Merry Christmas, Meg x
"Well, I was expecting it to be a lot warmer. A desert, you said." Leanne jibed, nudging Nick as he got out of the taxi, and went to go and help the driver get the suitcases out of the boot of the car.
"I believe the word I actually used was 'varied.'" Nick chuckled, as Leanne got out of the car and folded her arms across her chest in a bid to warm herself up. It was about twelve degrees, so while it wasn't as cold as it would have been back in Manchester, it wasn't as warm as she had expected it to be.
"Can I phone my dad?" Simon interjected, clambering out of the vehicle.
"Not yet, Si." Leanne sighed, as Nick raised an eyebrow. "It'll be late." She added, hoping that would be an end to the request.
"What time is it back in England?" He asked, with Leanne turning to her fiancé.
"It'll be about 4am." Nick calculated.
"Why don't you grab your suitcase?" Leanne suggested to the boy, desperately trying to change the subject.
"Can I call him in the morning, then?" Simon pleaded.
"We'll see if we have time, but we have a lot to do." Nick answered in a cheery voice. The last thing he wanted to do was upset his stepson. He wanted to make this trip of a lifetime memorable - for all the right reasons. "Why don't you take this case and go and check in with your mum?" He suggested. "I'll be right behind you." Nick added, dragging Simon's case over to him.
Leanne took her suitcase and pulled it behind her, walking through the large, glass, automatic doors, with Simon trailing just after her.
The hotel was lovely. It was easily four stars, and walking through the entrance, Leanne felt like the luckiest person in the world.
To the left of her, she spotted a casino and to her right was a posh bar and restaurant. Leanne smiled, promising herself that she would try and take Nick for a nice meal. He certainly deserved it. He'd gone above and beyond for her and she was more than grateful to be marrying Nick. Finally, after all they'd gone through together - this was it. In a few days time, they'd be husband and wife and they would be sticking it to all the people that never thought they'd get this far.
She walked to the front desk; Simon in tow and spoke to the receptionist.
Nick, as promised, followed suit mere seconds later. After he had announced their name and booking reference to the man at the desk, the three of them were shown to their suite. Until the receptionist had mentioned it, Leanne didn't know that Nick had gone to such extravagant lengths to make this so special. He was kind, caring, considerate and she couldn't wait until she could call herself his wife once more.
Upon entering the two bedroom suite, Leanne was amazed. It was absolutely beautiful and just so perfect.
There were two large bedrooms, with Nick and Leanne's bed scattered with rose petals. An ice bucket containing a bottle of champagne was sat on the bedside table, with two accompanying glasses, waiting to be enjoyed by the two adults.
"Wow!" Simon exclaimed, noticing the size of his bedroom and going inside, leaving his case by the door and rushing to explore his surroundings.
"This is beautiful." Leanne remarked, folding herself into Nick, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Only the best for my beautiful fiancée." He smiled.
"Mum! Mum!" Simon shouted excitedly, coming back into the main room and breaking up the moment between the couple. "There's a TV in my room!" He exclaimed, as Leanne and Nick both chuckled.
"Yeah, well, don't think that you can stay up all night watching it!" She remarked.
"Why not?" He asked, whining slightly.
"We have a lot to do tomorrow and you've had a long day." Leanne explained.
"Yeah, you're going to need all the sleep that you can get. Otherwise, you'll be so tired tomorrow you won't be able to keep your eyes open." Nick chipped in.
"Where are we going tomorrow?" Simon asked his soon-to-be stepdad.
Nick glanced over at Leanne, unsure as to whether he should reveal the surprise to the already excited child. She gave him a small nod and a short smile, letting him know that he could tell him the plan they had for the next day.
"We're going to go to a place called Red Rock Canyon." He announced, as Simon didn't really know what to do or how to feel about the information he'd just been given.
"Is it like the Grand Canyon?" Simon asked, still a little puzzled.
"A little bit, yeah." Leanne smiled.
"Cool." He shrugged, obviously not as bothered as his mum and Nick were. Although, this could have been down to him being both overwhelmed and jetlagged. "Can I go and unpack?" He asked.
"Sounds like a good idea." Nick smiled. Simon collected his bag from where he left it, by the door, and dragging it into his room, leaving Nick and Leanne alone once more.
Nick spun Leanne around, holding her by the waist. She leant into him, planting a soft kiss on his lips.
"We better get unpacked too." Nick told her softly, as Leanne sighed.
"Why don't we just order room service and have an early night?" He suggested, feeling Leanne relax into him a little more, perhaps now at the thought that she could just chill this evening and not have to worry about going out to dinner.
"That sounds lovely." She replied.
"I'll start putting clothes away, and you can ask Si what he fancies." Nick instructed.
"Good idea." Leanne smiled, kissing Nick once more. "I love you." She hummed, a beaming smile overtaking her. She peeled herself away from Nick, feeling his absence almost immediately and missing the contact they had. She took the menu that was residing next to the telephone on a desk near the door and disappeared into Simon's room. As she walked away, Nick sighed contently. This was going to be the best holiday of his life.
Nick was sitting up, leaning on the headboard of the bed, stroking his fiancée's hair softly, glaring at the television in front of them, but not paying attention to the sitcom that was showing. After a nice evening and with Simon now in bed, Leanne and Nick had a glass of champagne each, to see out their first night in the United States. It was getting later, although they knew they needed the sleep, basking in each others company sounded like a much better idea than catching up on a good night's rest. Besides, just like Simon, they were too excited about their upcoming nuptials to let their minds worry about sleeping off some of the jetlag they had accumulated.
"Thank you, for today - for everything." Leanne mused, as she cuddled into Nick's chest.
"I love you so much." He reminded her, planting a firm kiss in her hair. "I can't wait to be able to call you Mrs Tilsley." Nick added, smiling widely. As did Leanne, who had a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach at the thought of being married to the love of her life once more.
"I love you too." She told him back, closing her eyes softly. She wanted to feel this happy forever.
She soon fell asleep in her husband-to-be's arms, the next day was to be a busy one and this was only the start of the adventure.
A very boring chapter, but a chapter that can lead on to more...