Ethan smiled warmly. “Yeah, I'm famished.”
“Okay, good,” she replied. “Once again, I didn't make anything too extravagant. I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I just made something simple. How does a turkey and swiss cheese sandwich on rye bread sound? It's my personal favorite.”
“I love turkey and swiss!” he said. “That's my go-to sandwich for when I'm eating at home.”
Laura smiled wide, relieved by his response. “Whew. That's good, because if you hated it, then you'd have to fill up on nothing but potato chips and lemonade.”
She pulled the two cellophane-wrapped sandwiches out of the picnic basket and handed one of them to Ethan.
“Thank you, Laura,” he said. “This is perfect. Honestly, this is one of the best days I've had in a long time. Between me surviving the trail ride and then this, a nice lunch with you out here in the country, I'd say it's just about as good as it can get.”
He let out a long and relaxed sigh as he gazed out the open doors of the hayloft. It made Laura feel good that she was able to please someone who could have afforded anything he wanted. It was proof to her that there were indeed many things that money could not buy.
The best and most precious things in the world can't be purchased, she thought. This moment is one of those things.
Chapter 15
Laura
Ethan and Laura unwrapped their sandwiches and ate in silence. The only background noise was the light wind as it rustled through the trees outside and the occasional squawk of a lonely raven that was flying around nearby. It couldn't have been nicer. Laura's surprise lunch had gone better than she'd expected.
Once they had finished eating, Laura quickly cleaned up and put all of the trash into the picnic basket. Ethan took his final swig of lemonade and then scooted over on the hay bail, closing the space between Laura and himself just a tiny bit.
“Hope that was enough to eat,” she said, pushing the picnic basket out of the way. “You devoured that sandwich in minutes.”
“I'm a fast eater,” he said, laughing. “Besides, I was hungry, and it was delicious. I'm full, though. It hit the spot just perfectly.”
Now that the meal was over, Laura had nothing to distract her. She couldn't change the subject and talk about the lemonade or the sandwiches. So when the sexual tension between the two once again presented itself, she had no choice but to face it head on.
Without even thinking about what she was doing, she found herself leaning toward Ethan. There was still a bit of distance between them, but it was like her
attraction to him slowly closed that gap, bringing them closer physically.
“Hey, Laura, is that the raven that's been making so much noise?” Ethan asked, pointing outward toward the top of the tree where the black raven stood proudly.
Of course, Laura could easily see the bird from her current position, but she wasn't about to admit that. The raven was the perfect excuse to slide all the way over to where Ethan was seated.
“Where?” she asked. “I can't see from here.”
She then moved her butt across the hay, until her left hip collided with Ethan's.
“Right there,” he said, still pointing.
They were so close now that she could feel his warm breath drift over the side of her neck as he spoke. It caused a tingling sensation to dance through her, and her eyes closed halfway to the sensation.
“Oh, yeah, that's the one we've been hearing,” she said, realizing how obvious it must have been that she'd only used the bird as an excuse to sit nearer to him. She didn't really care.
The sexual tension was back and as strong as ever. It was as if they'd never had the time apart after the museum.
Laura looked away from the raven and brought her gaze to Ethan. Their eyes locked and she immediately got lost in them. She practically melted right there on the hay bail, hypnotized by his sexual stare.
All logical thought went straight out the window. Laura could only think of one thing at that moment, and that was Ethan. With their faces so close and the attraction so powerful, she quickly submitted to her desires. All she wanted was him. For the moment, nothing else in the world mattered at all.
“Kiss me,” she whispered, but her words were so quiet that hardly any noise came out at all.
It must have been loud enough for Ethan to hear because he leaned in as soon as she had finished speaking. His lips touched hers as he gently pressed toward her. A soft moan eased up and out of Laura's throat while a fire ignited inside of her.
It wasn't their first time kissing, but this was ten times better than the first. Something about it was more intense, more meaningful. There was more to it this time.