Chapter 23: Let's Get Married (Christian's POV)

Tuesday, December 6 , 2016

A week later, Ana and I were sitting in our living room after dinner, just talking and enjoying the lights from the fireplace and Christmas tree that Ana had already decorated. This was my favorite time of day, when we could relax and talk without the pressures from the office. Without fail, we always ended up making out before moving to our bedroom and taking further. Thankfully, I was out of that damn arm sling, although now I had physical therapy sessions that I had to add to my already increasingly busy schedule. Between that and my ongoing mental health therapy sessions, it's a wonder I got any work done. And even though one of those mental health therapy sessions was with Ana, and we still worked together for now, I still didn't get as much time with her as I wanted. I never would get enough of my Ana and the vanilla that we shared. The way we connected was mind-blowing every time.

This was the first year I'd ever had a Christmas tree in my penthouse at all, and it was the first artificial tree I'd ever had in my life. My family had always gotten a real tree about a week before Christmas. But Ana preferred to put up an artificial tree just after Thanksgiving. She said we were already a week later than normal for her, and I didn't have any qualms with her ordering whatever she wanted to her heart's content. I didn't really care when or if we put up the tree, as long as she was happy. I had to admit, though, that I did like the way the room felt now, with the fireplace and Christmas lights. With Ana in my arms, this was home.

As we sat there listening to soft Christmas music, I finally worked up the nerve to ask her what she wanted to do for Christmas. I wanted to suggest eloping, but I knew she wouldn't go for it. I had already ordered a car for her, but that was going to be a big Christmas surprise. I'd considered going ahead with a purchase of a house in Hawaii and giving her that for Christmas, but I'd decided that she'd want to help pick it out. But right now, I wanted to know where she wanted to spend the holiday.

"What are our choices?" she asked. "I just assumed we'd stay in Seattle and spend it with your family, and Dad."

I responded, "Well, that's certainly an option, but so is taking a trip to Hawaii. I've been wanting to buy us a vacation house there but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Or, if you'd prefer a white Christmas, we could go to Aspen. I have a cabin there. We could go skiing. Do you like to ski?"

"I've never been, so I don't know," she replied. "But I'd like to learn. And yeah, a white Christmas would be nice. I'd love to go to Hawaii sometime, but not really for Christmas. I like the sound of Aspen, but I'd rather spend the holiday with Dad and your family."

"We'll invite them, of course. They'll all want to come, I'm sure. We've spent Christmas there in years past, and they loved it."

Ana looked confused. "But if it's just a small cabin, will we all…?" She stopped and her expression morphed from confused to understanding. "Wait, never mind. Stupid question. Sometimes I forget who you are. It wouldn't be a small cabin, of course. How many bedrooms does it have, twenty?" She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

I smirked and answered, "Not quite. Fourteen. There are fifteen and a half bathrooms. It has an indoor heated swimming pool, too."

"Oh, the lifestyles of the rich and famous," she quipped.

"I'm not famous," I argued.

She snorted. "You were on the cover of Forbes. You're famous. But yeah, your cabin in Aspen sounds nice. I know Dad will like that idea, but are you sure all your family will want to go?"

"Yeah, I think they've been wanting us to do it again, but I haven't stopped working long enough in the past couple of years. Elliot asks me every year, and he's already asked me again, just last week. It'll be good for Mia to get away from Seattle. We can give all our security the holiday off and rely on temporary staff in Colorado, which we've done before. I already have a house manager and cook who live on the premises."

"In one of the fourteen bedrooms?" Ana asked innocently.

I smirked. "No, smartass. They have their own apartment."

"Can we invite Kate and Sebastian?" she asked.

Well, I didn't see why not. We'd spent a couple more evenings with Ana's friend Kate in the past week, besides the night we'd moved her into Escala. I still wasn't particularly fond of her, but I could tolerate her now. I might even say that she was growing on me.

One thing was for certain, Kate was going to come out of the fiasco with her father as the victor. My dad had filed the gag order on Wednesday, the same day he'd filed the libel suit for Kate. Meanwhile, I put Welch and Barney to work investigating Eamon Kavanagh… and it had taken them no time at all to uncover more skeletons in his closet that I could ever have imagined. Apparently, Kate had couple more siblings out there that she wasn't even aware of… yet. I mean, other than that prick Ethan, who was in the process of opening a night club that seemed doomed to fail before it even started. And other than his secret spawn, Eamon had also been frequenting certain shady establishments, and I had photographic evidence that I was just waiting to get released at just the right time. Ana's friend was going to be vindicated, and Eamon Kavanagh's true colors were going to be revealed.

