Chapter 6

Christian

I jolt awake as I hear the tent zip open. Fuck. It's still fucking dark. Instinctually, I sit up and move my body slightly in front of Ana, who's still sleeping as though we don't have an intruder. I'm then blinded by a flashlight. "Morning, Christian," a familiar, gravelly voice says.

Fucking hell. I might have preferred an intruder over that voice at this hour. "Morning, sir."

"What do you say to a fishing trip?"

"Uh… sure."

"You know how to fish?"

"Yes."

"Great. Get dressed, I'll be waiting out here."

He zips the tent back up and I groan quietly. I have to leave my sleeping beauty to go run with the wolves. Well, just one wolf. I might rather tangle with that rattlesnake again. And the worst part, I think I need to wake up Ana. I don't want her to worry if she wakes up in the dark and I'm gone. I brush her hair back and kiss her cheek. "Ana," I whisper.

Her eyes blink open, lashes tickling my cheek. "Hmm?"

"Your dad asked me to go fishing, baby. I have to leave."

"He did?" She sounds slightly more alert.

"Yes."

"Okay. I miss you," she pouts.

"I miss you, too." I plant a series of kisses on her face, trying to find her lips in the dark until I finally reach my target.

She giggles. "Hurry back."

"That's not really up to me," I sigh.

"If he gives you a hard time, tell me and I'll yell at him again."

"Again?"

"Yeah, I did yesterday, too. I had to remind him that nobody really likes it when you bring up their ex. Especially when their boyfriend is as great as mine is."

I shake my head. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it, no matter how many times she says it. "I love you."

"I love you more." Not possible. She rolls over and curls back up in the sleeping bag while I fumble for clothes. God, this is fucking miserable.

I'm pretty sure Ana is asleep again when I zip the tent shut. I think it's just before dawn with how pitch black it is, so I follow the only real light from Ray's flashlight. "Ready?" he grunts.

As I'll ever be. "Yes." Would have loved a heads-up, I don't know, yesterday, but I'm just the boyfriend.

He doesn't answer and simply starts walking. I keep up just behind him, figuring there's no use in asking how long it will take to get to the body of water he's chosen. I at least hope he packed breakfast somewhere in his supplies. Anastasia is the sun, moon, and stars to me, and I would happily die for her, but her father has been a pain in my ass this entire weekend and having to deal with him while hungry might take more strength than I have.

Just as dawn starts to break, we reach what appears to be a glacial pond as a break in the river. He hands me a fishing rod. "Might be some salmon in here if we're lucky."

I catch some sideways glances from him as I prepare my line. Try me. This, I can actually do. I end up casting mine first, and then we just sit side by side on the dock in silence for a few minutes. Or hours. Right now, they feel the same.

The silence stretches for so long that I almost flinch when he finally does speak. "My daughter adores you."

I clear my throat. "I adore her."

"I knew it was different that day we all had dinner. For a long time, she was always shying away from Caleb. But I thought if something was really wrong… she'd come to me." He pauses for a moment, staring out at the water. "I didn't know. I just didn't know," he says quietly. "So now… I don't know if you can understand my position. Maybe one day you will, if you have your own kid." Me? Kid? Next. "But making sure she's okay is top priority. Maybe to the point that… I may have misjudged you. I just… I think I dropped the ball before. And I don't want to do that again. Annie's been through enough in her life."

"I think I understand more than you think." We both stare ahead at the water. This conversation feels uncomfortable, but… pivotal. "For ten years, I wondered where she was, if she was okay. You'd think that time would have dulled the pull I had to her, but it didn't. Not for her. Now that I have her back… I know what I was missing all those years, and I'm terrified of something happening to her. It keeps me up at night. It's just unimaginable to me."

