Chapter Forty Eight

In Costa Rica on a high security compound, Lorenzo Alcazar stood outside the metal door of her bedroom. He knew that she’d slept well the night before, he’d watched her. It was a surprised to him, she didn’t like the compound at all, which affected her sleep, usually.

He didn’t think the compound was that bad, but maybe because he was used to it. The heavy metal walls were bare, except for a couple of paintings scattered about. Beyond the doors, once you walked into the rooms, the person could see that they were more colorful than the hallway. She’d insisted on it after she moved there, which was something she hadn’t really wanted to do.

Not that he’d forced her, no, he hadn’t. It was her choice to do so, against what she really wanted. But, her love for him had led her to, she wanted to be close to him. Lorenzo wanted her there, too, but he knew that she hated his ‘prison’. The brunette preferred the yachts, even though he didn’t think that made sense. The ocean that surrounded the boat was just as much a wall as the barbed wire security fence that the compound was protected by.

Lorenzo sighed softly, knowing that she intended to leave today. Her stay for the time being was finished until she did what she had to do. He opened the cold metal door and stepped inside the dark room. Reaching for the knob that worked the lights, he turned it slowly so he could see in the dim shadows. A glance towards the bed showed her sleeping form under the comforter of the bed and he went to sit beside her. Her brown eyes remained closed and his hand reached up to brush the chocolate hair from her face. Samantha McCall stirred in her sleep and awakened with his touch. Groggy, her eyes focused on his face, on his eyes that were cold as steel.

“Good morning. You said you didn’t want to leave late.”

Sitting up, she stretched and nodded. “No, I don’t. I have to get back to Port Charles and get this done, Lorenzo.” 

Taking her hand in his, he told her, “I know. You’ve waited years but she never got better or came out of her depression, so now you have to. I understand.”

She gave him a sleepy smile, grateful that he understood why she had to get her revenge. It wasn’t just for her, but for herself, too. Sonny had done damage to both of them. Sure, she’d worked for him at the time and it was her job to eliminate his obstacles, but she had emotional ties to some of those people. They worked for her stepfather, Corinthos’ rival, and that was business, but she’d also grown up with them part of the time. The time she wasn’t with her father, who had joint custody of her after he and her mother divorced. She spent equal time with Cody McCall and the family her mother had created with her stepfather and sister.

“You’re going to come with me, right?” she asked. She wanted him to, but she knew that he didn’t want to get involved with it, so if he did, he would just be there because she wanted him to be.

He turned away from her, conflicted as to whether he should or not. Lorenzo didn’t like what Corinthos had done, he loved her like a sister because she was important to Sam. But, that didn’t mean he wanted to get involved. The woman he loves wanted him there, for support, as if she needs it. She didn’t need anything, she was strong enough to do it on her own, what ever she had in mind.

“Okay, I’ll go. But, I am not going to have anything to do with it.”

~*~

Perry and Rosie approached the two women and Jason Morgan, and his sister hugged him tightly. “Hey! I’m so glad you could come. I really wanted to be at the wedding, but the doctor almost flipped out when I told her I was planning on flying out there. And, I was promptly put under house arrest by Sonny, who you’ll meet later. He’s obsessed with ‘being healthy’ and thought he would take the duties upon himself.”

Her older brother chuckled. “That’s okay, as long as you have a doctor’s note. We wish you could have been there.” He looked at Jason. “Both of you.”

“Ah, yes, Perry, this is Jason. Mandy already ‘met’ him.”

“Hey, nice to finally meet you after talking on the phone for months. And, hearing about you from Court.” The two shook hands in a friendly manner, almost brotherly already.

Jason smiled and nodded slightly. “Yeah, you too.” Looking at the two women, he asked, “Could Perry and I talk for a couple minutes? You can take Mandy up to their room and Max can get the bags.”

