A Hopeful Kind of Love (Kinds of Love 1.5)

Laura nodded. “I did. He turned off his number. He had my number, too, Mia. He could have called me, but he didn't.”

Laura tried to shrug off the hurt that filled her chest. It was just a stupid one night stand thing. It shouldn't matter, but somehow it did. It hurt more than she expected it to. Even now.

“So, why don't you go talk to him?” Mia asked. “Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding. He's a good guy.”

“How do you know he's a good guy?” Laura asked, crossing her arms.

“He's business partners with my husband, so I see him at all the meetings about moving the design team of W Motors to Denver,” Mia explained. “Plus, remember that charity event Carter threw me in the fall? Carter couldn't go, so he had Ethan take me.”

“So he's a good guy because Carter made him take you to a charity function?” Laura asked.

“No,” Mia replied. “He's a good guy because he's a good guy. Also, when I mentioned the ranch, he knew your name and he asked about you.”

“He did?” Laura didn't mean to have that much hope in her voice. “He remembered my name?”

“Yes, he did. He seemed interested,” Mia said. “You should talk to him.”

“He probably remembered me because he thought I was annoying or something,” Laura responded. “Besides, it was a year and half ago. Things are different now.”

Laura looked down at the floor and tried to ignore the tears creeping into her eyes. When would the pain of what happened stop surprising her, she wondered.

Mia squeezed her shoulder. “You deserve some happiness too, you know.”

“I know,” Laura replied. She shrugged, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. “I just don't have time for it.”

Mia nodded, her mouth tight. She gave Laura a quick hug, her pregnant belly pushing into Laura in the process. “Make sure you take care of yourself, too.”

Laura didn't know quite what to say, so she just nodded. Luckily, she was saved by Mia's husband. Carter came over and kissed Mia's cheek.

“The guests are starting to arrive,” Carter told them. “You two ready?”

“As ready as we're going to be,” Mia replied, looking nervous for the first time. Today was her day to shine. “Do I look okay?”

Carter looked his wife over and smiled. “You look stunning. Radiant.” Mia smiled and blushed at his compliment.

“What about me, boss?” Laura teased. She grinned at Carter.

“On the advice of my lawyer, I plead the fifth,” he replied, keeping his face straight.

“Very funny,” Laura replied with a smile. Carter was a great boss. He owned W Motors and was a billionaire, but you'd never know it. He was incredib

ly down to earth. Laura managed his horses at the ranch, so she had gotten to know him on a more personal level than many of his other employees.

“Are the kids ready?” Carter asked, going back to Mia.

“They're all in the barn with Kenna, the social worker,” Mia told him. “Lily has the horses ready in the barn and everything else is set up. We're ready.”

Laura nodded to her words. Lily, Mia and Carter's adopted teenage daughter was a hard worker. Lily had even taken over for Laura when her world collapsed. If there was anyone Laura trusted with getting the horses ready, it was Lily.

“What about the boys?” Carter asked.

Mia chuckled. “They are 'helping' Lily,” she replied.

“They do help,” Laura replied, coming to the two boys' defense. Grayson and Alexander were Lily's younger brothers. They were good kids, even if they were a handful. They really did try their best.

“I'm sure they do,” Carter said with a chuckle of his own. It was Grayson and Alexander's antics that had led him to the meeting of Mia. They'd broken a window, and Mia had convinced him to let the boys earn back the cost by working at the ranch. “At least the weather is behaving, even if the kids aren't.”

Mia pushed his shoulder and frowned at him. “Don't jinx it!” she told him. “It's sunny and perfect now, but you know how fast spring snowstorms roll in.” She quickly rapped her knuckles on the wooden table to ward off bad luck.