The next morning I start my plan to correct things with Anastasia and hopefully make her mine.
Autumn is helping me with my plan to woo her as she says.
So, I'm in my study getting everything ready for tonight. I pick up the phone and make my first phone call.
"Christian, how is it going dear? How's Autumn?"
"She's good. That's kind of why I'm calling. I was hoping maybe you could take her for the evening."
"Of course, we can take her. Please tell me you're doing something other than working?"
"Yes, I um-kind of have a date…"
"A date? Anyone I know…" She digs
"It's Ana." I say quickly.
As long as everything goes to plan that is. I'm hoping that she can't turn down the doe eyes of a sweet four year old.
"Ana huh?" I can here her smile over the phone. "Well, ok what time were you thinking?"
"I was going to have Taylor drop her off around five or six?"
"I can work with that. I assume you'll get back tomorrow afternoon?"
"Something like that…"
"Alright son, good luck"
"Yeah, I'm going to need it." I mumble.
"What?"
"Nothing. I'll talk to you later"
After I hang up with my mother, Autumn comes skipping into my office.
"Hey peanut." She comes and plops herself on my lap.
"She agreed to go on The Grace with us tonight. I told her we had to dress fancy and that we should go shopping so she could find something. She asked why, and all I told her was it was a surprise."
"Thank you, peanut. Do you think she'll like it?"
"She's gonna love it."
"Alright, make sure you get something you like too."
I pick her up and carry her out of the office, I find Ana talking with Sawyer. I hired Sawyer to be Autumn's CPO.
I get kind of jealous watching her talk so easily with Sawyer. She used to talk to me like that, before I stomped on her heart.
Ok, no more thinking like that, Grey. Time to make things right.
"Ana, would you mind if I talked to you for a minute?" I ask as I drop Autumn to the ground. "You should go get your shoes on, peanut."
"Ok, daddy Grey." She runs off to where her shoes are located, as Ana walks closer to me.
"Daddy Grey?" Ana asks with a smile. "That's so cute. When did that happen?"
"Last night." I smile brightly.
"She's lucky to have you. So you needed to talk to me, Mr. Grey?"
"You know you can still call me Christian…"
"I don't think that's appropriate sir. I wouldn't want to blur the lines more than they were." She answers raising an eyebrow at me. "Was there something else you needed?."
"Um.. yes." I stubble.
Shit, this plan might not work. I really want to blur those lines.
I reach into my back pocket and pull out my wallet. I start to dig out my credit card, but she stops me.
"I have the employee credit card you gave me for Autumn."
I completely forgot about that.
"Well, I want you to get something for you tonight also. Since this was my idea."
"I'm fine, Mr. Grey. I can buy my own stuff. How fancy are we talking about, especially for the little princess?" Ana asks glancing over at Autumn who is now waiting with Sawyer.
She's standing on his toes trying to get him to dance with her.
"Nothing over the top, something nice for a dinner."
"Is anyone else coming?" She asks questionably.
"There may be a few other guests." I lie.
Just me and you, baby under the stars.
"Ok, and you really want me to be there while you entertaine? I'm just the -"
I put my fingers against her lips to stop her from talking.
"I want you there because you're very important to Autumn and to me."
"Oh," She quite for a minute, unsure of what to say. "I should go, so we can get back."
She steps away from me, slightly flustered.
Now to get the rest of everything arranged. Tonight, I will win the heart of one Anastasia Steele.
It's a little after four and I'm dressed in my best Armani suit. It's navy blue with a white shirt and matching tie.
I'm having Taylor drive the three of us to the marina, then Taylor will take Autumn to my parents.
I'm waiting in the foyer for the girls to come out. Autumn convinced Ana they needed the whole spa treatment. I made sure, I sent over lunch from them, a bottle of champagne for Ana, with a note that told her to relax and enjoy herself. And that I also look forward to spending time with her.
They just walked back in only an hour ago.
Autumn told me I wasn't allowed to see them till they were done. They need to look their best she said.
I have a bouquet of flowers for both of them. Ana told me once her favorite for lilies so I got her some of those. For Autumn I got her some pink tulips.
What seems like hours the girls finally come down the stairs.
Autumn is wearing a purple summer dress. She's holding Ana's hand who is wearing an emerald green cocktail dress, with a pair of beige Louboutin's that makes her legs look like they go on for miles.
I need to check my pulse to see if my heart's still beating, because I think I just might have just died.
"You ladies look beautiful." I hand them both a bouquet.
"Thank you." Ana looks at me, unsure of the gesture.
