Written in the Stars
By Tvdfanpam
Chapter 18
Family Dinner Night
Christian paced around his apartment for a while before he decided to just be honest with Ana and tell her about Gia Matteo. He went downstairs to the 14th floor to Ana's apartment and knocked then let himself in with his key that Ana gave him yesterday. "Hello, anybody home." He called from the small foyer. Ana popped her head around the bathroom door.
"In here unpacking. I love my bathroom. This is the first time I have ever had my own!" She came out and kissed Christian on the lips and went into his embrace.
"Did you sleep well in your new apartment in your new bed last night Ana? I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to ask you earlier. I've been on a phone call this morning then your dad came by." He wasn't usually a rambler. Ana frowned up at him.
"What's wrong? Did my dad say something to you?" There was no telling what Ray Steele said to her fiancé. He shook his no and she waited for him to speak. He started pacing in the small space of the foyer. He grabbed his hair and turned to Ana.
"I heard from Elliott after your dad left." He wasn't sure how to say what he needed to say. "He's bringing a date tonight to our family dinner. Mom put her foot down with Elliott bringing random girls home every week. The rule now is a girlfriend or 'boyfriend in Mia's case' only. No first dates either. He's apparently dating a girl I hooked up with." There he said it. Ana was shocked and stood there not sure what to say to that. She narrowed her eyes and put her hand on her hip.
"What's her name? Do you still see her? I take it that Elliott doesn't know you slept with this girl?" Christian shook his head no.
"He doesn't know and I am not sure what Gia's game is? No! I'm not still seeing her! She knows that Elliott is my brother. Hell, everyone is Seattle knows everything about the entire Grey family. We're famous here." He said.
"When was this hook up? Does she know we are dating? Do you think she is dating him to get to you?" Ana was on a roll now bumping into Christian as she now paced in the foyer.
"Baby, it was three years ago! I was drunk and lonely and knew it was a mistake. She is an architect and Elliott works with her a lot on projects. He doesn't know we hooked up. Unless Gia told him, I sure didn't. I met up with her in the bar in this building. She lived here at the time. She has since moved out. It was a onetime thing, I was clear about that when I left she was NOT to contact me."
Ana had tears falling down her cheeks. Christian tried to stop her tears with his big hands. She sniffed and ran into the bathroom and grabbed a tissue. "At least it won't be a surprise." She said trying to find some good in the situation. "She'll have to fight me for you. You're mine now. I don't share. If she comes near you, I will punch her with my door knocker ring!"
Christian grabbed Ana and hugged her. "I was yours when our eyes met that first time when you came to interview me." He kissed her neck as he held her close and stroked her hair. "I know how you feel baby. I told that Jose f***er that you were mine and I was never going to let you go. He had four years to turn your head and didn't succeed so it was time to move on." Ana laughed and so did Christian. "I don't have any desire for anyone but you Ana. You are my life and I won't do anything to f**k that up."
Christian's phone had been buzzing in his pocket and he ignored it while he told Ana about Gia. There was a knock on Ana's door and Christian opened it to see Taylor standing there.
"Sorry to interrupt sir but you have a conference call in 15 minutes. Do you want to reschedule it?" Taylor waited for his instructions. Christian kissed Ana again.
"I'm sorry baby. I have to take that call. Are we good?" Ana nodded then Christian kissed her again and left with Taylor. Ana shut the door and went and got her phone.
"Hi Mia. Yes, I love my new apartment. Do you want to come see it? I thought we could do a little shopping this afternoon before we go to dinner." Ana held the phone away from her ear, Mia was so excited she was practically yelling. "Great. I'll see you in an hour." Ana ran to get in the shower so she would be ready when Mia got there. She was finishing up when the doorbell rang. She didn't know she had a doorbell!
"Hi Ana." Mia hugged her hard. "I am so excited to go shopping with you today. Oh, I love your apartment. It is so pretty!" Mia ran from room to room admiring everything. "I am sure you will spend a lot of time on the veranda reading and drinking coffee. It is perfect."
Ana was getting tired watching her run all over the place and stood there in awe. She had never met someone with as much energy as Mia. "Let's go shopping Mia before I am too tired."