I was also in the process of researching Kavanagh Media, but I hadn't decided yet whether I wanted to acquire it or simply put Eamon out of business. There were too many unanswered questions to make that determination just yet, but either option was a very real possibility. Did I want a Grey Media, though? Not really. That wasn't my thing, at all. I would only be doing it for spite, and did I really care that much? No, I was leaning more towards just putting him out of business altogether.

And then, there was Sebastian. He didn't talk about his personal life at work, which I appreciated, but I knew from Ana that his date with Kate had gone well. In fact, Ana believed that the two of them were already head over heels in love and that it was just a matter of time before they moved in together, living as close as they already did. There would certainly be no issues with them sharing a room in Aspen, if they came. I wasn't keen on the idea of spending the holiday with an employee, my new CFO. I liked to keep work at work, and my personal life separate. No shitting where I eat. But Ana had blown that old habit of mine right out of the water, so what difference did it make now? Professionally, I liked Sebastian. He was doing a fantastic job cleaning up Hyde's clusterfuck. Our books were beginning to make sense again, which greatly relieved both Ros and myself. But spending Christmas with him? Becoming friends with him? Well… why the hell not?

"Yeah, that's fine, but won't he be going to Berkley to spend the holiday with his mother?" I reminded Ana.

"No," she replied, "he said his mom doesn't celebrate Christmas. He said as long as he's there for the New Year, she'll be happy. He and Kate are planning a quiet Christmas, just the two of them, here in Seattle. Kate's not welcome at her parents' house, not that she'd want to spend it with them anyway. I know she and Sebastian will both be available to go to Aspen, at least for a few days, before they go to California. Sebastian is planning to introduce his mom to Kate, and Kate's already nervous about that meeting. Can't say as I blame her. Sebastian's mother seems… intimidating. Sebastian says she's very controlling, but he's learned how to manage her over the years."

"So they both have controlling parents," I observed.

"That was one of the things they bonded over early on, before they even knew they'd ever meet in person," Ana revealed. "The difference is that Sebastian's mother actually seems to care about him."

"Is there anybody else you want to invite?" I asked. "So far, there's us, my parents, my grandparents, your dad, Elliot, Mia, Kate, Sebastian… That's just seven bedrooms, and we have twice that many."

"Will we need any of those rooms for our security?"

"Nah, there's another house where they sleep if they aren't on duty," I told her.

After a brief pause, she suggested, "Ooh, you should invite Holly. Did you see the way Elliot looked at her when he was there last Friday? I think he was drooling."

I smiled. This was a story I hadn't told Ana yet, and she was going to love it. "Yeah, he likes her. And, get this. They met online, too, just like Kate and Sebastian. But with Elliot, it was only a few nights before he walked into Grey House, and there she was. He said that he creeped her out at first, before he explained who he was. She's talking to him again now, but they haven't had a date yet. And no, I'm not inviting her. I don't want to turn our family Christmas into an office party. We can have an office party, though, and invite Elliot to that."

"So they met on E-harmony, and then recognized each other in the office. That's eerily similar to Kate and Sebastian," she noted.

"It is, indeed. But Elliot seems really interested in her," I agreed. "And you like her, so she must be a good person."

Ana smirked. "I do like her, and thanks for your vote of confidence. But I thought Elliot was interested in Kendra."

"Kendra's not interested in Elliot," I responded. "She's focused on her job, as well she should be. I'm glad she's not letting him distract her. Besides, I think he agrees that the age difference is too much. He wants children, and she doesn't strike me as someone who wants children at this stage in her life."

Ana looked pensive but didn't respond. Instead, she changed the subject. "You mentioned having an office party," she recalled. "I like that idea. Do you want me to plan that for you?"

"I'd love for you to plan that for me," I agreed. "Just our floor, though. I don't want a huge shindig. I'm giving bigger bonuses this year than ever, and that's enough."

Ana smirked at me but she didn't say what she was thinking.

