Lots happening in this chapter. Thank you for all your reviews. I haven't been able to respond to them all so I apologize. I'm looking forward to the holiday weekend coming up and my husband will be gone so no distractions. We will jump ahead with the next chapter. Let me know what you think, I love hearing from you.

Enjoy!

Chapter 23

Merry fucking Christmas to me! Yep, it is Christmas Eve, and I am as happy as a pig in shit. This is my favorite time of year and to be spending it with Christian and our families is icing on the big fat chocolate cake.

Before I turn into the Spirit of Christmas Present, I should first catch you up on what's been happening at Casa Escala. Bliss. Pure fucking bliss is the only way to describe the last month. Christian's balls recovered nicely and safely tucked away inside his Calvin's again. The man is the biggest pussy though when it comes to being sick. There were several moments when I wanted to throttle the hell out of him. He stayed in the hospital over the holiday weekend and worked from home that next week. However, I did go to work. It was that or kill him. I'd never get away with it, though, the Ninjas are there to protect him, so I sucked it up and dealt with him. He drove Gail bonkers during the day, but I think that was because I was at GEH and he was bored. His typical workday is spent going 100 mph from meeting to meeting and sitting atop his throne wielding his power.

Christian had a checkup about five days after he was released and was cleared for coitus five days later. I was instructed not to strut around shaking my ass or any other part of my body, naked or clothed, for fear that he Vlad the Impaler would come to life. I did feel bad for him honestly. Christian is an extremely affectionate person, and he would try to touch me or get close, but he would stop just as quickly because the General was always trying to stand at attention. I behaved myself and didn't tease him considering he was in that pickle because of me.

Work, for me, has been great. Daniel seems to be getting his shit together. Which is good because it keeps Mr. Control Freak off my ass…oh now there's a story for later.

We had the company Christmas party last weekend and let me tell you it was out of this world. It was held at the Mile-High Club, of course, and was a party to end all parties. I don't ask how much things cost because Christian tells me not to worry myself over it, but I know this party had to cost a quarter of a million, easy. The food was scrumpdillyicous. There was something for everyone; the carnivores had their choice of cow, chicken or pig, the vegans had…well, they got fucked with only having veggies, but there were seafood and freshwater fish, and the desserts were ridiculous. However, it was the entertainment that made the whole thing fantabulous. About 100 employees came together and had a talent show. It was awesome. There were bands, singers, pianists, contortionists, ventriloquists, impersonators and a bunch of other. I was amazed by the talent of these people. I have zero talent, which is clearly a result of my clumsiness. I tried in junior high and high school. I tried running track. The coach wanted me to run hurdles. Hurdles, people. Not actually a short person's sport, right? The fucking hurdles were as tall as me. Now if going under them was the point, I would be a fucking multiple gold medal winner. I tried softball, which we all know was disastrous and soccer. I wasn't too bad at that but I just really didn't see the god damn point of it. I was a cheerleader in high school. I was the designated flyer since I was so tiny. See, there are advantages for us shorties.

Back to the party…most of the GEH employees were stunned when they saw Christian and I dancing and him being affectionate. They are used to the CEO persona and never brought anyone to any function company or family. Of course, when the news of our engagement came out, people started to look at him differently. You know as a human. There was not only food, dancing, and entertainment there was a huge raffle. The grand prize was a new Audi Q5 and a week-long Hawaiian vacation. Some young bowtie wearing IT geek won it, and I thought he was going to have to check his shorts he was so stunned. Did I mention that there was alcohol? Yeah, I behaved myself, believe or not. I had a few glasses of wine and a glass of champagne when Christian was on stage thanking everyone for attending and all their hard work. I was feeling good but behaved like an adult. The entire Grey clan was in attendance, so that meant that Harper and Kate came too. It was a super fun night, but the after party was the best. My parents were invited, but they had already made plans to go out of town for the weekend.

After the Christmas party, there was an after party for management and their significant others, and the PAs. There were some serious drinking and dancing happening…like Patrick Swayze dirty dancing. Christian let his hair down, and it was the first time I had ever seen him drunk. I thought he was funny on pain meds; he was a fucking riot drunk with his brothers. He also likes to text when he is drunk. He was sexting me when I was dancing with Kate and Harper while he sat in the VIP area with his brothers doing shots. Come to find out I was not the only one he was texting. The plans that Christian had for us when we got home apparently went to Taylor. Taylor then decided to fuck with him and was sexting him back. We, of course, didn't know this took place until the next day.

