May 2018 

"Harry," I called impatiently from the bottom of the stairs. "Harry! The car's here, hurry up!"

"Coming," he called back, and I checked one final time that the back door was locked before picking up my phone, keys, passport and flight documents from the table in the hall. I opened the front door and walked outside, where Paul was just stepping out of the black Mercedes that was parked in front of the house.

"Morning Jess," he greeted me as he stepped inside the doorway to pick up my suitcase and hand luggage. "Looking forward to getting back to dreary old London?"

I pulled a face. "It may be home, but it certainly can't compete with LA weather," I replied, shrugging my shoulders and turning my palms up towards the brilliant blue, cloudless sky. Harry finally appeared behind me with his carry on bag slung over his shoulder and his case in his left hand.

"Finally," I said. "What have you been doing up there? I thought you were going to make us miss the flight."

"Stop being dramatic," he teased, slipping his sunglasses on and planting a peck on my lips as he walked past me to put his own bags in the car. Once the intruder alarm was set, I closed and locked the front door behind us and slid into the backseat next to Harry. He was fiddling impatiently with the zip on his bag, and ran one hand through his hair.

"All set?" I asked when he eventually sat back in his seat and smiled at me.

"Yep. Looking forward to going home." He reached over and linked his fingers with mine across the leather seat as the car pulled out of the gates and onto the road in the direction of LAX.

The mid morning traffic wasn't too bad, and we arrived at the airport in plenty of time (this earned me a triumphant smirk from Harry, thanks to my earlier impatience with him for dawdling). We pulled up at the entrance and Paul unloaded our bags while we hurried inside to check in. 

The second we were through the door a group of paparazzi came running over to us excitedly, their shutters clicking furiously.

"Bloody hell," Harry muttered. "This is all we need."

Their shouts mixed into one constant thrum of chaotic noise, and Harry ushered me in front of him as we picked up our pace to get past them as quickly as possible. A few ran in front of us thrusting their lenses in our faces, and I lifted my hand to cover my eyes to prevent myself being temporarily blinded by the flashes.  

"Let him through, let him through!" one of the airport security shouted, attempting to keep the paps at bay, but they took not one bit of notice as they jostled each other to get close to us.

"Keep back!" the guard yelled, and held his arms outstretched at his sides to create a barrier between us and the photographers. "This way Sir, Miss..."

"You OK?" Harry asked under his breath as we finally walked through the doors away from the media.

"Yeah, fine," I replied. "Looks like your attempt to keep your location quiet until we got home has failed, though."

"Tell me about it," he sighed.

"I did see a lot of people speculating on Twitter that you were due to leave the US soon, after you were pictured with some fans out of the blue yesterday," I remarked, and he looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Really?"

I rolled my eyes as we entered the private lounge. "Harry, I've been telling you this for months. I know you think it's a clever, diversionary tactic to be pictured in public right before you leave one location to go to another, but the fans are wise to it. They see right through it."

His nostrils flared. "I just wanted us to have a few days' peace back home before anyone realised where we were."

He looked so serious while he pondered this that I couldn't help laughing at his creased brow and the look of concentration on his face. "Stop laughing," he scolded. "It won't be funny when the paps are all over us at Heathrow."

I laughed harder at his gentle annoyance, and he sighed in resignation and surveyed me with amusement until I had calmed down.

"I might have to start throwing a few red herrings in the mix," he mused.

I smirked. "You do that."

We enjoyed a glass of champagne at the bar, and then headed to the gate to board the plane. I wasn't particularly a fan of morning flights, as I could never force myself to sleep, so I spent most of the journey catching up on social media (I convinced Harry to follow a few fans), watching films and listening to music.

It was lunchtime in the UK when we landed at Heathrow, and the roads were relatively quiet as we headed up the North Circular in the direction of Hampstead. The sun was shining and it was a warm day, which made the return from the thirty degree Californian heat a little easier.

"I'm looking forward to a relaxing bath and a good sleep," I declared as we finally pulled into the driveway.

"You haven't forgotten that we're heading up to Mum's tomorrow, have you?" he reminded me.

"No, I hadn't forgotten," I yawned. "I'll unpack our stuff now, to keep me awake. Don't let me fall asleep before dinner or I'll be jetlagged for days."

He watched as I wheeled my suitcase into the utility room and unzipped it.

"I told you, you should keep a separate wardrobe in LA," he teased.

I sighed. "We've been through this. I'm a creature of habit. It would annoy me if something I wanted to wear was at the wrong house."

"You'd get used to it."

"Hmmm," I said. "I'm not convinced."

He grinned indulgently and left me to it, and I spent a couple of hours sorting through my clothes, washing, drying, folding and packing a few pieces into a small bag for a couple of days in Cheshire. I was looking forward to seeing Anne, as it had been almost a month since we had last caught up properly.

