Chapter 20 Never Letting Go
never letting go
When Lana heard the knock on the door, she jumped from the bed and crept to the peephole.
Paula stood on the outside, scanning the hallway, and she opened the door quickly before Kim — or, God forbid, Maureen—walked out and saw her there.
Pulling Paula by the hand, she yanked her in and shut the door behind her, looking out the peephole again to make sure the coast was clear.
“Have you lost your mind?” Paula asked, startled.
Lana turned around and put her finger up to her mouth. Paula took her shades off and frowned.
“You’ve finally snapped, haven’t you?” she continued.
Lana grabbed her arm and took her into the bathroom.
“What is going on?” Paula asked.
“Did you know your mother was my neighbor?” Lana pointed to the wall behind Paula and her eyes grew three times the normal size.
“Oh shit, no. I didn’t know what floor she was on,” she whispered.
“And deranged Kim is at the end of the hall!” Lana whispered as loud as she could.
“You didn’t leave the room, did you?”
“Of course not, I’m not an idiot,” Lana responded.
“Well, we have to get you out of here. Kayden’s waiting.” Paula turned to leave the room.
“He knows?” Lana asked, her heart racing for very different reasons this time, as Paula smiled at her.
“Yes, honey, he knows everything,” she said proudly.
“Everything?”
“Everything.”
The grin plastered across her face hurt her cheeks. She could barely contain the excitement and anticipation of seeing him in flesh and blood again. A month of wondering if this day would ever come had finally arrived, and she felt almost lightheaded with the anticipation of it all.
“Let’s go,” Lana said way too loudly, walking out of the bathroom.
“Wait,” Paula commanded, stopping her. “I’m going to take you to him, and later tonight we’re gonna bust my mom. But you have to stay hidden until then. We can’t risk her playing defense beforehand.”
Lana nodded, understanding everything Paula said to be true.
Even after she met up with Kayden, it still wasn’t quite over yet.
If Maureen got wind that Kayden was on to her, she could screw with the company merger, KDN, the opening tonight, everything.
Not to mention Kim’s own personal vendetta, she’d play it safe and smart for all their sakes.
“Now, how do we sneak you out of here?” Paula asked, looking at her.
“I doubt your mother would ever take the stairs,” Lana guessed.
“Smart girl, we just make sure the coast is clear and make a beeline for the stairwell.”
Lana nodded again, and they headed out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.
Paula cracked open the hotel room door and stuck her head out carefully.
The hallway was utterly silent and empty.
She walked down the hall over to her mother’s room and put her ear to the door.
She couldn’t hear anything and wasn’t sure whether that was a good sign.
Waving Lana out of the room, she popped her head out the door, then ran as silently as she could to the staircase door, opening it as quietly as she could.
When she stepped in, the door slammed behind her unbelievably loudly.
She stood in the stairwell, not sure what to do, as everyone on the floor definitely heard that.
Like a track racer at the starting pistol, she took off down the stairs before anyone left their room in search of the source.
Paula, on the other hand, was still in the hallway when Kim came out of her room to look down the hall.
Paula knocked on her mother’s door, pretending to be going to see her.
At least this way, she had an excuse to invite her to the dinner party later.
Kim walked back into her room, closing the door behind her.
Maureen’s door opened, and she stepped outside in her robe, but not before Paula could see Heathcliff in the background with no shirt on.
“Really, Mom, the Captain?” She asked as Maureen put on the best smile she could manage.
“Paula, what a lovely surprise,” she stated.
“Mom, after the reopening tonight, I’m throwing Kayden a congratulatory dinner, and I’d like for you to be there.”
“That sounds lovely, dear, but are you sure you want me there? After this morning, I got the impression you weren’t exactly happy with me,” Maureen pointed out.
“I’m sorry, Mother, that was more about Kimberly. I apologize. I also want to apologize to her as well—I could’ve handled it better,” she lied.
Maureen looked at her daughter suspiciously. She wasn’t sure how to respond to such a random act of forgiveness so soon after the earlier altercation.
“Are you sure that would be wise, dear?” She asked again, the smile plastered on her face like a painted porcelain doll.
“Yes. I spoke to Kayden, and he asked me to make nice,” she lied again.
“Well, in that case, I would be delighted,” she said, giving Paula a quick hug.
“And invite your new boyfriend,” she replied and winked at her mother as she walked away.
Maureen let out a semi-embarrassed laugh and watched her daughter disappear down the hall.
This was actually great news, she thought.
Kayden’s insistence on Kim’s appearance showed that perhaps he was ready to move on, finally.
Maureen turned and re-entered her room, closing the door behind her quietly.
HEATHCLIFF LAY ON his side in the bed, his arm propped under his head.
“What was that about?” he asked, smiling slyly at her.
“How would you like to come to a private dinner party with the Capshaws tonight?” She asked and walked over to the bed.
Hell, I’d better get my good suit out of the cleaners,” he replied.
He sat up as she grabbed his face and kissed him. Finally, she thought, it was almost over.
LANA’S HEART RACED out of her chest as Paula lurched the car up the hill. She didn’t know what she would do when she saw him, and couldn’t believe how much she could miss someone. Paula passed her house on the top of Deleveaux Circle, and Lana’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Aren’t we going to your house?” she asked.
“Nope, we’re going to yours,” Paula replied.
About a half a mile later, they reached a massive piece of land on the highest peak of the hilltop.
They drove further up until a house came into view.
It was unfinished, with the framing still exposed and no windows yet.
It was the sketch Kayden drew of the house he planned to build for them.
He didn’t waste any time getting it started.