Taylor: What do you want to do tomorrow night?
CTG: Suck my dick?

Taylor: I was thinking something a little more romantic than that.

CTG: How about you suck my dick under the moonlight?

That's just one of many Taylor shared with us the next day. His brothers were giving him a ration of shit the next day. Christian was a little embarrassed, but he took it like a man and vowed never to get drunk again. Yeah…right. I give him until dinner tonight.

Christian has never decorated for any holidays but said that I had free reign to do as I wanted. Now that I stand back and look around, it does look a little like Christmas had too much eggnog and threw up all over the place. There is a ginormous tree that parked its ass in front of the big windows and didn't move. The twinkle of the white lights bounds off the windows and reflect all the colors of the ornaments. We had to buy everything, and that little excursion was a cluster fuck of epic proportion. We ended having to take both SUVs; Elliott and Kate came along too, and we used his truck. The Ninjas brought in reinforcement, so we had Ryan, Jenkins, and Timmons along for the fun. Blending in is of no concern to any of them and we looked as if the god damn secret service was following us. Adam Jenkins and Eric Timmons are Elliott and Keegan's CPOs. Keegan didn't feel well that day and wasn't leaving the house, so Timmons was bored. Harper is not quite on board with the whole Ninja thing, but I keep telling her that it's part of the Grey package. I love both Taylor and Sawyer and have become so comfortable with them being around that most of the time I don't even realize they are there.

Here we are on Christmas Eve, and we're going to the Grey's for dinner tonight, and then everyone is going to my family's house for Christmas Day.

"Anastasia! What the fuck. Are you bringing all this shit tonight?" Oh, that's the Christmas spirit, Grey. What the fuck is he barking at me for?

"Oh my God Grey! Yes. I told you since we are staying at your parents tonight we need to bring all the presents for everyone. Sawyer said he'd help us take it down before he left. Sonofabitch." He is a crank fuck today. It's not like he hasn't gotten laid today. Twice might I add.

It was decided that the Ninjas spend Christmas with their families, so we're on our own. Christian is not comfortable with that idea but as I explained those guys deserve to spend holidays with his family. How much god damn trouble can we get into in a day? He caved after I promised to give him head followed by a massage. Weird, I know. The man loves for me to give him massages.

I watch Christian strutting toward me, "Ready to go lover?" I say as Christian grabs the case of wine.

"Yeah, I think I got everything. Fucking finally. Since when did the holidays get so god damn chaotic?"

"That is what happens when you have a girlfriend, two brothers who have girlfriends and our mothers are fucking nuts over it all. You seem a little off, everything all right?"

He nods gives me a swift quick and ushers me into the elevator. Sawyer pushes the button for the garage, and we ride down in silence.

Once we get ourselves situated in the SUV, Christian grabs my hand, kissing the back of it.

"I'm sorry baby. It's that conference call with those bastards in Dubai. They're wanting to change the whole deal and its beginning to piss me the fuck off. We've been working on this for so long, but I am ready to tell them they can kindly go fuck themselves. Ros is pissed off and of course, she agrees with me, but we've put so much time and money into it I hate to walk away now."

"I get it. Maybe you need to sit back and take a look at it from a different perspective or get a new one from someone else. Talk to your grandfather about it. If these people are pulling this shit this late in the game, I will begin to question the stability of the relationship on a long term basis. Maybe you do need to pull the plug and send a message. Just my opinion, however. Your name is on the building, so ultimately it is your decision. But please let's not allow those fuckers to spoil our first Christmas together. I don't want to think about work until after the New Year. Do you think you can handle that Grey?"

"Yes, baby. Thank you for always being there to talk me off the ledge. Only good things today. I am looking forward to the new few days and our trip to Napa." I lean across the console and give him a gentle kiss.

We arrive at Grace and Carrick's and Holy mother of God this place looks like a fucking Hallmark movie. I thought our place was completed Christmasfied…Grace is on a whole other level.

