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Chapter 20

"So how come Max isn't flying back with us?" Elizabeth asked her husband. Since they were going to Palermo first she expected that would be the case.

"He is going to Port Charles to do some business with Sonny." Jason said to his wife. She was in green again, a different shade than last night, but it was still making him hot. He figured from here on out seeing her in the shade would have him thinking naughty thoughts.

"Kind of like you are meeting with Maximus while we are there?" Elizabeth said trying to figure out how things in the business worked.

"Normally yes. Since I'm on my honeymoon my meeting with Maximus is more about being social than doing business. I know what Max and Sonny are going to be talking about, I just won't be there." Which Jason had no problem with, meetings were not his favorite things. It was something Sonny generally handled. "Maximus is excited to meet you."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked surprised. She ran her hand down her dress and watched Jason's eyes darken. He did say he liked her in green, and she planned on wearing it as often as possible. Especially if it made him hot. Today's dress, was something simple for the long flight. A fitted shift dress with crocheted detailing along the waist and crew neckline. It was something that wouldn't wrinkle during the trip to Italy and made her feel pretty.

"Yes, your picture appeared in the paper during the trial. You were always standing next to me. Maximus asked about you." Jason had not been happy that Elizabeth's name and place of employment were put in the paper. He thought it might turn her into a target. He was right. "Sonny said a lot of nice things." Jason said grinning. "The fact that I married you speaks volumes."

"Were you not considered the marrying type?" Elizabeth said getting a peek into another side of her husband. He would be different when he was with his business associates.

"I wouldn't say that. I think all men are the marrying kind, if the right woman comes along." Jason said linking their fingers. "It's more that marriage is a big statement. It says that you are important to me, and I don't care who knows it. Before you, there wasn't anyone I felt that way about." That was the best he could explain it.

Elizabeth blushed bright. Jason could be extremely eloquent when he wanted to be. "I am excited to meet Maximus. Milo says nice things about his father, and I enjoyed meeting Max. How do I address Maximus, do I call him Don Giambetti?" She didn't want to embarrass her husband.

"No." Jason said chuckling. "He actually hates that. Maximus will be fine." The head of the Costa Nostra was fairly laid back. "His wife is Margareta. She is also very nice. They will adore you." The Giambettis were big fans of Alexis and Diane. Saying they were the type of women that Sonny and Francis needed. Jason was guessing they would like Georgie as well when they got to meet her. "They disliked Carly."

"Have you introduced them to anyone before?" Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder.

"They meet Keesha when they were in Port Charles. During a business dinner." Jason admitted to his wife. "They didn't like her either."

"You don't have to say that." Elizabeth let him know. She wasn't going to worry about the other woman.

"I'm not. Margareta said Keesha was snooty." Jason had to admit that his then girlfriend had acted like she was too good to be at the dinner. That was one of the last times they went out.

"No comment." Elizabeth hadn't liked Keesha either. Her grandmother Mary Mae had been a wonderful and warm woman. Keesha appeared to be missing that gene. She was fairly calculating, always trying to get Jason to change. She pushed hard for him to ditch the blue jeans saying he needed to improve his image. "I am excited to go to Italy."

"I'm excited to take you. It's one of my favorite places to visit." Jason said smiling at her. He really did feel like the luckiest man in the world. "Palermo is nice, but Milan is my favorite region to be in. Which is why we are going there after meeting with Maximus. In a few years you can tell me which region is your favorite."

"You plan on us coming often?" Elizabeth liked the sound of traveling with him.

"I want time alone with you. We will go to the island more often, only because it's closer. But I figure once a year we will take an extended vacation." Jason told her his plans. "You get three weeks of vacation each year right?"

"Yes. I've been bad about taking it though. That's why Monica approved my last minute request for paid time off." Unlike the emergency leave which was unpaid. "I've got quite a bit stockpiled." Elizabeth admitted with a rueful grin.

"We will work on burning through it together." He said leaning over and kissing her. Five more hours and they would be in Palermo. He wanted to test out the bed in their hotel room.

"Okay, what do you think?" Elizabeth asked her husband. She had packed this outfit specifically for meeting the Giambettis. The dress and shoes were both from Italian designers to honor her hosts.