"Shall we?" I ask reaching down to take Autumn's hand. She gladly takes it. However, when I offer Ana my elbow for her to link threw she shakes her head, and just walks next to me to the elevator.
I can tell by the look in her eyes she doesn't trust me, she also seems really uneasy by all of this. Maybe I'm just confusing the poor girl.
"So, what kind of gathering is this?" She asks as I open the car door for the both of them.
Autumn hops in the middle seat in her booster.
"You'll see." I say happily, trying to make her at ease.
"Are you sure I should be joining you?" She questions again.
"Yes, Ana come on." Autumn shouts from in the vehicle.
She doesn't say anything else as she gets in the car.
Taylor drives us out to the Marina. We fall out of the car and walk over to 'The Grace.' Mac has done a great job with the lights. The boat is twinkling in the gray skies. Thankfully, there isn't any rain in the forecast.
"Where's everyone else?" Ana asks as we stand on board.
In the middle of the deck there's a table set for two. Music is softly playing. There's a waiter waiting for us to serve us.
"No one else is coming. It's just going to be us." I tell her.
"Us?" She squeaks. "What are you talking about?"
"Ana?" Autumn asks tugging on her arm.
"Daddy Grey really really likes you. He's your prince."
This cause Ana to nervously laugh, she looks over at me bewildered.
"I know you like him to. Please give him a chance then we can all live happily ever after."
"Autumn…"
"It's true, I really do like you Ana. I'm the one who made the mistake last week, when I pushed you away. I just want us to talk."
"Please?" Autumn gives her best pout with those giant puppy eyes.
Ana giggles at her. "Alright. We can talk."
"Yay" Autumn shouts and bounces into Ana's arms. She gives her a hug and puts her hand over her mouth to talk in Ana's ear.
"I want you to be my second mommy." Autumn whispers loudly. I notice Ana's eyes go wide.
Autumn hops down and runs off to Taylor. Ana is still standing there shocked.
"No coming back till you 'kissed de girl'" she sings like Sebastian does in the Little Mermaid. She takes Taylor's hand humming the song as she walks away.
I carefully approach Ana and stand in front of her.
"Shall we eat?" I ask her.
Ana is looking at me like I grew two heads. She shakes whatever thought she was having away.
"Yeah." I offer my hand and I'm thankful that she accepts it.
I pull out her chair and tuck her in once she sits.
The waiter pours the wine, then steps back to go bring us the food.
"What is this about, Christian?" She asks.
"You called me Christian." I gleam. I missed the way she said my name. Something so simple, makes my heart swell.
She rolls her eyes at me before taking a long sip of her wine. But I see her trying to compress her smile.
"Well? Why am I here?"
The waiter comes back and serves out food of sword fish and roasted potatoes. He goes down below to leave us till dessert.
"I really like you, Ana. This is me trying to apologize for what happened. Kissing you wasn't a mistake. I really enjoyed kissing you. I just got scared."
"Scared?"
"I've never really had a relationship before. I think my longest lasted a month. I always wanted something Ted and Summer had. Then I met you and well I really wanted something with you. But, I didn't think it would be right.
"I was worried that if we started something and it didn't last, that you would end up quitting which would end up hurting Autumn. She can't afford to lose another person in her life. She adores you, thinks you walk on water."
"I adore her too, and it would take a lot for me to quit, but I guess I understand. I guess I should have tried to talk to you sooner about this. But, I told myself just to go back and be professional. Pretend like it never happened. Kind of like that kiss that almost happened a month ago." She shakes her head, she picks up her fork and starts playing with her food. "I can't lie and say it didn't hurt when you pushed me away. I didn't know how to talk to you about it."
"I know and I'm sorry. This last week and half has been hell. I miss talking to you at night. I miss you calling me Christian, I miss your smile."
"Couldn't have missed me that much, I mean you were going to go on a date." She says softly.
"I didn't go. Listen like I told you that night, Elliot wanted to get laid, and the only way that was going to happen for him, was if he had a date for his friend." I sigh, "At first I thought it would be good to get my mind off of you. I figured at that point too, you hated me. However, I knew I couldn't ever get my mind off you. Especially, after you fell on top of me." I laugh, but stop when I see she's not. "Nothing would have happened with that girl. Please know that."
She nods her head. "I'm sorry if you think I hated you. I don't. I just didn't want to go past those boundaries anymore. So, what now?"
"Well, a little girl said I should woo you. That's kind of what today has been about. She also told me in so many words that I should tell you how I feel. I know I hurt you, your trust in me is probably shaken. But, I would do anything to get that back." I take a deep breath, for what I'm about to say next. "I've fallen in love with you, Ana."