"Well… I'll be honest, a few days ago, I would have thought this was a bunch of fancy words for the benefit of her old man. But… if you hadn't acted in the way that you did yesterday, I think that both of our worst nightmares would have come true." I shudder at the thought. I've replayed it over and over in my mind. I couldn't fall asleep for hours last night, just watching her sleep, making sure she was real. "I think I'd be a fool if I didn't believe by now that she was safe with you. You acted selflessly, son. You saved my little girl. I'll never be able to thank you for that."

"Sir, to be completely frank, it was out of selfishness. I can't live in a world without her again. I'll keep her around at all costs."

"Honestly, I can live with that." He chuckles throatily, then sighs. "There's one main thing that worries me. I'm not sure I would have been so harsh on you if it weren't for the… well, the difference in your lifestyles and backgrounds. The fact is, you're a man of significant means. Ana stands to lose a lot if you ever… took things further with her and then changed your mind. Not to mention that you're in the public eye."

My fortune used to be my proudest asset. Now that I'm learning what really makes life worth living, it's becoming a bigger pain in the ass than it ever was. "Our backgrounds… we came from very different ones when we met, it's true, but we still ended up in the same place. Something brought us together. As for our lifestyles… I'd lay my world at her feet if she let me. She just… hasn't let me. She isn't ready for that. But when she is… she sets the pace. And I know you have no reason to take my word for this, but Ana was on my mind when she wasn't even in my life. I don't think there is any changing my mind."

He nods slowly. "I suppose I just worry about how she'll fit into your… world. Your family."

My family. Something I'd had on the back burner suddenly moves to the front. "Sir, I completely forgot until now with everything that's happened, but my mother wanted me to ask you to dinner tonight. All of you. I know it's a trek, but you're welcome to stay at my place. I have more than enough bedrooms for you and Marty."

Finally, he turns his head and looks at me. His eyes are speculative and maybe a little calculating. He's quiet long enough to make me start to sweat before he scratches his chin. "You know, that might be nice. Marty would sure get a kick out of it." I smile, and he twists his lips in a way that makes me feel like he's trying not to smile. Hell, I'll take that. "Well, then, we'd better get back. Long drive to Seattle. Hope the girls are ready." We stand up and start to put the gear away. No fish were caught, but I think it was a productive trip anyway. "Oh, and Christian?" I look up. "You can call me Ray."

It was a productive trip.

"I still can't believe you pulled this off," Ana says, shaking her head with a smirk.

"What exactly did I engineer this time?"

"My parents coming to a dinner at your parents' mansion straight off of camping." To be fair, we all stopped to shower at my place beforehand. I have enough that we all got to at once – Ana and I, unfortunately, separately. But it's not like we walked out of the woods and up the driveway. "Marty and Ray are homebodies. This is… interesting."

I pick up her hand that I'm holding and kiss it. "Good interesting?"

"I… think?"

"Well, when you figure it out, let me know."

We roll to a stop and Ray and Marty pull up behind us. Probably waiting right next to it, Grace opens the door just then. Judging from the screeching on the phone when we finally got reception and I let her know we were coming, she's been excited about this all day. She comes up to us first and wraps her arms around Ana. "Darling, I'm so glad you could make it. It's been too long. It's so lovely to see you again."

"Thank you for having me again," Ana says with a smile. She gestures behind her. "These are my parents, Ray and Marty."

She turns around. "Yes, the ones who raised this lovely lady. It's such a pleasure to meet you." She shakes both of their hands and then ushers everyone inside. "This is my husband, Carrick, and my daughter, Mia. My other son, Elliot, wasn't able to make it tonight."

"The one who's with Kate?" Marty asks.

"Oh, yes, I forgot you all know each other. Small world," Grace laughs. "Shall we? Mia is our chef tonight, so everything is already ready."

"You cook?" Marty asks Mia as she leads us to the dining room.

"Yes! I'm hoping to go to culinary school soon. Do you like cooking?" They launch into shop talk as we sit down. I glance at Ana and she's smiling in their direction. That's one friendship predicted.

I'm relieved that Mia decided to cook. I had worried about how Ray would view it if we were being served by Gretchen right now, since he worries that Ana and I are too different. At the core, I know we're not. The rest of this is all just fluff. I hope one day she sees that. She has to.

