All My Life – Ch. 06 – Romance

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, and it was created solely by me as the author. All characters are over the age of 18. Any similarities to characters, businesses, places, or things are all happenstance, though my appreciation to those who have inspired my works is immense.

Author’s Note: This is the sixth part of a series I believe you’ve been finding enjoyable. It’s a nice buildup into the hot and heavy scenes, but, as usual, my stories are STORIES, so many details make for fun, exciting, and interesting plot lines. Please remain calm in awaiting the next installment, but I assure you, it’ll be worth it.

Some clarifications: I would love to be able to decipher for you when Ana is writing or typing to Alex with different fonts, but as there is only one font available, you’ll have to forgive my approach. I have tried to make it as clear as possible.

Questions and comments are welcome. Please take the time to rate this story and follow me also! I hope everyone will be kind.

Recap: “I love you too, sweet girl,” Alex responded and reached over to bring her body closer to his. “No more talking,” he whispered. “Speak to me this way,” he advised and put his mouth on hers. Before long, they were making love, lost in the opportunity once again to be together, to utilize the beautiful bed and room and suite which held them that night, and remembering how difficult it had been to not be able to do this only earlier that week. When they were finished and recovered, Alex took her to the hot tub where they floated and kissed and held each other tightly knowing just how much the other had felt when they couldn’t be together.

All My Life – pt. 06

In the morning about an hour before breakfast, Alex got a text telling him the items had been engraved, and all the jewelry pieces were ready to be delivered. Alex and Ana texted their special people and requested that they, or at least a member of their group, came down by 8:30am to collect their items as well as their bags for the day’s apparel needs. All ten met up with Mr. Cardinale in the room behind the front desk and sorted through the bags and jewelry.

Alex and Ana didn’t have a reason to head back upstairs, so they went to the banquet hall to sit together until members of their group began to arrive. As guests showed up, Alex and Ana greeted them warmly and chatted with each couple or person. Well, Alex did most of the talking. He’d insisted on making her promise to use her voice as minimally as possible so that she could preserve it. He knew she’d been overdoing it. Susan had predicted and told them as much just two days prior.

The group of 33 were turning out to be fast friends. Alex noticed yet again that the groups had rearranged themselves to sit with people they hadn’t been with before. He was thrilled that her side and his side, so to speak, were getting along so well. When all was finished, Ana excused herself by asking for the key. Alex happily gave it to her and watched her leave.

About ten minutes later, Ana walked back into the banquet room, and the relief Alex hadn’t realized he’d been craving washed over him. She walked over to Alex carrying a few pieces of paper, handed him an envelope and a box, and then made her way over to Caroline. She was showing Care something on the paper to which Care was nodding. Alex wondered what that was about.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention?” Caroline announced and held Ana’s hand as she stepped up onto a chair. “Hello, all, and welcome to the wedding day! As Ana’s personal attendant, it is my great honor to make sure Ana’s and Alex’s wishes are met today. In about 15 minutes, the rehearsal will occur right here in the hall. You are all free to wander about, head out into Chicago to catch the sights, or make your ways back to your rooms, but to preserve the special moments, we ask that you depart shortly so we can make the wedding as perfect as our little couple has been to us.” Applause met her final statement which made her smile.

“At 1pm, lunch will be served here in the banquet hall,” Caroline continued. “Please join us for another wonderful meal. Once that is done, the bridal party will head up to get ready for the wedding we’ve all been waiting for. Girls, we’ll head to your suite. Gentlemen of the groom’s choosing, you’ll head to Alex’s suite. And at 5pm, you, Alex and Ana’s honored guests, will be present for a wedding of the century. Thank you all, and good day!”

Caroline made a bee line over to Brian, and Ana was showing her paper to the girls, so Alex shrugged, sat down, and opened the envelope.

“Hey, babe, you’re asleep right now, but I couldn’t sleep anymore. We’re getting married today! You may have had time to plan a lot of this, but I think I still have an opportunity to do a few things, not least of all for you. First things first! Here’s my gift to my groom. I hope you like it. I know you have the silver one you were wearing when we met, but this sexy black one caught my eye, and I just had to get it for you.

