Kendal was watching Griffin suspiciously; their romantic evening so far had involved nothing more than a bumpy drive into the woods. It was getting colder and darker out and more than once she thought Griffin was lost. Whenever she asked him where they were going all he would only say it was a surprise.

If he thought taking her out to a cabin in the middle of nowhere was a romantic gesture he was going to be sorely mistaken!

Suddenly the noise of the rutted road turned into a crunch of gravel… and there indeed was a little wooden shack.

"What is this?" Kendal asked.

"Your romantic retreat." replied Griffin hopping out of the car and coming round to open the door for her.

"It looks like the home of an axe murderer." she muttered.

"Wait until you see inside." he said holding out a hand for her to take.

Once Kendal was on her feet Griffin dunked back to the trunk to grab their overnight bag.

"Just give me a moment to turn the lights on." he called as he then eagerly raced across the drive to the cabin door.

Kendal followed slowly, scowling at the mud squelching under her heels.

Just as she reached the porch, grabbing the handrail before climbing the stairs, she was suddenly blinded by sparkling lights. The porch was draped in fairy lights, every part of it…

Kendal stopped and stepped back in amazement. The dark grungy cabin suddenly looked like something from a fairy tale.

Griffin reappeared to admire his handy work.

"When did you do all this?" Kendal asked as he came to stand beside her.

"I've done a lot of back and forth to make this place just perfect." he said. "I was worried you'd get suspicious with me taking all the back roads and turning circles getting here… I was waiting for it to get dark."

Kendal grinned and nudged him.

"I just thought you'd gotten lost." she said. "I was in half a mind to ask you to turn around and drive me home!"

Griffin raised an eyebrow and Kendal grinned back.

"I'm glad I didn't though!" she added

"The best is yet to come." Griffin said holding his elbow out gallantly for her to take.

Kendal let herself be led towards the cabin, excited now about what she would find inside.

…

What Kendal found herself stepping into was not the interior of some outwoodsy cabin; fabric hung for the walls and ceilings; expensive cushions and throws covered the couches; a table sat in the corner with a single red rose in a vase between two place settings; the fire in the hearth was just starting to take where Griffin must have lit it when he rushed inside; two Champagne glasses and a bottle in an ice bucket beside the hearth rug were the final touches.

The whole thing felt like stepping into a Hollywood Movie set from the 1930s.

Kendal just stood in silence, overwhelmed by how much Griffin had done for her.

Griffin took her hand and slipped an arm around her waist.

"Shall we dance?"

Kendal became aware of soft swing music playing in the background; in fact it sounded like Fred Astaire.

"What is all this? It's just… wow!" she asked smiling widely as Griffin gently swung her round to the music.

"I wanted to give you a night out at the movies. I admit Spike gave me the inspiration," said Griffin, "But I couldn't forget that Mr Astaire brought us together."

Kendal's brow wrinkled at that.

"He did?"

Griffin pulled her tighter intro his arms.

"Remember New York; the ferry trip in the fog…" He then began singing 'They Can't Take That Away From Me'.

Kendal smiled at the memory. That was the moment she had finally felt ready to say goodbye to Zack and let Griffin in.

Kendal wrapped her arms around his neck as they still turned slow circles in their dance and kissed him softly.

"I remember." she said.

She kissed him again, lingering this time. Soon the kisses became more important than the dance and as one they shuffled back towards the nearest comfortable surface. The couch by the fire.

Griffin pulled away briefly,

"There's still a romantic supper." he said.

Kendal tightened her grip around his neck and dragged him the last few paces to the couch.

"After…" she said, grinning as she kissed him passionately once more.

With that they fell into the couch together…

…