The Lies We Tell Ourselves

by Asher2121

Ana and Christian have been separated for a number of years and their marriage was rocky long before that. Ana lied (by omission) and Christian allowed the lie to let himself off the hook. Years later they run into each other and nothing seems to have changed. Will they confront the reality of their situation or stick their heads back in the sand?

21. Shared Animosity

Hi Guys -

I know updates are taking me longer then they used to but please don't think I've abandoned this story, that's not the case at all. The chapters are just taking me longer to write. It's as much fun for me to read your reviews as it is for you to read the story, so I would love to be able to write faster, it's just not happening at the moment. Thanks for reading, and for your support. We're back to Charleston next Chapter, and it's Christian's birthday to boot.

Just like before, Italics are flashbacks.

Chapter 21 – Shared Animosity

I was looking forward to this trip, being able to take Noah out on the boat and introduce him to sailing, but now I'm fucking dreading it. I want to cancel to whole fucking thing, but I won't. I'll be dammed if this trip will be anything less than amazing for Ana and Noah.

I can't take one more fucking stressful thing and I will not put Ana through anything else. Thankfully, Noah seems blissfully unaware of all the angst around him and is as happy as ever.

There will be no fucking around on this trip; we've all been through enough. Kate's agreed to come, but if she says one thing that I deem out of line, she's gone. I don't give a shit if Sawyer has to come get her in a rowboat, she says anything even remotely snotty or snide and she's off the boat.

I was so much more relaxed about this trip yesterday, when I thought Kate was refusing to attend, and before the press knew about Ana and Noah. Kate's agreed to come but she pissed me off from the moment she agreed.

She couldn't just return Ana's call like an adult. Instead, she had to send her a bunch of passive aggressive text messages about how she was reluctantly agreeing to come, and that she didn't want Ana to think that it changed anything between them.

When Ana showed me the text she was so happy Kate was agreeing join us, but I was instantly furious. I was dialing Kate's number to tell her she could go fuck herself before I even put Ana's phone down. Ana stopped me, calmly pointing out that if I uninvited Kate, it would mean that Elliot and Ava wouldn't come and that my parents would be caught in the middle of everything.

Begrudgingly, I hung up but not before a fair amount of swearing. I was hoping that Kate would pick up and hear me but yesterday was not my fucking day, even before any of the shit with Kate started.

XX

The press release came out Wednesday night, as planned, and we purposefully released it well after the news and print media were done for the night. Only websites and blogs had it by morning, giving us a bit more time. Sometimes the preposterous amount of money I pay the PR group is worth it. They clearly know what they're doing.

There were only a few reporters waiting for me as Taylor and I left for the office, and when I checked with the GEH PR office at noon, they had gotten a lot of inquires but not nearly what they had expected so I decided to meet Ana and Noah for lunch.

I wasn't naive enough to think that the press wasn't interested just because the PR office hadn't been overrun, but Ana and Noah had been cooped up all day and probably needed to get out. Plus, I want to be there the first time that they faced the press. I was worried about Noah's reaction and I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't more than a little bit fearful that Ana would decide that she couldn't deal with all of it and run.

Ana was more then happy to meet me for lunch but I immediately had second thoughts after Taylor was adamant that it wasn't a good idea to go to Escala and get them. He was sure that would tip off the press and then they'd be sure to follow us. In the end, we had Sawyer use his personal SUV to drive Ana and Noah the three blocks to the restaurant.

I picked a place very close to Escala and Taylor had the manager place us in the back, in a mostly secluded section, where we couldn't be seen from the windows.

I know the owner of the restaurant, Tom Douglas, he owns a few restaurants throughout the Northwest and has won the James Beard Award more then once. His other places are outstanding but I've never been to Serious Pie. I don't understand the American obsession with pizza, but I thought Noah would like it.

We get to the restaurant early and both Taylor and I are pacing as we wait. Taylor brought us to the back entrance so no one is around but there was a lot more press waiting when we left Grey House then I expected and I was irrationally pissed. I guess the jig is up.

The five minutes between our arrival and Ana's seemed to take a fucking week and by the time they arrived, Taylor and I were both visibly tense. Taylor had called Sawyer three times to check on them, and the final time I heard Sawyer come very close to yelling at Taylor, it would have been fucking hilarious under other circumstances.

