A/N – Thanks for the comments! Glad you are enjoying the trial!
Chapter 57
Epiphany smiled as she approached Amelia in the locker room. "How was the surgery?"
"It went well."
"Are you off now?"
"Almost. I have another hour and then I have to rush home and cook dinner."
"For who?"
"Johnny. We've been having dinner together so we can take our minds off of what happened."
Piph sat down. "I see."
Hearing the tone of her voice, Amelia turned to look at her. "Are you up to something?"
"Me? No."
"Uh-huh."
Piph chuckled. "You know I'm a sucker for matchmaking."
Amelia groaned. "I met someone in the supermarket today. He was totally hot and asked me out on a date."
"And?"
"I told him that I already had one, even though it really isn't a date."
"And you're second guessing yourself?"
"Yeah, Johnny is gorgeous and I could be totally into him, but I don't think he feels that way about me."
"You never know. The more time you spend together, the closer you'll get. Are you willing to give it time?"
"I guess. That's why I turned down the other guy. I don't want to ruin my chance. Johnny is great and I have a good time with him. He has a quirky sense of humor and we like the same movies. Unfortunately, he won't let me pay for anything though."
Piph gave her a side look. "Girl, you better let him pay. Johnny is old school. He likes taking care of a woman. It makes him feel good."
"I'm not used to that."
"Well get used to it. There is nothing like a perfect gentleman, until he gets down and dirty in the bedroom. It's a nice dichotomy."
Amelia laughed. Piph cracked her up. "I'll try to remember that. It's probably the best of both worlds."
"So, you're in this right? You'll give it a chance?"
"Yes."
"Alright, cause I don't like it when people mess up my matchmaking."
"I would never cross you."
"Good girl." Epiphany smiled as she watched Amelia leave. "Like taking candy from a baby," she muttered before grabbing her purse.
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Elizabeth held her breath as the jury foreperson stood.
"We side with the plantiff."
Diane grinned as she gripped Jason's hand.
"How much do you think the defendant should pay?"
"We award Mr. Morgan five million dollars."
Ric's jaw dropped open as Elizabeth grinned and hugged Monica.
"Thank you for your service. You are excused."
Jason smiled at his girl.
"Mr. Lansing, I hope you have learned a valuable lesson about cutting corners and lying. Mr. Morgan and Ms. Webber, I'm truly sorry for your injuries and I hope you both fully recover. Court is dismissed."
Jason stood and his arms were immediately filled by Elizabeth as he smiled down at her. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Edward patted Jason on back and then hugged Diane. "I knew you could do it."
"Thank you for having faith in me."
"I hope you're ready to shop."
"I was born ready."
Lila walked up to Jason. "I came just in time. I'm so happy that scoundrel got his comeuppance."
Jason kissed her on the cheek and then hugged her. "Me too."
Monica embraced her son. "Now, you can start to put this behind you."
"It was nice closure."
Ric sat with his head buried in his hands. He didn't have that kind of money.
"You'll have to start liquidating your assets. You probably won't have to pay it all at once, but they will expect a large lump sum of probably two million and then you'll have to make payments," Hugh explained.
"I don't even have a job."
"To be honest, they probably won't start until after you get out of jail."
Ric groaned.
"Go home and have a good meal. I'm not sure when they will serve the arrest warrant."
"Okay."
The Webbers and Quartermaines happily headed to the mansion.
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Amelia answered her door and found Johnny standing there with some flowers. "Wow! They are beautiful."
He also held up some wine. "I figured you were doing all the hard labor, so the least I could do was bring alcohol and flowers."
She smiled. He had changed into some jeans and a tee shirt and looked very handsome. "Come in and have a seat." She took the flowers from him and went into the kitchen to find a vase.
"It smells really good."
"I'm almost finished. You can sit at the table if you want."
There was soft music playing and he was surprised that she had taken her task so seriously. He was half expecting to find a pizza box. He got up and then went into the dining room and chuckled when he saw the lime and tequila bottle.
She brushed by with the nachos. "Hope you're hungry."
"Those look fantastic."
"Help yourself. I'll be right back."
He grabbed a plate and dished some out and placed it on her table mat and then got some for himself.
She smiled as she places the plate of tacos down, noting that he is definitely a gentleman. "Thanks!"
