Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews guys! I fly off to Dubrovnik, Croatia tomorrow and I'm going to be there for a week so I won't be able to update until I'm back. Here is a nice long chapter, with some fluff, to keep you going.

xx-xx-xx-xx-xx

That night, Zed and I made the most of the hot tub. We sat there talking about old and recent times, all the times that had made us smile or laugh, whilst drinking white wine.

'Aren't you glad I told you to bring a swimsuit now?' He smiled, kissing my hand.

'If I'm quite honest, I had visions of you throwing me into freezing cold water or making me snowboard in my bikini! Not making me sit in a hot tub in tranquility.'

'Ah that would be a nice sight.' He grinned, making me nudge him playfully.

'You've missed out by asking me to bring a swimsuit, though.'

'Oh?'

'Well if you hadn't asked me to, then I would have had to come in the hot tub naked.'

Zed's eyes widened, making me giggle. 'You wouldn't have done that.'

'Wouldn't I?' I bit my lip. 'I guess we'll never know.'

His jaw dropped, making me giggle, and I noticed he was speechless.

'I'm heading off to bed.' I yawned, trying not to smile. 'It's getting late and I don't want Santa to see I'm still awake.'

I grabbed my fluffy hotel robe and disappeared into the cabin, gently closing the door behind me. I'd missed winding up Zed. It was one of my favourite hobbies.

Zed and I were awoken by a knock on the door on Christmas morning. I jumped up, but Zed had already grabbed his robe and was opening the door.

'Breakfast for you sir. Merry Christmas.' Came the sound of a voice in the doorway, although I couldn't quite see who it was coming from.

'Thank you. Merry Christmas.' Zed replied, taking a tray and closing the door behind him. He walked over to the bed and placed the tray down where my feet had been, before slipping off his robe and sliding back under the covers. 'Merry Christmas beautiful.'

'Merry Christmas.' I murmured, still half-asleep. I adjusted my red vest top and sat up properly, leaning against the goose-feather pillows.

I watched as my topless, muscular boyfriend pulled the covers off of the two plates. A full english breakfast; bacon, sausages, baked beans, hash browns, scrambled egg, fried mushrooms and toast. My mouth watered.

'We've got some orange juice to go with it.' Zed handed me a glass and the cutlery.

'This is amazing.' I smiled, before frowning. 'What's going on?'

'What do you mean?'

'Well things can't be this good, can they? Everytime things are going perfectly, something bad happens.'

'Don't be a pessimist.' He frowned, shaking his head.

'I'm not.' My eyes started to water and I felt like crying. 'It's just everytime my life is on track and going well, something comes in the way and ruins it.'

'Hey.' His eyes softened and he pulled me into his arms. 'This time, nothing is going to ruin it, okay? I want everything to be perfect just as much as you do.' He kissed my head and sighed. 'Let's just enjoy our week here, just the two of us.'

'Okay.' I replied with a sniff, trying to compose myself. 'I'm sorry.'

'Me too. I know it's hard, but you're my soulfinder. We're stronger together and we can face anything.' He squeezed my hand and I knew he was right. We had been through so much and we were together, despite everything.

'You're right.' I smiled, squeezing his hand in response.

'I know.' He winked. 'Now dig in, your food's getting cold!'

After breakfast, we lit the log fire and sat in front of it as we opened the presents. Sally and Simon had bought me a fancy looking camera, which was perfect for snapping shots of our time away. Saul and Karla had bought me a beautiful sky blue cashmere jumper dress. Yves and Phee (and bump, as the card had been signed) and bought me a cashmere scarf with a matching beret. In fact, all of the presents from the Benedict family were wonderful and I was starting to worry that the homemade jam, bunting and other homemade gifts I had sent off weren't going to be good enough.

'I've been absolutely spoilt rotten.' I laughed when I had finished opening them. 'As have you.'

Zed had been bought a cashmere jumper, a shirt, a tie, and a new wetsuit for the summer season. I had bought him some cufflinks I had spotted in one of the designer shops across me from work, and I had made him a friendship bracelet with an infinity charm on it.

'You've still got a present left.' He smiled, passing me a small present tied together with a gold ribbon.