"So, tell us all about the camping trip!" Grace says enthusiastically. "We've been to a few sites around the area, but it's been a few years."

"Marty and I enjoy dispersed camping. We tried out a new area near Hoh Rain Forest," Ray answers.

"Was the fishing good?" Carrick prompts.

"They weren't biting," Ray responds.

"Nope, but there were other critters," Marty grumbles, shaking her head.

"Like what?" Mia asks.

"Like a rattlesnake that almost did away with Ana."

"What?" Grace gasps. "Goodness, are you alright?"

Ana's cheeks pink and she nods. "Yes. Thanks to this one." She turns and looks at me, smiling sheepishly.

"Oh, yes, Christian was quite the white knight," Marty says eagerly. "He yanked her out of the way. I can't believe how fast it was. The snake ended up lunging at him, but Ray shot it just in time. It was really the closest of calls."

"It bit you?" Carrick asks, pointedly looking at me.

"Not really. Just the boot."

"You didn't hear the rattle?" Grace asks Ana.

"I was walking through the brush as it happened. If I did, I thought it was just my own footsteps. Honestly, I shouldn't have gone that way."

"You were taking a picture of a flower for me! I shouldn't have let you go," Marty sighs.

"I thought rattlesnakes lived in the desert?" Mia comments.

"No, that's cobras, I think. They're native to Washington. The only venomous snake there is, I think. I knew that, but I'd never seen one before, and we've camped for years," Marty responds. "I just wasn't thinking."

Grace shakes her head gravely. "Thank God everyone is here in one piece. Christian, I don't know that we needed to be quite so heroic. What you did sounds incredibly dangerous."

"What I did might have saved Ana's life. And look at us all now. So, there's no use dwelling in the hypotheticals."

She sighs, but nods in understanding. "Yes. I suppose we do some wild things when we're in love. I can understand that." I lift Ana's hand that I'm holding under the table and bring it to my lips. I know I'd do it again. Every time.

With the heaviness out of the way, Ray and my dad end up bonding over fishing, and sharing a few ribs about my camping prowess. Meanwhile, the women are in full swing. Marty mentioned a few of her art projects and Grace's jaw nearly hit the floor. "You're kidding! You painted the mural in there?"

"Yes! Have you been?"

"That's my favorite coffee shop! It's right by the hospital, I go there whenever I have a free moment. My goodness, you're very talented. I'd always wanted to be an artist, but never had the talent."

"Well, it was a useful pastime when Ana was a teenager and I'd stay up late working on something and catch her sneaking in." She looks at Ana pointedly. I chuckle. Well, this is news. My little rebel.

"Ana! Damn, I never would have guessed," Mia laughs.

Ana takes a long sip of wine and averts her eyes innocently. "Teenagers."

We all laugh, and I give her thigh a suggestive squeeze. I'd like to hear more about this later. This is one of the things I like about being around her family. I get to hear about a whole new side of her, a side that I missed out on. Everyone is getting along, which I expected, but it's gratifying to know I was right. Maybe this can work after all.

"Well, she's more than made up for it. She's a very diligent worker now, which I'm sure Christian can attest to," Marty says proudly.

Yes, I love it when she works on me… "She's a model employee. My favorite one, in fact." I rub up and down her thigh as I say this. Her cheeks burn and she looks down.

"I can imagine. It'll be quite an adjustment when she leaves." Ana's head snaps up and my hand freezes on her leg. Leave?

"Leave? Have you found a new position, Ana?" Grace asks pleasantly, as if her son's world hasn't come to a screeching halt.

"No, no, just something I'm thinking about," she says quickly.

"Since when?" I ask in a low voice.

The corner of her gaze shifts to me, just barely. "We can talk about it later."

"Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it was just something she mentioned in passing. I'm an old lady, maybe I'm going senile," Marty says, laughing it off. She messed up, and now she's covering for her… they've talked about it.

