Letting in Light ✔️ [Completed] [Book two]

Chapter 3

"I love this." He says with a smirk. "You still have no idea, do you?"

"How could I. I just know that it is cold and has been snowing... in December. We have only been flying for three and a half hours, so we could be pretty much anywhere in Europe." I sigh dramatically.

"You will know soon enough." He removes his jacket and then holds his arm up to give me the opportunity to cuddle up to him. I take off my jacket too, so that I can feel him against me.

The scenery is a consistent white blanket as far as the eye can see. I soon make the mistake of closing my eyes, exhausted after the most surreal week. When I next open my eyes the car has come to a stop, and Daniel is gently shaking my shoulders.

"We're here." He grins as I check I haven't been dribbling. He watches me wipe the side of my mouth with amusement. "Get your jacket on."

Still half asleep, I do as I am told and follow Daniel out of the car. We stand in the snow and all that surrounds us are enormous snow covered pine trees. When my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see that there is a warm yellow glow emitting through the trees. Daniel takes my hand and leads me through the enchanted forest, towards the light.

We enter a clearing and I see that the glow is coming from a single log cabin. I smile at the glorious sight of the double-fronted, single story cabin. Each of the front windows emits a glow from the light inside. There is a single trail of smoke which climbs like a ladder into the cloudy sky from the fire inside. I turn to look at Daniel, who is studying me intently.

"It's beautiful." I whisper in the peaceful silence.

"The most beautiful sight in the world." Daniel agrees, but I feel my cheeks flush when I realise that he is still looking at me and not the cabin.

A woman appears at the entrance of our cabin, ready to greet us. "Welcome to Finnish Lapland, Mr Weston and Ms Cooper. You are now inside the Arctic Circle. I am Maria"

I let out a surprised laugh and wrap my arms around Daniel as well as I can with our thick coats on. He kisses to top of my head and then rubs my arms up and down.

"Lapland! This is beyond amazing. Let's get inside shall we?" I take his hand and we walk into the cabin. "Hello Maria, please call me Lizzie." I say to the older woman.

"Hello, and I'm Daniel."

Maria moves back out of our way, allowing us to step into the cabin. We enter a small boot room and proceed to take off our jackets and snow boots.

She then opens the door into an open plan living room, dining area and kitchen. The room is minimalist and consists entirely of wood. In the centre is a large open fire which is suspended from the ceiling. I can feel the heat warm my cheeks from the edge of the room.

We both walk into the room and see that there is a huge TV on the far wall with a leather sofa in front of it. I walk around the central fire over to the dining area. My eyes are immediately drawn to a striking light fitting made from antlers above the table which cascades a mellow light across the room. I let my hand glide along the polished wood of the table and feel the grain beneath my fingers. Finally, I reach the kitchen area and although it is small, it has everything you could need.

I turn to face Daniel, expecting him to be behind me while we explore the cabin. However, he is still on the other side of the room playing around with the remote for the TV. He looks up at me when he realises I'm staring at him and smiles apologetically. He places the remote down and I see him point towards a closed door.

"Is that?" He nods towards a closed door as he speaks to Maria.

"No, that is the bedroom."

He opens the door and I take the opportunity to slide between him and the doorframe. Like the rest of the cabin, the room is simple and uncluttered. There is a huge four poster bed in the centre of the room with a deep red bed cover. A small log fire is burning in the corner of the room, making the space feel cozy. I hear Daniel whistle in appreciation as he lets himself fall back on the bed.

I walk past him to look into the bathroom and see that this is the most modern room in the cabin. To the left is a huge roll top bath, and to the right there is a huge wet area with a massive shower head. I switch it on and watch as the water falls like heavy rain.

"Look at this." I shout to Daniel. But he makes me jump when he is already standing right behind me. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me close to him. I feel a trail of feather light kisses being placed down my neck and I shudder when he reaches the soft spot between my shoulder and neck. Daniel lets out a husky laugh before releasing me.

"There is one more thing you need to see." He nods towards the door before walking back into the open plan area. What could this possibly be? I wonder as I walk out of the bedroom.

There is one more closed door on the opposite side of the room. Daniel strides towards it and waits for me to catch up. I look over at the woman as I follow Daniel and see that she is smiling widely.

"Close your eyes." He says quietly.

I cover them and then Daniel stands behind me and covers my hands with his. I literally cannot see a thing now. "Walk forward." He instructs as I hear the door being opened.

We take two steps and I can hear Daniel's ragged breathing in my ear. I know I should be concentrating on whatever surprise is in store, but just the sound of his breathing against my ear makes me tingle down to my toes.

Daniel removes his hands, but I leave mine in place.

"Open." He whispers close to my ear. When I open my eyes I let out a shriek and cover my mouth in elation. I feel tears prick my eyes when I see what is in front of me. I'm standing in an igloo made entirely of glass. There is a bed in the middle of the igloo, so you are able to look straight up into the sky. I am literally lost for words.

I turn to see that Maria has followed us into the igloo. "The forecast is better for tomorrow evening. We will sound a bell when they are visible, just to make sure you don't miss the glorious view."

I look at Daniel a little confused. My brain still feels fuzzy from my short nap and I cannot think what she could be referring to. Thankfully, Daniel cannot hold back his excitement anymore.

"This is the perfect spot and the perfect time of year for us to see the Aurora Borealis... the Northern Lights." He jumps onto the bed, resting one arm beneath his head, and looks up into the cloudy sky. "They had already told me that the lights would not be visible tonight, but the forecast for tomorrow looks ideal." He grins at me and pats the space next to him.

"Oh Daniel." I say, my voice thick with emotion. "This is the most wonderful surprise." I reach across and take his hand in mine.

"I will leave you to get settled in now. The chef will be in with your breakfast at 8am, as requested. There is champagne in the fridge. Do you need anything else this evening?"

"No, I don't think so. Can you think of anything, Lizzie?"

"No thank you, Maria. I think we have all we need."

"Goodnight." She says and then disappears, leaving us alone.

- hey guys.

Thank you for still reading! So, what do you think of Daniel's surprise?

Please tick the little star too -