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Chapter 39

Johnny was in his office with his feet on his desk, reading a baby book. He rarely read anything else these days. He was planning on being the best partner, breathing coach, and then dad in the history of pregnant women. At dinner the other day his lovely wife announced that she wasn't even going to bother to read the books, since he would already know everything. Johnny knew she was joking, but he just wanted to do his share. "Come in!" He yelled when someone knocked.

"Hey." Cody opened the door. "You busy?"

"Nope. Did someone do something stupid that will require my attention? I want to tell Jason I did something in his absence." Johnny put the book down. "The last time he left I helped take down the Text Message Killer, so the bar is set kind of high." The Irishman joked.

"It's all quiet." Cody said taking a seat when Johnny pointed to the chair. "I think all the crazies got the need to be crazy out of their system last summer."

"I think folks were paying attention with how we handled the TMK and Sonny's assassination. Hopefully that will be enough to make anyone think twice before coming here to cause mischief. Connecticut is nice, they can go there. What are you doing with yourself to stay out of trouble?" Johnny wanted to know.

"Funny you should ask that." Cody said grinning. "I've been doing some research between going around and making sure the guys are still working as hard as they should be." Now that he was an enforcer Renaldo was head of the guards. But since he was in Italy, Cody was subbing. The guys had quickly learned that Renaldo had the same high standards as his predecessor. No one grumbled though, in fact a lot of the guys took it as a challenge to exceed those expectations.

"Looking for a new hairstyle?" Johnny asked poking fun at his friend. "I think I would like to see what you look like with hair, maybe even some fringe. Very edgy and boy band."

"Your wife is a very patient woman." Cody said laughing.

"She's a saint and better than I deserve." Johnny wasn't going to argue that point. "So what have you been looking up?"

"Engagement rings." Cody said grinning.

"No shit!" Johnny put his feet down and turned his chair to face his friend. "You're gonna make it legal?"

"That's the plan, unless Nadine turns me down." Cody was positive she was going to say yes.

"Nah, won't happen. She knows you need a keeper. That's why they marry us, to keep us from roaming the streets at night getting into trouble. It's a public service." Johnny told his friend.

"I know. She's way outta my league, but for some reason Nadine hasn't noticed that." Cody stretched out his legs. "I was thinking of going to see Eric and was wondering if you'd maybe come along. I've never done anything like this before and you have so you might have some useful advice to share." Cody said letting his nerves show a little.

"I'd be happy to come along and criticize your taste." Johnny knew Cody didn't need any help. He would know the right ring when he saw it. If by chance, the right ring wasn't there then Eric would help Cody have it made. But Johnny had asked Francis to go with him when he picked out Georgie's ring, so he got it.

"Maybe I should go alone." Cody said laughing again.

"A wingman is a must for these kinds of trips. I went with Jason when he picked out a ring for Liz. I didn't think he was ever going to give it to her though." Johnny said shaking his head.

"I can't criticize his pacing. I didn't exactly move quicky with Nadine. If I recall correctly you moved kind of slow yourself." Cody pointed out. "We move at the pace our ladies need us too."

"So wise for one so young." Johnny grinned, then laughed when his friend flipped him off. "Are you headed over now?"

"Might as well." Cody wanted to have the ring, then he would work on the when and where.

"Let's get to it." Johnny said grabbing his jacket and following his friend out.

"Where are you two heading off to?" Francis asked as he came up the hall. He was returning from lunch with Dee.

"I'm going to look at rings for Nadine." Cody was having a hard time keeping this news to himself. Although the only person he needed to keep this from for the moment was his girl.

"Yeah? Congrats." Francis said extending his hand. This news wasn't at all surprising.

"Thanks." Cody said feeling really good. "Johnny is going to provide commentary."

Francis laughed. "Try not to shoot him." He didn't get to do this with Dee's ring. He had asked Liz to design something original for him then he had it made. He did show it off to the guys after picking it up. His wife still gushed over her engagement ring, and she regularly got compliments on it.

"I'm too cute to harm." Johnny said grinning.

"Like I said, try not to shoot him. I don't want to do all the paperwork alone." Francis said heading for his office.

"Come on." Cody was laughing at the face Johnny was making. It was early enough that they should get to the shop and have the place to themselves.

In fact when they got to the shop Eric locked the door behind them. It was not a courtesy that he extended to a lot of shoppers, but Jason's guys always dropped a lot of cash when they came in. Even if they bought an item as simple as earrings they always wanted the best. "So how can I assist you today?"

"I'm looking for an engagement ring." Cody said grinning.

