AN #1: This is still Madison's friend. I'm sorry it has been so very long since my last update. I have been incredibly stressed and busy. On May 10, 2022 my mom fell and very badly broke her left leg. She broke bones and her metal knee replacement. When the metal broke it tore a hunk out of her artery. We were very lucky that she did not pass away or lose her leg. She has since had 2 surgeries to correct the damage. But she has not had the 3rd operation, a knee replacement. Because her leg & artery are not healed enough. We will know more after July 27th. When she sees the Orthopedic Surgeon again. She is currently in a rehab facility. But sometime in July she will go to a nursing home to heal until she can have a new knee replacement. She has pins on the inside of her leg & rods outside. The rods go from the top of her thigh to her ankle. She currently does not have a knee joint. So, her leg does not bend at a 90° Angle. Currently the only personal care she can do for herself is feed herself. She currently has two infections in her leg. She's on two different I.V. antibiotics. Her leg is getting better now. That she's on the correct antibiotics. I'm not trying to offend anyone with my request. But I ask that if you believe that you please pray that the antibiotics take care of the infection in my mothers leg, that it continues to heal & they are eventually able to do the knee replacement. So she can FINALLY come home. If you don't believe. That is completely fine. We will take good karma or positive thoughts too. On top of all of this and my own health issues. I have been trying to take care of my dad who has advanced Dementia. Now that things have settled down a little bit I will try to be better about updating.
AN #2: I'm very excited that CJFAA is back & will be posting new stories in the future! There are 2 I'm very excited about. If you haven't read "Unintentional Interception" or "Miss Steele (My English Teacher) I highly recommend them!
Chpt. 46 APOV:
Christian and I are quickly escorted to an awaiting black SUV while Taylor and Sawyer unload our bags from the plane. Checking my phone, I see several emails from Kate with several pictures of wedding gowns that she thinks I would like. I try to be discrete so Christian doesn't see the pictures however he is busy responding to his own emails that I realize I don't need to worry about him looking over my shoulder. I ask Kate to bring two of the gowns that she sent me pictures of that are just my style, simple but elegant. Kate quickly responds that the two I picked were her favorites as well which makes me smile even more knowing how well Kate knows me.
"You look happy," Christian observes.
"Why wouldn't I be?" I ask. "I'm going to marry the man I love in a matter of days and will be surrounding by those who matter the most to us."
"I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you," Christian kisses me deeply just as the SUV comes to a stop outside the hotel.
"Sir, ma'am….we have arrived," Taylor informs us.
I gasp as I step out of the SUV fully taking in the view of the magnificent hotel in front of us, complete with the most amazing fountains I have ever seen. The water seems to rise and fall in perfect harmony with the music that plays softly around us, the lighting in the water itself intensifies the setting even more.
"I will check you in," Taylor disappears quickly.
"Christian….this is…." I stutter not being able to find the words to describe what I'm seeing.
"Being here with you is like seeing it for the first time," Christian wraps his arms around my waist, holding me tight against him as we watch the fountains.
A few minutes later, Taylor returns to the SUV and quickly drives us around to a separate entrance where I learn that Christian has reserved three of the villas for our stay for the next few days. Christian explains that we will be in the one villa, Taylor and Sawyer plus the remaining security team will be in the second one and on the other side of that villa will be all of our guests. I cannot even imagine how much staying here even one night must cost let alone renting out three of the villas for several days. I know better than to even bring it up to Christian, I don't know that he will ever understand that sometimes he doesn't need to go all out – a simple hotel room would have been more than enough for me. With a butler's assistance, our bags are unloaded into one of the villas while Sawyer and Taylor's bags are unloaded into another. Christian quickly excuses everyone as he leads me into what will be our home for the next several days.
"Oh my!" I gasp as we walk into the villa.