“Second, I know what song I want for the girls and me to walk down the aisle. Is that OK? It ties in with our song. Hmmm, do we have one of those? Oh, wait… maybe not yet, but, well, I found one, and not only do I think it’s perfect, but it will literally bring me down the aisle to you. You’ll see, but not until 5pm.

“Your vows have been printed out on some nice card stock. Mine is going to be held by you too, if that’s OK. We won’t say them until the wedding. I want our wedding party to be as touched by hearing them for the first time as the rest of the guests. They’re so special, Alex. Thank you for making everything in my life so very special.

“Yes, as you’ve heard, we’ll go ahead and stick with tradition and get ready with our own people. Let the guys razz you about everything, and let Dan tell you some mighty fine words of wisdom. These are their rights, and we need to give them their due, because, baby? When you get up to that altar and tell the good priest that you do intend to love and honor and cherish me beyond anything else in this world, well, honey? I’m not letting you go for the rest of the night.

“It’s about time to start practicing. Let’s go get a start on the rest of our lives. I love you, Alexander Manning McLleyn, more than anything else in existence. Now, come kiss me so we can get this party started.

I love you forever,

Your Ana”

Alex held the note to himself and shook his head as he held the box in his other hand. He opened the box and smiled at the watch which was staring back at him. The note on top read

“When you look at the time, know that at that exact moment, I’m thinking of you too. Your (soon to be) wife, Ana McLleyn”

He then took out the watch and flipped it over.

“I love you, Alex, forever. Your sweet girl, Ana 2/7/21”

“Ugh, that woman,” Alex muttered and wiped at his eyes quickly before anyone came over to bust him crying over a gift from his soon-to-be wife. He left the card and box sitting on the small table with his phone so he’d remember to take them up to the room. He struggled only momentarily about the fact that he didn’t have a gift for Ana before their ceremony. It would have upset her to get something else when he’d paid for everything. To him, it didn’t affect him much that it came from his accounts. To her, it was the world. No, the gift to her was letting this experience be the gift.

When the final non-bridal party guest left the room, Alex first walked over and took Ana into his arms to kiss her. The group got to work by looking over the instructions Ana had presented to them. Caroline had taken her role more seriously than Alex had expected, but he also knew both Ana and Care were thrilled with how things had turned out.

Some ideas were discussed, timing caused an issue until Ana came up with a brilliant solution, and everyone was happy with how things were going to go, even if they didn’t know what the music was to which they were marching down the aisle. Ana assured them (by showing them her pre-typed response) that it would all work out beautifully and begged them to please just trust her. Everyone melted and gave in very quickly.

As they left the servers alone to set up for lunch, Ana and Alex walked out to the lobby and waved at some of the bridal party who had had chosen to head out somewhere in the limo. Alex motioned for Ana to follow her to the elevators to head back up to the room.

“Wanna head out for a bit?” Alex asked her. “We can grab our coats and go for a walk outside. Maybe stop and sit somewhere?” Ana nodded and walked to the room’s closet to fetch their coats and accessories to keep themselves warm. “Oh, and uh, about that envelope you handed me. And the gift… can I open them now?”

Ana backed up from the closet to see if Alex was being serious. The look on her face had him laughing. “I’m just kidding!” Ana sighed in relief and shook her head as she closed her eyes and turned her face to the ceiling. “Come here, though.” Ana set their things on the bed and stood in front of Alex. He sat down and brought her to sit on his lap.

“Thanks for this,” he offered and held up the box. “Did I say something about needing one? I know I was wearing the one on Friday because I checked the time when we were walking to dinner after shopping.” Ana shook her head. “It’s funny. I mean, I usually always use the phone for the time. I generally have my watch on for looks at work, but now that a new chapter is starting with my life, I’d been thinking about getting a new one. And the one you got me? It’s perfect, Ana. It’s exactly what I would have been looking for.”

Ana mouthed, “Really?” which made Alex nod.

“I love it. And your message is the best thing I’ve ever seen engraved.” Alex leaned in and put his mouth by her ear. “You made me cry,” he whispered. Ana pulled back and tilted her head. “Yes, really,” he reiterated. “And the first time I’ll wear it will be when you change your name.” Ana smiled and hugged him.

