Letting Go by Ann O'Leary Page B

welling up in her eyes. Laura felt dreadful. She knew that 57
    Kate couldn’t understand her reluctance, and that she was very hurt. She wanted to take Kate into her arms and tell her she was sorry. She ached to make love with her. Instead she steeled herself and said, “I’m sure you’ll think I’m an idiot, Kate, but I hope that in the longer term we can still be friends. Right now I have to ask you to go home, and it would be a good idea if we didn’t see each other for a while.”
    Kate clearly wasn’t thinking straight. She was grasping at anything helplessly. “But I’ve got those layouts to show you,” she said.
    “I’ll send a courier to collect them from your office,”
    Laura said calmly.
    In a daze, Kate walked to the door. Their eyes met and Laura was transfixed by the intensity in Kate’s gaze. She could see the first sign of anger in Kate’s eyes and as she closed the door behind her, she was filled with remorse. Laura sat up for hours thinking about the situation that had just transpired. There had only been one other time in her life when she’d been in the same predicament. That was with Alex around fifteen years ago. Both she and Alex had been about the same age that Kate was now. Alex had been in a relationship that had begun when she was only nineteen, with a woman ten years her senior. At nineteen, Alex was too young to make the serious commitment she’d made with the older woman. But she’d been Alex’s first lover and she’d just fallen into the relationship. Then she met Laura. It was love at first sight for them both but Alex didn’t want to hurt the woman she lived with, and Laura didn’t want to cause a break-up, so for some months their love had been unrequited and very difficult. One night Alex and Laura had found themselves alone, and 58
    they’d kissed, of not unlike the situation with Kate. Very soon after, although, Alex left the other woman. Laura and Alex were desperately in love.
    This attraction for Kate was the strongest she’d felt for anyone since she lost Alex five years ago. There were similarities between Kate and Alex. Kate reminded her of Alex at around the same age. She had similar long dark hair and eyes, and the same sort of self-confidence, which was unusual for someone so young. This worried Laura. Was she re-living the past? She couldn’t be sure of that, but she was sure of one thing. If she continued to see Kate, she could easily fall in love with her. She also knew that Kate was too young for her, and a relationship couldn’t last. She didn’t want that kind of heartache again. She eventually went to bed resolving to discuss the matter with Jude the next day.
    Kate, on the other hand, sat in her car outside Laura’s apartment for over an hour. She was at a loss to know what to think. All she could do was allow the tears to flow now that she was alone. After while, she hardened herself with her increasing anger. Laura was being totally unfair and unreasonable. People couldn’t choose who they were attracted to, or fell in love with, could they? How could Laura be so narrow-minded? And why was she concerned about their age difference? What did that matter? Nothing else mattered, she thought, apart from the way they felt about each other. It was very simple. But she wasn’t going to give up just like that. She couldn’t give up Laura now.
    59
    60

Chapter Seven

    The next day, Saturday, Laura met Jude at the market. When they were sitting at the cafe after doing their shopping, Laura told Jude about the events of the night before.
    “The poor kid,” said Jude when Laura had described their unhappy parting.
    “What!” exclaimed Laura. “I know it was hard for her, but she’s young. She’ll forget about me quickly enough. Especially since I’ve finished it before it began. What about feeling sorry for me? Just at the moment, I’m having trouble getting her out of my mind. But I know it’d be a big mistake to get involved with her, so