I pull a chair out and Hannah sits down, placing her breakfast in front of her I go to kiss her ear but she freezes.

'What's the matter?' I ask concerned.

'Nothing' she replies sulkily.

'Hannah have I done something to upset you?' she starts to eat, not saying anything, just looking at me warily, tears forming in her eyes. 'Tell me, we can't sort out whatever it is unless I know.'

I pace up and down in front of her, racking my brains as to what I could have done. 'Jeez Hannah just tell me, you're always the strong one, direct and vocal. I don't like it when you go silent on me.' I say almost angrily. I stop opposite; look at her, leaning on my hands that I've placed on the table. More gently now I say 'Is it something I have done to you?'

'Yes.' She whispers. My heart sinks. I pull out a chair and sit down. I watch her as she slowly finishes the omelette I have made her. As she places her knife and fork on the plate she looks at me, a single tear escapes and rolls down her cheek.

I take her hands in mine. 'Let's go outside, mom will be in here soon to finish getting everything ready. We can talk out there.' I let go of her hands and move round the table to take one again as I lead her through the door into the back yard. There's a hive of activity as people move around clearing up after last night. We walk unnoticed towards the shore in silence. Standing facing her I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, then trail my hand gently to her chin, tipping it up so that she's looking at me. I want to kiss her desperately, but am fearful she will turn away.

'Please Hannah; tell me what I have done to upset you.'

She lets go of my hand and then pulls down her vest top slightly so I can see the top of her breasts.

'You don't like the marks.' I whisper and she shakes her head. I take her in my arms and hug her tightly. 'I'm sorry baby; I didn't think you would mind.' To be honest I almost sag with relief. We walk to the jetty and sit on the edge over the water. I put my arm round her and she rests her head on my shoulder.

'Hannah I am really sorry, I won't do it again. I honestly thought you would be ok with them.'

'Why?'

'Because you have left your mark a few times on my shoulder, even Christian saw them. At least yours are hidden; I can't take my t-shirt off in front of my parents.'

'Sorry, it felt good when I did it to you, and I liked seeing them on your shoulder. It was like I was marking you to warn others you were taken, but when I saw them on me I was horrified.'

'Hey.' I say, touching her cheek. 'I don't mind them on me. In fact I quite like them on you. It shows you are mine. But I won't do it again if you don't like it. No more marks.'

'OK, no more marks.' She replies and smiles. I kiss her, she returns it with passion and I am soon lost in her.

I pull away. 'Are we OK?' I ask, she nods and smiles. 'Good because mom and dad are on their way down to the boathouse. Do you need to go back to the house for anything?'

'No, but I'll just quickly call my mom to let her know what I'm doing today'

'OK, I'll leave you to do that whilst I grab a couple of things.'

I make my way up to the house to get my phone, camera, sunglasses and a couple of baseball caps. Heading back outside I see Evans and James. I tell them that we are about to leave on the boat, Taylor had already informed them of my plans and they are to wait at the house until we return. I think it's a little over the top but I can't say anything as I don't want to get in Christian's bad books before I see him tomorrow. On my way to the boathouse I text Elliot. I'm missing my oldest brother but he should be home soon. 'Hey, hope you have some time for sunbathing so you get a tan!' he replies instantly 'Don't be cheeky little bro! The control freak informs me you have a girlfriend :) ' I grin, nothing stays a secret in this family. 'Yes, it's Hannah' I click send and again he replies 'Your partner in crime! Way to go, am happy for you! Laters E' I smile, no doubt I'll be in for some teasing on his return.

Dad has already got the boat out and is waiting for me at the end of the jetty. Mom and Hannah are settled on the deck. It's an absolutely beautiful day, a perfect one for sailing as we set off. I can hear mom and Hannah's idle chatter in the back ground as dad steers the boat out onto Lake Washington.

'Did you enjoy the ball last night?' dad asks.

'Some parts more than others. Dinner was difficult, I missed sitting next to mom.' I reply.

'I know, she was angry though, her little boy is now a grown up, she's finding it difficult to let go.'

'But she seemed fine about me going out with Hannah, even letting her stay over in my room. Elliot never had any of his girlfriends over and I can't see her letting Mia have boys in her room so why is she treating me differently.' I ask.

