Against the Odds

Harry did call Alex the next day. Then he called her the next day after that, and every day for the next week and a half until finally their schedules allowed them to see each other again. He had done a weekend of Army training and then engagements in different parts of England, keeping him out of London and away from their burgeoning relationship.

The phone conversations though, they were something special to both Harry and Alex. He would call her in the mornings, to say hello and to let her know he was thinking of her. She would smile to herself and tell him she was thinking of him too and that she couldn’t wait to see him again.

Then at night, after Emma went to bed, she would call Harry and they would talk for hours. He would tell her about his day; the things he had done, the people he had met, and she would do the same.

They learned so many things about each other in that week and a half.

They learned about each other’s childhoods, sharing all those anecdotes that they had told other people a hundred times but were new to each other. Harry loved to make Alex laugh with tales of him and William playing soldier at Balmoral and getting in big time trouble with their Granny for knocking things over in the castle.

In return, Alex would tell stories of growing up in Texas and make him smile when she told him all of her favorite things about her home state. She loved the rodeo, the big country fairs, the dance halls, and the people. She told him that the only thing she didn’t like about London was that there were no dance halls like in Texas. She painted him the picture; a wide open dance floor covered in sawdust, everyone in jeans, boots, and cowboy hats, pool tables, and as much beer as anyone could ever want. It was so clearly one of her favorite things, that Harry was only half-joking when he offered to have his friend Guy open one up in London just for her. He would finance it and make appearances so that people would come and dance and then London would be perfect for her. She laughed and told him that he clearly had more money than sense. He sighed and told her he completely agreed with her.

He learned her middle name, Mae, which were her grandmother’s initials, and her maiden name, Emerson. She learned all four of his names; Henry Charles Albert David, and the meaning behind each of them. She loved listening to the history behind all of them, surprising him. Most people just wanted to know why he was called Harry instead of Henry.

Alex found herself coming to know Harry; her Harry. Whatever she had read or seen before he walked into her life meant nothing. He was so funny and sweet and thoughtful that she didn’t even need to look things up about him online, as person online wasn’t him, and she was smart enough to know that. She didn’t want to read about the alleged girls, the partying, the conspiracy theories; none of those things would have made a difference to her.

By the end of the ten days and countless hours on the phone, two things were clear to Harry. One, she was going to be the first person he was seeing when he made his way back to London on Saturday evening. He asked her over for dinner and she found a sitter immediately, looking forward to spending the time alone with him. And two, he was falling for her in a big, big way.

**************

Saturday evening a very excited, but very nervous Alex dropped off Emma at Mia’s place with plans to pick her up in the morning. She wasn’t sure she was going to stay with Harry that night, or even sleep with him if she did, but she wanted to make that decision when the time came tonight. Emma loved Mia and was completely excited about having a sleepover with her.

“You look nice!” Mia exclaimed as Alex set Emma’s overnight bag down in the entryway. “Hot date?”

“Hmmm…just a night with a friend,” Alex said, trying to keep the excitement from her face. She was pleased that Mia liked her outfit though. She hadn’t know what to wear, but finally broke down and called Charlotte Blakely, begging for some advice. Instead of laughing at her, as Alex fully expected that she would, Charlotte snapped into action. She got Alex’s address and was at her apartment within half an hour. She went through Alex’s closet, picking out a pair of skinny jeans, a long sleeve fitted white button down, a light pink blazer, and a pair of beige pumps.

“Casual yet smart. He’ll love it,” Charlotte had said.

In that moment Alex had loved Charlotte more than she could say and had a feeling a friendship had been formed. She was right, and it was a friendship that would prove to be Alex’s saving grace more than once in the journey she was embarking on.

Alex kissed Emma good-bye, hugged Mia, thanking her for everything, and then made her way back down to her car. She took a deep breath as she got behind the wheel and then made her way towards Kensington.

She pulled up at the gates and gave her name and ID to the guard, who took it, checked a list, made a call, and then came back with a smile. He pointed her in the right direction to go once she got into the gates. She thanked him and drove in, pulling straight back around the side of the palace to Harry’s home, Nottingham Cottage. It was cute, smaller than she had envisioned, but that was more than okay with her. She parked, and just as she was stepping out of her car, she saw him.

