THR33 DIFFERENT WOMEN. Part 34.

How long he'd been watching her, he neither knew nor cared. Nef knew he was there. Once in a while she'd gift him a sideways glance, with that little smile of hers that hinted at so much. How could one man be so lucky? It was exactly as Miles had said. You should never underestimate the importance of luck. She glowed in his sight. An indefinable something which outshone her obvious beauty. It wasn't always there. So he made the most of it while it lasted. Basking in her radiance, so to speak. He caught himself sighing audibly. Chuckled at how silly it made him feel. A grown man acting like an infatuated teenager. Jay sensed someone was behind him, so the arm that sneaked around his waist came as no surprise. Sophie looked up at him.

"Is everything okay little brother?" She asked.
A phrase Tianni had borrowed from her that the young girl used with Jacob. Jay couldn't help it, the sigh took hold of him again.
"She's far better than okay, thanks for asking."
"The two of you have been out here for hours. We thought you'd got lost. Instead you're ogling her from a hiding place."
"Nef knows I'm here. Sometimes she needs a little space. Although it doesn't seem like it, she's shy. Meeting all of you has been quite a strain on her."
"You to I imagine. So, do you want the jury's verdict?"
The puzzlement on his face cleared as he worked out what she meant.
"I'm pretty confident we made a good case. You can never tell with a jury though. Did I tell you how important this is to me? How important she is to me?"
"Only about fifty times. Relax, we all think she's perfect."
To her surprise his face fell.
"No need to sugar coat it. I know Nef has her flaws. Pretty major fla.."
Sophie had her hand over his mouth.
"She's perfect for you Jay. We didn't think you'd ever settle down." Her turn to pause. "You are going to settle down aren't you? I mean marriage and all that stuff."
"That's a bit of a touchy subject in our circumstances. There are a lot of variables. Marriage is a long way down the tracks. She could lose interest in me in the meantime."
He was talking himself into a deep depression, based on nothing.
"She's having your baby. I think we can dismiss the 20% chance it's yours. You're kind of old fashioned about things like that. So we assumed you'd be tying the knot."
"I wish it was that easy. I want to marry her, but my ego couldn't take being rejected. If I asked her she might get skittish. Not want to be tied down with someone like me. How would I know? You're a woman, how do I find out if there's a chance she would accept my proposal."
Sophie looked back at him blankly.
"You could always ask me." Came the now familiar voice from behind him.
Jay winced. Sophie reached out turning the paralyzed man around. He stared at the ground between him and Nef.
"I haven't... I didn't.. Can we..."
"Yes."
"What? Is that a yes, yes or are you talking about something else?
"Yes I will marry you. I must say you've taken your damn time. I was going to ask you if you didn't hurry up. But I was scared you'd say no. I'm a lot to take on. Sophie said you would, but I should let you ask. Although you didn't really ask me. You asked Sophie if it would be alright if you asked me. So I thought, close enough. You're very quiet. You haven't changed your mind have you? You look pretty pissed off."
Jay smiled at her took both of her hands in his.
"Not with you my darling." His head jerked round to Sophie. "You bitch. How could you do that to me?"
She backed away holding her hands up defensively.
"Now Jay. It was just a bit of fun and Nef told me not to tell you anything. I couldn't let her down, she's a friend."
"What about me? You've only known her five minutes."
She yelped and giggled as he lunged towards her. Nef held him back.
"Hey. I thought we'd just got engaged."
Jay made a fierce face at his big sister, turning back he took his love in his arms for a long kiss.
"It's not that simple though is it. What about your father?"
"Oh he'll be fine. As a matter of fact he told me that if I had any sense I'd marry that man."
"Which man was he talking about? Have we met him?" Sophie quipped.
He pressed his forehead to his fiance. No big expensive ring this time. Had it ever been paid for?
"You're skating on thin ice Soph. Fortunately for you, I have other things to attend to."
"Are you talking about sex?" Nef inquired.
"No."
"Oh. I was hoping you were. You could do with some practice and I could do with some exercise."

Back at the cabin they told the rest of the extended family the news. That despite Nef's father's recommendation things were a bit more complicated. Gerard left, then returned with a very big bottle of champagne. Having done the honors he poured a glass for the adults. Before they could make the toast the twins started up. They'd woken from their nap it seemed. Not wanting to be left out. Sparkling apple juice for Tianni and Jacob. He was put out by that. Until Tianni told him she'd had some once and it tasted horrible. That was good enough for Jacob. With five adults, one heavily pregnant, and four children the cabin was a bit crowded. They walked over to Liz and Gerard's lake side house. You couldn't call it a cabin any longer. It had an extra floor and a couple of annexes now.

Liz had to limit herself to half a glass. It wasn't that much of a sacrifice, she was with Tianni on this subject. Champagne tasted awful. While Jacob and his adopted sister kept an eye on the little ones in the play room, the adults began making a celebratory meal. Nothing too fancy. Good tasting food and plenty of it. They all sat having dinner before heading out onto the deck which jutted out into the lake. Sophie told them how she and Dale had met, parts of this story Jay didn't know. How she'd known he was the one. That required Liz and Gerard to explain how the two of them had met. Bumping into one another as Liz exited the elevator. They knew it was coming. Nef got up out of her chair to sit in Jay's lap, well before their friends tale had ended. All eyes were on them. Expecting the couple to fill them in on how they'd come together for the first time. Nef looked at him nervously.

"I don't come out of this too well." She stated. "Would you mind if I went into the next room?"
Jay wrapped his arms around her.
"Really I probably come out of it worse than you. So you can stay here. You might even hear something you didn't know. Actually that's a certainty. I have a lot to thank Tianni for. If not for her, I doubt we'd be here now. Have you put on weight?" He wriggled in his seat. "How far along are you?"
She slapped at him. Liz threw a damp towel at his head, Gerard chuckled and Sophie gave him a warning look. Slowly. Haltingly at first. Jay and Nef explained their story.

The opiates were doing wonders for the physical pain. Inside he was seething. The bitch whore was an absolute disgrace. Her selfishness couldn't be quantified. From the stories Tianni had told him he'd gained the impression she was fun loving, carefree and completely loyal. Taking her niece water skiing or surfing at every opportunity. Always patient and kind. Okay, her sister and her mother had been killed. That didn't mean you went off the deep end. Tianni had been in the car when that bomb took them out. What she must have seen defied description. He'd seen what explosives could do. They could turn a street into an open air abattoir instantly.

After what she'd just tried to do they were still walking around on tiptoes in her presence. Though they were taking her back to Tuvah come what may, they still tried to accede to every other whim of that poor excuse for a human being. Worse than this was Tianni's solicitous behavior. An 8 year old acting like a grown up, when that thing was so childish. Somebody had to give her a piece of their mind. Let her know her stupid tricks weren't to be tolerated despite her wealth and station. Jay nominated himself. There were no other candidates so it would fall to him to tell that woman just what he thought of her.

All he had to do was get to her room. Easier said than done. As far as Leilani was concerned she didn't want him in the same building. It was a mutual hatred he was happy with. Occupying the same planet as her was bad enough. Miles had warned him off. The hospital security and Lev's team had been instructed not to allow him near her. Miles had spotted the anger in him and knew what it could lead to. He'd get to her room. No need for a plan of action. It shouldn't be that hard. Five minutes alone with the bitch whore, that's all he needed. Five minutes with her was about as much as he could take anyway.