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Chapter 38

"I cannot wait to walk on the beach." Liz said kicking off her shoes as she walked into the bungalow. They were back in Puerto Rico. It had been almost six months since the last time which was a long time for them. Since the first time they came down, three years ago, they were generally down here every couple of months.

"We can do that after dinner." Jason was bringing in the garment bags.

Liz nodded as she looked around. She had redecorated last year giving their space a more tropical feel. After a few trips down she had asked if he would mind if she changed the space. They had been sitting on the patio and she quietly admitted that while she loved their cottage it did hold some not so great memories for her. Jason offered to move them to another space on the compound. Liz had shaken her head no, because this space also held some amazingly wonderful memories. She wanted to stay here, she just needed it to look different. He told her to go for it.

"I'm going to do my best to not get into a business discussion over dinner." She said smiling.

"Sonny won't mind." Jason knew his friend was as excited about the boutique's opening as Elizabeth. It was the first of what would be four shops in their properties. Since her shop in Port Charles was a huge success, as was the website, his wife felt she was ready for the next step.

"I want to relax tonight. Tomorrow we are both going over to the boutique so I can do a walk through. I'm sure that everything will be fine and then I can get started with setting up the clothing." Liz explained to her guy. Basically she was talking out loud because he knew what the timeline was for this trip. "Tonight is about friends and me hanging out with my goddaughter."

Sonny had been down here for almost a week overseeing the final work. With Liz's permission he let the human resources department at the resort hire the staff with Summer's input. Elizabeth's now former assistant had moved down to the island last month in preparation of her new role. Summer fell in love and married Hank, who had just been offered the head of the guards' position in Puerto Rico. The timing worked out well because Summer was worried about what to do with her time after the move.

"While the two of you are doing that I'm going to be doing an inspection of the resort." Jason walked over and wrapped his arms around his wife's waist. "Since we'll all be over tomorrow there will you have dinner with me at one of the restaurants?"

"I'd love that. You pick." Liz looked up at him. "We should offer to babysit one night so that Sonny can take Alexis out on the town." Their nanny was not a long for this trip.

"That won't be a problem." Jason loved hanging out with the little girl. The best days were when they had her and Michael over at the same time. AJ and Carly's little boy could be a handful, but he was also really lovable. The kids were always playing together. They were more like cousins than friends.

Liz nodded her mind taking a short mental trip. Since they were talking about children, and they had a little time before heading over to Sonny's she wanted to discuss something with her husband. Taking his hand she led him over to the couch and sat on his lap when he was comfortable. "I'm due to go get another birth control shot next week."

Jason knew that. "You don't want to." He was guessing.

"No. I don't." Liz loved that they were so in tune. They had been married for two years and in that time they had traveled the world. They had also focused on work, when not focusing on one another. Her life was wonderful, but it could be better. "About six months ago I really started thinking about us having a child. We've been talking about it off and on since Michael was born."

They didn't have one big conversation about expanding their family. Instead they began weaving the topic into their existing talks. The ones they had about them as individuals and as a couple. Those check ins made sure they stayed on the same page, which kept them united as a couple.

"We have. The timing is good." Jason would love to have a baby with her.

"It's ideal. I'm opening my new store, I won't open another one for two years." Liz said going over the plan she set in place. "You guys have finished the absorption of Buffalo and Rochester." The Don had given them the rest of upstate New York last year. He didn't want three families in such tight quarters, but vacant territories didn't make the Costa Nostra any money.

Jason linked their fingers. "Work will always be there but we can find the proper balance." He was positive about that. They knew the meaning of team work. "We've got a good example of how to balance work and home when it involves international travel in AJ and Carly." His brother said it wasn't always easy to keep the schedule from becoming a mess but making Michael their priority ensured it happened.

"We are going to need a nanny, at least part time." Liz took a deep breath. "That hurt some to say." She admitted laughing. "I want to work, I'm not going to feel guilty about that. I just don't want to be my parents which is my biggest fear."

"You won't be. You don't have it in you to ignore your child. We will both have times when work comes first. That's normal." Jason knew she was going to be an amazing mom. "Honestly I want you to work. It fulfills a part of you that nothing else will. You need that outlet to be whole. We will figure it out." He leaned forward and gave her a kiss.

"Did we just decide to start a family?" Liz asked smiling when his lips left hers.

"I think we did." Jason was now kind of annoyed that they were going out. However they wouldn't get pregnant today anyway, but the practice sure would be fun. Not that they needed it. "How large will our family be?" It was nice to sit her and dream with her.