This villa makes Kate's apartment look tiny; walking into the villa you would think that you were walking into a house…not a hotel and certainly not a villa. Christian and I tour our new surroundings, taking in everything that it has to offer and I quickly realize that I could easily spend the next several days never leaving this magnificent place. Christian explains that all three villas have pretty much the exact same layout and are all similar in size. The villas each have three bedrooms, seven bathrooms (who needs seven bathrooms?!), a gym, a massage room, a hair salon, a full kitchen, a balcony, an in ground swimming pool and several gardens. There are even several fireplaces both inside and outside the villa! This place immediately feels entirely too large for just Christian and myself, we won't have time to even use a quarter of the rooms in this villa let alone the other two villas!
"What do you think?" Christian asks as we sit in the lounge chairs by the pool.
"Christian…this is all too much…." I sigh. "A simple hotel room would have been more than enough."
"An ordinary hotel room for our wedding night? Not in a million years Ms. Steele," Christian smirks. "If we were traveling just overnight I might agree with you, but we are here to celebrate our future together….and you deserve only the best. Besides this place is perfect, it allows for privacy and security neither of which we would have if we were staying in the main section of the hotel. Our guests can all stay together and there's plenty of room for us to have dinner together or just hang out when they arrive. The salon and massage rooms will be perfect for you and the girls on Thursday morning, you won't need to go anywhere or risk being seen as you get ready."
"Well you have a point there," I sigh.
"I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. What do you say we go break in that big bed we saw upstairs?" Christian suggests.
Before I can respond, Christian grasps my hand and pulls me out of the lounge chair against his firm body. We are barely in the house when Christian begins pulling my clothes off, leaving a trail as we make our way up the beautiful arched stairway to the master bedroom. When we finally find the bed both of our clothes have been long gone and we are both desperate with need. Our breath is heavy, our hands are all over each other and neither of us can seem to get enough of each other.
"I need you," Christian pants as he lays me down on the bed, positioning himself above me.
"Please….Christian," I beg, wrapping my legs around his thighs.
"There's something about having you here," he slowly pushes into me. "Knowing that you are going to be my wife in two short days." Thrust "That has me so turned on." Thrust "I'm not going to last much longer…"
"Christian….I'm so close….Oh God….." I scream out as he slams into me.
"With me…I love feeling you come with me," Christian whispers, his hands gripping my ass tightly pulling me closer to him.
"Yes! Oh…..CHRISTIAN!" I come moments later, holding him deep inside of me as he finds his own release.
"Oh Ana…." He says breathlessly as we both come down from our orgasms.
"God….that was…." I whisper.
"I know…." He sighs.
"I love you," I kiss him deeply.
"And I….for the rest of my life," he slowly pulls out of me, rolling to his side before pulling me against him.
We sleep peacefully in each other's arms, in the center of this oversized bed for the rest of the night. We both sleep late the next morning, clearly the traveling the day before took its toll on both of us although I'm sure our late night activities added to our exhaustion. Christian woke me up in the middle of the night and we made love with the moonlight shining through our windows. As I lay here listening to Christian breathing, I can't help but smile at the thought that tomorrow we will be married and will begin our future together. I slip out of bed, use the bathroom and throw on a robe that was hanging on the door before returning to our room to find Christian still sound asleep. I quickly take out my phone and check my email before deciding to compose a very difficult email. I read the email several times before taking a deep breath and hitting the send button. As hesitant as I am about sending the email, I know this is something I need to do. Before I turn the phone off, I see an email from Kate and can't help but laugh as I read her thoughts on Christian's jet.
"What's so funny?" Christian asks.
"Kate," I giggle. "She's in love with your jet."
"They're on the plane? What time is it?" he sits up suddenly.
"A little after ten," I answer.
"I can't believe I slept so late! Have you been up long?" he jumps out of bed, using the bathroom before I even respond.
"Only a few minutes," I sigh.
"Did you sleep good?" he asks.
"Very well Mr. Grey," I smirk, kissing him.
