All I want for Christmas is you
„Mac, please... I really think we need this."
Will wasn't too proud to start begging and with a sigh his fiancée looked up from the papers on her desk and got up to walk around it where she stopped right in front of him. It was shortly after the final rundown meeting and Will had been pestering her all day, just like the day before and the day before that, every chance he'd got.
Sliding her hands up his chest to his shoulders she placed a soft kiss on Will's lips and then fixed her eyes on his. „This really means a lot to you, doesn't it?"
Will moved his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. „It does. We've got engaged almost five weeks ago and we've hardly had any time to ourselves since then. The election aftermath, Genoa, you moving in... I really think we need some quality time together... alone." He put specific emphasis on the last word and raised one of his hands to cup her cheek before running it through her hair. „I miss you, MacKenzie..."
„I'm right here, Honey." Mac smiled at him. „We've been together almost 24/7 these last weeks, can't you share me with my family for just a few days over Christmas?"
Now it was Will's turn to sigh. „I know we're with each other most of the time, but honestly: How much time have we spent alone, just the two of us? And I'm not counting the hours we were sleeping which would be most of the time in question... Working, going to Hang Chew's afterwards to boost morale, meetings with Rebecca, moving, dinner invitations from Charlie, Leona and everybody else who wants a piece of the happy couple... I feel like we have less alone time than before our engagement! At least then nobody bothered us because they didn't want to be caught in the midst of another fight... I'm really starting to miss these days, Mac!"
Mac giggled at Will's slightly desperate tone and buried her hands in his hair. „I know, Billy, if you say it like that we picked a really bad time to get engaged." She pulled him down for another kiss. „It's not that I don't want to spend the time with you, but I've promised my parents weeks ago that we would come to London. And you approved, if I might add..."
Will growled. „I know, but that was before I knew our schedule for this last month. I checked and we actually had five evenings at home without having to unpack boxes or go through our Genoa testimonies... Five evenings in as many weeks, Mac! That's just not enough!"
„I know, Baby..." Mac sighed and squeezed his shoulder. „And I miss it, too, but it's gonna get better in the new year."
„Maybe, but it's still gonna be everyday life. We need to get away from it all for a while." He frowned in concentration while his hand moved up from her behind to her back. „Let me talk to your parents, I'm sure they'll understand. And we can visit them at the end of January or in February, maybe over Valentine's Day. We could stay a whole week instead of just a few days as you've planned for christmas...?"
Will was now openly baiting her; he had no idea how she would react to his suggestion but it didn't take long to see that he had taken the right road.
„Really? You think we can get away for a whole week with this Genoa mess?" Now Mac actually sounded excited, and Will knew he only had to play his cards right.
„I'm pretty sure, Hon. The depositions will be in January and after that there's not much more for us to do but wait..." Then inspiration struck. „I'll even go to Tate Modern with you...?" He saw Mac's eyes lighting up and grinned. „You know what a sacrifice that is for me!"
She laughed. „I do, and it shows me better than any words how much you want this holiday..." Looking up at him she leaned in to kiss him and then moved her lips to his ear. „Okay, if you can sell it to my parents we have a deal. Five days at Christmas for a whole week in February..."
With a gentle bite into his earlobe she pulled back and laughed at the happy smile on his face. „Don't party too soon, you'll have to deal with Mom first. And I won't forget about Tate Modern..."
„Your Mom likes me, it'll be fine." Will was confident. „I'll turn on my charm and you'll see. And as long as you don't make me buy some gruesome painting I'll survive a day with the so-called arts." This time he leaned down for a kiss, enjoying it a little longer then Mac did before, but he suddenly pulled back. „But don't tell anybody here, okay? Even in days of text messages and Skype people tend to rather leave you alone when they think you're out of the country instead of just a couple hundred miles away. I want it to just be us..."
„Deal, but now go and work on your script, or your EP will have some words with you."
„You know... That's actually tempting..." Thinking back to talkative Mac from the previous night Will grinned lewdly and quickly stepped out of the vicinity of her hand before she could slap him for this remark, even if meant playfully.
„Not those kinds of words, you nitwit!" Easing the name-calling with an affectionate smile she walked back to her desk chair. „Now go and finish your script!"
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In the end his phone call to Mac's parents wasn't as difficult as expected. They understood their wish to be alone for a few days and were also mollified by the promise to come visit them at a later date.
However, this didn't mean that they let Will off the hook that easy. Especially Claire, Mac's mother, couldn't refrain from hinting at him probably only wanting to be alone with her daughter to have a jolly good time in the bedroom. Not that she would mind, looking at their age and taking the fact into account that she was still waiting for her first grandchild...
Mac had barely been able to suppress her laughter when she saw Will's face blush, getting redder by the minute. She knew her mother and was quite certain that she could guess in which direction she had steered the conversation.
But all that was forgotten now that she and Will were driving upstate in their rental car. They had set out early this Saturday morning for a five day trip – Christmas really lay very convenient for the working class this year with the 25th falling on a Tuesday – and the skyscrapers of New York City had slowly changed into quiet suburbs with houses decked in christmas decorations before they entered more rural areas. By now Mac was watching the landscape turning more and more into a winter wonderland with every mile they travelled towards the Adirondacks.
