Steele Hearts Redemption (22 page)

“Ah, um, excuse me, love birds,” Tess said,
interrupting the sensuous kiss we shared in front of a room full of
people, “Gabe can I borrow my sister for a moment please,” she
asked.

With an exaggerated show of reluctance Gabe
released me. Tess grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the room
and into her’s and Connor’s bedroom. She sat on the bed and patted
the space next to her, asking me to join her on the bed.

“You okay sis?” I asked when she didn’t say
anything after more than two minutes.

“Al, I don’t know where to start, but thank
you. Thank you for giving me my life back, thank you for always
believing in me and thank you for sacrificing so much of your life
for me. I love Connor more than life itself and I love this family
I have and the people I surround myself with and this precious baby
inside me. I love him unconditionally, and I thank God everyday for
everything I’ve been blessed with but Ally nothing felt right in my
live until you came back in it. You and I have a bond that I don’t
share with anyone else and I am sorry you had to loose so much so I
could have you as my sister. I pray you wouldn’t someday resent me
because you lost your mother and sister because of me.”

“Oh Tess, the only thing I ever lost in my
life was you and now that I’ve found you nothing’s going to tear us
apart ever again. I promise. My mother, Alexis and I are
biologically tied but that’s all they are to me. DNA. I never
belonged with them and I never wanted too. Please believe that
Tess. You’re my family.”

She hugged me, holding me as tight as she
could, as if she was afraid to let go.

“I have a surprise for me.”

Gabe and I decided this morning we would put
off telling everyone of our engagement until the mess with Alexis
was cleared away and now that it was it seemed a good time as any
to tell.

“Gabe asked me to marry him and I said
yes.”

She pulled back from me, her eyes going wide
before she started squealing with joy. I had to give a few minutes
to calm down before I continued.

“We’re staying in New York Tess. It’s
something Gabe has been thinking of for sometime and apparently
decided on even before he and I got together.”

The look on her face told me she was beyond
happy.

**********

Two months later….

“I swear if I don’t find a dress soon I’m
going to get married naked,” I swore with an exaggerated sigh,
causing the women around me to chuckle.

They though I was joking but it was a thought
I was seriously considering after the last three hours. I really
don’t know how brides could be so excited about wedding dress
shopping.

After Gabe and I announced our engagement
everything started moving in warped speed. Gabe and I agreed we
wanted to be married as soon as possible but we also had to
consider Tess when picking a date. Tess was due in three months so
we had to decide whether we wanted to get married before or after
the wedding. Tess took the decision from our hands. She wasn’t
going to let her popping be the deciding factor for our wedding
date, so after consulting with Gabe’s mom, Mavis and Betsy it was
decided for us that the wedding would be doable in ten weeks, two
weeks before she was due. In the last eight weeks everything was
decided and done, location, we opted for the privacy of Gabe’s
parents back yard, just like Tess and Connor, food, music, flowers
and every other detail that went into having a perfect wedding.
Never one to be emotional, I found myself battling tears ever so
often when things started falling into place. I couldn’t believe
how lucky I was to have the love and support of everyone around me.
If only I was so lucky with my dress.

I turned and looked at the smiling faces in
front of me. it was the same look they had on their faces after I
tried on the last six dresses.

Betsy dabbed her eyes with her pristine white
handkerchief once again, exclaiming “ You’re so beautiful
Ally.”

The rest of the gang nodded their heads in
agreement. The dress was really beautiful, a princess dress, if you
wanted to put labels to it but it wasn’t right for me. I didn’t get
that overwhelming feeling of awe.

“Okay you guys are not helping. You think
every dress I try on looks great.”

Sophia, Gabe’s mother, stood up and came to
me, taking me in her embrace.

“Sweetheart, it’s because you’re very
beautiful. Everything you wear looks great on you.”

She was the mother I wished I had growing up.
She always knew the right things to say. So did Mavis and Betsy. I
didn’t have to wish anymore though. They were the mothers I wanted
and had now, that’s why having them here with me today made this
day even more special. Tess, as big as she was at this stage in her
pregnancy, was adamant about being here and I knew without a doubt
I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Anna, on the hand had to
take some convincing. After the situation with Alexis cleared up,
thankfully she’s behind bars now awaiting her trial, we had to deal
with Anna’s situation. With her consent, Connor filled in the
family on Anna’s situation and with the support of everyone, she
moved out of her marital home and was now living safely in one of
Connor’s executive apartments and Conrad was dealing with her
divorce. Her husband was livid when he was served with a
restraining order but he kept his distance and so did his Russian
friends. The only mystery left to uncover was that of her and
Tyler. After returning from the beach house the tension between
those two was palpable. They avoided each other but couldn’t help
but stare at each other when the other wasn’t looking. Over the
last few months she and I grew closer than we were before after she
came to me and asked me to teach her some self defense moves. After
the beating she took from her husband the self defense classes I
set up for her were proving therapeutic. Today was the first day in
a long time I saw her smile.

“Okay Ally, one more dress and if you don’t
think this is the one then you can wear whatever you want,” Sophia
said, before calling out to Celeste, the designer whose showroom
we’ve taken over.

