Redemption (The Bet)

by Phal, Francette

  “Jeez, Ron, give the girl a break.” Gabe chided, pulling her away from their flustered goddaughter.

  "Oh, Ellie! Sweetie, this is great news! I'm so happy for you!" She said after a beat, beaming with pride.

  "Is this what you really want, Ellie?"

  "Of course it's what she really wants, honestly Gabe what sort of question is that? It's about time Ellie married and moved on with her life and Devlin proposing is by far the best thing that could've happened." Ronnie thoughts mirrored Ellie's own. It was wonderful to hear her words spoken out loud, put things back in perspective.

  "Ellie?" Gabe sure as hell didn't believe her.

  "Of course this is what I want, Gabe! God I'm going to get married!" She squealed then turned and hugged Ronnie, who shared her squealing with enthusiasm of her own.

  You didn't live with someone for the majority of their lives without learning their mannerisms. Gabe knew when his goddaughter was truly happy, he knew when Ellie was sad, and he knew what pissed her off. He also knew when Ellie told the truth and when she was just shoveling a pile of crap. Right now, his goddaughter was ankle deep in shit and Gabe wanted to call her out on it, but he knew it would only result in an argument that would piss off not only Ellie, but Ronnie as well. Gabe was not in the mood to rekindle his affair with the couch and his left hand tonight, or the rest of the week for that matter.

  Gabe had nothing against Devlin, matter of fact he liked the guy. He did well by Ellie and her kids, he wasn't hung up on himself and he was a hell of a lot smarter then all those other fuckers Ellie had dated in the past. Seeing them together, anyone could tell just how deeply Devlin loved Ellie, but the question was whether Ellie loved him just as deeply? Gabe wanted to think so, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Ellie wasn’t being completely honest with herself.

  "Just as long as you're happy and it's really what you want." Ultimately it was better to see her in the arms of a man who loved her, then in the arms of some rat bastard who didn't know how to appreciate her. "Congratulations, Ellie," Gabe whispered against her temple. "You deserve this."

  Ellie smiled, tugging on Gabe's shoulder length hair before saying. "Thank you, it means a lot to me that you understand how much I need this. That's why I'd like it if you and Dad gave me away…together."

  "Ellie…I don't know what to say...."

  "Say yes."

  Lifting her off her feet, Gabe twirled a screaming Ellie around. "Of course it's a yes!" He settled her back on the ground. "So when's the big day?"

  "We haven't decided yet, but probably soon."

  "This is incredible, I still can't believe you're going to get married, Ellie! There's going to be so much to do, planning for everything, and not to mention your engagement and bachelorette party! You remember how Gabe and I had ours combined?" How could she forget?

  The night she'd witnessed her guardians drunk off their asses, naked and having sex on the hood of her brand new car was an image Ellie wouldn't soon forget. The image was forever imprinted on her brain and every time the subject was brought up, Ellie found herself blushing to the roots of her hair.

  Gabe and Ronnie didn't know to this day that she'd seen them that night and Ellie chose to keep it that way.

  "No strippers for Devlin or myself, that's all I ask."

  "But they're the best part!" Gabe bleated and received a punch on the arm for his effort from his scowling wife.

  "Just how many bachelor parties have you attended to know that strippers are the best part, Hon?" Ronnie asked, face deceptively calm.

  Knowing that road led to nowhere but trouble, Gabe wrapped his arms around Ronnie waist and attempted to pull off the best Puss-in-Boots impression that he could. "Only ours and you were the best stripper there was. I did love that sexy cop uniform you had on. Do you still the handcuffs?"

  "Oh, Ew....God just Ew!" Ellie protested glaring at the two people who'd forgotten she was in the room.

  Ronnie pinched Gabe's arm as she pulled away, a very prominent shade of rouge tinting her cheeks. Gabe waggled his eyebrows at his smirking spouse and chuckled. "Be lucky that I love you so much."

  "Every day, sweetheart." He planted a kiss that took both their breath away.