As soon as they pulled in, we were out the back door of the restaurant and at the car. No paparazzi had followed Sawyer but Taylor still went directly to Ana's side of the car while I got Noah out of his seat. Sawyer was out quickly and at Ana's door too but Taylor was faster and I heard Sawyer grunt,

"Jesus Christ T. It's not my first day on the job. I know how to avoid the damn press."

I see Taylor narrow his eyes at Sawyer but he say nothing else as he opens Ana's door and she scoots out, smiling at both Taylor and Sawyer passes. She hugs Taylor quickly and says,

"Something got you a little stressed out today Jason? I expected that from him," she says as she looks over at me still smiling, "but you're usually a bit cooler under the collar."

There's something different about her this afternoon. She seems so happy, and she is a thousand times more relaxed then the rest of us at the present moment. At one point, Ana being affectionate with Taylor would have pissed me off beyond belief, but I now see that she loves him like family. She treats him almost exactly as she does Ray.

Ana looks amazing as she walks over to Noah's side of the car. It's a beautiful sunny day and she has on a short white summer dress that has flecks of different color blues all over it that bring out her eyes. She also has on ridiculously high yellow sandals.

The dress looks as if it had been on the canvas when Jackson Pollack was doing "Summertime: Number 9A" and Ana looks sexy as hell in it. Everything with a pulse is going to hit on her dressed like that.

I tear my eyes away from Ana so that I can open Noah's door and once I do he immediately starts talking. I know he's not biologically related to Mia, but I'm being to doubt it. He's so much like her, always happy and bouncing around while talking a mile a minute. I've done some research and he's verbally advanced for his age, especially for a boy. It makes me amazingly proud.

"Daddy! I drawed you and Mr. Tanker pictures! You put them in you office, and Mr. Tanker too."

"Hey buddy, that great. Let's bring them inside and show Taylor shall we? He'll be very happy to hang one in his office I bet."

He's squirming so much I can barely get his straps unbuckled. I hate this damn car seat; I swear it's a fucking IQ test. I've had to ask Ana to help me get him buckled in more than once.

"Hold still a second big guy and I'll get you out. I'm not as good at this as mom is so I need you to help me."

That stops him quickly. I've discovered that the easiest way to get Noah to relax is to ask him to help. He loves to be helpful and I love to see that trait in him. Maybe he'll want to run the philanthropic arm of Grey House one day.

That thought has me smiling as I finally get Noah out of his seat and out of the car. I'm still smiling as I bend down to kiss Ana hello and then whisper in her ear,

"You look amazing. I love that dress but if it were any shorter I'd only want you to wear it for me."

I know it's questionable ground to ask her not to wear something, but I'd have no issue doing the same thing if she asked it of me. She's still smiling when she pulls out of my embrace, so it couldn't have upset her too much.

"I'm glad you like it, it reminds me of a Pollack but I can never remember which one. I thought you might object to the length but I am glad to find you happier then I thought I would. I was a bit afraid we'd get here and you'd had fired everyone."

She's joking but as Taylor walks in front of her to open the door he smirks at her as he says,

"You missed that part of the day, it happened earlier at Grey House."

I clear my throat to get him to shut the fuck up but the asshole just smiles as he opens the door. I didn't fire everyone, but that dick Morrison deserved it. I warned everyone on Monday that if they didn't come prepared to the meeting on Wednesday I would replace them with people who would. I'm nothing if not a man of my word.

Sawyer follows us in as I put my hand on Ana's lower back and steer her toward the table with Taylor leading the way.

Sawyer is on duty, so he'll stay close but will also monitor the press situation outside and keep in contact with Taylor while we eat. Taylor goes to grab himself a table near by but neither Ana nor Noah is having it.

Noah is first to react, sounding a little bossy and sad as he says,

"No, you sit with me Mr. Tanker. I drawed you a picture."

Ana reacts at almost the exact same time adding,

"Taylor, please eat with us. If you want a little quiet time on your own I totally understand but if not, please join us. I'll feel so much better if you do."

Taylor pauses on his way to another table and smiles. He's clearly unsure about what to do and it's written all over his face. Part of him wants to appease Ana and Noah but part of him is afraid he's stepping over the line. I know how he feels but in truth, Ana shoved all of us over that line long ago.

Finally Taylor relents but not before saying,

"Only if you're sure I'm not intruding on family time."

I want to fire him on the spot for being such a fucking wuss. This man runs my security for fucks sake but Ana, of course, is eating this shit up.

