I just want all of you AMAZING readers (who have given me the most AMAZING feedback! THANK YOU!) to know that I do not own anything, that the ages are a little jacked up because of the timeline I have started things at, and that I love you all for clicking the link that lead you to this crazy story. Thank all of you that reviewed and/or favorite-ed and/or followed my story.
Important-ish: Ok... Here's the chapter...
OH and time jump... Yay... And I know that the new guy is totally made up.
Chapter 47: Heartbeats
Max's heart leaped in his chest as he swiftly turned his head back to his girl.
"What?" He asked, not knowing if his ears were deceiving him.
"Marry me." Nicolette asked, her green eyes were wide and she bit her bottom lip after she repeated herself, worried about what Max's next words would be.
"Hell yes." Max grinned, as Nicolette chuckled.
"What about your father?" Max asked, worried about the one man that still held power over his beloved.
"He can go to hell if he doesn't approve, but I was thinking more along the lines of we drive to Vegas while the crew flies in, if we time it right we'll make it there at about the same time." Nicolette smiles, Max grins.
"I was hoping you'd say something like that." The two kiss again, and climb out of bed, after getting dressed Max pulled out his laptop and made a video call to Lee Anne- who had already gotten a text from him twenty minutes prior telling her to get the crew in the same place with her laptop.
Lee Anne accepted the video call the second she saw it.
And promptly shrieked at her best friend's just-fucked hair and grin.
Within moments they were filled in and Jonathan booked flights with Max and Mitchell's directions while the girls chatted away.
"Oh my god, I am so glad you came to your senses." Lee Anne grinned.
"Me too." Nicolette smiled at her newly pronounced fiancé. Max grinned and pressed another kiss to her lips. Causing two matching 'awws' and a 'seriously get a room' from the other side.
"We are in a room." Max chuckled.
"Can we just be happy for them! Nikki, my mom still has that beautiful white dress that she made you try on for kicks- you are still the same size. I'll bring it." Tara smiled.
"Oh! And Tara and I still have our matching too-dressy-for-Sunday dresses! We'll bring them too!" Lee Anne grinned.
"Max you have to have a Sunday suit in your closet! We'll have the boys pack those too. Ooooh I can't wait! I'll go pack now!" Tara squealed. After they signed off Max smiled at his girl.
"We need to be leaving in two hours. Do you need to run by your apartment?" Max asked.
"Yeah, I'll grab cash and clothes. Pick me up in an hour. I'll feed my dad some line about me just apologizing and you having moved on, he's probably at my place already. He'll leave though if I tell him I need to be alone." Nicolette nodded at Max who nodded in return and pressed a kiss to her lips.
"Drive safe."
"Always. I live in the old place, don't worry about coming up park in bay 6, it's the only one my dad doesn't own. Behind lots of cars. I'll come to you."
Nicolette raced out the door and into her Audi, before she drove off.
Twenty minutes later she arrived at the penthouse- her mom and dad already in the kitchen looking worried sick.
"NICOLETTE ANNE GREY WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" Christian shouted once he spotted her.
"Shelly, Terrance and Rockie lied to me. Max isn't who they said he was. I went to apologize, met his new girl..." Nicolette allowed fake tears to come into her eyes.
Dead puppies, that poor turtle that died on the side of the road last week, daddy.
"Oh Nikki, do you need anything?" Ana frowned, coming to her daughter and pulling her into a hug.
"No, I just want to be alone." Nicolette allowed herself to whimper. Ana nodded and dutifully grabbed her pissed and struggling husband before leaving.
"But- but she needs us." Christian fought.
"No, she needs to be alone. Let her cry alone."
"He's caused enough tears." Christian frowned, Nicolette watched half-amused as her father and mother waved as the elevator closed, her dad shouting ,
"Call if you need anything!" as the elevator closed. Nicolette shook her head, glad she took those acting classes, before racing to her bedroom and grabbing her duffle bag, stuffing her cutest bra and underwear sets, hottest bikini, her filled make-up bag, four outfits and two satin, see through, nightgowns, (one being blue and the other green). And a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of killer blue heels to go with her dress.
Nicolette zipped up her bag and noted the time, Max will already be in the parking garage. Nicolette eyed her cell that she came up with and hurried to the blind spot in the Great Room. She hit speed dial number 3, the security office.
"Miss Grey?" Clayton answered.