Courtney agreed, not quite sure what her brother and Jason had to talk about, but she and Mandy nabbed Max as he came back from delivering the dog kennel to the SUV.

Mandy smiled to herself, just a small one. Good luck, guys.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Max led the two chattering women up to the Matthew’s suite, bags of luggage in hand. Mandy and Perry were going to be staying until the next morning, so Carly suggested that they all go to The Cellar later that night to make the most of it.

“So, how did the wedding go?” Courtney asked. Perry had told her his version, that it was wonderful just because it was him marrying the love of his life, but he hated all the guests. Most of the people he didn’t even know, mainly just people his parents had done business with, or people Mandy’s parents knew.

The woman chuckled. “Well, I loved the wedding in itself, but I didn’t like how big the guest list was, and neither did Perry. I’m sure he told you that two days before, he had our bags packed and was ready to leave when I got home, ready to elope.”

Max chuckled at the idea. Smart man.

“Yeah, he did. He called me the next day, when I told him I wasn’t going to be able to make it, and ranted into the phone for a half hour about how big weddings were ridiculous if the guest list had more people that you didn’t know than ones you did.”

The guard carrying the two suitcases stopped outside the door and Courtney took the key and opened it. They allowed Max to go in first before following him in. A bed was placed against one wall and a t.v. stand sat off to the side. The blonde and her sister-in-law took a seat in each of the chairs.

“Ms. Matthews, I’ll be outside the door.”

Courtney nodded and Mandy couldn’t help but chuckle. She didn’t know the specifics of Jason’s job, and she didn’t want to, just that Courtney needed a bodyguard right now when he wasn’t with her. She didn’t seem to mind and they obviously got along well together. I hope she’s happy.

“So, what’s my brother and Jason talking about?” Courtney had a tiny feeling that Mandy knew.

She shook her head. “No idea. My guess is that Jason knew that your big brother was about to give him a lecture, so he decided to get it done and over with.”

“He’s such a brat. It’s not like he couldn’t have done this over the phone or something. Why do it the minute he gets here?”

Mandy began to get her bathroom necessities out of her bag. “Because he’s the brother and being protective.” She paused for a moment. “Oh, Alex says to tell you hi. He was disappointed when we told him that you couldn’t make it to the wedding, since he was out of town when you left.”

Alex was as much of a brother to her as Perry was, even though he was Mandy’s by blood. They got along great and had the same love of teasing their siblings, which drove them nuts. They teased each other plenty, too, with their own sarcastic towns. Perry had joined in on the teasing eventually, mainly on the subject of the two having a relationship eventually down the line.

At that they’d always scoffed, all four of them, since they knew that it wouldn’t happen. Neither had wanted it, or did, and that was the reason they’d formed a friendship. Alex was the only guy who hadn’t hit on her within the first five minutes of meeting her and she liked that about him.

A cell phone rang and Mandy reached into her pocket and looked at the read out on the screen. “Well, speak of the devil. You want to answer it?”

Chapter Fifty

30 minutes later, Perry and Jason walked in the door of the room to find Mandy sitting in one of the leather chairs, flipping through the channels on the T.V. Courtney’s older brother looked around, trying to find his sister and his wife looked up at him. “She’s on the balcony. Alex called and she’s talking to him.”

“Ah. Did you get to talk to him before she did?”

She shook her head. “No, I let her answer it since she hasn’t talked to him in awhile. I think he was calling to ask about something at the office, because she got ticked off for a minute.”

A puzzled expression passed over his face. He’d left Alex in charge while he was going to be on his honeymoon. “What’d she say?”

“Something about telling you to get a restraining order as soon as you get back.”

He knew what his brother in law had called to ask about then. Jasper Jacks had shown up at the office again. Maybe I should file for a restraining order.

Jason walked to the door that led onto the balcony, where he saw Courtney leaning over the edge, on the phone like Mandy had said. His talk with Perry had gone as well as he had hoped, and now, they were all set to meet Carly and Sonny at The Cellar later. They’d called Max downstairs so he could take Rosie back to the loft after they’d gotten back.