Her hand resting on Will's thigh the silence was comfortable, only occasionally interrupted by a short remark when one pointed out some interesting feature beside the road to the other.
„I'm really glad we are doing this." Mac finally sighed and looked at Will, who gave her a quick smile before looking back at the road. Taking her hand from his leg he lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss to her palm. „Me, too. It's going to be wonderful."
„Mmmh... I didn' expect this much snow; I'm so glad we're not on a plane to London now."
„I've talked to the owner a couple of days ago, and he said that they haven't had this much snow in years. They are even expecting more."
Mac looked at him again and squeezed his hand that was still holding hers. „Thanks, Billy."
„You're welcome, Honey. Pure vanity, though..." He winked at her. „Now start looking for a small sign on your side of the road that says „Hank's Cabins & Chalets". It should be coming soon and then it's not far anymore."
„Hank's?" Mac raised her eyebrows. Will hadn't told her where they would go, but that name sounded like some rustic log cabins where they had to cleave the wood themselves to have it warm inside, nothing like anything she had expected.
Will grinned. „Just wait and see, Honey."
After about another five minutes they saw the signpost and turned right, leaving the cleared main road and entering a smaller, snow covered path that continously led them higher up the mountain. The mantle of snow became higher and higher and Will was glad he had followed the advise he had gotten and rented a SUV with four-wheel drive; with a normal sedan they would never have made it up this far.
Finally they followed a turn in the road and Mac gasped in surprise.
In front of her lay a beautiful block house covered in snow and christmas decorations, which were very tasteful. No colored, flashing lights or big red plastic Santas climbing the roof, but stylish christmas sculptures of wood and stone, a few strategically placed holiday lights and an enormous christmas tree with balls which seemed to be made of colored glass.
„Will..." Mac breathed and then smiled at him. „This is beautiful!"
„It is, isn't it? I'm glad you like it." He parked the car in a convenient spot close the the main house with several log cabins squattered nearby in walking distance, and they both got out. While Mac stretched a little and then took a deep breath in the clean, crisp air, Will stepped around the car and put his arms around her from behind, turning them around a little. „Look over there, the lake."
„Oh Billy... How far is it? Can we walk there?"
„I think so, at least if the way is cleared from snow, but we can find out. Let's check in and get the key for our cabin." He took her hand and led her to the wooden patio where the entrance door was located. Stepping into the lounge a burning fireplace welcomed them and a young women looked up from behind the reception, smiling at them. „Welcome to 'Hank's Chalets and Cabins'! I hope you had a nice trip?"
Mac smiled and took a step towards her desk but Will stopped her. „Why don't you get yourself warmed up over there, I'll handle everything."
Mac wanted to protest but sensed that he really didn't want her to be part of the check-in and closed her mouth again. He probably had a surprise waiting for her, so with a squeeze to his hand she just nodded and walked towards the fireplace.
This place was just beautiful, and coming from the hustle of New York during Christmas time it was hard to believe that just a couple of hours away such an idyllic and peaceful place existed.
Will had been right, they really needed this time to get away from everything. As wonderful as the past six weeks had been, with all the stress at work they had hardly had any opportunity to spend some quality time together. And has lovely as Christmas with her family would have been, she knew exactly, that aside from the normal holiday fuss, Will and she would have been grilled by her mother and her sisters about what had happened on election night and how their reconciliation had come about, having only been given a short, compact version over the phone so far.
She knew that her family didn't believe a word of the story they had heard, moving from zero to engaged in lightning speed, but was convinced that they had been back together before already. So Will and she both would be poked and prodded for more details they simply weren't able to give.
Yes, spending the holidays here was definitely the much more relaxed option, though obviously meeting her family was only a pleasure deferred...
She sighed at this thought and just that moment Will stepped up behind her, pulling her against her chest. „What's this? No gloomy thoughts while we are here, rule # 1."
Mac placed her hands over his covering her stomach and slightly tilted her head to look up at him. „Oh? There are rules? What are the others?"
Will nibbled at her ear lobe before whispering in a teasing voice „To enjoy ourselves and have outrageous amounts of sex..."
Mac quickly drew her lower lip between her teeth to refrain from a moan that threatened to come out at his words. Of course she was expecting to spend a lot of time with Will in bed – and probably elsewhere – over the holidays, but having him announce it so blatantly had the heat pool in her stomach instantly.
„I think I'd like to see our cabin now, Billy." She tried to sound normal, but Will just knowingly looked at her and chuckled.
„Then come with me, your carriage awaits, Mylady." With a courteous bow he offered her his arm and when they stepped out on the porch Mac gasped again. Will hadn't exaggerated; there really was a horse-drawn sleigh waiting for them outside!
„Will! That is... But the cabins are right over there, we can easily walk!"