I carefully opened the ribbon, despite my excitement. Inside the wrapping was a small black box with 'Pandora' written across it in silver writing. I knew for a fact that Pandora was expensive, and it worried me slightly how much Zed had been spending on me. Inside the box was a silver band, with just two charms on it, to my relief; one was a set of two hearts and the other was a rose.

'I'm going to keep adding to it.' Zed explained wth a smile. 'Every birthday, anniversary or Christmas.'

'It's beautiful.' I whispered, feeling all emotional.

He reached out for my hand and kissed my knuckles. 'Just like you.'

Our trip away seemed to go by pretty quickly. We spent our days sledging, taking walks in the snow or swimming in the indoor pool. At night, we would return to our cabin and cosy up in front of the fire, watching the television, talking or reading books. One night, however, I decided to try something a little different.

'Are you coming in the hot tub?' I called out, emerging from the bathroom in my robe. 'I'm making the most of the luxury before we head home in two days.'

'Sure let me just finish this page.' Zed replied without looking up from his book.

'Don't be long.' I pulled the door close and slipped into the hot tub. The hot water touched my bare skin and I suddenly worried he would take too long and someone would come and find me completely starkers.

Luckily, the door opened, and Zed stepped out in his swimshorts. He climbed into the hot tub beside me, completely oblivious.

'I'm going to miss this hot tub.' I stretched, enough that he could see I was topless.

His eyes widened and he moved towards me, sliding his hands across my bare back. 'Where's your swimsuit?'

'I got bored of wearing one.' I replied with a flirtacious smile. 'Is that a problem?'

'Ofcoursenot.' He spoke without a pause, almost nervously.

'Good.' I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his bare chest against mine, and I kissed him softly. He deepened the kiss quickly, desperate to explore my mouth whilst his hands explored my bare back. When we seperated, his lips moved to kiss my neck and I had to try not to moan; anyone could hear us out there.

'Take your swimshorts off.' I whispered. He did as I commanded before returning to kiss my mouth again.

Forty minutes later, we were lying on the fur rug in front of the log fire, completely naked and out of breath. We were both laid on our sides and Zed was gently running his fingers from my ribs to my hips and then back again. It was soothing.

'I've missed being this close to you.' He whispered.

'I've missed it too.' I let out a deep breath, feeling relaxed despite the fact that I was body-conscious. Zed had the body of a God; he was tall, tanned and muscular with a six pack. I on the other hand had not grown in years. I was petite, pale and although I wasn't fat, I did have a bit of weight on me that probably didn't need to be there.

'What do you want to do tomorrow? The last day of the year.'

'I don't mind.' I smiled. I would have quite happily had another night in like that one.

'There's a big fancy ball here at the hotel. We could go to that?'

'I guess it's just as well I packed some nice things.'

'You always look nice anyway.' He leant towards me and kissed my lips softly. 'Especially like this.'

I blushed and grabbed the blanket from the armchair next to me. I placed it over our naked bodies. 'Can we just sleep down here tonight?'

I did fall asleep on the rug that night, but when I woke up I was tucked up safely in bed with Zed's arms tightly around me. I stretched out my back and he pulled me closer, as if he didn't want me escaping anywhere.

I laughed. 'Good morning.'

'Morning.' He murmured, planting a kiss on my shoulder.

'Did you sleep okay?'

'Mmmmmm.'

I turned around to face him, giving him a soft kiss on his lips. 'What do you want to do today?'

'Stay here.' He mumbled, burying his face in my shoulder.

'You want to spend your last day of this year in a log cabin?'

'If it's with you I don't care.'

'You're crazy.'

'About you, yes.'

I laughed, remembering the first time he had said that to me. 'Come on, let's do something wreckless.'

'Like run naked in the snow?'

'I don't want frostbite on my bum or boobs thanks.'

Zed shuddered. 'You're right. Hey, we could hire a skidoo.'

'A what?'

'A snow mobile. We could go on a drive.'

'Sounds fun.'

It didn't seem so fun three hours later, when I was wearing a ski suit, thermal gloves and a helmet whilst Zed powered up and down the rockies. I clung tightly onto his waist for dear life, worried that I would be in hospital by the end of the day. We reached the top of a slope and he stopped the skidoo, before jumping off. He pulled off his helmet, his gorgeous hair shoved under a thermal hat.

'Not a bad view.'

