And So I Ran - Complete

Chapter 60

"Wake up, dude! Taylor's here, and he's got something for you." It was Elliot, and he sounded a little the worse for wear. I think he and Dad stayed up late after I'd gone to bed last night.

I'd been awake for an hour, lying back and just staring at the ceiling of my teenage bedroom. I couldn't wipe the grin from my face. Today I was marrying my first and only love. I bounded down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Taylor would have come from Escala, which meant he'd have seen Ana.

"Morning sir," he said, looking different in casual clothing.

"It's Christian, today, Jason" I corrected, mindful of using his first name as well. It hadn't occurred to me before, but when I'd thought about getting ready at Bellevue with my family it seemed strange that Taylor wouldn't be there. I'd confided as much to Ana, so after dinner last night she'd encouraged me to call Taylor to check whether he'd like to come to Bellevue today and join me for some fishing, a couple of beers and then to get ready for the wedding. He was surprised but accepted immediately. Ana was right. Taylor was an employee, but he was also my friend.

"Come through and put your suit in here," I said, leading him through to one of the guest rooms. "Did you see Ana this morning? How is she?" I asked eagerly.

"When I left only Ana and Gail were up. Kate and José overindulged last night. Ana asked me to give you this," he said, handing me an envelope. For just a moment my heart clenched. What if this was a note telling me why she could not go ahead with our wedding?

I all but snatched the envelope from Taylor's hand, ripping it open to find a plain white embossed card. In her neat, elegant script Ana had written:

Saturday 10th September 2011
The day two hearts become one.
I love you, Christian. I can't wait to be your wife,
Anastasia

I grinned. It was just like Ana to know my thoughts might run away from me this morning.

"She was in good spirits," Taylor reported, recognizing my concern and then relief.

I hadn't wanted to let Ana go when dinner was over last night. We went for a walk in the garden, talking quietly about the future. When I'd finally helped Ana into the car, kissing her goodnight, I'd felt sad. I hated being away from my woman, even for a night.

I'd sat up with Dad, Elliot and Grandpa Trevelyan for an hour before heading to bed. Grandpa Theo was gently teasing me about marrying the first woman I came across. I didn't mind. I was proud Anastasia had so many of my firsts. Maybe not the conventional ones, but she was the first woman I'd ever fallen in love with, and I didn't care who knew it.

Taylor and I wandered into the kitchen to find my mother presiding over the cooker.

"Good morning Taylor," she greeted fondly. "I thought I'd do Eggs Benedict, Eggs Florentine, and Eggs Atlantic this morning. Do any of those appeal? Otherwise, let me know what you'd like."

"Thank you, Mrs. Grey. I'll eat whatever is put in front of me, and have a grateful word to say about it," he replied. "Please don't go to any bother on my behalf."

Mom laughed. Between Dad's low sodium diet, Mia's flirts with vegetarianism and low carb eating, Elliot's tendency to basically inhale his meal (and everyone else's) and my issues with food wastage, meal times were always interesting when we all got together.

"Well, that's good to know, Taylor. How about you boys go set the table on the terrace?"

I dutifully led the way to the sideboard, pointing out the plates, glasses, and dishes we were to lay out. I was closer to thirty than twenty, a billionaire, and getting married in hours. But here at Bellevue, I was still Grace and Carrick's 'boy' – and by default that categorization extended to Taylor. Mom was just inside in the kitchen, so I muttered carefully.