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.