"Hmmmmm….so did I," he smiles against my lips.
"What are the plans for today?" I ask.
"Kate, Elliot, Gail and my Mom will be brought here by the extra security we have hired for this week. I've arranged for an early dinner to be delivered here but light refreshments will be in their villa incase they are hungry after traveling. As much as I don't like the idea, I'm sure my mom and sister will insist that we not spend the night together tonight-" Christian explains.
"What? Why not?" I interrupt.
"Because we're not supposed to see each other before the wedding," Christian smiles. "But I intend to spend every minute of today with you."
"UGH….stupid traditions," I sigh.
"We have more plans tomorrow, but today is fairly relaxed. What do you feel like doing?" he asks.
"Honestly?" I ask, he nods. "I'd love to spend the afternoon pool side. I can't remember the last time I went swimming."
"Really?" He asks surprised.
"There was a pool at the university, but I didn't use it. I would much rather swim outside than in a gym…The gym always smelled like chlorine; I'd rather have the sun shining on me as I swim," I explain.
"Then we will do just that, spend the afternoon at the pool," Christian declares.
"You don't mind? If you want to see the city, I'm fine with that too," I point out.
"Baby, I've seen Vegas several times. Right now, I want to do whatever you want. If you want to spend the day swimming then we will do just that. I only want to spend the day with you," he pulls me close to him, hugging me tightly.
We spend the next several hours eating, laughing, drinking and swimming in our private pool that is just off the villa. Christian only checks his phone a couple times while we are outside, but I think the majority of the time he is communicated with Andrea or Taylor about the wedding because he talks in hushed tones and has had a smile on his face almost all day.
"Everyone is checking into the villa now and I expect will be joining us shortly," Christian announces a couple of hours later.
"Thank you for spending the day here with me, this is absolutely perfect," I sigh, lying next to him on the lounge.
"I wouldn't spend today any other way," he kisses me and pulls me close to him just as we hear a commotion on the other side of the locked gate.
"I guess that would be them," I giggle.
"I thought they would at least give us a few more minutes," he frowns.
"You can unlock it Taylor," Christian yells.
"Oh my God Christian! This place is amazing!" Kate screeches as she rushes towards us.
"I'm glad you like it Kate," Christian laughs.
"Like? I'm in love with this place, with your jet, hell with everything! Thank you for inviting me!" Kate surprises Christian but hugging him. I see him flinch slightly at the close contact but thankfully she ends the embrace before he can react.
"Ana! I can't wait to show you everything we brought!" Mia exclaims hugging me tightly. Like Christian, my body immediately tenses at the contact but she quickly drops her arms almost as if she realizes I'm uncomfortable. In that split second, that sudden movement, I realize she overheard the entire conversation with Carrick. Before I can focus on that, Grace comes up and hugs me gently, kissing me on the cheek.
"It's so nice to see you again, Ana," Grace whispers. "Thank you for inviting me."
"I'm so glad you could come," I smile, holding the tears back.
"How was your flight?" Christian asks as we all sit down.
"Very comfortable as always," Mia sighs.
"I've never flown in a private jet before, it was amazing Christian!" Kate exclaims.
"I've arranged for an early dinner to be delivered in about an hour, but if you're hungry I can see about having it delivered earlier," Christian announces.
Everyone decides to wait for dinner, we sit around the pool drinking wine and chatting about everything and nothing. Grace still does not know that she is here for a wedding tomorrow, so our conversations carefully steer clear of anything involving that. Christian and I discussed it earlier and decided we would wait until after dinner tonight to update her on our plans, until then everyone does a great job at keeping the conversation away from wedding planning and wedding details. Christian and Taylor briefly touch base, insuring that for now the paparazzi are not aware of our plans and have not been tipped off that we are all in Vegas. Our original plan of announcing our engagement at the Coping Together Gala will still occur except that we will be announcing our marriage.
