Chpt. 60 CPOV:
"Mr. Grey, your guests have begun to arrive," Taylor announces.
"Please see them to the great room," I request.
Today Ana and I are going shopping for things for the cabin; Kate, Mia and Elliot are all joining us although I'm not entirely sure why they are coming. It all started when we were at my parents' last night for dinner and Elliot was fishing for an invitation to shop for a grill with us. Ana invited Mia and Kate along to help pick out the furniture for the deck, but I think it was just an excuse so Ana wasn't shopping with just me and Elliot. When we signed the paperwork last night transferring the deed into our names, I couldn't help but feel proud. This cabin became the first piece of property that Ana and I purchased together. Of course right after we were married I added her name to the deed of Escala and the GEH building, but the cabin is something we purchased together as a married couple. Being there with her just made everything feel so complete, I could easily picture spending weekends here for years to come.
"Hey bro, what's up?" Elliot asks as him and Kate walk into the great room.
"Where's Mia?" I ask.
"She bailed," Elliot answers.
"Why?" I ask.
"Something about a date with some guy tonight she needs to get ready for," Elliot laughs.
"She does realize it's ten in the morning right?" I joke.
"Where's Ana?" Kate asks.
"Right here," Ana comes down the steps wearing a beautiful light blue sun dress which matches her eyes perfectly. The dress hugs her curves perfectly, showing off her beautiful long legs and immediately I feel my dick start to stir. Despite being deep inside of her only last night, I'm secretly wondering if I can't take her upstairs and get back inside of her.
"Baby?" Ana kisses me on the cheek pulling me from my thoughts.
"You guys ready?" I ask, shaking my head.
"Let's go bro!" Elliot announces happily.
"Mr. Grey?" Taylor quickly appears.
"We're ready Taylor," I inform him.
The four of us head down to the garage where Taylor and Sawyer are waiting one of my SUVs. We all quickly climb in and Taylor pulls out of the garage to head to the store. We decide to do some shopping and then grab a late lunch once we're done before heading back to Escala. I love how comfortable Ana is with my entire family, inviting everyone shopping last night brought a smile to my face even if I didn't want everyone to join us. It's reassuring to know that she truly loves my family and feels a part of it; she has been alone for so long that I want her to feel safe and that she truly is part of my family. I love when Sawyer tells me that she has had lunch with my mother at the hospital…
"Do you still want to look at the property over the weekend?" Elliot asks.
"Yes, Ana suggested we have a motorhome brought on as a temporary residence for security but ultimately I want to identify a space for the security cabin we discussed," I answer.
"I've looked at the layout of the land from a few aerial shots and I think there are several possible locations for the cabin which would allow them to be close enough to the main cabin to respond to any issues quickly without taking away from the view," Elliot informs us.
"I don't mind seeing the cabin Elliot," Ana speaks up. "I just don't want to look out at the lake and have it right there. The view from the deck is just so….perfect the way it is. If it's possible I think we should try to keep it that way."
"I have a few spots that I think will work perfectly, but we can look at any area you want as well," he assures her. "The view from that deck was my grandfather's goal when he extended the deck years ago; my grandmother and mother used to sit out there every day when we would vacation there."
"I can't wait to see it; it sounds beautiful," Kate chimes in.
"It is," Ana and I say in unison causing everyone to laugh.
Elliot and Ana go back and forth for a few minutes about the cabin design; it seems like Ana has something already pictured for the cabin which surprises Elliot. Watching the two of them converse with such ease reminds me once again how lucky I am to have Ana in my life. I never had this before; my subs never once met a single member of my family and I was never close enough to anyone else to introduce to them. Elliot and Ana are so comfortable with each other you would think they have known each other for years. Kate and I chat for a little while about her work at her dad's newspaper; at first I was worried about Ana having a best friend who is a reporter but true to her word Kate has been able to keep the two completely separate except when we asked her to cover our wedding announcement. Kate and I initially became close when Ana was hit by that damn car as we both sat by her bedside for hours but even since then we felt comfortable with one another. I don't know what Elliot's waiting for, it's obvious they both are head over heels for one another.
