A Hopeful Kind of Love (Kinds of Love 1.5)

“Not exactly,” Laura replied, walking over to the man. He was even more attractive up close. He had a strong chin and an easy smile. And dimples. When he smiled, he had dimples. Laura nearly swooned.

“Ah.” The man narrowed his eyes and evaluated her. “Either you are someone's date or you snuck in. Either way, I don't get to buy you a drink.”

“I was invited,” Laura told him. “I work for Mr. Williamson on one of his Colorado properties. He gave me a ticket.”

“Oh, the secret Colorado horse ranch,” the man said, nodding. “I guess I don't have to call security on you then.”

“You know about the Colorado ranch?” Laura asked. It was supposed to be a secret. Mr. Williamson had recently purchased it, but he didn't want the location to be public knowledge. He wanted to make it his secret hideaway.

“Carter won't stop talking about how his mares are going to love the mountain air and how he wants to add an arena for training or something like that.” He took a sip of wine. “I just smile and nod, and it makes him happy.”

Laura chuckled. “You know Mr. Williamson?”

The man nodded. “I work with him at the California offices.” He smiled and held out a hand. “I'm Ethan, by the way.”

“Laura,” she said, taking the handshake. It was firm and strong, much like she imagined him to be under that suit. She liked the way her hand felt in his and was almost sad when they had to end the handshake.

“You said you don't work at W Motors, right?” Ethan asked with a half smile as if he were waiting for her to realize something.

She nodded. “That's right. Why?”

He grinned. “Then I can buy you a drink and flirt with you without having to worry about you quoting the employee handbook on appropriate professional interactions.”

“So you're going to be inappropriate?” Laura asked, putting a hand on her hip.

“I plan on being very appropriate,” he replied. “I just like to know my options. Especially with mistletoe around.”

Laura laughed and took a sip of her wine. It had been a while since a man a flirted so blatantly with her, and she was rather enjoying it. It wasn't every day that an attractive guy in a suit basically told her he wanted to kiss her.

“So, you from here?” Laura asked Ethan. “California, I mean.”

“Mostly,” he replied. “I was born in northern California, and then my parents moved all over the country. Now, I'm back.”

“Sounds exciting.”

“Very,” he assured her. “Is this your first time here?”

“Yes.” Laura blushed. “I've stayed close to home.”

“Have you gotten to see the sights yet?” he asked, taking a sip of his drink. She realized that his suit wasn't actually black like she'd first thought. It was a beautiful very dark blue.

“Just this and the ocean yesterday so far,” she replied. “I have two more days before I go home. Anything you recommend I should do?”

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “That depends. What do you like to do?”

She shrugged. “Anything outdoors. I was planning on just going there again, or looking for a rock climbing spot.”

He looked over, pleasantly surprised. “You like rock climbing?”

She grinned. “Yeah. I'm pretty good. I do mostly sport climbing, but I did a 5.12C route a few months ago.”

She waited to see if he understood the terminology and was pleased when his eyes widened.

“That's pretty good,” he replied. “The hardest I've ever done was a 5.13. It nearly killed me.”

Now it was her turn for her eyes to go wide. “That's really advanced.”

He chuckled and waved his hand through the air. “It was nothing. And like I said, it nearly killed me.”