The Billionaire and the Cleaner (14 page)

Lana didn’t say anything and waited for the rest of the
adults to finish. Once all the gifts were unwrapped they went into the kitchen
to eat breakfast. Lana settled on cereal while
Kent
had a full cooked breakfast
from Penny.

She’d never experienced a Christmas so full of joy. Lana
didn’t want it to end and wished she could call them her family.

After breakfast she excused herself to go and get dressed.
She sat on the bed with the cell phone she’d been given as well. All of their
personal numbers were inside the memory. She stared at the phone as tears
filled her eyes. The loving family reminded her of everything she didn’t have
in her life.

A knock sounded at her door, and Tonya stuck her head around
the door.

“Is this a bad time?” the other woman asked.

“No.” Lana wiped the tears from her eyes and stood. “I’m
fine. Come on in.”

Tonya leaned against the door staring at her. “He’s in love
with you,” Tonya said.

Lana looked behind her. “I don’t have a clue what you’re
talking about.”

“Yeah, you do.”

Lana stood and went to the drawer where her clothes were
stored. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“
Kent
’s
in love with you.”

Lana froze at the words. Her hands hovered over a pink
sweater. “Don’t start. We both know who
Kent
’s in love with, and it’s not
me.”

“No, he was never in love with me. He thought he was, but
when he looks at you I see who he loves.”

Lana turned toward her. “Why are you doing this? It’s
Christmas morning.”

“Because I know you don’t see the truth.
Kent
looks at
you the same way Seth looks at me. The earth moves for him, Lana.”

“Even if I was to believe you, which I don’t, why are you
telling me?” Lana asked. There was no way
Kent
was in love with her. They
were friends, nothing more.

“I’ve hurt him in the past, and it has taken him to find you
to finally get over it. We’ve all been waiting for him to bring a woman home.
He never has. He’s forty-five years old, Lana, and besides me, you’re the first
woman he’s brought home, and I don’t count.”

“Why don’t you count?” Lana asked. Her throat felt tight at
Tonya’s words. Lana had been in love with him since the first moment she saw
him. That love had grown as she grew to know him. Biting her lip, she looked
down at the floor. She kept her feelings locked up because she knew he’d be
disgusted by her past. She was nothing like the
Andersons
and never would be. Her mother had
taken care of that.

“I was his friend long before I was his girlfriend. I love
Seth. I’ve always loved Seth, and I hurt
Kent
because of it. I don’t want
him to be hurt again.”

Lana understood what she was saying, but she didn’t know
what she could do to prevent heartache.
Kent
was better off without her.
She didn’t have this kind of life, and there was no happy ever after in her
future.

****

Kent
spent one of
the best Christmases with Lana. She stayed by his side throughout it all. Her
smile and the way she shone around his family cemented in his heart where she
was supposed to be. His family adored her as much as he did. She was where she
was supposed to be.

He sat with her at the dinner table that was laden with two
turkeys and so much food none of them were going to go hungry in the next
couple of weeks.
Kent
rested his arm along the back of her chair, playing with a few strands of her
brown hair. She wore her glasses, which he’d started to see as cute. The
contacts she usually wore hurt her eyes whereas the glasses she wore for
comfort.

They said grace, and then the conversation started. He
smiled as everyone began talking at once. Lana handed him the potatoes. “How do
you keep up?” she asked.

“Years of practice.”

He knew she loved his family. She tried so hard to keep up
with everyone. His nieces and nephews loved her as well.
Kent
had warned
his family not to talk about her past. He’d seen how uncomfortable she got
around questions of her past. Tonya smiled between the two of them. He wondered
what she knew that he clearly didn’t.

After dinner Lana helped his mom clean away the dishes as he
followed his father out to the snow. They were all watching the kids. His
brothers were stood with him.

“You’re in love with Lana,” Seth said. “Tonya told me last
night. She’s convinced Lana feels the same way.”

He turned to his older brother. “What are you trying to do?”

Seth let out a sigh. “I took away your girl. I love
Tonya
,
Kent
.
I always have, but I regret doing it the way I did. You deserve so much more. I
want you to be happy, and I see Lana gives you that happiness.”

Kent
turned to
each of his family. They all nodded. Even Dawn’s husband and Sophie’s boyfriend
agreed.

“Thank you,” he said.

“She’s a good woman, son. I want to see Lana at the house
more often than not. As far as I’m concerned she’s an
Anderson
now. Take care of her, or you’ll
have me to deal with.” Derek patted him on the back. His father had always
possessed a keen sense of character. He read people at face value, and what he
saw in Lana, Derek liked.

There were no words for
Kent
to say. His family accepted
her as one of their own. She and the other women came out to join them.
Kent
wrapped
his arms around her as they stared at the children.

“This is nice,” she said.

“What?”

“I’ve always dreamed of having a big family with a couple of
kids.” She’d never spoken about family.
Kent
paused, waiting for her to
speak more of her wishes. “This has been the best Christmas I’ve ever had,
Kent
. Thank you
so much for bringing me along with you.”

He smiled, and they made their way up the porch steps.

“Mistletoe,” Sophie said, shouting the words across the yard.
Kent
looked up and saw the damning piece of decoration. He glared at his younger
sister. When he’d made his way outside he’d not spotted it. Sophie must have
hung it on her way out.