"You're welcome." He bit into a clump of tacos and moaned. "So good."
"Thank you." She tasted it and was surprised it had turned out so well. "Yum."
He poured two shots and handed her one. "To friends…"
They clinked glasses and then downed the shots and immediately sucked on a lime.
"That hit the spot," Amelia said.
"Everything looks really good. Thank you for doing this. If I had known you were so great, I would have made you cook before."
"I'm not good at cooking everything. Besides, it's not fun to cook just for yourself."
"Well you can cook for me anytime."
"Duly noted."
They ate and laughed as they did shots. Johnny helped her clean up and they plopped onto the couch, both buzzed.
Johnny propped his legs up and then closed his eyes and Amelia did the same. Before long, they both fell asleep.
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Jason and Elizabeth opened the penthouse door and spilled inside as they kissed passionately. They had left the mansion after celebrating with his family, and couldn't wait to make love.
Jason lifted her up and pressed her against the door.
"You're going to hurt yourself."
"You don't weight that much."
He smothered their conversation with a kiss that left her dizzy. "Let's go upstairs."
"Okay, but I'm walking." She didn't trust his leg yet. There was no way she wanted to ruin his progress.
He let her slip down and then took her hand and they went to the bedroom and stripped. Jason pushed her onto the bed and kissed his way up her body, driving Elizabeth wild.
"I want you now," she pleaded.
"Can you handle my weight?"
"Yes." She loved how it felt when he was pressed against her body.
He laid on her fully, propping himself up a little with his forearms and then snapped his hips forward, burying himself inside of her. "God you feel so good."
Her eyes flickered open and their gaze locked. "Are you sure you're okay in this position."
"Yeah," he said before he started to move. As he pumped into her, he swiveled his hips, making Elizabeth yell out his name. Her hips rose to meet his and he cursed under his breath as he changed his angle to make her cum.
Her jaw dropped open and he watched her shatter beneath him right before he lost all resolve and moaned her name as he followed.
She whimpered slightly when he started to move, but he allowed no space between them, pulling her on top of him as he rolled. Elizabeth melted into his body as they both tried to catch their breath.
"That will never get old," Jason said.
Liz smiled. "I agree. Are you tired?"
"Very."
"Go to sleep baby."
He could tell she was on her way. "Okay, I love you."
"I love you too."
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The next morning, Johnny woke up with Amelia cuddled into his side. His phone was vibrating in his pocket which meant it was time to go to work. He fished it out and turned it off. Not wanting to wake her, He slowly put his feet on the carpet and then twisted as he stood so he could lay her down. After he was done, he tossed a throw over her. She didn't have to get up until later in the morning and he knew she needed the rest. After watching her for a few minutes, he left a note in the kitchen and then hurried back to his apartment.
When Amelia finally woke up, she was disappointed that he had left, but smiled when she saw what he wrote.
"Sunday, I'm cooking for you. Enjoy your day and thanks for dinner again. I had a great night. Johnny."
She smiled. He was becoming a constant in her life and she really liked it.
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Elizabeth spent the next day catching up at work and then packing. They were all flying to Colorado the next day and she was nervous as to what that would mean for her mom. All she knew is that she had to be there.
Jason went to physical therapy and then spent the rest of the day at the hospital, working on the new wing. He and Francis did some planning and figured it would probably be done in the next month and a half. They had all been working hard to get it done and he couldn't wait to see her face when she found out what he had planned for her.
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Francis buckled his seatbelt and then grabbed a nervous Sarah's hand. They were on the same flight as Elizabeth and Jason, who were two rows ahead of them. Their flight had left an hour after Andrea's, who still had no idea everyone was joining her and Jeff. Steven was on a different airline with Emily and Audrey.
"You okay?"
Sarah leaned her head against his arm. "Yes. This is like watching someone walk into a train wreck." They had found out before they left that Gloria was livid regarding the lashing she had taken in the newspaper and wanted to confront Andrea. While Sarah would love to see the old woman go down in flames, her mother's mental health mattered more to her.
"She'll be okay. I know I won't let anything happen to her and Steven and your father would be in front of me in that line."
"Thank you."
He kissed the top of her head. "I refuse to believe that after all your family has been through, that an old hag would take you down. You are all too tough for that."
