Chapter 3

Todd had tried to get Gwen to go somewhere tropical for their honeymoon, but she had only one place she wanted to go - Las Vegas.

She reasoned that with her baby bump, the pictures of her would mostly be in beachwear and she couldn’t hide it as well. She also had never been to Vegas and her parents rave about it. They go there 4 or 5 times each year for long weekends. Her mom loves restaurants, shows, and concerts and her dad liked blackjack. Todd didn’t put up too much of a fight. He’d never been to Vegas either and her parents were paying for their trip.

They exited the airplane and took the tram to the main building at McCarran. Todd looked comical as he grabbed their luggage. He struggled along with bags in each hand, under each arm and he even had a strap around his neck.

They had decided to rent a car and be able to see more without having to over-exert the five-month pregnant Gwen, by walking or standing and waiting for cabs or Ubers. When they finally got off of the shuttle and found their car, Todd was exhausted.

“Jeez, I feel like I ran a marathon,” he complained.

Gwen laughed and said, “I love you, baby. You can rest when you’re dead though. We’re in Las Vegas!”

Todd smiled and thought about what they had planned for their 10 days on The Strip. Every night would have a different show or concert. They had reservations at every “must eat” restaurant for either breakfast or lunch. They had pre-ordered tickets for museums, and art exhibits, and when Todd heard that he was shocked. He didn’t even know there were museums in Vegas, let alone art exhibits. The one he was looking forward to the most was the erotic heritage museum, of course.

It took more than an hour to get from the airport, through hotel check-in, and into their suite at The Bellagio and the first thing Todd did was lay on the bed. Gwen laughed at him and said, “Come on, pooper. We have reservations for lunch at Giada’s in an hour.”

He groaned and stood up, then he pulled her into a hug, kissed her neck on the spot that he learned makes her knees weak, and said, “Okay, Mrs. Allen. Let’s go to lunch.”

They rarely made it out of the room, once he kissed her. After a long make-out session, she pushed him away and dragged him out of the room.

Craig and Izzy were showing her parents her ring when there was a ring from the doorbell.

“Mr. Ashe!” Sheila shrieked. “Come in, come in. What can we do for you?”

Rick and Craig stood and were on guard immediately when she called out his name. They walked over to the foyer and watched over Sheila from a few feet away.

“Sheila, Rick, I’ve come to apologize. May I come in and sit?”

“Sure, come on into the living room,” Rick said.

After introducing Craig and Izzy, they sat and let Mr. Ashe have the floor.

“Let me start by apologizing for my son’s actions. The attack on your son on his wedding day was disgusting. Especially since we all know that you were cleared by the police. Second, I want to apologize for his seduction of you, Sheila. We didn’t raise him to be what he is and my wife and I can’t tell you how disappointed we are.”

Rick looked at him warily and said, “Thank you for that,” and waited for him to continue.

“Lastly I want to tell you that I fired one of my lawyers less than two hours ago. He was the fixer who worked with Bryson and handled his needs.”

Rick and Sheila looked on with confusion as to why that mattered to them. Craig thought that he may have been upset that Bryson didn’t get off, and accepted a deal.

“My son had this fixer set up a mugging and beating of your son, to happen while they are in Las Vegas.”

“Are you fucking kidding me!” Rick screamed as he jumped up. He was about to attack Ashe when the man held out his hands.

“Please sit, Rick. I stopped it. This man had a change of heart and came to me after visiting Bryson this morning. It was the final straw for my son and I’ve cut him off. I had the attorney call the man and call it off in front of me. I also have one of my security men flying out to Vegas right now, to make sure that your son and his bride are safe. I wish no harm to come to you or your family. This has to stop and it stops now.”

“Mr. Ashe, if anything happens to my son or his pregnant wife, you’ll never see me coming.”

“Rick, I understand and I’ve taken the steps to ensure this ends. I don’t know if you or Todd attacked my son, but I know Detective Jordan very well. If he cleared you, it’s good enough for me. Hell, my shit-head son deserved the ass-kicking he got from what I was told. You’ll have no further issues with my family and Sheila, I hope our business relationship can be restored.”

