Chapter thirty-one

The next day Amy reluctantly went shopping with Linda and Stephanie, the two women having to virtually carry her out of the house to get her away from Mark. As soon as the women were out of the door, Vince went to the window and watched them drive away, rubbing his hands together and then calling the caterers. He had arranged this party right down to the last detail and he could have it up and running in less than two hours, which was how long Linda promised to keep Amy away. So far they had managed to keep any hint of it from her, and he couldn't wait to see her face when she walked back into the house. He called all of the others together and they went about decorating the place, doing their best to stick to Linda's strict rules about where everything should go.

Glenn and Tammy found themselves decorating a huge Christmas Tree and he grinned at absurdity of the task.

"What's funny?" Tammy asked him, unable to help herself from smiling at the big grin he wore.

"It just seems weird doing this in the middle of February," he said, turning to look at her and instantly stopping what he was doing so he could grab her around the waist and lift her up to eye level with him.

"Glenn, put me down!" she said, slapping his shoulder and laughing at his intent expression.

"Stop attacking me, woman!" he growled, quickly walking to the couch and throwing her onto it, then immediately coming down on top of her, his hands searching out all her ticklish spots.

"Glenn...stop it! Oh...you are so going to get it...!" she shrieked as he tickled her mercilessly, her eyes filling with tears of laughter as she squirmed underneath him.

"Well, that's the strangest way of decorating a tree that I've ever seen," Vince said dryly, standing just inside the doorway of the huge room with his arms folded over his chest. Glenn looked back over his shoulder and gave a winning smile when he saw Vince and Kevin standing there, Kevin laughing his head off and pulling faces. Vince looked at him and rolled his eyes. "It's like having a house full of children! Get off her and get on with your job, we haven't got that long until they come back. Move!"

He waited only long enough to ensure that Glenn did as he was told, then walked out of the room shaking his head and already thinking about what else had to be done.

Linda and Stephanie, meanwhile, were dragging Amy around every store they could find, all of them fairly exclusive and beyond Amy's price range. But she had to admit that the clothes were lovely, even if she had no idea why she had to come shopping in the first place.

"Right, remember how I said you didn't have a nice party dress yet? A nice long one? Well, we thought we could get that today, along with some shoes....and maybe some new underwear to match," Linda said, smiling.

"Oh..okay," Amy said hesitantly. "But I don't really need a formal gown, not really. Well, not unless Vince is planning on having a Ball or something."

"That's just it," Stephanie said, smoothly intervening before her mother had even though of something to say. "Dad tends to get an idea in his head on the spur of the moment and organises a huge party. So you have to be prepared. Come on, I think something in blue would suit you."

Some time later, Amy found herself standing in front of a mirror, while a saleslady fussed around her adding the finishing touches to her outfit. She honestly couldn't believe it was her that stared back from the mirror. Her figure was encased in a rich, satin dress, the long skirt hugging her hips before flaring out to fall in soft waves around her ankles. The colour was an iridescent blue/green, that brought out the colour of her eyes and added a creaminess to her complexion with the blue. The bodice cutting straight across her chest and showing only a hint of cleavage, with no straps. It didn't show a lot of flesh, but with her hair swept up away from her neck and shoulders, it looked undeniably sexy. Barefoot the dress would have been too long for her, but she was balancing on three inch stiletto heeled strappy sandals, also in the same blue/green. Underneath the dress she had on a pair of very sexy, lacy blue panties, something she wouldn't have chosen for herself, but Stephanie had picked them out. A matching bra was added to it, although she couldn't wear it with this dress and anyway, the bodice was cut in such a way that she was pushed up and in and accentuated in all the places necessary. To her eyes her breasts looked huge underneath the material, but she supposed it was probably just the way they were pushed up. She wondered how Mark would react when he saw it, and then realised he wouldn't see it until Vince had a party, and that might be ages away yet.

Linda and Stephanie stood behind her, Linda looking like she was going to cry. "Oh, my, you look lovely," she said, looking her up and down.

"You sure do," Stephanie agreed, grinning at Amy's stunned expression. "Come on, let's pay for this lot and get you home, I'm sure Mark's impatient to see you. After all, you've been away from him for nearly two hours!" she added, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, and there's no-one you want to see then? No-one you spoke to all through dinner last night, not even sparing one word for anyone else?" Amy said, watching as Stephanie blushed.