"You look gorgeous." Jason told her smiling. "Thank you for not wearing green."

"I didn't want you drooling at lunch." Elizabeth said laughing at him. "Or zoning out."

"I love you in green. I make no apologies for that." Jason told her. "I love you in blue too."

"I will make a note of that." Elizabeth said grinning. Her outfit today was blue. A fitted summer wool dress, with a sweetheart neckline, and cap sleeves. "Any other color I should wear?"

"My favorite look on you is no clothing at all." He said with a wicked grin.

"Really?" Elizabeth said playing dumb. "Never would have guessed that." She said slipping on her shoes that had a satiny flower design. They were vibrant and popped against the blue of her dress.

"I have something for you." Jason said smiling. "I saw it yesterday while we were out exploring the city." This was the second full day of their Italian honeymoon and the last one they would spend in Palermo. So yesterday they did a little sightseeing.

"We didn't do any shopping." Elizabeth was going to buy souvenirs in Milan. The pictures she took would be her reminder of Palermo.

"I have my ways." Jason said being mysterious. He had simply called the hotel and had the concierge pick up the item he wanted. "Here." He handed over a long box with a green bow on it.

"Jason, it's beautiful." Elizabeth said holding up the necklace. A heart charm sparkled with diamonds at the end of a white gold chain. "Will you put it on me?" She would be able to wear this any day she wasn't working.

"Absolutely." Jason said doing as requested. Looking up he saw them framed in the mirror and his eyes caught hers. "You have my heart."

"That makes me the luckiest woman alive." She said looking at him in the mirror.

A knock on the door sounded. "That's our ride. Ready?" He was so proud to have her on his arm.

"I am." Elizabeth said linking their fingers as they walked from the room.

Margareta took in the young woman standing in front of her. The woman that Jason had surprised everyone by marrying. She knew both Jason and Sonny fairly well, as a mother she wouldn't let Maximus send their son to work for just anyone. Business wise Corinthos Morgan was sharp, in their personal lives the two men had horrible taste in women. Until recently. Alexis was wonderful. Warm, caring and the perfect counter to her more impulsive husband. Now it seemed Jason had found a woman who complimented him as well. Margareta believed in first impressions and Elizabeth's was going great.

The younger woman was in head to toe Italian designers. Not in an attempt to show off or suck up. But as a subtle nod to her hosts. Margareta knew the difference because Elizabeth hadn't gone for an over the top dress. It was fairly simple in lines and color. The heels with their bold print were the statement piece of the outfit, they leant just enough color to keep the ensemble from being boring. The younger woman had also chosen items she felt comfortable in. You could tell because the way she moved in them said that she wasn't playing dress up. That she knew how these pieces felt on her body, and respected that. She exuded poise and confidence in who she was and how she looked.

Jason was a very nice young man, but public encounters were not his strong suit. He had found a woman who could work a room, participate in a conversation, and act as hostess while at the same time not taking the spot light from her husband. It was a difficult thing being the wife of powerful mob boss, of learning to hold the spotlight when needed but not hog it.

Margareta also took in the two young people as a couple. The constant looks, the subtle touches; the way they communicated without having to say a word. Several times during lunch they had seemed to read one another's minds. They were a solid unit, of that there was no doubt.

The young woman had effortlessly walked in and earned Palermo's seal of approval. Margareta was looking forward to future visits with Elizabeth Morgan.

"Elizabetta would you like a tour of the house?" Margareta asked her guest. It was not an invitation offered to many who came to lunch. The men needed to talk some business, not much, and this would give them privacy. Normally Margareta offered to walk her guests to their waiting car, and their husbands would join them later. Elizabeth she was enjoying talking with.

"I would love a tour." Elizabeth said standing, she understood what was happening. "If you know the history of the house I would love to hear what you are willing to share about that as well." She liked the Giambettis. The meeting had started out on the formal side, but now was casual enough that she had been invited to address them by their first names. Despite Jason saying it was fine Elizabeth had been taught to respect her elders which including addressing them by the proper titles.