Sheila visibly relaxed. Her business was in trouble without his business and Rick had demanded that she cut off all ties with the Ashe family because of Bryson. It was one of the conditions of their attempt at reconciling.

“Thank you, Mr. Ashe, for your help. If anything changes, please let me know immediately,” Rick said as he stood ending their meeting.

“Of course,” Ashe said as Rick escorted him to the door and shook his hand.

Immediately after shutting the door he called and warned Todd to keep an eye out and stay in public places.

“Jesus, I hope that finally ends it,” Craig said.

“He seemed sincere,” Rick said. “There was no reason to come here if he weren’t. I’m inclined to believe him.”

“Thank God,” Sheila said crying. Izzy hugged her and let her cry it out.

Sheila still struggled with the repercussions of her one-night stand with Bryson. She couldn’t believe the collateral damage that came from one bad decision. She was still seeing her therapist, along with the couples counselor, to deal with her nightmares and emotional breakdowns resulting from her indiscretion.

With all of the drama settled for the day, Craig finally kissed Izzy goodbye one last time and left for school.

Todd hung up the call from his father and tried to hide the worried expression on his face. He didn’t do a good enough job and Gwen picked it up when he returned to their table. She had just finished her sun-dried tomato frittata when he came back to the table looking nervous.

“What is it, baby? Is everything okay at home?”

“Yeah, sweetie. Everything is fine now.”

“It wasn’t fine before?” She asked.

Todd frowned and since lunch was over, he decided to tell her the events of the previous morning and the revelation he’s just received from his father.

When he’d finished, Gwen was silently crying. All that she could think about was her baby and possibly losing her husband. Todd held her hand and said, “Baby, there’s nothing to worry about. Mr. Ashe is helping us and it’s all over. Let’s go back to the room and get some rest. We’ve got the wax museum to see later and you need your rest.”

Gwen nodded and they hugged for what felt like an eternity.

Life went on for Craig and Izzy. They Skype called every night and we’re occasionally able to use the time to have mutual self-love sessions. Craig came home once a month for the weekend and they spent as much time as they could together.

With their second child soon getting married, Sheila and Rick were still able to continue with their reconciliation. Rick lost a couple of friends when they chastised him for taking his wife back, but he felt that they weren’t really his friends if they didn’t support him in rough times.

While he struggled with doing so, the thought of entering the second phase of his life without the only woman he ever loved hurt too much. The thought of watching his grandchildren grow, without his wife next to him, was unbearable. The family was everything to him.

Two weeks before Thanksgiving, Gwen woke in the middle of the night feeling a contraction. “Oh wow!” She said. She shook Todd awake and said, “It’s time, baby.”

Todd snapped awake and slipped on the gym shoes he had sitting next to the bed and like a scene out of a classic sitcom, he grabbed the bag ready by the front door and jumped in the car. He was about to back out of the drive when he saw his wife standing on the porch waiting for him.

“Shit!” He shouted and opened the door. He ran up the walkway to help his wife, who was in between bouts of laughter and pain, down the icy stairs.

“Sorry, love. I guess I’m still half asleep,” he said worriedly.

She kissed his cheek and said, “I love you, puddin’ head. Get me to the hospital please.”

Slowly he helped her into the car and they were on their way.

He called all of the parents, as he sped through the streets, thankful that it was 2 am and there was no one on the road to get in his way and made it to the hospital I’m 12 minutes flat.

Four hours later, Todd walked into the waiting room and the four tired grandparents sprang up. “It’s a girl!” He said and hugged and kissed everyone.

He sat down exhausted and said, “They are cleaning the baby up and moving Gwen to a room. They’ll get us out here when we can go in and see her.”

“Fantastic, son. How was she doing?” Rick asked.

“Gwen was good and they said the baby was doing great. They let me hold her for a bit and then gave her to Gwen too. Oh, wait! I took pictures.”