"Well, maybe," the older girl admitted, then grinned. "He's really nice, I think he might like me too!"

"I think so too, if the way he was looking at you last night is anything to go by," Amy said, laughing at Stephanie's hopeful expression.

She was ushered out of the store once the purchases were made, back in her normal clothes, and they drove back home. Amy noticed that Linda and Stephanie seemed a bit excited about something, but she didn't really think too much of it. Not until they arrived back.

They made sure Amy went inside first, and when she looked up she dropped all her bags and stared open-mouthed at the hallway. There were streamers and ribbons everywhere and a big banner reading 'Merry Christmas' hanging above it all. Her eyes sought out Vince, unable to believe what she was seeing, and he came over to her, grinning from ear to ear as he bent down and embraced her in a bear hug.

"Merry Christmas Peaches," he said in her ear, drawing back and laughing at her stunned expression.

"You did this...for...for me?" she stammered, biting her lip when he nodded and emotion flooded her. "Thank you so much!" she said, flinging herself back at Vince and hugging him tightly.

"Hey, don't thank me yet. We have Christmas dinner to come, and presents, then maybe a bit of dancing, who knows?"
She pulled slowly back from him, her eyes trying to take it all in. "I can't believe you did this," she said breathlessly.

"He had help, you know," Mark said from behind her. "Don't go neglecting me!"

She turned around and jumped up to throw her arms around his neck, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him dressed in a tuxedo. "You look gorgeous," she said as he lifted her off her feet and pressed her to his warm body.

"That's not something you say to a man, honey. Handsome, rugged....smart...sexy, any of those things, Gorgeous is for girls!" he grumbled, but he was grinning.

"But you do," she insisted, staring at his mouth for a second before stealing a kiss.

His eyebrows raised at her bravado in front of the others, and his grin widened. "Well, I guess you can pretty much call me whatever you like, you sexy little thing! Now, go get dressed and we'll get this Christmas underway!" He dropped a kiss on her mouth and lowered her to her feet, watching as Stephanie and Linda instantly took her away, Tammy rushing up the stairs after the,

Amy noticed belatedly that all of them were wearing tuxedos, including Vince, and she suddenly realised why she had been taken shopping. The thought of being able to wear her lovely dress in front of Mark so soon made her smile. Tammy was wearing a deep gold dress with a plunging neckline that accentuated all her assets, and she came rushing in to Amy's room to help her put her hair up and do her make-up, full of chatter about how Glenn's eyes had nearly bugged out of his head when he had first seen her in the getup. When she had finished with her, Amy stood in front of her mirror and bit her lip, hoping Mark would like what he saw.

"You look absolutely fantastic," Tammy said, laughing. "Mark's going to have a real problem keeping the others away from you today, even if they do have dates."

"They have dates?" Amy asked, not having seen any women in the hallway.

Tammy nodded, rolling her eyes. "Well, you know what charmers Shane and Kevin can be when they put their minds to it? They went over to the hospital where they'd seen a couple of cute nurses and they managed to get a few of them to come here today."

"Have they all got dates then?" Amy asked, wondering if Paul Wight had been set up with anyone.

"No, not all. There's only three girls, and Shane and Kevin have claimed two of them. That leaves Paul Wight, Paul Levesque and Brock to fight over her. Eric Bischoff is married, so he shouldn't be wanting a date!"

Amy nodded and smiled. Good. That meant that Stephanie could get hold of Paul Wight before one of the nurses did. She followed Tammy out of the room and saw Stephanie and Linda both standing waiting to go downstairs, each of them wearing a very expensive designer gown and looking lovely. Stephanie had chosen a wine coloured silk dress, and she was obviously going all out to attract Paul's attention judging by the amount of cleavage she was showing.

They all walked downstairs together, not intending to make any grand entrance and anyway, the only people to greet them were Mark and Vince. But the look in Mark's eyes when he saw Amy was worth all the effort she had gone to. His face went still and his mouth dropped open as he looked at her, running his eyes up and down her figure as if he couldn't believe it was really her. She smiled at him shyly as she got within a few steps up from him, actually on a level with him for once, and he reached for her, lifting her toward him and taking her mouth in a passionate kiss that had her blushing with embarrassment when he stopped, knowing the others were looking at them. "My God, you constantly surprise me, do you know that?" he whispered as he drew back. "I didn't think it was possible for you to look sexier than you do naked, but I was wrong all the way around with that one!"

