A/N: Thank you all for reading my story! I hope you enjoy the epilogue :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Epilogue: After-Dinner Mint
~1 year later~
" …Okay, for the chocolate croissant and the vanilla chai latte, that'll be $10.75," Ana said, ringing up the order.
The young brunette woman with glasses and multiple tattoos on her arms handed Ana her credit card. "I was glad to see you guys brought back the chocolate croissants. I was worried you'd gotten rid of them for good."
"Oh yeah, people have been asking about them," Ana smiled, swiping her card through the reader. "We just stopped making them for a couple months to feature our raspberry-almond croissants for a bit, but people kept wanting the chocolate ones back. So now we have the chocolate croissants along with raspberry-almond ones."
"Ooh, a raspberry-almond croissant sounds delicious," the girl said, her eyes lighting up. "I'll have to try one of those next time."
"Absolutely," Ana said brightly. "I definitely recommend them."
The customer said goodbye before heading off to find a table, and the next guy in line stepped up. It was fairly busy today, with a sizable line of customers out the doors, but that was understandable considering how warm and sunny it was out this Saturday afternoon. People tended to come out in droves on summer days like today.
"Do you guys make iced Americanos?" the guy at the counter asked.
"We do," Ana smiled. "What size would you like?"
"A large, please. Thank you"
Ana turned around to look toward the large coffee station behind the counter. "Karl, a large iced Americano, please."
"You got it, Ana," the tall, gangly 19-year-old boy standing at the machines said brightly. Ana had hired Karl to work part-time a few months ago: the bakery was continuing to make a tidy profit, and in addition to getting another employee, Ana decided to buy a couple industrial coffee machines so the bakery could sell coffees alongside the baked goods. The drinks had become incredibly popular, and while Ana, Claire, and Kate could work the fancy coffee machines reasonably well, Karl had previously worked at a Starbucks and he knew these types of machines like the back of his hand. Karl had become The Royal Treatment's unofficial barista, and he seemed happy with that arrangement.
Karl poured out the iced Americano and handed it over to the guy just as Claire and Kate hurried out of the kitchen.
"Hey Ana," Claire said excitedly, and Ana noticed she was clutching a piece of paper in her hands. "Come here, I wanna show you something."
"We're kind of slammed right now, Claire," Ana said, gesturing to the line of customers at the counter. "Can it wait?"
"I'll take over," Kate said quickly, walking up to the counter. She gave Ana a light push so she would move over to Claire more quickly. "You're going to want to hear this," she whispered with a smile. Feeling intrigued, Ana walked over to Claire.
"What is it?" she asked interestedly. Without a word, Claire grasped Ana's arm and pulled her into the kitchen, away from the customers.
"Well, first of all, you left your cell phone on the table here," Claire picked up Ana's cell phone she'd left on a work table and handed it to her. "And second of all, your realtor called. I answered it for you, and she had an update about that space on Eastlake Ave."
Ana's heart immediately began pounding excitedly in her chest. With all the success The Royal Treatment had had this past year, she'd decided to start looking into expanding to a new location here in the city. She'd actually spoken to Gia Matteo, who she knew had several contacts with commercial realtors; Gia was nice enough to hook her up with a woman named Kimberly, who had been very proactive in finding several potential spaces in Seattle that were within Ana's budget.
"The one near the university? Oh, I really liked that space," Ana said, looking at Claire imploringly. "What did Kimberly say?"
"She said it's ours if we wanted it!" Claire said excitedly, handing her the sheet she was holding. "She emailed you the details and I printed it out for you. I think it's a great deal."
Ana quickly grabbed the sheet and looked over the details, checking out the price of the five-year lease agreement and the overall monthly rent. Just from first glance, it looked totally affordable. "This looks feasible," she grinned after looking back up at Claire. "I'll have our lawyer look over the finer details, but all-in-all, I think we found our second location!"
Claire squealed in excitement, clapping her hands together, and she and Ana immediately embraced. All of them had worked so hard this past year, and now it finally felt like it was paying off.
"You think you're ready to manage this second location, Claire?" Ana asked once they pulled apart. They had talked about Claire being in charge of the new bakery for months now, and Ana just wanted to make sure she was still up for the challenge. "I mean, it probably won't be for another year or two until it officially happens, but it is going to be a big responsibility…"
"I know. And I am ready," Claire nodded in determination. "I can't thank you enough for giving me the opportunity to run my own bakery, Ana. It's been my dream for so long – I already have like a million ideas for what I want to make!"
Ana laughed. "I'm glad to hear it. I know you're up for it, Claire, and there's no one else in the world I would choose to run The Royal Treatment."