"Taylor," she says happily as she walks over and brings him back to our table, "You and Gail are family,"

Taylor lifts his eyebrow at me when they get back to the table and then waits for me to confirm that it's fine before he sits down. I consider making him sweat it out but Ana is looking at me not so patiently.

As I begin set Noah in a seat I casually say to him,

"I don't know what you're waiting on me for. We both know she's going to get what she wants."

I hear Ana's lovely giggle as I say it, unfortunately she quickly try to stop it as I glare at Taylor and the stupid smirk currently on his face. He's not seated for more then two seconds before Noah jumps out of his seat and onto Taylor's lap to show him the pictures.

"Look Mr. Tanker I make you and Mrs. Tanker too and you paying with me on you shoulders. Mrs. Tanker paying with us too."

I'm pulling out Ana's chair when she says to Noah,

"The pictures are amazing buddy but you need to ask Mr. Taylor before you jump in his lap next time okay?"

Her voice is light but you can definitely tell she's serious. Taylor tries to tell her that it's fine but she's not having it, pointing out not only that it will not be okay when he gets a bit older, but he could also be hurt if the adult wasn't expecting it.

Noah, however, seems undaunted and just says,

"I okay Mr. Tanker?"

Taylor smiles as he puts his huge hand on Noah's little arm and says,

"You're okay. Thank you for checking. Now, should I take this awesome picture home and show it to Mrs. Taylor?"

Noah immediately starts to shake he his head.

"No! This for you office with the puters. Mrs. Tanker have her own picture."

Noah's exasperated as he explains to Taylor that Gail has her own pictures and it's almost impossible for me not to laugh, I see Taylor is having the same problem. When I look at Ana, I see she's smiling at him too, but she's also watching Noah very carefully, probably to make sure he doesn't cross the line into disrespectful.

I can't help it when I tease her a bit.

"Afraid he's acting a little to much like me?"

She grins at me as she says,

"We already have one Master of the Universe in the family. I'm just trying to make sure we don't have another one. He's a bit to young for that."

I look back at Noah and see him laughing with Taylor. Taylor's clearly got him under control so I reach under the table to take Ana's hand that's sitting on my knee. I'm afraid to ask, but I need to know so I pinch the bridge of my noise and then ask.

"Was it bad when you left Escala?"

She's still focused on Noah when I first ask, but soon she squeezes my hand and looks at me. She's quiet when she speaks so that Noah doesn't hear.

"Surprisingly not, there was a bunch of photographers outside Escala but they didn't know it was us when we left so it was pretty uneventful. Noah asked why there were so many men with pictures when we drove through them, other then that, nothing."

She doesn't sound upset at all and, in fact, she sounds happy and relaxed and it occurs to me how much I've underestimated her. I pickup her hand and kiss it and then lean in just a bit.

"I have a horrible habit of underestimating you. I've been worried since we agreed to release the statement that you'd run at the first sign of trouble and I see how wrong I was. I need to learn to not always assume the worst."

I'm smiling at her as I say it, but it's the guilty kind of half smile, not the happy kind. She smiles too, as she reaches up and puts her other hand on the side of my face, but her smile is happy.

"You do need to stop assuming the worst but not for me, for you. I have a history of running when things scare me so your fear isn't unfounded, but I'm not that girl anymore. Thankfully, we've both grownup quite a bit, neither one of us are those people."

We're in the middle of a crowded restaurant, in the midst of a PR shit storm but this moment feels very private. As I lean in to her, I run my nose up from her chin until our noses touch, and then I kiss her. Gently and soft, trying to convey how thankful I am that she's back and strong, and that she loves me even after everything we did to each other.

I don't know how, but she seems to understand what I want to say because as she pulls away from me she says,

"We're so much stronger now, because of everything. I was worried when I came to Seattle too, that it might all be too much, that I'd not be able to deal with it, but now I know that I can. We can handle all of it this time, I'm not afraid anymore."

And when I look at her, I can see she's not. That was what was different when she got out of the car earlier. It wasn't just that she was happy, she was ready to face this, and joking about the press. She wasn't nervous or worried about it.

I want to tell her how proud I am of her, how much I admire her. I want to tell her that I see that strength, but not is not the time. Instead I nod my head and clear my throat and then say,

"You're right, I know we can handle anything." I stop for a second because I know she can hear the emotion in my voice and I need to get it together. This is not the time or place. Once I've shaken off some of the emotion I keep going. "I picked this place because it was pizza and I thought Noah would like it but this is not really kid pizza."

