Upon hearing Elizabeth's voice, Anthony stopped short at the entrance
of the bedroom he shared with his wife. "Yes." He heard her say. "I
agree, securing the right caterer is crucial. If you think that it's
necessary then of course I will join you. Give me a few minutes to check
on my father in law and I will be on my way."
Even with the little of the one sided conversation that he had overheard, Anthony knew exactly whom Elizabeth was speaking with. There was no doubt in his mind that the person on the other end of the phone was Emily Morgan and the mere thought of that had him seeing red all over again. He waited to hear the click of the receiver hitting the cradle before entering the room. Anthony was far more concerned with catching his wife in a lie than he was about observing the privacy of Elizabeth's conversation. "Nice to see you haven't forgotten where you live." Anthony's tone was stone cold.
His voice startled her. Emily's request to join her at the Morgan estate to further discuss the arrangements for the upcoming benefit rang in Elizabeth's ears alongside Anthony's threats as to what would happen if she ever set foot on the Morgan grounds again. "Like you would ever let me forget!" She shot back.
"Who were you talking to?"
If the question had been asked by anyone other than Anthony, Elizabeth would haven taken it as nothing more than an innocent inquiry however given the look in her husband's eye she knew better. "What?"
"Who were you talking to?" Anthony asked again, as his voice grew harsher.
"I was discussing plans for the benefit," she offered avoiding the obvious answer Anthony was searching for.
"Are you planning on answering my question or do I need to remind you again that everything in this life comes at a price?" The eerie feeling that had caused Elizabeth to run the previous night returned to fill her.
"What do you want me to say?" she questioned.
"WHO THE FUCK WAS ON THE PHONE???" Anthony's enraged voice bounced off the walls.
"My father," Elizabeth answered with what Anthony knew to be an outright lie.
"I just passed your father on the road," Anthony countered as he watched his wife squirm.
"I am sure you did. He was just here and forgot to tell me about an appointment he made with us to meet the prospective caterers for the benefit." Elizabeth surprised even herself with her quick comeback for Anthony's obvious attempt at tripping her up.
"You really expect me to believe that crock of shit?"
"What's not to believe? You yourself just said you passed him. Ask Rocco if you don't believe me," Elizabeth suggested amazed at how steady her voice sounded while she was trembling inside.
"Like I'd get a straight answer from that old cohoot. You have him wrapped so tight around your little, it's a wonder the man can even breathe for god sakes!" Anthony spat his anger at the closeness between his wife and father.
"Anthony, if you have a point I wish you would make it. I don't want to keep my father and the others waiting."
The reference to the "others" caused steam to rise within Anthony. "Don't forget my dear Elizabeth, you are still my wife!"
He watched her eyes dart around the room and sensed that he had hit a bull's eye when it came to keeping his wife in her place. Anthony thought back to his conversation with Reggie not that long ago. He knew it would be only a matter of time before the Morgan family, namely Jason Morgan, would no longer be a thorn in his side. Baring that in mind, Anthony left the room as quickly as he entered leaving, Elizabeth to do nothing more than stare at his back and wonder. The altercation with Anthony left Elizabeth feeling so defeated that she let her heavy body drop against the bed. As she rolled over, her eyes came to rest on the empty side that night after night had been occupied by Anthony.
Contrasting emotions suddenly overpowered Elizabeth. She had shared this bed with Anthony for nearly two years, and it had never held the passion and grace that the hotel bed she had shared last night with Jason had. Elizabeth ran her hand across the cool sheet and imagined what it would be like to have Jason beside her in this bed, or any bed, night upon night. What she wouldn't give to be able to have that. Elizabeth knew she would sell her soul to the devil if she could have in order to be with Jason, but there was no chance of that since her father had already ensured that Elizabeth's soul belonged to Anthony. The images and conversations of the past few days played tricks on her mind. Elizabeth vaguely wondered how so much joy could be contained within so much anguish. The joy undeniably was the magic that she shared with Jason Morgan. The prospect of seeing him again that afternoon had her dizzy with delight. Elizabeth cradled the soft down pillow close to her chest. Rocco's words of finding happiness where she could settled deep within her, as did his warning about the rules differing for men and women. Elizabeth certainly didn't need a reminder of that. The notion was glaringly obvious to her. Anthony was able to flaunt a new woman on his arm every night if he chose to, but she was forced to hide behind closed doors. The whole concept made Elizabeth's stomach turn. The last thing she wanted to do was hide her feelings for Jason, and more importantly, she wasn't sure she even could.
