One Night Love Affair *COMPLETED*

Chapter Twenty One

COMING HOME DRUNK AFTER MIDNIGHT on the night before the opening of her new bakery, might not be the best idea. With Gabe still awake, it also felt like they were naughty teenagers who just broke their curfew and got caught drinking.

But she was drunk, and for a change, she was a happy drunk. She drank to forget James, and in the process she told Mia, and the entire bar, everything. She was just about to tell Gabe everything, when all of the sudden a vision of James was standing in the living room.

'But visions don't move closer.' Lana thought to herself.

"Vivian?"

'And they certainly don't talk.' She concluded. And that conclusion was everything she needed to become sober in a moment.

"James?"

'What the heck is James Cornell doing at my home. And apparently getting all cozy with my brother? I swear, if this is some sort of drunk hallucination, it better stop! Because I don't need drunk hallucinations of the guy I'm trying to forget for the past six years. I dream about him, isn't that enough? I want him out of my mind!' Lana's thoughts were running wild. She was on the brink of a nervous break-down, when she realized the biggest catastrophe which was just waiting to happen, was probably sleeping upstairs.

"Sam!"

Completely ignoring everyone in the room, she bolted and ran away like crazy a person. At that moment it didn't matter that she was acting like a mental patient or that James was in her home. The only thing that mattered was, that he was about to find out the one thing, she never wanted him to know. The one thing that was keeping her from ever moving on with her life. She was literally stuck in a same situation she was six years ago, when she returned to Reedville. Scared and angry.

"Sorry James, you'll have to excuse my sister, she's obviously drunk. I think that the stress of opening the bakery made her have few drinks too much."

Lana heard her brother's words in the distance, but they didn't matter. It was only a matter of seconds, before James connects all the dots and comes after her. The only thing that was in her favor, was that he changed in the past years. He was the proper, cold and calculating business man now. Going after her would go against this new persona of his. But in the end it didn't matter. She will have to face him and tell him the truth.

Slowly she opened the door and quietly stepped into the room.

"Sammy?"

Samuel James Reed was lying in his bed, designed as a racing car. His room was designed as every five-year's old dream room. Beside the racing-car bed was a bedside table, with a lamp and a racing car lamp, that shined in a blue, red or green color all through the night, so Sam could sleep all alone, even though he was terrified of darkness. His table had a race track painted on them, and there were couple of cars ready to be raced across the table. Tons of pillows were strategically placed on the floor. They were all sizes and colors, but mostly they had either cars or animals painted on them.

One of the walls was painted with black chalk paint and sported Samuel's paintings. The one next to it had a climbing wall, together with climbing ropes. The other two walls were plain white color. Sam's toys were neatly tucked away from visitors eyes in different boxes. Right next to the boxes, there was a book shelf, filled with children's books.

All in all, it told anyone who stepped into the room, what it's owner liked. Well, with the exception of animals, because his mommy didn't let him bring his horse Lighting into the house, let alone into his room.

"Mommy, you're back!"

His sleepy voice was music to Lana's ears. Her son was safe and sound, almost sleeping in his bed.

"Mommy, Emma stayed for dinner! And Greta made me my favorite chocolate cookies. And I rode Lighting today. And you know what?"

"What sweet-pea?"

"Uncle Gabe took me to the diner. I had cherry pie with ice-cream. You make it better. I want to eat yours. And you know what?"

"What?"

Sometimes it was tiring to pretend to be interested in all the things Sam wanted to tell her, before he went to sleep, but tonight, Lana was just grateful her little man was right there, next to her.

"Uncle Gabe met with a man today. He came to the house today. He was James, like me. You know, because I'm Samuel James?"

"I know sweet-pea. You have the same name as the nice man, that came here today."

"I do. But you don't call me James, unless you are angry."

"That's right sweetie." Her son was precious. There was absolutely nothing she wouldn't do to keep him safe and away from harm. "Now give me some sugar."

"I love you a lot, mommy."

Lana kissed him on his forehead and he gave her a wet kiss on her cheek.

"I love you a lot too, my big man."

She kissed him again and covered his small body with a blanket. She stayed next to his bed for a few more minutes, watching her son fall asleep.

When his breathing evened and it was clear he was asleep, she kissed him again, and tiptoed out of the room.

No matter how much she disliked the idea, James was in her house and there was no miracle big enough to make him leave before she comes back to the living room. She should count herself lucky he left her alone for this long.

'This talk we're about to have is long past due.' With the snail speed she descended down the stairs, where all the troubles were waiting for her. 'But I never thought he would ever come to Reedville. He's successful business man and he's married. Is it really so wrong that I wanted to keep the one thing connecting me to him?'

Before she could answer to herself, she was at the living room door, where Mia and Gabe were quietly talking it the corner and James was nervously walking from one end to another, while squeezing a bottle of whiskey.

'It's now or never.' Lana said to herself and walked into the room.

***

I honestly thought I will be able to update sooner. But as it turns out, I've been super busy and just wasn't able to find the time to finish the chapter. And even now that I've finished it, it's not the longest I wrote, or the most exciting one...

However, I'm already working on the next chapter (all because there are over 9k reads on this book! Isn't this awesome!!!), and I hope I will be able to post it in the next few days =)

My other stories (here on Wattpad):

-My Ex is Getting Married (romance, general fic, humor): Sapphire finds out her ex is getting married to her (former) best friend Amanda. The story tells her quest to get over the fact, be better at everything than they are, ruin their wedding and get married before them.

-Roadtrip to Love (romance, general fic): Book one in a (planned) five book series about Wine Club. In the beginning Katherine gets married to a professional hockey player, only to realize two years later he's a serial cheater. She divorces him and her friends from the Wine Club take her on the roadtrip across the USA. They get robbed in the middle of nowhere, Alabama, where they are saved by a local sheriff Jackson White. Sparks fly, and romance is in the Alabama air.

-Pas de Deux With the Devil *Coming on December 24th* (general fic): a story about up-and-rising ballerina Anna and heart-breaking-trouble-making Gage, and their unlikely relationship.