"Congratulations Mr. Paul." Eric shook the other man's hand.

"Cody is fine." The former solider told the jeweler.

"Alright. What did you have in mind?" Eric always started by asking that. Some customers needed guidance, others did not.

"I'd like a ruby." Cody told the shop owner. "I'm torn between cushion cut, round, and oval. The websites I visited couldn't seem to agree on what shape was right for my girlfriend's fingers."

"There are some general rules of thumb that you can use to guide you, they don't need to be rigidly adhered to." Eric could see this customer needed a little help. "The main factor should be the woman who will wear the ring. Does your girlfriend already own rings?"

"A few, she's a nurse so she generally only wears jewelry on her days off." Cody said providing some background.

"That won't be the case here." Johnny told his friend. "Trust me on this, when you give your girl an engagement ring they wear it all the time. Nadine will want everyone to see it."

"Mrs. O'Brien was happy with her ring?" Eric assumed so because Johnny hadn't come back.

"Thrilled." Johnny said nodding.

"Good." Eric prided himself on making sure his customers were satisfied. "What shape stones does your girlfriend have in her collection?" He asked turning his attention back to Cody.

Cody had snooped in Nadine's jewelry box looking for inspiration and to make sure he knew what size ring to get. "Mostly oval and round." He had his answer.

"Then I would recommend you eliminate cushion cut." Eric said pointing to a display case across the store. "The rubies are this way."

"Did you look down and see the ring?" Cody asked Johnny as they looked over the offerings.

"Nope." Johnny said shaking his head. "I'm about to give you the key to the kingdom my friend. The only words you will ever need when dealing with Eric."

The jeweler was sitting back and watching the two friends.

"What do you have in the back?" Johnny looked over at the shop owner before looking back at his friend. "Always ask, because sometimes there is stock that isn't out front yet. Eric would have offered if you didn't see anything you liked, but the odds are good if it's in the back it's a unique piece."

"I like the thought of Nadine having a unique piece." Cody nodded. "I'm not seeing anything I like in the case."

"Let me look through the inventory." Eric told his customer. "Please help yourself to coffee and cookies. Both are fresh." He pointed to the refreshment area before going in the back.

"You didn't mention cookies." Cody told Johnny. "I would have done this sooner if I had known there were snacks."

"All the good things in life with come with snacks." Johnny said grinning as they went to check out the selection.

"So how did it go?" Francis asked coming into Johnny's office and taking a seat.

"He's got really good taste." Johnny reported back. He wasn't going to give away details about the ring, nor would Francis ask. "I sent him home for the rest of the day."

"Nerves?" Francis guessed chuckling. The minute Eric handed him the box with Dee's ring Francis had been hit with the weight of what he was about to do. Liz ended up driving them back to the Towers because he was shaking. It didn't take long for him to pull it together, but the first couple of hours he was a wreck.

"Yup." Johnny said grinning. "I would never behave such a way."

"So that wasn't you who asked me to hold the ring so you didn't just run over and give it to Georgie." Francis asked with a wide grin.

"Must have been my evil twin." Johnny said with an innocent grin. "Is it time for a meeting?"

"No." Francis was enjoying the quiet. "If I stay in my office Phillip will find something for me to do."

"Good plan. If you stay in here then Deborah will leave me alone as well." Johnny wanted to finish his chapter on swaddling. When the Morgans returned Johnny was going to borrow the kids to try and get in some practice. He was betting that for the right bribe both boys wouldn't mind being wrapped up.

"Are you busy?" Nadine asked standing next to the table where Emily was looking at her tablet.

"No. Have a seat." Emily smiled at her friend. "What do you think of him?" She turned her tablet around. "Do you think he's attractive?"

"Um." Nadine looked at her friend. "Is there a problem with Milo?"

"No. We are great." Emily laughed.

"Okay good." Nadine said unwrapping her sandwich. "I was worried that you guys had broken up and in your heartache you decided to start dating men old enough to be your father." Emily had shown her a dating site profile.

"He's not for me. He's for my mother." Emily cleared up the confusion. "Spinelli got me access to a dating site that is for more mature singles." The tech guy had hacked the site so the she could look through the eligible men.

Nadine just smirked. "Does your mother know you are doing this?"

"No." Emily shook her head. "She is hogging the boys." The young doctor explained what was going on. "If she has a social life then I can actually spend some time with my nephews."

"You could just ask." Nadine said laughing. The Quartermaines never seemed to do anything the easy way.

"I did, she mocked me." Emily took that as a declaration of war. "So?"