"I hated being an only child, so I'd like at least two." Liz knew that he couldn't remember those years. However he did know about them from Lila. Their grandmother had not whitewashed anything. She gave Jason the truth, good and bad.

"I like the sound of that. We can reassess after that." Jason let her know. "I like being an adult sibling. From what Lila said I liked having a brother, and then a sister when I was younger. Most of the time." He said with a wry grin. "I'm guessing that some of the time I hated it."

"When we get home I'll call Kelly and ask her for a prescription for pre-natal vitamins. I can start taking them now to get my body ready." Liz paused for a moment. "Actually I'll call her tomorrow and have the prescription faxed down." The sooner she started taking them the better.

"Okay." Jason was excited about their future family. "We should head over to Sonny's."

"Is everyone joining us?" Liz asked getting up. From this point forward she was probably going to have baby on the brain, she would just have to not become obsessed about it. "The more folks around the table the better the odds I won't talk about business."

"I think everyone is joining us." Jason said as they left the cottage. Francis and Diane were here. So were Milo and Georgie. The two couples had flown down with Sonny and Alexis. Max and Clarice flew down with Liz and Jason. Cody and Nadine were flying in tomorrow, with Johnny and Karen, because both ladies had to work today. AJ, Carly, Em, and John were coming down in two days. On the day of the opening Lila, Edward, Monica, Alan, and Alice would fly down. They were bringing Liz's new executive assistant Maxie with them. Everyone who mattered would be in attendance.

"It will be a fun dinner followed by a romantic walk on the beach." Liz smiled at Jason as he rang the doorbell.


"What do you think?" Sonny asked as they stood in the space that had been created for her. When the last shop's lease was almost up he had approached Liz about opening a second boutique. The fact that this was the only time outside of the house warming at her house that he mentioned the store had him patting himself on the back. Patience wasn't something he was known for. He was doing better though. He wanted to be a better father than what he had growing up.

The first thing she did when they arrived was walk the entire space. The paint job got an up close inspection, the fitting rooms were walked through, and all the doors were opened and closed. The work, just like back home, was stellar. She had made it clear to Sonny that she wanted square footage that was smaller than her store back home and he had kept that in mind.

Actually he had chuckled and said that wouldn't be a problem because her store back home was huge. There wasn't a space equal to it inside the hotel and he didn't want her store in a standalone building. He wanted it on the lobby level of the hotel so guests walked past it every time they entered or left the property.

The store back home had undergone some changes in the time since she opened it. Her offices and work space were in a new building not far from the Miller & Davis law firm, so eighteen months after launching her shop she and Cody sat down to figure out what to do. He showed up at their lunch meeting with plans already drawn up and Liz had been impressed. She had also been excited, and a little nervous to make such a big leap. Because what was coming was pretty huge.

They had started by installing an elevator. If merchandise was going to be on the upper levels then all her customers needed to be able to reach it. Nothing else happened until that was done and it had been a pretty big undertaking involving months of work. He made sure that while his crew was on site, and moving things around, the customers were not disturbed. In fact a lot of them didn't even realize was going on.

Once the elevator was in place everything else happened fairly quickly. It was just a matter of reworking the layout. The first floor stayed pretty much the same except the customer consult area was moved down to the first floor. All merchandise storage was moved to the basement. The staff break area was moved to the rear of the second floor and expanded a bit to give them somewhere nice to relax. The manager's office was now in the back of the third floor. The guys liked that because it put the safe on the highest level.

That expansion coincided with Liz broadening the range of her brand. More gowns, more corporate items, and more everyday dresses. Last winter she introduced the world to Steven Hardy, her men's line named after her grandfather. While Audrey dominated her memories, Liz had known and loved her grandfather too. The collection had won the Men's category that year and netted her another Young Designer of the Year award. This coming year she was launching a line of accessories. Business was booming.

"I think it's time to get the crew in here so we can put up the racks and shelves." She said with a wide smile. "Thank you for this Sonny."

"It's a smart business decision. I gotta kid to put through college and a wife who likes expensive shoes." He said laughing. Shortly after Michael's first birthday Alexis had finally married him. Everyone was joking that she was the only bride in wedding history to carry a brown paper bag down the aisle. "I'm happy you are here." He had no doubt that she was going to be just as successful here as back home.

"I'm happy to be here." She already had a mental image of what the interior would look like. They had two days to get it done, and then the grand opening. Her clothes were already here waiting to be displayed so everything was on track.


