Redemption (The Bet) (27 page)

"What the hell is going on?" Ronnie demanded of her husband, pulling him from Devlin's grasp and turning him around to face her. "Oh my god, look at your face! Gabe what the hell is wrong with you"

"Me? Ask her!"

Ronnie turned to Ellie, who was holding Nicholas's arm like a lifeline. "Ellie...?"

But Ellie refused to look at her, she released Nicholas's arm and walked over to Gabe. She tried to reach out to touch is battered face, but Gabe recoiled from her touch and scowled. "You can't possibly be that stupid, Ellie."

Ellie flinched as if struck, Gabe's rebuke
worse than any attack. "Nothing happened." She said, guilt forcing her eyes away from Gabe's knowing gaze.

"Ellie, what happened? Are you alright?" Devlin settled his hands on Ellie's slumped shoulders and turned her around. She avoided his gaze while her heart hammered painfully against her sternum like a battering ram. The adrenaline of almost being caught doing something she wasn't supposed to, caused the full body tremors that refused to cease. "God, Ellie, your shaking." He enveloped her in his arms and over his broad shoulders, Ellie's eyes met Nicholas's stare. He gave her a halfhearted smile between the gaping cut on his lip, imperceptibly nodded his head and made his exit.

"Nothing... nothing happened. You know how Gabe is? He just overreacted. Nicholas and I were just having a conversation about the kids and one thing led to another and viola! They're fighting."

"What was your conversation about?" She felt like
she was under investigation, and she'd probably have no reason to be so nervous if she wasn't guilty.

"I just told you, Dev, we were talking about the kids."

Devlin prodded. "You sure?"

"What reason would I have to lie? I was just letting him know that it'd be better on all of us if he started taking the kids to his house from now on. That way, you and I will have more time together. I really miss our times together, so I was thinking that maybe next week, for the three day weekend, you and I go away together? No kids, no meddling exes, just you, me and the four walls of a really nice hotel."

"What did you have in mind?" Thanking whatever deity in the heavens who had her best interest at heart, Ellie stood on her toes and kissed Devlin. With the subject successfully changed, she ignored her godparent and led Devlin out of the room.

"I don't know, but anywhere would be good, as long as you and I are alone."

Sonya was so smitten that she was practically giddy with glee. At last she was meeting her grandchildren. She'd long ago resigned h
erself to Nicholas remaining a bachelor for the rest of his life, leaving the possibility of children out of mind. The revelation a few weeks ago, however, had returned hope to her heart and she'd since then patiently waited for the day when Nicholas would make their introductions. Today was that day.

They were more than what Sonya had ever imagined. Perfect little
darlings who stared back at her their bashfulness did very little in hiding their curiosity from her. They were too perfect for words and it took a small amount of effort not to fall to her knees and embrace them both to her bosom. She fought the urge, although just barely as she walked further into the sitting room, the imported Persian carpet swallowing the sound of her heels.

"Nicholas, what a pleasant surprise!" And truly it was. With the time consumin
g schedule of keeping his company running and catering to the demands of flavor of the months worldwide, Sonya rarely saw her son. It was only on those infrequent business trips to the States that she managed to see him and even then, it was for no more than a few days before he was off again. The fact that she'd seen him three times in the last month was a wonder to her.

"I would've called but…
"

"Nonsense
, darling," Sonya leaned forward and graciously accepted the warm peck on the cheek Nicholas offered, "you know you are always welcome, phone call or not." She watched as Nicholas advised the children to sit down, before she turned to the silent butler standing by the door, "Virgil, tea please and some refreshments for the children."

"Will that be all Madam?" The atypical butler, Virgil was every bit a walking stereotype, rigid, poise and had the distinctive British accent. It'd humored Sonya years ago, that out of all the butlers they'd interviewed, Terran had taken a liking to Virgil and his bland personality. He'd hired him on the spot.

"No actually, would you please inform my husband we have company."