Our dinner arrives a short time later, the table is set perfectly by the wait staff. Once again Christian has outdone himself, in my opinion a simple pizza or sandwich dinner would have been fine for everyone. Christian arranged for prime rib, roasted summer vegetables with a side of mushroom risotto as well as several small pies for desert. There are several bottles of chilled wine and liquor in the well-stocked bar just off the dining room which everyone quickly helps themselves to before sitting at the table. Gail, Taylor and Sawyer have joined us for dinner which Christian insisted on.
"I want to thank all of you for joining us for the next couple of days," Christian says, raising his glass. "It means so much to both Ana and myself that all of you dropped everything to come here with us. Mom….we were going to wait until after dinner, but I don't know that I can keep a secret much longer."
"Christian?" Grace whispers.
"Mom, you are not here to join us for a show or so Ana can see Vegas for the first time," he takes a deep breath. "You are here to attend our wedding, which is occurring tomorrow afternoon."
"Oh! I….Wow….Congratulations!" Grace gasps before running over to hug us both.
"Thank you," she sobs into my ear as she hugs me tightly.
"Our wedding will take place tomorrow at the Terrazza Di Sogno here at the Bellagio at two in the afternoon with a small intimate reception to follow. Everyone who sits at this table right now will be our guests at the wedding tomorrow plus Roz and her wife Gwen who will be flying in first thing tomorrow morning. It was important to the both of us that each of you were able to join us, to celebrate with us as we begin this next step in our lives. To friends and to family," Christian raises his glass.
"To family," everyone raises their glasses before taking a sip.
"Christian, Ana dear what else needs to be done before tomorrow? Surely there must be tons of things that need to be taken care of tonight?" Grace asks as we begin eating dinner.
"Actually, everything is taken care," Christian explains. "Kate brought gowns for Ana, we have several dresses being delivered to your villa this evening for each of the women to look through and decide what they want to wear. All tuxes for the men have been ordered and were delivered earlier today. Flowers, decorations and other arrangements have all been finalized as of this morning. Kate, Mom, Ana and Gail….the salon staff will be at your villa tomorrow morning to take care of your hair and nails. Shoes and jewelry will also be delivered with your dresses….I think that's everything."
"Wow…how did you plan all this?" Grace asks surprised.
"Andrea is actually the one responsible for all of this," Christian smiles.
"That women deserves a raise," Grace sighs.
"I said the same thing," I laugh. "I can't believe she managed to pull all of this together on such short notice."
"How long have you been planning to do this?" Grace asks.
"Christian suggested it on our way to New York the other day," I answer.
"Wow, Andrea really did work fast," Grace laughs.
"I can't believe tomorrow you are going to be my sister!" Mia exclaims happily.
The rest of dinner is spent discussing the wedding details for tomorrow with some minor complaints from Elliot about not being able to plan a bachelor party. Christian immediately put him in his place letting him know that no matter when the ceremony was he would not have been planning a bachelor party in the first place. Everyone has a good laugh as Elliot throws a dinner roll across the table at Christian, who quickly catches it only to throw it back to Elliot hitting him square in the face. As Christian predicted, after dinner the women whisk me away to their villa which is pretty much the exact same as the one I am staying at with Christian. Everyone picks out the dresses for the next day, except me. I decide to wait until morning to try on the gowns, I know both will fit perfectly and they are both absolutely beautiful. We all fall asleep shortly after midnight, in various beds and on couches throughout the villa. Gail tried to go back to the security villa, but I insisted she remain here with us. Although I want her here as a guest I know she's having a difficult time turning off her role as an employee to Christian but right now I just want her to relax. After a few more glasses of wine, she did seem to feel more comfortable and even made a few jokes about Christian's cooking experiences when she first started working for him.
"It's your wedding day ANA!" Kate jumps on my bed waking me up.
"UGH Kate! What time is it?" I ask grumpily.
"Seven! It's time to get up! We have so much to do!" Kate exclaims, literally jumping up and down on the bed.