Noah is a good eater, thank God, because I don't know how I would handle it if he wasn't but this menu might test that theory. Yukon Gold Potatoes, Rosemary and Pecorino on a pizza sounds interesting to me, but I'm not sure how a two year old will fell about it.

I can see that Ana's still struggling with a bit of emotion too, so I squeeze the hand that I've been holding the entire time to try and offer some small amount of support. It seems to help as she shakes her head a bit and then says,

"He'll be fine. Think of it as potatoes and cheese on bread, who wouldn't like that? Besides, we don't want a kid that refuses to eat anything but chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese do we? I can imagine how much that would stress you out."

She's picking on me and laughing quietly as she says the last bit and I'm so glad we've gotten ourselves back to fun and relaxed.

"You're laughing, but it would stress me out. Immensely. I've not been around many kids, except Ava, and I haven't been around her all that much. She didn't seem to eat an awful lot of anything but grilled cheese. I was worried, when I took Noah to lunch the first time, that he'd be the same, and I was so relieved that he wasn't."

Ana smiles and then looks a bit more serious when she asks,

"What's she like?"

At first I'm confused, and then I realize she means Ava. I'm not sure how to answer that really, and as I'm taking a second to figure it out, Noah pulls on my sleeve and then Taylor picks him up and sets him in my lap.

I give him a concerned look, but he just stands and excuses himself, telling us he's just going to check in with Sawyer. Right before he leave, the waitress comes to take our order, and I'm so distracted by why Taylor has left so abruptly, and Noah playing with my CG cufflinks that I forget about Ana's question.

After I show Noah the C and G on my wrists, I look up at Ana and realize she's still waiting for an answer so I exhale and try to come up with one that won't make me look like an asshole or a sap.

"I've not been around her that much. It was…difficult. I send presents for her birthday and I see them a Christmas, but that's about it. She seems like she's got Kate's high maintenance personality, but Elliot's sense of humor and happy nature. I don't know her well enough to tell you more than that."

I feel like a selfish asshole as I tell her how little I've had to do with Elliot's family. It was just too hard to see his child grow up and not my own but I realize now how hurt I would have been if the situation was reversed. He had no idea why I was acting the way that I was.

I owe him an apology. I owe him so much more than a apology.

As always, Ana seems to know just what I need and she runs her hand through Noah's hair saying,

"We'll all get to know her tomorrow then."

She's sadly smiling at me as if she understands when Noah says,

"Who, mama who?"

"Tomorrow," Ana says very excitedly, "we are going to go on a big boat with all of daddy's family, and there is a little girl who's just a little older then you. She's 4 and her name is Ava."

Noah's excited, of course, to have someone else to play with and the rest of lunch goes well. He eats his pizza with gusto and Ana and I talk about the rest of their day and what time I'll be home, but Taylor is making me nervous.

He's checked with Sawyer numerous times and is clearly tense about something. Just as we are getting ready to go he says,

"There are a lot of reporters out there. In both the front and the back, so there's no way we're getting out of here unnoticed. What I'd like to do is to take Noah out to the car and have Ana go with Sawyer. The best case scenario is that we get them in the car and Sawyer stays with them and then I come back and get you."

And just like that, everything changes and our casual family lunch turns into a tactical assault mission. Taylor knows there's no way in hell I'm going to send my family out without me, I'm interrupting him before he even finishes.

"No fucking way Taylor. I'm not staying in here while Ana and Noah go out first, and I'm not leaving them in here while I got out. End. Of. Story."

Taylor's nodding and his voice is stiff as he says,

"I'm well aware of that Sir. I was telling you what I would like to have happen, not what I thought would happen. Let's talk about the plan; Sawyer's car is right out side the door. Noah's side of the car is closest, so I'll go with you to take Noah and put him in the car while Sawyer walks Ana around to her side. I'll go out the door first, with you, Ana and Noah in the middle and Sawyer behind. Once Ana and Noah are safely in the car, you and I will head to the other car."

He's looking at both Ana and I when he finishes, waiting for confirmation that we've heard him and we're on board but neither one of us says anything. I look over at Ana and she's looking at Noah, she still seems strong and ready, but I can tell she's worried about this for him, and I am too.