'Elliot had a different girl every week and it wouldn't have set a good example to the rest of you, Christian was having a difficult time, and you and Mia were so young. Mia is a girl, your mom probably thinks if she doesn't approve it won't happen and Mia is far from settled with anyone, last night was a prime example, Sean was her date during dinner, she didn't dance with the same man twice and then at the end of the night was kissing someone else. But you and Hannah just seem so relaxed and happy together, it's like you've always been a couple and I think mom would rather have the pair of you here where she can keep an eye out for you than elsewhere.'

'I am happy dad; it feels like we've been together so much longer than a week.'

'Good, if you're happy then we're happy.'

'Last week when we talked about my future and I wanted to do business law and economics to be like you and Christian, then I wanted to build houses to be like Elliot, you said you wanted me to do what I wanted and not what was expected of me. It made me think about what I really wanted to do. I know I have all the businesses but as you said they can look after themselves with the people that are in charge at the moment.' Dad looks at me wondering where I'm going with this conversation. 'Well I've decided I want to go to university after I finish school next year and do mechanical engineering.'

'Wow, that's totally unexpected but I'm really happy that you are taking control of your own future and not doing what anyone in the family wants you to do.'

'I still want to work for Christian though, and I will of course take an interest in my company but this is something I really want to do. When I was telling Hannah earlier she said that she's never seen me be so passionate when I talked about anything to do with work before and she's right. I was looking for us to go to university together, we thought about Yale, me to do law and her art. She said she would go wherever I wanted but I knew that she's wanted to go to Pullman for a while so I looked to see what they had to offer and it just came to me that this was what I'd been looking for. Knowing that she would be happy to move to the other side of the country for me made the decision easy that I could go to Pullman with her. It also means that I won't be far from you and mom, which had been a factor into whether I would go away or not.'

'I'm delighted and proud with the way you're making these decisions. Your mom will be pleased to. She worried you would just work for Christian as an easy option because he would protect you but if you go away then you can become your own man before returning to work for him. She'll also be delighted that you're not going too far and that's it a drive away rather than a plane ride away. Here, you take control whilst I go and get the ladies a drink and check they are ok.'

He leaves me with my thoughts, I'm happy that he's pleased. Everything seems to be falling into place. I pick up my camera, Hannah looks so happy, relaxed, smiling as she chats with mom. I click away; she looks so beautiful through my viewfinder. I'm totally in love.

I watch as dad takes mom and Hannah some drinks, dad kisses mom on the cheek and she smiles. He sits next to her and she leans into him. They are totally in love after all these years and I hope I feel like that when I get to their age. Dad says something to Hannah and she giggles, whilst mom swats his arm. It's great to see that they have accepted her as my girlfriend so quickly and she is comfortable with them. She must feel me watching as she glances up and smiles shyly. I grin back at her so she excuses herself from mom and dad's company and she comes over to me.

I pull her in front of me so that she's stood between my legs, her back to my front. I kiss her neck and can feel her smile; she's relaxed as well now.

'Thank you for bringing me here to do this today. It's so perfect and it's good to spend time with your mom and dad' she says.

'You're welcome baby. I truly am sorry about leaving those marks on you. You must say if I do anything you don't like. I don't want to hurt you.' I say and kiss her neck once more.

'Everything else was ok, in fact more than ok. I liked being tied up.' She turns and grins at me, blushing slightly.

'Hmmm, I'll have to see if I can come up with any more ideas.' I say trying to look serious but instead smirking back at her.

Dad returns to steer the boat, he's going to drop the anchor soon. I go and get a drink and leave Hannah with dad, when I return dad is pointing out the different landmarks to her so I go and sit with mom.

'You look so happy darling.' Mom says.

'I am mom, I don't remember feeling this good in a long time. Everything just seems to be falling into place. Did dad tell you about me going to university next year?'

'Yes he did, and I'm so glad you've chosen something for yourself rather than you doing something that you think would please us, like the law for dad, economics for Christian and construction for Elliot. You are totally different to them all and you have to do things for you. Dad and I are very proud of what you're doing and you've changed so much in the last week or so, in a good way.'

'Thanks mom. Do you think we could look through some of the photo albums this week? When dad and Christian were talking about different things like houses and vacations it was upsetting that I couldn't remember anything about that time. I think I might have just totally blocked it from my memory.'