He showed everyone the pictures of the beautiful little girl resting on Gwen’s chest.

Gwen’s mom, Laura asked, “You guys have been back and forth on names, did you finally pick one?”

“Yep,” he said with a smile, “Tequila Ann.”

“What!” Sheila shrieked. “You aren’t naming my granddaughter after liquor young man!”

Rick and Gwen’s father Mike were laughing and Todd broke out as well.

“Easy, Grandma! I’m kidding.”

Sheila was not amused, nor was Laura. In unison, they both huffed, “Men!”

Izzy arrived, came through the doors, and hugged her brother, “Well? How is she?”

“Everyone is fine, sis.”

“What’s her name?” Laura asked gruffly.

“Amelia Ann,” he said with a smile.

“Aw!” Izzy said as the grandmothers were appeased and happy.

Thanksgiving came, and the Allen’s were celebrating with a full house. Gwen’s parents moved their small gathering to not make Gwen and Todd drag the little one to multiple places. Craig and his father also attended since Craig’s mom worked at the hospital on the holiday.

The Ashe’s had sent over a case of champagne and various other wines, along with a congratulatory card for the birth of Amelia. Gwen wasn’t pleased that she wouldn’t be able to partake in the wine-drinking because she was breastfeeding, but she did sip the expensive bubbly when Rick offered a toast after saying Grace.

Craig and Izzy were sitting on a love seat, with Izzy snuggling into his arm and holding her niece.

“Does she do anything other than sleep?” Craig asked.

Laura walked in and said, “Yes, she eats and she poops.” They laughed and she swept in and took the sleeping baby away to the other room.

“Do you want kids, Craig?” Izzy asked.

“Yes. I want lots of them.”

Izzy laughed and said, “How about two and then we play it by ear?”

“Okay, love. Are you thinking of starting right away?”

“I don’t know. Six months ago I hadn’t thought about it at all. Then you turned my world upside down. Holding Amelia has kind of kickstarted my maternal instincts.”

“Well, we can just not go on birth control and see what happens or we can plan it out. It wouldn’t bother me to wait a few years to get settled into married life, buy a house, and save some money.”

“I’m already on birth control,” she said.

Craig sat up straighter and Izzy said, “Easy there, big guy. I really am saving myself. I’ve been on the pill since you asked me to marry you.”

“Why?” Craig pressed.

She sat up and whispered in his ear, “Because we aren’t waiting until our wedding night.”

He smiled and kissed her.

“I have to make sure you’re good in bed. I can’t marry a dud, can I?” She teased. He hit her with a couch pillow and started tickling her.

“Hey now!” Rick said walking into the room. “C’mon Craig. The game’s about to start. Us menfolk are watching in the den. Izzy’s presence has been requested to help with dessert.”

“To be continued,” Craig said patting her butt.

Craig was disappointed two days later, kissing Izzy goodbye, that she teased him about making love and then not doing it while he was in town. They’d spent the weekend together, but she stopped him at their mutual oral sex limit.

“Craig, I love you and I’m sorry I mentioned the pills to you. When you have your Christmas break, we are going to go away for a couple of days. We’re going to go to Lake Geneva, stay in a nice room, have Champagne and strawberries, and we will make love by candlelight. My first time will not be rushed in your bedroom, hoping no one hears us.”

“Okay, that sounds awesome. Will you handle the details or would you like me to?”

“Ha! Like I can trust you to do it right. I’ll handle everything and I’ll make it the way I’ve always dreamed it would be. You just need to get me the dates of your break and show up horny.”

“I’m always horny for you, sweetie.”

“That’s my man. Have a safe trip, I love you.”

Less than a month later, Craig rang Izzy’s doorbell. Sheila answered and hugged the young man.

“How are you, Craig?”

“I’m good Mrs. Allen. How are things around here?”

“Better, almost back to normal. Little Amelia has played a big role in that, I’m sure. Rick is a completely different person now. He makes Todd send him pictures and videos every day and he just lights up looking at them.”