The girls met Sawyer downstairs in the parking garage and he drove them to Anthropologie. Ana had been in there a few times and liked their style. It was one of Mia's favorite stores so she was right at home. Mia helped Ana find the perfect outfit for dinner; and something for herself. They went to get a quick drink before going back to Ana's apartment to change.
Christian had worked most of the day since they were going on vacation that week. Normally he didn't work on Sundays at all. He knew that he needed a big gift for Ana since she was going to be having the dinner from hell in a few hours. He called Cartier and ordered some diamond earrings to be delivered. It was good to be Christian Grey sometimes.
Mia wasn't through having fun with Ana so she stayed and hung out in Ana's new apartment. The girls baked chocolate chip cookies with macadamia nuts to take for dessert. It was the first time Ana baked in her new apartment. They had to get new baking sheets before they could bake cookies though. The ones they had before belonged to Kate.
"Girls, let's go." Christian said letting himself in with his key. "Mia, you know mom wants us there by 6:00 pm for cocktail hour. Dad makes his famous lemon drop martinis." The girls came out of the bedroom and Christian was amazed at the sight before him. His shy fiancé was dressed in a soft pink dress. Her hair was straight as a string down her back and she looked hot and innocent at the same time. That made Christian want to kiss her but she was not real happy with him at the moment so no kissing. "Baby, you look fantastic! Is that a new dress? I don't think I have ever seen you wear anything like that before." He frowned. He knew she hadn't ever worn anything like that before, it was a little shorter than she normally wore.
"It's new. Mia picked it out. I explained the situation to her and this is what she thought I should wear." Christian turned bright red when he realized his baby sister knew about his hook up with Gia.
"Personally, I don't see what Gia's appeal is. She is a raging bitch and thinks she is better than everyone." Mia couldn't stop until she put her two cents in. "I hope you wrapped it up before you hit it and quit it."
"Umm… damn it Mia! Stop talking. Ana baby I got you a present." He handed her the wrapped box. "I hope you like it." She opened the box and gasped when she saw the earrings.
"These are beautiful Christian. The diamonds are as big as the one in my ring. Are you trying to buy me now?" She had tears in her eyes.
"No, merely trying to soothe my conscience. Please wear them, they will look beautiful in your ears. The shape of them matches the shape of your engagement ring. Think of them as an engagement gift." He kissed her and wiped her tears away.
"Since we are exchanging gifts, here is one for you." She handed him a box. He opened the box to find a pair of monogrammed cuff links. "I hope you like them. You are very hard to buy for. I wanted to buy you something that would make you think of me when you wear them." He kissed her on the lips.
"Thank you baby. I love them. I will go change my shirt so I can wear them tonight. Be right back. Or, you can come up and pick out my shirt."
"We will wait here for you. We need to box up the cookies to take with us."
He rushed out and up to his apartment while the girls got the cookies boxed up and gathered up their purses and Mia got her other clothes bagged up. They left the apartment together and Sawyer drove Mia's car back to their parents' house while Ana, Mia and Christian rode in the SUV together. They had a short ride to Bellevue on a Sunday evening, no traffic to speak of.
Elliott's truck was already in the drive way when they pulled in and a small Mercedes coupe beside it. That means Elliott and Gia drove separately. They pulled up and got out and Grace and Carrick were at the door waiting for them. Carrick had already started drinking his signature drink and was in a great mood.
"Hey gang! Party at the parents tonight! Elliott and his new girlfriend are already here. We started happy hour without you." He had a glass in his hand and hugged the girls with one arm while trying not to spill his drink. Grace rolled her eyes at him.
"Ana, you didn't have to bring dessert." Grace eyed the package.
"Mia spent the afternoon with me and we made cookies." Ana handed the box to Grace. "Chocolate chip with macadamia nuts, Christian's favorite."
"Well, thank you. We'll have to hide these or Elliott will eat them all by himself." They went in the house and through the kitchen towards the family room in the back. There were drinks waiting for them on a tray on the kitchen island and they picked them up before heading into the family room. Elliott and Gia were sitting side by side on the sofa sipping their own drinks watching a ballgame on TV. Grace and Carrick went into the kitchen to check on dinner. Mia ran upstairs to her room to put her things away.
