“Thank you,” Ethan said. “This looks great.”
“Anything else?” Daryl asked.
“I think we're okay for now,” Ethan replied. “We'll let you know if we need anything.”
“Very good,” Daryl said, then turned to leave.
“I don't even know where to start,” Laura said.
“I recommend the lobster first,” Ethan said. “It's one of my favorites.”
“Agreed,” she said, putting some of the lobster on her plate and dribbling some butter over it.
The first bite was nearly orgasmic. It melted in her mouth, and the flavor was so fresh that it was like Daryl had taken the lobster straight out of the ocean.
“Oh my lord,” Laura said, shaking her head in awe. “This is so good.”
“There's nothing quite like fresh Maine Lobster,” Ethan replied. “I'm glad you like it.”
The two filled their plates with the first course and dove in. Every bite had Laura in further disbelief. It was the best food she had ever eaten. She decided right then and there that if she ever became a billionaire somehow, she would steal Daryl from Ethan and hire him as her personal chef.
I wish that could happen, she thought. Because I don't know if I'll ever be able to go back to macaroni and cheese mixed with frozen peas after a meal like this.
It didn't take long for Ethan and Laura to finish the first course. They blazed through it and set the plates to the side. Ethan took a slow sip of his whiskey and relaxed back into his chair.
“Tell me something I don't know about you, Laura,” he said. “I'm sure there's a lot.”
“I don't know about that,” she said, smiling meekly. “I'm not that
exciting.”
“Somehow I doubt that.” Ethan kept eye contact with her as he spoke. He seemed genuinely interested in her.
“Well, I like horses,” she said. She shrugged.
“I already knew that,” he replied with a smile. “I was thinking something more personal. You know, something that helps me get to know you on a deeper level. Like what was your childhood like? Any special memories?”
Laura glanced up as she thought about it for a moment. “To be honest, my childhood was kind of a mess. I mean, my parents did the best they could, but it was hard. They both had to work two jobs just to keep food on the table. Neither of them had a college degree, so the work that they were able to find never paid very well.”
“That must have been tough,” Ethan said.
Laura nodded. “It was. Did you know that my mom had me when she was only eighteen? My parents weren't ready for me at all. I don't blame them either. At eighteen, they were kids themselves. They didn't know what it would take to raise a daughter. What eighteen-year-old does?”
“Not many,” Ethan agreed.
“My parents did their best. I was happy, but I spent most of my childhood watching them struggle financially, barely scraping by just to make ends meet and keep a roof over our heads. When I finally turned eighteen, I made a promise to myself that I would never be a young parent. I've seen how hard it can be to go down that road.”
Ethan leaned forward, bringing his elbows to the table. He listened with interest. She knew she was spilling her guts, but she wanted to share with him. She wanted him to know her. She wanted to know him.
She sighed. “But even though I swore I wouldn't be a young parent, I ended up being one anyway.”
“For Dallas and Ivy?” he asked, taking a sip of his drink. “But you're older than your parents were.”
“Ivy was born just a few months after I turned eighteen,” she said. “Dallas was a couple years after that. I didn't have to raise them from eighteen to twenty-five, but I still have a child that was born when I was eighteen that I take care of.”
“You're doing a great job,” he told her. He reached out and took her hand. “They seem happy.”
“Thank you,” she said with a shrug. She took a sip of her wine. “You said you wanted to know something about me?”