"Wow, your mom goes all out, huh?"

He laughs, "Fuck this is nothing. Wait till you see the inside. It's nuts. This is her favorite two days of the year. I don't know if I told you or not but mom and dad brought us all home on Christmas Eve. It's been like this since that first Christmas together."

I'll be god damn…there's a little tid bit of information I did not know.

"That is a big deal, Christian."

"The wall that leads to their bedroom has a custom made picture frame that spans the wall where a picture of the four of us taken every Christmas Eve hangs. Grace would be heartbroken if we ever decided not to spend this night with her. Just warning you…It's something we haven't talked about yet but not only is it important to my parents, but it's also important to us too."

"Christian, I would never want you to be stuck between two stools. I love the idea of having our families together like this for the holidays. It's the best way to go about it."

We make our way inside, and he wasn't kidding. This place looks like the elves were smoking a little Christmas crack when they dropped by. Wow! The foyer has this huge poinsettia tree. I mean this fucker must be made from 500 potted poinsettias and arranged to look like a big red Christmas tree. The double staircase is draped with live greenery filling the entryway with the delicious smell of pine. There are beautiful red, gold and green glass balls and lights that cast warm shadows up the stairs.

Christian smiles and leads me into the large family room where most everyone is congregating. This is probably my favorite room in Grace's house. The lights are turned down lower than usual which adds to the drama of the stone fireplace. The mantel is swathed with more greenery and red bows with some grapevine intertwined and it's lighted. The biggest fucking wreath I've ever seen hangs above and flanked by two huge red pillar candles. The tree is amazing. It is probably 18 feet tall covered in white lights, and ornaments of every shape and size. The roaring fire completes this whole picturesque scene. I take in the entire room and notice the stockings hung with the name of each member of the Grey family.

"If you think this is something, wait until she gives you a tour. There is not an inch of this house that's not decorated," Carrick whispers in my ear as he puts his arm around me.

"Merry Christmas Carrick. This is unbelievable…it's magical. Christian said she goes all out, but I never imagined," I reply.

"Ana, Christian, Merry Christmas you two. Come in, come in." Grace greets us enveloping us in her embrace.

Fuck she even smells like Christmas.

"Merry Christmas mom. The house looks beautiful as usual." He gives her an extra-long hug.

"Grace, I have never seen anything like this. The foyer just blew me away, but this room is like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting."

"Thank you, darling. I'm just so happy to have so many people with us this year and that all my boys have someone special to spend it with."

Shit! She's going to make me cry. The love this woman has for her family…

"Hey everyone, Merry Christmas," I say to my mom and dad. They both give me a big hug.

"Baby girl, I miss you. Your old man doesn't get to see you enough."

"I know Daddy. I apologize for that. Blame it on my boss; he works me like a dog." I wink at Christian who is getting one of those man hugs from him.

"Oh shush, hard work is good for you. Nothing wrong with that, right Christian?" My dad has definitely passed down his work ethic to all of us.

"Yes, sir. I figure if I'm working her hard, there's little chance of her getting into trouble," Christian jokes.

I nudge him in the ribs, "Hey now. I do not get into that much trouble." That earned raised eyebrows from them both. Really, I don't get into trouble anymore. Well, not like I did when I was a kid. I mean I stopped calling my teacher a dildo in the third grade after she called my parents. I haven't stolen any road signs or traffic cones since I was sixteen. I most certainly have not flooded the bathroom since I was…Okay so that was recently, but it wasn't all my fault. Not completely. It was really Christian's fault…him and that big dick of his.

We move back to the family room after finishing a fantastic dinner. I definitely have popped a food baby. I'm ready for a pair of jeans or better yet my big purple onesie. Christian refers to me as Barney and despises them. Why do you think he despises them? Well, could it be that he can't stick his morning wood in me first thing before he even gets up to pee? Yes, I'm pretty sure that is why he doesn't like my big purple onesie. Kate has one with bunnies on it…I bet Elliott doesn't give her shit. Then again, Elliott is a man child and probably has one of his own. Note to self…ask Kate about that.

