Finally we have finished packing our suitcases to return to what the weather forecast says will be a very rainy London. "You need to learn to pack lighter." Daniel grumbles as he struggles to haul the second suitcase off the bed. I bob my tongue at him in response, making him smile. The wheels bounce off the tiled floor with a thump before Daniel glides it away with a smug grin that the loud noise had proved his point.

Once he has returned to the bedroom, he takes my chin between his thumb and forefinger. Softly he guides my chin up, so I look up at him.

"You look beautiful today." He smiles warmly before placing a soft kiss on the tip of my nose.

"You're a liar, Daniel... but I'll take it." I smile up at him wholeheartedly. I know he's lying as he's spent the last two hours holding my hair back when I have been sick. Packing is usually such an easy task, but not when a wave of nausea causes you to drop everything and sprint to the toilet every five minutes.

He chuckles in understanding. "You always look beautiful to me!"

"Very smooth, Mr Weston." Resting my head on his chest as he wraps his arms around me, I feel the comforting vibration of his laughter.

"I do try... now, can we please be alone this evening? I know there's this drinks reception in a couple of hours for you to say bye to the team, but then... just me and you... yeah?" Daniel's voice trembles slightly and I'm unsure why.

"Sounds perfect... why, what's up?" I ask tentatively while looking up at him.

"Nothing, I swear. Just thought it'd be nice to have the final evening on our own considering Harrison has planned something on every other evening." He doesn't even try to hide the bitterness in his tone.

"Promise... just me and you." I reach up on my tiptoes to kiss his lips gently. He groans into my mouth as the kiss deepens. Soon we are a tangle of lips and limbs intertwined, unable to ever have enough of each other.

*****

"Everyone please raise your glasses to our wonderful Lizzie." Harrison announces to the room.

I blush as I was hoping to make a quiet exit after saying my temporary goodbyes to the team. Everyone around me turns in my direction as Harrison gestures for me to join him on the platform. Reluctantly, I stand next to him with my half full glass of champagne that Daniel discreetly tipped into his glass so I never appeared to have an empty glass. Harrison places his arm around my shoulder and squeezes as everyone holds their glasses up.

My eyes find Daniel who beams proudly up at me. I watch briefly as his gaze falls on Harrison for a second and his jaw tightens slightly. But when he realises I'm still looking at him his features immediately soften. Daniel holds his glass up. "To you, beautiful." He mouthes silently.

"Lizzie, you are now part of the Banner Hotels family. You have single handedly developed the most beautiful and captivating marketing campaign that is going to change the way the world view our hotels. Thank you for all your hard work and we look forward to progressing to the next stage of the process. To Lizzie!" He raises his glass as he kisses my cheek.

"Thank you, everyone! I'm very excited to be part of the team, and the idea will only be able to come to fruition with all of your hard work... this is definitely a group effort! I will see you all soon, thank you again." I raise my glass before taking a tiny sip of the bubbly champagne. The room erupts into applause.

Harrison engulfs me in a tight hug before I step down, eager to return to Daniel's side. I know I'm beetroot red when our eyes meet. He cups my burning cheeks in his large hands before lowering his head to press his lips to mine. "You're amazing." He says like he has many times before. "I love you." He then rests his forehead against mine.

I'm well aware that this is a show for Harrison, marking me as his territory. But, I can't help but smile that somehow he's still a little jealous. "I love you too. Shall we get out of here?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" He whispers against my ear.

We say our goodbyes as I lead Daniel out of the room, gripping his hand tightly. Harrison is suddenly nowhere to be seen, but I decide to find him later. I don't want anything to delay the romantic night ahead of us. Without reason, butterflies flutter in the pit of my stomach making me feel strangely nervous.

When the door closes behind us, we take a moment to pause in the silence of the marble hallway. Daniel looks down at me with his full million dollar smile, dimples and all. Inside, my heart does a summersault as I beam back up at him. "Just us."