"Hey Bro! You remember Gia? Gia, this is Christian's fiancé Ana Steele. Ana, my girlfriend Gia." Elliott made introductions. He had had a couple of drinks already and was feeling good.
"How long have you two been dating El?" Christian asked as he sat down on the love seat and pulled Ana onto his lap. She put her arm around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. They neither one were a fan of PDA's but tonight they were.
"About two weeks now. She finally caught me." He had no filter after a couple of drinks. "You look great Ana, you're glowing!" Gia frowned at that then the light caught Ana's ring as she moved her hand and she gasped.
"Is that a pink diamond?" She said before she could help herself.
"Yes. Isn't it beautiful? It is really rare. Christian knows how much I love the color pink so he wanted to spoil me with a pink diamond." Ana said sweetly. Christian smiled behind his hand. "He loves to spoil me by buying me gifts. I have to keep telling him to stop." Ana was enjoying herself. Gia not so much. "In fact, he bought me these diamond earrings to go with my ring. He said it was an engagement gift. Isn't that sweet? I bought him some cufflinks for his engagement gift. We are leaving on vacation to Key West Florida tomorrow. A whole week of fun in the sun." Ana was going to kill her softly. "How do you know Elliott? Do you two work together?"
"Yes, I'm an architect and we are working on a project together. Do you work Ana or just spend Christian's money?" Gia asked innocently. Ana smiled at her. Christian tried not to laugh.
"Yes, I'm a librarian. I just graduated Summa Cum Laude from WSU Vancouver recently and will start working at Lakeside Prep for the summer term. I love children and have big plans for the summer reading program." She chose to ignore the comment about Christian's money.
Gia hated children and anything to do with them. She knew if she was forced to have any that they would be raised by a nanny. "When's the wedding?"
"We haven't set a firm date yet. Late fall sometime." Ana was vague. Elliott didn't know what was going on between the two women. He got the distinct impression that they didn't like each other though.
"Okay, dinner's ready." Grace said from the doorway. She heard part of the conversation and wasn't sure what was going on either. It was time for more alcohol. She didn't like Gia and couldn't see what Elliott liked about her. "Carrick, I think everyone needs their drinks refreshed. He smiled and ran to get more of the mix. They all followed Grace into the dining room where Mia was already waiting.
"Ana, sit by me." Mia said, indicating the chair in the middle of one side. Christian sat down beside Ana and Elliott and Gia sat across from them with Grace and Carrick on each end. Gretchen, their maid started bringing in plates of food. They were having prime rib of beef, garlic new potatoes with baby carrots, Waldorf salad and homemade yeast rolls.
"This dinner looks amazing Grace. All my favorite foods, thank you." Ana raised her glass in a toast to Grace.
"Your welcome dear. We wanted you to feel like part of our family. Next week it will be Mia's turn for her favorite dishes." Gia's phone buzzed in her lap and she discretely checked it.
"Elliott, I just remembered I need to finish up some work for a client meeting tomorrow. Dr. and Mr. Grey, thank you for dinner." Gia stood up to go and the Grey men stood up with her.
"I'll just walk her out mother and be right back." Elliott said as he followed Gia out of the house. The rest of the family ate in silence. He came back in a few minutes later and they finished dinner in peace.
Grace got called into the emergency room so she left shortly afterwards. Carrick went to his study to work while his wife was gone. Mia, Elliott, Christian and Ana were in the kitchen loading the dishwasher and putting food away. Gretchen was gone for the night.
Ana excused herself to go to the ladies room so Mia turned to Elliott and hit him on the back of his head. "That woman is vile. How can you stand to be with her? She has the hots for Christian."
"We hooked up about three years ago El, I would have told you earlier but I didn't know you were dating." Christian said, pulling his hair again. "I told Ana before we got here. I didn't want to risk Gia saying something to her."
"Well, that explains a lot." Elliott said, sitting down at the island. "She was always asking to invite you to dinner or have drinks."
"Elliott, my friend Kate is single." Ana said coming back into the kitchen. He smiled really big.
"She's hot."
A/N: I had trouble with this chapter. I couldn't get rid of Gia fast enough, LOL. Vacation next then Ana starts her new job and Ray moves closer.