'You probably have but I'll look out the albums and you can either look on your own or I'll sit with you and go through them, whichever you'd find easier.'

'I love you mom, I'm so sorry I made you angry yesterday.'

'It's over now and in the past, I'm pleased that you felt you could come to me for help and if you need help again then I'll be there from you. You have to make mistakes and learn from them. Come on, let's go and get the picnic out.'

The four of us eat, it's relaxed. I seem to be the main target for teasing as they remember some of the antics that I got up to at school, mom and dad reliving the countless times they had to sit in the principal's office as if they were the ones in trouble. Hannah filling in the parts that they didn't know about. I take lots of photos, mom and dad together, on their own and lots of Hannah. Dad takes the camera off me at one point and takes some of me and Hannah together.

When we've finished the food mom starts to clear up and tells the pair of us to have some alone time on the deck, dad will sit and read the paper here and once she's finished putting things away she'll read a magazine. I pull Hannah up by the hand and we go and lie next to each other in the sun on the deck.

'You're so close to your mom and dad aren't you? It's lovely that we spend time with them and they seem so welcoming to me being with you.'

'Yes I am, I love spending time with them, do you mind that we came with them today?'

'No, it's been great. It's like I have a new family within such a short time. I mean I love my parents but dad is away with work most of the time and mom is busy with her business or she's babysitting my nephews and nieces, my three brothers have eight kids between them and she's running round after them that sometimes I feel like I'm forgotten about as I just tend to get on with it. It's so good to sit with your mom and chat and even Mia when she's around.'

'I'm glad that you like being part of my family. You've just slotted right in as if you've always belonged. Today has been so good, really relaxing and when we have dinner at home it's like it's always happened. I thought I might feel awkward being with you around my parents but it feels natural that we're together and I can still hold your hand and give you a quick kiss in front of them. I like being alone with you as well though.' I say with a grin on my face.

'So do I, and we seem to have got the balance right.'

'Hmmm.' I say and lean over her for a kiss. 'I love you'

Hannah deepens the kiss before replying 'I love you too.'

I sit up and pull Hannah to sit between my legs, I kiss the top of her head and then we sit in companionable silence looking at the view. This is how mom finds us.

'You two look so comfortable together, totally relaxed and happy.' She says. 'I'm sorry to interrupt you though, but dad's just pulling up the anchor, we're going to start sailing back towards home.'

'I'll go and help him mom, you sit here on the deck and relax with Hannah.' I give Hannah a quick kiss on the cheek and leave them to chat as I help dad.

As we arrive home I help mom and Hannah onto the jetty with all the gear and bags and then jump back on board to help dad put the boat back in the boathouse. We meander slowly back up towards the house. Hannah and I are slightly behind mom and dad.

'Shall I take you home now? I've got some work I need to do before tomorrow.'

'Sure, that would be good. I'm working all this week as well so have a few things to do. I've also got gym classes the next couple of evenings so am not free until Wednesday. Can we meet then?' she asks.

'Of course. Whilst you're at gym it will give me some time to swim and exercise, shall I collect you about 7pm on Wednesday.'

'Yes, that will be good.'

We leave all the bags on the kitchen table; I tell mom that I'm going to drop Hannah home. Mom and dad see us to the front door.

As mom kisses Hannah on the cheek, Hannah says 'Thank you so much for having me, letting me stay and taking me out today, it has been wonderful, and thank you also for helping me and Matt.'

'No problem.' Mom says 'it's been a pleasure having you and you're welcome anytime.'

Dad then hugs Hannah and says 'Goodbye, come again soon its lovely having you here.'

'Thank you' Hannah says and we go to leave.

I open Hannah's door and she gets in, I don't have time to whisper in her ear as I'm looking round to see if Evans or James are around. I can see their SUV but not them. Before I get in the car I call Taylor, I don't want to disturb Christian. He answers straight away.

'Matthew is there a problem?'

'Hi Taylor, I'm just about to take Hannah home but there's no sign of my security although the SUV is on the drive. Where do they go when they're here and should I have their number so I can call them?'

'I'll call them now and will send you the details.'

'Thank you Taylor.'

'No problem, I'm glad that you phoned me.'

