The line clicked off.
Laura stared open mouthed at the phone in her hand. She almost wanted to call back and make sure she had the right Ethan. She thought they had fun. She went through her memories and found them to be a little hazy due to the alcohol, but there wasn't anything that had foreshadowed the conversation she'd just had. Could she have imagined things so badly?
Her hand fell, sinking onto the bed as big tears welled up in her eyes. She felt dumb. Used. The more she thought about it, the more stupid she felt. She had thrown herself at this guy. She thought there was a connection, but she never really made sure. He had used her. She'd just been an easy one-night-stand.
She went to delete his number. If that's how he felt, then there was no reason to keep it, but her finger hovered over th
e delete button without moving.
She sighed and just put it back in her pocket without deleting it. She felt like a total idiot, but she wanted to hear the rejection from Ethan, not his secretary. She couldn't believe that he'd actually said those things about her, or at least, she really, really didn't want to.
Laura chewed on her lip for a moment. She really considered pulling her phone back out and sending him a text message that said, “Call me if you change your mind.”
But she didn't. She didn't want to be desperate. She wanted the magic she'd experienced the night before. The party had been effortless. This verged on crazy stalker girl. He didn't want to talk to her, and forcing the issue was not the right move.
Laura sighed and walked around her hotel room for a moment. She'd been planning on going climbing with Ethan today, but now she didn't have plans. She didn't want to just sit in her hotel room all day watching bad TV. It would only make her feel worse.
“I'll go to the beach,” she said, making a decision. It was cold by California standards, but back home in Colorado, it was snowing. A day at the beach with sunshine and sea air would do her good.
She nodded to herself, quickly packed a bag, and headed out.
“Screw him,” she said, closing the door behind her and heading out to catch a taxi. She even turned off her phone. She raised her chin defiantly and left, determined to have a good time. “I don't need him anyway.”
Chapter 7
Ethan
Present Day
Ethan stared at her as she told him her story. He felt like his eyes were going to bug out and he was having a hard time from keeping his jaw from hitting the table.
“I tried to call you a week later, but the line was disconnected,” she finished. She shrugged and took a sip of her drink. Her green eyes were fierce. No wonder she was angry with him. He was angry with her version of him.
“That's not what happened at all,” he told her, trying his best to keep his voice level. Inside, he wanted to strangle someone.
She raised her eyebrows and took a sip from her straw. “It's not?” She didn't sound convinced.
“Not even close,” he replied. He raised his hand and signaled to the bartender for another round. He was going to need a lot more alcohol.
“So what do you think happened?” she asked, setting her drink down and crossing her arms.
“I was tied up with business all that Sunday,” he explained. “But I wanted to see you. I couldn't stop talking about you to my secretary. You met her at the party.”
“Your secretary? You mean the lady in the red dress who wanted you under the mistletoe?” Laura asked. She pursed her lips and let out a breath. “I bet she just looooved that.”
He had to agree with her. In hindsight, it was coming together now. The whole issue between them was all due to a jealous secretary.
“I had an interview Monday morning, so I left my phone with Janie,” he explained. “I was going to call you as soon as the interview was done to go rock climbing. I was looking forward to it.”
“Uh-huh,” she replied, taking a small sip of her drink. She still had most of her drink left, and she certainly didn't look convinced at his story.
“You must have called while I was giving the interview,” he told her. “I swear to you, I didn't tell her to say any of those things, and I never said any of what she claimed.”
“Why'd she say it then?”
Ethan sighed and took a sip of his drink. “She thought we were dating. She was sure that I was falling madly in love with her and was going to sweep her off her feet Prince Charming style at any time.”
“She thought you were a cliché romance novel hero?” Laura asked.