He looked down at the watch on his wrist and saw that they had a little over three hours before they had to be at the club. We’ve got to eat, and then Carly’s going to want us dressed up, she already said that, simply because it’s her club. Okay, we should be leaving soon.

The phone in his pocket rang and Courtney turned around, still talking to Alex and saw him. She chuckled and he answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“Yes, Carly, we know. We’ll be there on time and in the clothing you want.”

“Okay, stop yelling in my ear. Goodbye.”

He snapped the phone shut as Courtney did the same to Mandy’s phone, ending her discussion with Alex. She stepped back inside the suite, next to Jason.

“So, how hard was my brother on you?” she asked, tossing a playful glare at the man across the room.

“No too bad. That was Carly on the phone.” He looked towards Perry and Mandy, who were sitting at the edge of the bed. “She wanted to remind us that we’ve got to meet them at eight and make sure we’re ‘clothed correctly.”

The blonde laughed and rolled her eyes. That figures. “Hey, Perry, you need to get a restraining order against Jasper Jacks. According to Alex,. You’ve got about ten voice mails form him at the office. He says it’s not the property he was initially asking about.”

Perry sighed deeply and also rolled his eyes. “No surprise. He’ll have to wait, I’m not there and I don’t have any messages as far as I’m concerned. I’m sure Alex can handle it until I get back.”

Mandy nodded, changing the channels blindly as she listened to the conversation. “Yes, I think he can. Is that all he wanted to tell us?”

Jason wrapped his arm around Courtney’s waist as she answered. “Yeah, that and to see if you guys had gotten here okay. Of course, he started in with his incessant teasing once he told me that.”

Jason watched and listened to the conversation, letting the woman bond with her brother. He enjoyed it and he’d spent more time with her in the past months than her brother had. He could share. For now.

Mandy laughed at that. She knew that neither would be able to resist taking jabs at each other, that wouldn’t change with just a couple of months with no contact. “Who didn’t expect that?”

“Oh, I expected it. But, he did manage to let me know that he’s been out of town a lot in between those smart ass remarks.”

“God, yes, he is. He comes back and then has to leave again the next day most of the time. His boss is trying to work him to death, I’m sure.”

“What area of work is he in?” Jason asked, curious. His work sometimes made it so he had to go out of town, but it wasn’t all the time. He hated it either way, so he couldn’t imagine doing it all the time, unless it was more for pleasure than business.

Courtney answered the question as she took Jason’s hand in hers, playing with his fingers, one of her many favorite ways to touch him. “He scouts property for a real estate company in San Francisco. They’re pretty big and they keep him moving.”

Perry nodded and looked at his own watch. Having already met Carly briefly, he got the impression that she was serious when it came to being on time so he didn’t want to upset her by being late. His stomach growled slightly. “Okay, is there anywhere we can eat quickly before meeting your friends at their club?”

His younger sister grabbed her purse from the bed and pulled Mandy to her feet. “Yeah, we can go to Kelly’s. We’ll eat, drop you guys off her afterwards so you can get ready then we’ll pick you up again when it’s time to go. Sound good?”

The three others nodded and headed out the door to the food.

Chapter Fifty-One

Carly was in the back office of The Cellar at seven, waiting for her husband to arrive, but passing the time by going over drink orders that were supposed to come in the next week. She could hear Ric out in the main room instructing the staff on where to put things as they set up for the club to open for the night. The dark blonde rolled her eyes at the sound of his voice. They know how to do their job, Ric. Who do you think has been doing it since the opening. Then a thought hit her. He can’t be here tonight, Jason may kill him.

She stood up and walked out to where the employees and Ric were. Candles were being placed at all of the tables and small bouquets of roses and an orchid were being placed in vases. The bartender, Andreas, was busy behind the bar and Marco and Max, who’d been relieved of his dog sitting duties when Courtney and Jason returned to the loft to get ready, stood just outside the basement entrance. Two other bouncers were at the door to the back entrance.

