He chuckled. “Look at the latest news article.”
Laura took the phone from his hand to see a picture of the four of them at the 'beach' at Water World. It wasn't the photo that the spiky-haired kid had taken for them, though. This one seemed to have been shot from a distance. It had Ethan with his arms wrapped around Laura. She was looking up at him with stars in her eyes. In the background, Ivy and Dallas were splashing each other with water.
“Who took this?” she asked,
“Who knows?” Ethan said. “It looks like a telephoto lens.”
Her eyes moved down to where the title of the article was. In big, bold letters it read, “Billionaire creates beach escape in Denver, Colorado.”
If you're made of money, you don't ask how to get to the beach. You ask how to bring the beach to you. That's what Ethan White said today when he decided to have truckloads of white sand delivered to Water World, all in an attempt to create paradise in the desert. It's hard to say why he did it, but many are thinking it has something to do with the beautiful woman who's with him. Who is this lucky lady? We don't know. What we do know, is that they look like the perfect, happy family. The two were seen kissing and holding hands throughout the day. Sorry ladies, but bachelor Ethan White is no longer on the market.
Sources confirm that this was not a publicity stunt brought on by Ethan White, and also not an attempt at a photo shoot. But could you ask for a better picture? Clearly, this is one happy couple and why wouldn't they be? I think all of us would be pretty happy if we could have a private beach created for us whenever we wanted.
The article went on a little further, but Laura stopped reading. She handed the phone back to Ethan and sighed.
“Wow,” she said. “Well, since the entire world knows now, I suppose that we should probably tell Carter about you and I. I expect you'll have to have a serious talk about what your intentions toward me are.”
“My intentions are quite impure,” Ethan assured her with a naughty wink. “Though, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to ravage. I'm a little tired.”
She gave him a gentle push. “Shh, no talking about ravaging me in front of the kids. Even if they're sleeping.”
He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her. He smelled like sunscreen, but she found it a nice reminder of the day.
“Are you okay?” Ethan asked, stroking her hair.
“Yeah, I'm fine,” she said. It was strange to know she was in a news article for everyone to read. “Just weird that there was someone there with a camera that we didn't even know about.”
“That's just o
ne of the many perks of dating me,” he said. “You get to have your picture taken when you least want it. I've actually gotten kind of used to it. Eventually, you just let it slide off of your back. They aren't hurting anybody. They just want a silly picture so that they can have content for their websites and newspapers. They're just doing a job.”
Laura shrugged. “Yeah, that makes sense. At least they decided to pick a flattering picture of me. I think we look pretty cute there. Imagine if they'd posted one of you carrying me over your shoulder, right before you threw me into the water.”
Ethan laughed and pulled her close. “God, I can only imagine what that headline would have read. 'Ethan White throws petrified girlfriend into icy water in an attempt to calm her down. Abuse? Probably.’”
“Oh, stop.” Laura poked him in the side. “They can't just make stuff up like that, can they?”
“They can, and they do,” he said. “All the time, actually. Even though they aren't supposed to.”
“Well, whatever then,” Laura said. “I guess since it's all made up anyway, I'm not going to worry about what they say.”
Ethan leaned over and kissed her cheek. “It's a little tough getting used to, but I'm glad you're okay with it.”
Laura shrugged. “There's not a whole lot I can do about it, is there? Unless I hire my own version of Craig to follow me around and make sure that nobody within ten miles has a camera.” She put her head back on Ethan's shoulder. “Don't worry, though, Ethan. This day was way too perfect to have some silly news article ruin it for me. I'm still as happy as can be.”
Ethan squeezed her into him and stroked her back. “Then I'm happy, too, Laura. I'm happy, too.”
Chapter 28
Laura
“Are you sure you have to go?” Laura asked. She sat on the edge of the hotel bed watching as Ethan packed up his things. He was meticulous in where he put everything, and she could see why he wouldn't want anyone else to do it. The man was a little bit of a control freak about his things.
“Yes,” he said, looking up. “It'll only be for a couple of days. You'll barely even notice I'm gone.”
Laura made a visible show of pouting. “I just like having you here.”
He chuckled and stopped packing to lean over and kiss her.