LauraAs soon as Laura left her bedroom, the doorbell rang.“I got it!” Ivy and Dallas shouted in unison and then began running from the kitchen to the front door. It sounded like a herd of elephants stampeding across the floor.Laura exhaled a quick breath and ran her hands down the sides of her dress one last time to smooth it out. The butterflies continued to fly in her belly as she followed the elephant herd to the front of the house. By the time she got there, Dallas and Ivy were already clamoring for Ethan's attention.“Those are pretty flowers!” Ivy announced.“Yuck, flowers?” Dallas said. “You should have brought video games! Girls love that.”“Alright, alright,” Laura said, squeezing past the two kids so that she could stand in from of Ethan. “Thanks for answering the door, kids. Now can we let Ethan inside without pestering him to death?”Ethan smiled and handed Laura a bouquet of flowers. It was a dozen of the prettiest yellow roses she had ever seen.“They're beautiful,” s
LauraThe front door opened and an elegant man in a dark tux opened the door. Laura was sure this was what butlers must look like. “Good evening, sir. Ma'am.”He held the door open and then carefully closed it behind them before escorting them through the home. Laura glanced around, surprised by how beautiful the interior was. It was fully furnished, with beautiful and extravagant paintings covering every wall.“Whose house is this?” she whispered to Ethan.He just glanced over and smirked, without saying a word. She shook her head. Him and his secrets.“Right this way, sir,” The Butler said, approaching a door at the very back of the house.Ethan and Laura walked through and onto the screened porch. There were two heat lamps, one on each side of the deck, which made the area entirely comfortable despite the fresh mountain air outside. Situated in the center, was a small white table and two chairs. There was a beautiful flower bouquet in the center, surrounded by candles, which flicke
LauraThe main course turned out to be just as amazing as Laura thought it would be. She especially loved the rack of lamb and couldn't believe how tender the meat was. After they'd eaten, Daryl came out and cleared the dishes then went back inside to get dessert ready.“I'm stuffed,” Ethan said. “However, I'm going to eat dessert one way or the other. I can't resist his toffee pudding.”“I'm so full, too,” Laura said. “You're right, though. Dessert is going to happen one way or the other. I have an insatiable sweet tooth.”Ethan's eyes lit up, and he reached for his pocket.“Oh, I nearly forgot,” he said. “Your surprise.”She smiled. “You really didn't have to, Ethan.”“I know I didn't have to. I wanted to.” He slid the white envelope across the table.Laura opened it up and pulled out a blank piece of thick stationery. It was folded in half, and something was inside of it.“What is it?” she asked, carefully opening the stationery.Two plane tickets fell out onto the table. She didn'
LauraLaura and Ethan stepped off of the porch and into the house. She squeezed his hand as they made their way down the hall and into the large living room. When they'd first come in, she hadn't even noticed the little fireplace in the corner. Now, though, there was a warm fire burning inside, and its soft glow illuminated the entire room.“Was this on when we got here?” she asked.Ethan shook his head. “No, I told Craig to get that started after we'd sat out on the deck for dinner.”“Well, aren't you clever?” she said with a smile.Located directly in front of the fireplace was a sheep skin rug. They both kicked off their shoes and then walked over onto the rug. The warmth from the fire radiated outward against Laura's bare calves. It was so nice and cozy there, with her toes digging into the fur beneath her feet.She held both of Ethan's hands as they stood there for a moment, just enjoying the fire and each other's company.“Are you sure Craig is outside?” Laura said, glancing at
LauraLaura woke up to the morning sun shining in through the window of the cabin. She slowly opened her eyes and glanced around the room. It was the first time seeing it in the daylight. The fire had gone out, but it was still smoldering and putting out enough warmth to take the chill out of the air.Well, I'm awake and last night was most definitely not just a dream, she thought. That makes me happier than I've been in a long time.Ethan's arm was wrapped around her. She felt as he pulled her close him so that her back pressed against his chest. Then he kissed the top of her shoulder, sending a tingle through her.“You awake?” he whispered.Laura nodded. “Yeah, just woke up actually.”“What time is it?” he asked.“No clue,” she said. “I guess around eight.”“We should just lay here all day,” he said, chuckling.“God, I wish that I could.” Laura sighed and pressed her back against him, snuggling as close as possible. “I've got to get back to the kids, though. I told Elena that I woul
Ethan“Sir? Do you need anything?” Craig asked, walking into the space Ethan was currently using as an office.He'd rented out an office space in a building next door to his hotel, but it didn't feel like an office. It had a desk and chairs, but no people. It was just Craig and Ethan. He got more done here than in his hotel room, but not by much.Ethan missed the hum of his old office. He missed having coffee with people and not having to drive all over town to attend meetings. Plus, he missed his desk at home. He missed his nice pens and the way he had everything set up. He couldn't find anything in his current space.He couldn't wait for the R&D office to finally be set up. He was enjoying his trip to Colorado, especially the parts with Laura, but he missed his workspace. He wished there was a way he could have both, but for now, he was going to enjoy his time with Laura.“Can I ask your advice?” Ethan spun in his chair to face the other man. This chair turned more than his office c
LauraLaura looked down at the two faces of her younger siblings and felt her heart break. They were staring back up at her with tears streaming down their little cheeks. Their eyes were puffy from crying. Each of their sobs caused Laura's heart to break a little more.Dallas was sitting on the ground, with his arms wrapped around her left leg. He was squeezing her so tightly that she was pretty sure her foot would go numb soon. Ivy was doing the same thing but on the right. She couldn't move. It was like both of her feet had been cemented into the floor.“Guys, please,” Laura pleaded with them. “Just hear Ethan out. He's trying to give us a gift.”Laura and Ethan had gotten back to the house a few minutes before. The kids had been so excited to see them initially. They were prancing and dancing around the house with giant smiles on both of their faces. Things changed immediately, though, as soon as Ethan presented them with their surprise trip to the Caribbean.At first, the kids wer
LauraThe next morning, Laura and the kids were all gathered in the kitchen. They'd already eaten their breakfast and were dressed in their swimsuits. Laura had on her favorite two-piece suit, which she'd only ever worn one other time. It was white, with giant black strips going across it. The bottom part was like a little skirt, which fell just below her butt. Over that, she had on sweatpants, because it happened to be the middle of May and still pretty cold outside in the mornings. Colorado winters never ended when they were supposed to and this year was no exception. One day it was warm and sunny, then the next day there would be a blizzard.“Laura, is it going to be nice today?” Ivy asked. “It looks cold outside.”“Yeah, it will warm up soon,” she replied. “The sun will show up here any minute. At least that's what the weather says.”Sitting on the kitchen table nearby was Laura's giant gym bag that she'd had since high school. It was stuffed with everything she could think of tha