"He's attractive in a silver fox kind of way. He lives in Buffalo though. Would your mother be okay with a two city relationship?" Nadine wanted to know. "A better question would be is he willing to relocate, because I don't see your mother leaving here anytime soon."

"Both valid questions. I may need to change my search parameters." Emily had simply typed in upstate New York.

"Another question for you. Can you handle it if this relationship you are trying to start leads to marriage?" Nadine asked before taking a bite.

"I'd be okay with that, especially since I don't live at home. Or in the main house." She amended.

"Hey you two." Georgie said putting down her thermal tote. "What's up?"

"Emily is trying to pimp her mother out so that she can get time with her nephews." Nadine said grinning.

"Pretty much." Emily said not denying what the blonde nurse said. "What do you think?" She showed Georgie another candidate.

"Nice. He looks good for seventy-three." Georgie said getting out her pudding. She was starting with dessert.

"What?" Emily looked at the picture and frowned. "That's too old."

"What are you doing in the building?" Georgie asked Nadine. With her working at the clinic this was unusual.

"Taking a class." Nadine explained to her friends. Nurses had to complete a certain number of continual education hours to remain certified. The amount depended on what type of nurse you were. As a nurse practitioner Nadine had the highest number of hours to complete. "How are you doing?"

"Good." Georgie had taken on a second trimester glow, and was feeling amazing. "No bump yet, but Kelly said that we are healthy."

"First babies don't usually pop before 20 weeks." Emily let her know.

"I am aware of that. I don't think there is a pregnancy statistic that Johnny doesn't know." Georgie told her friends. "The man is going to be seriously prepared. Assuming he doesn't pass out in the delivery room."

"The guys will never let him live that down." Emily said snickering. "What about him?"

"I like the look of that one." Georgie nodded at the attractive man on her screen.

"Where is he?" Nadine wanted to know.

"According to this he is moving to upstate New York next month. It doesn't say where though." Emily said a bit distracted as she read his bio. "I can contact him for more information. I'll think about it."

"Hey Robin." Georgie waved at her cousin who was looking for a place to sit.

"I'm done. See you around the halls." Emily said tucking her tablet under her arm and picking up her tray.

"Me too." Nadine looked at her cellphone. "Gotta get back to class." She said before leaving as well.

"That wasn't even subtle." Robin said taking a seat.

Georgie just shrugged. "Don't expect forgiveness. You tried to hurt someone they consider family, they aren't going to let that go. How are things out at the house?" Her cousin and Patrick where now living together. Georgie would put them on another topic.

"Elizabeth has let it go." Robin said not taking the bait. "Kind of."

"Elizabeth is nice." Georgie told her cousin. "I wasn't ready to forgive you either. In fact I still get pissed thinking about what you tried to do." The pregnant doctor said being honest. "The house?"

"We painted the upstairs spare bedroom." Robin said changing topics. Some burned bridges never got rebuilt.

"You really aren't going to tell me where we are?" Elizabeth asked looking over at her husband. After dinner he told her to pack a bag and then they took a boat to their private airstrip where the plane was waiting. After a little over an hour in the air they landed. So all she knew was that they were still in Italy.

"I did mention that we could visit other cities since the plane was here." Jason said smiling. In the morning he would tell her where they were spending the next two nights.

"You are seriously spoiling me." Liz said leaning over and kissing him.

"I am. I'm good at the whole being sneaky thing. You should stay close so that you can keep me out of trouble." Jason whispered against her lips. They were in the back of a limo and had some privacy. He wouldn't let them get too carried away because the ride to their lodgings was short.

"I like that plan." Liz said pressing her lips to his again.

"Look out the window and watch the city as we drive through." He said urging her head onto his shoulder. Not ten minutes later they pulled up in front of their hotel.

"Welcome to the Grand Hotel Majestic." Their personal concierge greeted them. He took them straight through to a waiting private elevator and up to their suite.

"Jason." Elizabeth said awed as she walked into the space.

"This is the Art Decco Terrace Suite." The concierge proudly proclaimed. "It is the most prestigious suite in the hotel. You will find no other space such as this in all of the region." He had been told that their VIP guest's wife didn't know where they were and he was not to ruin the surprise. "Out on the terrace you have a stunning view of the city."

"Thank you." Jason said handing over a tip.

"Should you need anything just press zero on your phone." The concierge said before making his exit.

"Want to see the view?" Jason asked holding out his hand. They were on the fifth floor, but it was still high enough to see the city. He stood behind her and wrapped her in his arms.

"I don't have words." She said softly taking it all in.

"You don't need them." He said kissing her temple. He knew what was in her heart. He was looking forward to continuing their Italian adventure in the morning.

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