Claire looked touched by Ana's words, and the two of them embraced once again. A moment later, Kate poked her head through the door.
"Hey Ana. Your boyfriend's here," she said. "He's probably ready to take you to Mia's party."
"Thanks Kate," Ana said, pulling away from Claire. "You heard about us possibly getting our second location?"
Kate grinned. "Yes! Oh my God, I'm so excited! A new bakery up in Eastlake would be amazing."
"I know. I'm so ready to get started," Ana giggled. "By the way, are you and Elliot still joining us at Mia's party?"
"Yeah, we're heading over in a bit. Elliot just had to visit a construction site this morning," Kate explained. It had taken some time, but Kate and Elliot had been officially dating now for the past six months or so. Things seemed to be going well between them too, and Ana was so thrilled that her best friend had found happiness with such a great guy. "We shouldn't be more than an hour behind you."
"Sounds good," Ana said, moving toward the kitchen doors and following Kate out into the lobby.
There were fewer customers lined up now, but Ana only had eyes for the guy standing off to the side near the windows. Christian was wearing his usual charcoal gray business suit, his tie a deep navy blue and his normally messy auburn hair combed back in a slightly neater style. As soon as his eyes locked onto hers, he smiled widely, and Ana felt her heart fluttering in her chest, as it always did when she laid eyes on him.
Things with her and Christian had moved quickly, and nobody in their inner circle was surprised: they felt as if the two of them getting together was just a foregone conclusion at this point. Christian had asked Ana out on a date right after they kissed in the bakery kitchen, and Ana had happily agreed. Since then, the two of them had enjoyed many magical times together, including Christian bringing Ana on a beautiful sunset ride on his glider, a weekend trip to his second home in Aspen, and many nights spent alone together at his condo in Escala.
Ana now smiled, rushing forward before throwing her arms around Christian's neck in a tight embrace. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up off the floor, holding her close; some of the customers still in the shop chuckled at their cute display.
"Hey," Ana whispered into his neck, smiling.
"Hey," Christian smiled, pulling his face back so he was smiling at her. "How was your day?"
"Amazing," Ana grinned back. "I just got some good news about that bakery location up on Eastlake."
"Really?" Christian asked, his eyes lighting up excitedly. He of course knew all about Ana wanting to expand to a second location, and he encouraged her every step of the way. "That's incredible! I'm so proud of you, baby."
"Thanks. Claire and I are really excited about it," Ana smiled, and Christian finally set her back down on her feet. "But anyway, I'm really looking forward to this party tonight."
"Me too," Christian smiled. "I love taking you to my club."
Tonight, Christian and his family were hosting an event at The Mile High Club celebrating Mia's recent accomplishments in her career. She had just signed a television deal where she would host her own Food Network show, highlighting all the different cafes, bakeries, and patisseries along the West coast of America. She was flying out to California tomorrow to start shooting, and the Grey family were throwing a little farewell party at Christian's club to celebrate her before she left.
"Are you ready to go now?" Ana asked, and she glanced down at her outfit. "Hopefully what I'm wearing is okay."
"You look beautiful, baby," Christian assured her, also glancing over her short-sleeved pink blouse and skinny jeans. "Besides, it's not a formal get-together. People can wear whatever they want."
"Says the guy who's always wearing Armani suits," Ana teased, reaching up to tug at his lapels.
"Well, I know you prefer to see me out of the suits," Christian growled in a low voice so only she could hear. Ana grinned up at him, her heart fluttering.
"Get a move on, you two," Kate called from behind the counter, and Christian and Ana turned to look at her. "And tone down the PDA, this is a place of business!"
She smiled as she chastised them, however, and Ana laughed. "My bakery, my rules," she snarked back, and Kate rolled her eyes.
"We should really get going, baby," Christian said fairly, and Ana looked up at him. "Taylor's waiting outside."
"Okay," Ana acquiesced. She began to move toward the front doors, and Christian playfully smacked her on the butt. Ana yelped and jumped, and he just laughed.
"Move along, hot stuff," he joked, and Ana rolled her eyes with a grin. God, she loved her boyfriend.
~/~
They soon arrived at the large private area in the Mile High Club, which had soon filled up with all their family and friends. Mia stood near the back wall with her boyfriend Ethan, the two of them chatting with a couple of Mia's friends. Grace and Carrick Grey had also arrived with Christian's grandparents, Theo and Margaret, and the four of them were laughing at something Ros, Christian's CFO, said. Sitting at the bar was Gia Matteo and her girlfriend Sienna, the two of them looking relaxed and happy as they chatted over their glasses of wine.