Anthony's blatant threats played continually through her mind and she wondered if Jason hadn't been right about the stakes of this game being too high. She had started this to, in one way or another, give herself a little piece of well deserved justice for the hell that she was forced to live. Elizabeth had intended to capitalize on the vehement hatred between Jason and Anthony, but now she questioned if she had made the right choice. Would it have just been better to leave well enough alone? Elizabeth ran her hands through her massive curls as she pondered that thought. It didn't take but a second to come up with an answer. She knew that the feelings held within her for Jason Morgan were growing by leaps and bounds and even if she wanted to stop them, there was no way she could have. The trick now would be to find a way to disguise them from all those around her.
"None of that excuses you thinking that taking up with another man's wife is acceptable. Not to mention that this woman is Elizabeth Malucci for heaven sakes! That's pure and utter madness. Madness that has to stop! Do you hear me Jason? You have to put an end to this." "If I don't?" "Then I won't be responsible for what happens from this point forward. You are on your own son and god help you."
Jason paced the four corners of his room, feeling like a caged animal as his father's last words echoed through the recesses of his mind. Jason's resolve to keep his father in the dark about what was or wasn't happening with Elizabeth had gone up in a puff of magician's smoke. He chastised himself for letting his anger get the better of him in his confrontation with Joseph. As many times as Jason had watched his father goad an adversary, he had never expected to be on the receiving end of it. Joseph had played his son like a finely tuned instrument, and for that, Jason was now kicking himself. It wasn't as if he had been shocked by his father's reaction to his words. Jason had known for a long time Joseph's stance on such things as marriage and infidelity. In Joseph's mind, there wasn't room for any of the qualifying statements that Jason had tried to get him to see that morning. A marriage, good or bad, was a bond that was to be broken by death and death alone. That was what Jason feared the most, Elizabeth's death by Anthony's hand.
As he slipped his shirt off his shoulders, Jason caught the faintest scent of Elizabeth. Memories of her flooded his senses. How had he ended up in this place? A place where he couldn't go forward or go back. Jason gazed at himself in the mirror as he had done earlier that day in the hotel. He still wasn't able to recognize the man looking back at him. Yes, the features were familiar, but the look he now had deep in his eyes was one that he had only seen in the eyes of his brother and sister. Jason knew how to characterize it, but the idea of verbalizing those words scared him. He knew that if he dare to let them pass his lips there would be no turning back for him. If he admitted out loud what his heart was screaming, that he was falling in love with Elizabeth, there would be no way out for him. Since the first time he laid his eyes on her, turning away from Elizabeth had never been an option for Jason.
"UGH!!!" Jason let out a heavy sigh as he began stripping his body of its remaining clothes. He knew that he needed to burn off some of his pent-up energy and standing there remembering how soft Elizabeth's skin was against his own or how her touch set his body on fire wasn't the way to go about doing that. Jason threw on a pair of boxing shorts, slung a towel over his bare shoulders and laced up his shoes. A few rounds with the punching bag that hung in the Morgan gym would do just the trick at alleviating the stress he felt, or at least it would exhaust him enough to allow himself to sleep. That was something that he hadn't been doing a great deal of since meeting Elizabeth Malucci.
Jason rounded the corner and came face to face with Elizabeth standing in his foyer. His emotions ran the gambit as he stared at her beautiful face. In one breath he was elated to have her presence so near to him, yet alongside that elation was anger and fear. All three sensations were vying for center stage. The fear and anger eventually won out.
"Hello Jason," Elizabeth said with her brightest smile. "Getting ready to work out?" She hoped that her voice held steady when she spoke. The sight of Jason's bare chest rippling with tanned muscles had her pulse racing so quickly that she could hear it beating inside her head.
"You can't be here!" he returned through clenched teeth. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"That's quite a greeting," she said making no attempt to hide her frown. Elizabeth had expected him to be as happy for their chance meeting as she had been when Emily had innocently invited her to the Morgan compound.
"Stop with the games Elizabeth."
"Games?"
"Yes, games. You can't just keep popping up here and there like some trick rabbit." Jason's eyes made their way around the expansive foyer as he wondered where his father might be.
"Jason," Elizabeth cooed, unable to resist the urge to touch his chest. The gentle caress of her flesh against his noticeably quickened his breathing and he attempted to reign in his raging emotions.
"Stop it Elizabeth!" Jason's voice wasn't above a whisper, but Elizabeth heard the sternness it held. "I thought you understood that for us to continue you had to play by my rules." His words were more of a statement than a question.
"What if I can't?" Elizabeth returned quite honestly.
