After the trampoline was used with much joy for about an hour, they all went back inside and sat down to exchange gifts. Grace and Lillian brought over the socks stocked with candies and little surprises for every kid. As the little ones happily opened their treasure, Grace felt a tug on her sleeve as she sat on the floor among the kids.

Turning around, she smiled as she saw Jack looking at her with a smile.

"Miss Grace, I got you a gift", the little boy said sweetly, robbing Grace out of breath and any reasonable thought.

She watched as the precious boy pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and gave it to her. Her shivering fingers unfolded a paper and Grace felt a lump in her throat as she saw the drawing.

Jack scrambled onto his feet, reaching to Grace's right shoulder and stepped closer to her side, pointing at the things on the drawing while he started to explain what was in it:

"That's you. And that's me. And that's the sun. It is always shining when we giggle", Jack said, making Grace's eyes fill with tears. She smiled tearfully as Jack looked up at her "You make everybody around you smile, Miss Grace."

Grace could feel that she was losing a fight with her tears and she quickly wiped them, her smile widening.

"It's beautiful, Jack", she opened her arms and the little boy happily went in for a hug "Thank you, sweetie", she gently kissed his blonde head before saying "I have something for you too", she smiled warmly as she pulled back and gave Jack a big red Santa sock "Merry Christmas, Jack. And happy birthday."

Jack smiled happily as Grace helped him to empty the sock on the floor and he squealed in joy at all the candies and Robin Hood picture book.

"Robin Hood!", he exclaimed and grinning, he looked up at her "That's my buddy!"

Grace smiled warmly at little boy's joy.

"That's right, he is. And you will be able to read about his adventures whenever you want to", she said as she opened the picture book and smiled gently as she felt Jack's little palm on her shoulder as he leaned in to admire the illustrations.

In the next moment, Jack sat down next to her and grabbing a handful of candies, he offered some to her. Grace made a funny face, her eyes opening wide and she whispered:

"Oh, no, I couldn't!", she whispered.

Jack giggled.

"Why not?", he asked.

Grace leaned down, barely opening her mouth on one side.

"Not before lunch", she whispered "Santa may get mad."

At that moment, Lucas' voice was heard right behind them.

"Mad at you?", as both she and Jack turned around, they saw Lucas sitting down behind them and adding with a smile "Aren't you his favourite?"

Grace watched as both Lucas and Jack looked at her, one with curiosity, the other one with humour.

And she smiled.

"Okay", she bowed her head to inspect the offer and snatched one chocolate praline from Jack's little palm and whispered conspiratolly "But, just this one", she unwrapped the paper and with a quick glance around her, she popped it into her mouth.

That was enough for Jack. He giggled as he got up and ran toward the other kids to show them his new picture book.

Grace felt Lucas' palm on her back and she turned toward him, a sigh escaping her smiling lips as she felt his fingers rubbing her back in slow circles.

"Look what I got", she softly said as she showed him the drawing.

Lucas gently smiled.

"I know. He showed me that the other day when he asked me about you", he silently said.

Grace's eyes widened in surprise.

"He asked you about me?", she silently asked.

Lucas slightly nodded, his fingers playing with the ends of her brunette wavy hair.

"He asked me is Miss Grace my special friend now. I asked him would it be okay if she was and he replied: 'Yeah. I like Miss Grace. She is my giggling buddy. And she makes you laugh too'", Lucas' dark eyes sparkled as he inched closer to Grace's face.

She pulled her head back a bit in alarm.

"Lucas!", she whispered in warning "He'll see us!"

Lucas' lips curled up in a smile.

"Well, special friends kiss, Miss Grace", he silently teased her "You don't want Jack to think that I was lying to him, now would you?"

Grace's heart skipped a bit, her mouth going dry.

"Okay, but just one small kiss. Don't get carried away", she rambled in panic.

Lucas chuckled at her choice of words.

"For the life of me, I never thought I would hear those words from you", he shook with suppressed laughter.

Grace silently gasped and she playfully kick him on his shoulder.

"You do realize you're going to pay for this, Governor?", she quipped, giggles bubbling up in her throat.

Lucas gently cupped the back of her head and whispered against her lips:

"I surely hope so", and with those words, he leaned in and gave her a loving, long kiss, making her insides melt.

As soon as they pulled away, Grace quickly turned around to check on Jack…

Only to see the dear little boy smiling happily as their eyes met and he waved at her.

Relief washed over Grace's heart and she waved back at the little boy. As she turned around, she gasped once again as Lucas presented her with a red jewelry box.

"Joyeux Noel, ma chérie" (Merry Christmas, my darling"), he whispered.

She smiled as she accepted the jewelry box and opened the lid…

Only to gasp in surprise as her eyes fell on the bracelet with two pendants in the shape of angels.

"To match your necklace", she heard him whisper and she looked up at him, tears filling her eyes.