He had opened his door and was now standing on his front step, looking at her with a huge grin on his face. She found her mouth twisting up into a grin just as big without even thinking about it. He looked so incredibly handsome in his light brown sweater over a white collared shirt and blue jeans. Amazingly, she found her feet somehow and moved toward him. She didn’t know what would happen once she got to him. Should she hug him? Should she kiss him? Should she just wait for him to make that decision?

Once she made the seemingly endless journey up the path though, she didn’t have to worry. As she stepped up on the step he reached down and captured her hand, immediately pulling her inside the door and shutting it behind her. As soon as the door clicked into place he smiled down at her, wrapping his arms tightly around her, pulling her close.

“Hey,” he breathed. He was warm and solid against her and felt so much better than she remembered.

“Hey yourself,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“I missed you,” he said sincerely, happily. His fingers moved softly along her spine, sending shivers of delight through her.

“Prove it,” she said in a voice that came out much lower and needier than she meant it to.

He sucked in a sharp breath and his eyes flashed. His arms tightened around her and he pulled her even closer, pressing the whole length of her against him.

“Oh Alexandra, it would be my pleasure to do just that.”

And then his lips captured hers. They were warm and soft and demanding, moving against hers with complete determination and need. She matched his intensity, sliding her fingers into the soft hair at his neck as his mouth opened over hers, his tongue thrusting into her mouth to tangle with hers and all of the feelings that had been formed between them over the past week and a half came rushing out of them both in an instant. He groaned against her lips at the heat wave moving between them and then moved her back a few steps so her back was against the door. He pressed her against it with his hips, his hands running over her sides, her hips, down to her thighs, grabbing the undersides of them and lifting her up so her feet left the floor and she was pushed higher against the door. She whimpered in his mouth and immediately wrapped her legs around him, desperate for more contact.

Then, reluctantly and with every bit of self-control that he had in him he tore his mouth from hers, knowing that it couldn’t happen like this. As much as he wanted her, and good God, he wanted her; he couldn’t start their date by taking her against his front door. She deserved more than that from him.

He leaned his forehead against hers, taking deep, ragged breaths. “Alexandra…” he managed to get out.

“Harry?” Her voice was soft, breathy. “Are you okay?”

He opened his eyes, leaning back to look at her. He didn’t know if he would ever get over the way she looked after he kissed her; all bright eyes, flushed cheeks, and swollen, pink lips. He took another deep breath, fighting for control. He lifted her off of him, setting her back on her feet. She didn’t move back from him though, she kept her arms wound tightly around his neck.

“God…I’m such a brut, Alex. Thirty seconds in my house and I’ve got you pushed up against the door, fighting to keep myself from taking you to my bed and totally forgetting about everything but you,” he said, his voice rough.

“Oh Harry, do you think I don’t feel the same way? Do you think I want you any less than you want me? Do you honestly think I’d let you push me up against this door if I didn’t want you in a bad way?” Alex asked softly, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

“In a bad way, Alex?” he shook his head, trying to shake the thoughts occupying it. “Jesus, you aren’t helping my cause here.”

She chuckled. “Okay, fine.”

With regret she slid her arms from around his neck and then pushed his chest lightly, forcing him to take a step back from her. When he looked at her with amusement she smiled up at him, loving this side of him. She took a deep breath. “Okay, Wales. I’m hungry. What’s for dinner?” she asked.

He was relieved that she took control, pushed him towards doing the right thing. Never in his life had he had such a gut physical reaction to a person as he had to her. Attraction was one thing; he could handle attraction, push it to the side, resist the urges, and go to sleep alone. With Alex though, he didn’t know if those urges could be tamed. He was completely and utterly drawn to everything about her. Still, their first time shouldn’t start with him shoving her against anything.

He did a mental shake of his head and pushed those thoughts to the side. Then, grinning at her, he reached for her hand and led her down the hallway and around the corner into his kitchen. “Well, I hope you don’t mind,” he said as they walked. “But the best that I can cook is toast, so I had one of the chefs from the main house whip something up. I know it sounds simple but that chef makes the best spaghetti and meatballs I’ve ever had in my life.”