"What, you don't think the bonuses are enough?" I asked defensively.

She sighed. "Christian… yes, I have no doubt that your employees will appreciate your generosity this Christmas. But… have you ever thought about the lives of your entry level people, especially at this time of year? Have you considered how they're able to make ends meet, much less buy their kids nice things for Christmas? Do you even know what you pay them?" She was speaking very gently, so as not to offend me. Anyone else would have offended me with those words, regardless of their tone, but not Ana.

Of course, I knew what I paid them. "The starting salary is well above the state minimum wage, which is under $15. I don't pay anyone less than $17 an hour."

"Can you imagine living on $17 an hour?" Ana asked me sympathetically.

"No," I answered unapologetically. "That's why I don't work in an entry level position. That's why I'm the CEO."

She nodded. "I love you, and I think you're brilliant. I wanted to learn from you long before I fell in love with you, because you're the most brilliant business leader in the country. But I think that with your genius and also your concern for people living in areas of the world that suffer from famine…" She trailed off with a sigh.

"What, Ana?" I asked her. "Go ahead and finish what you're saying." I really wanted to hear it, even though I knew I wasn't going to like it.

She shrugged. "I'm not sure you and I will ever agree on issues related to pay equity. I just think you could afford to bring home less while your workers brought home more. Do you really need all those billions, Christian?"

Well, I certainly thought I did when I started making them. But now…? I only wished all those assholes out there who thought my girl was a gold digger could hear her now. If they only knew just how generous and compassionate she was. Should I give myself a salary cut? If I brought home even one million less annually, how far would that million go among all the people under me?

I would never need more than I already had. I could work for free for the rest of my life and never go without anything I wanted. Of course, I wouldn't do that. I worked hard, and I deserved a healthy salary. But could I afford to cut it in half? Well, that was extreme. Maybe decrease it by 10%? Yeah, that would still be plenty, and it would make Ana happy. And my employees, too.

"I'll think about it, OK?" I told her after a pregnant silence.

"What?" she asked confusedly. "You'll think about what?"

"Taking a pay cut so GEH can… redistribute the wealth," I explained.

Her eyes popped. "Really? Just like that? Christian… I didn't think you would even consider the idea. I just thought it was worth a shot."

I smiled. "No, not just like that, Ana. I said I'd think about it. I didn't agree to anything. But yeah, you have a good point. And I can't tell you how happy I am that I know you're not with me just for my money. That's obvious if you want me to give it away. I'm not going to give it away, by the way. I'll make for damn sure that we'll always have plenty. If we have kids someday, they'll always have plenty, too. But… I'll consider bringing home less in the future."

"Wow, Christian," Ana whispered. "You've shocked me. I never thought I'd ever hear you talk like that."

I admitted, "There was a time when it was my goal to be the richest man alive, but… I realized a few months ago that none of that made me happy. You make me happy, Ana, and if you think we can live on less, I'm OK with… considering that idea. We'll never be poor, though, I promise you that."

"Well, that's OK with me, too," Ana agreed. She gazed at our Christmas tree as she added, "I have to admit, it was nice to be able to buy all of those Christmas tree decorations without any concerns about the budget. And we don't need to save money for our wedding, either. We can just do it. It's nice to have money. I just think more than a billion dollars is… excessive."

Holy shit, was she really talking about our wedding? Did I dare hope that I could ask her… soon?

"You want to…?" I paused, nervously trying to decide the best way to ask her. "Do you think…? What kind of wedding do you… think about having?"

She didn't hesitate. "Yes, I want to. I think we should get married soon, Christian. I know you'll be surprised to hear me say that, after the way I've made you wait for me, but I'm serious. Let's get married soon. I love you, and I want to marry you. I just want a small intimate ceremony, with just our family and close friends attending. Hell, if we're going to Aspen for Christmas, we could do it then."

My eyes popped. "You want to get married this Christmas? In… three weeks?"

"Shit, is that too soon? Of course it's too soon. Don't mind me… I'm just having a moment."