Her heart began to beat faster and faster, her emotions getting the best of her.
What would she say? What would he do? Paula pulled the car up to the end of the rounded driveway.
“You ready?” she asked, her smile bigger and broader than she’d ever seen it.
Lana was breathing fast, too fast. She was afraid she might pass out and tried to calm herself.
“It’s been a month. I don’t know what to say,” she admitted as tears fell down her face.
“I’m sure you’ll find the words,” Paula replied.
“He must be inside. I don’t see him,” Lana stated and felt a little relief as she noticed his car wasn’t there either.
Maybe he was running late, or worse, perhaps he changed his mind?
Paula got out of the car and walked into the massive nine-thousand-square-foot shell that would soon be her brother’s permanent residence.
She saw him through the entrance in the backyard, through which his double doors would eventually be.
It reminded her of her own house, except for being three times the size and way more grandiose.
As she walked through the house, her Jimmy Choo’s echoed through the vast space, then she stepped through the opening that would soon be the covered lanai and stood next to her brother.
“You outdid yourself, little bro,” Paula said.
He turned to her, but wasn’t looking for her.
“Where is she? What happened?” he asked.
“She’s in front. She’s a little emotional,” Paula replied.
Kayden understood; he was too, but enough time had passed, and he needed to see her already. Before he could say a word, what felt like a mini freight train hit him. It was Lana. She had thrown herself into him and was holding onto him for dear life.
“Never mind,” Paula said as they held onto one another, “She took the scenic route.” Paula smiled as they clung to one another and walked back through the house to give them privacy.
Kayden looked down at Lana, her head buried in his chest. She was weeping, and he couldn’t stop his own tears from falling from his face. She pulled back from him and looked at him. She had thought she would never again see those eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, as she couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“No love, you don’t have anything to be sorry about,” he assured.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” she was bawling so loud that she could hardly speak.
“No way. I never stopped looking for you.” He grabbed her face and gave her a kiss so deep and so fierce, her knees buckled.
He caught her before she could hit the ground, never breaking the kiss, missing the familiarity of the woman he loved so much.
Kiss after kiss, it was as if they were filling in the gaps left by the time they were apart.
By the time they pulled back from one another, the tears had given way to pure passion.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Kayden said breathlessly, rubbing the side of her cheek with his thumb.
She turned her head and kissed his hand. “I missed you, too.”
PAULA HAD LONG gone, and now Kayden and Lana walked hand in hand as he gave her a tour of the house.
As much as he could anyway. Every detail they spoke about, Kayden made sure was taken care of.
The tray ceiling and crown moldings. Even down to the type and color of hardwood, they discussed.
It was a marvel, and it wasn’t nearly finished yet.
“You didn’t miss a detail,” she said as she inspected the crown moldings in their soon-to-be formal dining room.
“Of course not. I always intended to bring you home,” he replied.
Lana’s smile faded slightly as he held her hand. He stopped in the middle of what would be their kitchen, turned to her, and held her close, resting his forehead on hers.
“I’m so sorry my mother went to the lengths she did. You didn’t deserve that,” he whispered.
She touched his face with her hand, feeling the familiar stubble that was growing in.
“I know Kayden; I don’t blame you. I hated leaving the way I did,” she dropped her hand and looked down from his eyes.
He could tell there was more she wanted to say.
“What is it?” he asked so sincerely, she almost melted in his arms.
“I was afraid your mom’s plan worked and that you had moved on with Kim,” she admitted, and he scoffed.
“Never. There is nothing about that succubus of a girl that I want or need in my life.” He raised her face to his and searched her eyes with his. “Nothing.”
“I believe you,” she replied, and he kissed her again, soft and slow. The wind was blowing through the plastic tarps into the house, whizzing by them as they kissed. Their body temperatures warmed one another as the brittle wind tried to cut through them. She pulled away from him slowly.
“I need to tell you something,” she said.
“What is it?” He led her through the house over to a bay window that wasn’t finished yet but could hold their weight.
“A couple of days ago, I was at a club—,” she started saying, but he put his hand up and she stopped.
“I know about the attack,” he finished.
“I figured as much,” she replied.
“There is nothing to explain. What happened in the club wasn’t your fault—don’t do that to yourself.”
“I just didn’t want you to think I had moved on—,” she stood up from the bay window, keeping her eyes on him.
“The thought never crossed my mind,” he replied.
Lana sat back down next to him, and he grabbed her hand, pulled her closer, and she rested her head on his chest.
“What happens next?”
“I don’t know, but for the first time in my life, I’m excited for that. No more will my mother dictate the way I live my life or use the past to hurt me,” he replied.
She looked up at his face and kissed his chin.
“It won’t be the same life you’re used to, and I don’t want you to wake up one day and resent me,” she replied.
He looked down at her, and his eyes were stormy and serious. She was afraid she’d insulted him, and then he began to speak.
“Let me tell you something. I have everything I have ever wanted right here in this room. And I don’t want you for one second to blame yourself because of anything my mother could do. Do you hear me? I love you, and all the money in the world or lack thereof will never change that.”
She had never heard words so sweet in her entire life, and she believed every one of them.
Then he shifted, and she leaned forward so he could stand.
Kayden reached into his pocket, dropped to one knee, and opened the ring box.
She looked down into his face, into those gorgeous eyes rimmed in tears.
“I know I’ve asked you before, but I want to ask you again. Lana, will you please do me the honor of being my wife and letting me love you until the day I die?”
She burst into tears, nodding her head as he placed the ring back on her finger. He stood, and they embraced for what felt like forever.
“I’m never letting you go again,” he said. “Me either,” she replied.