"My apologies, Madam but the
Mr. Jacobs has taken young master Ethan out for a walk and has asked that I relay the message when you arrived from your outing."

"Alright then, tea will do just fine."

"Very good, Madam." With an indiscernible nod, Virgil disappeared behind the white ornate double doors leading to the foyer.

"I had hoped to do this with Terran present but seeing as he is not expected for a few more hours, I will make the introductions now. Mother," He looked as he had years ago, the very first time he had been bothered enough to show Sonya his first piece of art, nervous and yet twitching with excitement.

Unlike in the past however Sonya was no longer obligated to feign indifference, now she would and could properly share in her son's joy without the looming shadow of her husband breathing down her neck. "I would like you to meet my children, Dylan, Isabella and Sophie." As he pointed to each, Sonya's cerulean gaze followed and when the last was introduced, she did not fail to notice the sudden flash of surprise that swept over the child's face. Almost as though she'd never expected those words to come out of Nicholas's mouth and to be perfectly honest, Sonya never expected to hear them either.

But then again, this Nicholas wasn't like the one of the past. Here and now, stood a man who understood pain and took life for what it was, responsibility and all he took it in stride. He was the sort of man who rose to the occasion, no matter how futile. Acknowledging a girl who
wasn't his daughter as his own was only something her Nicholas could do without batting an eyelash for that was the sort of man he had become, the sort of man a mother would be proud to call her own.

"Oh Nicholas, they're absolutely darling!" she brought her hands in front of her as though readying for a prayer and  took them all in, appraised each feature and locked it to memory. Dylan was without a doubt Nicholas at ten years old, although with a
darker complexion, but the features were the same in every aspect. He stood no taller than Sonya's hip, face barren of any emotion and far more composed than any ten year old ought to be.

Isabella, true to her name was a beautiful child, who bestowed her smiles freely, bright and warm like the rays of the sun. Her chestnut hair hung over her shoulders in loose curls, she met Sonya
’s appraising gaze with a shy smile, and her honey-brown eyes mirrored Sonya's happiness.

"I'm very pleased to meet you all," it was silly of her to be moved to the point of tears, but really, it couldn't be helped. Tentatively she approached them with her heart lodged in her throat, there was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to do, so much she wanted to show and tell them, but all that came out was a squeaky whimper and the tears of joy she couldn't seem to keep at bay.

"Daddy?" the urgent tug on his hand and the surprise from his daughter's voice pulled Nicholas's gaze away from his mother for a second and onto Bella.

"Hmm?"

She motioned for him to stoop lower and once he did she posed her question. "Is Nana Sony crying because she's not happy to see us?" she kept her voice as quiet as she could, but Sonya heard it all the same and unexpectedly began to laugh. Eight pair of eyes landed on her, their bafflement clearly painted on their faces.

Before Nicholas could open his mouth to respond, Sonya beat him to it, "Oh my sweet little girl, of course I'm not crying because I'm unhappy to see you. I
t's quite the opposite actually. Seeing you and your siblings here today is by far one of the greatest things to ever happen to me. You cannot know how happy I am to finally meet you all."

"So, you're not mad?"

"No, darling, I am not mad."

"Good, I'm glad, because Daddy said that you'd be nice us, but I wasn't too sure. Sopie, Dylan and I were so nervous to meet you."

The clattering of dishes and silverware signaled Virgil's return and with practiced ease he settled the pewter tray on the coffee table to the far right of where they'd gathered and carefully began to pour a cup for each occupant, taking a moment to ask what each preferred in their tea.

"Please, all of you take a seat."
They did as Sonya suggested and soon enough they fell into conversation that encouraged the children to jump in when possible. The awkwardness from earlier no longer apparent, Bella, Dylan and even Sophie quickly fell into a state of comfort, their ebullience far too infectious not to be shared.