“That’s great. Todd told me that he bought him a new phone with the best camera on it.”

Sheila laughed and said, “He and Gwen both.”

“That’s too funny, him being such a softy for her. You know, growing up I was always afraid of him.”

“Why, Craig?”

“He was so intimidating. I don’t know how to put it, I mean he wasn’t ever mean to me, well I don’t know. We get along really well now, so I’m happy about that.”

“He loves you as a son, Craig,” she said solemnly. “What you did for him, will never be forgotten.”

“I know, and he’s giving me a job too. I’m really excited about that.”

“Yes, he’s looking forward to it more than you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“He has always wanted Todd to work for him and learn the business. He wanted it to stay in the family.”

Craig nodded in understanding.

“When Todd went to work for Rick’s brother it hurt him a lot. Izzy always wanted to be what she became, so that was different for him. It’s a man’s thing for him. I know that sounds sexist, but it’s more of a father and son thing to him if that makes sense.”

Craig understood and said, “I guess it makes sense now, why he was so hard on Todd about not going to school.”

“Yes. You’ve given him his chance to keep it in the family. With you marrying Izzy, you’re giving him one of his last dreams. He’ll eventually retire and have you take over. He knows that you’ll be in a good position to take care, not only of his life’s work but his only daughter as well. He knows what kind of man you are and he trusts you.”

Craig thought about how Rick had changed, in his eyes, when he realized that Izzy loved him. He never gave him “the talk” or treated him with anything other than respect since they began dating. Craig never considered that he was thinking of him with such high regard that he would groom him to take over his business someday.

The bond they formed began with their mutual revenge on Bryson and it grew from there. Craig all of a sudden realized that Bryson was the key that opened a new world for him.

Bryson destroyed his relationship with Mia, but that got him the girl of his dreams. Bryson almost destroyed Rick and Sheila’s marriage and that brought him the shared pain and bond with Rick. That led to Rick bringing him on as his protege at work as soon as he graduates. Yes, as bad as he was, Bryson directly created all of his good fortunes.

“Hey there, cutie!” Izzy called from the stairs.

“Hi, Izzy. Are you ready to go?”

“Yep,” she said as she bounced into the room with a suitcase.

“Have a good time, kids,” Sheila said as they made their goodbyes.

“So what’s the secret plan, Izzy?” Craig asked while driving.

“Two nights at the Grand Geneva resort, with a couples Aromatherapy massage tomorrow.”

“Wow, sounds expensive.”

“It’s not that bad. I did tell you that I wanted my first time to be special, so it’s worth it.”

“Okay, love. Shall we stop and get some snacks? I brought plenty of wine.”

“Yes, we need to get the goodies for later. I planned on having room service for breakfast and we could eat at the Geneva Chophouse for dinners. I also thought we could go out for lunch somewhere.”

“Okay, will you at least let me pay for our meals?”

“Nope. This is my treat, baby. All you have to do is relax and enjoy yourself.”

As they were unpacking, Craig saw that Izzy had laid out some very sexy lingerie. He also saw that she wasn’t kidding about the candles. He unpacked the wine and Izzy laughed when she saw how much he had brought.

“Plan I’m getting me drunk, sweetie?” She teased.

“Boy Scouts are always prepared. I dented my savings pretty good with some recommendations from my dad, but I wanted this to be totally special for you and it’s no time for cheap wine.”

She smiled and said, “Aw, thank you. That’s a pretty bottle what is that?” He looked at the bottle before handing it to her. “Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoch?” She asked.

“My dad said that it’s better than the Dom Perignon we had on Todd and Gwen’s wedding day.”

“Ooh, okay, Mr. Fancy Pants.”

He threw a pillow at her as they laughed.

“Craig, I don’t want to set the wrong mood for the weekend, but I want to talk to you about my choice for Maid-of-Honor.”

He looked at her face and saw that she looked extremely worried. He had a feeling that she was going to ask Mia and he had made his peace with it already.