"No, it's not too soon, babe!" I objected. "Not at all. I love you, Ana, and tonight wouldn't be too soon for me to make you my wife! I just… thought you'd want to wait longer. You're never impulsive, and that seems really impulsive. But I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I've known that since that night that you saved my life. Even before that. I've known that for ages now. I don't want to wait longer, but I was trying to respect your wishes. I mean… what I thought were your wishes. The entire time you were in Sweden, you refused to even consider being my girlfriend, and that was only a few weeks ago. We've only been dating a couple of weeks. But yes, I know I want you as my wife. Only you ever, Ana."

She nodded. "I know what Dad said to you at Thanksgiving. He told me. He also encouraged me to take a leap of faith, which I feel like I already did when I agreed to move in with you. Now that we've come this far... I know I want to be married. To you. I knew it when I made the leap of faith. I was agreeing to more than just moving in with you. I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, too. Yes, it does seem impulsive, but it doesn't feel that way to me. This thing between us has been growing for months, and we both know it. The bond that we share is beyond anything... You're the one for me, Christian. It's obvious. I know most people think they need to live together for years before they marry, but I don't think like that. We can keep getting to know each other after we're married. I'm not going to change my mind about you. I want to have your children someday, and I want us to be married a few years first."

"I want that, too, sweetheart, so, so much!" I told her. I could hardly believe my ears! She wanted to get married... now!

She told me, "Well, the way I see it, like I said, I know my feelings for you aren't going to change. You're the one for me, Christian, the only one, ever. I am certain about that. And I know I want a future with you. So why wait for something we know we want? And also… I'd really like Dad to be able to walk me down the aisle, and… well, we know that the longer he's on the ALS medication, the greater his risk for a massive heart attack. We don't know if we have tomorrow with him."

I smiled like the cat who ate the canary. My Ana wanted to marry me. Hell, she was the one who brought it up! Oh, I'd still propose to her, and do it right, but we wouldn't have a long engagement. We were going to get married soon!

"Carpe diem, Ana! Let's get married!" I told her happily.

She smiled back at me, and it was the happiest moment of my life. "Carpe diem, Christian! Let's get married!" she repeated.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

"OK, I've just emailed you everything I have for Dubai," Ana told me as she walked into my office. "Singapore is in the works, and I think I can have that report to you by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. I've ordered turkey subs for lunch, and they should be here in about ten minutes. I also confirmed three appointments for next week, which are on your calendar. You also have a cancellation for Friday this week. Andrew Barthman's wife went into labor, so he's busy having a baby. So… that brings me to the wedding planner. I found one for us in Aspen, believe it or not. I told her we don't need invitations or a venue, so that makes her job a lot easier. We're going to make this a surprise wedding for everyone else, so that's why we won't need invitations. It's going to be Christmas Eve, and we'll tell them we're having a fancy Christmas dinner so they should dress up for it. Everyone we would want to invite will already be there. And the venue is your cabin. I haven't seen it, though, so I'm just going out on a limb that it will be suitable. If it's large enough to have fourteen bedrooms, then I guess there's a nice large living room where we can build an alter, or at least a floral arch…"

"Ana, breathe," I interrupted her. "It's going to be OK, sweetheart. Calm down."

"What was I thinking, Christian? It's only two and a half weeks away! I need a dress! And people normally order their wedding cake months in advance, and it's Christmas Eve! Who's going to make us a wedding cake at this late date?"

"Ana, Ana… money talks, babe. They'll happily make it if we pay them enough. I'm sure your wedding planner will figure it out."

"Do you think Mia would really do it?" she asked worriedly. "She did mention that she wanted to."

"We'd have to let her in on the secret, and she's never been all that good at keeping secrets," I responded. "We could keep her as an option, if we can't find a bakery in Aspen. We want it to be good cake, too, not just whatever is available. I'd prefer two tiers, and one of them should be chocolate."

"I like red velvet cake at Christmas," Ana said. "Could we do that instead of chocolate? Red velvet is just chocolate cake with red food coloring. It's best with cream cheese frosting."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's OK."

"But I want the top layer to be white cake. A wedding cake should be white, just like my dress. Oh, and are you OK with not having a maid of honor or best man? I mean, with not having them wear special matching dresses and stuff? If we just let them wear whatever they would normally wear for a fancy Christmas Eve banquet, won't that be OK?"

"Perfectly OK," I agreed.

"Kate's going to be mad that I didn't plan a wedding with her and let her choose a maid of honor dress," she commented worriedly.

