Chapter 60

Christian

"Goddamn. I'm gonna hang out here more often. Why are all of your couches so luxurious? Well, actually, I guess I know why, Christian Billionaire Grey…"

Mia is lounging in my office while we wait for the people from Cartier. Remind me why I asked her to help? But even as I think this, I'm actually having a decent time with her. Sure, she's irritating, but what are little sisters for? I should invite her here for lunch more often. Well, that's a thought. Finally becoming less of a hermit, are we?

She sighs loudly. "I can't believe you're proposing to Ana again. It's just the cherry on top of the new version of you two. What was your process like last time?"

Process? "They just brought me a selection of rings and I picked one."

"Oh. For some reason, I thought you were more involved?"

"No. I wasn't highly sentimental then." I had just recently realized that I have feelings.

"Your proposal was romantic," she defends.

I scoff. "That was because my first proposal was shit."

She sits up from her prostrate position on the couch. "You've never told me that story."

I opt to leave out the part about ex-submissives with guns. "We were having a conversation about how fucked up I am, she asked how she could prove to me that she wouldn't leave, and I said marry me. We were sitting on the floor. It was…"

"Not super romantic. Okay. I'm starting to see why you want to do this over. Do you think she suspects?"

"I don't think Ana ever expects good surprises." Which, hopefully, this is.

"Oh, even better. She's gonna die. So, what, are we buying her the Hope Diamond?"

"I don't know. I'm hoping I'll know it when I see it. Just getting a bigger diamond feels…"

"Predictable? Yeah. Ana is romantic. I think she'll appreciate sentiment more than the price tag." She stands up and perches on the side of my desk. "Can I just say that I am honored to be involved?"

I smile at her just as the intercom lights up. "Mr. Grey, the team from Cartier is here."

"Thanks, Andrea. Send them through." Mia squeals and jumps up to meet them.

A man and a woman, both carrying briefcases, step inside. "Good afternoon, Mr. Grey. I'm Desmond Crawford, and this is my assistant, Julia Kinney." We shake hands with them both, then they sit in the chairs directly in front of my desk, while Mia loiters behind my chair. "Thank you for choosing Cartier. So, what are you looking to have designed, sir?"

"An engagement ring."

The woman's eyes widen almost comically before she composes her face. "For his wife," Mia says, clearing taking notice. "He's going to propose again. Isn't she lucky?" Okay, Mia. Down, girl.

Her cheeks turn pink, and she smiles. "Yes, I'm sure. Congratulations, sir."

The man clears his throat. "And what kind of diamond are you looking for, sir?"

"I'm not married to the idea of another diamond, so to speak. I requested that you bring your rare gem collection?" For my rare gem.

"Of course, sir. Let's take a look." He stands up and sets the briefcase at the edge of my desk. "However, we do have multiple colors of diamonds." He lays out green, pink, blue, and red. He's really pushing diamonds. Sure, they're expensive and rare, but done to death, and none of them are speaking to me.

"Anything else?"

"Oh, of course, sir. Many rings are being made with alternative stones these days. The truth is, anything at a 7 or more on the Mohs scale is suitable for everyday wear. For example, we have Alexandrites." He sets a greenish stone out. "Under daylight, these are the color you see now, but in incandescent room light, they appear purple or red. They were quite a favorite of the Russian royal family back in the day."

"The Grand Duchess Anastasia?" Mia quips.

I chuckle. "I don't know."

"We have a collection of jadeites. These are imperial green and highly polished." He sets out a green stone. "This luster is one of the best I've ever seen."

Is my quest for more than just a bigger diamond fruitless? "Very impressive," I say indifferently.

I think Mr. Crawford actually starts to sweat. Ms. Kinney stands up and lays out her briefcase. "Perhaps you'll be interested in Paraíba tourmalines. These are exceptionally rare and highly sought after since their initial discovery almost three decades ago." She sets out a brilliant blue stone, and finally, a moment comes to life.

"Whoa. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Mia interjects.

"That's the exact color of Ana's eyes." Perfection.

"Oh. I was just thinking it was amazing. Damn, I need to stare deeply into Ana's eyes more often."

"This ranks a 7.5 on the Mohs scale, perfect for jewelry. I have actually been working on a concept design for a Paraíba tourmaline ring. If I may, sir?"