"It's beautiful", she cupped his cheek and gave him a watery smile "Merci, mon amour." ("Thank you, my love"), she leaned in, giving him a short, sweet kiss before pulling back a bit with a smile "I have something for you too", she reached into a pocket of her skirt and pulled out a small dark blue box.

Lucas opened it and silently gasped as he took out two cufflinks. One had his initials LB engraved on and the other one had her initials GB engraved on.

"I didn't have to wait until we are married to give you these because my initials will stay the same", she whispered and softly added "I saw that they were missing on your dress shirt when I put it on last night."

Upon hearing those words Lucas looked up at her, his eyes sparkling just like the cufflinks that rested on his palm.

"You wore my dress shirt last night?", he silently asked.

Grace shrugged, her smile turning shy.

"I like sleeping in it. It is like you are hugging me", she silently said.

Lucas' felt his heart soar at her loving words. His eyes fell back on the cufflinks at his palm as he tried to stop himself from reaching out for Grace and pulling her in his embrace and kissing her until they were both breathless… He couldn't do it. Not now. Not in the room full of children and their friends.

He let out a shaky breath as he looked back up at her.

"They are beautiful, Grace", he leaned his forehead against hers just for a moment, not being able to completely pull back from her. His eyes shone with a storm of emotions as he whispered "Thank you", he took a deep breath in, put the cufflinks back in the box and started to fiddle with the ones he had on now.

Grace's eyes softened as she realized what he was doing. Seeing that his fingers struggled a bit with his right cufflink, she gently pried them away with her fingers as she whispered:

"Here… Let me help you", she worked fast, taking the old cufflinks off and replacing them with the new ones. Before she could pull her hands away, Lucas quickly took both of her palms and brought them to his lips. Grace inhaled sharply, her heart feeling like it would burst out from her chest.

She held his gaze as he kissed the inside of each palm, making her breathing accelerate. As his lips gently sucked on her soft skin, she closed her eyes, swallowing hard in order not to lose it.

Grace felt his lips slowly pulling away from her skin and she tried to breathe normally again. His fingers gently caressed her palms as he pulled them away.

Lucas could feel his entire body trembling and he watched as Grace started to get up…but not before she leaned toward him and whispered directly in his ear:

"Meet me in the bathroom in ten minutes."

And with those words she was gone in the blink of an eye.

Leaving him trying to breathe normally, her lingering perfume making it impossible for his heart to calm down.

Grace ran through the hallway, her body burning even though outside was cold and the fresh air was coming through the doors as kids ran in and out of the house. All grown ups and most of the kids were in the garden now, little ones trying out the new trampoline. Lillian still couldn't relax and would jump up every time some kind of noise would come up from the trampoline. Two or three times she yelped in worry as some kid squealed a little too loud after plopping down, making Lillian run toward the trampoline, only to find the little rascal laughing his or her heart out. She and Carson still checked the little ones for any possible injuries, but so far no scratched knees or elbows.

Agatha was also with them, talking to the kids, following the little ones as they showed her their ice kingdom as they walked around the big backyard.

It was the perfect time to steal a moment with her beloved, handsome fiancé.

Or else she would go mad.

She paced the tiles in the bathroom for the umpteenth time when there was a knock at the doors.

Grace rushed to open them, hiding behind the doors, opening them only as much as it was needed to let Lucas in. She reached behind him to quickly close the doors, locking them with her shivering fingers.

The moment the doorknob let out a locking sound his lips were on her lips and Grace wrapped her hands around Lucas' neck, kissing him passionately, trying to get closer…as much as she could.

He stole every single breath she inhaled and she gave it away willingly, drinking him in. Her fingers roamed over the back of his neck and she gently pressed them in his hair, making him groan silently.

"Grace", he silently growled "My Grace…I love you", he pulled her closer to him "I love you so much."

Grace gasped for breath as he talked, her lungs letting out short breaths before their lips crashed against each other again, melting into each other's warmth. His palms pressed in her lower back, pulling her body flush against his, making her silently whimper in pleasure.

"Lucas", she breathed into their kiss "I…I…I just…", she stammered, fighting for breath.

His lips hovered above hers, his forehead leaning against her forehead as he breathed heavily.

"I know", he whispered "Me too."

Grace sighed, trying not to fall apart in his arms, her fingers gently clutching at his hair at the nape of his neck.

"I am going mad", she whispered as his lips hovered above hers, brushing her lips occasionally "In fifty days you are going to marry an insane woman", she closed her eyes like she was in pain "Fifty days feels like fifty years now."

Lucas' breathing was sent to disorder once again at her words. Kissing her longingly, he whispered.

"Actually it is 49 days and half", he whispered passionately "Please, don't prolong it for half a day. I am already going crazy with having to wait for 49 days and half. Don't add to it."

Grace inhaled twice before her gasps for air were mixed with silent laughter.

"Oh, my Lucas", she breathed out "I love you so much", she melted her lips into his "And I cannot wait to marry you. I cannot wait to be your wife."

Lucas picked her up from the ground and just held her, kissing her, inhaling her beautiful scent, wishing he would never have to let her go.