"Fuck Kate," I muttered.

"Don't start that again," she warned me. "You seem to be getting along OK with her.

"She's not as annoying as I remember her being," I agreed.

"OK, what about rings?" Ana asked, jumping right to the next thing on her seemingly endless mental list. She clearly didn't have time to banter with me about Kate.

"I've already ordered yours," I admitted. "And when we go to pick it up, you can pick out mine. Or we can pick it out together."

"When did you order my ring?" she asked curiously.

I smirked as I admitted, "Two days before you returned from Sweden. I sure didn't expect to need it before it was finished. But I've been assured that it will be ready to pick up next week."

She tried hard not to smile at me, but she couldn't hold it back. "You weren't going to give up, were you?" she commented.

"Never," I agreed.

"Next week is too late for me to order your ring. I don't want to just choose something off the shelf. It's your wedding ring, Christian. It has to be… special. You're going to wear it for the rest of your life. You have to like it."

That made me happier than a pig in shit. I was going to wear her ring for the rest of my life. There wasn't anything that could possibly make me happier than that. "Yes, I am, and I'm sure anything you choose will be perfect. But if it makes you feel better, we can go by the jewelry store today after work." Anything to make my Ana happy.

She nodded. "Yeah, good. So… flowers. Are there any that you don't like? Or any particular colors you think we should have?"

I shook my head cluelessly. "Ana, anything you choose will be fine. And it doesn't matter how much any of it costs. Do anything you want."

She nodded. "That's what I thought you'd say, but I just wanted to be sure. What about the food for our wedding banquet. It's Christmas Eve. Do you have preferences for the meal?"

"Let's have several courses," I suggested. "Maybe start off with appetizers. We can probably get Mia to do some of her brie bites and stuffed mushrooms without her realizing it's for our wedding. Then a nice soup. Like maybe Gail's French Onion soup. Maybe we need to have Jason and Gail there instead of giving them the holiday off. Hell, if they know we're getting married, they're going to want to be there. And Gail's French Onion soup is one of my favorite things ever.

Ana suggested, "We could invite them as guests, not employees. Show them how much they mean to us. You could ask Gail to prepare it ahead of time so she doesn't have to work during the holiday."

I nodded. "Good idea. Knowing Gail, she won't stop working even if she knows she has the holiday off. But yeah, I like that idea. Jason has an idea now what he and Gail mean to me, but this would solidify that. They're more than my staff."

Ana looked pensive. "You know, Ros is probably going to be hurt if we don't invite her and Gwen. I mean, I know you said you don't want it to turn into a work party, but if Sebastian's there and Ros isn't… that's not going to look good to her. I mean, we've only just met Sebastian, and Ros has been with you from the beginning of GEH."

I agreed reluctantly. "I know what you're saying. And Ros is certainly more than a work colleague. If not for her, GEH would be out of business right now, and I'd probably be in prison for crimes that Jack Hyde set me up for. I guess I need to get over myself when it comes to being friends with people from work. Ros is important to me. Hell, if we were having a big wedding, I'd ask her to be one of my groomsmen. Umm… attendants?"

"Yeah, I think attendants is the right term these days," Ana agreed. "OK, so let's add Ros and Gwen to the guest list. Anyone else we're forgetting?"

I thought through the list out loud. "Your dad, my parents, my grandparents, Elliot, Mia, Kate and Sebastian, Ros and Gwen, Jason and Gail. Will your dad want to bring a date? I know Elliot and Mia won't. They don't have anyone serious in their lives."

"Patrice," Ana answered. "Dad hasn't shared details, but he's very fond of her. I know she's more than just a caregiver. But I'm not sure… she will probably need her own room. I don't know if they're… intimate. He doesn't tell me things like that."

"He doesn't talk to his daughter about his s-e-x life?" I spelled teasingly.

"Oh, shut up," Ana snapped back playfully. She added pensively, "I'm not sure we can keep it a secret from Ros. She'll wonder why we're inviting her to our family Christmas. The same goes for Jason and Gail. I think they'll all be able to keep the secret, though, don't you?"

"Yeah," I agreed.

"OK, appetizers, followed by onion soup," Ana jumped back to our wedding dinner menu. "Are we thinking four courses or five?"

