Chapter 25

APOV

London was absolutely fantastic. Christian really went all out for it. I am so lucky to be his wife. We just arrived in Paris, and as soon as I enter the Grand Palais Suite at the La Reserve hotel, I feel like royalty.

"Christian, I love this, but you spent way too much of your money on this," I tell him, worried that he's overspent on me when he didn't need to. I would have been happy staying anywhere.

"Anastasia, first, it's our money, and second, no amount of money can be too much for you." He tells me as his thumb gently grazes my bottom lip. "You need to get used to it. I am going to spoil you every day for the rest of my life. I, we, can afford it." He leans down and sweetly kisses me.

"I'm going to disagree, but I won't argue. Thank you." I tell him returning his kiss.

He gives me a slow smile. "Good. Now, it's about lunchtime, what would you like to do?"

"I don't know. You pick." I tell him, completely overwhelmed with the city so far.

"I need to feed you as you didn't eat much at breakfast. So, how about some lunch and then we visit the Eiffel Tower?"

"That sounds amazing." The driver and security take us to Le Grand Café des Capucines. We walk in the door and Christian immediately transitions into speaking perfect French. He's a natural at it, and even though I've heard him speak it before with Mia, it's a bit mesmerizing.

We are seated at a table with gorgeous dark red velvet chairs and classic white linen tablecloth. It seems like the quintessential French restaurant. The decor is fabulous with dark wood carved into art nouveau designs and brightly colored opaque swirled glass. It's almost like I've stepped into The Great Gatsby.

The waiter comes to our table, "Bienvenue. Puis-je vous apporter quelque chose à boire ou un peu de vin?"

Christian quickly responds, "Je vous remercie. La dame et moi aimerions avoir une bouteille de votre meilleur Sancerre et un verre d'eau pour chacun de nous."

"Oui. Merci Monsieur." the waiter responds and quickly retreats back to I assume the kitchen.

"So, Mrs. Grey, what would you like to eat?" he asks me this seemingly innocuous question, but there is an underlying current of sensuality.

"I'll go with whatever you're having," I answer him breathlessly. He smirks at me and his eyes twinkle with mirth.

The waiter comes back with our glasses of wine. "Votre Vin, Monsieur. Puis-Je prendre votre commande?"

Confidently, Christian responds, "Nous aurons le steak et les frites avec sauce béarnaise et les légumes verts que le chef a préparés."

The waiter nods, "Tres bien Monsieur." Then he takes our menus and leaves. As we wait for our meal, I ask Christian about his previous visits to Paris to give me an idea of what we will see while we are here.

The meal is fantastic, probably one of the best I ever had. And to Christian's delight, I am full and could not eat another bite. After we eat, the driver takes us to the Eiffel Tower. The line to get in is really long, and I'm afraid it may take us a couple of hours of waiting in line to get there.

But, of course, there is no waiting for Mr. Christian Grey. The CPO walks over to the information desk, and almost immediately an employee of the tower walks to us and guides us to the front of the line welcoming both Christian and me to the Eiffel Tower. "Even in France, your name has influence?" I jokingly remark to my gorgeous husband.

He gives me a cocky smirk. "I suppose so. Come on, Mrs. Grey. The tower awaits." He grabs my hand and leads me to the stairs so we can ascend to the first floor. He can't stop laughing when I am scared to walk on the see-through floor.

Finally, we get to the summit on the third floor. The view is outstanding. As I stand there looking at the view of the Arc de Triomphe, I try not to think about how high up we are. Christian joins me, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

When I turn to him, he hands me a glass of champagne. "To us, Mrs. Grey."

I take the glass, "To us, Mr. Grey." Christian then takes a red box out of his pocket and hands it to me. I look at the top, and it has written Cartier in gold. When I open it, I see it is a beautiful bangle bracelet with three intertwined yellow gold, rose gold, and white gold bangles all encrusted with diamonds.

I gasp when I open it. "Christian," I look up at him. "It's beautiful. I love it."

He takes it out of the box and places it on my wrist, "The pink, yellow and white gold bands symbolize love, fidelity, and friendship. Because you are my best friend and the love of my life forever."

"You are romantic, do you know that?" I step up on my tiptoes and kiss him. Suddenly we hear the sound of a shutter, and when we turn, we see a paparazzo has taken our picture.

Under my breath, I say, "oh no…" but Christian hears me.

"It's OK, Ana. That's one picture of us I don't mind being in the papers. Everyone will know you're mine."

"Everyone already knows that." I smile, relieved that Christian is calm and hasn't freaked out as I expected him to.

"Good. Now, let's go back to the hotel to relax, shall we?" he asks me.

Christian and I are soaking in the large claw-foot tub surrounded by opulent marble in the ensuite bathroom. The scent of jasmine and musk fills the humid air. Christian gently rubs my shoulders as he kisses my head. "So, baby, what would you like to do tomorrow?"

"Hmmm, maybe visit Montmartre or the Louvre? Or maybe Versailles?" There are so many places I want to visit it 's hard to make up my mind.

"We can make that happen." Christian replies matter-of-factly.

The following day, Gustavo, our private guide picks us up at the hotel. He gives us a history of Versailles on the 45-minute drive there. I am impressed with how knowledgeable Gustavo is, especially since I know Christian is asking some pretty difficult questions, I think it is to stump him purposely.

Our tour is great, and I am happy for our privileged status as we got to see many things the regular tourists don't get to, and in relative privacy. First, we see the Council Study and the King's Chamber; then we walk through the Hall of Mirrors. Christian makes me laugh when he takes me in his arms and waltzes me through the hall like we are at a royal ball. Gustavo is able to get us access to the Royal Quarters including Louis XVI's library, the formal dining room, the clock room, and the corner room. After the palace, we see the Royal Opera House which was built in 1770 to commemorate the marriage of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

In the early afternoon, we get some private time to stroll through the beautiful gardens and take in the fountains. I am especially impressed about the usage of gravitational hydraulics to be able to get water to each of the fountains.

Once at the Louvre, we enter downstairs via the metro stop, which seems to bypass all the lines outside. Once inside, Gustavo tells us a brief history of the museum. The first things he shows us are the three great ladies - the Venus de Milo, the Victory of Samothrace, and the Mona Lisa. I briefly wonder how we can look at the Mona Lisa without a crowd, but I am happy for the opportunity.

After about three hours, and many, many steps walked, we return to the hotel suite for some room service and relaxation.