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Before I know what I’m doing, my fingers wind up doing their own walking as I fascinatedly touch the dark stubble along his jawline. My entire body shivers on contact. “And how do you know me?” I finally manage to ask. I need a towel to wipe the drool I’m sure is puddled in my lap.
He manages to give me a small smile. “Well, I was meeting you downtown for dinner. We were going out on our fourth date.” His voice is deep and sexy, and then he shakes his head with slight amusement. “You see, you were playing a game of hard to get with me. I had to play by your silly set of rules in order to date you. So each date we’ve gone on, you only allow each of us to ask one personal question about the other.” He gives me a look of admonishment. “I didn’t understand your little game, but I knew one thing: I would do anything just to have the chance at another date with you.”
I bite the inside of my lower lip in thought. Our little escapade sounds so intriguing to me, so I let him continue without interruption. “Your first name is all I know, and I was hoping today would be the day I would learn your last name.” I drop my hand from his cheek as he runs his through his wet hair in frustration. “Hell, I don’t even know where you live in Charleston, because you would pick the location of our date every time and make me meet you there.”
Then all of his playfulness gets pushed aside as his expression shifts to one of concern and seriousness. “When you weren’t at the restaurant we were supposed to meet at, I started to get really concerned. You’re a stickler for punctuality.” He pauses briefly. “I learned that the hard way on our second date.” I’m absorbing this man’s every word, trying to get a feel for the person I don’t remember I am. He’s so wrought with emotion I feel as if I’m retracing the steps of his memory with him.
“Anyway, when you never showed, I began asking around the restaurant, describing your features to patrons as they came in and asking if they’d seen you. When nobody had and you weren’t answering your cell, I really started to panic. With it raining cats and dogs outside, I thought maybe you were in a car accident. In a rain storm such as this and the way people still think they can drive their normal crazy on slick roads, well…that’s when I thought for sure you were in a wreck somewhere.”
Travis shakes his head, his eyes distant while recalling the memory. “I tried calling your cell over and over again, but it went straight to voicemail. So the only thing left to do was leave the restaurant and start scoping the streets for you. I jumped in my car and started driving around block after block, searching.” Then his eyes briefly close in pain, and I watch as his Adam’s apple bobs. I feel so bad for him, especially when his voice catches as he speaks his next words. “I saw...I saw a body splayed out lifelessly in one of the alleyways, right in the middle of the side street. Oh, Jules, my gut clenched so bad, baby, because I knew it was you lying there in the pouring rain. Just from seeing your long blonde hair from a distance, I knew it was you.” I see tears glisten in the corners of his eyes, and I hurt for this man. I can tell it messed him up to find me in such a state. “That’s how I found you, in an alleyway. You were battered, beaten, and unconscious.” He shakes his head at the horrid recollection. “I immediately called Dr. Anderson, who, thank God, was able to meet me here within minutes.”
I’m left speechless and not knowing what to think. It seems like a crazy story, but as I glance between the two men, I realize I am in a professional facility after all, and a doctor is treating me. I know the doctor is not faking his credentials; just by the way he carries himself. He holds that air of confidence doctors do. I almost have no choice but to believe Travis. I look back to the doctor and he gives me a nod of agreement. I don’t know what I’m going to do, however; no one knows my last name to help me out. Where am I going to go?
Dr. Anderson breaks into my thoughts again as if reading my mind. “Julianna, I can totally vouch for what Travis is telling you. I’ve known him his entire life, and I’d trust him with my very own life. He’s a good man, and whatever steps he suggests to take from here on out, I’d listen.”