„Just wait and see..." Will greeted the driver, helped Mac to her seat and set down next to her, not forgetting to cover them both with a warm blanket. Once they were securely seated the coachman clicked his tongue and the two horses fell into a measuredly trot.
Mac didn't have a choice but to snuggle into Will who had put his arm around her shoulder, and let her eyes enjoy the winter wonderland that was passing by. Shortly before they reached the first of the cabins the sleigh turned right, and they entered into what seemed to be a service road through the adjoining forest that showed a few tracks from horses and probably snow mobiles, but didn't seem to be used that often.
Snow was covering the trees and every once in a while she could catch a glimpse of the glistening lake Will had shown her before.
Mac was certain that Will had arranged this sleigh ride to show her where they would spend the next days and expected to be on a round trip back to the main lodge, so she was completely caught by surprise when after about ten minutes going slightly uphill at a leisurely pace the road made a turn, and the sleigh stopped in front of a magnificent log chalet, set against a mountain backdrop and offering a stunning view over the lake.
„Billy, this is... It's gorgeous! And huge! Isn't it much too big for the two of us?"Mac didn't move her eyes from the snow-covered house in front of her, completely flabbergasted at how Will had managed to organize this at such a short notice. But before she could ask him Will had sent off the driver with a generous tip and took her by the hand to lead her to the entrance on a narrow footpath that had been shoveled through the snow.
The stairs leading up to the porch as well as the deck itself had been meticulously freed from the snow that was piling up by the feet all around them. „Welcome to our little christmas hideaway, Sweetheart."
Opening the door Will guided Mac into the house. After taking only a few steps inside she stopped to admire her surroundings, completely overwhelmed. Mostly built from wood the spacious living room in front of her immediately gave her a warm, homy feeling. A large window front offered a breathtaking view over the lake and filled the room with sunlight, the reflection of the snow making it almost hurtful to the eyes to look outside.
When Mac didn't move and just stood in the entrance way, taking in her surroundings and momentarily speechless, Will spoke.
„Well, do you like it?"
„I have to admit, hearing the name I thought... Well, I didn't expect this!" Mac turned around and Will was relieved to see her excitement and the merry sparkle in her eyes. He knew she would have enjoyed the time with her parents and so would he, but he hadn't been lying when he had told her that he felt they both needed to get away from everyone and everything for a while to be by themselves.
Then his thoughts snappped back into the present when he heard her sigh deeply.
„Did I tell you already that I'm glad you insisted on getting away?"
„I think you mentioned something like that, yeah..." Will now grinned a little smugly and pulled her into his arms. Mac melted right into him, but then she moved back a little to look up into his eyes.
„How did you even manage to book this so close to Christmas?"
Will smiled, pleased with himself. „Wolf had told me about this place and I had them send me a brochure months ago already, before we were even engaged. I liked it and thought maybe one day I'd come up here. When you agreed to not go to London I thought it was worth a shot and believe it or not, they had just had a cancellation, so here we are..."
„How bold, I like it... Do you know that you are a genius?" Mac lifted herself onto her tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. „And you are not afraid to bargain with my mother – What more can a girl ask for?"
This time Mac pulled him down for a longer kiss that made him groan, but before he ran the risk of shoving her against the wall right here on the doorstep Will quickly took her hand to show her the rest of the house instead.
The living room was very spacious with the couches and wing chairs arranged around an impressing stone fireplace. Everything was very tastefully decorated in country style motives but classy and yet low-key at the same time, a theme the decorator followed through in the whole house, as Mac was to find out.
Large glass doors opened onto a wide, canopied terrace with a whirlpool on one side and a sitting area next to a top of the notch barbeque grill on the other.
The other rooms on the ground floor included a large kitchen, a bathroom with a built-in sauna, a TV lounge as well as a games room with a pool table and a selection of board games. Upstairs they found the master suite where their luggage was already waiting for them, three smaller bedrooms plus another couple of bathrooms.
„Seeing all these beds I hope you don't intend to sleep alone tonight?" Mac grinned at Will and then slid her arms around his waist to lean against his chest.
„Not a chance..." Lifting her chin with his index finger he leaned down to kiss her, softly at first before letting it get more urgent when the first moans escaped her. After a while though he pulled back with a last swipe of his tongue over her upper lip and mumbled „Why don't you get changed and then we try to find a way down to the lake?"
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After a wonderful two hour walk along the lake they returned to their luxurious 'hut' half frozen. Although Will had the kitchen stocked before their arrival he suggested to have an early dinner at the restaurant that belonged to the resort to start their little holiday completely relaxed. So after a quick, hot shower to warm up he moved the snowmobile out of the adjoining shed and Mac, warmly dressed like an eskimo, settled against his back and held on.
It was only a short drive, a lot quicker than with the carriage they had arrived with, and soon they were settled in the cozy restaurant, close to the fireplace.
There were already some other guests seated this early, and while they waited for their drinks to be brought Mac let her gaze wander across the room. Suddenly her eyes widened almost comically and she grabbed Will's arm.
„Oh, I thought you wanted to spend the holiday alone! What are they doing here?"