One Night Love Affair *COMPLETED*

Chapter Twenty Six

With a small smile on her face, because she knew that this conversation will be just as uncomfortable for Gabe, as it will be for her, she sat down behind the old wooden desk.

"Here you go, your highness. Your hot chocolate with mini marshmallows."

Gabe mockingly sat a hot cup on the desk in front of her.

Lana didn't mind the mockery in his voice, she just grabbed the cup and devoured, first the smell, and then the first sip of rich velvety hot chocolate. She moaned from the pleasure when she tasted it and Gabe rolled his eyes in response.

"Same every single time! You just can't help but to love my hot chocolate, don't you?"

"It's a damn fine chocolate. Definitely something I'm going to miss, when you leave this place."

The moment she said those words she knew it would be better if she didn't. At least not yet. They brought a hint of sadness into the room, because it was definite that the family they had been the past six years was about to change, and there was nothing they could do about it. Gabe had a right to follow his dreams and see the world outside Texas. And Samuel had a right to meet his father, even though Lana didn't want either of those things to happen. After all, she will be forced to share her two favorite man in the whole wide world, with people she didn't really know and trusted.

"Hey!" Like Gabe was reading her mind, he reached for her hand and squeezed it tight. "There's nothing to worry about. You know I don't have to leave, I can start a startup here. I don't really need the help of James Cornell to make my dreams come true. And you know everything will work out the way it's supposed to. It always does."

"You know what? Forget the hot chocolate. You are the best brother anyone could ask for. I don't know how I could survive those past six years. Specially after granny passed..."

Tear fell down Lana's cheek and another one. At that exact moment, she missed her granny the most. She'd knew exactly what to do. Not only for Gabe, but also about James.

"I know, right? I'm amazing!" Gabe tried to lighten the mood. "I mean, how would you survive without me? I did all the things around the house. I cooked, I cleaned, I took care of the leaking roof, I get up at seven to get  Sam ready for school all the time, not to mention, I broke up with my girlfriend Candy, because of you."

At first 'the cheering-up' party didn't really work, but when Gabe started mentioning all the things he had done around the house, Lana's sad face was replaced by the amused one. Fact was, that Gabe didn't do any of those things. He never touched a broom for other reason than to clean up the stables, he only cooked hot chocolate, and he never got up before eight. And if he was awake, then he went riding, or he was creating something on his computer.

And about Candy... That was a disaster, waiting to happen.

"Seriously Gabe? Candy?"

"What? She wasn't the smartest cookie in the jar, but she had a great rack. Bless her heart."

"Bless her heart all right... There was nothing smart about that girl. I'm still not sure how she managed to finish high school. Not to mention not get any of the jokes about the blonds..."

"Well that was because all those jokes were reality to her. I mean, with the exception of her cell phone the girl didn't even realize that Taylor's last name was Taylor. She insisted it's a name, not a surname. Man, I can't believe I dated her."

They both laughed at the memory of Candy.

"But you were right. She did had a great set of boobs. Doctor Smith's number nine. Might of been his best work yet."

"She was something, that girl..." They laughed again, but Gabe turned serious in a moment's notice. "But enough about Candy. I want to know what's the deal with you and James Cornell."

Lana took a sip of hot chocolate, trying to hide behind it and failing miserably.

"You know I can wait here all night, or I could just wake up James and ask him if he's the father of your baby. Oh, and why he wasn't here when you were pregnant, or giving birth or teaching him his first word."

'I really don't want to tell him.' A voice in Lana's head started screaming the moment she opened her mouth.

"I..." Lana started, but she couldn't quite make herself tell Gabe anything. She tried again. "I..."

Nothing came out of her mind, so she took another sip of hot chocolate, trying to come up with a plan, that will help her get through the evening.

"Gabe, before I tell you anything, I need you to try and imagine things from my perspective. I was alone in L.A. My dreams of becoming a movie star were long gone, and I worked in the diner to get enough cash to keep me afloat. I didn't want to tell anyone at home I had failed, so I lied and pretended everything was great. Fact is, it wasn't all that great. I was living in a crappy two bedroom  apartment with a roommate, who had some serious daddy issues, hence her wired boyfriend collection. And it was in a bad neighborhood. I barely had enough money to pay for the rent, and sometimes the only thing I ate, was the leftovers from the diner."

Once Lana started talking, it seemed like there was no stopping her. Gabe sat there and listened the entire time, not saying a word.

" The week before granny called and told me she was sick, I got an offer I couldn't refuse. Some older gentleman came into the diner and offered me three million dollars for one night of my time. I didn't want to do it at first, but in the end, the money won. I also made sure it was a strictly platonic night. Nothing intimate, nothing sexual about it. He had his lawyers make a contract, which had all that stated in it, and we both signed it."

There was a hint of anger on James's face when he heard about the three million dollars for a night. But other than that, he did exactly what Lana asked him to do. Listen and tried to picture things from her perspective.

"On the night of the 'date', I felt like Julia Robert's in Pretty Woman. You know the movie where a prostitute get's a millionaire to fall for her? Well, I was picked up by a limousine, and he gave me an envelope with a folder on James, his likes, dislikes, his bio. Everything. Of course I knew who he was, and when I heard I was supposed to have a 'date' with him, I started freaking out. I decided it would be best, if I just pretend to be someone else, get the money and move away from L.A. It's not like I'm ever going to meet him, not as long as I stay in my world, where billionaire playboys don't have access. Which is why I decided to become Vivian for the night. What I didn't expect was for James to sweep me off my feet the moment we met."

The hardest part of the conversation was coming, and Lana wanted nothing more than for that moment to be over.

"Long story short, we flirted, we had dinner, we danced, we had sex. And in the morning I left. Two days later I got a call from granny, and I took the first flight back to Texas, so I could be with her. And you. So yeah, Sammy is James's son. And no I didn't tell him, because he was already married by the time I figured out I was pregnant and gathered up the courage to tell him. Then it felt like it didn't matter anymore. He had a new family, and I didn't want to break it up."

Neither Lana nor Gabe had notice there was another person in the room, until they heard a glass breaking.

"I have a son?"