“Spaghetti and meatballs is perfect,” she said as they entered the small, but well-appointed kitchen. He released her hand, went and got two pot holders from a drawer, and then pulled out the dish of spaghetti and meatballs that was being kept warm inside the oven.

“The dining room is through there,” he said, nodding to a swinging door on the opposite side of the kitchen than they had entered. “After you, Alexandra.”

She grinned and moved past him, holding the swinging door open for him to pass through with the hot dish. She looked around the room as he went and sat their dinner down. He had a bottle of wine on the table and poured each of them a glass as she took in the room.

She was surprised at how warm and cozy these rooms were. The table wasn’t something she had expected to see at Kensington; she had half expected the giant hundred person tables she had seen in pictures. Instead, the table was a beautiful, sturdy, modern mahogany thing that sat six. The chairs were upholstered in white, and looked comfortable and inviting. The décor was minimal, just a small china cabinet against one of the light brown walls. It was classic and not intimidating as Alex had imagined.

She made her way over to the table where Harry was holding out a chair for her. She thanked him as she sat, her eyes trained on his as he took the seat at the head of the table, which was to the right of her seat. He picked his glass of wine up and held it up and Alex did the same.

“It’s white,” she said with a smile.

“You said you can’t drink reds,” he said, tilting his head just a bit.

“You remembered.”

He smirked. “Of course I did. Now how about a toast?”

She nodded, motioning for him to proceed.

“To you, Alexandra, for giving me the best reason to smile for the past three weeks,” he said, his eyes twinkling at her.

Alex’s heart caught in her throat. She had expected him to toast to their good health or to his favorite football team or something. She hadn’t expected that. She swallowed the lump in her throat and raised her glass to meet his, clinking them gently together. His eyes never left hers as they both took their first sip.

The wine was sweet and delicious, very similar to what she had served him at her flat ten days ago. She knew it wasn’t a coincidence. It was planned, meticulous. He had never seen the wine bottle, but he remembered the taste and found something of his like it…for her.

She set her wine glass down on the table, her eyes bright and her cheeks flushed at the thought of him going through all of that trouble for her. “Harry…this wine, it’s very similar to what I gave you last week, isn’t it?” she asked, her mouth twitching at the corners.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I wanted to make sure it was something you liked.”

Suddenly she had a thought. “Wait, just how much wine did you taste test?” Her eyes danced with laughter.

That cheeky grin appeared and his cheeks flushed. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck as he obviously remembered it. “Too much, Alex…way too much.”

She dissolved into laughter, bringing both hands up to cover her mouth.

“You’re laughing at me?” he asked, his eyes looking a bit hurt.

She shook her head, trying in vain to bring her giggles under control.

“You are! You’re laughing at me!”

She brought her hands from her mouth, her shoulders still shaking with mirth. She bit her lip, fighting against the laughter. “I promise I’m not. It’s the idea of you getting shit faced to make sure I liked the wine. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s so sweet, Harry. Honestly, I impressed, big time. But…,” she stopped and reached across the table for his hand, sliding her fingers around his. “You could have just asked me, I would have told you what wine it was.”

He smiled at her, warmth and affection spreading across his face. “Now, where’s the fun in that? As you said, I did get shit faced. Now eat, pretty girl, before your food gets cold.”

She laughed again and nodded, picking up her fork to dig in.

************

Harry had been right, the spaghetti and meatballs was the best she had ever had. She had two big helpings and Harry was happy that she didn’t try to pretend she wasn’t hungry so she wouldn’t have to eat in front of him.

“I thought could watch a movie next. What do you think?” Harry asked her as he had cleaned up the dinner dishes. She sat on one of the stools in the kitchen, finishing off her third glass of wine while he loaded the dishwasher.

She nodded. “Sure, what movie?”

“Whatever you want,” he said. He wiped his hands dry and then picked his glass of wine back up, walking over to stand in front of where she sat.

“What if I want to watch my favorite movie of all time and you don’t have it?” she asked teasingly. She tilted her head up to look at him as he moved between her legs on the stool, towering over her. He set his glass on the island behind her and then placed his hands on it, effectively surrounding her.