I took off my helmet and looked at the landscape in front of me. It wasn't a bad view at all. We had a beautiful view of the valley, including the ice-covered lake and the trees which looked like they had been dusted in icing sugar. The sky was clear and blue to match my eyes, and I could hear the sound of birds in the distance.

'Now why isn't our hot tub up here?' I asked as I used my new camera to capture the view.

'Doesn't need to be, I had a nice enough view last night.' Zed winked, making me blush. 'Come here, let's get a photo together.'

He took the camera out of my hand as we organised ourselves in front of the view for the selfie. I felt Zed's lips touch my cheek softly, and then the camera came down.

'You're such a poser.' I laughed.

'Yeah, well.' He grinned. 'Your face is freezing.'

'I know.' I replied. 'It's pretty cold.'

'Come on, there's supposed to be a cafe around here.'

The cafe turned out to be quite close by. After parking the snowmobile, we headed inside and grabbed ourselves a window seat so we could continue to admire the view.

'What can I get you?' A young guy said, appearing at the table as we took off some of our layers of clothing. I felt like Joey from friends.

'I'll have a hot chocolate please.' I smiled.

'Absolutely. Would you like cream? And marshmallows?'

'Yes please!' I grinned over at Zed, who was laughing at me.

'And you, sir?' The guy turned his attention to Zed.

'I'll have the same. Could we also have some waffles to share? I'm starving!'

'No problem.' The guy smiled, glancing over at me before he headed to the kitchen.

I looked over at my boyfriend, who seemed to be watching the kitchen door. 'What?'

'He finds you attractive.'

'Yeah, right.' I scoffed.

'It's true. Did you see the way he was looking at you?'

'Does it matter? I'm with you.' I took his hands in mine across the table. 'Besides, this place is in the middle of nowhere. It's probably the first time ever a girl has been in here.'

The kitchen door opened and the guy came back with two mugs of hot chocolate. He placed them down on the table before disappearing back to the kitchen. I looked and the white mug and had to stop myself drooling. It was so perfect and smelt so good. I picked up a spoon and mixed the cream and marshmallows into the thick chocolate.

'I swear it's just melted chocolate!' I grinned, making Zed laugh again.

'You're like a kid at Christmas.'

'You're one to talk.' I stuck my tongue out and he laughed.

Just don't burn that tongue off, will you? It's quite useful.

It was getting late when we got home and we had decided we would head to the New Year's Eve Party after all. There was a three-course-dinner and a DJ organised, so it was bound to be fun. I had a quick shower to warm myself up, and then I had the task of deciding what to wear. I'd brought three dresses with me. Two were short prom-dress style dresses and the other was a ballgown. I wasn't sure quite how posh I was supposed to dress, so I decided it was best to look too glamourous than too casual. I picked up the long, plain black mermaid-fitted ballgown and hung it on the front of the closet. Then I went to grab my washbag. I pulled out my small ring box, where my engagement ring was. I hadn't worn it since all the drama, though tonight felt like the right time to put it back on my finger. I opened the box. It was empty.

'Shit.' I cursed under my breath as I heard Zed turn the shower on. I emptied out the rest of my washbag, finding a diamond-looking necklace but no other jewellery. I pulled the suitcase out from under the bed and searched through every pocket. Nothing. Then I started making my way through my coat pockets. Nothing. I felt hot and queasey. That ring meant a lot to me and obviously had cost Zed a fortune. He was going to kill me. The shower turned off and I knew I had to compose myself. I sat myself down at the table and gently brushed through my wild hair with my fingers, making sure the curls looked neat.

The bathroom door opened and Zed stepped out, a towel around his waist and the rest of his skin still damp from water. His hair was damp and he looked handsome in a rugged-sort-of-way. 'Everything okay?'

'Yes.' I lied with a fake smile.

'Good.' He gave me a kiss on the cheek and headed towards the wardrobe. What was I going to do?

I felt like Jessica Rabbit that night. My dress clung in the right places and gave me a womanly figure. My curled hair was pinned to one side, so it fell over one shoulder, and I'd managed to make my eyelashes look longer. Zed looked gorgeous in a black suite with a black tie. I took his arm as we walked into the restaurant and bar area of the hotel. Tables had been moved so that there was a dancefloor this evening and the other guests were mingling with each other. I noticed a few of them look in our direction, although I couldn't tell if it was at Zed or at me. We both had scrubbed up pretty well.