"You have to."
"All these rules and codes...." Elizabeth stammered, frustrated beyond belief that ending her marriage to Anthony couldn't be as simple as signing her name to a piece of paper.
"You knew that going in." Jason's voice finally softened. Elizabeth's look of despair mirrored what he was feeling. As much as Jason understood the need for the codes and honor tied to their world, that's how much at the moment he hated them.
"Doesn't mean I have to like it," she pouted.
Joseph hated that somehow along the way he had been reduced to the prying eyes of a spy in his own home. No matter what he had led his son to believe earlier that morning, he certainly wasn't about to leave Jason whipping in the wind just because of a poor judgment call on the younger man's part. The sight of Jason and Elizabeth standing before him held Joseph captive as he suddenly felt as though he had intruded on a very private moment. That feeling was only heightened as he watched Elizabeth lean in and kiss Jason softly. It was the smile on his son's face that concerned Joseph the most. The facts before him couldn't be denied and that only served to reinforce Joseph's anxiety that Jason was in well over his head as far as Elizabeth Malucci was concerned.
Jason felt Elizabeth's sweet lips brush against his. He reached to move the stray hair from her eyes. The slight touch of his skin to hers caused Elizabeth to jump. "You can't be here," Jason said again, yet this time it was with much less vehemence as Elizabeth's body melted into his own.
"Why not Jason?" Emily's voice parted the pair as if it had been a hot knife through frozen butter. "Elizabeth is here to see me, not you!" Emily did little to disguise her annoyance with her brother. The way Jason had brushed her aside that morning still stung and Emily had no intention of pretending it didn't.
"Well I better let you ladies get to work. The benefit is fast approaching. Nice to see you again Elizabeth," Jason said trying to cover for the very intimate scene his sister had been witness to.
Elizabeth shifted nervously as she and Emily took seats at one of the patio tables closest to the pool. "Here is the name of the caterer we are using for my wedding," Emily said as she presented Elizabeth with a small business card. "Mama is very high on them and I must admit that I too was quite pleased with them at the tasting they had for us."
Elizabeth stared at Emily curiously as she continued discussing the benefit with no mention of what she had just seen between Elizabeth and Jason. In one way it was a relief but in another it was unnerving. "I will take you at your word then. If you find 'Catering by Michael', " Elizabeth said picking up the card as she read the name of the company, "acceptable to cater your wedding than I wouldn't see why we can't use them for the benefit as well."
"You don't want to have a tasting of our own?" Emily questioned sensing that her guest wasn't completely focused on the task at hand.
"Sure," Elizabeth said as her voice trailed off. Her eyes made their way around the patio as she remembered her first night there. The image of Anthony falling head long into the pool that led to her chance meeting with Jason flipped through her mind.
"Elizabeth," Emily snapped her fingers in front of Elizabeth's face and tried to gain her attention.
"Huh?"
"Did you hear anything I said regarding the possible theme for this benefit?"
"What?" Elizabeth questioned.
"I asked you what you thought about a New Orleans Mardi Gras kind of theme. This being Chicago and there being so many blues clubs in the area, I was thinking that we might be able to capitalize on that fact and get a local band to play the event. Does that work for you?"
"Sure – that sounds fine." Elizabeth's voice sounded detached as her memories had now propelled her to the image of Jason standing bare chested in the foyer moments ago.
"Elizabeth," Emily sighed knowing that it was time to address the inevitable. "Would you rather ditch this talk about the hospital benefit and discuss what's really on both our minds?"
"What? What do you mean? You invited me her to finalize some of the details for the event."
"Not as much as I did to discuss what is happening between Jason and you," Emily said bluntly.
"What's happening between me and Jason?" Elizabeth echoed Emily's rather pointed question.
"Yes."
"There's nothing going on between the two of us!" Elizabeth feigned innocence.
"You expect me to really believe that? I saw you just now. That certainly didn't look like nothing to me."
"You must have misunderstood. I tripped, being the klutz that I am, and Jason just happened to be there to catch me."
"Oh really?"
"Yes – really!" Elizabeth squirmed feeling as she had when Rocco had questioned her that morning. The only difference between now and then was that Jason's sister seemed to possess more information about the budding relationship than her father in law had.
"Elizabeth, I am no fool and it doesn't take a genius to see that both you and Jason are attracted to one another. So please don't insult my intelligence by pretending what's happening isn't." Elizabeth brought the icy glass of tea to her lips, as she wished for something stronger. Having to play duck and run with so many questions lately had frayed her nerves a bit. "Elizabeth do you have feelings for my brother?"