I click off and wait. Two minutes later both men appear from the other side of the garage. They nod in acknowledgement and climb into the SUV so I get in my car.

'Sorry about that baby, I just had to check something with Taylor'

'Christian's bodyguard?'

'Yes, for some reason they want to know my every move at the moment so I had to tell him I was taking you home.'

I check in my mirrors and the SUV is not too far behind.

'Will your brother always want to know where you're going and what you're doing?'

'Why?' I ask, stalling for time.

'It just seems strange that's all that he needs to know exactly what you're up to.'

'Well I know the reason why he's doing it at the moment, something happened ten days ago whilst I was at his apartment and he's concerned about my safety.'

She whips her head round to look at me. 'Were you hurt?'

'No, I'll tell you a bit more but first you must promise not to tell anyone else.'

'I promise.'

'Christian was away, Mrs Jones the housekeeper had just made my breakfast. We heard a noise and someone had broken into the apartment. It was a woman and she tried to open up a vein with a knife, she was taken to hospital but discharged herself. The last few days I felt like I was being watched and thought I saw her. I mentioned it to Christian and now he wants to know exactly where I am until he can locate this woman, he's got people out looking for her.'

'Blimey Matt, no wonder he's worried about you. I thought he was just being over protective of you as usual and taking it too far. Thanks for telling me, I understand his concern now'

'That's ok, hopefully she'll be found soon and then Christian can relax again and I won't have to tell him what I'm up to.' I seem to have got away with telling her a little bit of information to keep her quiet, hopefully she won't realise that we're being followed everywhere. I signal to turn into her drive and the SUV carries straight on, I presume they will turn round further up the road and then wait.

I open Hannah's car door for her and then take her in my arms to kiss her goodbye. Retrieving her bags from the trunk I then walk her to the front door. As I go to kiss her goodbye the door opens, Hannah's dad is just leaving to drive to the airport as he has a flight to catch for work. He bids us farewell and kisses Hannah's cheek. Her mom comes to say goodbye to him as well so I don't get my usual prolonged kiss.

'I'll call you tomorrow. Have a good day at work. I'll miss you.' I say

'I'll miss you as well, see you soon Matt.'

I climb into my car and wait for Hannah's dad to exit the drive first. As he pulls away I notice the SUV start to follow him, can they not tell the difference between my car and his, I mean they're both silver but the number plates are different and they're a slightly different shape. Should I call Taylor again or just go, it will take me less than ten minutes to get home. I call.

'Taylor, I'm sorry to trouble you again. I have a problem this time.' I explain to him what has happened with the security. He is furious with them but tries to stay calm for my benefit.

'Matthew, how long will it take you to drive home?'

'Eight minutes.' I reply

'OK, I want you to drive straight there but keep talking to me the whole way, I'm going to be tracking you as well but I want to know everything, roads that you're passing, cars that are in front of you and behind and the license plate numbers if you can read them as well. Keep talking the whole way.'

'OK, I'm setting off now.' I keep the dialogue going; Taylor is quiet for most of it only interrupting occasionally to confirm a car color or the next landmark I can see. 'I'm pulling into the drive now.'

'OK, park the car and then take the phone off the cradle, keep talking to me. I want to know that you are through the front door and safely in the house.'

I do as he tells me. 'OK Taylor, I'm inside now, the front door is shut and dad is in the hallway with me.'

'Thank you Matthew. Can you hand the phone to your Mr Grey? I'll just have a quick word with him.'

I hand the phone to dad, telling him it's Taylor. He takes it into the study and I go to the kitchen to find mom. She's making dinner so I start to help her. Dad appears five minutes later and hands me my phone back.

'What time do you need to be at work tomorrow?' he asks me.

'About eight.' I reply puzzled.

'That's good; I'll drop you off on my way to the office.' He says. I don't argue as I'm sure he's just following Taylor's instructions.

After dinner I clear away everything whilst mom and dad go and relax. I'm supposed to do some work ready for tomorrow but am so exhausted after the busy weekend. I grab my camera and head upstairs. I look through the photos that I have taken today. I smile as either mom or dad have taken a few of Hannah and I when she was sat between my legs on the deck. I turn the camera off and collapse on the bed with just enough energy to pull the duvet across me and then I'm asleep and dreaming.