The woman let out an irritated huff. “I do more than just work with him. I am so much more than just an employee to him.”
“You are?” Laura's heart started to drop. Was he cheating on Janie with her? He didn't seem like a creep, but who ever did in the beginning? Was she the other woman?
The woman puffed herself up and opened her mouth to answer, but then her eyes widened and her mouth shut.
“I'm so sorry about that, Laura,” Ethan said, returning to the conversation. Janie lost her haughty demeanor and instead fluttered her eyelashes at Ethan.
The sexy dress suddenly made sense to Laura. Janie wasn't his girlfriend. She wanted to be his girlfriend. If they really were involved, Janie would have had no reason to back down as soon as he appeared.
“It's okay, Ethan,” Laura said, purposefully running her hand down his arm. He smiled at her and caught her hand, bringing it to his lips and giving a soft kiss. Laura glanced over to see Janie's eyes light up with jealousy and Laura knew she was reading the situation right. Ethan wasn't seeing her, despite Janie's best efforts. Laura smiled up at him. “We can go get that drink now.”
His smile faltered. “I'm afraid I can't.” He looked down at her hand still in his and his. “There's been a development that I have to attend to. Immediately. I came back to tell you I have to leave.”
“Oh.” Laura's lower lip quivered for a moment. Everything suddenly seemed very quiet, even though the band was still playing.
Ethan ducked his head to get back into her line of sight. “But, I want to see you again. I have your number. You still want to go climbing?”
“You climb too?” Janie squeaked in disbelief. Ethan looked at her, and she quickly put on a smile and shrugged. “That's so awesome. Climbing. Woo!”
Ethan gave her a funny look before meeting Laura's eyes again. She looked up into them. Their light green depths drew her in, wrapped her up, and made her feel warm. If eyes were the window to the soul, then he had the most beautiful soul she'd ever seen.
“Yeah, I'd love that,” she finally whispered. “I'd really love that.”
Light sparkled in the depths of his eyes as he smiled at her. “Good. I'll see you soon.”
“Okay.” She did her best to smile back, but this wasn't how she wanted to end her night.
He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. His lips were smooth against her cheek, and it made her heart skip a beat. She breathed in, smelling his cologne. It immediately brought back a flash of his naked skin against hers, and she shivered.
“I'll call you,” he promised, his lips brushing against her skin as he spoke. She was in a daze of lust, but she could hear his cell phone start to ring. He pulled back and looked at her one last time before picking up his phone. He answered, and his eyes watched her for just a moment longer before he turned and walked away.
“I should go with him,” Janie said, looking smug. “Have a great night by yourself.”
She adjusted her dress to show off her cleavage just a little bit better and strutted after her boss.
Laura watched him navigate the crowds to get to the exit before turning away. She was ready to cry and hated it. She'd known the guy for less than two hours, yet she hated being apart from him. She already missed the way his hand felt in hers.
She didn't feel in a party mood anymore. She looked around, trying to figure out what she wanted to do next. She wanted to do him, but that wasn't an option. There was nothing else here that appealed to her. The bar was too crowded, the music was too loud and not her style, and she'd already looked through most of the museum exhibits.
“This is how the Prince felt after Cinderella left,” she murmured. “All I need now is his shoe.”
She chuckled mirthlessly at her own joke. Somehow, she knew Ethan would have laughed at it. She checked her watch. It was just after midnight, which really fit with the whole Cinderella vibe. She glanced around again and decided she was done with the party.
It took her a little bit of time to work through the crowd to the entrance, but since the party was slated to continue for another two hours, she had no trouble finding a cab. It was a quick ride to her hotel, but she held her phone in her hands the entire way, hoping it would ring. She had this silly hope that his emergency was quickly solved and he'd call her to spend the rest of the night with him.
But her phone stayed silent.
Chapter 10
Laura
As the memory of his kisses from a year ago flooded through her body, she found herself surrendering to him. He returned the kiss that she had started, and she could feel him begin to get excited. With all the relief she felt, she could let herself be taken right here, right now, in this snowstorm if he wanted her.
But then she remembered just who she was kissing. This was the man who never called. This was the man who had his secretary tell her off. This was the man who didn't care. She pushed herself away from him.
What the hell am I doing? She thought, hating the way she already missed kissing him. She should never have kissed him in the first place.
“I'm sorry,” she told him, backing away and figuring out the quickest way to the shed door. “I didn't mean that. Forget I just did that.”