"Hi!" Liz gave Em a really hard hug. She missed seeing her sister on a daily basis. For the last six months Em had been in Europe overseeing Deceptions offices there. The fact that she was running an entire division on her own was a big deal. She was doing an amazing job.

"Hey you." Emily squeezed Liz tight. They facetimed several times a week still she missed just hanging out. The Morgans had not yet been to London while she was there. Hopefully a trip would happen soon so that she could show off her new home. "You look amazing."

"I feel amazing." Liz saw no reason to deny that. "I am loving your hair." Emily had lightened her hair to a dark blonde.

"I wanted a change." Emily said with a shrug. In the beauty industry it was fairly common for folks to constantly change their looks. "John likes it." She said with a slow grin. Her guy was talking with Jason right now. Her brother would want to make sure the security he put in place was working.

"I bet he does." Liz bumped her shoulder against her best friend. "We are thinking of coming to London between Thanksgiving and Christmas." Unless she was pregnant by then. That might derail travel plans.

"You'll love it. Let me know." Emily would make time in her schedule for them to hang out. "Any chance of you coming to London for fashion week?"

"Not this year." Liz just shook her head no. "I do expect to be in Milan for a few days." She was really busy but would make time to go. Jason would more than likely go with her and like the past few years conduct business. "I'll make sure you get a copy of my schedule."

"How are things working out with Maxie?" Emily had been surprised to hear about that hiring. Georgie's sister had earned herself a fairly bad reputation while growing up. In fact she and Liz didn't really get along. Maxie had left for a few years after her bad behavior ended up landing her in the hospital and returned not long after Emily left for Europe.

"Really well." Liz said laughing. "I'm surprised you waited this long to ask."

"I was trying to be mature and have faith that people can change." Emily hadn't always been an angel.

"She has." Liz had been hesitant about bringing Maxie onto the staff, but Summer vouched for her. Liz also knew that Georgie pulled her sister aside and told her if she did anything stupid she would kick her ass. "Maxie is basically a walking encyclopedia of fashion. It's impressive and a little scary. She is also aware what people think of her and wants to change that. Honestly it's like she's a new person. I hope this lasts."

"Carly said that Maxie is dating Spinelli." Emily just couldn't see that at all.

"Yeah." Liz laughed and nodded. "It sounds odd, but they are really sweet together. Where are your brother and Carly? I'm going through Michael withdrawal." The reason they all arrived together was because her brother in-law and sister in-law had been in London for the last month on business.

"They cheated and went down to the beach first." Emily tilted her head toward the glass sliding doors. Carly loved the beach and any chance to get to visit she seized.

"They need to come in so I can get some kid time before we go out tonight." Liz was looking forward to their Girls' Night Out.

After the whole Logan incident they didn't go out again until Nadine's bachelorette party. They still got together, they still drank tequila, and they still had a lot of fun. They just did over each other's houses. Liz's backyard had hosted a good number of gatherings. Georgie hosted movie night regularly. Emily took them up to the lake house. Karen even hosted a few after she started hanging out with them more often. To celebrate the new boutique Liz wanted a good old fashioned night out in a bar.

"Where are we going?" Emily waved at Georgie who was coming in with Diane and Alexis. The three of them had been outside when Em and John pulled up. The fact that they didn't come in right away meant they were talking work.

"No clue." Liz admitted grinning. "Renaldo made the arrangements. He also set up security, so expect to be surrounded by guards. The only thing I said was that I didn't want to go to the resort."

"Are you talking about tonight?" Diane wanted to know. "I'm looking forward to slamming back a few shots." Her schedule prevented her from joining the ladies regularly, but when she was free she liked hanging out with her friends.

"Should be fun." Alexis wasn't much of drinker but getting out from time to time was just good for you. "Karen and Nadine are coming as well?"

"Nadine yes." Liz nodded as she answered. The nurse and Cody were out on a bike ride at the moment. "Karen will come if she can get around Johnny." The former model and now successful business owner had just announced her pregnancy. Johnny was in full hovering mode. "We might have to commit a jailbreak there."

"Just have Nadine drug him." Georgie cheerfully suggested.

"Look at you with the law breaking." Emily laughed at her friend.

"She's come a long way." Diane beamed with pride. "I have to get Kristina from her father now. It's time for her daily fashion lesson. Today we are talking about Louboutin's."

"She's serious isn't she?" Emily asked looking at the remaining ladies.