"We've arrived," Taylor announces as everyone realizes we were so engrossed in our conversations that we hadn't noticed the car stopped.
"So what should we shop for first?" I ask as we enter the large store.
"The grill!" Elliot exclaims quickly.
"Why don't you guys start looking for a grill while Kate and I check out the furniture?" Ana suggests.
"Sawyer will come with us, Taylor please accompany the girls," I request.
I can see Ana almost rolling her eyes and Kate does nothing to hide her roll; I know it seems silly to have security in a store but with everything that has happened I don't think we can be too cautious. After saying good bye to the girls, Elliot and I make our way across the store where they have a large selection of grills. I don't admit it of course, but I'm secretly glad Elliot came along today; not just because I've enjoyed spending time with him but also because I have no idea what I'm looking for in grills I realize taking in the large selection.
"How big do you want the grill to be Christian?" Elliot asks.
"I don't know," I admit. "Large enough to cook food when we have company but not too large; I'm sure Ana and I will want to use it when the two of us come to the cabin."
"Okay," he pauses looking around the various floor models. "What about this one?"
"Too big," I shrug.
"This one?" he points to another one.
"Too small," I laugh. "You could barely fit enough burgers on it to feed everyone."
"Do you want a side burner?" he asks.
"Ummmm…I guess?" I shrug again, holding back asking why we would need a side burner on the grill.
"You want gas though right?" he asks.
"Yes," that is one thing that Ana and I both agreed on; we want to be able to quickly start the grill and have it quickly ready to use.
After what feels like hours, Elliot and I finally agree to a grill complete with two side burners which Elliot assures me Ana will appreciate. The sales person who has been following us around for some time now takes down the necessary information to order the grill and we head off to find the girls who according to Sawyer are now in the furniture section.
"Christian!" Ana jumps up from the seat she was sitting in next to Kate.
"Having fun?" I laugh at her obvious excitement which is rare for Ana when it comes to shopping. She is usually so focused on the cost of items that she doesn't let herself enjoy the shopping experience. Seeing her right now, it's obvious that she took my advice and is not looking at the price tag before deciding. I asked Elliot to speak with Kate before our trip today; requesting that Kate help keep Ana focused on just the actual furniture and not the price of it which seems to be working.
"Come see!" she drags me over to where she was sitting, nearly pushing me into the seat.
"Wow," I sigh sitting back in the very comfortable chair.
"You like?" she asks.
"I could fall asleep here," I put my feet up on the small ottoman in front of the chair.
"Kate and I were thinking we should get the set here," she gestures to the furniture surrounding us. "There's plenty of seats, including that love seat; a few side tables and a coffee table so we could put drinks or snacks on."
"I think it's perfect," I nod to the saleslady who has obviously been assigned to follow us around the store.
"There's a very nice fire pit just off to the side here that would complement this piece," the saleslady bats her eyes at me.
"Ana?" I defer.
"Kate and I found a different one that we like," Ana says hesitantly.
"Great, we will take that one," I inform the lady who is still staring at me.
A couple of hours later we have arranged for our furniture, grill, a storage container and several grilling utensils to be delivered to the cabin in the next few days. Taylor coordinates the delivery of everything to insure a member of our security is on site for the delivery. As much as I didn't want to go shopping and thought it would be much easier to have Taylor order everything, I realize that Ana was right; picking out the furniture ourselves is better.
"Is everyone hungry for a late lunch?" I ask as we pile back into the SUV.
Everyone agrees so Taylor finds a nearby restaurant where we are quickly seated despite several other people waiting in line ahead of us. Seeing that the hostess pushed us ahead of everyone else I had Taylor arrange to pay half of everyone's bill who was waiting to be seated. The late lunch was a perfect way to end our day; we ate, drank and talked for far longer than anyone realized before we finally decided to head back to Escala. Kate and Elliot invited us out to a club tonight after being out all day today, Ana seems pretty tired and I'm sure her leg will be sore tomorrow so we politely decline.
