Thanks again! :D

Narcissistic, I feel bad for not posting up the whole chapter! So here you go! :D

Hope you all enjoy!

Beautiful Tomorrow

Part Two

I love Rachel Mason. Do you know how good it feels being able to say that? I always knew that there was something between us; a spark if you like but I was under no illusion. I didn't think it possible that someone as beautiful and as dynamic as her would ever want to end up with me. But life is funny like that. It's never what you expect it to be. I want to do something special for her to let her know how serious I am. That is why I've planned tonight. I want Rachel to feel special because she deserves to. If only I could get her to see what I see.

Today was horrible. Although I might not show it, I'm as insecure as she is when it comes to our relationship. I think that's why I overreacted when she was reluctant to tell the rest of the staff about us. I could tell she needed to be reassured and yet I probably made her feel worse. I should have told her I'm happy to take things at her pace. Because I am. Obviously I would rather the world knows that I've met the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. But if Rachel felt uncomfortable, I should have accepted that. Part of me knew though that she wouldn't let me walk away from her. Not again. A love like ours only happens once. I think we've both realised that.

Rachel stands in front of the mirror and stares at her reflection. She turns sideways to check her outfit again; unsure about whether she has made the right choice. Eddie had given her no hint as to where they are going and when she had tried to call him, his phone was switched off. She leans towards the mirror and blends in stray eye shadow with her fingertips before applying a final layer of lipstick.

"Rach!"

Phillip's voice startles Rachel and she jumps slightly.

"Yeah?"

"Eddie's here."

"Ok, I'll be down in a minute." She slips on her favourite pair of black patent Kurt Gieger heels and picks her bag up from her bed. With one final glance towards the mirror, she walks out of her room and closes the door behind her.

Eddie feels his heart soar in his chest as Rachel walks down the stairs towards him. She pauses briefly to talk to her nephew but Eddie doesn't register what she is saying; instead watching as she tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear and flashes him a smile. At this moment, he decides he is the luckiest man in the world. Rachel, to her credit, had chosen to wear an exquisitely beautiful deep purple wrap dress which, of course, she had deliberated over for the best part of an hour. She had dismissed it on the grounds of it being too formal considering she has no idea where Eddie is taking her. Then, on realising that he is actually quite romantic and would therefore have something special planned, she had decided to wear it. Her hair sits like a golden halo; framing her face and her bracelet glimmers in the hall light.

"Have a good evening!" Eddie jolts back into reality as Rachel pats Phillip on the shoulder and makes her way down the remainder of the stairs towards him. She stops and takes in his appearance.

"Mmm, you look nice. I'm liking the suit."

"You don't scrub up so badly yourself Miss Mason. You look beautiful."

She leans forward to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"My pleasure."

"So where are we going?"

"I told you, it's a surprise."

"Huh. You're mean."

"I know but that's why you love me."

"Oh, is it now?"

"Yes."

"See, there was me thinking that it has something to do with the fact that I can't resist a man in a suit."

"Ohh, so that's why you were eyeing up that Inspector last week, was it?"

"Oh haha Mr Lawson. Very funny. He was what, ninety?"

"You seemed to have quite an effect on him from what I can see. Poor bloke!"

"Oi! I think we should get going before you dig yourself into a deeper hole!" She giggles as he wraps his arms around her; placing his hand on the small of her back which in turn sends shivers through her body.

"Do you? I'm beginning to think we might not even make it as far as the front door..." He bends down and kisses her gently on the side of her neck. Immediately, she feels herself weaken but manages to push him away.

"Let's go, shall we?" She smiles at him sweetly; watching his face fall slightly.

"Ok, ok. If you insist."

"Oh. I do."

The journey passes in comfortable silence; neither feeling the need to break it. Occasionally, Eddie takes his hand off the steering wheel to take hold of Rachel's or she watches him as his brow crinkles in confusion as they reach an unfamiliar junction. Her eyes trace the contours of his face; his strong jaw, beautiful eyes. She memorises each laughter line; storing away each fragment in her memory so that it is there should she ever need it. She doesn't realise that they have stopped until she feels him reach over to undo her seatbelt.

