A/N – Thanks for your comments! Guest – Please don't act like I haven't been bringing up Jason's sins. There are chapters on it. He is constantly expressing regret for his bad choices. Like it or not, there are consequences for actions, and they have all suffered because of it. There is always a method for my madness. I don't bring things up just to trash them. It's leading to something else which is good. I make no apologies for trying to help the characters overcome the past once and for all and move forward.
Chapter 54
Maximus held Liz's chair out and she sat as she took in her surroundings. They are in a private room.
"I don't get summoned by my ex-daughter-in-law very often."
She smirked. "You guys are going to milk that for all its worth."
"You better believe it. Have you checked your bank account lately?"
Her eyes grew big and then her head tilted. "You are bluffing."
"You think so?"
She shook her head as the waitress poured her a glass of wine and then Maximus.
"So, what did I do this time?"
Liz grinned. "It's a long list. Maybe we should wait until after we eat."
"You're stalling."
"Maybe."
They ordered and then Liz stared him down. "So, I hear a wedding is right around the corner."
"As much as I love Tess, having you as a Giambetti was pleasing."
"I'm sure Tess can keep you in line."
"She doesn't try. Maybe that is what I miss."
"Do you like her?"
He smiled. "She's beautiful, smart, snarky, and keeps my son in line and happy. What's not to love?"
Liz grinned. "I like her too. She'll love him fiercely and she's loyal."
"I'm not going to complain because I enjoy your company, but are you going to tell me why we're really here?" The anticipation is driving him crazy.
"Maybe."
He chuckled and then he held up his glass. "To you. I'm glad you're in my life and I wish you nothing but the best and a lifetime of happiness."
"Thank you. I'm glad you're in my life too."
They sipped the wine and then Liz leaned her chin on her hands. "Remember our last conversation when you implied that you wanted to reward me for bringing you home?"
"Yes. What do you have in mind?" He can't believe she is willing to go there and will do just about anything for her. She had sacrificed and stepped up to the plate and he'll never forget it.
The gleam in her eyes is almost blinding him.
"I need you to keep your nose out of your son's wedding."
His eyes bulged. "What?"
"You heard me. Let them do whatever they want. You will go along with it, or I will do damage like you've never seen before."
The waitress giggled. She is a family friend. "I think she has your number."
Maximus's eyes narrowed and he started to speak but Liz held up her hand. Once the dishes were placed before them and the woman moved away, she picked up her fork.
"Max is in love and Tess has been through a lot. All she wants is him and something small and special. You can have the reception the next night with as many people as you want."
He almost choked.
"You heard me. There will be only close family friends at the actual wedding. She wants it small and intimate and it will be on a yacht. The next night, you can invite as many Goombas as you want to the shindig, but the wedding itself stays private."
"You don't understand how our world works."
"Oh, but I do. They are more interested in the show afterward, so they can drink, eat, throw money around and stare at women. Let the kids have their night."
"This is blasphemy."
"Don't mess with me, Maximus. I love you, but you will not get your way on this subject. A girl should have what she wants that day and I want Tess to have it all."
"But—"
She took a bite of her food and moaned. "This is so delicious."
"You're changing the subject."
"We are going to enjoy this beautiful meal and you are going to go home and yell and do whatever you want before they come home. Then, you're going to tell them that they have your blessing."
"Dammit, Elizabeth. That is my son and I want the best for him."
"It's what he wants, Maximus. Shouldn't that matter?"
"He's just saying that to make her happy."
Liz sighed. "Did you love their mother?"
"Of course, I did. She was my world."
"And would you do anything for her?"
He cursed under his breath.
"Maximus?"
"Elizabeth…" He wants to throttle her.
"Don't make me go get your little gun under your desk."
He couldn't help it and laughed. "Stop calling my gun little."
"I'll tell everyone how little it is if you don't agree." She ate another bite as he shook his head.
"You drive a hard bargain."
"So, do we have a deal?"
"I guess. I may have to go kill someone afterward to uphold my reputation."
She grinned. "Fine. Just make sure it's a bad guy."
"I see why they sent you. I may have to disinherit him."
Her brow rose as she shot him a look.
"Don't get all riled up again." He muttered as he cut into his steak.
"I love you."
He sighed. "I feel like I should warn Jason."
She laughed. "He already knows what damage I can do and he's all in."
"He has always loved danger."
She cracked up. "He sleeps with one eye open."
"As he should."
She stopped chewing. "I need to find you a mate so you are occupied."
He choked on a piece of steak and the waitress came out to check on him and handed him some water.
"I'm fine. She's evil though. I may need a priest."
The older woman put her hands on her hips. "She is lovely."