"Five, of course," I answered. "Let's have a salad after the soup. Then, for the main course, I want roast beef with potatoes, carrots, and green beans."

"Is anybody a vegetarian?" Ana asked.

"Not that I'm aware of," I replied. "But we can check to be sure."

Ana suggested, "We should have Christmas brunch on Sunday. Mia can be in charge."

"She'll love that," I agreed. "And we don't have to keep it a surprise. We would do that anyway, even if we weren't getting married."

"That's true," Ana agreed. "So… OK, there's my dress to figure out. I'll have to buy something off the rack at this late date. And you can't help me. I'm not all that traditional, but I still don't want you to see me in my wedding dress before our wedding. Maybe I do have to tell Kate and get her to help me. Is that OK?"

"Of course that's OK, babe, as long as she keeps the secret, and I'm sure she will." I never thought I'd trust Kate Kavanagh to keep any of my secrets, but she'd proven herself to me.

A thought occurred to me, and I asked Ana, "Do you think it's going to be awkward for Elliot and Kate to be in the same house for Christmas?"

She shook her head. "Not for Kate. She thinks Elliot doesn't respect her, but she doesn't have any ill feelings towards him. She even thinks that they could be… not exactly friends, but friendly. Besides, she's with Sebastian now, and she's serious about him. I'm sure of that. And Elliot was never really interested in her, so he won't care."

I nodded in agreement. If Ana said it wouldn't be an issue, I believed her.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something, Christian," Ana said. "What am I forgetting?"

I looked at her blankly. Neither of us had ever gotten married before, so how would we know?

"Oh, shit, an officiant!" Ana announced. "Who's going to marry us?"

Yeah, no shit. That was important. "We also need to find out what the laws are in Colorado," I noted. "It might be easier if we get a judge to marry us secretly here before we leave for Christmas."

Ana nodded. "Good idea, but we still need somebody to lead the ceremony. So we need a judge here, and then an officiant in Colorado. Maybe our wedding planner will have some ideas."

"Dad could help us with the judge, but we'd have to let him in on the secret," I pondered.

"Hold on for now. I really like the idea of surprising everyone," Ana said. "There's just something so… romantic… about doing it this way."

Really? I never thought I'd see the day when I'd do something romantic. But yeah, I wanted romance for my girl, and if she thought this idea of surprising our family with a Christmas wedding was romantic, we'd go with that.

Ana and I finished our sandwiches and got back to work. She was immersed in research on the Singapore project now, and I was focused on a new potential acquisition in San Diego that Ros had just brought to my attention.

My thoughts were interrupted by the intercom, and when I responded, by Olivia's voice. She was a lot less annoying than she used to be, probably because she wasn't trying too hard to impress me anymore. No, she had her eyes on Ros's assistant now. That was fine as long as they did their jobs and didn't get distracted.

"Mr. Grey, your mother is here and would like to speak with you, Sir. Should I send her in?"

It was unusual for Mom to stop by without calling first. Instead of responding verbally to Olivia, I got up and walked to my outer chamber to greet Mom.

"Mom, what's going on? Are you OK?" I'm sure she could hear the concern in my voice. I glanced at Ana, who was sitting at her work station nearby, and she was watching us quietly, also looking worried.

Mom assured me, "I'm fine, Christian. Mia's fine, too. She's still having nightmares, but the therapist said that's normal. She'll be OK. But there is something troubling me that I'd like to talk with you about, if you have a few minutes."

"I can always make time for you, Mom," I told her. To Ana, I asked, "Would you bring Mom a cup of that herbal tea that you like? And decaf coffee for me?"

When we entered my office, I decided to start off by telling Mom about the Christmas plans that Ana and I had discussed last night. Not the wedding part, of course, just the Aspen part. I asked her if she and dad were able to come.

Mom's face lit up, so I knew she liked the idea. "Of course we want to come," she agreed immediately. "You know how much we love your cabin in Aspen. We've had some lovely family time there in the past, and I'd love for us to do that again. And after the month we've had, I think we all need it."

"Well, let's count on it, Mom," I said. "We can all fly there on the 23rd after work, spend the whole weekend and maybe a few more days… We can work out the return later. Can you make sure Dad has the dates and takes the time off from work? He can let me know if he needs to be back by a certain date."