His voice was so low that no-one else could possibly hear him, but Amy felt herself go crimson, causing Mark to chuckle as he slowly put her down. "My lady?" he said, bending slightly and offering her his arm, and she felt tingles run up and down her spine at his possessive attitude and the way he was treating her. She felt as if she were something precious to him, and it was a feeling she loved.

When they entered the vast dining room, Amy gasped with delight at the huge Christmas tree that took up one side of the room. It was a little haphazardly decorated, but otherwise stunning, and she found everyone else in the room, all standing having drinks around a beautifully arranged table. If she could have pulled a picture out of a magazine of how Christmas should be, her perfect Christmas no less, then this would be it. She couldn't stop the excitement from shining in her face and to Mark she looked radiant. He grinned at her and pulled her closer to him with one big arm.

Paul Levesque and Shane greeted her briefly then went back to charming the two nurses that Shane had appropriated from the hospital, one of whom Amy vaguely recognised from when she had been there. Another girl was standing looking threatened as Kevin Nash loomed over her, and obviously his charm wasn't helping him out this time. Her dark eyes kept looking up at him as if he weren't real and then flicking away, and she was nervously tugging at a lock of her hair. The fact that Brock Lesnar was hovering nearby probably wasn't helping her composure any and Amy felt a little sorry for her. It reminded her of how she had felt when she first met all these men, and of how she still felt when surrounded by a lot of them. She made a mental note to talk to the girl as soon as she could, try and put her at ease a bit, provided Mark let her go anywhere away from him. He had her anchored securely at his side, and she found it amusing and strangely comforting. Her face went briefly serious as she stared at him in his tuxedo, and she wondered if her mouth was going to start watering, he looked so good. He glanced down at her and caught that look, raising an eyebrow. "Somethin' wrong darlin'?" he drawled, well aware that she liked what she saw.

"You're really sexy," she blurted out, thankfully in a quiet voice and both his eyebrows shot up over his glittering green eyes.

"Better watch what you say, sweetheart. It wouldn't take much for me to drag you out of here and up those stairs, you know," he said deeply, his eyes conveying his seriousness.

"I wouldn't mind," she admitted, smiling wickedly at him and getting a glare in return.

"I bet you wouldn't, but you ain't having me. I'm not that sort of man," he told her, thinning his lips in mock disgust and letting go of her to fold his arms over his chest.

She shrugged and tried for an air of nonchalance. "Your loss. Well, if I can't have you I guess I'll just go and talk to Kevin."

He let her take two steps before his arm shot out and pulled her back to him, his voice a growl as he bent down to her ear. "Try it and I'll take you right here on the floor in front of everybody."

Amy gasped and then giggled, making him smile. "I thought you weren't that sort of man?"

"Maybe I changed my mind," he told her, chuckling.

"Maybe you're a big fat liar, too," she shot back, smiling up at him with such emotion that he could barely tear his eyes away from hers. Vince's voice soon made him look up.

"That's not a nice way to talk to someone on Christmas day, Peaches," he said, one arm around Linda and the other holding a glass of wine out to Amy.

She took it with a smile and sipped slowly, surprised to find it tasted quite nice. "Thank you, but it's not Christmas day," she said.

"It is for you, honey. Now, since it's your day, what would you like to do first, have dinner or open presents?" he asked.

She thought about it and looked up at Mark, laughing when he comically clutched his stomach as if he hadn't eaten for a week. "Okay, okay, dinner first!"

For the next two hours Amy enjoyed the only real Christmas she had ever had. The meal was expertly prepared by the caterers, with all the trimmings. Vince had even gone to the trouble of making sure she had everything that an English Christmas dinner would have on it, and she thoroughly enjoyed every morsel. The noise volume around the table increased as time went on, but it only added to the atmosphere. It was nice to see the people she had become so close to having fun, and it aided her own pleasure in the process. It took some time, but when at last no-one could eat another thing, they all left the table and Vince started pulling out the gifts that were under the tree, handing them to the appropriate person. Amy wasn't surprised that everyone there got a present, because Vince was like that, he always made sure that no-one felt left out.