"Hey, I'm upstairs in the back office and I was trying to move the dresser- however it proved to be too heavy for me... but maybe it won't be for two strong guys like you and Waters." Nicolette grinned as she heard Clayton getting Waters' attention and movement. When she heard the third door open she knew it was her turn to move.
Nicolette raced to the security staircase and hurried down them. Years of soccer playing allowed her feet to move quicker than her mind as she made it to the bottom with no alarming sounds of Waters and Clayton at the top. Nicolette found the energy to walk quickly but not alarmingly so to bay 6, found Max's truck and made it out of the parking garage before she spotted her CPOs.
"You ditched your security people?" Max laughed.
"What did you expect me to be able to do? My dad thinks I'm in my room crying." Nicolette chuckled along, Nicolette turned and tossed her bag in the back of the truck's cab before the two smiled and kissed again.
"Ready to get married?"
"Hell yeah." The two rode in silence for the next hour as Nicolette sighed from exhaustion of going down seventy-eight flights of stairs with a duffle bag that weighs a ton.
Max was too busy being happy that this was happening to speak, constantly looking over at his girl to make sure it was real. The second hour went by and Nicolette was asleep while Max continued driving, when Nicolette awoke two hours later, for a bathroom break and gas up. Nicolette insisted on driving while Max slept.
And that's how it went.
Every four hours the two switched seats, declaring it their first decision as a married couple. Every couple of hours or so they'd stop for gas, bathroom breaks and refreshments, but other than the five, maybe ten minute breaks they soared down the freeway. In just sixteen and a half hours, one stop at the airport to grab their four best friends and three rooms rented at a $87 a night hotel, the teens separated. The girls taking one room while the guys went to the grocery store for some last minute, and oops-I-forgot items.
"You two are insane." Jonathan laughed shaking his head as he heard Max's retelling of how he and Nicolette got back together.
"You guys wouldn't have us any other way." Max smiled.
"It's true, if they did anything normal I'd have to think that something was wrong." Mitchell grinned.
"You two are getting married tomorrow?" Jonathan asked.
"Yep, Caesar's Place at noon tomorrow." Max answered.
"Noon?" Mitchell asked.
"Nicolette's parents know that we are in Vegas tomorrow morning at eight thirty, it is a three to four hour flight and a sixteen hour drive. At noon we will be married for sure and nobody can do anything about it, and they might make in time for the reception." Max smirked, the three friends laughed.
"Genius." Jonathan shook his head as he placed a twelve pack in the cart.
"We're gonna need it." Jonathan joked.
At check out the guys split it three ways and laughed as the check out lady attempted to flirt with Jonathan. By ten o'clock the girls were watching movies and eating popcorn, after checking that they all were coordinated and had make-up and hair planned. The guys drank beers and laughed at old memories from two rooms over.
By midnight Lee Anne and Nicolette were fast asleep in the far room, Tara and Mitchell were asleep in the middle room and Max and Jonathan were crashed in the other far room.
At eight thirty in the morning Lee Anne's alarm went off and the maid of honor sat straight up immediately.
Her best friend was getting married that day.
Oh my gosh, her best friend is getting married in- Lee Anne's head swiveled toward the alarm- three hours and thirty minutes from now... SHIT! Lee Anne jumped out of bed and whacked the bride with a pillow on her way to Tara's room.
Spotting her blonde-headed friend curled up in her boyfriend's grasp made Lee Anne pause for a moment, but as the maid of honor it was her job to have the wedding run smoothly. So the now purple headed girl leaned down to the blonde's ear and smirked for a moment.
"TARA IT'S WEDDING TIME!" Lee Anne shouted, Tara and Mitchell jumped screaming in surprise... Tara in her bra and pj shorts, and Mitchell in his shorts.
"C'mon, the bride is being a bitch to wake up." Lee Anne snorted as Tara and Mitchell tried to cover themselves. Tara gave up and hopped out of bed, Mitchell whacking her butt lightly on her way over to Lee Anne.
"Oh hell." Lee Anne laughed, both girls chuckled and made their way back into the far room, where Nicolette was still asleep.
...000...000...000
At eight thirty exactly Christian heard the email on his phone ping, indicating that he received an email. Christian huffed as he opened it, he really didn't have time for work. His daughter was missing. God, and there were no signs of foul play meaning that he couldn't report her missing. Christian frowned as a picture loaded on his screen.
When it appeared he felt his blood boil.
There, underneath the brightly lit Welcome to Las Vegas sign, was his daughter- kissing none other than Max Hartsville.