"I'll take care of it," she agreed. "Do you want me to talk to Mia and Elliot, too?"

"Sure," I answered. "I'll talk to both of them, too. I want Mia to make some appetizers for Christmas Eve, and brunch on Christmas Day, if she will."

"I'm sure she will love that," Mom affirmed.

Ana arrived then with our drinks, including an herbal tea for herself. Once she'd given us our drinks, she held her own cup and asked, "Do you need me, or can I get back to my research?"

"That's fine, Ana," Mom answered. "I'd really like to talk with Christian about a private matter. He can fill you in later, of course, if he thinks it's important."

Ana nodded at mom, smiled sweetly at me, and left my office. I watched her ass as she left the room, marveling again that this perfect angel was mine.

Mom's voice interrupted my happy thoughts with not so happy ones. "I've been thinking about Elena Lincoln, and I'm concerned, Christian. That's why I'm here in person. I didn't think it was a conversation to have over the phone."

I immediately put on my game face, the same one I use in business dealings. I could not reveal to Mom anything I knew about Elena's whereabouts.

"What is it that concerns you, Mom?" I asked her.

She answered, "I think… It seems clear that she's missing. The last time I saw her was the week of the Coping Together Ball. She came by the same day Mia arrived back from France, the day after you told us… what she did to you. And I… didn't react well. Cary made me promise not to confront her, and I've kept my promise, even though I made it no secret that I wanted her dead. But… that was weeks ago. I wasn't surprised that she didn't show up for the ball. Our security would have turned her away if she'd tried to get in, but she didn't try. As far as I know, nobody in our acquaintance has seen her since the day before Thanksgiving. And… well, I'll just say it. I suspect foul play."

"Mom, maybe she just left town," I suggested. "After the truth came out about her, maybe she decided to leave before she got arrested. She had to have known that we'd find out about Isaac and Matthew, and that they would press charges. She probably found out when Isaac talked to the police about her, and left town right away. That all happened around Thanksgiving. If I recall correctly, Isaac spoke to the police on that Monday after Thanksgiving."

Mom nodded pensively. "She's definitely not at home. The police have been there to try to question her after Isaac pressed charges. She wasn't there, and she hasn't been home since."

"I'm sure she's staying away to avoid talking to them," I commented.

"Even though Esclava doesn't have anyone to run it?" Mom questioned."She never would have left her business without anybody in charge. And when her workers didn't get paid, they all quit. I predicted that we'd put her out of business by the end of the year, but I didn't expect it to happen like this."

I shrugged. "She probably realized that nobody would use her salons after the truth came out, and she decided it wasn't worth it to try to keep them open."

Mom sighed. "Christian. I want you to be honest with me, OK? This doesn't leave this room, I promise. I just want you to tell me because I need to know. Did you have anything to do with Elena's disappearance?"

Thank God Mom asked me a question that I could answer honestly, because I really didn't want to have to lie to her face after she asked me to be honest with her. I'd gotten really good at lying to her when I was a teenager, but it would pain me to do that now. If she'd asked me if I knew what happened to Elena, I would have been screwed.

I looked in my mothers eyes and answered her honestly, "I had absolutely nothing to do with her disappearance, if she's really disappeared."

Mom held my eye contact for a moment longer than was comfortable. After a moment, she said suspiciously, "You know something you aren't telling me. But I know you're being honest about not having anything to do with it. I didn't either, for what it's worth, even though I wanted her dead. Do you think she's dead?"

I couldn't answer that honestly. I knew the answer, but if I told Mom, I'd have to tell her the rest of it, and I couldn't do that. "I have no idea, Mom. Have there been any signs of foul play other than her just not being here?"

She shook her head. "None that I'm aware of. I just think it's strange for her to stay away as long as she has. But you're right, she's never been the subject of a police investigation before. She's probably staying away until she thinks they've forgotten about her."

I agreed. "That's what I think. We might not ever see her again. I have no doubt that she's making use of one of those bank accounts in the Cayman Islands. She's probably in the Cayman Islands or somewhere like that. She can live comfortably for the rest of her life with all the money she stole from me."

"And you didn't send her away yourself, just to be rid of her?" Mom questioned again.