"She just bullied me and threatened to be a matchmaker."
The woman grinned. "I like her even more now," she said before leaving.
"See. I have a fan."
He smirked. "You have many fans. If I was thirty years younger…maybe even twenty, I'd give Jason a run for his money."
"I will take that as a compliment but let me give you some advice." She sipped her wine and then her eyes danced with mirth. "You really shouldn't fight Jason on anything because he will win because my man has it going on."
Maximus chuckled. "Is that so?"
"Uh-huh. No one can hold a candle to him."
"I'll try to keep that in mind."
She winked and then took another bite of the pasta which is so yummy. "I'm taking her home with me. You think Aidan will mind?"
He laughed. "Yes, because she wouldn't let him in your kitchen. She's territorial. I tried to get in the back to see what she was up to one time and I almost got chopped with a meat cleaver."
Liz grinned. "You know, we need to hang out more often. We could do some damage."
He would like that, but the reason they are the only ones in the restaurant is to keep her safe, so there won't be a lot of meals in public places. "I'll sneak you over to the house here and there."
"You better."
"What am I going to do with you?"
She shrugged. "Keep me."
"That goes without question.
"But if you step out of line, I'm calling Epiphany."
His eyes bulged. "You wouldn't." That woman doesn't play.
"Oh, but I would. She was going to be my ace in the hole if you didn't cooperate."
"Women…"
"Rock…"
He smirked. "You're too much."
IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi
Elizabeth knocked on Max's door and she heard some fumbling before he threw it open and then she slapped her hand over her eyes. "That is too much information." He is clad only in a towel.
"Ex-wife, what are you doing here?"
She dropped her hand and eyed him. "Don't I still get visitation?"
Tess giggled and moved around him. She's wearing a towel too. "Sorry, we were just…"
"You don't have to explain." At least someone is getting lucky. "I have great news for you."
"He agreed?" Max said in awe.
"Yup."
Tess hugged her. "Thank you, so much!"
"Is he still alive?" Max said.
"Yup. He'll live another day to annoy you."
Max grinned and went to reach for her, and his towel dropped. No one moved for a second and then Max scrambled to grab it as a horrified Tess turned red.
"Well, at least it's bigger than Maximus's little gun." She knows she's blushing but is trying to ignore it.
Tess cracked up.
"I'm out of here."
"I'm never going to live this down."
Liz grinned. "Nope." She went back to her car and went home to find the boys in the living room with Jason.
His eyes narrowed. "Why do you look weird? Was he that mad?"
"No. He agreed."
"Then what's wrong."
"I just saw Max naked."
The boys pretended to gag while Jason's mouth dropped open.
"You what!"
"Now don't get all testy. He is my ex."
"Elizabeth…"
She giggled. "He was going to hug me, and his towel fell."
Jake snickered. "How red did he turn?"
"Oh, they were both scarlet."
"I don't even want to know," Jason said.
Liz smirked deviously and Jason jumped up.
"Don't say another word, Elizabeth."
"You don't want to know?"
The kids cracked up as Jason ran upstairs.
"That was too easy," Liz said. "So, now that he's gone, do you guys want to help me with his birthday party? We have a few more weeks. His birthday is the same day you guys go back to school, so we'll celebrate it on Sunday."
"I'm in. What do you need me to do?"
"I have a list for you and Jake. Can you see if you can get the items? It goes with his other present. Monica will be here that Sunday afternoon. We'll need to hide her, so Alessa is going to pick her up from the airport and take home until we're ready."
"He'll like that surprise."
"Alexis might come, but she isn't sure yet. Drew is going in for surgery the next day, so it would be nice if she could come to help calm the kids."
"That will be interesting," Cam said.
Jake took the list. "Cool. I think I can get these."
Cam perused his. "Done. What about Drew?"
"Here's a second list. We'll give him presents at dinner. Aidan will help me with decorations and baking a cake."
Aidan smiled. "I'm in."
"Good. We'll have dinner over at Maximus's house and he'll know he has presents at the house, but Monica will be a big surprise. She'll be waiting at the house." Jason hates parties, but he's just going to have to deal. She stood. "I'm going to go check on him." She found him upstairs looking out the window. "Hey."
"I put a hit out on Max."
"You did not." She put her arms around him. "But I do need you to give him a hard time the next time you see him."
Jason slightly smiled. "Oh, that will be happening."
"You have a bigger gun."
"Elizabeth!"
"Well, you do."
He shuddered. "I don't want to think about Max's gun and I certainly don't want you to."
She giggled. "Come here."
He turned around and she grabbed his face and kissed him.
"What were we talking about?"