Elizabeth opened the folders before her in an attempt to collect her thoughts. This conversation had already gotten way too out of hand for her liking. "The idea of he New Orleans theme sounds like a great idea. Do you think the caterer could handle an array of Cajun food?" Elizabeth questioned as she scribbled down a few notes, not wanting to meet Emily's prying eyes. "The blues band is wonderful too. That should be a big hit over the stuffy string quartets that are usually at these kinds of events."
"That was my thought. Elizabeth you didn't answer my question."
"Yes – about having a tasting." Elizabeth was searching for any reason to keep the conversation away from the direction that Emily obviously wanted it to take. "I think we should schedule one as soon as possible. The benefit is right around the corner."
"I will handle that then," Emily sighed knowing that Elizabeth wasn't about to crack. She had been a Mafia wife too long to slip up that quickly. Never the less Emily continued in her attempt to confirm what she had already known to be true. Elizabeth could sidestep the issue all she wanted but her feelings for Jason were as plain as the nose on her face. "I'm glad that we are getting some of these benefit details settled, but you never answered my question Elizabeth," Emily pushed.
Elizabeth cleared her throat as she angrily narrowed her eyes and realized that she had been backed into a corner. "Emily, do you think we could cut to the chase?"
"That all depends on you Elizabeth. Depends on if you are ready to admit that you have feelings for my brother."
Elizabeth weighed her options as to how she should respond. She was certain in what she knew Jason would want her to say. He would expect her to deny, deny, deny but the voice inside her heart wouldn't let her. It wanted, it needed release for the wealth of wonderful emotions it held for Jason. "Yes," she whispered as she looked away instantly sorry that in the heat of the moment she had divulged such precious information.
Emily was Jason's sister but that didn't make a difference in this instance. The more people who were privy to the fact that Jason and Elizabeth were stealing moments together would make it more likely that Anthony would be tipped off. That thought scared Elizabeth as much as it had Jason but for different reasons. Jason feared what Anthony was capable of doing to her and she had felt the same way only in reverse. Considering the well-publicized hatred Anthony had for Jason, he would be in as much danger if not more, from Anthony's wrath, as Elizabeth would be.
"That was the easy part." Emily's voice startled Elizabeth. "Now what about your husband? Do you also have feelings for Anthony?"
"What I feel for Anthony is nothing more than contempt," Elizabeth said venting her bottled up hatred for the man she married.
"Why Jason, Elizabeth?" Emily continued with her questions. The long standing war between Anthony Malucci and her brother hadn't been lost on Emily and there was a part of her that had to flush out Elizabeth's true intentions as far as Jason was concerned. Emily had long since come to understand that nothing in the world her father and brother lived in was, as it seemed to be.
"Are you asking my intentions toward Jason?" Elizabeth returned remembering Jason asking the very same things of her only in much harsher words and tones.
"Maybe. I can't help but wonder why Jason? It's no secret the distaste the man you call your husband has for my family, namely my brother. To me it just seems a bit strange that out of all the men you could choose to take up with, you choose my brother, Anthony's enemy."
"Emily, I didn't set out to fall in love with your brother." Again Elizabeth heard words escaping her lips and she had no control to stop them.
At hearing those words, Cassandra Morgan nearly dropped the large box containing her daughter's newly altered wedding gown. Could she have heard correctly? Did Elizabeth Malucci just say she was in love with Cassandra's son?
"Then what did you set out to do?" Emily asked quite curious as to the response she was about to receive.
"To be honest with you, I don't know. The night of your engagement party I was hurt and I was angry. I just wanted to make Anthony feel the way I did. That's why I showed up here unannounced. I wanted to make him look the fool like he had done to me time and time again. I didn't come here for any other reason than that."
"I think that's the first truly honest thing you have said," Emily offered.
Cassandra stood silently listening to the young women talking.
"It may be," Elizabeth returned.
"So you love my brother?" Emily asked seeking confirmation of a fact she already knew.
"I didn't say that," Elizabeth said, as she looked for an out in this impossible situation.
"Yes you did, Elizabeth." Emily wasn't about to relent in her pursuit of the truth.
"I know it's wrong and I know it's dangerous but I can't stop these feelings," Elizabeth sighed heavily as she gave up her ever present denial and pleaded for Emily's understanding.
Cassandra nodded her agreement from her concealed perch. She had known the first day Elizabeth had shown up on their doorstop under the guise of working with Emily that there was an underlying tension between her and Jason. Cassandra had addressed her concerns to Joseph then and he had said that there was nothing to be worried about, but now she knew that to be untrue. This triangle of Anthony, Elizabeth and Jason was one that Cassandra knew would have deadly consequences.