Celeste came out with a dress draped over her
arms. I took one look at the dress and felt something I didn’t feel
when I saw the other dresses. Sophia and Celeste hustled me into
the dressing room and had me strip before Sophia left me with
Celeste who helped me into the dress. I closed my eyes as she did
so and kept them closed as she fastened me up the back. When I felt
her step away from me I opened my eyes. It was then I felt that
“awe” moment. Without a doubt this was the dress. The intricate
beaded top was amazing. It should have felt heavy but instead it
felt right. The straight cut above my breast should have left me
feeling naked but instead it made me feel sexy, just as the very
low cut back did. Instead of a flowing skirt, it had a slim fitting
lace skirt that embraced me like a glove, pooling at the bottom of
my feet to accommodate a pair of very high heels. The train was
yards of the same lace that the skirt of the dress was made of.
Instead of just hanging on my slender frame this dress contoured to
every curve of my body as if it was made for me. Celeste finished
the look by placing a lace veil on my head with a hand made
headpiece that went with the dress and five inch heels on my
feet.

I made my way out of the dressing room and
held my breath as I anticipated everyone’s reaction. The tears in
their eyes said it all.

I turned to Celeste and said, “This is
definitely the one.”

“I know,” she replied, a smug smile on her
face.

“I knew it would be perfect,” Tess said, her
tears flowing freely and a big smile on her face, “didn’t I say
that mom,” she said, addressing Sophia.

“Yes you did love,” Sophia said with an
equally big smile on her face.

Okay so I was now confused and I guess it
showed on my face because Tess took pity on me and said,

“Mom and I wanted to surprise you. We met
with Celeste a month ago and gave her the specifics for this dress
and with her magic she got it done in time for today.”

I think I stood there with my mouth opened
for more than a minute.

“You guys had this made for me?”

They nodded their heads.

“And yet you tortured me by having me try on
seven different dresses today?”

They nodded again.

“Why?” I asked, trying to look distraught but
was undoubtedly happy.

“For our own entertainment sis,” Tess said as
everyone tried to hold back their laughter.

*********

“So they made you try on seven dresses for
their entertainment even though they knew you’d hate it before
showing you the dress they had made for you?” I asked, trying but
failing miserably to understand women and their shopping
habits.

“Yup,” Ally answered.

“And you were happy to the point of
tears?”

She nodded.

“Not a tad bit angry or irritated?”

“Nope” she said, with a huge smile on her
face.

I jumped on the bed and took her in my
arms.

“Baby as long as you’re happy then I’m
happy.”

“Is that so?” she asked, her hands gently
caressing my face.

“You know it is so,” I replied, loving the
way her hand felt on my face.

“What if I told you there was something you
could do that would make me even more happy,” she said in a
seductive tone.

I liked where she was going with this.

“Baby, just say the word.”

“How about I show you,” she said as her hand
traveled down my chest, stopping at my hips where my jeans hung
low. With a little tug she unbuttoned my pants and a quick flicker
had me unzipped. Her lips captured mines just as she shoved her
hand in my pants and stroked my already hard cock. I moaned in her
mouth from her touch and tried taking control, but she had her body
firmly planted on top of me and was using her legs to keep me on my
back. She broke the kiss and straddled me, pulling her dress off in
the process. Her bra flew off next and I felt my cock wanting to
burst out of my jeans. She moved off me and quickly pulled her
panties of before relieving me of my jeans and underwear. My cock
was aching for her attention and as if sensing it’s frustration she
smiled before straddling me again. She rubbed her core’s heat on my
cock before lifting her beautiful ass up, took my cock in her hand
and came down on me, her slit opening up to envelop me in her
wetness. I grabbed her by the hips and pressed her down on me. She
smiled and pushed away my hands as she started moving up and down
on me. She developed a rhythm, moving her hips, as she came up and
down on me. This was her moment and I allowed her to have it
without taking control. She controlled the pace and I knew when her
movement became frenzied she was on the verge of exploding. She
sent me wild with her movements and after I felt her tighten around
my cock I took her hips and held her down once again before
thrusting deep inside her. We both exploded, our erratic heartbeats
becoming one as she collapsed on top of me.

Brushing her hair back, I pressed a hard kiss
to her lips.

“I love you,” I whispered after I was done
kissing her.

“I love you too,’ she replied.

**********

It was a week before the wedding and I was
eagerly awaiting the return of my fiancé from L.A. Over the last
few months, he’s made several trips in order to facilitate his
permanent move back to New York but this one was the one we
anticipated the most. It was the trip where everything was finally
finalized, for want of a better word. Yes he would be back and
forth for work and he made no secret about the fact that he hoped
that I would accompany him on location while he was filming, but
for the majority of his time he would spend it in New York.
Marianna and Jonah both returned to L.A. with the promise of
returning for a week for the wedding. Gabe kept his house there so
we’d have somewhere to stay when we were in L.A. and he was adamant
about Marianna staying on as his housekeeper, even though the house
would pretty much be empty. Gabe surprised Jonah by adding on to
his responsibilities. When he was not in school he would act as the
liaison for the production company in L.A. and the new offices he
was opening in New York.

As for me, I finally figured out what I
wanted to do. I knew law enforcement was out of the question,
especially now that my face was plastered over ever tabloid and
gossip column you could find since news of our engagement broke. It
all came to me after I made one of the quick trips to L.A. with
Gabe. He took me to the same shelter where he met Marianna and
Jonah years ago. Every time he was in town he made the time to
volunteer there and he financially supported the shelter. It was
primarily a shelter for battered women and their kids and single
mothers and their kids. It broke my heart seeing the bruises that
marred some of those women’s faces and it was then I decided. I was
already helping Anna, teaching her self defense, why not help these
women and other women like them as well. I spoke to Gabe about it
and with his encouragement and financial support we decided to open
one of many self defense centers and women’s shelters in New York.
It was perfect for me because I had so many people like the Steele
family, Max and his wife, Dell and Cane and everyone on Sterling’s
staff wanting to volunteer. It was all coming together and within a
couple of months the location we picked out would be ready.