"You seemed to have fun today," I observe as we sit in the great room having a glass of wine, unwinding from our trip.
"I did," she smiles. "We must have sat in nearly every piece of furniture in the store before deciding on the first one we saw. It was the only set that I could picture sitting in and looking out over the lake."
"You did a great job with the furniture," I assure her.
"Did you find a grill you liked?" she asks.
"We did," I laugh remembering how long it took us to find that grill. "Elliot says you will appreciate that it has two side burners-"
"Oh, good! It will make cooking for everyone much easier," she exclaims happily.
"He said something like that too," I reply. "We did get a gas grill like we talked about, and we both thought it would be the perfect size to use when we have guests there or when it's just the two of us."
"I asked Elliot to come over next week to look at some designs for the security cabin," she says a few minutes later.
"Designs?" I ask.
"Well, pictures I've seen online, not really designs," she laughs. "I want the cabin to be a place where Taylor, Sawyer and Gail can relax and enjoy the time when they're there."
"Whatever you want baby," I assure her.
"I'm thinking a small deck or at least a large front porch for the cabin, depending on where it's built, so that they can sit out and enjoy the view of the lake. A fireplace is a necessity of course along with a full size kitchen for Gail," she explains.
"You and Elliot decide on all the specifics, I'm fine with whatever you two decide," I pull her close to me hugging her tightly.
"If Elliot thinks it's going to cost too much-" she begins.
"It won't," I kiss her to quiet her. "We plan on using both cabins for many years to come; it's important that our security team can relax while they're with us. Gail will appreciate the full size kitchen and I'm sure the view."
I love that she considers Taylor, Sawyer and Gail to be part of our family; for so long I only considered them employees but looking back on the time we've spent together I can easily see how close we have become especially since Ana's accident. I saw Taylor's face when we were meeting with Ana's mother; the look when she described what her mother let happen to her proved to me how much he cares for Ana. I think Sawyer's reaction was more of shock; he hasn't been in the apartment at night to hear Ana's nightmares whereas Taylor has and knew that something had happened to her but obviously did not know to what degree. Sawyer's jaw remained on the floor, the blood gone from his face, until we approached him to leave which is when he quickly snapped out of it. I know Taylor was beyond touched that Ana asked him to walk her down the aisle but I have to think that it means more now given everything he has heard. I know Taylor will do whatever is necessary to insure that Carla is never allowed near Ana again; he still has strong military ties and friends in all the right places to see that things happen to insure they never come near her. I'm sure Taylor had a few choice words with Carla and Billy after we left the restaurant that night, but whatever that conversation looked like Taylor has not said. He has assured Ana and I both that Carla and Billy were on a flight to Mexico that night; he has someone assigned to them to monitor their movements and will notify him immediately if they step anywhere near Washington.
"Christian?" Ana pulls me from my thoughts.
"Sorry, thinking about work," I lie not wanting to upset Ana.
"How about we head to bed?" she suggests.
"Actually, how about a hot bath?" I counter.
"That sounds nice," she smiles.
We spend nearly an hour relaxing in a hot bubble bath, discussing nothing and everything. I find myself counting down the days until we are going to the cabin for Labor Day; I couldn't be happier that Ana agreed to buy the cabin and that everyone is coming to celebrate with us in a couple of weeks. A year ago if you were to suggest I would be married, own a cabin and be planning a family weekend away I would have had you scheduled to see Dr. Flynn immediately. When I gave up BDSM, I knew I wanted more from relationships and sure eventually saw myself settling down but I thought it would be years into the future. I never expected to fall so hard and so fast for someone; the moment I bumped into Ana everything changed and now I couldn't picture my life any other way.
"I love you," Ana kisses me before resting her head on my chest as we lay in bed together.
"I love you too baby," I hold her tight against me, my hand wrapped around her back as her hand lies above my heart.