“There's more to see,” Ethan said, holding out his elbow.
Laura slipped her hand onto his arm and followed him toward the house. She still had absolutely no idea whose home this was and how in the heck Ethan had gained permission to use it. When they approached the front porch, a security guard stepped out of the shadows.
“Good evening, sir,” the man said, nodding to Ethan.
“Ah, good evening, Craig,” Ethan said. “Nice to see you. Is everything set?”
“Of course,” Craig replied. “Everything is just as you specified.”
“Good,” Ethan replied. He nodded, and Craig disappeared back into the shadows of the trees by the house. Ethan brought her closer to the door, and she couldn't wait to see what happened next.
Chapter 19
Laura
The front door opened and an elegant man in a dark tux opened the door. Laura was sure this was what butlers must look like. “Good evening, sir. Ma'am.”
He held the door open and then carefully closed it behind them before escorting them through the home. Laura glanced around, surprised by how beautiful the interior was. It was fully furnished, with beautiful and extravagant paintings covering every wall.
“Whose house is this?” she whispered to Ethan.
He just glanced over and smirked, without saying a word. She shook her head. Him and his secrets.
“Right this way, sir,” The Butler said, approaching a door at the very back of the house.
Ethan and Laura walked through and onto the screened porch. There were two heat lamps, one on each side of the deck, which made the area entirely comfortable despite the fresh mountain air outside. Situated in the center, was a small white table and two chairs. There was a beautiful flower bouquet in the center, surrounded by candles, which flickered lightly in the breeze.
“Ethan,” she said, shaking her head in awe. “This is beautiful. You did this for me?”
“Yeah, I mean, you surprised me with lunch, and I wanted to surprise you with dinner,” he said. “You like it?”
“It's amazing,” she said. “Nobody has ever done anything like this for me before. Let me get this straight, though. You got me a private restaurant? You rented a house up on the top of this mountain and turned it into a restaurant?”
Ethan smiled. “Would you prefer a public restaurant? I called around, but there was one big problem. Not a single one of them had this view. I decided I'd figure out a way to give you both dinner, and a view.”
As he spoke, he motioned his hand outward beyond the railing of the deck. Laura stepped forward, letting her eyes adjust to the dim lighting outside. As soon as the view came into focus, she gasped with surprise.
“Holy cow,” she whispered.
From where she stood, she could see the entire city of Denver and all of the surrounding area. The lights twinkled out on the prairie, making it seem like they were much closer to town than they actually were. In fact, they were forty miles away, but from that deck, Laura felt like she could reach out and pick up the entire city with one hand.
“I'll take it you like it.” Ethan stepped up beside her and placed his hand on her lower back.
She blinked back tears of joy as she turned to face him. “I've never seen anything like it.”
“It's funny, that's the exact thing I said to myself the first time that I saw you,” he said.
Laura practically melted in front of him but managed to stay composed enough to keep standing. She was shocked and overwhelmed with the deepest feeling of joy imaginable. For the first time in her life, she felt like a princess.
Ethan lifted his hand and cradled Laura's chin between his thumb and forefinger. “You're just as gorgeous as the view.” He then leaned in and kissed her, sending an electric wave through her body. His lips pressed against hers, the smell of his cologne, the view nearby. Everything was perfect. Everything was right.
When he pulled away, Laura's lips were tingling. It was as though they missed his touch even though it had been less than a second since he'd broken the kiss.
“Are you ready to eat?” he asked.
She nodded slowly, still trying to regain her senses from all of the surprises that Ethan had presented her that evening. “Yeah, I could eat.”
“Good,” he said, walking her toward the table.