“Alright, you’ve got all our stuff to keep us warm out there. Got any place you want to head?” Ana shook her head as she pointed at her boots. “Oh, yeah, go ahead and put those on. I’m fine with what I’ve got. I think there’s a park nearby where we can go and maybe sit and watch people pass by.” Ana then pointed at the laptop. “No, you won’t need that.” Ana tilted her head as if to question him, but Alex just laughed and took her hand to lead her out of the room to head for the elevators.

As they walked toward the park, Alex looked over at Ana who had begun looking around at the scenery. It was a Sunday in February, so the populace was sparce, and the people who were out there were heading somewhere quickly to get out of the cold. Ana smiled at Alex when she’d noticed that he was looking at her. “It’s beautiful out,” she mouthed and pointed with her finger of the hand which was holding his arm.

“I’ve seen better,” he teased and pointed at her. Ana tightened her grip on his elbow and tucked her head into his arm as the park came into view. Alex spotted a quaint little bench far off the sidewalk which seemed hidden from several viewpoints. “Ah, perfect,” he noted happily and brought her to sit down with him.

“Oh, it’s good that we have the long coats,” Alex shared. “I’ll bet the wood on these things is cold!” Ana nodded and smiled as she inhaled the nice, though brisk, fresh air.

“I wanted to tell you what the next month looks like and to make sure you’re all good with everything,” Alex explained. “Aaannnddd if we happen to have some extra time before lunch, a little make out session might be in order.”

“Well, then,” Ana told him slowly and decidedly, “I’m fine with all of your plans.” She shrugged, smiled, and then blinked her eyes flirtingly as she looked up at him as if to let him know that he could begin kissing her right then. Alex let out a hearty laugh and hugged her from the side as he held her to himself.

“I love your trust and faith in me, but alas, sweet girl, I meant for this to be a conversation of sorts.” He leaned in and put his mouth to her ear as he brought her to sit on his lap. “Let’s save the really hot stuff for tonight.” Ana shivered and pressed her ear to his lips. “Mmm, there it is.” He kissed her cheek and then turned to make sure they were facing one another as he continued.

“This week, aside from the immense pleasure of which we’ll both be taking part on a very regular basis, I think we’ll need to address some of the more serious issues facing our situation. We’ll go to your aunt’s house and get what’s yours. We’ll save the packing and moving stuff for later because it’ll take a while to sort all that out with bills and mortgage and what is owed and all that. Inevitably, I think Dan said something along the lines of having us pack and store their belongings, sell the house, and leave the key to the storage unit with their items to be handed back to them after they’re released.

“We’ll also meet with Eric and Brian about our money. Mostly, I just need you to know a basic stance on the matter, sign a bunch of paperwork allowing you to be on things like checking accounts, beneficiary to things, and stuff like that. But the next three weeks will allow a lot of those discussions to be held with plenty of time for more questions and your input about what else to do about this next thing I’m about to share.”

Ana watched him as he spoke and listened intently to all that he was sharing with her. He loved that they could sit like this and communicate even without her speaking. Occasionally, it pained him that she was still suffering through the therapy and process of getting back to normal, but he was so proud of her for pushing through the difficulty and focusing on her healing too.

“Ana, when I was gone, I was making plans for our future like I had told you I was doing. It’s one thing if it was just making financial decisions like trading this stock or investing in that company. It has a little more to do with making sure things were perfect before you got to see them. Remember our discussion about what you’d like in a home?” Ana nodded and watched as a little dog was being walked by an older gentleman nearby.

“As soon as I got confirmation that you had been rescued and would be OK, I was on a jet travelling to Wisconsin first,” Alex explained. “I had found a quaint little cabin on a lake. The papers were signed on Sunday. Once I had explained the need to get things done as quickly as possible, the people I was dealing with were very accommodating. They’re glad to hear you’re healing well.

“When I left there, I went to Georgia. I had been looking online at some places in the southern states throughout the time that we’d been discussing it, and one caught my eye. Everything about it is beautiful, and I think we’re going to love it. Everything about all three houses will be perfect, Ana, especially when we put our special touch on all of them to make them our homes.”