“Okay, Ric, you need to leave. The staff know how to do their jobs and there’s no reason for you to be here.”

The slick lawyer turned to his business partner and looked at her as if she were crazy. “Excuse me? I’m a partner in this club and I have just as much right to be here as you do. And, Elizabeth’s meeting me here.”

“Like hell she is. I would tolerate her any other night, but not now. And, you won’t be a partner for very long if you don’t do as I ask. It’s my club. Now, don’t make me have Max and Marco throw you out.” She didn’t exactly dislike her partner, but she knew that Jason and Courtney weren’t fond of him so she didn’t want him or Elizabeth to ruin it. They were there to spend time to Courtney’s brother and his wife and enjoy themselves, not to get angry.

“Fine.” Ric glared at her and walked towards the basement entrance and up to Kelly’s. He and his girlfriend could find something else to do tonight.

~*~

Jason Morgan sat on the couch in the loft, waiting for Courtney to finish getting ready. He was dressed in a nice pair of black pans and a dark blue button down shirt. He’d buttoned it all the way up, but when he’d walked out of the bathroom, she’d shaken her head no and unbuttoned the top two and loosened his collar, making him a bit more comfortable. He didn’t like dressing up, but Carly wants us to.

His nerves had settled down quite a bit since earlier that day, especially after his and Perry’s trip. He hadn’t been sure about having him meet Carly before they got to The Cellar, but then decided for it when he thought that it would be better than being ambushed. Courtney’s brother hadn’t met Sonny yet, but Jason wasn’t too worried about that. He wasn’t as bad as his wife, at least not in public.

Rosie jumped up onto the couch next to him and lay down. He moved away slightly, not because he didn’t like her, but because he didn’t want any of the light dog hair to get on his dark clothes. Carly would have a fit.

Courtney looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was straight, mostly, with very soft curls in a few placed and she ran her fingers through the golden silk to loosen the waves. She wore a dark blue dress that set off her eyes and made her hair look that much more radiant. It had thin straps, the neckline cut low. She’d bought it at Carly’s insistence during one of their many shopping trips and thought this was a good chance to wear it.

Satisfied with her appearance, the blonde walked out of the bathroom and back into the closet for some perfume. She dabbed small drops on her wrists and grabbed her purse from the top of the dresser before heading out to the living room, knowing that it was probably time to go get Perry and Mandy. Don’t want to make Carly go into meltdown mode.

Jason was at the sink in the kitchen, getting a drink of water when she emerged from the hallway.

“Ready to go?” Courtney asked, smiling at him. The dark blue of his shirt made his blue eyes seem a million times brighter than normal and the way it was unbuttoned revealed enough of his broad chest to satisfy her.

Wow, he thought to himself. “You look beautiful.” He walked towards her and continued to look her body up and down.

She blushed slightly under his tender, loving gaze. “You look nice, too.”

Jason brought his hands to her face and leaned down so his face was just centimeters away from hers. “Thank you,” he said, before kissing her gently.

-----

Chapter Fifty-Two

Ten minutes before eight o’clock, Courtney, Mandy, Perry and Jason all got out of Jason’s black SUV. Carly seemed to have opened the club a couple minutes early, which didn’t surprise the blonde at all. She felt the spiky haired man’s hand slip into hers and she squeezed it, gently telling him ‘I love you.’

Courtney and Jason led the way to the back entrance of the club, with Perry and Mandy following closely behind.

“This area looks familiar,” Mandy commented as she took in their surroundings.

“We were here earlier. The diner we ate at is right above the club and you can reach if from a set of stairs inside, also.” Courtney explained to her sister-in-law.

“Wow, the building doesn’t look that big from the outside.” Perry said.