This isn't good.

I remove my hand from her leg, trying to decipher the chaos twisting through me. What is this feeling? Confusion? Betrayal? Whatever it is, it stings in my veins and leaves behind a cold, empty feeling. Here I am trying to arrange for her to move offices so she can be with me all the time, and she doesn't even want to be as close to me as she is now? Even the current arrangement is too much?

Rejection. That's what it is.

She wants to leave. Maybe it starts with work, and then… no.

I'm barely conscious of what's happening for the rest of the evening. I can feel Ana look at me often, but the rest continue on with their conversations like nothing is happening. Which, I guess, for them, nothing is. My world is the only one experiencing a seismic shift.

We adjourn to a sitting room for coffee and dessert. Ana leaves my side when I don't meet her gaze, and soon I catch her and Marty talking closely in the corner. Marty is rubbing her arm soothingly, and Ana looks stressed. How long has this been going on? Why didn't she tell me? What the hell does this mean for us?

"Hey." I flinch at the sudden voice, and Mia is standing next to me. "What's wrong? You went all silent and you're ignoring Ana, which makes me think you're dying or something."

"Nothing," I mutter.

"Why are you mad at her?" she presses.

"I'm not mad at her. I'm… fuck, she's going to leave me." I run a hand through my hair.

"What? In what universe? Wait, is this because she might switch jobs?" I don't answer. "Christian, she doesn't have to work for your company. Maybe she feels weird about dating the boss. It doesn't mean it's about you."

"I don't want to talk about this," I snap.

She rolls her eyes. "Fine, but clearly, you two should talk about it."

She leaves and I look over at Ana and Marty again. They're just walking back in this direction. "We're going to get going. We have a long drive, and we have to work tomorrow," Marty says, laying a hand on Grace's arm. "Thank you so much for having us, it was wonderful to meet you."

"Oh, the pleasure was all ours. I'm so glad we all got to meet. We must do this again, you're welcome at the house anytime!"

Ray and Marty shake hands with my parents and Ana walks slowly over to my side again. I clear my throat. "I think we'll leave, too, Mom."

"Oh, yes, we all have work tomorrow. Thanks for coming, darling. Don't be a stranger, Ana." She gives me a kiss on the cheek and Ana a hug.

I finally look down at Ana as we head to the car. She's looking down. She seems almost… deflated. I open her door for her, then robotically get in on my side.

"Christian…" she says quietly.

"I'll take you to your place." I cut her off. I can tell that I'm being cold to her, but I can't help it. I'm terrified. How did this go so wrong so fast? I hear her gasp, but as we start to drive, she doesn't say anything else. The silence is agonizing, and my heart rate climbs with every roll of the tire towards her apartment.

Say something.

Say what?

Fix it.

How?

"Christian," she says abruptly. There's a firmness in her voice, and she turns her head to look at me. "I'd rather stay with you. I want to talk to you. If that isn't going to happen tonight, fine, but… I want to sleep next to you for one more night, if you'll have me. I got spoiled this weekend." Her voice is quiet by the end.

This weekend. Despite the series of tests I was put through, it was bliss having her all to myself. My impassive façade starts to crack. She wants to go, but she wants to stay… she wants to stay. She wants to talk. I switch the turn signal from the direction of her place to mine. "Okay."

Talking. That's what couples do. That's what boyfriends do. I can do this. She'll see, and then she'll stay.

A/N: The truth does come out eventually, huh?

Thanks for all the reviews last time! Love to hear from you. And on the breakup, I'm honestly fine. He wasn't the one and I never thought he was. Onto the next one lol.

On a less fun note (for me, maybe not for you), I might be posting more regularly because I have covid! So I'm in quarantine for 10 days. I'm double vaccinated and I feel like absolute garbage anyway, so if for some reason you still haven't gotten vaccinated, PLEASE do, for yourself and others. Everyone in the ICU for covid at my hospital is unvaccinated. I'm so glad I had mine.