  "God you guys are seriously giving me a cavity here. I hope Dev and I don't become this sappy." Looking at them, in each other's arms, so utterly besotted with each other after so many years, Ellie couldn't help but envy them their profound love.

  She fingered her ring, wondering whether she and Devlin had what Ronnie and Gabe shared? Of course they loved each other and of course the sex was great. But was it a necessity? Was there a deep rooted fear of not being able to survive without each other if one was to ever leave? Was their passion so volcanically hot that when they made love it surpassed all things physical? Did they balance and ground each other when it counted most?

  Ellie wanted to think so, wanted to believe that she and Devlin shared those things, but the fact of the matter was that it wasn't so. But, she was positive that it would come later. Gabe and Ronnie had been together for years before achieving this level of intimacy. She and Devlin would have that; it was just going to take time.

  The soft touch on her arm drew Ellie from her thoughts. "What?" She smiled to soften the sharpness of her tone. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

  "We were just…Ellie, are you okay?"

  God, what the hell was wrong with her? Ellie agonized. This should’ve be one the happiest moments of her life yet here she was trying to butcher to death a marriage that hadn't even begun! Who cared if she and Devlin weren't as perfect Ronnie and Gabe? Who in the world was? Those two lucked out in finding each other and she'd lucked out in finding someone who could tolerate the fact that she snored just a little when she slept.

  "Actually I was just thinking of how I was going to break the news to Mom that Devlin's mother already has a location for our engagement party." It wasn’t a lie, since that very thought had been plaguing Ellie since they'd announced the news to Miranda Westport this morning. Who'd gone on to insist that they have the engagement party at their country club. Not having the heart to deny Miranda when she'd told them of her preparations, Ellie had not mentioned the fact that her own mother would be slightly disappointed. But, Ellie would console her with the rights to plan her wedding. Her mother had a knack for details when it came to these things.

  "She works fast.” Ronnie remarked wryly. “But no worries, I'm sure Dina will be happy helping you plan the wedding."

  "Dad! Could we go to Coopers now?" Liam bellowed from the stairs.

  "Get your jackets and meet us outside, your Mom's coming up to get Rina!" Gabe yelled back at his son, and then to Ellie he said. "We're going to Coopers and you're coming too."

  "Aye, Aye captain!" Ellie saluted.

  "Smart ass!"

  ~*~*~*~

  The three week in which Devlin stayed in town went by relatively quick and uneventful. Overlooking the numerous calls they'd received from friends and co-workers alike congratulating them and requesting an invite to their engagement party, Ellie had to say that life had gone on as per usual. Mornings were spent getting the kids and herself ready for school. Sophie she dropped off at junior high, while she, Dylan and Bella continued down a few blocks to the elementary school the twins attended and she taught in.

  The convenient factor came in after school when Sophie remained in school for Field Hockey, while Ronnie came by to pick up Dylan and Bella. By dinner time all the kids were home and Devlin and his son would drop by to catch a home cooked meal. Roan, ever the helper always insisted on setting the table or loading the dishwasher when they'd finished dinner. Some nights, Devlin spent the night and Roan slept upstairs in the guestroom.

  Life was great overall, a little mundane yes, but it worked for Ellie all the same. Miranda had called Ellie a few days ago to let her know the date of the engagement party. Friday April 13th a week after Devlin was scheduled to arrive back in the states from Japan.

  Ellie, n
ot the superstitious sort hadn't minded the date overly much. What she did have a problem with however was the long guest list Miranda had shown her. Ellie didn't know what she'd expected, but six hundred plus people hadn't been it. To top it off, these people were the upper echelon of the city. The Westports' had connections, their name alone held certain pull, but Ellie didn't know how much until she saw the list.

  Renowned Doctors, politicians, business moguls and the like would be attending her engagement party. Ellie had wanted small and quiet, a family and close friend affair without all this pomp and circumstance. What she was getting was a circus.

  "You're doing that thing again," Devlin absentmindedly remarked, his fingers gliding over the dips and falls of Ellie's back, his lips pressing a soft kiss every now then.

  Lying on her stomach on the massive bed they shared, with her elbows propped up, Ellie turned her head and looked at her fiancé. "What thing?"

