Chapter 36 – Speechless

Izzy stared at Stephen; black mascara smudged her cheeks though she had tried to get it off. People were looking. They sat in the back of a little cafe, a few customers scattered here and there. Her hand reached out to touch Stephens lightly, he still looked hurt.

"I'm sorry about my mom. She likes to make snap judgements." Stephen took her small hand in his; he knew this was hard for her, much harder than it was for him, "Everything she said.."

"Yeh don't have to explain Iz." He kissed the back of her hand and picked up her other one, clasping them tightly in his own.

"I do because you're the most perfect man I've ever met, and everything she said was bullshit." Izzy let out her emotions in one breath.

"Why didn't yeh tell yer parents what happened with Sean?" Her eyes caught Stephens for a moment before she tore her gaze away from him.

"They've always wanted the perfect daughters," She tried to pull her hands from his grasp but he held onto her, "I didn't want to disappoint them."

"How could yeh ever disappoint them?" He moved around the table and held her in his arms.

"I've just always wanted to make them happy, to be proud of me." Stephen looked around the cafe; a few people will still looking at the distressed woman in his arms.

"Let's go home." They were only a few blocks from the apartment. She stood up and he led her out into the cool evening air. Goosebumps covered her skin as soon as they were outside; a big arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her into his body. He was trying his best to keep her warm.

Izzy was glad to get into the warmth of Stephens apartment, she felt her blackberry vibrate in her clutch as she wandered into the kitchen. She hopped up onto the counter and slipped her YSL tributes off; they hit the floor with a thud. Stephen shook his head at her and chuckled, he loved how she acted like this was her apartment. She looked at the name on the screen as she pulled her phone from her bag; Mom & Dad flashed up whilst it continued to vibrate.

"Yeh going to answer that?" She looked up; Stephen was leant against the fridge.

"No. I don't want to talk to anyone right now." Stephen moved to stand in between her thighs, he kissed her hard. Izzy felt her head becoming dizzy; he stole her breath with the devastating kiss. His hands leant on the counter beside her thighs. He pressed his forehead against hers staring deep into her soul, "Are you okay?"

"Yeh want me to be honest?" She nodded softly waiting for his answer, "Hearing yeh ma' telling yeh that yeh would be better with Sean rather than me, it killed me."

Izzy felt tears in her eyes again, she felt horrible. She ran her arms around his thick neck and played with his hair, "You're nothing like Sean."

"Yeh need to tell your parents the truth, I'm not having them compare me to that piece of scum." Izzy shook her head frantically, she hated the thought.

"I'll go see them tomorrow, I promise. Let's forget this happened for now and enjoy our last night together." She kissed him again, slipping her tongue into his wet mouth deepening the heated moment. He gripped onto her thighs and lifted her down from the counter. Her small hands unbuttoned his waistcoat and she pulled his flat cap off leaving it on the counter top. She shed his waistcoat then took a step forward pushing her body into his, "Unzip me."

Izzy seductive tone settled low in his abdomen, he kissed along her neck and he slowly pushed the small gold zip down. She pushed herself from him, pulling the material over her shoulders, holding her arms above her head she let the dress slide down her body, pooling around her feet. Stephen licked his lips at her; clad in lace black French panties and matching bra. She reached for him again, slowly prying the buttons on his dress shirt free. Her hand traced down his abs before she pulled the cotton away from his dress pants. She pushed the two halves over his broad shoulders and held the shirt by the tip of her finger. He expected her to drop it to the floor and resume her tantalising teasing. She smirked and laced her arms through the sleeves, buttoning up the middle buttons.

Raising an eyebrow he looked her up and down, "Yer undressing me to steal me shirts now?" She tried to move out of his oncoming grip but she wasn't quick enough. He brought her against his body again and spoke against her ear, "If yeh didn't look so fucking hot, this would be a problem."

She grinned at his words; she had managed to take his mind off what happened to be another eventful evening.

-The Following Morning-

Izzy hated saying bye to Stephen; it was something she would never get used to. Though she had tried to hold on to him for as long as possible, he reluctantly had to leave. Now she stood in front of her parent's house, last night's events still fresh in her mind. She made her way up the stone steps and lifted her hand to the handle but stopped deciding against walking straight in. She knocked three times and waited, hugging herself to try and ease the harsh chill of the cold air whipping around her.

After a few moments the door opened, her dad stood opposite her smiling softly. She looked past him into the house and walked straight in. She wanted her parents to know she wasn't going to stand for their actions. Stephen had stood up for her on so many occasions, now it was her time to do the same for him.