“Three?” Ana stated aloud, though Alex could tell she hadn’t meant to speak at all. Alex laughed when Ana covered her mouth quickly after she’d said the word. They’d agreed for her to keep her voice quiet until right before the wedding when she would speak her vows a few times to practice them.

“Yep, and I can’t wait to show them to you. The third is in Breckenridge, Colorado. Ana, it’s so amazing. The house is at the end of a ski slope, within walking distance to town, and exactly what we’d been talking about. We’ll keep hot chocolate in the cabinets, plenty of firewood in the large laundry room which is where we’ll enter the house when we’re done skiing, and extra ski suits with all the accessories to go out onto the hills a lot while we’re there.”

“Three?” Ana whispered this time and held up three fingers to further make her point.

“I’ve worked really hard the last five years of my life, Ana, and I think I’ve earned a bit of retirement fun. But at the same time, I don’t plan to just rest. We’ll want to fix up each house to be exactly how we want them to be, and you’ll be busy taking culinary classes while I’ll be busy taking restaurant management courses. Based on what we’ve talked about, and it can always be ever-changing if you decide to take a different role in them, I want to invest in a new set of restaurants which we’ll start when we’re ready.

“Your focus will be on the food and sanitation aspects, the back half of the restaurant. I’ll be focusing on the business, clientele, and sales, the front half. When I chose each house in each location, I chose it based on all the things you told me you wanted in a house as well as in proximity to places where the possibility of opening our own restaurants was feasible. This, of course, is going to be put into play only if and when you’re ready to do it. I’ll invest, so the money to begin will be there, but it’s really going to be successful because of what you put into the details of the food, the atmosphere, and the design of it all.”

“Together?” Ana mouthed and pointed at him and then herself.

“Yes, I want to build this dream with you. Does that sound good? Do you feel like I understand what you wanted to do with your future? Do you need to think on it?”

“Alex, it’s perfect!” Ana told him perfectly. “Really?”

“I never wanted to sell the company I built only to laze around for the rest of my life. I’m not like that. I’ll always want to keep busy in some way, but from the moment I saw you allowing yourself to shop for us that first night, and then throughout the weekend as we talked about, cooked, baked, and enjoyed each other’s food and ideas and recipes, I began realizing that this could be my next step.

“I plan to enjoy life, my love. I’ll take classes and be your taste tester, not to mention try my hand at a few meals myself, but I also want to take a week here and a week there focusing on this new gift in my life. I have had the rare honor to be able to afford many things in life, especially as of late. I never knew the best and most amazing gift I could ever have was priceless.

“You have given me more in the last two weeks which have meant the world to me, and it didn’t cost you anything. You gave so generously your time, love, thoughtfulness, laughter, peace, and joy. I never really realized that those things were the key to happiness. And you did everything without a second thought. I want to build a whole life with you. I have the means to make them happen, but all of it pales to what we will be able to do together because of what we are, who we are, and how much stronger we are as a couple.”

Ana lifted her arms into the air as if she were showing off her muscles. She then kissed one arm, and then the next. “Pow-r couple,” she announced. “Hear me roar. Rawr!” The whole act had Alex laughing, especially when she actually roared. He looked up at her and motioned with his head for her to bring her head closer to his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled sweetly into his eyes.

“We’re going to blow this world away with the power we share. Money ‘ain’t got nothing’ on what we’re bringing to the table.”

“‘Ain’t got nothing?'” Ana mouthed and gave him a startled look. If Ana was anything, it was grammatically correct when she typed and spoke, putting aside her speech issues, and hearing such a well-spoken man say such things made her feel… yucky.

“Nope,” he argued seriously, though he was smiling. “It ain’t…” he began to repeat but Ana put her lips on his and kissed him deeply to get him to stop torturing her with such a speech.

“So,” Alex stated breathlessly as Ana pulled her lips off his, “you’re cool with the plans for the next month? This week, we’ll be all honeymoon-y and have lots and lots of,” he paused as he looked around to make sure no one could hear him, “sex!” he whispered which made Ana laugh. “We’ll handle some stuff and make some plans to deal with things after our three-week house visits.”

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