"Yes." Alexis said grinning. "Kristina can already tell the difference between Prada and Versace. Sonny is terrified at what will happen the next time we go clothes shopping. Liz you can help by adding children's clothes to your collections."

"Nope." Liz just shook her head. "Still not gonna happen, but I'll let you know what fashion houses are making children's clothes this season after fashion week." The patio door slid open. "Michael's here. Later." She said getting up.

"Ditched for a guy. If he wasn't so cute I'd be offended." Emily said watching her sister with their nephew. "This is a good time for me to rescue John from Jason." Both her brothers kept mentioning marriage, she was pretty sure she was going to hurt one of them soon. "See you tonight."


"I'm guessing you're excited for tonight?" Jason was in the chair in the bedroom watching his wife get ready to go out. He was enjoying the way her jeans showed off her bottom. When she redid the bedroom she was going to scrap the sitting area but he asked her not to. He explained that he enjoyed the view, and watched her blush bright when she got his meaning. He loved that his girl still blushed.

"I love hanging out with you." Liz gave him a grin. "But I can get up to a different kind of mischief when I'm with my girls." It had been far too long since they were all together. She was excited that Leyla was going to be joining them. "What will you be doing while I'm out? Poker?"

"We don't always play poker." Jason huffed out the answer. "Maybe we want to have a serious discussion about the world economy." He said giving her a look.

Liz tried not to laugh at the look on his face. The guys did have serious conversations on a regular basis. The topic Jason just named was one they all knew a lot about. When you ran an international business you needed to have an understanding of trade and the value of your product around the globe. The guys discussed other heavy topics like politics, religion, and human rights too. However they also played a lot of poker. "Sorry I dented your ego." She replied with a smirk. "So what are you doing?"

"Playing poker." Jason said with a wide smile. They were also probably going to discuss Max's plan to pop the question. He already had a ring, they had seen it, now he wanted to pick the brains of his friends who had already gotten hitched. The guys would give him grief, because that was the tradition, but they were all thrilled for him. Once that was handled the conversation would probably be dominated by a discussion of security for the opening.

"I knew it." Liz just shook her head. "What do you think?" She gave him a turn so he could see the outfit. Comfort was the rule for these gatherings. Considering that they dressed up for work, or wore uniforms, everyone wanted to be relaxed for nights out. So she was in her favorite pair of boyfriend jeans, a vintage inspired sleeveless tulle embroidered and crocheted top with a lace up back in cream, and nude high heeled sandals were on her feet.

"I like that I can get you out of that top quickly." He said with lecherous grin.

"Jason Morgan." Liz just shook her head. "Behave."

"Nope." He said getting out of his chair and walking over to where she was standing. "You like it when I'm bad." He chuckled before dropping a kiss to her lips. "Admit it."

She couldn't fit the grin. "You're just so darn good at it." Liz used his belt buckle to pull him closer. "We won't be out super late. Will you wait up for me?"

"I certainly will." Jason put his hands on her hips before dipping his head for a deeper kiss. They were going to have plenty of protection, but he wouldn't be able to sleep until she was home. He was only a little worried about the coming evening.

There hadn't been many trips to bars for these Girls Night Out since the kidnapping. The ladies now usually went out to dinner at a different restaurant each month or stayed in. On only three occasions, not including Vegas, had they decided to go to Jake's. The first time Liz didn't even make it out of the garage because she was shaking too hard. Focusing on the night she got kidnapped wasn't something they normally did, but the memories had come roaring back.

When the kiss ended Liz leaned forward and just rested against her guy. She was a little nervous about tonight, but each time got a little better. What helped was knowing the guards were there, and knowing that Jason would be waiting when she got home. She wasn't going to let Logan and Zander take this from her. "Okay, I need to go. Before I do answer a question for me. How many of your guys will be in the bar?"

"No clue." Jason took her hand and walked with her to the door. "Renaldo set up security." He would be at the card game tonight. "I do know that he might have mentioned to some of his crew that they would get paid for hanging out at the bar and shooting pool tonight." So the place was probably going to be packed with their guys.

Liz gave him another kiss. "Thank you." He always took care of her. Not always directly, sometimes by making sure those around him knew her safety was a priority.

"Try not to get arrested." Jason gave her another kiss before opening the door. On the other side her escort for the night was waiting.

"I make no promises." Liz walked out the door putting a little extra sway in her hips so he would enjoy the view.

Jason just laughed before locking up and heading over to Sonny's.


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