A/N: I know! I know! I've taken too long updating the story. Excuses aside, here I am! I think I'm going to do shorter chapters so I can update more for you guys! Enjoy! And as always, thank you for your reviews and private messages! They mean the world!
APOV:
I can't believe it's been exactly three months to the day that Christian has proposed to me! This has been such a crazy circus. I mean, I knew that marrying someone who is in the spotlight such as Christian would come with some sort of limelight, but it's almost as if I'm the famous one in the relationship! Everywhere I go there is someone wanting an autograph or taking my picture. Coming from a small town, being pretty much a nobody my whole life, has not prepared me for this. It's overwhelming, but it's something I'll take gladly if it means getting to spend the rest of my life with the man I love. Christian has been nothing but supportive and loving through all of this.
Wedding preparations have been going great! I handed the reigns to Kate and Mia, as they're great with events. If Christian and I had it our way, we'd be eloping in Las Vegas at a drive thru chapel and be done with it. But knowing the Grey and Trevelyans, and knowing they want to see Christian walk down the aisle, we indulged them.
Today I am going to a dress fitting with Mia, Kate and Grace. I found the perfect dress and now just need the alterations done to it to fit me perfectly. It's a beautiful Vera Wang gown. Very reminiscent of Jessica Simpson's wedding dress when she married Nick Lachey. That has always been my dream dress. When I step out of the dressing room and into the waiting room where the girls are, Grace's eyes immediately get teary.
"Oh Ana, you look beautiful honey!" She walks over and hugs me. I smile and get a little teary eyed myself. It's an emotional moment and I wish my own Mother were here to share it. Her work wouldn't let her take any additional time off before the wedding to come visit or help with preparations, so the moment is a little bittersweet. I love Grace and she's the next best thing to my own Mom.
"You really do, Ana!" Mia smiles and claps her hands in excitement. When I look over at Kate, she's got tears in her eyes. Lately Kate has been very emotional. Her pregnancy hormones have kicked into overdrive. I walk over to her and hug her.
"I can't believe you're getting married, Steele!" She says through her tears.
"I know! I always thought you would be first!" I giggle, wiping a falling tear. I stand back and smile at her.
"Well I'm doing things in reverse" She giggles and rubs her growing tummy. "Okay, enough of this crying. Steele, the dress is perfect, you're perfect, and now I'm hungry! Let's get some lunch!"
We all start laughing and wiping tears. I put my dress back in its garment bag and change into my jeans and hoodie. We've decided to go to Christian's club for lunch since there's more privacy there. Speaking of the devil, I get a text from my handsome man.
Christian: Hey baby, how did it go with your dress?
Ana: Went really well. We were all crying, but it was fun!
Christian: I'll never understand you girls and why things like looking a dress bring tears to your eyes.
Ana: It's just the moment of it all. A girl dreams of this day her whole life.
Christian: I've dreamt of marrying you and seeing you in a wedding dress since I first laid eyes on you baby.
Ana: Well aren't you just a sweetie? Hehe
Christian: I suppose when I want to be, I can be ;)
Ana: Fifty shades, baby
Christian: Miss Steele, did you just use my own line on me?
Ana: I do believe so, Mr. Grey ;)
Christian: Thief.
Ana: I am. Are you going to punish me?
Christian: No comment. Please don't test me Miss Steele.
Ana: But that's half the fun in life, is testing you.
Christian: That smart mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble.
Ana: I hope so Mr. Grey. I'm eating lunch with the girls at your club. I'll text you when I'm on my way home.
Christian: I love you. Laters baby
Ana: I love you too! Laters.
As I set my phone back down, I notice a big grin on my face and 3 faces smiling back at me. They know it was from Christian because he's the only one who makes me smile like this.
CPOV:
I'm sitting here grinning like an idiot after I'm done texting with my Ana. That girl has brought out so much in me that I never even knew existed. I used to thrive on being alone in my office, not having a care in the world except for which dwindling company I'm going to buy out next and make thrive. Mergers and Acquisitions were my only concerns, but now, since Anastasia has come into my life, she's all I think of and you know what? I like it that way. She's everything good in my life that I didn't know I needed. I chuckle to myself as I look at the picture of Ana on my desk. My thoughts break with the sound of Andrea knocking on my door.
"Mr. Grey, your mail is here" Andrea says through the door.
"Come in, Andrea," I say politely. She's worked for me for a few years now and it just occurs to me that I really know nothing personal about her. I watch her while she sets my mail on my desk and turns to leave. "Thank you Andrea."
"You're welcome, Mr. Grey" She smiles at me.
"Andrea, wait a second" I shout louder than intended.
"Is there something I can get you, Sir?" She looks at me confused.
"No, but please, sit down for a moment," I say while motioning to the chair that sits opposite of me.
"Sure."
"Andrea, I don't know if I tell you this enough, but I really appreciate everything that you do for me around here. I mean, a lot of the stuff stays in order around here because of you and I just don't want you to think it goes unnoticed."
"Thank you, Sir, but I'm just doing my job. To be honest, I really love my job and I take my role as your assistant very seriously." She smiles shyly.
"And it shows," I just look at her for a moment. I hope she doesn't get uncomfortable with what I'm going to ask. "So, Andrea, tell me more about yourself. What kind of aspirations do you have? Goals? Hobbies?"
She just looks at me like she's pondering why I'm asking these things.
"Well… uh… no one has ever really asked me before, so I'm kinda nervous," Andrea says while playing with her fingers.
"It's okay, you're not going to get in trouble" I chuckle. "I would just like to get to know the girl who runs my office a little better. I apologize for never taking interest before, Andrea." I see a little smile across her face.
"Well, okay then," She smiles. "Aspirations… let's see… I would love to see the world. Just meeting different people and making a difference in their lives would be great. Travelling to parts of the world that are in poor conditions and helping to grow the community into something better and more positive. I would just love to do that someday." Andrea's smile is getting bigger as she explains everything to me, which in turn gets the gears in my head spinning.
"Please, go on," I encourage.
"Well my hobbies and goals all tie into what I was just speaking about. I love going to local shelters and neighborhoods and helping whoever needs help. Just last week, there was a lady who lived near the Fremont Street bridge and she's out there every morning collecting cans. So I stopped and asked her if she needed help and she told me the story about how she's trying to get enough money to buy her a nice dress at the Goodwill store so she can go to job interviews and finally have somewhere to live and food to eat. Well anyway, I gave her a ride to Goodwill and bought her a dress, took her to get her hair done and dropped her off where she wanted to apply for a job." Andrea's eyes are watering with pride as she continues. "This morning on the way to work, I seen her walking down the street and she told me that she didn't get the job, which was sad, but she said now that she has a dress, she's got the confidence to keep searching and nothing is going to stop her."
"What kind of job was she applying for?"
"It was as a barista at a coffee shop."
"I-" I was about to say something when my phone interrupts us. "Excuse me Andrea" I say as a small dismissal. She gets up and leaves my office, quietly shutting the door.
"Grey" I said more softer than normal. "What! I'll be right there!" Fuck! Why can't the bullshit just stop for once!