Even with the little of the one sided conversation that he had overheard, Anthony knew exactly whom Elizabeth was speaking with. There was no doubt in his mind that the person on the other end of the phone was Emily Morgan and the mere thought of that had him seeing red all over again. He waited to hear the click of the receiver hitting the cradle before entering the room. Anthony was far more concerned with catching his wife in a lie than he was about observing the privacy of Elizabeth's conversation. "Nice to see you haven't forgotten where you live." Anthony's tone was stone cold.
His voice startled her. Emily's request to join her at the Morgan estate to further discuss the arrangements for the upcoming benefit rang in Elizabeth's ears alongside Anthony's threats as to what would happen if she ever set foot on the Morgan grounds again. "Like you would ever let me forget!" She shot back.
"Who were you talking to?"
If the question had been asked by anyone other than Anthony, Elizabeth would haven taken it as nothing more than an innocent inquiry however given the look in her husband's eye she knew better. "What?"
"Who were you talking to?" Anthony asked again, as his voice grew harsher.
"I was discussing plans for the benefit," she offered avoiding the obvious answer Anthony was searching for.
"Are you planning on answering my question or do I need to remind you again that everything in this life comes at a price?" The eerie feeling that had caused Elizabeth to run the previous night returned to fill her.
"What do you want me to say?" she questioned.
"WHO THE FUCK WAS ON THE PHONE???" Anthony's enraged voice bounced off the walls.
"My father," Elizabeth answered with what Anthony knew to be an outright lie.
"I just passed your father on the road," Anthony countered as he watched his wife squirm.
"I am sure you did. He was just here and forgot to tell me about an appointment he made with us to meet the prospective caterers for the benefit." Elizabeth surprised even herself with her quick comeback for Anthony's obvious attempt at tripping her up.
"You really expect me to believe that crock of shit?"
"What's not to believe? You yourself just said you passed him. Ask Rocco if you don't believe me," Elizabeth suggested amazed at how steady her voice sounded while she was trembling inside.
"Like I'd get a straight answer from that old cohoot. You have him wrapped so tight around your little, it's a wonder the man can even breathe for god sakes!" Anthony spat his anger at the closeness between his wife and father.
"Anthony, if you have a point I wish you would make it. I don't want to keep my father and the others waiting."
The reference to the "others" caused steam to rise within Anthony. "Don't forget my dear Elizabeth, you are still my wife!"
He watched her eyes dart around the room and sensed that he had hit a bull's eye when it came to keeping his wife in her place. Anthony thought back to his conversation with Reggie not that long ago. He knew it would be only a matter of time before the Morgan family, namely Jason Morgan, would no longer be a thorn in his side. Baring that in mind, Anthony left the room as quickly as he entered leaving, Elizabeth to do nothing more than stare at his back and wonder. The altercation with Anthony left Elizabeth feeling so defeated that she let her heavy body drop against the bed. As she rolled over, her eyes came to rest on the empty side that night after night had been occupied by Anthony.
Contrasting emotions suddenly overpowered Elizabeth. She had shared this bed with Anthony for nearly two years, and it had never held the passion and grace that the hotel bed she had shared last night with Jason had. Elizabeth ran her hand across the cool sheet and imagined what it would be like to have Jason beside her in this bed, or any bed, night upon night. What she wouldn't give to be able to have that. Elizabeth knew she would sell her soul to the devil if she could have in order to be with Jason, but there was no chance of that since her father had already ensured that Elizabeth's soul belonged to Anthony. The images and conversations of the past few days played tricks on her mind. Elizabeth vaguely wondered how so much joy could be contained within so much anguish. The joy undeniably was the magic that she shared with Jason Morgan. The prospect of seeing him again that afternoon had her dizzy with delight. Elizabeth cradled the soft down pillow close to her chest. Rocco's words of finding happiness where she could settled deep within her, as did his warning about the rules differing for men and women. Elizabeth certainly didn't need a reminder of that. The notion was glaringly obvious to her. Anthony was able to flaunt a new woman on his arm every night if he chose to, but she was forced to hide behind closed doors. The whole concept made Elizabeth's stomach turn. The last thing she wanted to do was hide her feelings for Jason, and more importantly, she wasn't sure she even could.