"Your mom's in the living room." her dad spoke as she walked past him. She stormed into the living room but stopped dead in her tracks as she saw her mom. She sat perched on the edge of the couch, deep in conversation with a man next to her. Her heart jumped to her throat as her mom stopped talking and the man turned to look at her. She was left speechless, maybe she was imagining things.

"Elizabeth, I invited Sean around. I thought maybe you two should catch up." She scowled at Sean, not once taking her eyes off him. She could tell he had been trying to work out, obviously intimidated by how big Stephen was. She wanted to laugh, not many men could come close to Stephens size. "We'll leave you two alone." Her mom stepped out of the room with her dad.

"Leave me and my family alone." She hissed through gritted teeth.

"You're mom invited me Izzy, so I'm welcome here whether you like it or not." He stepped towards her and she stepped back. She wanted Stephen. Her eyes narrowed at him as he smirked at her.

"What have you said to them?" she sensed something was up; he could manipulate and make people believe what he wanted them to believe. She could see right through it now though.

"They don't seem to like your boyfriend very much," He pointed to himself, "They think you can do better."

"My parents don't know anything about Stephen."

"They know enough, why else would they have called me?" He reached out to touch her hand but she stepped back again, slowing running out of space behind her. "You still want me, what other reason do you have for not telling anyone why you left me?"

"I hate you. You had your chance with me, and you blew it. You have a wife and kids Sean. What the hell are you doing?" Izzy was pissed, she wanted to punch him again.

"I miss you, we we're great together Iz." She felt sick as he called her by the nickname Stephen used so much.

"I have a real man now. Go to hell." She quickly moved past to leave the room. Her mom stood at the far end of the kitchen hanging up the phone.

"Inviting round more of my ex boyfriends are you?" Her mom opened her mouth to speak but Izzy quickly stopped her, "I hate that you judge people before you get to know them, and I thought that you would trust my decision to date Stephen. I'm sick of trying to impress you and live up to your ridiculous standards. I cared what you thought about Stephen, but now I couldn't give a fuck."

"Don't you dare talk to me like that." Her mom pointed her finger at Izzy, "We're just looking out for you. You can do better than that Irish brute, and the sooner you realise it the better. You need a nice businessman, who can support you."

Izzy shook her head, not quite believing that her mom would actually say such things, "I came here to see if you had come to your senses, obviously not. Maybe we'll talk when you're not being such a pretentious bitch." She turned on her heel and weaved her way through the house back to the front door. She'd had enough of her moms actions. Heading towards Cas' apartment instead of her own she hoped her best friend could cheer her up.

-One Month Later-

A month had passed and Izzy had avoided her parents at all cost. She had decided not to talk to them until they would give Stephen a chance. Now they were stronger than ever and Sean hadn't been in contact with her since her tirade. They had spent a few days with Josie and Paul before they had to go back to Paris; Paul and Stephen were fast becoming friends. Izzy was just thankful she still had her sister and though she had tried to convince their mom to give Stephen a chance, she wasn't having any of it.

Now Izzy stood in the living room of her apartment, a Christmas tree stood tall against the glistening glass window overlooking Central Park, the warm white lights bouncing wildly off the multitude of coloured baubles. It was December 14th, Izzy stared at the Christmas tree deciding which bauble to move; something wasn't right. She needed precision but it was something that came naturally; one of the reasons she was so damn good at her job.

"Iz, it looks perfect. Will yeh leave it now?" She glanced over her shoulder at Stephen; he was sprawled across her couch casually flicking through TV channels.

Returning her gaze to the tree she meticulously moved a bauble a couple of millimetres, "Perfect." She turned to him again, "What do you think?"

"It looks great." She frowned at him; he hadn't even managed to tear his eyes away from the huge screen. She picked up a spare bauble and aimed it at Stephens head, grinning as it hit him right between the eyes.

A groan left his lips as his hand reached up to rub the spot she hit, "What was that for?"

"You didn't even look!" She pointed at the tree then pouted.

"I've been watching yeh decorate it for over an hour now, it looks exactly the same as it did half an hour ago." He flashed his perfect smile at her and she couldn't argue back. She glanced at her watch; 10.15pm. She left the tree deciding it would have to do. She smiled as Stephen opened his arms to her, inviting her into his embrace. She crawled into his arms and rested her head against his chest.

"I forgot to tell you we have plans tonight." Her hand subconsciously slipped under his shirt to run her long fingers across his abs.

