Chapter 22

Sonny's Penthouse

Alexis sat on the couch, flipping through the pages of the agreement. "So whenever AJ wants to see Michael, you or Carly must be in the same room with him. Everything has to be agreed upon ahead of time by everyone involved. And all actions and decisions must be reasonable as would be defined by a court of law." Sonny narrowed his eyes. "Explain that last part." Alexis took off her glasses. "Well, for instance, if AJ calls up ten times wanting to see Michael, and you refuse 9 out of those 10 times, then he could sue you for breach of contract. You'd then face a judge or jury who would determine whether the 9 refusals were reasonable or not." Sonny nodded. "That makes sense. It prevents us from using Michael as a bargaining chip." Alexis sighed. "Of course, I defy a court of law to see anything reasonable about this entire bizarre set of circumstances. The whole thing seems straight out of a sitcom. Do you realize that Michael has three fathers? His biological father, his adoptive father, and his stepfather. The biological father is also acting in the capacity of his uncle, because he happens to be married to the sister of his adoptive father. Then there is his biological mother, whom he lives with. One could sort of say that since Courtney is married to his biological father, that she is his stepmother as well as being his aunt. Now all you need to do is get married and he will have third mother. Wouldn't it be funny if you married Skye? So then his biological aunt would also be his stepmom." She laughed at her own joke. Sonny was not amused. Choosing to ignore the crazy family tree she spelled out, he zeroed in on the last comment. "What makes you think I'd marry Skye?"

Alexis stopped laughing and narrowed her eyes. "Oh please, the two of you have been panting after each other ever since you went to Italy. The only thing that stood in the way of some sort of involvement was this war going on between you and her brother. A war which now appears to be at an end, once this agreement is signed." She smirked. Sonny paced the room. "That's quite a leap from attraction to marriage." Alexis stood up. "Sonny, I've known you a very long time. I have the fat bank account to prove it. Don't even try to pull one over on me. You are crazy about her. Heaven knows why, but you are." He stopped pacing and took a deep breath. "I plead the fifth." She laughed. "Oh come on Sonny, what's the problem here? What, do you think she doesn't return your feelings?" Sonny shrugged. "That's possible. But its not my main concern." She folded her arms. "Then for heaven's sake, what is?" Sonny glared at her. "You claim to know me a long time, and you haven't figured that one out?" She shrugged and held her hands up.

Sonny exhaled in exasperation. "Pop quiz, Alexis. What happened to my first wife, Lily?" There was a long pause. "She died from a bomb explosion." "Correct answer. Next question. Why did I leave my second bride, Brenda, at the altar?" Alexis sighed. "Because you were afraid she would meet the same fate." "Got it in one. Third question. What happened when I took a chance and married Carly?" Alexis closed her eyes. "Her life was threatened several times and you eventually divorced." "Congratulations, you passed the quiz. Now for the bonus round. You want to tell me why in the world I would want to let another woman into the hell that is my life?" Tears came to her eyes. "Sonny…" He held up his hand. "On second thought, I don't want you to answer. I chose this life, Alexis, and now I will suffer the consequences." She glared at him. "So that's all there is to it? You plan to spend the rest of your life alone?" Sonny shrugged, his eyes suspiciously bright. "I'm taking enough risks as it is by having Michael and Courtney and Mike close to me. I hope more than anything that I don't regret it. But I refuse to screw up one more person's life. Especially Skye. She has finally come to a point where she can be happy in her circumstances. I will not pull her into my miserable existence."

Interlude

AJ looked around, nodding in appreciation. "Carly really outdid herself with this club. I wish I had checked it out sooner." Courtney grinned. "Well, I'm glad you didn't. All those sophisticated women would have hit on you and I couldn't have stopped them since I wasn't allowed in." Carly had a policy that people under 21 could not enter the club. AJ laughed. "Well, for one thing, I don't think they would have hit on me. I may be rich, but I'm not sophisticated. For another thing, they could have hit on me all they want and it wouldn't have done any good. I was taken." Courtney giggled. Skye stifled the urge to roll her eyes. "Well now that you're 21, you can have a drink. You didn't have to order ginger ale for our benefit." Courtney shrugged at her new sister-in-law. "To tell you the truth, alcohol doesn't appeal to me. I just don't like the taste." AJ beamed and put his arm around Courtney. "Isn't she perfect for me?" Skye threw him a syrupy smile, and lifted her glass. "I'd like to propose a toast. To Michael and mending fences." AJ and Courtney lifted their glasses and clinked them together. They all took a sip. Courtney put her glass down with a satisfied smile. "I am just so happy that all of this has finally been resolved! You should have seen it, Skye, when they were all signing the agreement. Everyone was so dignified and gracious. I was so proud of them all." AJ lifted his glass again. "To Courtney, without whom I could never have made it this far." They clinked glasses again, and AJ leaned over to kiss Courtney. Skye felt nauseous. The overall romantic atmosphere of the club was bad enough, but now she was feeling like a third wheel. She excused herself to go to the ladies room.

When she returned to their little alcove, she saw that AJ and Courtney had their heads close together, whispering to each other. Skye sighed inwardly. She felt like even less than a third wheel – like one of those doughnut tires kept in the trunk of the car for emergencies. She cleared her throat. "Hey guys, I just got a call from my assistant. The disk with our presentation for tomorrow has been accidentally erased. I better go to the office and deal with this. Talk to you tomorrow." She said it all in a rush of words, then took off before they could even respond. She paused near the exit when it occurred to her that AJ and Courtney had taken her in their car. She would need to call a cab. She went over to the bar and asked if the bartender could call her one. She thanked him and turned to go, bumping into the back of someone's shoulder. "Excuse me, I'm sorry." He turned around and she saw that it was Sonny. She stifled the gasp that came to her lips. "Oh. Hello, Sonny." He nodded and smiled politely. "Hello Skye." There was a long pause. He was looking so wonderful. She wanted to throw herself into his arms. She cleared her throat. "I want to thank you for deciding to let AJ see Michael. It really means a lot to him…and to me." He inclined his head in acknowledgement. She hid her confusion. He was acting like a stranger. Was he still mad at her for supposedly luring him away from Michael's room?

She tried an awkward smile. "I'm also grateful to Carly, of course. I hope she's doing well. I know the car accident must have been rough on her." Oh geez, she thought, now I'm babbling. Just shut up! Sonny looked at her with unreadable eyes. She was about to snap and read him the riot act when his gaze shifted towards the bar, and he finally spoke. "You'll have to excuse me, Skye, I think I see my date. I don't want to keep her waiting. Have a good evening." She stared in shock as he walked over to a beautiful blonde woman sitting at the bar. He sat down next to her, and gave her his most seductive smile. Skye quickly recovered and attempted a composed walk to the exit. She was relieved when she saw that the cab had already arrived. She gave him her address in a wobbly voice. As he pulled away from the curb, she finally let go of the tight control she'd been holding over her emotions, and sobbed all the way home.

Sonny watched Skye leave the club, his eyes filled with longing and pain. Even having been snubbed she still walked with dignity and grace. It took extreme strength of will not to run after her and drag her to the nearest private alcove. When she was gone, his ears finally tuned in to the woman talking beside him. "….and when he gets back from the bathroom he'll probably beat you to a pulp. I mean, he is six foot five and very well built. You don't want to mess with him, he's a very jealous man." He rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said, and strolled away.