Anthony's blatant threats played continually through her mind and she wondered if Jason hadn't been right about the stakes of this game being too high. She had started this to, in one way or another, give herself a little piece of well deserved justice for the hell that she was forced to live. Elizabeth had intended to capitalize on the vehement hatred between Jason and Anthony, but now she questioned if she had made the right choice. Would it have just been better to leave well enough alone? Elizabeth ran her hands through her massive curls as she pondered that thought. It didn't take but a second to come up with an answer. She knew that the feelings held within her for Jason Morgan were growing by leaps and bounds and even if she wanted to stop them, there was no way she could have. The trick now would be to find a way to disguise them from all those around her.
"None of that excuses you thinking that taking up with another man's wife is acceptable. Not to mention that this woman is Elizabeth Malucci for heaven sakes! That's pure and utter madness. Madness that has to stop! Do you hear me Jason? You have to put an end to this." "If I don't?" "Then I won't be responsible for what happens from this point forward. You are on your own son and god help you."
Jason paced the four corners of his room, feeling like a caged animal as his father's last words echoed through the recesses of his mind. Jason's resolve to keep his father in the dark about what was or wasn't happening with Elizabeth had gone up in a puff of magician's smoke. He chastised himself for letting his anger get the better of him in his confrontation with Joseph. As many times as Jason had watched his father goad an adversary, he had never expected to be on the receiving end of it. Joseph had played his son like a finely tuned instrument, and for that, Jason was now kicking himself. It wasn't as if he had been shocked by his father's reaction to his words. Jason had known for a long time Joseph's stance on such things as marriage and infidelity. In Joseph's mind, there wasn't room for any of the qualifying statements that Jason had tried to get him to see that morning. A marriage, good or bad, was a bond that was to be broken by death and death alone. That was what Jason feared the most, Elizabeth's death by Anthony's hand.
As he slipped his shirt off his shoulders, Jason caught the faintest scent of Elizabeth. Memories of her flooded his senses. How had he ended up in this place? A place where he couldn't go forward or go back. Jason gazed at himself in the mirror as he had done earlier that day in the hotel. He still wasn't able to recognize the man looking back at him. Yes, the features were familiar, but the look he now had deep in his eyes was one that he had only seen in the eyes of his brother and sister. Jason knew how to characterize it, but the idea of verbalizing those words scared him. He knew that if he dare to let them pass his lips there would be no turning back for him. If he admitted out loud what his heart was screaming, that he was falling in love with Elizabeth, there would be no way out for him. Since the first time he laid his eyes on her, turning away from Elizabeth had never been an option for Jason.
"UGH!!!" Jason let out a heavy sigh as he began stripping his body of its remaining clothes. He knew that he needed to burn off some of his pent-up energy and standing there remembering how soft Elizabeth's skin was against his own or how her touch set his body on fire wasn't the way to go about doing that. Jason threw on a pair of boxing shorts, slung a towel over his bare shoulders and laced up his shoes. A few rounds with the punching bag that hung in the Morgan gym would do just the trick at alleviating the stress he felt, or at least it would exhaust him enough to allow himself to sleep. That was something that he hadn't been doing a great deal of since meeting Elizabeth Malucci.
Jason rounded the corner and came face to face with Elizabeth standing in his foyer. His emotions ran the gambit as he stared at her beautiful face. In one breath he was elated to have her presence so near to him, yet alongside that elation was anger and fear. All three sensations were vying for center stage. The fear and anger eventually won out.
"Hello Jason," Elizabeth said with her brightest smile. "Getting ready to work out?" She hoped that her voice held steady when she spoke. The sight of Jason's bare chest rippling with tanned muscles had her pulse racing so quickly that she could hear it beating inside her head.
"You can't be here!" he returned through clenched teeth. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"That's quite a greeting," she said making no attempt to hide her frown. Elizabeth had expected him to be as happy for their chance meeting as she had been when Emily had innocently invited her to the Morgan compound.
"Stop with the games Elizabeth."
"Games?"
"Yes, games. You can't just keep popping up here and there like some trick rabbit." Jason's eyes made their way around the expansive foyer as he wondered where his father might be.
"Jason," Elizabeth cooed, unable to resist the urge to touch his chest. The gentle caress of her flesh against his noticeably quickened his breathing and he attempted to reign in his raging emotions.
"Stop it Elizabeth!" Jason's voice wasn't above a whisper, but Elizabeth heard the sternness it held. "I thought you understood that for us to continue you had to play by my rules." His words were more of a statement than a question.
"What if I can't?" Elizabeth returned quite honestly.
"You have to."
"All these rules and codes...." Elizabeth stammered, frustrated beyond belief that ending her marriage to Anthony couldn't be as simple as signing her name to a piece of paper.
