A Hopeful Kind of Love (Kinds of Love 1.5)

“Still, I'm impressed.”

He grinned at her. “Then it was worth it.”

To hide her blush, she took another sip of wine. This party was shaping up to be a lot of fun. Especially since she met Ethan.

“Where was this climb?” Laura asked, wanting to continue the conversation.

“West Virginia,” he answered, his eyes lighting up with his story. “You climb up the slab past the first two bolts, and then there's this great overhang, which isn't my favorite thing to do, but...” He paused and looked at her. “Are you actually interested? I don't want to bore you by talking about climbing.”

“I am very interested.” She grinned. “If you let me, I will talk your ear off on what kind of rope is best. After horses, climbing is my favorite thing to do. Honestly, I would marry you on the spot if you're any good at bouldering.”

“I happen to be very good at bouldering,” he replied with a confident grin. “Should I propose now or later?”

“I have to see you in action first,” she said. “How do I know that you aren't just trying to sucker me into marrying you so that you can learn my awesome climbing skills? I need proof before I say 'I do.'“

“Okay.” He took a sip of his drink and grinned. “If you're interested, I can show you a great spot to climb not too far from here,” Ethan said with a small shrug. “It's only a 5.6, so not too hard, but it's still a lot of fun. And there are plenty of boulders to climb over, so I can show you that I would make an excellent climbing husband.”

Laura took a sip from her drink before answering. He appeared nonchalant, but his thumb tapped his nervousness out on his wineglass. She liked that he was nervous about asking her out. It made it feel real and less like a line.

“I actually like the easier ones,” Laura admitted, with a smile. “I like feeling like I know what I'm doing. It sounds perfect. I'd love to go with you.”

His smile widened. “Excellent. I'll have my people call your people.”

She went to reach for her phone to give him her number when the band's microphone screeched with feedback. Everyone cringed and put their hands to their ears to stop the sound.

“Sorry about that,” the band called out once they fixed the problem. “Let's get the dancing started!”

Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman came from their instruments, filling the museum with the rhythm and sound. The band was good. It made Laura want to dance.

“I love this song,” she told Ethan. “It was my favorite to dance to in college.”

He looked at her again, pleasantly surprised. She rather liked that look on his face.

“You swing dance, too?” he asked.

She grinned and shrugged. “My college roommates got into swing dancing, so I used to go with them.”

“A rock-climbing swing dancer from Colorado,” he said. He put his hand to his chest. “Are you messing with me? Because you might just be the perfect girl.”

She chuckled. “Well, of course I am.”

He set his drink down on a cocktail table and held out his hand. “Wanna dance?”

A thrill of excitement went through her from the tips of her toes all the way up to her scalp. “I'd love to.”

She took his hand, and her body instantly warmed. She was glad they were walking, so he wouldn

't be able to see the excited blush growing in her cheeks. He didn't let go of her hand as they worked through the crowd to get to the dance floor. His touch was making her heart rate do funny things.

Once out on the dance floor, he spun her into a perfect Lindy Hop. Her feet followed his lead despite not having danced since college. She flowed back into it, and he led her like a professional. The man knew exactly what he wanted, so it was easy to move along with him. He was an amazing dancer.

Unfortunately, her amazing dancing skills only lasted about half a song. She went to spin into a turn and ended up smacking him directly in the jaw with the back of her hand.

“Oh my god, I'm so sorry!” she gasped, reaching toward where she'd hit him. He rubbed his jaw a little.

“You have a heck of a right hook,” he said, giving his head a shake. She felt terrible until he smiled at her and held out his hands for her to dance with him again. “How about again, but with a little less Mike Tyson?”

She nodded, blushing furiously. Luckily, she managed not to hit him for the rest of the song. He still kept spinning her around and leading her into turns like he wasn't afraid of her doing it again.