She gasps at me, "What?"
I stand up and move over to her. I get down on my knee in front of her so I'm face to face with her. Her eyes are large and unsure.
"I'm in love with you, Ana. I think I have been since the moment I saw you. Autumn even sees it. She said that I looked at you like Prince Eric did Ariel." That causes Ana to slightly laugh and I see some of her guard come down. "She also said your eyes sparkle when I'm around. I want to be with you. I no longer what to fight the feelings I'm having. Thinking I needed to do, what I thought the right thing was, and forgo what I really want. So, will you give me a chance?"
"Well, I couldn't let a little girl down, could I?" she smiles at me.
"So, can I kiss de the girl now?"
She nods as I stand up. I take her hand and pull her on her feet. I put my hands through her hair before slamming my lips to hers.
I don't know how long we are standing there with our bodies entwined with each other. I never want this moment to end. Ana finally breaks away, maybe more in an attempt to catch our breaths, then to stop kissing.
"I'm going to love you Ana, and I'm going to do it right, for the rest of my days." I don't give her a chance to answer, when I kiss her again.
Dinner has been long forgotten as we cuddled up on the deck chairs just talking to each other and enjoy each other's presence. The waiter at one point came looking for us, I totally forgot about him. I tipped him well, and sent him on his way. I'll handle the mess later.
By ten, the night air got crisp, and I notice Ana shivering in my side. I give her my jacket to trying to keep her warm.
"Let's clean up some of this mess and get home. We can deal with the rest tomorrow. I do plan on taking you and Autumn out on the water tomorrow."
"That sounds nice."
"Is my wooing working?" I smirk.
"A little." She smiles and kisses my cheek.
When we arrive back home, we both go and change. We come back to the media room and turn the TV on. The mindless dribble plays in the background as we make out.
The morning sun is peering through the window and I feel warm, very warm. That's when I notice that Ana is cuddled on top of me on the couch. I open my eyes at look at her. She's sound asleep still, her brown hair fanning everywhere.
When I glance up further, I jump slightly when I see Autumn in standing there smiling.
"Hey, peanut. When did you get back?" I whisper, so not to wake Ana.
"Not long ago. Taylor and I couldn't find you. So, we looked on the cameras" She giggles. "Did you kiss her?" She asks hopefully.
I nod. Autumn's smile stretches so big across her face.
"You told her you loved her? And she loves you?"
"Yes, I told her."
I leave out that she hasn't told me yet. I'm not explaining that to a four-year-old.
Ana stirs next to me and wakes up slowly. She smiles up at me and then over at Autumn.
"Hey, Angel." She greets her, as she starts to sit up. "How was grandma and grandpa's?" Ana asks.
"It was fun. Grandpa let me dress him up and do his hair."
I sniffle a laugh, "Are there pictures?"
"I think Grandma took some. He looked so pretty."
"I bet he did." And I can't help but laugh, he teased me so much after seeing the picture of me in that purple feather hat.
I look at my watch and notice it's after ten now. "We should get ready for today." I tell them.
"We're going sailing. I'm going to look for mermaids." Autumn cheers.
"Alright, go find your bathing suit, can you do that?" I ask her.
"Yep. Ana got it out for me yesterday."
"Ok, go grab it, while Ana and I get ready. And ask Taylor where your fishing pole is."
"Ok, daddy." She runs off.
She forgot the Grey.
Ana and I both stand up and I gather her in my arms. "Good morning, by the way."
"Morning…" Ana says almost bashfully. "I can't believe we fall asleep on the couch."
"I do. We exhausted ourselves with all the kissing and fresh air." I wink at her.
"I guess we did."
"Come on, let's get ready. We have a long day ahead of us. I have a feeling we're going to get a hundred questions from the little one today."
"Christian?"
"Yeah?"
"What do you think she really meant about me being a second mommy yesterday?" She asks nervously.
"Just what she said. I told you, she loves you. I love you. Like any girl, she wants that fairy tale ending. So, I think she really hopes that we will be together forever. Be a family. I know that's what I want." I kiss her nose.
I hope my words don't scare her, but I mean them.
"Come let's go get ready." I grab her hand before she gets a chance to say anymore. I know it will take sometime, before she really feels that way too.
A/N: I think there's only 3 more chapters left. I hope his wooing did justices. I had a hard time with trying to figure what would be perfect.
I know I know… but it's all I got, and I think I got where I wanted to go. So, once I finish the last chapter I'll be posting the rest of it.. maybe next chapter Thrusday