Lana’s cheeks blazed as his family started chanting, “
kiss
, kiss, kiss”.

“Let’s show them how it’s done,”
Kent
said. He wrapped his arms
around her neck and pulled her close.

Her eyes went wide, and her gaze dropped to his lips. She
licked her own as her gaze returned to his eyes.
“Yeah, let’s.”
Her words had to be the hottest thing he’d ever heard. Dropping his head, he
brushed his lips against hers. Lana’s lips were cold to the touch but plump.
The inviting plumpness forced him to deepen the kiss. He’d never tasted
anything so irresistible before in his life. Like at the dinner table, the rest
of his family melted away. Nothing else mattered to him other than his woman in
his arms.

There was no denying Lana as his woman. He loved her with
his whole entire being. His thoughts were possessed by her. Not a day went by
when he wasn’t thinking about her. When he woke up in the morning, he was
thinking about her. Sinking his fingers into the length of her hair,
Kent
deepened
the kiss. Her eyes closed as he plunged his tongue inside her mouth.

Finally the world came back into focus. The whistles from
his family invaded his mind. He broke the kiss.

“Merry Christmas, Lana,” he said.

“And to you.”

They made their way into the house. Lana went into the
sitting room while he went into the kitchen. His mother turned to him.

“I need to get myself together before I go in there.”

“Don’t worry about it,
Kent
.” Penny put the cloth down on
the counter. “Have you spoken to her about your feelings?”

He shook his head.

“Then you better make it a priority, as otherwise you’re
going to ruin a perfectly good friendship.”

His mother patted his cheek leaving him alone in the
kitchen.
Kent
still tasted Lana on his lips. There was no getting away from it. Lana tempted
him in the most primal of ways, but she meant the world to him. No woman had
ever gotten past his defences like she did. How was he going to survive much
longer keeping his feelings at bay?

Kent
didn’t have
an answer. All he could do was pray for the strength to keep it together.

Chapter
Fifteen

One month after
Christmas

Lana still hadn’t found a replacement job. No one was hiring
new staff. The economy sucked, and the money she’d been paid in a Christmas
bonus was running out fast. Her bills had been increased over Christmas, and
her cleaning job wouldn’t sustain her for long. Staring down into her safe she
saw the bills piling up.

She couldn’t bring herself to think of moving out of her
apartment. This place was her home. Lana took pride in where she lived. Moving
out was the last thing she wanted to do.

You haven’t
got much choice.

Resting her head on the table she tried to bring some
reasoning to her thoughts. No matter what she tried to change, there was not
enough money for her to live on.

She was collecting all of her papers together when her cell
phone rang. It was Wednesday morning, and
Kent
told her he was busy with
loads of meetings. When she saw his number flash on the screen she was
surprised.

“What’s up?” she asked, packing the papers away. Her heart
raced at the sound of his voice.

“I’m dying,” he said.

“What? What do you mean?” She started to panic.

“I’m poorly, Lana. Come and take care of me. I’ve got man-flu.”
She rolled her eyes and checked the time. “Please, Lana, I need you to look
after me.”

There had been tension after the kiss they’d shared during
Christmas, but that soon fizzled out when they were alone.

“Okay, fine, I’m coming over.”

“Yay, that’s my girl. Come and bring some medicine.” He hung
up after that.

“Great, now what do I do?” She stared at the bills and
decided they could wait until after she’d looked after
Kent
.

Grabbing a few bills from her bedroom, she made her way
toward the door. She put her coat on as she walked out of the building.

She saw Mitch sitting outside. Walking over to his car she
knocked on the window.

“Will you take me to
Kent
’s place? He called and asked
for me to go to him,” she said.

“Climb in.”

Mitch used to go to the diner with her. She’d served him
lunch many times when she was working.

“Have you seen
Kent
?” she asked.

“No. My job is to keep an eye on you when he’s not around.
Give him my regards when you see him.”

Mitch pulled into traffic. “Are you going to tell him about
losing your job at the diner?” Mitch asked.

When she’d lost her job she’d asked Mitch not to say
anything. She let out a sigh and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“It’s only a matter of time before he asks, Lana. You’re
going to have to tell him something.”

“I know. It’s just hard telling one boss that another boss
fired you,” Lana said, sitting back in the car.

“It’s different with
Kent
. He’s more than your boss.”

Neither said anything else as they made their way toward his
building. Lana smiled at the men on the reception desk before heading toward
the elevator. No one stopped her on her way up to
Kent
’s room. She’d stood laughing
and joking with several of the employees in the building one day when they
stopped her.
Kent
had to give her picture to security in order for her to get inside his
building.

At his door she pulled out the key to get inside. Closing
the door behind her she spotted
Kent
immediately.

“What have you done?” Lana asked him.
Kent
was lying
down on the sofa looking deathly pale. Perspiration dotted his brow, and he
shivered even though the heating was on inside the room. He’d given her a key
the other month. She hadn’t used the key because
Kent
always went to her. She threw
the key on the coffee table. Used tissues, a dirty plate, and medicine were on
the table. Her hands were itching to clean up the mess.