We had plenty of good conversation and banter throughout dinner. I love learning more about Christian and his family. Christian's grandparents are a fucking hoot. You know, I think Gail is an extraordinary chef but fucking hell, Grace's staff is stellar. My mom was seriously impressed and that says a lot coming from a classically trained French chef. It's a good thing that all our families have similar Christmas Eve traditions because I can't wait to open presents. It doesn't matter what occasion; I love ripping the paper open not knowing what's inside. Surprise…it's a training bra. Yep, I got one of those when I was eleven. That was the present I chose to open…big mistake…huge. My brother was there; my grandfathers were there. It's humiliating enough that your dad knows you started your period…the bra for Christmas was just the pinnacle of my year.

Everyone has gathered in the vast family room; seated around the fire, the tree and on the couches. I look around and realize that I'm a lucky bitch for sure. Grace moves to the front of the room and asks for her children to gather so they can take their annual picture.

"For those of you who don't know it is a tradition in our family on Christmas Eve that the kids take a picture together. We've been doing it every year since our first holiday together to celebrate this day because this is the day they officially became ours, and we brought them home. I thank you for indulging me for a few minutes," Grace explains.

Harper comes and sits next to me as we watch them have their picture taken. "Ana, did you ever think this would be our life? I wake up every morning thanking God for your drunk ass." We bust up laughing.

"Sissy, I thank God every day for my drunk ass too. Everything was so fucking unexpected but feels so right," I tell her.

It only takes a few minutes before Christian and Keegan join us in front of the fireplace.

"Hey, Bitty, when are you setting a date for the wedding?" Keegan asks.

"Indecision is the key to flexibility, don't ya know?" I say with a Minnesota accent. I crack myself up sometimes.

Christian comes and sits behind me and pulls me between his legs. I wrap my arms around his thighs.

"Baby, let's tell everyone our plans for the wedding, shall we?"

"Okay, you have to find your mother, though. I think she is lost amongst the presents under the tree."

"Mom? Mom…can you, please come out from under the tree. Ana and I want to fill everyone in on the wedding plans.

"Oh yes, yes hang on one second. I got a little tangled up." Her voice muffled by a pile of gifts as high as the Eiffel Tower. She comes out and pats down her pants to remove the imaginary dust. Yeah, there's not a speck of fucking dust in any Grey home. They are the cleanest, tidiest people I have ever met. The Steele's, not so much. Remember Harper's hamster? Need I say more.

Christian takes my hands in his, "We want everyone to know what are plans on for the wedding. First, we've set a date. Now don't go all bat shit crazy when I tell you that its February 19th."

"Well that's more than a year away, Christian. Why would you think we'd go crazy?" Grace inquires.

"Umm, no not more than a year, just a little over forty-five days from today actually, mom." Christian clarifies.

"Fuck bro, is it a shotgun wedding?" Elliott quips.

"Elliott…language please."

"Sorry ma. So Chris, shotgun or not?" He chuckles and throws an olive at Christian. Christian tosses it back.

"No, you jackass. It's not a shotgun wedding and even if it were what does that matter? Anastasia and I don't want to wait. If you want to go to Vegas with us, be at Sea-Tac on February 17th ready to go. Ana and I will take care of all the arrangements and keep you all involved."

"We plan to have just family and a few friends at the wedding but then come back and have a big reception the following weekend. You can invite anyone you'd like mother just keep it under 100, please."

Christian doesn't want this to turn into a spectacle even though it will once the press find out we're married.

"Mom, daddy, you get to invite 100 as well. Christian and I will only have about 50 together." I let my parents know."

"That's fine baby girl. We understand it's your day. We're just so excited for you both." Ray Steele ever the supportive parent.

"Thanks, Daddy. We'll talk about more of the specifics tomorrow; I don't want to monopolize this evening. Let's open some presents people." I got ants in my pants.

"All right everyone, we determined that all three families have many similar traditions. One being that everyone gets to open one present tonight before the frenzy of Christmas day is upon us.," Grace says.

"Everyone's name is in the bowl so I will pick the first name and whoever's name is chosen gets to choose the next and so on." Grace puts her hand in the bowl and swishes it around picking up a folded piece of paper.

"Keegan, you get to go first."