The gifts Amy had bought for people were opened and she blushed as effusive thanks were thrown her way. She had taken her time over getting them all something, and she had made sure it was something they would definitely like, no matter how difficult that had been. Her own gifts piled up and she couldn't believe the amount of things she got, not used to being given anything at all. Then it was Mark's turn and she turned apprehensive eyes to him, wondering if he'd like what she'd bought him. In turn he had handed her a small package.

"How about we open them at the same time?" he asked, and she nodded.

She watched for a second as he started opening the small gift and then she started on hers, peeling back the paper to reveal a small velvet jewellery box. Her eyebrows creased in a frown. He couldn't have got her the same thing she got him, could he? When she opened it she found a simple gold ring with a large emerald in the middle of it, not overly large and not ornately decorated. Just simple. But she thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Mark smiled in surprise when he found a jewellery box too, but when he opened it his smile disappeared to be replaced by amazement. She had bought him a ring too, a ring that was fashioned into a golden skull with two emeralds as eyes and a ruby snake wrapped around it. Amy looked up to thank him for his gift and became worried when she saw his face.

"Don't...don't you like it?" she asked.

Mark's eyes lifted from the ring and he looked at her so intensely she felt her face heat up. "It's perfect, I love it. Where the hell did you find a ring like this?" he asked, still looking and sounding amazed.

"I saw one similar in a jewellery store, with a wolfs head? They made it themselves and I asked if they could make one with a skull, for you, because I know you like skulls," she said, shrugging as if it was nothing.

"And the eyes? Why emeralds darlin'?"

"Because...because that's what your eyes are like and the ruby snake is your hair...I guess that sounds stupid," she finished, feeling worried again.

"God, no that doesn't sound stupid. You know why you've got an emerald ring? Because you're eyes look like emeralds to me," he said, tilting her chin up when she tried to look away from his intense stare. "If I'd thought about it I would have gone to more trouble over your gift."

"No!" she said suddenly. "It's the most beautiful ring I've ever seen, I love it! I wouldn't want you to change it for anything in the world!" She took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her right hand, holding it up to gaze at it. "It's so lovely."

Mark smiled slowly. "You're lovely, the ring's just an ornament." He took his own ring and put it on, admiring it. He didn't wear much jewellery as a rule, but this looked good he had to admit. His eyes lifted to Amy's and he grinned wolfishly, lifting her suddenly and placing her on his lap, totally ignorant of the people in the room. "You wouldn't believe the amount of money I'd give to have you at home with me in Texas," he said roughly, pulling her against him so he could wrap his arms around her. He looked at her red face and his grin got bigger. "Amber Travis McMahon, are you getting shy on me?" he asked deeply, grinning at her confused face and then looking up.

"McMahon? But my name isn't..."

"Oh yes it is," Vince said, moving to stand next to her chair and handing her an envelope. "I started this up before...well, before you were in hospital. As long as you don't have any complaints, Peaches, you're now legally my daughter."

Amy found she couldn't speak as she looked at the contents of the envelope and found that Vince and Linda had actually adopted her! Her shocked mind couldn't quite take it all in and she looked dumbly at the papers she held, her mouth hanging open. She hadn't even known that an adult could be adopted. But she had always wished that Vince was her real father, and now he was. She looked up at him and then burst into tears, unable to find any other way of releasing her emotions and he crouched down and drew her off Mark's lap and into his arms, laughing as she cried all over his tux. "I assume that means you don't mind?" he asked her.

"I love you Vince, I'd be happy to be your daughter," she said, her voice muffled as she pulled herself together.

He kissed her head and pushed her back a bit so he could see her face. "I love you too, Peaches, and you might think about calling me Dad one of these days. I'd really love that," he said, looking very proud of himself.

"Okay," she whispered, not saying it just yet as she wanted to get used to the idea.

"Good. Now I think someone else is waiting on you," he said with a raised eyebrow, nodding towards Mark who was sitting there with his arms open waiting for her to return, his face impatient but comical enough to make her give a watery smile. She tried to think if she had ever been this happy in her entire life, and decided she hadn't. She just hoped all the bad things were behind her now and that this wasn't just a flash in the pan.

****Author's note:- Okay, so adult adoption probably doesn't exist....but hey, this is fiction!! Then there's Stephanie and Big Show....I don't know why that suddenly happened, but it made sense at the time!!!****