Ethan
Sixteen months ago...
Best Christmas party ever, Ethan thought to himself as he stood up to look for his pants. He couldn't help but smile as he glanced back at the couch to see the most beautiful woman at the party watching him. He liked the way her eyes felt on his bare skin.
Yup, definitely the best party ever, Ethan thought with a smile.
He nearly didn't come to this year's event. There was so much work to be done, and the legal battle over a faulty airbag was just ramping up. His attention was on his business, but Carter told him to go. Or rather, Carter blackmailed him into it. Now that he was here, he couldn't be more grateful.
He had dutifully trod down to the California Science Museum to put in an appearance. At the start of the evening, he had fully planned on making enough of an appearance to appease Carter and make his employees feel appreciated and then going straight home to go over the lawsuit again.
Instead, she'd shown up.
So, instead of spending a night at home with his computer and a glass of wine, he'd spent it in the “Rocks, Gems, and Crystals” exhibit with his hand up the skirt of the sexiest woman he could have imagined. It would have gone further if a security guard hadn't interrupted.
That would have been the end of the night for most people, but Laura wasn't most people. She'd pulled him upstairs to the “mother's room” where they'd just had the most incredible sex of his life. Ethan wasn't ashamed to admit he'd had a few one-night-stands in his life, but this one blew them all out of the water.
And now, he was hoping it wasn't going to be just a one-night-stand.
“So, can I see you again?” he asked. He hadn't found his pants yet, but he wasn't really looking very hard either. She was stretched out on the small couch, and he was much more focused on how to never get her to wear clothes again.
“I'd like that,” she replied. She gave her beautiful smooth shoulder a playful shrug. “Maybe we can go to an art museum or something.”
He chuckled. Not only was she sexy, but she was also funny too. He leaned over and kissed her. How in the world had he found someone smart, funny, and this damn beautiful at a company party?
“What's your number?” she asked, reaching to find her phone on the floor. Her purse was next to her dress, which was next to her panties. He didn't help her find it because he wanted to keep her naked like this for as long as possible.
“555-1978,” he told her once she'd found her phone. She carefully put the numbers in. It was his personal line- the one he almost never gave out. This line was reserved for friends and family only.
Within a couple of seconds, the phone chirped from his pant pocket. It certainly made finding his pants easier. They were tossed over by the changing station. He smiled as he read the message she'd sent him.
“Sexy Party Girl?” he asked while hitting the save new contact button. “That's what you want your contact name to be?”
“What? Are you really going to remember my real name?” she asked with a pragmatic shrug.
“It's Laura,” he said. As if he could forget. He could already sense that she was everything he'd ever wanted in a woman. Even after that amazing round of sex, he was still interested in her. He wanted to take her home and learn everything about her. And, of course, have more sex.
He had never believed in love at first sight until tonight. One night with her, and he could already feel it in his bones that this was a forever kind of thing. This was a wonderful kind of love. He knew it.
“Okay, Ethan,” she replied. Her voice was soft and sweet. He liked the way she said his name. He liked hearing her say it that way almost as much as he liked hearing her call it out as she trembled and came beneath him.
“I'm still saving you as Sexy Party Girl, though,” he teased, keying in the name to his contacts list. He hit save with a flourish. “It'll make me smile every time I see it.”
She grinned, making his heart speed up again with just her smile. “I'm okay with that,” she replied, typing something into her phone.
“What are you saving me as?” he asked, watching her for a moment. His pants were now in his hands, so he didn't have a good reason not to put them on.
“Sexy Party Boy,” she replied with a naughty grin. “I don't want us to get confused.”
He laughed, feeling happy and light. He hadn't felt this good in months. They had a connection, and it was more than just physical. She made him laugh, and he wanted to take her places that would make her smile like she was now.
“I am so buying you another drink,” he told her. He wasn't about to let her disappear off into the night like Cinderella. He was going to make sure she kept both her shoes and came home with him.
She grinned up at him, her smile matching the way he felt. “After this,” she said, sitting up and motioning to the mess of clothing around them. “I'd hope so.”
Ethan chuckled. They had made a mess. But, he was hoping to have a repeat of this mess in his bedroom at home in a few hours. She said she was going to be in California for another two days, and he was already mentally clearing his schedule to spend as much time with her as possible. If things worked out like he was hoping, maybe she'd even stay for longer.
After all, what could possibly go wrong between now and then?
