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Author's Note: Oops! I skated right through another few scenes of the books that bothered me so forgive me for the parts being out of order. Am I the only one who was PO'd when Ana was so mean to Kate when Kate found the email? After all, Kate had nothing but Ana's best interests at heart and she lets Ana live with her and borrow her nice clothes, etc. Some friend Ana is. And why would Kate end up apologizing to Christian? She wasn't wrong, after all, just late.

Also, why was Christian's mother angry with him when she found out about his affair with Elena? I could see her being beyond furious with Elena but why Christian? Did she expect him to tell her about it? Can you see a 15-year-old boy with a perennial hard-on saying to his mother, "Mom, you know that really rich hot blond friend of yours? Well, she's making passes at me. Make her stop, please. "

I mean, really. Elena is the one who should be held accountable, not Christian. Right? ******

We have barely crossed the threshold of the front door when Kate comes barreling over to us, her body poured into a tight red dress, her blond hair upswept. She looks hot.

"Hi, Kate!" I greet her with enthusiasm, my happiness infectious.

Her eyes are bright with anger. "I want to see both of you privately, right now!"

Baffled, I look at Christian and he just shrugs and begins to follow her, pulling me along. Carrick, who has just opened the door and greeted us, looks both amused and surprised by Kate's behavior. We go into a small drawing room and as soon as the door closes behind us, Kate whirls around, a piece of paper in her hand.

"What the hell is this?" She wags the paper in front of us and then hands it to me.

I open it and the blood drains from my face. Fuck me! It's a copy of an email I sent Christian, asking for clarification on hard and soft limits. What the hell am I going to tell Kate now?

I step closer to her, dropping my voice low in the very feeble hope that Christian won't bother getting involved. "Kate, I'll explain this note to you but not now. Today is Christian's birthday and it's a very special day for us. This, here," I hold up the paper, "is ancient history. Okay?"

Christian goes to grab for the paper, "What does it say?"

I hold up my hand to stop him. "Christian, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it, please?" I want him to let it go but I should know better. He snatches the paper from my hand and quickly scans it. His face entirely impassive, he swings his gaze directly at Kate. "Have you told anyone?" His voice is low and silky—code for Christian's lethal anger.

"No, of course not," Kate snaps at him. "I want an explanation, however." She looks at me, concern flooding her face. "Ana, has he hurt you?"

Christian, meantime, has taken a long lighter off the mantel and set fire to the paper, dropping it in the grate only after it is almost entirely consumed by the flame. His back is ramrod straight, informing me that he's feeling no love toward Miss Kate right now. These two abhor each other so much that it makes me nervous—after all, there's a thin line between . . . well, you know.

"Kate, will you let it go for now if I promise to explain it all to you next week?"

She looks confused. Christian meantime has come up behind me. Now he slings his arm around my waist possessively and I hear his voice above me, saturated with iced-over anger.

"Katherine, Anastasia has agreed to become my wife. We'll be announcing our engagement at the party tonight." I can almost feel his smirk.

Kate's face goes white. I mean, absolutely white, even though right now she's heavily tanned from her vacay.

I know how Christian can do psychological torment. I don't like seeing Kate cowed—not strong, confident Kate. I step out of his grasp.

"Is that true, Ana? What the hell? I leave you for two weeks and all this happens?"

I nod, blushing. "It's true, Kate. Christian and I are in love—head over heels and all that—and I've accepted his proposal. I'm so happy, Kate." I squeeze her hand. "It's all good, I promise. That note? It's from the very beginning and it no longer applies."

The door opens and Grace's head pops in, looking searchingly at us, trying, I guess, to assess the situation. Carrick must have told her about Kate's reception of us.

"Everything all right, sweetheart?" She looks directly at her son but Kate answers.

"Everything is fine, Grace." Christian ignores Kate and replies to his mother. "Fine, Mom. We'll be out shortly.

Grace nods gently, her expression slightly suspicious. "Everyone's waiting so don't take too long."

After the door closes, Kate's attention is back on us. "Look, I apologize if I've misinterpreted the situation . . . but you've got to admit this note is pretty clear cut. I still don't understand how I've misconstrued . . . "

She throws her hands up. "But, fine, Ana. As long as you say everything's good. I do want to speak to you," she looks pointedly at Christian and then back at me, "alone and soon. Okay, Ana?"

"Yes," I bob my head quickly. "Next week perhaps? Let's go out now." I look at Christian. He's not letting it go so easily. As if he needed any more reason to dislike Kate. They're too much alike in certain ways, I realize. Their strong, antagonistic feelings about one another make me very agitated . . . for very different reasons.

The three of us leave the room together and head into the living room where our guests await. I try to put on a happy face as I mentally prepare for the next hurdle of the evening.