"Shall we take a walk down to the sea? Enjoy the last night before we head back to reality?" He asks cautiously. A glimmer of self doubt flickers across his chiselled features, but he corrects his expression by biting his lip.

"That sounds perfect. Are you OK?" I ask when I feel his fingers trembles slightly as I intertwine my hand with his. He nods softly in response.

"Lizzie... Daniel!" Harrison shouts from his office doorway a few meters ahead of us.

"Not now, Harrison." Daniel says calmly, but firmly.

"Didn't you trust me enough to tell me?" He ignores Daniel while he glares at me.

My mouth opens to answer him, knowing immediately what he is asking. However, I'm too stunned to reply. How does he know?

"I thought we were friends." He comments simply as he throws sheets paper on to the table in the hallway in front of him.

Striding away from Daniel, who remains frozen in place, I walk to the table. My fingers separate out the papers so I can see what is on there. My eyes fall on a picture of me walking across the beach. The loose cream dress I am wearing has been caught by a gust of wind. The dress clings to my bump as I hold my straw hat in place in the breeze. I'm grinning wildly towards Daniel, whose back is to the photographer. It's evident from the picture that someone has been watching us while we have been here, waiting for the perfect shot.

The photograph directly to the side is of Daniel's mother, Madison, shopping in London. She is holding up a white newborn babygrow, and smiling towards Curtis. She looks immaculate in a fitted baby blue dress. The headline reads 'Exclusive: Daniel Weston and his girlfriend expecting baby.'

Glancing down at the story, Madison's name is mentioned several times. My blood boils in my veins with anger that she would do this to us.

I hear Daniel gasp from directly behind me before taking the printout from my hands to read the article. "They must have been fucking hounding Mom!" He mutters angrily. "Bastards!"

Harrison clears his throat. The noise makes me look up at him. "I do trust you and we are friends, but we had decided to keep it to ourselves. We thought it'd be safer that way, at least until I couldn't hide it anymore!"

"Well I think your mother-in-law had other ideas!" He retorts bitterly.

"She must have been followed... she would never do this to us!" Daniel's eyes fill with tears. "She wouldn't do this on purpose!" He screws up the piece of paper and marches away.

"I'm sorry you feel like I've kept something from you, but me being pregnant won't have any impact on the project." I say flatly before I begin to follow Daniel.

Harrison grabs my arm and spins me round to face him. "I'm not worried about the project, I have every faith in you. I'm worried about you!"

"Please don't. I'll be fine... we'll be fine." I speak with much more confidence than I feel.

"You know where I am if he gets too much." Harrison flicks his head towards the direction that Daniel has just walked.

"What do you mean by that?" I wrench my arm from his grip.

"Fucking hell, Lizzie. Anyone can see that he's hanging on by a fucking thread!" Harrison glares, his eyes full of sincerity.

"No he's not!" I defend Daniel. "I asked you at the start of the week not to speak about Daniel that way... I mean it! Look, I'll be in touch about the project, but now I need to be with Daniel." I stride away, ignoring Harrison as he shouts my name.

I catch up with Daniel just as he is opening the door to our suite. As much as I know his mother would have planned the photograph, I can see from the strain in his face that he doesn't need to hear that now. Instead, I wrap my arms around him and pull him close. He melts into my embrace as we stand perfectly still.

"I won't let anything happen to you." He mumbles against my neck.

"I know you won't." Realising how vulnerable Daniel is feeling, I need to be his pillar of strength. "We had already talked about how we wouldn't be able to keep the babies secret for much longer. I know it's sooner than we were hoping, but we will get through this... we have to! These babies are going to need us to both be strong."

He nods before standing upright, composing himself before my eyes. "I'll go and ring Chris."

- hey guys!

What did you think of this chapter?

So, Daniel's plans were thwarted again!!!!! I'm going to say sorry in advance!

Do you think Madison did it on purpose or that it was a genuine mistake?

Any views on Harrison now?

Thank you for still reading and please tick the little star too. Love T x -