He hadn’t spoken to Mia since the break-up, but he was over his anger with her. He knew they were getting closer with each other since they reconnected and he didn’t want to stand in the way of their relationship.

He walked over and took her hands. Looking into her eyes he said, “It’s alright. She’s been your best friend for most of your lives.”

A tear escaped from her eye as she hugged him and asked, “Will it really be alright? I don’t want you upset or uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine. I need to close that chapter of my life and not ever seeing her isn’t really an option. I’ll have to talk with her and make peace with what she did to me, but it will be fine. Don’t worry about it.”

She hugged him tighter and said, “I love you so much. Thank you for allowing this for me.”

“Izzy, we’re a team. Everything that we do is for us now.”

“You’re the best. I can’t wait to get married and I promise you, I’ll be the best wife ever.”

“Of course, you will be. Have you put any more thought into a date? It’s kind of late notice to do it this summer.”

“Actually, yes. I was thinking about September. I already checked on dates with our church and some halls.”

“Okay, September it is. Not too hot, not too cold, I like it.”

“Good. I’ll get things in motion. Mom’s going to be so excited. She’s been bugging me since you asked. She even bought me a big wedding planner book.”

“Nice. My mom is really excited too. My dad thinks we rushed into it, but I’ve never been happier.”

“Me too, hun. Come on, let’s get ready for dinner.”

While waiting for their table, they were having a drink in the lounge and talking about the wedding. A couple was sitting by the fire near them that overheard their conversation.

“Excuse me,” the well-dressed man said. “We couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. We live in the same area as you guys, based on the hall names you’re talking about. I’m Colt and this is my wife Jane. We want to congratulate you and buy you a bottle of wine for your dinner.”

“Aw, thank you. That’s very kind of you. I’m Izzy and this is my fiancé Craig.”

They made pleasantries and Izzy said, “Hey wait! Colt is a unique name. Are you by chance a pediatrician? My niece’s Doctor is named Colt Lovell.”

“Yep, that’s me. Who’s your niece?”

“Amelia Allen.”

“Ah, yeah. I call her triple-A,” he said with a wide smile.

They all laughed and Izzy said, “That’s cute, Amelia Ann Allen. I never thought of that.”

“She’s a real cutie,” Colt said. “What a small world.”

“It sure is,” Craig said. “May I ask what hall you chose for your reception? Maybe you can help us narrow it down.”

“Absolutely, it was at the Renaissance Hotel at the convention center. It was perfect,” Jane said.

Izzy said, “Oh, yeah? My mom’s pushing for that one. It’s nice.”

“It was awesome. Well, we have to get going. It was great to meet you guys. Good luck, Congratulations, and enjoy the wine,” Colt said.

After they left, Craig said, “Wow! I can’t believe we ran into Amelia’s doctor up here.”

“They were super nice. Gwen thinks he’s hot and calls him Dr. Love,” she said with a smirk.

“Why? Is he a KISS fan?”

“Whatever!” She said slapping his shoulder. “Let’s go eat.”

As they were being seated, the hostess said, “Dr. Lovell preordered you a Cabernet Sauvignon and we’ll bring it out when you’re ready.”

“Thank you,” Craig said as he looked at the wine list. “Would you like a glass of Champagne to start with, or something else?”

“I’d love a glass of Champagne, and how about some oysters?”-

“Okay. I’ve never had them,” Craig said.

“I’ve heard that they are an aphrodisiac,” Izzy said with raised eyebrows.

“Oh, sweetie, I assure you that I don’t need an aphrodisiac when I’m with you,” he said, rubbing her hand. “Hey, since Dr. Love ordered us a red, would you like to split the big Tomahawk?”

“Is that steak?” She asked.

“Yeah, it’s a big ribeye with a huge bone. It looks like a brontosaurus steak.”

“Okay. I like my steak rare though.”

He smiled and said, “I always knew you were perfect.”

She laughed and held up her glass for a toast. “To what will hopefully be the most wonderful night of my life.”

Craig clinked glasses with her and said, “Love, I hope to have ten-thousand more with you.”