The white caption beneath them read,
A Vegas Wedding... Why not?
You're invited: noon on July 4, 2015
"Taylor! Ana!" Christian shouted. Ana was the first to appear in the door of his study, her confused face looking as adorable as ever, then Taylor's serious face materialized behind her.
"Yes, sir?" Taylor asked.
"Taylor have the jet prepared to go to Vegas within the hour. Ana, get packed. I'm calling my mother." Christian huffed.
"Why?" Ana asked, her blue eyes peaking with interest. Christian slid the email invite over to her. Ana's face brightened as she let out an airy chuckle.
"She knows what she wants." Ana grinned, knowing that Taylor was making himself scarce.
"She's a child! She doesn't know what she's doing." Christian ground out.
"She's twenty years old, Christian. What age would you categorize 'adult' as? Because believe it or not our daughter can think for herself." Ana snorted.
"She didn't even tell us Ana! She ran off! So obviously she doesn't know how to think appropriately!" Christian shot back.
"You want to know why she didn't tell us? Because you would react like this! She's afraid of disappointing you! But she's more afraid of losing Max! She's spent the last two years in this semi-depressed state. Only to find out that the girls she considered friends lied to her. She is madly, hopelessly in love with him. And he with her, who does that remind you of?" Ana questioned.
When Christian didn't answer Ana continued.
"Because he sure as hell reminds me of you." Ana bit out... then understanding dawned on her.
"That's why you hate him... he reminds you of yourself. Christian..."
"I... I can't let him hurt her like I've hurt you or other women." Ana
"Christian, you remember when I left you for the first time, right? Well, our 'little' girl has been away from that boy for two years- not to mention the months they've spent apart for one reason or another. You didn't hurt me when I came back to you... He isn't going to hurt her because she's come back to him. They love each other, just like we love each other." Ana explained, Christian shut his eyes and opened them slowly- trying to regain his control.
"I love you, Anastasia Grey." Christian whispered.
"I love you too, Christian Grey."
"We are still going out there, and I'm still going to be pissed about this." Christian ordered, Ana laughed at her husband, but dutifully went to their bedroom to pack their bags.
000...000...000
After a shower, a bath- with the greatest smelling bath bomb Nicolette had ever smelled-, her red hair was dried and pulled into a fancy headband braid, with the rest curled. Which hair and bathing only took up two hours of their time, and with only an hour and a half left Nicolette's make up was done, her green eyes were rimmed with black liner lightly, along with some mascara, her lips were glossed. While Lee Anne and Tara's hair matched, both were curled and left down, bangs were braided back and pinned. Tara and Lee Anne were the first to pull on their dresses, both a layered, off the left shoulder, dress that stopped just above the girls' knees and was the same purple color as Lee Anne's hair. The girls had already slid on their matching stiletto heels, and were helping Nicolette into her wedding dress.
Ok, so it wasn't a too-the-floor-best-daddy's-money-could-buy dress. In fact it was on loan from Tara's mom, who wished the couple bunches of luck.
The dress was white, and would have been a plain white, silk dress, that ended above the knees with a sweetheart neckline, if Tara's mom hadn't added the lace 'topper' which basically white lace covered the dress, arms and the chest all the way to Nicolette's throat, with the back cut out of each dress part, he lace stopped inches above where the dress ended. Tara's mom had also poofed out the dress at the waist making it a 'cupcake' shape.
On Nicolette the dress was beautiful.
Lee Anne helped Nicolette into her heels as Tara grabbed the room keys, cells, purses and checked to make sure that Mitchell was out front while Max and Jonathan were already at Caesar's Palace's shot-gun wedding church hall.
The girls climbed into the truck as best as they could in their dresses and heels without falling.
Mitchell kissed Nicolette's cheek, Tara's lips and Lee Anne's hand before driving off to the hall.
The girls were greeted by Jonathan, who took one look at Nicolette and the girls and grinned wider.
"If only Ol' man Johnson could see this." Jonathan joked.
"He'd kick my ass for not inviting him." Nicolette choked out. Jonathan kissed her forehead and smiled.
"Let's get you married..." Jonathan smiled, as they were about to enter the church hall a voice stopped them.
"Wait one minute." The now twenty or so year olds stopped and turned to spot the Greys... All of them from Carrick to little Phoebe.
"Hh-how... Whhatt?" Nicolette stuttered, Christian tensed but found his voice.
"Isn't the father supposed to walk the bride down the isle?"