"Plans? It's after 10." She glanced up at him and he brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"I have a surprise planned," She grinned as he looked utterly confused.

"What?" He kissed her lips softly and his thumb stroked the curve of her cheek, "Are yeh gonna give me any clues?"

"We have to leave at midnight. That's all I'm telling you."

"Midnight? Are yeh feeling okay?" He chuckled at her, his hand still caressing her face.

"I've never felt better." She stared into his eyes, her voice more serious than before. The underlying tone filled with love and need. He captured her lips again, tilting her head back and sliding the wet tip of his tongue across her full bottom lip. She moaned into his mouth as his other hand slipped to her backside, pulling her closer against his body. After an hour of cuddling up to Stephen and listening to him tell stories about life on the road, she needed to tidy up the Christmas decorations and get ready. She knew Stephen was tired, but she'd had this planned for a few weeks now and she had pulled a lot of strings to do it.

"You need to wrap up warm." She grinned, he still didn't have a clue what was going on, she left a lingering kiss on his lips, "Meet me back here when you're done."

"Alright love, whatever you say." He picked her up as he stood up from the couch, gently placing her back down on the soft carpet. She kissed him again then pulled her arms back from around his neck.

"Don't be too long."She quickly shouted before he left her apartment. She turned to the unused decorations and placed them away in the bubble wrap lined box.

After putting away the decorations she changed into a grey Stella McCartney cashmere-blend sweater dress, the bottom resting mid-thigh. She pulled on the thigh high python Burberry Prorsum boots next to her bed then slipped on her black Burberry Prorsum shearling and wool coat which was a few inches longer than the dress. She gathered her phone and keys and grabbed her bag, sliding it onto her shoulder. She wondered what was taking Stephen so long. She decided she would walk up and meet him. Making her way up to his floor she smoothed her coat down and knocked on his door. She frowned as it was taking longer than usual for him to answer, she lifted her hand to knock again but the door swung open.

"Hey, I was ready so I thought I would come up." She looked him up and down; he had a short black wool coat on and a grey scarf around his neck. He looked nervous and flustered, "Are you okay?"

He nodded and smiled at her, "Yeah, come in. I'll just be a few minutes." He closed the door behind her as she walked into the apartment. She watched as he walked away from her then returned after a couple of minutes. He quickly ran his hands over his coat pockets, "Are we going now?"

"Yeah." She smiled but knew something was up with him, his sudden shift in behaviour made her uneasy. He kissed her cheek lightly and pressed his large hand into the small of her back, guiding her out of the apartment. Once out of the building and onto the sidewalk covered in an inch of snow. She flagged down a cab, quietly telling the driver their destination. The streets of New York were pretty quiet; she looked across at Stephen who appeared to be looking out of the window trying to guess where they were going. She grinned at the cab pulled onto 5th avenue, driving past the high fashion shops. The huge glass windows full of Christmas displays. The cab stopped at 49th and 50th street, Izzy paid the driver before Stephen could and hopped out onto the sidewalk. She smiled at the building in front of her, surrounded by huge Christmas trees and decorations. She felt Stephens arm around her shoulder.

"Rockefeller Centre?" She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled, she didn't reply. Instead she grabbed his hand and led him into a smaller building; a man in his mid 30's sat behind a laptop on a large glass desk.

"Hi Carl." Izzy greeted the tall man, better known to her as Cas' cousin. He managed the special events at The Rockefeller Centre, "This is Stephen."

"Hey Izzy and finally glad we could meet Stephen. Izzy doesn't shut up about you." She shot him a look as he shook hands with him.

"Ah hope she's saying good things." Stephens arm snaked around her waist pulling her into his body.

"Nothing but." He laughed and stuck one hand in the pocket of his dress trousers, "Let me take you guys down."

Stephen looked towards Izzy, a huge grin still playing on her lips. He still had no clue what she had up her sleeve. He took hold of her hand again, squeezing slightly then lacing his fingers within hers. All of the restaurants in the building were closed, only a few people were still wandering around the premises. She bit her lip as her surprise came into view, now she just hoped Stephen would be game. Carl quickly said bye to the couple and left them too it. Izzy leant over the railings of The Rink, glancing up at the huge Christmas tree sparkling in the dark night air. She turned to see the apprehensive look on Stephens face.

"Come on Ste, it will be fun." She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Ice skating? I'm not very good." She kissed him lightly to stop his protesting and ran her hands down his arms.