'Sir, Madam, would you like a photograph?' A gentleman in a tuxedo asked. With his fancy cameras, white backdrop and lighting, it was clear he was the official photographer for the evening.

'Yes please.' Zed responded with a smile. He led me in front of the backdrop and we posed for some photos, as if we were celebrities.

'You make a lovely couple.'

'Yes we do.' Zed grinned at me and then led me towards the bar. 'What are you drinking?'

'White wine, please.'

'Not a cocktail tonight?'

'I'm trying to be sophisticated.' I elbowed him playfully in the ribs.

'Well you certainly fit in.' He kissed my forehead and ordered our drinks. I was glad I had opted for the ballgown. Most ladies were wearing ballgowns or very expensive-looking cocktail dresses. The gentlemen were dressed in suits or tuxedos. It was clearly a black tie event.

Zed handed me my glass of wine and I noticed he had ordered the same. 'To us.'

'To us.' I giggled, before taking a sip. 'This isn't Walmart's wine of the week!'

'Shhh.' He whispered, playfully. 'People might here we shop at Walmart.'

Dinner was divine and I didn't even feel posh enough to be eating it. I couldn't name the food we ate and I didn't dare ask; that would suggest I knew nothing about food for the elite. Whatever it was, it was delicious and although it was filling, I wasn't as bloated as I would have been if I was enjoying my favourite pizza.

After dinner, we met other couples with fancy names, who seemed to find our own names quite fascinating. And then, after all the awkward mingling, the DJ started the music. I was expecting some classical and some jazz, but he was playing cheesey songs and songs I had recognised from going out with Jenni, and, shockingly, the people there were 'twerking' and 'getting down' to it!

'I feel like we're the most sane people here right now.' Zed laughed as he twirled me in a circle. 'Just what is that guy doing?'

'I think he's being Miley Cyrus. He was twerking and now he looks like he's doing his best wrecking ball impression.'

'I hope in ten years time I don't dance like that.'

'I hope so too.' I kissed his cheek. 'Otherwise I'm going to have to disown you.'

He mocked a sad face before kissing my nose. 'You wouldn't ever do that.'

Then he started to twerk. I looked around the room, horrified, but I noticed everyone else was too busy trying out their own moves. Laughter erupted from inside me and I couldn't stop until tears were streaming down my cheeks. 'Oh my god! Seriously! I'm so glad I'm wearing waterproof mascara!'

'See, you didn't disown me.' He winked.

'Man my stomach hurts.'

'Come on then, we'll go hang at the bar.'

The night raced by and was full of smiles, laughter and interesting conversations. Before long, it was nearly midnight and the glasses of champagne were being handed out in preparation.

'Just 1 minute to go folks!' The DJ's voice echoed around the room and was followed by a cheer.

'So what are you hoping for the next year?' Zed asked as a waiter handed us each a glass of champagne.

I paused for a moment before I answered. 'Lots of fun and smiles, to get good grades, to be healthy, to meet Phee and Yves' baby, to still be with you.' I squeezed his free hand and he smiled. 'What about you?'

'The same really.' He shrugged, nibbling his lip.

'Ah, now that's totally copying me!'

'Well... this is this one thing.' I watched as Zed got down onto one knee and pulled out the ring I had been worrying about hours before. He'd had it all along. 'Sky, will you marry me? This year?'

People were turning heads and watching what was going to happen next with eager eyes. The photographer had the camera turned on us.

'Yes!' I cried out and I knew I meant it.

'10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Happy New Year!' The room erupted with noise, cheering for us and cheering for the new year.

Zed slipped the ring back where it belonged and kissed me with more passion than he had ever done before. The crowd cheered again, and this time I knew it was because of us.

'Congratulations to Sky Bright and Zed Benedict, who just got engaged!' The DJ called out, making me laugh. 'A super start to the new year! This one is for you!'

The room filled with 'How long will I love you' by Ellie Goulding and my fiance wrapped his arms around my waist. I looped my arms around his neck and we swayed to the music, full of love and happiness.

Although I couldn't help feeling that there was someone lurking in the shadows, just waiting to ruin everything.