I want to make this ok for him, to have him realize that no matter what happens, Ana and I will be there to protect him and that he doesn't have to be scared but I don't know how to do that. Then I think about Ray, and the number of times he's given me advice or made me feel better in situations that scared the hell out of me.

Just before we left Charleston, when Ana left us alone to give Noah a bath he did it again. He's always honest, brutally so, but he's also empathetic and supportive and I always feel better after we've talked. I try to hold onto that feeling as I talk to Noah.

"Noah," I make my voice serious but not stern so he doesn't get scared but he does turn his head to look at me. He's sitting on my lap playing with my Iphone. "When we go outside there are going to be a lot of people out there. They'll be shouting for me, or mama, and it might sound scary, but you don't need to be scared. They're just trying to do their work, like I do when I go to my office, or mama does when she goes to college. If you get scared, you hold on to me really tightly and put your head on my shoulder okay."

Noah nods like he understand but I know it's still going to scare him and that makes me furious. He shouldn't have to deal with this shit. I see Ana and Taylor both shaking their head in agreement, and then we all stand up to get ready to leave. I walk over to Ana, and wrap my arm around her.

"I love you, listen to Sawyer please and be careful. I'll see you around 6."

I lean in and kiss her one last time and right before we head out the door she says,

"We love you too, and we'll be fine. I'll see you tonight."

As soon as Taylor opens the door, it's fucking loud, there are flashes going off and reports shouting questions. I expected a lot of people, but this is fucking ridiculous. It's like the week before the wedding all over again.

The crowd is massive and it's hard to push our way through, even with Taylor shouting and threatening them as we head towards the car. Taylor's not fucking around with these assholes but it was a mistake not to bring Ryan or Reynolds with us too. Taylor wanted to and I thought we'd be fine. Sometimes I'm a fucking idiot.

The car's not far, but it seems to take for-fucking-ever to get there. I notice that all of the adults have sunglasses on, and I wish I had a kid pair for Noah. I'm going to get him some so he can hide a bit too. He was interested when we first came out the door, but now I can feel him squeezing my neck hard, and his little face is hidden in my shoulder.

I can feel that he's scared and the longer it takes to get to the car, the angrier I'm getting. When we're probably 10 steps from the car, a reporter gets right it my face and is screaming,

"Mr. Grey, did you abandon your family? Is that why we're only finding out about them now?"

Taylor reaches back to remove him but the reporter jerks to avoid Taylor and slams into me, hard, almost making me drop Noah and fall. The only thing that saved me was my daily workouts with Claude.

I'm so fucking furious I can't even see straight, and only Noah being in my arms stops me from beating this asshole into the ground. I see Taylor pull on the back of the guy's shirt to get him away from me, but then I'm at the car so I don't see what happens next.

Ana's already in the car when I put Noah in his seat and she seems to have gotten through the press unscathed. Noah isn't crying when I set him down but he doesn't look too happy to be letting me go either. I try to buckle the damn straps, but Ana puts her hands on top of mine and I look up at her she simply shakes he head and takes over.

I lean in and kiss Noah on the head, whispering that he did amazingly and that we're all so proud of him. I tell him I love him and then shut his door. Both Sawyer and Taylor have been keep the press away from Noah's door as I put him inside, but once he's shut in Sawyer head back to the drivers side as Taylor and I head to our car.

I don't know what comes over me but I see that asshole that knocked into Noah and I and everything turns red. I take off so fast that I'm not sure Taylor even knows where I'm headed, and the next thing I know I've punched the shit out of him and he's on the ground spitting out blood.

Now, instead of paying attention to Ana and Noah's vehicle, all cameras are focused on me and I'm fucking thrilled. I feel Taylor pull me off this dick, and once I'm back on my feet I think Taylors going to drag me away but he takes one good swing at him too before we head back to the car.

I can't help it, before I get into the car I lean down and say, in a very low dangerous voice,

"You better learn to be fucking careful around my family. That ever happens again and you'll know just what a warm up this was."

Taylor shoved me in the car after that, and it ended up costing me a hundred thousand to get the lawsuit to disappear but worse of all, those assholes scared Noah.

XX

Thursday was not my fucking day. So now I'm sitting on a boat waiting for Kate and Elliot to arrive. Ana, Noah and I got here two hours ago so I could show them around, and get Noah used to the boat.

Now he's running around with my mom and dad, trying to show them everything I showed him earlier. Ana and I are sharing a lounge chair, she's cuddled into my side wearing only a bikini, sunglasses, and a sarong and I wish we wish could stay like this all day. We need it after yesterday.