“The four made their way through the door and into the main room. It didn’t take long for Carly and Sonny to stop them through the other club-goers and they made their way over to them.

“Courtney, you look gorgeous!” the darker blonde told her best friend as they shared a hug. She was dressed in a dark cranberry dress and her hair was pulled back into a sophisticated ponytail.

A wide grin broke onto Courtney’s face as she moved Mandy into view. “Thanks, Carly, so do you. This is my sister in law Mandy, and my brother Perry. Perry, Mandy, as I’m sure you can tell, this is Sonny and Carly Corinthos.”

The chocolate-eyed mobster held his hand out to Perry and they shook hands. “Nice to meet you,” he said and he offered it to the woman at Perry’s side, also. Carly followed suit.

Mandy eyed the dark blonde curiously. She didn’t seem anything like Courtney had told her, besides being somewhat bossy about reminding Jason what type of clothes they were supposed to wear. “You did a great job on the club. It looks wonderful.”

“Thanks. My partner, Ric Lansing, helped out just a little bit. I’d introduce you to him, too,” Carly tossed a look at Jason, “but he had other plans for tonight.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Maybe we’ll get to meet him some other time”

The dark blonde smiled and nodded, then turned to direct the group to a table on the other side of the room before telling Andreas to get their drinks. Carly returned to the table and sat besides Courtney and her husband. I really don’t know how long I can wait, she thought as she glimpsed Jason’s hand intertwined in Courtney’s. At least I got rid of Ric.

Forty-five minutes pass, the conversation moving from different subjects, including Perry answering Courtney’s questions about the company in San Francisco and how it was doing. Carly watched the spiky haired man sitting two seats away from her. He looked a little anxious and she got some twisted sort of entertainment from it.

Soft music was playing and a few couples were on the dance floor, as more began to join them. Jason caught Carly’s eye and she nodded, telling him that he should do what he wanted. Without speaking, he got up from his seat and gently brushed Courtney’s shoulder, holding his hand out to her. She smiled and took it before following him to the floor as the four left at the table watched in anticipation.

The couple reached the floor and the blonde wrapped her arms around his neck as his went to her slim waist. He could feel their companion’s eyes on them, but the dark blonde’s were practically boring into him, he could tell. Don’t think about it.

She could see in his baby blue eyes that he was deep in thought, even as he looked at her. But, she didn’t know what it could be. “What are you thinking about?” she asked softly, running her fingers over the back of his neck.

“How much I love you. You’re everything to me, Courtney.”

She looked at him adoringly. He was everything to her, too. Now that she’d met him, kissed him, talked to him, made love to him, she couldn’t imagine her life without him. I don’t think I could have a life if he wasn’t here. She had no illusions, Courtney knew that there could be a day where he was gone and she never saw him again, the day that something horrible would happen at that would be it.

But, she would not let the knowledge scare her. She’d always been that way, her parents had tough both her brother and her that when they were little. It was her parents reasoning that anyone could be gone, without warning. Her mother’s sister had died in a car accident when she was younger, so she knew first hand and was determined to teach her children that there was always the possibility, no matter what, that something could happen in the next second. ‘We are not guaranteed tomorrow.’ Her mother had cross-stitched that phrase and framed it, burying it deeply in her children’s heads. She never wanted them to be afraid of taking chances, especially for the things in life that were worth having.

How will we connect these hearts?

“I love you, too. Forever.”

“Forever’s a long time,” Jason whispered in return, both a serious and playful warning.

“That’s good, because I wouldn’t say it if it didn’t last.” He brushed her cheek with his fingertips, enjoying the sensation of her soft skin as Courtney continued to run her fingers through his hair.

Back at the table, Perry watched his baby sister and Jason, along with the other three sitting with him, as they danced and whispered to each other. It was obvious how much they loved each other, and it was odd for him to see her like that. But, he was happy for her, that she’d found someone who truly loved her and, in his brotherly opinion, actually deserved her. I’m so glad that she didn’t date in high school. He watched her lay her head against his chest and looked towards the other three, understanding between them.