"You're not awake yet?" Mia barges into my room.
"I am now," I sigh. "You two are too much."
"Christian sent over breakfast, hurry up!" Mia announces.
"I'll be down in a minute," I reluctantly get out of the nice warm bed and use the bathroom before heading downstairs.
"Good Morning Ana," Grace greets me.
"Morning," I reply.
"I made you a cup of tea," Gail hands me a warm mug.
"You know you didn't need to do that Gail, but thank you," I hug her gently, grateful for the small gesture.
"Your future husband took care of everything this morning," Mia points to the large spread of food on the dining room table.
"I'm not surprised," I laugh.
"The salon staff will be here at ten for hair, make up and nails….plus we need to try on your dress, pick out your accessories and shoes. Everyone else needs shoes and accessories too," Mia rambles.
"Mia! Let the poor girl eat!" Grace exclaims.
"That's okay," I giggle. "Yes, we need to get all of that done. I know which dress I'm going to wear-"
"You do? Which one?" Mia interrupts me.
"You will see," I wink. "I'm not going to put the dress on until it's time to get ready for the ceremony. Kate did a wonderful job picking out dresses and one is definitely the perfect one for me."
"I think I know which one it is," Kate whispers.
"What if it needs alterations? There won't be any time," Mia whines.
"I'm not concerned," I say. "I may not have been there to try on the gowns ahead of time, but I'm sure Kate's mom took care of any major alterations that might be needed."
"If anything minor is needed, I am pretty good with a needle and thread, Ana," Gail chimes in.
"Perfect, crisis solved," I smile at Gail once again grateful to have her here.
I can't wait to see you –C
I missed you last night –A
Me too, the bed was so empty –C
It won't be tonight –A
You're killing me baby –C
Everyone looks at me as I giggle at my text exchange with Christian, but they quickly return to their wedding plan discussions. Personally, I could care less about all the plans – I want nothing more than to marry Christian this afternoon. I am so glad we decided to go with a small wedding; I don't know how I would handle walking down the aisle with hundreds of people staring at me.
"Gail, can I see you for a minute?" I say quietly.
"Of course," Gail replies quickly.
"Can you help me with something?" I ask once we step outside.
"Anything," she assures me.
"I have a gift for Christian upstairs that I would like to get to him but I know I can't just walk over there. Do you think you could get Taylor or Sawyer to help?" I ask.
"I will call Taylor now and arrange for it," she answers.
"Thank you," I smile.
"Thank you for including me in this special event Ana, you have no idea how much you have changed Escala and Christian in such a short time. He went from someone you walked on egg shells around constantly to now someone who actually laughs and smiles, his eyes light up whenever he sees you; it's as if you finally gave him a reason to live. Thank you Ana," Gail hugs me tightly.
A couple of hours later, we all showered and in robes sitting in the private hair salon in our villa getting completely made over by the salon staff that Christian arranged to come to us today. Everyone is having their hair, nails and make up done in preparation for the ceremony that is quickly approaching. I'm pleasantly surprised that as the time gets closer, I find myself perfectly content and not a bit nervous. I'm looking forward to seeing Christian, to exchanging our vows and to beginning the next phase of our life together.
"Ana, Taylor just informed me that the gift was delivered to Christian" Gail whispers as we make our way from the salon to the living room where a light lunch has been delivered.
"Thanks for your help!" I squeeze her hand.
"Ana….we should probably get you dressed," Kate announces as we all finish our sandwiches that Christian must have arranged to have delivered to our villa when we were in the salon.
"Oh! Yeah! I'll help!" Mia exclaims.
"Mia, if you don't mind I think this is something that Kate and I can handle," I try to say nicely…the last thing I want is an audience as I get changed knowing that I will need help getting into the dress and likely the corset style bra.
"Okay," Mia pouts.
"Mia, I'm sure Gail and I will need your help picking out jewelry and shoes," Grace points out.
