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“Sure, the Santa Monica Pier is only twenty minutes from my house,” Ethan tells him.
“What else are we going to do?” Colton demands.
“I think we’ve planned enough for the moment,” I say. “Now go burn off some of your energy while Ethan and I finish eating.” They’re off and running.
Before I can say anything about Disneyland, Ethan says, “I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped my bounds. I guess I’m just feeding off the boys’ excitement.”
“I never could have given them a trip like this on my own,” I tell him. “They’ll be talking about it for the rest of their lives.” I lean over and give him a quick kiss. “Thank you, Ethan.”
He puffs up in his seat. “Thank you for letting me do this for them. For you.”
“What are your parents going to think?” I ask. We’ve seen Isaac and Rose a few times since the baseball game and while they’ve been very pleasant, I can’t help but think Rose would hate the idea of her only son living so far away from her permanently.
“My parents love you guys,” he says. “Also, they’re going to stay here while we’re gone so they won’t get in our way.”
“I thought they were only staying for a couple of weeks.”
He leans back in his chair and takes a pull from his beer. “Digger told them about the cabin up the mountain and they want to spend a few days there. They also want to go out on a fishing charter and spend some time in Anchorage.”
“I don’t know them well, but that doesn’t seem like stuff your parents would be into.”
“It’s amazing how much people can change when they open themselves up to new experiences.” He winks at me.
“Like going to California?” I tease.
“Exactly.” He pushes his chair back from the table. “Being that we’re leaving in the morning, I’d better get myself home so you can get a good night's sleep.”
“Who’s going to sleep? The boys are so wired, I’m pretty sure they’ll be running around all night. Plus, I’ve got laundry to do. So. Much. Laundry.”
Ethan pulls me onto my feet and leans down so his hot breath caresses my earlobe. “I promise to make this the best and most relaxing trip you’ve ever had. And you won’t have to do any laundry.”
“I will if the boys get as dirty in California as they do here,” I tell him.
“My housekeeper will do it for them,” he says.
“You have a housekeeper?” Shock does not begin to cover how that makes me feel. We really do live in two different worlds.
“I do, but only because I’m always so busy, I don’t have the time to do the things that Sandra does.”
“Like?” I prompt.
“She keeps the house clean, does the laundry, picks up the dry cleaning, shops for food, makes meals, and coordinates the gardeners and any other repairs that need doing.”
“So, Sandra is essentially your wife …”
He laughs. “Yup. She’s my sixty-year-old wife.”
“How big is your house?” I can’t for the life of me imagine that Ethan really needs all that help.
“It’s a standard four bed, three-and-a-half bath.”
“Why do you need such a big house for only one person?”
Shrugging, he tells me, “It’s a good investment. Plus, I figure that someday I’ll get married and have a family.”
The thought of us being that family pops into my mind and hope swells in my chest before I can stop it. Needing to push that feeling aside, I say, “I really should get to work on the laundry.” We walk side by side to his truck and, for the first time since Wyatt’s team won, I start to worry about this trip. I decided to enjoy this time with Ethan, and I have been, but that was before getting a glimpse into his real life.
“I’ll meet you at the lodge at seven,” he says. “It’s nice of Digger to fly us to the airport.”