"I do know the history of the house. Like many places in Italia it is filled with love, tragedy, and much drama." Margareta said laughing. The home had at once been the estate of a member of Italy's then royal family.

"Wonderful. We will leave the men to talk business while we do something fun." Elizabeth smiled at her hostess.

"Maybe we'll even sneak away to do some shopping. I can take you to the boutique of the designer of your shoes and show you more of his artistry." Margareta said leading the way from the sunroom where lunch had been served.

The men sat again once the ladies had left. "Your wife is lovely." Maximus told Jason.

"Thank you." Jason said with a rare wide smile. "I was fortunate enough to find a woman who understands me and this life."

Maximus nodded approving of the order in which Jason listed exactly what his wife understood. If their ladies didn't know them well, then they had no chance of figuring out the business they were involved in. It was important that whoever they chose to build a life with accepted that their business came with a set of rules all its own. Ones that were not always kind to women. Maximus was doing his best to be more progressive but it was slow going for some members of the Costa Nostra to accept the change. "How is Milo doing?" His son was on this trip but had not come to the estate today.

"He is doing well. Before we came to Italy he was named Elizabeth's personal guard." Jason passed along.

"Is that right." Maximus said smiling. It was a big honor to be asked to watch the family members of a boss. "I'm happy to hear that." He knew Jason wouldn't make this move simply to appease Palermo. Milo would have had to earn this appointment.

"He is very good at his job. Johnny has trained him well." Jason had also worked with Milo, but there was no need to remind Maximus of that.

"Max is finalizing the deal for you and Sonny to accept Crimson Pointe." Maximus said getting them on the topic of business. They wouldn't discuss much because this was Jason's honeymoon. Only the most pressing of issues, of which there were not many. Corinthos Morgan were not trouble makers and ran a tight ship. Since Sonny had been getting treatment for his bi-polar, and rid himself of Carly, Port Charles had been stable.

"Thank you for that." Jason said paying the proper respect. Maximus was placing the entirely of those ports in their hands. It was sign that he respected them.

"How have the families around you been?" Maximus got reports on the different regions, but they often missed the more minor interactions between the different factions.

"Fine. No one is causing us any issues. Nor have our allies in the area reported any problems. I think as long as the Russians do not attempt to return then things will stay peaceful." Jason told the Don.

"The Bratva has assured me that upstate New York is not of interest to them." Maximus understood that things changed and that the Costa Nostra's reach was not as long as it once was. Vacant territories were being filled by the Russian and Asian Mafias. Which was fine, it was when they attempted to take already occupied areas that things became dangerous. Jason wiped out an entire organization last year, and a message was sent. Don't tread on what is ours.

"Good to know." Maximus said nodding. Jason's reputation was respected in the other organizations. Now that he had a wife to protect he would be even more dangerous.

"Will you be attending the symphony season opener while you are in Milan?" Maximus asked putting business away.

"I hadn't given it much thought." Jason admitted. The opener was a charity event and would mean dressing up in a tuxedo. "Once we arrived in Milan I planned to ask Elizabeth if she wished to attend."

"Margareta and I are going. We have a box reserved. If you are going, let me know. We would be happy to host you as our guests." Maximus told the younger man. The event was one of the biggest in the country and raised a lot of money for which ever charity was picked that year. People flew in from all over Italy to attend. Maximus wouldn't push, but since Jason was in the country he should go.

"We will attend. Thank you." Jason said getting the message. At least he would get to see his wife dressed up again.

"I'm sure Margareta can recommend a designer for Elizabetta to wear. The fashions are a bit forward at this event, some of them are downright odd." The night also represented the opening of fashion week in Milan. Maximus didn't understand some of the things people put on in the name of fashion. His wife said it was art, and he knew better than to argue.

"I'm sure our ladies will look lovely." Jason said finishing his coffee.

"Let's go find our ladies, assuming they are still here." Maximus said standing. "Bring Elizabetta back to visit."

"She will like that, we will not see much of Sicily during this visit." Jason said following his host deeper in the house. With this duty performed he could turn his attention to their visit to Milan and introducing his wife to his favorite region in Italy.

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