“Not a problem, Alexandra,” he murmured. His gaze dropped to her lips. God, he wanted to kiss her again in a bad, bad way.

“Really? You have that kind of power? You just snap your fingers and you can get any movie you want?”

He chuckled, shaking his head and leaning in closer to her. “No. You can buy almost any movie on the internet, pretty girl.”

“Oh duh…” she said, laughing at herself. The smiled dropped from her lips as quickly as it came though when she realized he was going to kiss her again. Her eyes searched his, wide and hopeful. Unconsciously his tongue snuck out and wet his lower lip right before they both closed their eyes and his mouth settled on hers.

He purposefully held way back, not wanting to repeat what happened earlier. The result was a soft, sweet kiss that showed just how happy he was that she was here. And Harry felt the same from her, the way she responded in return with exactly what he gave to her.

He pulled back and looked down at her. “Okay, Alex…movie time. What will it be tonight?”

She smirked. “I think we will watch my favorite move of all time. I feel it’s a Dirty Dancing kind of night, don’t you Harry?”

Harry groaned. “Why is that every woman’s favorite movie?” He stood up and grabbed his wine from the counter. He then took her hand and helped her down from the stool.

“It’s Patrick Swayze,” she said matter-of-factly as he led her out of the kitchen and into the living room. “That man in that movie is so…unf.”

“Unf? What in the world is that?” he asked with his eyebrows raised as he directed her to sit on the big u-shaped micro-suede couch. She sat, sitting back and relaxing, smiling up at him.

She laughed. “Unf is…it’s when a guy so sexy that your gut kind of feels like it gets punched every time you look at him…but in a good way.”

Harry shook his head as he walked over to the DVDs lined up on the shelf and located Dirty Dancing. He actually did have that one, courtesy of Kate leaving her copy in the cottage from when she and William had lived there.

“Unf, huh? O-kay. ” he said as he popped the DVD in and then moved to sit next to her on the couch. She immediately settled into him, tucking herself under his arm and pressing the side of her body up against his.

“Harry?” she murmured as the movie started playing.

He turned his head down to look at her. “Hmmmm?”

“By the way, you are very, very, very unf.”

His eyes widened. He tightened his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. He leaned down and dropped a soft kiss to her mouth. “I swear to God you are going to kill me, Alex.”

She winked at him, turning her attention back to the movie.

Harry was wrapped up in these moments with her. She was so normal, so fun and full of life. She had every reason to be bitter and cynical but she was far from both of those things. He alternated between watching her and watching the movie, enjoying how she was totally engrossed in it.

**********

At some point about half-way through the movie Harry glanced up at the clock on the wall. “Alex, it’s getting late. What time do you have to pick Emma up?” he asked.

Alex had known this question was coming. She hadn’t shared her plan to have Emma stay at Mia’s with Harry. It simply allowed her to option to stay if it came to that. She hadn’t assumed she would, and she knew he didn’t assume it either. Still, she found that her stomach was filled with butterflies when she looked up at him to answer.

“I don’t. She’s staying the night at Mia’s. I’m not implying…it was just…” She trailed off, not knowing how to put what she was trying to say into words.

Harry sucked in a sharp breath. “I know. I know you’re not…” he stopped and rand a hand through his hair. “Alex, listen…”

Alex shook her head. “No, Harry…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I was just so excited about seeing you, and we hadn’t really talked about it, but if something did happen, I didn’t want to have to leave you…” She stopped and her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh my God, you probably think I’m the worst mother in the world.”

Harry reached up and grabbed her hands, pulling them down into his lap. “Stop it, Alex. I do not think you are the worst mother in the world. If anything I think exactly the opposite. I’m not mad that you have Emma staying somewhere else. I don’t think badly of you for that, so stop thinking that. Just stop.”

Alex nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.

“What I was going to say is…that knowing now that you can stay; I don’t think I could stand if you didn’t. We don’t have to do anything other than sleep if you don’t want to, but the thought of just having you with me tonight…”

“I’ll stay,” she said quickly, squeezing his hands.

He let out a sigh of relief.