“How about another drink?” Carly asked, obviously trying to give them something to do so they could continue watching the couple inconspicuously. They didn’t need Courtney looking over and seeing them.

“Good idea,” Sonny agreed. She’d better say yes. If not, Carly shoots both him and me.

Jason sighed and kissed the side of the blonde’s forehead. Okay. “Courtney,” he said, and she lifted her head so she could look at him. He brought a hand to her cheek and held the side of her face. No big flowery words, Jason. As simple as possible. Carly and Perry had given him that advice as the jeweler’s earlier that day. Both had wanted to come with him when he’d informed them two days earlier, and he was glad. It would have been too awkward alone. Her blue eyes looked into his, waiting for him to speak. So he did.

“Will you marry me?” he asked softly, before holding his breath waiting for her response.

Courtney didn’t know how to react. She knew her answer but her mind, and her heart, were wrapping themselves around his question. She blinked and ran a finger over his jaw line. She tried to find her voice; she didn't want him to think that her delay was because she was unsure. “Yes.”

Jason let out the breath he was holding and smiled before leaning down and kissing her softly. He saw the tears welling up in her eyes before his lips touched hers and brushed them away as they met.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled away as Courtney continued to run her fingers over his face, still smiling at him, happily. Inside his pocket, he took the ring out of the box and slid the band onto her left ring finger.

She felt the coolness of the ring, but couldn’t see it until he moved his hand. When he did, she saw a beautiful sapphire, surrounded by two diamonds, both her favorite jewels. It reminds me of his eyes, she thought. But so does everything blue.

“Do you like it?” he asked tentatively. He’d picked it out without any help from her brother or best friend, they had just been there to ‘observe’, but both had voiced their approval of it.

Courtney nodded. “Yes. It’s perfect. It’ll remind me of you every time I look at it.”

“Good,” he whispered as he leaned his forehead against hers. “I love you.”

The song ended and the couple walked slowly back to the table, hand in hand, and Carly nearly screamed when she saw the ring on her hand, but she managed to keep it under control. All four at the table were wearing wide smiles, though, and Courtney realized that they’d known Jason was going to propose all along.

“You guys knew, didn’t you?” she asked, mock anger on her face and scolding in her voice.

Mandy laughed and nodded, “Yes. Why do you think Perry and Jason left after we got to the hotel?”

Courtney looked sideways at her new fiancé, who just shrugged and gave her a sheepish grin.

“We went to the jeweler to get the ring.” Perry informed her as she stood and gave his sister a hug. “Congratulations.”

“Hey, don’t forget me! I went with them, you can’t always trust two men in a jewelry store.” She also gave her a hug and Sonny and Mandy followed, and the two men shook the groom-to-be’s hand while the two women embraced him.

The blonde was surprised that they’d been able to keep it from her, especially since Carly wasn’t the best at keeping secrets. “You guys knew he was going to propose here?”

“No, we just knew he would sometime tonight but we didn’t know or suspect until he took you out on the dance floor.” Sonny responded to the question as a hostess brought six glasses of champagne to the table.

“Now, I’d like to propose a toast,” he handed each a glass. His dark eyes settled on Courtney and Jason, then moved to Mandy and Perry, finally resting on his wife next to him. “To old marriages, new ones, and to the special one that is soon to begin.”

Before they could touch glasses, Carly interrupted. “And, to love that lasts.”

The other five in the party nodded in agreement before completing the toast, and Jason kissed his fiancé tenderly, sealing their own promise.

I already see us moving mountains

I already see us walking water

I already see the clouds we’re flying

Over and under

I already see us having babies

Walking through the park and being lazy

I already see myself falling in love eternally

And I think that’s just the way it’s gonna be

Song Credits: “Be” by Jessica Simpson