I sighed. "Mom, if I had had my way, she'd be in prison right now. Not relaxing somewhere on a beach without a care in the world. I wanted to see Isaac and Matthew press charges and get her ass arrested. I wanted to keep my own name out of it but see her pay for what she did to me by being punished for her crimes against them. I'm only just now realizing… mainly because of my therapy… just how badly she fucked me up. Sorry for the language." I'd only ever apologize to my mom for using profanity. Anyone else could just fuck off.

"OK, son, I believe you. You didn't have anything to do with her disappearance. I just had to be sure. I know she has a lot of enemies. I haven't exactly been quiet that I wanted her dead, but I didn't kill her, Christian. I promised Cary that I wouldn't even confront her, and I wouldn't break that promise. I know Charity felt the same way I did, so maybe it was her. I'm not going to pursue it. We can wait until somebody reports her missing, if they haven't already. Or until her body is found."

I didn't tell Mom, but I was fairly certain that Elena's body would never be found. It was somewhere at the bottom of the Puget Sound now, hopefully to stay forever.

Mom left a few minutes later, satisfied that her beloved son wasn't a murderer. A minute later, Ana walked in with a big smile on her face. "You're not going to believe this. Colorado is a self solemnization state. We don't need an officiant, neither here nor there. But we do need to apply in person for a wedding license. So we'll need to get there earlier on the 23rd, not after work."

"Wait, what? Say that again. Colorado is a self… what?"

"Self solemnization. It means we don't need a judge or ordained minister. We can solemnize our own marriage. We can sign the license ourselves instead of needing an officiant to do it. It's legal in Colorado for the bride and groom to sign for themselves."

"So… you want us to say our vows without being guided by anyone?" I clarified.

She nodded. "I prefer it that way. To me, that's more meaningful than having somebody we don't even know officiating, telling us what to say, repeating after them."

"So, do I tell myself that I can kiss my bride at the end?" I asked about the most important part of the wedding with more humor than confusion, even though I felt both. A wedding without an officiant? How was that even possible?

Ana laughed. "Nobody has to tell us to do it. We just do it. Don't worry, I'll plan it all out. All you have to do is write your vows. I don't want us to just read the traditional ones. I want us to say our own. Is that OK?"

I nodded. "Absolutely OK," I agreed. Anything for my Ana.

"Oh, and the wedding planner… her name is Penelope… she reminded me that we need a photographer. But I don't want to hire a stranger to photograph us. That's… invasive, and I want it to be very intimate, just family and close friends. So I want to ask Kate. She's a fantastic photographer, Christian. She's never considered making a career of it, but she could. And I want to pay her, mainly because she doesn't have an income now. Is that OK?"

Was that OK? Like she had to ask. "Ana, you don't even have to ask, sweetheart. Of course, that's OK. If you think she's a good photographer, that's good enough for me. And I don't want a stranger taking our wedding photos either. You've already convinced me that Kate is trustworthy, so I know she won't share our photos with anybody except us. We have her NDA already anyway. Good thinking. "

Ana nodded. "The other thing that Penelope reminded me that we need to consider is entertainment. So the next question is… do we want to hire a band or a DJ, or do we want to do it all ourselves? I mean… I could create a playlist for us. We could have music playing through dinner, and then something for the ceremony and dancing afterwards. But… well, I'd rather not have to control the music on my own wedding day." She was speaking too quickly and obviously worried about how this was all going to work out.

"Breathe, baby," I reminded her. "Why don't you leave the entertainment to me," I suggested. I was confident I could figure it out and take some pressure off my girl.

"Are you sure?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm sure," I promised her. "I do have one question though."

"What's that?" she asked.

"Are you a Mariah Carey fan?" I asked.

She looked confused. "Well, yeah, isn't everyone? But there are a lot of other songs we can use on our playlist, too."

I smirked. I wasn't going to tell Ana yet that Mariah Carey was our neighbor in Aspen. I wasn't sure if she'd be available, but if I could convince her to stop by our house for an hour or so on Christmas Eve for the right price, we were going to have a special guest musician for our wedding.

I told Ana, "It's just that I can't think of a better song for our first dance than "All I want for Christmas is You."

Ana giggled as she responded, "That's one of the cheesiest things I've heard you say, but I completely agree."

And once again, I marveled at the fact that this beautiful angel was mine. Yes, I was getting exactly what I wanted this Christmas.