"So Sophie, you've been so qui
et, tell me more about yourself." Her eyes, richer than the rarest of onyxes widened just a bit as attention was brought to her, her cheeks ripened as she nervously smiled. She was quite beautiful, made up specifically of fine lines and gentle angles, with shoulder length hair she kept in two French braids. Cheeks still charmingly pink, Sophie toyed with one of her braids, a sure sign of her nervousness. "Well, there's not much to say really."

"Nicholas tells me you're into astronomy?"

"Yeah, me and my Mom, when we go camping in Lakeshire Woods, she tells me all these really cool things about space and stuff, I don't know," she shrugged. "Maybe I'll become an astronaut or something."

"That's great, Ethan, my youngest son, is very much into astronomy also, maybe you can come by one of these days and talk about space and the like."

"Ethan may be younger than you, Sophie, but the little guy is walking encyclopedia when it comes to some things, I'm pretty sure you'll learn off of each other." Nicholas added as he looked on with unrepressed pride.

"Yeah, that'd be cool."

"And you Dylan?" Sonya leaned forward as to get a better view of the young boy, "What are your interests?"

Their gazes locked for a brief moment before he looked away. "I don't know videogames, I guess. Our
Mom just bought a trampoline, so that's pretty cool too."

"But Mommy won't let him jump on it without supervision," Bella blithely added and shrunk back at Dylan's glare. Sonya laughed good-naturedly and continued her inquisition, learning something new about each of her grandchildren as the minutes ticked away.

This was something they'd never had. Nicholas observed his mother interact with his children and he smiled. Family. This was all he'd ever wished for, craved for, wanted more than anything, a family of his own. However incomplete, this, right here and now, his mother, his children, this was family to Nicholas. He didn't have Ellie and the way things were looking, it seemed he wouldn't have Ellie anytime soon, but Nicholas was finding that maybe, just maybe that was Ok for now. He was beginning to understand that life was too short and no matter what had transpired between himself and Ellie in the past, their children took top priority today and forever.

It was a learning experience, each day he spent in their company. The man who was known as a
n entrepreneurial genius learned something new from his children. They taught him patience and humility. They made him understand the importance of laughter and what it meant to have fun. With them, Nicholas allowed his inner child to come out and play, immerse himself in all that he'd never been allowed to do. He understood love, the consuming love between a parent and his children that drove him to do all he could to see that they were happy and protected. Dylan, Isabella and Sophie were the stars of his universe.

Two hours later and still no sign of Terran, Nicholas decided it was time to continue their day. So with a parting kiss for his mother and promise that he'd stop by with the children next time he was in town, Nicholas and his brood picked up and
left. They were headed to a small Italian restaurant downtown called Gino's that'd been recommended by an acquaintance a few weeks back. Upon arrival, the maître d' greeted them with a kind smile and led them to a table adjacent to one of the giant windows in the restaurant that added a touch of elegance to the otherwise bland décor. For a Sunday evening, Gino's was abnormally busy, but all the same, Nicholas was content with the service provided and ordered a glass of chardonnay when asked for choice of beverage.

"Daddy can I get a chocolate cheesec
ake?" Bella asked lowering her menu.

Nicholas smiled.
"Only if you finish your dinner." He was becoming quite accustomed to this parenting thing.

Three weeks ago, he wouldn't have said that to Bella without feeling as though he'd committed the most grievous of crimes. Although he hadn't quite mastered ignoring her 'secret weapon' as of yet, he was sure he had the rest of their lives to work on it, but right now, her puss-in-boots expression was his Achilles heel and the little sprite knew it too.

So the waiter came and went, with their orders scribbled on his notepad, leaving them to talk amongst themselves, but that didn't get very far when they all heard-"Nicky? Nicholas Grayson? Is that you?" Lifting his eyes, Nicholas blankly stared at the woman standing a few feet away from their table. She looked as though she stepped right out their past, the very image of a fervent seventeen year old girl. Time had been kind to her, Nicholas silently observed.