"You knew that going in." Jason's voice finally softened. Elizabeth's look of despair mirrored what he was feeling. As much as Jason understood the need for the codes and honor tied to their world, that's how much at the moment he hated them.
"Doesn't mean I have to like it," she pouted.
Joseph hated that somehow along the way he had been reduced to the prying eyes of a spy in his own home. No matter what he had led his son to believe earlier that morning, he certainly wasn't about to leave Jason whipping in the wind just because of a poor judgment call on the younger man's part. The sight of Jason and Elizabeth standing before him held Joseph captive as he suddenly felt as though he had intruded on a very private moment. That feeling was only heightened as he watched Elizabeth lean in and kiss Jason softly. It was the smile on his son's face that concerned Joseph the most. The facts before him couldn't be denied and that only served to reinforce Joseph's anxiety that Jason was in well over his head as far as Elizabeth Malucci was concerned.
Jason felt Elizabeth's sweet lips brush against his. He reached to move the stray hair from her eyes. The slight touch of his skin to hers caused Elizabeth to jump. "You can't be here," Jason said again, yet this time it was with much less vehemence as Elizabeth's body melted into his own.
"Why not Jason?" Emily's voice parted the pair as if it had been a hot knife through frozen butter. "Elizabeth is here to see me, not you!" Emily did little to disguise her annoyance with her brother. The way Jason had brushed her aside that morning still stung and Emily had no intention of pretending it didn't.
"Well I better let you ladies get to work. The benefit is fast approaching. Nice to see you again Elizabeth," Jason said trying to cover for the very intimate scene his sister had been witness to.
Elizabeth shifted nervously as she and Emily took seats at one of the patio tables closest to the pool. "Here is the name of the caterer we are using for my wedding," Emily said as she presented Elizabeth with a small business card. "Mama is very high on them and I must admit that I too was quite pleased with them at the tasting they had for us."
Elizabeth stared at Emily curiously as she continued discussing the benefit with no mention of what she had just seen between Elizabeth and Jason. In one way it was a relief but in another it was unnerving. "I will take you at your word then. If you find 'Catering by Michael', " Elizabeth said picking up the card as she read the name of the company, "acceptable to cater your wedding than I wouldn't see why we can't use them for the benefit as well."
"You don't want to have a tasting of our own?" Emily questioned sensing that her guest wasn't completely focused on the task at hand.
"Sure," Elizabeth said as her voice trailed off. Her eyes made their way around the patio as she remembered her first night there. The image of Anthony falling head long into the pool that led to her chance meeting with Jason flipped through her mind.
"Elizabeth," Emily snapped her fingers in front of Elizabeth's face and tried to gain her attention.
"Huh?"
"Did you hear anything I said regarding the possible theme for this benefit?"
"What?" Elizabeth questioned.
"I asked you what you thought about a New Orleans Mardi Gras kind of theme. This being Chicago and there being so many blues clubs in the area, I was thinking that we might be able to capitalize on that fact and get a local band to play the event. Does that work for you?"
"Sure – that sounds fine." Elizabeth's voice sounded detached as her memories had now propelled her to the image of Jason standing bare chested in the foyer moments ago.
"Elizabeth," Emily sighed knowing that it was time to address the inevitable. "Would you rather ditch this talk about the hospital benefit and discuss what's really on both our minds?"
"What? What do you mean? You invited me her to finalize some of the details for the event."
"Not as much as I did to discuss what is happening between Jason and you," Emily said bluntly.
"What's happening between me and Jason?" Elizabeth echoed Emily's rather pointed question.
"Yes."
"There's nothing going on between the two of us!" Elizabeth feigned innocence.
"You expect me to really believe that? I saw you just now. That certainly didn't look like nothing to me."
"You must have misunderstood. I tripped, being the klutz that I am, and Jason just happened to be there to catch me."
"Oh really?"
"Yes – really!" Elizabeth squirmed feeling as she had when Rocco had questioned her that morning. The only difference between now and then was that Jason's sister seemed to possess more information about the budding relationship than her father in law had.
"Elizabeth, I am no fool and it doesn't take a genius to see that both you and Jason are attracted to one another. So please don't insult my intelligence by pretending what's happening isn't." Elizabeth brought the icy glass of tea to her lips, as she wished for something stronger. Having to play duck and run with so many questions lately had frayed her nerves a bit. "Elizabeth do you have feelings for my brother?"