"Alright. Let's do this." He goes to the pile of presents and finds one with his name and sits down next to the tree to open it. I'm not the only one who enjoys ripping the paper.

"Oh wow. This is great. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa. I will put this to good use." He holds up a box with a Wingtip shaving set that has the badger brush.

He picks Kate, and she picks a gift from Mia. It's a Burberry messenger bag that is monogrammed. Now she has one more place to put more of her shit. She bitches about carrying a big purse, a small purse, no purse. Now she's got a big bag for all it.

We get through almost everyone. There is only me, Christian and my mom left. Christian goes first. He's hunting around looking for the perfect one. He comes up with a pretty good sized box.

He carefully tears the paper away. Oh for fuck's sake Grey.

"Today old man," Keegan taunts.

"It's my turn asshole. Shut up." He opens the box, and it's another box. Huh?

"This is so cool. Thanks, El. We will put this to good use." He stands to give him a hug.

I have no idea what it is, "Babe...what is it?" I whisper, and he chuckles.

"It's a humidor…for cigars." Oh, how can I forget that nasty habit of his. Thank fuck he doesn't smoke those stink ass cigars too often.

"Ah, nice. Very thoughtful of Elliott," I tease.

Carla opens her gift, and it's a beautiful pair of diamond teardrop earrings from my dad. She is a jewelry whore. Real of fake, she wears it and loves it. Why the fuck am I always the last god damn person to go?

"All right only Ana left, grab your gift darling," Grace instructs.

I dig around the tree and find one with my name and it's a small box. Hmm, this could be a lot of things couldn't it? I tear the paper off and open a wooden box that has a monogrammed G on the front. I open it, and I'm quite perplexed.

"Jokes on me, huh? Why do I have a damn key in a box?" I look around for the culprit because it didn't have the gift givers name on it. Christian goes to one of the shelves on the wall and grabs something and comes and sits next to me.

"This is from me, baby. You'll know what the key is for when you open this envelope." Christian kisses the top of my head.

I open the envelope, and I'm trying to figure out what this picture and paper are.

"Oh my God, Christian. You didn't. Is this what I think it is? A key to a house…our house?"

"Yes, it is my love. This is the deed with both our names. It's not far from here. Between here and your parents but not too close…. if you know what I mean."

"Fuck me sideways. Oops sorry Grace," I giggle. "When are we moving? When can we see it? Is it decorated, or do we get to do that?"

"We can stop by on our way to your parent's tomorrow. Everyone here has already seen it. Your parents helped me choose the perfect one they knew you'd love. We can move around mid-January. Elliott is making some changes and a few repairs, and Taylor is working with security to make sure it's secure. It's a blank slate, baby. You can decorate it to your hearts content. So you better get shopping."

I am in awe...fucking shock is more like it. I can't believe he bought us a house. Not just any house. It's a monstrosity. This mother fucker sits on 10 acres right on the Sound. It's 22,000 square feet. Who the fuck needs a house that damn big. There's an indoor-outdoor pool. I think I'm gonna faint. I keep looking over this spec sheet, and I see half-court basketball, home theater, library, 8-car subterranean garage plus eight above ground, a wine cellar. Holy tater tits…there are 12 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms. There are three separate casitas. I guess that's where the Ninjas will live.

"Christian, Gail and I are not going to be able to take of this house by ourselves. Are you sure we need something this big?"

"I want this to be the house where we raise our family, Ana, and watch our grandkids play. I want to be able to have our entire family over whenever we want for BBQs and holidays. I can bring The Grace and moor her here so we can take her out whenever we like. Don't worry about the size of the house. I've spoken with Gail, and when they come back from the holidays, we're going to sit down and put together a plan to hire a full staff that Gail will manage. Gail and Taylor, Sawyer and Ryan will live in the casitas. All three are 2,400 square feet, so that's plenty of room for them. Taylor was worried it would be too much space. We are also building a smaller casita that will be used in rotation for the gate security."

Oh, chucklefucks! We're turning into the Gates'. They live on a fucking compound that's more secure than the Pentagon. I can't wait to see this place. This man is unbelievable with surprises. I sit back and take it all in as wine is passed around. Yes, wine. That is what I need.