Ana met Gia's eyes when she and Christian walked into the room: Gia smiled and waved, and Ana smiled and waved back. As odd as it sounded, Gia had ended up becoming a good friend to Ana and Christian over the past few months. She had been able to start up her business almost a year ago now, and was doing extremely well, according to Christian. A lot of it was helped by the trust fund her father finally agreed to give to her, and she was still incredibly thankful to Christian for getting her her trust fund money without having to marry him in the end.
It really seemed as if everything had turned out for the best.
"Hey guys!" Mia now approached the two of them, grinning widely. "Christian, thanks again for throwing this together. It looks amazing here!"
"It was no problem. I have an in with the owner," Christian joked, and Ana and Mia laughed.
"Congrats on your TV gig Mia," Ana smiled, and the two women embraced. "I just know you're going to be awesome."
"Thanks Ana. I'm super nervous, though," Mia giggled as they pulled apart. "I was hoping I could do my first episode about The Royal Treatment, but the producers for the show wanted me to start out with some bakeries out in Los Angeles."
"That's okay. I think we both remember the last time you advertised my bakery to the world," Ana said with a sardonic smirk, and Mia grinned guiltily.
"I s'pose you're right," she agreed. "But that reminds me – I have red velvet cupcakes for everyone to try. Do you think I can hand them out now, Chris?"
Ana glanced over at Christian, who looked a bit surprised at her request. "Oh. You wanted to do that now?"
"Sure, why not? Practically everyone's here," Mia shrugged. "I'll be right back."
She turned around and waved at Ethan to get his attention, and he looked up at her before nodding. The two of them made their way toward a small room behind the bar, and about a minute later they emerged with their arms filled with individual cupcake-sized bakery boxes with bows on them.
"Okay, everybody! Each of you take a box, but don't open it just yet," Mia announced to the room as she and Ethan handed out each individual cupcake box. "Seriously, don't open them – we're all going to open them together. Oh, hey Elliot! You and Kate are just in time for cupcakes."
Kate and Elliot, who had just walked into the room, looked curious as they were each handed a cupcake box. "What's going on?" Kate asked Ana, who shrugged.
Mia handed Ana one of the boxes, which had a large gray ribbon tied around it. The ribbon was blocking most of the little cellophane window, but Ana could just make out the cupcake inside. Christian clutched his own box, which had a red ribbon on it.
"Did she personalize each cupcake or something?" Ana asked Christian, gazing down at her box with interest.
"Maybe," Christian said.
Finally, everyone had their cupcake boxes, and Mia and Ethan stood near the bar with their own boxes while the others all stood in a large circle.
"Okay, does everyone have their cupcakes?" Mia asked the room at large, and everyone nodded. "Alright. So we'll open them in three… two… one. Open!"
Ana pulled the gray ribbon and opened the lid to her box. She looked inside:
It was a beautiful red velvet cupcake. And sitting on top of the frosting, instead of a simple decal, was a real diamond ring.
Ana could only stare at it for a long moment, her heart pounding thunderously in her chest, before her head snapped up to look at Christian. He was gazing back at her with love in his eyes, and she suddenly knew what was happening.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw several people pull out their phones to record her, and she knew this had been planned from the beginning. Christian gently took the cupcake box out of her hands and got down on one knee before her. Kate gasped in delight.
"Oh my God!" Ana cried, covering her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. She watched Christian hold the box up to her, as if it were a ring box, and she let out an involuntary laugh.
I can't believe this is happening!
"Anastasia Steele," he said, and she could have sworn she heard his voice break slightly with emotion. "I love you more than I can possibly say, and nothing would make me happier than to call you my wife. Will you marry me?"
Ana felt several tears trickle down her cheeks as she nodded. "Yes – absolutely yes!"
She barely heard the others cheering in excitement and the flashing of camera phones. All Ana could focus on was Christian as he got to his feet, beaming from ear to ear.
"Surprised?" he asked, and Ana responded by immediately jumping forward to kiss him on the lips. He kissed her back, clearly just as happy as her.
"I love it, Christian," she said after pulling away from him. She looked down at the cupcake and plucked it out of the box, examining the beautiful ring on it. She then swiped a finger along the frosting before tasting it, savoring the delicious flavor. "It's absolutely perfect."
"Just like you," Christian smiled down at her, and Ana beamed back.
THE END
A/N: Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed my story :)
As always, if you enjoyed this, please leave a review! And be sure to follow my author pages on Facebook and Amazon: I go by the name Rae Trescott.