Elizabeth opened the folders before her in an attempt to collect her thoughts. This conversation had already gotten way too out of hand for her liking. "The idea of he New Orleans theme sounds like a great idea. Do you think the caterer could handle an array of Cajun food?" Elizabeth questioned as she scribbled down a few notes, not wanting to meet Emily's prying eyes. "The blues band is wonderful too. That should be a big hit over the stuffy string quartets that are usually at these kinds of events."
"That was my thought. Elizabeth you didn't answer my question."
"Yes – about having a tasting." Elizabeth was searching for any reason to keep the conversation away from the direction that Emily obviously wanted it to take. "I think we should schedule one as soon as possible. The benefit is right around the corner."
"I will handle that then," Emily sighed knowing that Elizabeth wasn't about to crack. She had been a Mafia wife too long to slip up that quickly. Never the less Emily continued in her attempt to confirm what she had already known to be true. Elizabeth could sidestep the issue all she wanted but her feelings for Jason were as plain as the nose on her face. "I'm glad that we are getting some of these benefit details settled, but you never answered my question Elizabeth," Emily pushed.
Elizabeth cleared her throat as she angrily narrowed her eyes and realized that she had been backed into a corner. "Emily, do you think we could cut to the chase?"
"That all depends on you Elizabeth. Depends on if you are ready to admit that you have feelings for my brother."
Elizabeth weighed her options as to how she should respond. She was certain in what she knew Jason would want her to say. He would expect her to deny, deny, deny but the voice inside her heart wouldn't let her. It wanted, it needed release for the wealth of wonderful emotions it held for Jason. "Yes," she whispered as she looked away instantly sorry that in the heat of the moment she had divulged such precious information.
Emily was Jason's sister but that didn't make a difference in this instance. The more people who were privy to the fact that Jason and Elizabeth were stealing moments together would make it more likely that Anthony would be tipped off. That thought scared Elizabeth as much as it had Jason but for different reasons. Jason feared what Anthony was capable of doing to her and she had felt the same way only in reverse. Considering the well-publicized hatred Anthony had for Jason, he would be in as much danger if not more, from Anthony's wrath, as Elizabeth would be.
"That was the easy part." Emily's voice startled Elizabeth. "Now what about your husband? Do you also have feelings for Anthony?"
"What I feel for Anthony is nothing more than contempt," Elizabeth said venting her bottled up hatred for the man she married.
"Why Jason, Elizabeth?" Emily continued with her questions. The long standing war between Anthony Malucci and her brother hadn't been lost on Emily and there was a part of her that had to flush out Elizabeth's true intentions as far as Jason was concerned. Emily had long since come to understand that nothing in the world her father and brother lived in was, as it seemed to be.
"Are you asking my intentions toward Jason?" Elizabeth returned remembering Jason asking the very same things of her only in much harsher words and tones.
"Maybe. I can't help but wonder why Jason? It's no secret the distaste the man you call your husband has for my family, namely my brother. To me it just seems a bit strange that out of all the men you could choose to take up with, you choose my brother, Anthony's enemy."
"Emily, I didn't set out to fall in love with your brother." Again Elizabeth heard words escaping her lips and she had no control to stop them.
At hearing those words, Cassandra Morgan nearly dropped the large box containing her daughter's newly altered wedding gown. Could she have heard correctly? Did Elizabeth Malucci just say she was in love with Cassandra's son?
"Then what did you set out to do?" Emily asked quite curious as to the response she was about to receive.
"To be honest with you, I don't know. The night of your engagement party I was hurt and I was angry. I just wanted to make Anthony feel the way I did. That's why I showed up here unannounced. I wanted to make him look the fool like he had done to me time and time again. I didn't come here for any other reason than that."
"I think that's the first truly honest thing you have said," Emily offered.
Cassandra stood silently listening to the young women talking.
"It may be," Elizabeth returned.
"So you love my brother?" Emily asked seeking confirmation of a fact she already knew.
"I didn't say that," Elizabeth said, as she looked for an out in this impossible situation.
"Yes you did, Elizabeth." Emily wasn't about to relent in her pursuit of the truth.
"I know it's wrong and I know it's dangerous but I can't stop these feelings," Elizabeth sighed heavily as she gave up her ever present denial and pleaded for Emily's understanding.
Cassandra nodded her agreement from her concealed perch. She had known the first day Elizabeth had shown up on their doorstop under the guise of working with Emily that there was an underlying tension between her and Jason. Cassandra had addressed her concerns to Joseph then and he had said that there was nothing to be worried about, but now she knew that to be untrue. This triangle of Anthony, Elizabeth and Jason was one that Cassandra knew would have deadly consequences.