An hour passed & Leila & James were still in bed, naked in each other’s arms. Leila could actually hold a good conversation with James. He was fun to talk to & frankly fun to be around. Vance was a bit more to himself & she found herself being bored in his presence. They both suddenly heard a car pull up & car doors opening & closing.

Leila: You’ve gotta get out of here...

They jump out of bed & Leila tosses James’ clothes towards him. Leila wraps herself in her robe & heads to the bathroom to shower. James runs out & heads to an alternate entrance to the house. Leila smiled as she hopped in the shower. Sex with James was special. It wasn’t just the sex. They also had chemistry & compatibility. When James got to his room, he went out to his balcony smiling down at the guesthouse. He felt so satisfied. Leila was the only girl that made him feel this way. He reached into his jeans pocket & pulled out the underwear she threw to the floor. He quickly put it back in his pocket.

He saw his dad & Vance walk to the front door from the car. He wondered where they went. He felt a little left out. You’d think he be used to it by now. Mr. Phillips was all about image. His priorities were: 1)his company 2)his image 3) his health 4) his assets 5) his wife 6) Vance 7)James. And all in that order. If anything were to advance his company or image, he’d go for it. James thought back to a time he had a piano recital & his dad chose a business deal over going to the recital. James was only 5 at the time, but it meant a lot to him. It hurt him when he didn’t see his dad in the audience. And another time when he was 10 & joined a peewee soccer league. He came, but he was always walking in & out taking phone calls. His missed it when he made the winning goal.

James heard footsteps outside his door followed by a knock.

Vance: Hey bro, it’s me.

James: Come in.

Vance came in & started small talk with James. He walked around the room & commented how clean it was compared to when they were growing up. He pointed at the ribbons, trophies & photos on his desk. Vance picked up their family photo from when the boys were in highschool.

James: That was when dad went on a business trip & missed out family photo shoot & we had to photoshop him in for the Christmas card that year.

Vance: Yeah... He was working hard for our family.

James: If that’s what you want to call it.

Vance: You know what, that is what it is. And I understand that because I know what it means to provide for someone else other than myself.

James: What’s that supposed to mean?

Vance takes out the small box & takes the ring out to show it to James. James was so shocked he had to sit on his bed. Vance sat on the desk chair.

James: Whoa...Are you thinking of proposing to Leila?

Vance: I’ve been thinking about it for the past 2 years. I was gonna do it when we were in Cabo last summer, but I really wanted to do it with family.

James couldn’t believe this. Here he was falling in love with Leila & his brother had been planning a proposal. James looks at the ring & hands it back to Vance.

James: How many carats is this thing?

Vance: 5 carats & she deserves it!

James: So when’s the day?

Vance: Thanksgiving dinner. But I wanted to run things by you first.

James: Why?

Vance: You’re my brother & this is going to be a big change for our family. She’s going to be your future sister.

James cringed at the mention of Leila being his sister. James felt like he was having an outer body experience & not in a good way. He wished he could get out of this predicament. Should he tell his brother how he feels about Leila?