"I think I'm the luckiest woman on this plane."
Francis smiled. "I think Elizabeth might argue with you over that."
"She can try."
"I heard that!" Liz said loudly, making the people in between them chuckle.
"She has mom or teacher ears."
"We'll just have to whisper then," Francis said making her grin.
They flew for several hours and were glad when they finally landed.
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Andrea was trying to relax in her hotel room. Dinner would be soon, even though she wasn't even close to being hungry.
Jeff poured her some wine. "Here."
She took the glass and took a small sip, letting the sweet liquid trail down her throat. "It's good."
"You need to calm your nerves."
"I know. The closer we got to Colorado, the more I wanted to turn around, but I know I need to face this. My mother is dead, so whatever I find out about her won't change anything. I'm more worried about my brother and if he'll accept me or not."
"He'd be crazy not to." He sat next to her. "You can't drive yourself crazy with the unknown. We'll deal with it as it happens."
"Did you tell the kids we were coming?"
"Yes. They'll try to be here tomorrow."
She put her glass down and laid her head on his chest. "Maybe they shouldn't come."
"Are you scared to let them see you break?"
She nodded.
"I thought we were beyond that."
"You can't get over years of bad habits overnight. I'm trying."
"I know you are and we all appreciate it. It's okay to be vulnerable, especially when you know you have people willing to let you lean on them."
She let out a long sigh. "Thank you. I love our family and I don't want my father to hurt them."
"He can't."
"We don't know what we'll find in that house."
"I tell you what, we'll let them in under the stipulation that if there is something bad, they'll back off until you're ready to share it with them. That will give you a few minutes to process it."
"Okay."
"But no hiding it. Whatever is in there we'll deal with as a family."
"I agree."
About an hour later, there was a knock on the door.
"Did you order dinner?"
"No." Jeff stood and went to the door and Andrea's mouth dropped open when her family strode through the doorway.
"Oh my God.".
"Don't cry," Elizabeth said before hugging her. Steven threw his arms around them and Sarah joined them.
Jeff smiled and turned to Francis, Emily, Audrey, and Jason. "We have reservations in a half hour. You guys hungry?"
"Yes!" They all said at once making him chuckle.
The Webbers broke apart.
"Thank you for coming. You don't know how much this means to me."
"We do. You shouldn't have to do this alone," Sarah said.
"Can I ride shotgun in the dozer?" Liz asked, making her mom smile.
"If I can make that happen, I will."
"She gets to have all the fun," Sarah said playfully.
"I'm glad that you realize that."
Steven grabbed Elizabeth and picked her up and put her in the bathroom and shut the door. "Now, let's go to dinner."
She walked back into the room. "Very funny…"
"We'll catch up to you. The reservations are in your dad's name," Andrea said. She needed to fix her makeup.
"Alright, see you there," Audrey said leading the way.
Once they were gone, she gave her husband a big hug. "You knew they were coming tonight, didn't you?"
"I did. They wanted to and I wasn't going to deny them. You need them."
"Thank you."
"You can make it up to me later," he said as he wiggled his eyebrows.
She laughed and headed towards the bathroom.
"That wasn't supposed to be funny."
Her laughter continued to fill the room and he couldn't help but smile.
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Liz looked around the table. "So, do we keep alcohol away from mom tonight?"
Sarah thought for a moment. "Yeah, but tomorrow night she'll probably need it."
"Alright, no one order alcohol."
Steven pouted.
"You'll live. If we aren't drinking, she'll probably have one glass of wine and stop."
"Fine."
"You'll live."
Jeff and Andrea joined them.
"Hey mom," Liz said.
"Hello everyone."
"I say we kick the chef out and let Grams go back there and cook," Steven said.
Audrey cocked her brow. "Grams is on vacation."
All three Webber children frowned.
"You just got back from vacation," Sarah pointed out.
"And? I might as well tell you now."
Liz's head tilted. "Why do I have the feeling we're not going to like what comes out of your mouth next?"
"Asa is taking me to Paris for a week."
Steven crossed his arms as his eyes narrowed. "When?"
"Starting next Friday."
"We'll agree if we get two meals before you go."
Jeff smirked. "That sounds reasonable to me."
Audrey rolled her eyes. "Fine."
