A Hopeful Kind of Love (Kinds of Love 1.5)

“Excuse me, sir? Miss?”

The voice was not Ethan's. It was not anyone she knew. She froze, and he quickly took his hand away. Ethan slowly turned his head, and she suddenly saw the security guard standing with his arms crossed behind them.

“Officer,” Ethan said, sounding completely casual and not like he'd just had his hand up a woman's skirt. Laura pulled at the bottom of her dress and wondered just how obvious what they were doing was.

The security guard pointed up at the ceiling. “There are cameras in here.”

Laura followed his finger to see the small black camera pointed directly at the exhibit her back was pressed up against. Whoever was watching was getting an amazing show. She glanced at the exhibit to see that the state's largest gold nugget was inside. Of course, they would have someone watching that at all times.

“I'm so sorry,” she whispered, trying to smooth her hair. “We'll get out of here.”

“Please do,” the guard replied. “Go back to the

party. Or a hotel.”

The guard shook his head and walked off, leaving the two of them standing there. Laura felt mortified. Her cheeks had to be bright red, and she knew her hair was a mess.

“Note to self, Rocks, Crystals, and Gems is not the best place to make out,” Ethan said. He smiled at her. “I'm so sorry.”

She laughed. “It'll make a great story someday. Plus, I'm sure that guard was bored. We probably made his night.”

He grinned at her and held out his hand. “Do you want to go back out and dance some more?”

She took his hand, remembering the feel of his fingers on her thigh. She did not want to go back out and dance. She wanted to finish what they'd started. She was already going down this crazy road; she was going to finish it.

An idea came to her, and she smiled. “I have a better idea.”

Chapter 5

Laura

She shook herself to break free of the memory.

“He didn't want you,” she whispered to herself as she put away the horse blankets. “He got rid of his phone and never even made an attempt to contact you. You don't go where you're not wanted.”

She sighed and wished things were different. She wished a lot of things were different, but that didn't change them. She had to live the life she had. She remembered her mom's saying: if wishes were fishes we'd all cast nets to the sea. She didn't have time for wishes.

She checked her phone to make sure there were no messages from her siblings. She was so glad that Mia had invited them to come to the event today. She didn't have anyone to watch them, so the fact that Mia was willing to have them here meant the world to her.

She wouldn't have survived without their help.

She was lucky to have a boss as great as Mia and Carter. If she didn't have them, she didn't know what she'd do since her parents died. They'd helped her not only with her grief at their sudden deaths, but at taking over the role of parent for her siblings. Mia was always lending a hand and Carter gave her way more time off and flexibility than he had to.

She wished she had a way to repay them for their kindness.

More wishes, she thought, shaking her head. She could hear her mother's voice in her head, whispering again about casting a net. She missed her parents terribly.

“Stupid plane crash,” Laura whispered, setting down a box of supplies harder than she intended. It had only been eight months since they'd died, but if felt like forever and yet no time at all. Sometimes the grief would come rushing up at her from nowhere and she didn't know what to do with it.

She missed her mom. She missed her dad.

“Oh, I'm sorry,” a woman said, stepping through the open barn door into the warm yellow light. “Can I be in here? I'm just looking for a quiet place where we won't bother anyone.” The woman motioned to a baby in her arms. “He keeps waking up with all the people around.”

“As long as you don't mind the horses, you're welcome to be in here,” Laura said, grateful for the distraction from her grief. “There's a bench just over there if you want a place to sit.”

Laura recognized the woman as Emma Saunders, the wife of billionaire Jack Saunders. Laura remembered reading about their secret beach wedding a few years ago. It had made all the papers. Now they had a beautiful baby boy.

“Thank you,” Emma said, settling herself on the bench. She made sure her baby was tucked safely in her arms and leaned back against the barn wall. “I really appreciate it.”