"Please." She pulls out a sketch and lays it in front of me. The tourmaline is in the center, surrounded by small diamonds, giving it the look of a flower in bloom. The band is covered in intricate filigree, further accentuating the flower effect.

"Oh. My. God," Mia breathes.

There's no question. "This is it."

Ms. Kinney smiles. "Excellent choice, sir."

"When can you have it made?"

"I design filigree by hand, sir, but if it were my main project… two weeks?"

"Make it your main project. Cost is no barrier." I'm sure that's music to their ears.

"Of course, sir. We'll be in touch with details."

We shake hands again, and as soon as the door is shut, Mia is jumping up and down. "Oh my God! It's perfect! I mean, it's gorgeous! I've never seen anything like it. It's so… I mean, it's Ana."

"Yes, it is," I say with a stupid grin on my face.

"Oh, Christian," Mia sighs. "She's going to flip."

Two weeks can't go by fast enough.

I walk into the kitchen, where I find Ana rooting through the cupboards. Coming up behind her, I grab her and pull her against me. "Shit! Christian, don't scare me like that!"

"I'm sorry," I say, smiling widely.

She laughs. "Yeah, you sound like it. Will you let me do this? I'm trying to figure out dinner. You and our children generally expect an evening meal. Wait, why are you dressed like that?" she asks, looking down at the sleeve of my dress shirt.

And there's my in. It's Saturday, I finally picked up the ring yesterday after an agonizing fourteen days, and my plan is fully in motion. Just need to get the girl on board. "There's no need for that. Grace and Carrick are taking them tonight, and I'm taking you to dinner."

She turns around and looks at me blankly. "Uh… dinner? I'm not really—"

"I know. You're still laying low. Guess you'll have to trust me." I lean down and kiss her, enjoying the feel of her tongue against mine. Never gets old. "Now go and get ready. I believe there's something waiting for you on the bed."

Her cheeks are flushed when I pull away and she looks up at me with heated eyes. "Okay… sir."

"Ana." Naughty.

"What?" she says innocently, then gives me a smirk and walks away. I smack her ass as she goes.

I busy myself getting the kids ready to go to Bellevue. I was worried they would be upset that they weren't getting to spend the evening with us, especially Teddy, but once the grandparents were mentioned, we might as well be chopped liver.

"You're going to be okay tonight?" I check again as he packs his pajamas.

"Yeah, Daddy. We're together every night," he says, almost exasperated. "Give me some space, Dad, damn!" It relaxes me to hear this, though. If he isn't worried about a night away, hopefully that means he's getting comfortable with the fact that we're a family and that's here to stay. "But… I sleep here tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, buddy. Just one night."

"Okay," he says, playing it cool, but I can tell he's relieved. "I'll take care of Fifi, don't worry."

"I know you will." He's always got an eye on his sister. Part of me is longing for the opportunity to see him be a big brother again… but I almost shudder as I recall what Ana revealed a few weeks ago. The thought that she could go through that again and there's truly nothing I can do to stop it makes me feel sick to my stomach. Even if she does decide that she's ready for more, I'm fully prepared to be a nervous wreck worrying about her. And I fully meant it when I said I'd annoy the fuck out of her if that's what it took to make sure she was okay. I have to trust that it would be different this time, since we're different this time, but I don't think there's any way I'll be able to fully relax.

But she's right. We're not ready yet, in any case.

I take Teddy and Phoebe downstairs just as Grace arrives to pick them up. "Hello, my darlings! Big and small." She gives me a wink.

I oblige her with a laugh. "Hi, Mom."

"So… tonight's a big night," she whispers slyly.

"How did you…" Mia. Unconsciously, my hand moves to the box in my pocket.

"Mia was too excited, dear. But to her credit, she just spilled the beans a few days ago, and only to me. But why didn't you tell me?"

I guess I could be impressed that Mia waited more than a week. "I don't know, Mom, what if she says no?"

"Really? Six years and months of couples counseling in, you think now she'll run for the hills?" she laughs.

"Mommy, you look beautiful!" Teddy gasps.

Ana is standing in the doorway, wearing the plum dress I picked out for her, reminiscent of the one from all those years ago, yet somehow even more enticing from her older, more womanly body. Her makeup is light, her hair is in tousled waves falling down her back, and Teddy couldn't be more adept in his assessment.