"Earth to Rach."

"Sorry, I was miles away."

"I noticed. I didn't realise I was so fascinating."

"If you did, I'd be worried!" She reaches down to pick up her bag and Eddie opens his door and climbs out before walking around to her side of the car. "So, are you going to tell me where we are?"

"I'll show you instead. Come on." He takes her hand and leads her from a small car park through a tunnel of low trees. Darkness has fallen around them but their pathway is highlighted by small fairy lights which sparkle brightly on the branches of the trees. They reach the end of the path and Eddie stops. Rachel takes in the view in front of her and gasps.

"Eddie, wow! This is...it's stunning."

"I thought you'd like it."

"Like it? I love it! But why are we here?"

"I wanted to do something special for you Rach. To make you feel special. Because you are." She notices as colour rises slightly in his cheeks so leans her head on his shoulder and kisses the back of his hand whilst entwining their fingers.

"Oh Eddie..."

"Plus, I heard that they use this place to film those period drama's you're obsessed with. So I booked us in for dinner."

Rachel's eyes widen as she takes in the sweeping hotel in front of her. It has the elements of a Statley Home; grand entrance, sweeping grounds and a lake in front of it; reflecting its beauty.

"This is...Wow. It's..."

"And whilst I was at it, I booked us in for tonight too. And before you ask, I've spoken to Phillip and he knows where we are and you're overnight bag is in the car."

"You've thought of everything."

"Well, I wanted this to be perfect."

"It is."

"I wanted to prove that – "

She interrupts him by placing a finger on his lips. "You don't need to prove anything. It's perfect because you're here. Quite frankly Eddie, you could have told me that we we're camping on the edge of a ravine and it would still be perfect."

"That could easily be arranged."

"You know what I mean!!"

"I do."

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"For making me realise what love is."

"Which is?"

"This." She looks up and meets his eyes before placing her hand on the back of his neck. Pulling him towards her, their lips meet and she grazes the back of his neck gently with her nails before running her hands through his hair. She can feel his grip on her tighten as he pulls her body in line with his own; needing to close the gap between them. When they eventually pull apart; both breathing heavily, he rests his forehead against hers and looks levelly at her.

"Y'know Rachel, I think I like being in love with you."

She laughs gently at this. "That's good. Especially seeing as I love being in love with you."

"Hey, I make up the cheesy lines around here!"

"Not anymore you don't Mr Lawson."

"I think I can live with that." He reaches down to kiss her again and she responds with feeling.

Neither, if they are honest, wanting this moment to pass. They both know that there will come a point where they would have to tell everyone. But for the moment they decide to focus on what is important. What they are. But most importantly, what they will become.

Eddie had thought of everything. It was the simple touches that brought a tear to my eye and caused butterflies to circle in my stomach. Don't get me wrong, since we've been together, he's been nothing but warm, affectionate and loving but now I think I can add romantic to the list. Like I said, it was the simple touches; the freshly cut flowers he had asked to be left in our room, the outfit he had carefully chosen from my wardrobe when he had gone to get my overnight bag from my house at lunchtime...he just knew. Somehow he knew what would mean the most to me. Take this hotel for example; really not his sort of place- no televisions in the bedroom or the bar, the candle lit restaurant and the small string quartet which play quietly whilst you wait for your food to be served. And yet none of this seems to matter to him. His single aim was to do something to make me happy and in turn this only makes me love him even more than I do already; even more than I ever thought possible.

The hotel is exquisite; really stunning. Just like something out of Pride and Prejudice. I half expected Mrs Bennett to come bustling down the corridor towards us. It turns out that Eddie's cousin is the Hotel manager and that is why he managed to get us a room at such short notice. This is where I come to the best part of the evening. Mark, Eddie's cousin met us on arrival and showed us to the best seat in the house. Our table was right next to a floor to ceiling window tucked away slightly behind an alcove. Chilling in a bucket on the table, was a bottle of champagne and, on Eddie's request, the restaurant's staff had placed candlesticks in the centre and as we ate, these flickered a deep gold; reflecting light over both of our faces. Mark came to talk to us in between dealing with other guests. This was the best part. At last someone knew about us. It sounds strange but somehow this made our relationship seem all the more real. We could be a couple. Eddie could hold my hand without the fear of me snatching it away because somebody is about to walk into my office and it meant that I could reach across to brush his mouth gently with my lips should the moment take me. It was at this moment that I realised I want the world to know. I want the world to know that I, Rachel Mason am in love. And I intend to shout it from the rooftops.

