The Billionaire and the Cleaner(33)
Author: Sam Crescent

Licking her lips she looked at him.

“I lived in a trailer.” She blurted the words out before she gave herself chance to walk away without looking back. “I didn’t have a home like you or anyone else. I lived in a trailer in a bad area of town. I didn’t know who my father was. He could have been a guy in town or a passer through. My mom didn’t care who they were as long as they paid for services rendered.” She clutched her purse tighter as her stomach churned. “My Christmases were spent with a chair wedged against the door so her men didn’t come to my room. When it was summer I used to take a blanket and sleep on a ratty sofa next to a stream.”

Kent stood facing her.

“I had no brothers or sisters. I was an only child with a mother who drank a lot. She didn’t do anything but whore her body out. I was bullied in school by my peers, but more often than not I saw them when I woke up in the morning. They were happy to ridicule me, but they still slept with her.” Tears were falling down her cheeks. “I graduated school, but I didn’t have great grades. I could work hard at waiting tables and cleaning. I hate mess because it reminds me of her and the past I left behind. The stench of sex, alcohol, and despair filled the trailer.”

She took a deep breath. “There are no pictures of me because my mom never owned a camera. I don’t know what I looked like as a baby or toddler. All I remember is the stench of alcohol from my old life. I don’t talk about my past because it’s miserable, and who wants to remember something like that? I don’t.”

Lana moved closer even as tears fell down her cheeks. “That is the past I’ve tried to keep from you. The woman you think you love didn’t start her life like this. My small apartment meant so much to me because it wasn’t a trailer. What I’ve told you is what I told Frank. When he dumped me he told me the only reason he stayed was because I made him feel guilty. I don’t want you to stay with me because you feel guilty.”

She dropped her gaze to her purse. The pregnancy test was inside her purse waiting for her to show him.

Lifting her head she stared at him. “I’m in love with you, Kent. I’m not after your money or anything else. I love you, the man. I don’t want you to stay with me because you feel guilty.”

For the longest time she waited for him to respond. Nothing happened, and she felt her whole world crumble.

****

Kent stared at her bowed head. His family had heard every word she spoke. He saw them beyond the door with tears in their eyes. They were supposed to jump in with congratulations. He’d not intended to start an argument with her that made her talk with him.

The past she spoke of made him feel sick. He’d figured a horrid parent or something was in her past. He never expected something so stressful.

Her past didn’t affect his decision. Kent loved Lana the woman, not her past. He reached out, cupping her cheek. “Do you really think I give a shit about that life? I know it’s not who you are. I love you, Lana.” Sinking his fingers into her hair, he pulled her close. Her soft warmth pressed against his body.

Closing his eyes he absorbed the pleasure of her next to him.

She loved him. He smiled as all of her words penetrated his mind. Kent opened his eyes and tilted her head back to look at him.

“Frank’s an ass**le. I don’t care what happened to you. However, it does explain your tendency to clean everything and that day your shoe was dirty. You’re an obsessed cleaner. I can live with that, but I think you should relax around the baby. Our son or daughter won’t like your obsessive cleaning.”

She gasped. “How did you know?” she asked.

“Know what?”

Lana opened her purse and pulled out a plastic bag. She handed him the bag. He went to open the bag.

“Don’t open it. It’s got urine on. You can read the result on the front,” she said.

He turned the bag over and saw the test with two blue lines. “This is a pregnancy test?” he asked.

“Yes. It’s positive.”

Throwing the test down on the floor, he picked Lana up in his arms and swung her around. His family charged in the room cheering. Lana rested her head against his chest, and her cheeks were flushed.

“Do it,” his mother said, whispering. He laughed but got down on one knee before Lana.

The box he’d shown her was still in his pocket.

“Lana Hawkins, you crazy cleaner, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife? This is not because of the baby. This is because I love you and I can’t imagine living the rest of my life without you. You mean everything to me.”

Tears fell down her cheeks as she looked at him. “You still want to marry me?” she asked.

“Why wouldn’t I want to marry you?”

She nibbled her lip. “After what I told you, aren’t you angry with me?”

Kent got to his feet. He cupped her cheeks and claimed her lips under his. “What you’ve just told me has made me want you more than ever before. You’re a brave woman, Lana. What you told me about your past has only made me want you more. I love you so much.” He kept kissing her lips in between each word he spoke.

“I love you, too,” she said.

“Be my wife and I’ll show you what true love really is.”

She stared at the ring in the box then nodded. “Yes, I love you.”

He pulled the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger as his family cheered. John stood with Samantha in his arms. A few of his other friends raised a beer toward him.

Kent took Lana in his arms outside and danced with her. For the rest of the day he refused to let her leave his side. As the day passed he took her for a walk down the street for them to have some alone time.

“You’re not embarrassed about my past?” she asked when they were far enough away.

“I admire you, Lana. What you’ve told me mustn’t have been easy to overcome.”

“It wasn’t.”

He took her hand and led her down toward a tree. Pressing her against the tree he stroked her face. “What was the hardest?” he asked.

“Of living like I did?”

Kent nodded. He needed to show to her he could handle the truth.

“The worst part was waking up in the morning and seeing one of the guys from my year. I would be getting ready for school, and they’d be pulling up their pants. I’d pretend not to see them, and all day I’d see them smirking in my direction. I felt dirty. Their looks made me think I’d slept with them or something. My mom never cared about what happened.”