LauraPresent DayLaura pulled into the parking lot of Sandy's Bar and Grill and parked the car. She was fairly sure that his security guard was right behind them, but she was doing her best to ignore everything about him. The awkward silence between them was deafening, and she could hardly wait to get out. Ethan, on the other hand, seemed perfectly comfortable with all of it. She hated him for it.“So, this is the infamous Sandy's?” he asked when the car came to a stop. He tipped his head and peered at it through the window of her car. He didn't sound impressed.“It doesn't look like much, but it really does have the best food in town,” she told him. She wasn't sure why she was defending the restaurant to him. It wasn't her request that had them here. She still couldn't believe Mia had duped her into this.“Let's go on in,” he said, putting on a charming smile before opening his door and getting out. Laura wondered just how many women had fallen for that smile. She knew she was certa
LauraSixteen months ago…He didn't call the next day after the party.Laura was disappointed, but as she was nursing a small hangover combined with jet-lag for most of her Sunday morning, she wasn't too devastated. She figured he was probably in the same boat. She kept her phone on her for the whole day as she explored the area near her hotel once she felt up to walking.It was only one day and a hungover day at that. Plus, maybe his business still needed his help. She wasn't sure what he did for W Motors, but he seemed important.She woke up early Monday morning, eager to enjoy her last day in California. Today they were supposed to go rock climbing, and she hoped to have another fantastic time together. Her flight home was at noon on Tuesday, so today was really her only day. She checked her messages and voicemail twice before nine am, but there was, of course, nothing.She sat down on the foot of her bed, staring at the phone. He said he'd call, but she was getting nervous he woul
EthanPresent DayEthan stared at her as she told him her story. He felt like his eyes were going to bug out and he was having a hard time from keeping his jaw from hitting the table.“I tried to call you a week later, but the line was disconnected,” she finished. She shrugged and took a sip of her drink. Her green eyes were fierce. No wonder she was angry with him. He was angry with her version of him.“That's not what happened at all,” he told her, trying his best to keep his voice level. Inside, he wanted to strangle someone.She raised her eyebrows and took a sip from her straw. “It's not?” She didn't sound convinced.“Not even close,” he replied. He raised his hand and signaled to the bartender for another round. He was going to need a lot more alcohol.“So what do you think happened?” she asked, setting her drink down and crossing her arms.“I was tied up with business all that Sunday,” he explained. “But I wanted to see you. I couldn't stop talking about you to my secretary. Yo
Laura“Are you ever going to park or are you just going to drive forever?” Ivy asked, watching as Laura drove past the restaurant one more time. She was making sure that Ethan and his bodyguard were definitely gone. She did not want to run into them on accident. She wasn't sure she could handle another dose of Ethan's charm without succumbing to him entirely.“I'm parking now,” Laura replied, pulling into the restaurant parking lot. The only cars were Elena's and a couple of sedans that didn't look nice enough to be rentals. She was safe.Laura helped Dallas out of his booster seat while Ivy ran on ahead. She could already smell the hamburgers and french fries and her mouth watered. Sandy's was a favorite dinner spot, especially when Elena was working. Laura tried not to have the kids eat out too often, but it was so much easier than trying to cook for all three of them after a busy day at work. Today, however, Laura had a different reason for wanting to eat at Sandy's.She wanted to
EthanEthan felt oddly nervous as he prepared for his day. He'd woken up that morning in a great mood, and he knew it had to do with the fact that he was going to see Laura that evening. He checked his watch. He had two meetings before it would be time for his date, and it felt like too long and yet not enough at the same time.He stood at the foot of his bed with his dinner suit laid out on across the comforter. He held three ties in his hand, trying to figure out which one would look the best. Usually, he left this kind of decision up to his secretary, but he was on his own today.He held up the blue one. It looked nice, but he wasn't sure if the gold one gave a better impression. He wondered which color Laura liked better and wished he had a horse tie. She would like a horse tie.A knock on the door to his hotel suite pulled him from his thoughts. He set the ties down and went to open the door. Peeking through the peephole, he could see Craig waiting for him. He smiled and opened u
Laura“It'll be okay, Dallas. I promise,” Laura told her brother as she rubbed his back. “You're doing great.”He nodded weakly and continued to vomit what little was left in his stomach into the toilet. Laura kept rubbing his back and making soft words of encouragement until the little guy curled up in a ball on the floor.“I don't feel good, Laura,” he said weakly. If that wasn't the understatement of the year, she wasn't sure what was. His little cheeks were flushed, and he looked absolutely miserable.“I know, sweetie,” she said softly, pulling him up into a hug. “Let's rinse your mouth out and then we'll go join your sister on the couch. Then we can watch a movie.”Dallas nodded weakly, letting his sister take him to the sink. “A new movie?”“Sorry, we just have the old ones,” Laura said, turning on the water.“Okay.” He didn't even try to whine about it. That's how Laura knew he was absolutely miserable. Dallas reached out and washed his hands and took a small sip of water into
LauraBeing very careful not to wake the small humans, Laura slipped off the couch. She gently put Ivy's head on a pillow and tucked her in while Ethan did the same for Dallas. When they were done, they both headed into the kitchen to wash their hands. Laura had them do it twice, just to be on the safe side.While she was microwaving their food, Ethan went to the bag of DVDs and pulled out something. She wasn't sure what it was until she turned around and found that he had a little candle on the center of the table. It flickered and cast a warm light on the small wooden table.“You didn't have to clear the table,” she said gently, bringing the food over. It was still in the paper take-out containers, but she didn't want to do dishes.“Yeah, but where else would we eat?” he asked. She could see he'd neatly stacked all the bills, homework, and art projects on one of the empty chairs. “Next time, I really do want to bring you someplace nice, but for now, would you join me for a candlelig
LauraLaura scrambled out of her chair and sprinted across the room. She didn't even care that she knocked her chair over or that she was fairly sure her fork hit Ethan in the face. She had to get to Dallas in time. Time moved in slow motion as she reached for the Halloween bucket and managed to get it into Dallas' lap just in time.She was about to sigh in relief, but Ivy started making the same gurgling noise. She turned, sure she wouldn't make it in time to find that Ethan already had the bucket under her and was holding back her long red hair.Ethan cuddled Ivy close, unconcerned for his nice pants or shirt. His lovely green tie was thrown over his shoulder, reminding Laura of a cape. He was certainly Ivy's hero as he cuddled her close and comforted her.It was so domestic and so laughable at the same time. She smiled at him, even though he was too busy to see it. If he wasn't here, she wasn't sure what she would have done. If nothing else, she would have had a mess to clean up. S