Protecting You - Complete

Chapter 15 - Ana

Christian had not long left when Mrs. Jones stepped into the great room announcing Grace and Mia were on their way up.

"Oh—what a pity. Christian has just left for an appointment."

"There was mention of clothes racks, and they asked to see you." Gail was grinning as she delivered that news. These must be Mia's pre-worn gowns Christian had mentioned. I had rather hoped these might have been dropped off for me to consider in private, however that was apparently not going to be the case.

"Anastasia!" Grace said fondly when the elevator doors opened. With her inside the elevator car was Mia with not one, not two, but three fully laden clothing racks. Grace stepped forward to embrace me, followed by Mia, as one of Christian's security staff appeared, moving the three racks filled with garment bags into the great room.

"I'm afraid Christian is not home. He's stepped out for an appointment," I said, embarrassed to be walking around the apartment as if I belonged there.

"Better still," Grace said with a conspiratorial grin. "Christian mentioned you needed a gown for Saturday, so Mia and I are here to help. How about we move these through to your closet and you can look at them and see if there are any you'd like to try on?"

As soon as Grace suggested moving to my room, I blanched. I hadn't stepped in there since this morning. Christian might have left something of his in there from the night before—and the last people I wanted seeing that were his sister and mother! And then there was the matter of all the designer clothes that kept appearing in my wardrobe. If Christian's family saw those, they'd assume I was using him, although I'd been begging him to take them back.

"Nonsense. Ryan? Please move the racks over there," Gail said pointing to a space just beside the corridor leading to the bedrooms. "Ana, use the first room to change, then you can come out and show us."

Oh. My own personal fashion show with me as the model. Joy.

"Good idea, Gail," Mia said as she moved across to the first rack, opening garment bags one by one. All I could see was a sea of pink as Mia suggested I fetch a few pairs of heels from my closet. By the time I returned, the first rack was uncovered. It seemed Mia had a very defined taste. Pink with ruffles. And more pink. There wasn't anything on the rack I could really see myself wearing, but I'd promised Christian I'd accompany him, so I had to find something. Allowing Mia to hold one and then another against me, she narrowed it down to five potentials.

Meanwhile, Gail was setting up the great room with a chilled bottle of wine, some glasses, and a charcuterie platter on the coffee table. "Dr. Trevelyan-Grey? Ms. Grey. Please take a seat—I'd be happy to help Ms. Steele in and out of the dresses."

Before I objected, Gail had steered me into the closest guest room, pulling the potential dresses from the rack and closing the door behind you.

"You don't have to do this," I objected, embarrassed at the thought of stripping to my underwear in front of Christian's household manager.

"It's no bother," Gail said, focussing on undoing the fastenings on the first gown and not my body as I removed my clothes. "I thought you'd prefer I help you rather than Dr. or Ms. Grey."

She had a point, there. The second time meeting your whatever-he-is-to-me's mother does not need to involve me wearing only my underwear!

Holding out the pinkest and frilliest of the dresses for me, it wasn't even done up when Gail and I knew it wasn't the one. "Pop out there and show it to them—I'll get the next one ready," she said as I slipped on a pair of nude heels. I looked like a walking advertisement for Pepto Bismol. Thankfully, one look was enough to convince Mia and Grace the dress wasn't right, so I quickly returned to try on the next and the next. The last dress on the rack was actually quite pretty. Yes, still pink, it was a blush pink strapless number in slubbed dupion silk. The color worked well with my skin tone, although the dress was considerably loose around the chest and hips.