She grinned. "Exactly…" Their lips met again, and Elizabeth laid her head on his torso. It's so easy to get carried away with him. "Jason, I want to change the rules."
His eyes shot to her face. "What do you mean?"
"I don't want to wait until my birthday. Can we—on yours?"
His eyes narrowed as he licked his lips. She is killing him. "I—if we do that—Elizabeth, I'm scared."
"Why?"
"I don't want to do anything to screw this up. Do you see a change in me?" It's so hard not to constantly regret the past when he sees how their choices have affected the boys. Some days, the guilt eats away at him, especially when Jake has a bad day.
Her eyes filled with love. "Oh, Jason. You've moved across an ocean. You handled everyone that has or could hurt us. Michael wanted you to come home and you didn't. Instead, you put your son and your family first. You haven't said the word danger to me once. I'll ask you this one more time. Are we enough? Do you want this family and are you willing to commit to us—to be with me?"
"Yes. I'm so proud of you and boys. I love all of you."
A grin lit up her face. "Jason, you've already changed so much. If you're looking for perfection, it will never exist."
"I'm in love with you and I never thought we'd ever get to this place again. I tend to lose when it comes to relationship and that thought—the possibility that it will all be ripped away scares me."
She pressed her fingers against his lips. "You always said that you stay in the present because it's all you can control. Stop overthinking. You're turning into me."
He smirked.
"Seriously, in case you haven't noticed, life is unpredictable. We just need to stick together and ride the waves. I think we can handle anything together."
"I want that more than anything. I have been fighting for us. It's not easy for me to change. There's a comfort in a routine and things become almost like a mantra in my mind. It's just the way my brain works. I get fixated and driven. What I'm trying to say is that I've been thinking and planning and you and kids are everything to me. I don't want to be in a world without you."
Her eyes pricked with tears. "Thank you. We're both evolving and growing, and it just feels right. All the insecurities that got in the way before are no longer relevant or holding us back. I like what I see."
"I feel the same way. I'm going to take this time before we move to figure out what I want to do to occupy my time. I can't just be a kept man."
She laughed. "Yes, you can. I doubt you need my bakery money."
"I don't, but I need to do something with my hands besides touch you."
"Really? Cause I think you do that job quite well. I don't mind."
They kissed again and then heard gagging in the doorway. Hastily, they broke apart and turned to look.
"What do you want, O'Brien?"
He grinned. "You got a minute? I want to give you an update."
Liz motioned for him to come into the room. "I'll go see what the crazies are up to."
Once she was gone, Johnny moved inside and sat on a chair.
"What's up?" Jason asked before sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Peter is back in Port Charles and doesn't remember a thing."
"How's that going?"
"He's a bit destructive and told Maxie to take a hike. She's pregnant."
Jason's eyes bulged. "Wow."
"Yup. It's a hot mess, but he'll never be a threat again. Anna left and is staying with Robin. Finn is sticking it out with Alex. The business is doing well."
"That's good news."
"When are you leaving for Switzerland with Drew?"
"We have to fly out the afternoon of my birthday. I'll be there until I know he's safe and recovering."
"Milo is going to go with you. Maximus insisted."
"Okay."
"Francis and I were talking. Security for you and your family won't be that difficult. We'll have time on our hands."
"What were you thinking?"
"We're not sure, but he's going to put together a few ideas based on the area that we can get into. Is there anything you don't want to do? We'd love it if we could all go in on a venture."
Jason shrugged. "I don't think so."
"There's a few possibilities were looking into. Would you consider buying a Vineyard with a house and land? There are rumors one might be coming up for sale in the spring."
"I would have no idea how to run one, but I'd probably be up to the challenge."
"There's a wine tasting storefront that has a kitchen in the back, so Liz could sell her baked goods in town. It's near Siena. There is a warehouse a block over from the store. The property also has olive groves."
"I'll have to do some reading on it." It doesn't sound too far out of his realm. He ran the coffee warehouse, but he knows nothing about wine or olive oil.
"From what I hear, the man wants to retire. I'll give you the address and whatever information we dug up and then you can look it over with the family. I'm sure if you're interested and make a good offer, he'll be motivated to sell it to you. Francis and I want in. We can split up responsibilities."
"Jake might want in too. Cam likes working for Maximus though."
"I think this is a great opportunity for a family business and Cam might like the idea too. The farming staff would stay. There are a good number of apartments on the property where they stay and some are open, so Francis and I could live there for now. You would still have a lot of privacy in the house."
"I'm liking the sound of this more and more. I'll discuss it with everyone."
"Alright." He handed Jason a folder with some information. "Let us know and then we'll spend some time working on a contract.
"Sounds good."
He left and Jason flipped through it and then went downstairs.