Phoebe takes off running towards her, and she picks her up and showers her cheek with kisses. "Hi, Grace. How are you?" she asks as she walks towards us.

"I'm very well. You look stunning, dear!"

"Oh, thanks. Christian did good." She smiles demurely at me.

"He has plenty to work with. Enjoy your evening, you two. Come on, sweethearts." We give our last hugs and kisses and tell them to be very good for Grandma, then Grace takes Phoebe out of Ana's arms and heads off to load them into the car.

"You are a goddess," I murmur as I pull her closer to me.

"A fertility goddess?" she says sardonically, rubbing against the bulge in my pants. "Is the surprise that we're getting dressed up just to stay here and rip each other's clothes off?"

I laugh and nuzzle her neck. "Tempting, but no. We really are going out."

Once I hear Grace pull away, I take her hand and lead her to the R8 waiting out front. "Taylor isn't driving?"

"Not tonight." I open her door and help her climb inside.

"But security?" she asks as I get in. Her voice has an edge to it.

"They'll follow. I won't let anything happen to you, baby. This is me we're talking about. You think I'd be careless about safety, your safety of all things?"

She sighs and laughs lightly. "You're right. I guess I'm just not used to going out if it's not to therapy anymore."

"All the more reason to." I take her hand and kiss it. "Trust me."

She smiles. "I do."

And I really want to hear those words in a different context again.

She looks at the window as we drive, noticing when the landscape turns from residential to sylvan. "Is the surprise that we're going to forage for dinner like Bear Gryllz?"

I laugh and roll my eyes. "Yes. No chance of paparazzi showing up if we do that."

"Genius. Although, I might have chosen different attire."

"Guilty. I just wanted to see you crawling around on the forest floor in that skirt." She laughs loudly. Banter is a good look on us.

Her gaze turns speculative again as the trees start to thin, and her jaw drops when the clearing is in view and my plan is exposed. "You did not."

"I learned from the best." I park the car and lean across the console, turning her face towards me and guiding her lips to mine.

She pulls away after too brief a moment. "Wait, aren't we eating?"

"Yes. There."

She looks at me, her eyes sparkling with excitement. It fills me up inside. "This is one way to dine al fresco."

I open her door, take her hand, and start to lead us across the field to our destination: a hot air balloon. "We chased the dawn in one of these. Now we chase the dusk."

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Grey!" a man waiting by the balloon greets us. "My name is Garrett, and I'll be your pilot tonight. Are you all set for your private flight?"

"What do you say?" I ask her.

She giggles. "Let's do this." We step into the basket, the inside of which is massive, with room enough for the pilot on one end and a little table with insulated bags sitting next to it on the other. "Is it my birthday? Or our anniversary? Why?" she laughs incredulously, and excitedly, I note with pleasure.

"Guess who catered?" I distract.

"Mia?"

I nod. "She cooked herself." I pull out her chair and kiss the back of her neck as she sits.

"Are we all ready for take-off, folks?" We both nod and he gives us a thumbs-up.

She eyes him as he starts to prep. "He's pretty far away. Don't they do sightseeing facts and stuff while you ride?"

"They don't when you ask them to leave you alone so you can enjoy the scenery. Or, more accurately, enjoy your magnificent wife enjoying the scenery." She blushes. Yes, that's the real view.

We smoothly lift off into the sky, the setting sun bathing us in just enough light to unpack our food. Mia has dispensed with the fancy multiple-course fare and simply provided one of our favorites, lasagna with a side salad and bread. She even stuffed a bottle of red wine in there. I don't normally go for wines with a twist top, but I guess corkscrews and balloons suspending us at five thousand feet don't play well together.

"So, I gave you dinner and then a hot air balloon ride. You had to one-up me by giving me dinner on a hot air balloon ride?" she says playfully as we eat.

"Yes. This is strictly about the competition, and I'm so winning now." I wink and she giggles.

We sail past downtown Seattle, waving hello to Grey House, then Tacoma, Lake Tapps, and soon we're surrounded by the Olympic and Cascade mountains. The view is staggering, all while enjoying Mia's delicious cooking and sipping some surprisingly not unbearable cheap wine.

When we finish dinner, we stand against the edge of the basket. I keep my arms on either side of her and rest my chin on her shoulder. She turns and kisses my temple, smiling against it. "Whatever the reason… this is a dream. Thank you," she whispers into my hair.

