Darn, once again my body betrayed me at the mere suggestion of what I'd planned tonight. I smiled at Julian. "It's alright a glass of wine would be nice. Could you water it down though?"
    " Sure have a seat, dinner will be right up." I sat on the couch and he turned to go into his kitchen. All of a sudden, he stopped and turned back toward me. "If you would like, I could add sparkling water and make it a spritzer?"
    " That sounds nice."
    He started to turn again. "Julian, before you leave. There is something I should tell you."
    " Yes."
    " I know it was my idea to make love tonight, but I'm afraid I've gone and done something that is going to cause us to postpone it, if you want to do it at all."
    " Why's that sweetheart?"
    " Tess and I went to your sister's spa this afternoon."
    " Yes."
    " I wasn't using my head and to make a long story short I got a Brazilian wax and well…" 
    " I know what you're going to say. You're a little raw. It doesn't matter. We can take it easy or we don't have to do anything. I love your company. Let me get dinner up and afterward we can talk about it."
     
    Dinner was delicious. Julian is a fantastic cook. After dinner, Julian made coffee. We had coffee and dessert—homemade lemon bars in the living room on the couch. We talked. He told funny stories about his work and I told him about our day at the spa. I mentioned my meeting with father and how he wanted to meet him. Then I asked him about Sarah. He didn't really want to talk about her.
    He set his coffee down on the coffee table and took my hands. "Damn, I wish she hadn't told you. I actually liked Sarah. Not like I do you, but enough that I would have kept seeing her if she hadn't become so needy. She became possessive, buying me presents, dropping in, trying to monopolize my time."
    "Sounds like "Fatal Attraction.'"
    "No, I'm still alive. Luckily, she wasn't like that. We had a talk. I told her she was a great gal, but too old for me."
    "Well, I'm glad, 'cause now I have a shot at you." Did I just say that?
    He laughed. "You have better than a shot. Is thirty-six hours enough time to fall in love?"
    Love? He's talking love and I'm committed to God . Then I remembered—he took my virginity. "I hope so since we had sex after what, fourteen hours?"
    His bright smile faded as his gaze lowered. "Yeah right. There's something I should tell you."
    "And there's something I should tell