Page 58 of Forever His This Christmas

“Mom, you don’t have to go,” Corey said making her laugh.

“I do because we are all going to see that Lisa has a beautiful day. I can’t imagine a more deserving and beautiful person to become my daughter. Plus, I plan to spoil my new granddaughter before this baby gets here. So, you two stay, keep your sweet girl feeling well,” Meredith said moving over to kiss their cheeks.

“Well, perhaps you could go easier on the perfume?” Corey suggested feeling Lisa hold her breath for a moment as she hugged them. “Smells are a little difficult for Lisa right now.”

“Oh my…of course, I just didn’t want to smell like the sweaty man sitting beside me on the plane,” Meredith said before hurrying out the door.

“You shouldn’t have told her that, now she feels bad,” Lisa said lying her head on his shoulder as he held her against his chest further.

“She won’t care, not when she’s so over the moon about becoming a grandmother. She wanted Donna and I to have them, constantly asked if we thought about it,” he said with a sigh.

“And had you?” she asked, meeting his gaze, wondering about that time of his life.

“At first, I had figured we’d take a couple years to ourselves then we’d have kids, but by then I knew she’d never want them, and I didn’t want them with her. When we met, I hadn’t thought about them in years, and then we were together, we came here and I wanted to bring our child back here, teach him or her howto ski. I will never stop wanting this with you Lisa, nothing in this world could change how I feel for you,” he said sliding his hand into her hair as he held her head gently.

“I didn’t believe that was possible. I swore when you learnt who and what happened to me, you’d run so fast that I’d never find you again.”

“Not a chance baby, you’re my only weakness, you know that,” he stated with a smile before claiming her lips in a lingering kiss that soothed bits of her worry and the tiny hint of nausea still present.

Chapter 20

“Makes me wish I’d met her first,” Josh said patting Corey’s shoulder as they watched Lisa help Abby with her coat when they reached the lodge for dinner.

“You’d never be able to handle her, she’d burn you alive, little brother,” Corey stated knowing his brother was simply joking but it still made him a little jealous to hear what other men thought of his girl. It probably always would, but at least he now knew that she would be his and only his as of tomorrow.

“She’s perfect for you, amazing as that is, it’s true,” Josh mused. “I’m happy for you. Seems like everything you’ve ever wanted is finally coming true.”

“Amazingly it is, but in an even better way. Learning about Abby, that keeping her safe was the reason that Lisa left me. That she was keeping her secret from everyone to protect her, and she didn’t want that bastard learning about her and trying to hurt either of them…as much as I hurt, it was nothing compared to what she’s been through. There were times that I’d see her at the office when she wasn’t aware of it, I’d see pain and sadness in her eyes, and all I wanted was to make it better. Now, I know that it’s because she was missing Abby, hated being away from her, and I never want her to feel any of that again.”

“So does that mean that you’re moving to Chicago?” Josh asked, his brow lifting and Corey nodded sending his brother’s brow even higher.

“Abby’s happy there. She’s made a friend there she really doesn’t want to leave, but I know she would if it was the only way to make things work between me and Lisa, but Lisa’s happy there too, and if it’s between Lisa being really, truly happy and the company…I’ll choose Lisa every time. So yeah, I’ve already contacted a realtor to look for places for us in Chicago,” Corey said as his phone buzzed. He gave it a glance and smiled, glancing over at Lisa and Abby. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a surprise for my girls.”

He slid across the lobby to join them, dropping a quick kiss onto Lisa’s lips before giving them a grin. “I hope you don’t mind a few more people joining us tonight, baby.”

“Did your brother bring someone else with him?” Lisa asked, her eyes studying him curiously.

“No, I invited a few others to the wedding. They’re here now,” he added, turning them towards the front doors and a little squeal slipped from Abby when she spied Jazz there.

“Oh my gosh!” Abby gushed, hurrying over to the girl as Lisa’s jaw dropped a bit seeing Jackie there behind David.

“Hope you don’t mind us just showing up, but when Corey called yesterday to let us know you all were getting married then asked if we wanted to come and if Jazz wanted to spend Christmas with Abby, I couldn’t exactly say no, since it’d have been just us if not. Plus, I wanted to meet this guy if he’s going to be around Jazz,” David added while Jackie gave her a tight hug.

“I was so pissed at you for just leaving without a word, but when Corey explained why you really left, I wasn’t about to miss this,” Jackie told her, and she gave her another hug, thankful her friend didn’t still hate her.

“I wanted to tell you about Abby so many times, but I knew you’d ask why I didn’t have her with me in New York,” she said, holding on for an extra moment. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you and Dan…”

“We hadn’t been working for a while, so it wasn’t that big of a deal to lose him as it was to lose you, girl.”

“I can’t believe you came all this way though,” she said before giving Jazz a hug as she and Abby bounced around excitedly still.

“Even sisters fight, but they still love each other, no matter what,” Jackie replied with a grin at the girls. “David and Jazz filled me in on what’s been going on in Chicago on our drive here from the airport. I know it’s been a lot, so I won’t hold it against you for ignoring me for the last few months. No way am I going to miss seeing you get married. Not my girl that swore she was just fine without a man.”

“I was just fine without him, but I’m so much happier with him,” Lisa mused, settling into Corey’s side before they headed in for dinner, making introductions to the family and as the night went on, she couldn’t quite help but be amazed at the way Corey’s brother seemed to perfectly fit with hers.

It also seemed that there was something brewing between David and Jackie. She wouldn’t complain about that, not if it meant her friend coming to Chicago. Everything was going too perfectly it seemed, and she glanced around the dining room, surprised she hadn’t had to deal with Colin this visit.

“Everything okay, baby?” Corey asked, brushing her hair from her cheek as she turned back towards the table.

---