"I have the perfect pair of shoes in mind for your dress Gail…you don't mind a high heel right?" Mia rambles as they all walk out towards one of the bedrooms.
"Thank you for saving me from her!" Kate laughs.
"You two are more alike than you realize," I giggle.
"Let's get you dressed for your wedding," Kate says as we walk into the master bedroom where the two gowns are hanging in the large walk in closet.
"What's this?" I ask, spotting a small box on the bed.
"Oh, Gail mentioned something about Christian having a gift delivered for you. This must be it," she smiles before gathering the bags of clothes, shoes and the gown.
"Oh my! Kate!" I gasp opening the box.
Inside the perfectly wrapped box is a diamond necklace and matching tear drop diamond earrings. My breath is immediately taken away in awe, the jewelry is so beautiful.
"It's just as he described," she whispers.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"We spoke when you were in New York; he wanted to have a piece designed that would coordinate well with your dress. I didn't tell him anything specific about the dress itself but I spoke with the jeweler he used and sent them just the sketches of the two gowns. They sent me a sketch that looks exactly like this, which would complement either dress perfectly," she explains.
"How on earth did he have enough time to have two pieces of jewelry custom designed?" I wonder.
"Ana…you need to learn that money talks," she giggles.
"Christian told me the same thing the other day," I laugh.
"I was thinking this is the dress you had in mind," she says unzipping one of the bags.
"Yes, that is the one I want," I confirm.
"These are the undergarments that my mom picked out for this dress," Kate hands me a beautiful white corset style bra with a matching bikini style panties.
"Perfect, I'm going to bathroom to slip on the panties, garter and thigh highs. I will probably need help with the bra though…I don't think I'm going to be able to clasp all those by myself," I laugh walking into the bathroom.
I take a deep breath as I look into the mirror; this is the only part of today that makes me a little uneasy. There is no way that to get around this, Kate will see the scars on my back. She knows they are there already and since she was there when Carrick decided to be an ass she knows most of the story as to what happened. But still, I know the site of them will shock her. I take a large gulp of my wine, take a deep breath and begin to get changed. Holding the bra in front of me to cover my breasts, I slowly open the door and ask Kate for assistance. I hear her gasp quietly as I turn around and she takes in the scars on my back. To her credit though, her hands quickly find the bra clasps and she begins closing the clasps thus covering my scars.
"Thank you," I whisper.
"Let's get you into this dress," Kate quickly turns to grab the dress.
A few minutes later, I stand before the full length mirror in the beautiful gown that Kate's mom designed which fits me perfectly. The dress has a sweetheart neckline, with cap sleeves which sit just at the edge of my shoulders and flows just to the floor. There is a small train on the dress, but nothing that is so long I can't walk. The feature I love the most about the dress is the simplicity; with small touches here and there the dress is simple yet elegant. There is a small strip of lace around the neckline and again on the hem of the dress.
"You look beautiful Ana," Kate chokes back a sob.
"Your mom did a wonderful job on this dress, it fits perfectly. You were right to choose this dress for me, I can't imagine wearing anything else," I gush.
Kate puts on the necklace and earrings that Christian apparently had designed specifically for me. We find a simple pair of white shoes with a small heel that complement the dress perfectly.
"My mom has sent this as your something borrowed," Kate hands me a diamond tiara that is just perfect, not too large and not something that is going to stand out drastically.
"Oh Kate! It's perfect!" I exclaim hugging her as she puts the tiara on me.
"Let's go show you off to everyone," Kate quickly wipes a tear from her cheek as she leads me out of the room.
"ANA!" Mia exclaims. "You look beautiful!"
"Oh my! Ana….you're breathtaking!" Grace cries.
"Perfection….absolutely perfection Ana," Gail smiles.
"You all look so beautiful," I say taking each of them in as they are now fully dressed in the dresses they picked for the ceremony.