"Well it's only you and me. You can fall over all you like." She moved to sit down on one of the long stainless steel benches to put on the skates Carl had set out for them, "And I promise I will only laugh a little bit if you do." She grinned as he moved to sit next to her. As she was about to unzip her boots he stopped her, taking her hand in his and holding her chin with his other hand to make her look at him. He stared at her for a moment before giving her a mind blowing kiss.

"Yeh didn't have to do this." He kissed her nose lightly.

"I wanted to do something fun and different, where we wouldn't get interrupted. And it's your first Christmas in New York. You have to go Ice Skating, I'm sure there's some kind of law." He laughed at her softly then kissed her again before releasing her from his grip. She continued taking her boots off, and put on her skates. She skated with Cas every year, it was kind of a tradition now. She stood up ready to hobble across to the rink, thankful she had worn a pair of nude tights as the cold air brushed around her legs.

"Hurry up Ste." He stopped trying to lace up his skates and looked at her, silently asking for help. She rolled her eyes and knelt down in front of him, quickly she tied the first lace and helped him put on the other skate. Once she had done he held out his hands for her helping her up.

"You go first." He pointed over to the entrance and gently pushed at her back. She sensed she would have to encourage him to get on the ice. She stepped through the entrance, the skate scraping across the ice as she took the first long stride. It had been a while, but it wasn't that hard. She turned around, small shards of ice spraying from the sharp blade. Stephen leant on the side watching her; she was only a few metres from him.

"Come on you big wuss!" She waved him over, challenging him to come and join her.

"Iz, I'm 6'6" and 270 pounds." He spread his arms and pointed to himself.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes, "First stop with the credentials and second tell that to all the ice hockey players." He groaned at her, she had a fair point. She bit her lip and watched as he carefully made his way onto the ice, a tight grip on the barrier next to him.

"Need a hand?" She raised an eyebrow but didn't wait for a response; she took hold of his hand and pulled him towards her. He didn't budge much but she had got him away from the edge. He took a few strides and naturally got a hang of it, "See, if wrestling doesn't work out you can play ice hockey." She stuck her tongue out at him and tried to skate backwards. A yelp left her mouth as she almost slipped; Stephen reached out for her to steady her balance.

"Watch yehself love, yeh know yer accident prone." He held onto her arm and kissed her softly before she left him to skate around the rink. She kept her eye on Stephen, as amusing as it was to see him trying to skate she didn't want him to break any bones. She stopped in front of the 70 foot Christmas tree reaching high into the New York sky. She heard Stephen behind her, the swoosh of his skates breaking the silence. His arms wrapped around her waist, holding onto her tightly. She looked up into the sky as she saw a flash of white dance past her. It was snowing again.

Stephen turned her around in his arms; she couldn't help but giggle at the few snowflakes landing in his hair. She reached up to brush a few of the flakes away but he caught her hand before she could. Her heart jumped at the serious look suddenly on his face. His tongue swiped across his lips quickly before pressing a kiss to the back of her small hand. He pushed himself away from her slightly and took a deep breath. Slowly he lowered himself onto one knee as the snow continued to fall around them.

Izzys eyes widened at the sigh before her, her blue eyes glossy as Stephen reached into his coat pocket. A small black velvet box held tightly within his grip. He looked up at her, stunning grey eyes full of love and hope. She tried to take a deep breath but couldn't, the harsh cold air making breathing almost impossible. Her free hand reached to cover her mouth as tears slipped from her eyes. She was dreaming. She had to be. A small smirk tugged on his lips as he kissed her hand again.

"Iz, I love yeh. Will yeh make me the happiest man in the universe and marry me?" Her heart pounded and her mind spun. She tightened her grip on Stephens hand for support. Her blurry eyes searched his for a moment and her hand dropped to her side as she opened her mouth to speak. A cloud of mist filled the cool air but no words followed.

To be continued...

A/N – Thank you miamitravel, DefinitelyProbablyMaybe, celticfighter, Chelle, MissShelz, ThatGirl54, LA Williams, poisenousprincess, Tiffyxox, wwemagpie, xFindTheEnigmaWithinx and CourtneyRiot for the reviews. I KNOW YOU HATE ME NOW! LOL, an update will be soon since I am free from uni for Christmas so don't panic! Just wanted to shout out a new story I'm involved in; it's written with two close friends of mine DefinitelyProbablyMaybe and celticfighter. 'Masters of Puppets' - Three girls set to conquer the WWE, first they must pave their way through NXT and their masterful pros. But things aren't always that easy. Triple H/OC Sheamus/OC Wade Barrett/OC.