"No paparazzi. No one at all. Just us." She turns her head again and I use the opportunity to kiss her.

"I could get used to this version of going out," she sighs, leaning against me as I embrace her from behind.

"Me too." I might have to buy one of these.

"How long until you buy one of these?" She startles when I laugh out loud. "What? Don't act like you weren't thinking about it."

"I was thinking about it. Exactly when you said that. I'm laughing because we apparently have a telepathic connection now."

"Seriously? Aw. I kind of like that."

"I kind of love that."

"I kind of love you."

That adolescent, butterfly feeling comes back to me. "No kind of about it for me, baby."

The sun is just sinking down over the mountains. The view we have right now could be a postcard, and it's all for us. She gasps in awe.

Now.

I step back just a bit while she's distracted, still holding her hand, and slowly sink to one knee. "Ana."

She turns, her eyes darting downward. She blinks a few times, and she brings a hand up to her heart when she sees the position I'm in. I wonder if it's pounding as much as mine is. "Christian… what—"

"Ana," I repeat. "My love. Look around. We're on top of the world, on cloud nine. But with you, I don't need a plane, a glider, a helicopter, a balloon. This is how I feel every moment that you share your life with me. We've gotten to relive so much together, some of it for the first time. We rewrote the past, we changed what should have been the ending, together, our way. I've felt more alive falling in love with you all over again than I ever have in my life. And now, there's just one more thing I want to relive." I slip my hand into my pocket and pull out the box that's been burning a hole in it all night, holding my breath as I open it. "Anastasia Rose Grey… will you marry me again?"

Silent tears spill from her wide eyes. Her mouth is agape, and she has both hands resting on her torso, accentuating how hard she's breathing. And then she breaks into a breathtaking smile. "Yes. Yes. Every time, yes."

Feeling elated, exultant, ecstatic, I practically leap to my feet and drag her into my arms, kissing her like it's our last day on Earth. She said yes. Again. After everything. She is everything. "I love you so much," I whisper against her lips.

"I love you." She pulls away and looks at the box in my hands. "It's blue. It's… it's so beautiful. It's perfect. I've never seen anything so… how did you…?"

I laugh joyfully. "Mrs. Grey, are you speechless?"

"How did you get it?" she finally manages.

"I had it made. This stone is the exact same color as your eyes. I get the extraordinary honor of looking at it every day. I thought it was a great injustice that you hardly ever get to."

She smiles, tears spilling over her cheeks again, flushed with happiness. "You are…" She shakes her head. "You are everything. Everything I could ever want. But I love the first one, too. Which one do I wear now?"

I shrug. "You can still wear them both. I could get you one in every color, depending on what you're wearing."

"Okay, stop," she laughs. I wasn't kidding, baby. "I know you're not kidding and that's the scary part." I smile. Our telepathy is still working. "Well, right now, I want to break in the new one," she adds excitedly.

"I've been dying to see what this would look like on your finger," I confess. I slip off her engagement ring, securing it in my pocket, and replace it with the new one. She holds up her hand and the stone glints in the twilight. I look back and forth between it and her sparkling eyes. The very same. "Just like I thought. Perfect."

"Perfect," she repeats. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me down so our noses are touching. "Christian… you know I didn't need this, don't you? We hit an unbelievable rough patch, but… we were always married. I don't need to do it all again. Having you now is enough."

"Having you now is more than enough, but there's no reason I can't give the person I adore beyond measure even more." She smiles and I mirror it right back. "Besides… for you to say yes twice in one lifetime? There's no greater gift you could give me."

After another long, head-spinning kiss, a thought occurs to me. "I promised I'd let Mia know."

She laughs and nods. I take out my phone and snap a picture of her hand in mine. I send it off into the family group chat with a simple caption: She said yes.

And then I take the champagne bottle that Mia stowed in with our dinner, wrap an arm around the love of my life, lower my lips to hers, and thank my goddamn lucky stars.

A/N: Oh, the not at all subtle hints I dropped about this. I'm guessing that most of you knew. What did you think of the way he executed it?

We all seem to be on the same page about lemons (only if it makes sense for the plot). I'm happy to hear that you think the story is enough without them or with the allusion to them. That gives me options!

Thanks for reading. I hope this put a smile on your face. xo