"I have something for you," Gail whispers ushering me into the dining room a few minutes later.
"When my great grandmother was married, she had no money for a ceremony and everything she used that day was something she either borrowed or had around the house. Her sister picked her a small bouquet of wildflowers from the field near their house, but upon handing it to her they realized they had nothing to tie it with. Her sister took cut a piece of small blue ribbon from her bag and they tied that around the flowers. Ever since then, it has been tradition for the women in my family to have a blue ribbon tied around their bouquet to remind them that no matter what happens your family will always be there for you," Gail explains handing me a blue silk ribbon. "I consider you a part of my family Ana, I would be honored if you would use this with your bouquet."
"Oh Gail….you're going to make me cry," I sob desperately trying to hold back my tears. "Thank you so much; of course I will tie it to my flowers. It's a wonderful tradition, something I hope to be able to hand down to my children one day."
"Thank you Ana," Gail hugs me gently before we join everyone else back in the main room.
"Ana, I have something old for you," Grace announces as we walk into the room. "This was given to me by my mother on the day I married Carrick and today I give it to you on the day you marry my son."
Grace clasps a small gold chain with two intertwined hearts to my ankle. It's small and simple, but absolutely perfect. I can barely tell it's there but knowing that this is something that she wore on her wedding day makes me smile. Although I was concerned that I wouldn't have any traditions to carry onto my children since my mother told me nothing of her wedding to my father, I realize now that I couldn't be more wrong. Everyone in this room with me is my family; each are providing me with memories to share with my children one day.
"Thank you all for being here with me this morning; it truly means so much to both me and Christian that you are here with us," I gush.
"Speaking of Christian…" Kate smiles. "It's about time to go get your married!"
"Ana, you look….beautiful," Taylor greets us moments later as we walk out of the villa.
"Thank you Taylor, you look quite dashing yourself," I say.
The men are all wearing black suits with silver ties which compliments Kate's silver dress perfectly. Mia, Grace and Gail walk ahead of us with Sawyer to the ceremony site while Kate, Taylor and I take our time enjoying the lovely gardens that surround the hotel before we finally make our way to the balcony where are ceremony is going to take place.
"Are you ready?" Kate whispers.
"Yes," I say confidently.
"I'll see you up there," Kate smiles as the wedding planner gestures for her to walk through the doors.
"Thank you for doing this Taylor," I kiss him lightly on the cheek just as the doors are opened.
Taylor squeezes my hand tightly, smiling at me as we step over the threshold onto the beautiful balcony which overlooks the water. Everyone stands as we make our way down the aisle where I find Christian beaming as he waits for me with Elliot and Kate. Taylor shakes Christian's hand before placing my hand in his, stepping aside as Christian leads me to the wedding officiant. Christian and I decided not to write our own vows; I don't think I could have handled having to remember my own vows with everything else going on today. I would much rather just have someone tell me what to say. As the officiant stands before us, welcoming our guests and reading a short sermon about marriage I take this opportunity to look around the balcony fully taking in the beauty of what this place has to offer. In the corner of the balcony, not far from the ceremony, almost blending in with the wedding staff is someone I truly hoped I would see here but honestly did not think I would. I don't believe Christian or any of the guests have realized that we have someone unexpected at the ceremony right now; hopefully they continue not to notice until after the ceremony.
"Do you Anastasia Steele, take Christian as your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold, in sickness and in health until death do you part?" the officiant asks.
"I do," I say confidently, smiling at Christian.
"Do you Christian Grey, take Anastasia as your lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold, in sickness and in health until death do you part?" The officiant repeats.
"I do," Christian replies.
"By the powers vested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," He says.
Christian's arm immediately wrap around my waist, pulling me close to him as his lips crush against mine. I can feel everything in this kiss, every emotion that is going through the both of us right now is there. Just before the kiss deepens and becomes too intimate, Christian gently pulls away and smiles down at me.