  Devlin reached out a finger and traced Ellie's mouth. "When you're thinking really hard, you stick your tongue out just the tiniest bit."

  "It's a bad habit." She licked her lips, her tongue running across his thumb.

  He sucked in a breath. "Tease." He said thickly, holding her gaze. "I could take you again."

  Ellie shook her head and smiled. "Give me a few minutes, my body's still recovering."

  "If I must." Devlin captured her chin and brushed a kiss on her mouth. "So, tell me what you were thinking about."

  Ellie sighed. "Are you sure you can't talk your mother into decreasing the guest list? I'm really not going to be comfortable with all those people and the kids…"

  "I know it's a little extravagant, but the majority of those people are partners in my father's company. Some are close friends of the family while the rest could be potential investors."

  "I didn't realize our engagement party was an opportunity to network." Ellie bit out, coming to her feet.

  Devlin sighed. "That's not what I meant."

  "Sure as hell sounded like it."

  "Let's not do this tonight, Ellie. I don't want to argue with you. I leave tomorrow and I want to spend the rest of the night loving my fiancé, not squabbling over a petty guest list that I've told you countless times cannot be changed."

  "Cannot or won't? Dev, this is not petty! It's important to me!"

  "Keep your voice down, you'll wake up the kids."

  Ellie scowled, grabbed her pillow and threw it at Devlin's head, before jumping out of bed. "For the last three weeks I've let you and your mother control what was supposed to be the guest list to our engagement party. I've kept my mouth shut just to appease you both, but I can't do it anymore! This is supposed to be our engagement party, Devlin! Ours! Our guests, our friends! Our family! But it's turned into damn circus…"

  "Ellie!" he bellowed, putting an instant halt to her rambling. With furrowed brow he advanced on her, grabbed her by the arms and settled her on the bed. He fell to his knees with a long sigh. “I’m sorry for yelling.” He began, interlacing their hands. “You know I'd do anything to make you happy, Ellie. I'm sorry for not realizing how much of a big deal the list was, and I'm sorry if I made it seem like the engagement party was nothing more than a business deal. It means more to me than that. You mean more to me than that."

  Ellie leaned down, smiled and kissed him. "I know, and you can spend the rest of the night proving just how much I mean to you."

  "That," Devlin responded, "is something I can definitely do."

  "Good." Ellie whispered spreading her thighs. Devlin's body would expel the burgeoning thoughts of a certain silver eyed man who refused to give her peace.

  Chapter 6

  Life experiences have taught the ex-wife of the late Charles Grayson a few lessons from which she's gained a wealth of wisdom. Through her vast range of knowledge, Sonya has come to understand that nothing worth having in life is easily gained. Her happiness for example had not come easily. Living the majority of life fearing and hiding from manipulative, domineering, lecherous men hadn't exactly been the road to a blissful existence. Being in the eye of the public hadn't helped either. But having gone through those experiences, Sonya could now say she knew the true meaning of joy and love. Terran and their son had done that to her.

  Ethan Xavier Jacobs was his father through and through. Looking at him now, his gaze enraptured by Terran's actions, the little seven year old boy emulated his father. Right down to the way Terran reached out for his morning cup of coffee, eyes intent on the contents of his newspaper, Ethan followed in kind. Reaching for his milk filled mug, he took a generous gulp, mindful of any stains and set it back down on the coffee table, his dark gaze returning to his own literary work.

  Catching his mother looking at him, the corners of her generous mouth lifted in semblance of a smile, Ethan's eyes danced with childish merriment, before dropping back to the intriguing read of 'Sebastian and the Caterpillar'. A book her husband had indignantly sniffed at while Sonya remained adamant on buying for Ethan, arguing that a simple child’s books would in no way diminish their son’s intellect. A fact that Terran could not come to terms with, but was trying which that was all Sonya ever asked from her husband of eight years.

  They had a perfect marriage. That of course was in comparison to her previous marriage, which by all accounts had been a disaster of epic proportion. Charles was a veritable saint when it came down to caring for his wife and child.

