Laura didn't stop the next day. She spoke to five different reporters by phone, telling them pretty much all the same thing. She didn't go into great detail but she did confirm that Cole’s father had pretty much kidnapped her by sending her out to Montana. The reporters all seem surprised that she didn't want to press charges but she simply said that she wanted to put the past behind her. She also didn’t want to go into any more detail about Aunt Helen than she needed to. Although she wasn’t happy about the role Aunt Helen had played, Laura had grown close to her and they’d even started talking again recently. As strange as the situation was, she really did like the older woman.

Cole was due in about a half hour and Laura figured that she would just about have everything ready by then. She opened the oven and took a peek at the chicken Parmesan that was baking. The cheese was just beginning to melt. And the lemon cake was on the counter cooling. She reached into a cabinet for a small bowl and dumped in a carton of vanilla frosting into it. Then she added a generous squeeze of lemon and a big handful of fresh raspberries and mixed it all together. She took a quick taste, added a little more lemon and it was perfect. After she frosted the cake, she tossed a salad together and set out plates and silverware on her small dining room table. It was a nice night, not too cool, so she thought maybe they'd sit outside and have a cocktail first like she and Tina used to do.

* * *

At six o'clock on the dot, there was a knock on the door. Laura walked towards feeling surprised by the rush of butterflies in her stomach. She tried to tell herself that it was ridiculous. It was just Cole. But she knew that things were different now. Everything had changed with both of their relationships, and now she had her memories back. Although Cole didn’t know that yet.

"Come on in!" Laura opened the door wide. Cole walked in and gave her a hug.

"Something smells good!"

"Chicken Parmesan is in the oven. I hope that's okay?"

He looked at her little funny. "That's always been one of my favorites."

"Oh good! I thought we might sit outside for us to have a drink."

“Sure. Oh, I brought this for you. The girl at the store said this one is popular.” He handed her a bottle of wine, one of her favorite Chardonnays.

“Thank you. It’s perfect!”

Laura poured drinks for both of them. A glass of wine for her and a bottle of beer for him. They took the drinks outside and sat on the two plastic chairs on her small balcony deck.

"So how did it go today? Did you like any of the places that you saw?" she asked.

"I did. The first two places were pretty sketchy and I was getting discouraged, but the last place she showed me was perfect. I gave her a check on the spot and as long as the background check comes through tomorrow, I'll be able to move in on Monday."

"Oh, that's perfect!"

"How did your day go? Did you talk to any of the reporters?"

"I did. I talked to about five of them. I was exhausted by the time I finished. But I think I gave them enough to keep them happy for a while."

"Hopefully it will die down soon and will be another story that interests them."

"They all asked about your father and if I plan to press charges. I told them no, which seemed to confuse them."

"Did they ask about Aunt Helen?"

"Just briefly. I really didn't go into much detail about anything. Oh, I did stress that you and I are just friends and there has been no cheating of any kind going on. I may have acted a bit outraged."

Cole laughed. "Thank you. I do appreciate that."

"So, are you hungry? We can head in and eat.”

They went inside, and Laura dished out the chicken Parmesan onto two plates while Cole brought the bowl of salad to the table. He raved about her cooking as they ate. As they were just about finished Laura asked if he saved room for dessert.

"I always have room for dessert. What are we having?"

"An old favorite that I haven't had in a while. Lemon cake with lemon raspberry frosting."

Laura almost laughed at the look of shock on Cole’s face.

"You remembered?" he asked softly. It was the first meal she’d ever cooked for him. She’d wanted to make his eighteenth birthday special and she knew chicken Parmesan and lemon cake were his favorites.

Laura smiled. "I remember pretty much everything now.”

He still looked stunned. "When? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"It started when we went by the high school. But when you took me to the trailer park, the memories came rushing in and it was overwhelming. I didn't say anything then because I needed to process it all and because it just didn't feel right somehow. You were showing me around being so nice, and I thought you were happily married.”

Laura paused for a moment. “And I was suddenly remembering how much I loved you and how in love we were. So, I didn't know what to say. I wanted to tell you but it just didn't feel like the right moment, if that makes sense?"

"It does. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that you remember."

"I know. What we had was so special and so rare."

"I think that's partly why I married Chelsea. I dated a lot of girls after we broke up but none of them not even Chelsea made me feel the way that you did. I didn't think that I never find that kind of love again and I figured Chelsea was as close as I’d get."

"I probably never should've dated Dylan as long as I did. It was just easy and for a long time we did have fun together. But it was more serious for him than for me. You set a high bar."

Laura stood as a rush of emotion came over her and she felt her eyes water. She brought their plates to the sink and rinsed them as she fought back tears. She was just about to reach for the cake plates when she felt Cole’s arms wrapped around her from behind. He turned her to face him and she caught her breath when she saw the look in his eyes.

"Laura, this might sound crazy but is there any chance…"

She nodded, and joy filled her heart as Cole brought his lips down to hers. It felt wonderful—natural and familiar at the same time. They kissed tentatively at first, tasting each other and finding their way back. And then they deepened the kiss and moved closer together. Laura breathed in his scent and sighed. Finally, she felt as though all was right in her world.

When they finally pulled apart, both of them were speechless. Laura spoke first. "Are you ready for some cake?"

Cole laughed. "Sure, I'd love a piece."

They took the cake outside and ate on the balcony and talked for over an hour remembering old times. Until finally, it was dark and the air grew cold and they went back inside.

"I should probably head home soon I suppose," Cole said.

"Back to that sad motel room?" Laura smiled. "I have a better idea." She took his hand and pulled him toward her and a slow happy smile spread across his face.

"Are you sure? There is nothing in this world that I would want more than to stay here with you."

"We have a lot more catching up to do." Laura leaned in and kissed Cole lightly on the lips and then pulled him down the hall to her bedroom and shut the door behind them.

* * *

After the best night he’d had in years, Cole had an even better day after as he and Laura relaxed in her apartment all day, eating when they felt hungry, working on different songs together and more than once falling back into Laura’s welcoming bed. For Cole, it was as if the lost years had disappeared and they were back to where they were, Laura and Cole. Laura seemed to feel it too.

Later that afternoon, when Cole was beginning to wonder if he’d worn out his welcome, Laura seemed to sense it. She came to him, wrapped her arms around him and after a long, sweet kiss said, “Why don’t you check out of that hotel room, and stay here until Monday?” She didn’t have to ask him twice.

He went back to the hotel and just as he was almost done packing everything up, Chelsea called.

“I talked to an attorney this morning. If we do a no-fault divorce there’s a year waiting period. If we do fault, it’s just ninety days. What do you think we should do? I had no idea about the one-year waiting period, did you?”

“I didn’t think of it, but I should have remembered that. We can do fault. Tell them I cheated.”

“Are you sure?” Chelsea sounded relieved.

“Yeah. It’s in the papers, so we might as well go with it.”

“Thank you. I really didn’t want to wait a year.”

“I know.” Cole knew that once Chelsea had her mind made up, she was ready to move on and anxious to start dating Austin. And though he didn’t like to think of it as cheating, since both he and Chelsea wanted the divorce, now that he and Laura had been together, it did qualify as adultery in the eyes of the court. South Carolina had a one-year separation policy for a no fault divorce and during that time dating was considered grounds for adultery, so it made sense to go with it. Neither one of them wanted to wait a whole year. Cole was ready to put his marriage behind him and move on to his future with Laura as soon as possible.