Ana and Noah were headed back to Escala by the time I punched the photographer so they, thank God, didn't see it in person but it was all over the fucking news. She wasn't happy that I lost my cool so quickly, but she did understand why.

We've been lying quietly together for about a half and hour when I hear Kate and Elliot board. They're bickering about something but they stop as soon as they see us, and I feel Ana tense as soon as she sees Kate.

Elliot has Ava's hand and they keep walking until they're right in front of Ana and I. We've both stood up to hug Elliot hello, and after a second he bends down to introduce Ava.

"Ava, can you say hello to Uncle Christian, and this is his…wife, Aunt Ana."

Ava looks a bit shy at first and doesn't say anything. She really is adorable, with Kate's strawberry blonde hair and a bit of Elliot curls. She's the exact split of both her parents. She's dressed up like a ballerina and has a doll with her that has the same outfit on.

When she's still quiet after a few seconds Ana steps in. She bends down so that she's at Ava's level and takes off her sunglasses.

"Is that an American Girl doll? I really wanted one of those when I was your age and I love your matching outfits. What's her name?"

It seems to work a little and Ava smiles at Ana and says,

"Her name is Elizabeth and we both have matching bathing suits for later too. They're pink with yellow flowers on them."

I notice that Kate has walked over and is standing next to Elliot as she watches Ana and Ava interact. I can almost see a ghost of a smile on her face, but she's trying hard to push it away.

I watch Ava and Ana for a few more seconds, and then I hear Noah coming with my folks. My dad is carrying him and I'm surprised. He likes my dad, but seems to have a soft spot for my mom, much like me.

Ava on the other hand loves my dad. The few times I've seen her, she's been stuck to him like glue and as soon as she sees him she stops talking to Ana and is running off towards him.

She stops dead in her tracks when she sees Noah in his arms and she looks devastated that someone else is in her spot. My dad doesn't seem to notice though, he's just happy to see her and he sets Noah down right next to her. Noah looks a little nervous, and he's hugging lion Christian pretty tightly as my dad sets him down.

Ana and I step a bit closer to my parents, as do Kate and Elliot while we all wait and see how the kids react.

"Hey there Peanut." My dad says to Ava. "I didn't realize you were here or we would have come up sooner. This is your cousin Noah. We've been telling him about you all morning. Noah, this is your cousin Ava."

Neither of the kids say anything at first, but Ava steps forward a bit and pets Noah's Lion. When he doesn't say anything, she pulls it out of his hands to get a better look. She's clearly not trying to be mean, she even says to him,

"I like your lion, he's pretty, and he looks like Simba. This is Elizabeth."

Noah's not sure what to do now, he's become pretty attached to that Lion and having it taken away is enough to make him freak out. He goes to grab it back, but Ava's not done looking at it so she doesn't let it go.

We've been trying to let them meet on their own, but before this turns into a full-scale kid meltdown, Ana heads over to Noah and I see Kate bending down next to Ava and well.

"Ava," Ana says very gently, "can you give Noah back his lion? He's not as big as you are and all this is new to him. His lion makes him feel better."

Ava thinks about it for a second but then hands the lion back to Noah easily.

"Here you go Noah, I'm sorry. I would be sad if someone took Elizabeth when I was scared."

And just like that it's solved. Noah's so happy to have Lion Christian back and runs over to me to show me, while Ava heads to my dad, happy to have him all to herself.

Ana and Kate both stand up and look at each other for a few minutes before Ana says,

"If our 2 and 4 year olds can fix a problem that quickly, I think we aught to give it a go. I know it's going to take a while, but lets start trying to repair it. We're going to be in the same family a long time."

Ana looks so hopeful and I swear to God if she says no Sawyer better get the rowboat ready. Kate surprises me when she replies. She sounds cautious at first but her voice gets more relaxed she talks.

"You're right, we're going to be in this family a long time. I'm not saying I'll make it as easy as they just made it look, but we should work on it. Lets get mimosas and sit on the deck. We haven't done that since Christian had the original Grace."

I didn't hear Elliot come up beside me, but as we watch Kate and Ana talk he says to me,

"I was not expecting that to happen, at all. You think we owe the kids cars or something for that?"

We're both laughing as I look down in my lap at Noah, who's almost asleep with his lion firmly in his arms and I think Elliot's right. We owe them something big.