  It hadn't always been this way. Sonya could remember a time when the idea of jumping into another marriage had been the furthest thing from her mind. But Charles's threats from beyond maximum security prison bars had finally convinced Sonya to propose marriage to Terran, if for nothing else than his protection. She had yet to regret that decision.

  Love hadn't come swiftly for her. It'd been a slow progression from adoration, to appreciative awe for the man who had become her protector. Beyond the brooding, temperamental Heathcliff exterior, Sonya found a man who was as gentle and sweet as a new born colt. Behind the dourness, Sonya got a glance of the man who she'd overlooked for the better part of her life. The man who she'd wanted to know and she'd set out to unashamedly seduce. She’d received a passion unlike any in return; a passion that continued to burn strong and bright to this very day.

  "Something funny, dear?" Sonya shook her head, belying the amused smile on her lips. She continued to riffle through the stack of mail in front of her. She felt his gaze on her person for the stretch of a minute before he returned to his paper, as she knew he would.

  Terran was a creature of habit. Took his coffee sugarless with just a drop of cream, then found a comfortable spot in the blue room, the business portion of the newspaper in hand, he lounged back and read. From Monday to Friday, he went to work, came back home and groused about the inept and vacuous co-workers to his wonderfully attentive wife. His meals never changed, his clothes remained the atypical corporate America uniform. Suit, tie, dress shirt, slacks and shoes. He had a very odd sense of humor which Sonya only just learned to appreciate. The man had his faults, but Sonya realized that those faults were what made her Terran so precious---so undeniably irresistible.

  Their marriage had been rather scandalous! Some even believed she and Terran orchestrated the entire mess with Charles so that could carry out their sordid affair freely. Socialite Sonya Grayson had once again shamed herself so disgracefully. It’d been nothing new so Sonya had allowed them their field day, allowed tongues to wag.

  But it did not last long, refusing to be shamed, she had accepted every viciously veiled invitation to a garden party here or a gala there, and attended each one with head held high and husband at her side. People had talked, naturally, gossiped, the pages of magazines splashed with pictures of them both, but Sonya hadn't cared one wit and that was probably why everyone eventually shut their traps. That and the help of the only person who had remained a true friend to her.

  Miranda Westport, like Sonya had married into money and while they'd never quite been close in the past
, they'd found a kindred spirit of sorts in each other over the last few years. Miranda stood by Sonya's side through those trying times, defending her to any and all who would listen and everyone had taken notice. The speed at which they’d changed their tune gave Sonya whiplash.

  First she'd been their glamorously outrageous queen, then the scourged pariah and with Miranda championing her, Sonya rose from the ashes of her plight; the downfall of her infamous husband spurring her popularity. Charles had been the villain and poor darling "Sony" the brave soul who’d survived an ordeal and Terran they’d cast as her savior. The rich, as Terran was prone to say, were full of shit.

  Sonya took a moment to reread the invitation in her hands and wondered what she would have to promise to get Terran to accompany her to Miranda's son's engagement party. This engagement would probably the most exciting thing to happen in their circle since that disastrous Elsa Worthington wedding two years ago. As much as Sonya hated mingling with the anally pretentious, she was rather curious who Devlin Westport has chosen for a fiancée.

  Devlin, unlike her son, had remained abroad for the greater part of his life, being kept away in ascetical boarding schools and then colleges. He'd grown up knowing what he’d wanted to do and for who he was doing it for. It wasn't until recently, over the last two years, since the inheritance of his father's company did he become the constant talk of their circle.

  Even his ill-fated marriage to the gold digging bitch, Natasha Belokova, had been kept hush, hush. Sonya was only aware of that little bit of gossip because Miranda herself had divulged it over a luncheon one afternoon a few years back. Having only met the charmingly handsome man on only a handful of occasions, Sonya had taken him to be a goodhearted person, just like his mother. Whoever had managed to capture his heart could be called lucky of that she was sure.

  Sonya wanted to wish them the best and in order to do that she had to appear in person. Miranda would never let her live it down if she didn't go.