"Rach, you asleep?"

"Nope. You?"

"I think the fact I'm talking kind of gives that away."

"This is true." I turn over in bed so that I am facing him; trapping his leg underneath my own. In the darkened room, I can make out the outline of his body; his arm resting on top of the duvet, his broad shoulders up to the face that I have memorised a million times over. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I can see that he is grinning broadly at me. I glance fleetingly over his shoulder at the small clock on the bedside table. 4:30. "You do realise that we have to be up in two hours, don't you?"

He pulls my body towards him so that my hands rest on his bare chest. His hand rests on the small of my back before the other moves suggestively towards my stomach. I bat him away whilst trying to maintain a serious expression. I watch in amusement as his face falls slightly.

"I was hoping you might let us pull a sickly. Head teacher's privileges and all that."

"Nice try Lawson. Have you forgotten that I'm spending the day moderating the Maths department?"

He stares at me in mock surprise. "That's today?"

"Haha. Ohhh, wait a minute..."

"What?"

"That's why we're here, isn't it? You're trying to bribe me!"

"Are you seriously suggesting I'd sleep with my boss to make sure I get a good report?"

"Yes."

"Well I'm shocked. I plan a lovely night away and you accuse me of having an ulterior motive."

"I'm only joking."

"Whatever."

I can't help but laugh as his face contorts into mock anger before he turns his back to me. I push my body into his back and whisper into his war. "Ooh, are we getting a bit stroppy?"

"As if!"

"It's funny when you're moody. It's quite sweet really." This has the desired effect as he moves to face me once again.

"Sweet?! SWEET! Mr Darcy gets aloof and smouldering. I get sweet! Huh. Well you -" I silence him by swiftly planting a kiss on his lips. I move to pull away to look at him but he places his hand behind my head and draws me towards him before kissing me with feeling. His tongue gently grazes mine sending waves of desire through my body. I run my hand though his hair before moving my mouth from his to trail kisses along his jaw and down the side of his neck. We both know what is going to happen next so, momentarily, I stop kissing him and rest my forehead against his. His fingers trace circles on my shoulder and he smiles warmly at me.

"Eddie."

"Rachel."

"Thank you."

"S'ok."

"One thing though."

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow."

"What about it?"

"Well. After we've dragged ourselves away from what is possibly the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in..."

"It is pretty nice."

"And after we've spent all day avoiding each other so nobody can tell we've spent tonight together..."

"And after you've Moderated me?"

"Yes. Ooh, you're good at this!"

"I am, aren't I? So after all of that..."

"After all of that..."

He interrupts me once again. "Can we tell everyone?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

"That's good."

"It is."

"I want people to know. Tonight was even more special because Mark was here and – "

His eyes widen at this. "Mark? My cousin? Rachel, do not tell me you –"

I place a finger on his lips to silence him. "Tonight was even more special because there was someone who knows about us. I don't want this to be a secret any more Eddie. I don't want to pretend my heart doesn't sink every time you leave my office in the morning. And, thinking about it, it might sound better coming from us than Steph."

"Steph?"

"Well, the woman's been away for two weeks and she's realised something's going on."

"What has she said?"

"Oh, something along the line of 'Mr Lawson's outside. Shall I send him in or will it keep for tonight?'"

"Bloody typical."

"Soo, I think we should announce it before she does. That's if you still want to?"

"What do you think?" He leans over and presses me down onto the bed. Resting on top of me, his lips meet mine and I soon feel myself unable to resist his touch. As his kisses move from my lips onto my shoulders I whisper softly into his ear.

"I'll take that as a yes then." He looks up at me; his eyes sparkling in agreement. Laughing softly, I reach down and pull the cover over our heads. Tomorrow we will face questions. But this night still has a few hours left to it yet. And I intend to make the most of it.