We drove up north late the following morning, and arrived after lunch. Anne had put on a delicious spread for us and was excited to hear all about our time away, and the songwriting Harry had been doing in West Hollywood (I had managed to fit in a visit to Louis and Freddie while Harry was otherwise engaged). 

"Do you fancy an early morning walk tomorrow?" Harry asked that evening as we relaxed in the lounge with a bottle of wine.

"How early?" I asked.

He shrugged. "After breakfast?"

"If you like," I nodded. "It's looking like it's going to be a beautiful day again. We might as well make the most of it. I was worried we'd be coming back to pissing rain after all that sunshine in LA."

My eyes were drooping by half past eight, and I excused myself just after nine and headed up to bed. It wasn't long after that I vaguely felt the bed dip beside me as Harry joined me. I felt him gently tuck my hair behind my ear and kiss my shoulder, and then the next thing I was aware of was a delicate alarm tone, and a phone vibrating on Harry's bedside table. He silenced it immediately. I cracked one eye open and saw it was seven a.m.

"Why's your alarm going off?" I slurred.

"Forgot to deactivate it," he whispered back. "Shhh, go back to sleep."

He had barely uttered these words before I felt myself slipping under again, and it felt like no more than two minutes had passed until I was awakened with a jolt by Harry bouncing on the bed. I opened my eyes and saw his grinning face looming over me.

"Wake up, sleepyhead! Its nearly nine!"

"Why are you dressed?" I mumbled sleepily.

"I got up a little while ago," he said, reaching down to me and brushing my hair back from my face.

"Bloody hell, your hands are freezing!" I squealed, flinching away from him. "What have you been doing?!"

"Just been outside. In the garden. Having a morning brew."

He grinned and slipped his hands under the covers.

"No," I warned. "Harry!"

He pressed his fingers into my waist and I screamed and attempted to get away, but to no avail as he was far stronger than I was, and had now straddled me on the bed so I was unable to escape. He nuzzled his face into my neck and I wriggled and squirmed at the feel of his icy skin against mine. He laughed wickedly at my obvious distress, pressing his lips to my collarbone and kissing me while I screamed.

"Get up, lazybones," he murmured against my skin, his laughter vibrating through me, tickling me and reducing me to a fit of giggles.

"Alright, alright, I'll get up!" I squealed, panting and grinning as he finally sat up. "What's the rush, anyway?"

"We're going for a morning walk, remember?"

"We have another three hours left of morning," I pointed out.

"Yeah, and I know how long it takes you to get ready," he fired back, pushing himself off the bed and standing up. "Get up, get in the shower, and be downstairs in fifteen minutes. Your breakfast will be on the table waiting for you."

"Yes sir," I saluted. "These strict orders remind me of your Dunkirk rehearsals."

"You loved every minute of those," he leered as he reached the doorway.

"Especially the uniform," I reminded him. 

He gave me a smoldering look. "How could I forget?"

"Gross!" came Gemma's voice from the landing, and a second later she walked past the open door with her hands over her ears, staring steadfastly at the ground.

Harry and I exchanged mischievous looks as we took a moment to recall the fun we'd had with that uniform.

"Anyway," he said, clicking his fingers sharply and snapping me out of my reverie, "get up and get ready. Don't make me come up here again with these cold hands."

I sighed and pushed the covers back, climbing out of bed as he left the room and pulled the door shut behind him. 

It took me twenty minutes to shower and dress. I hastily pulled my hair into a loose ponytail and hurried down to the kitchen to find Harry dishing up two plates of cooked breakfast and Anne standing in her dressing gown pouring out the tea.

"Blimey, what's all this in aid of?" I asked, pulling out a chair at the table as he carried the plates over.

He shrugged. "I thought this would set us up for a nice walk."

"How far are we walking?" I asked suspiciously, and he chuckled.

"Not far. We can go to Marbury Park if you want? Or along the River Dane?"

He handed me a bottle of brown sauce, and I squirted it onto my plate. "I don't mind. Which would you prefer?"

"Let's do the River Dane," he suggested. "The views are nicer."

We devoured our breakfast, and just as we stood up from the table to clear our plates, Anne came over and took them from us. "I'll do those. You two head off."

"Aren't you coming with us?" I asked.

"No, I'm going to have a shower and potter about here for a bit," she replied. "Will you be long?"

"Depends how warm it is," Harry said. "If it's freezing, we might change our minds!"

"It looks warm," I observed, pulling on a light jacket and crossing over to the back porch to find my wellies.

"It'll be lovely along the river," Anne smiled. "See you later."

We headed outside to Harry's car, climbed in, and Harry pulled slowly out of the driveway. "Mum mentioned something about the road being closed further up," he muttered. "Keep an eye out for signs will you? I'll need to turn off towards the village if it is."

"OK," I nodded, staring out of the front window at the beautiful scenery that never failed to take my breath away. I wasn't sure if it was just because this place was Harry's home, so therefore I was biased, but I couldn't help admiring and appreciating the rural views every time we visited.

Harry fiddled with the radio as we drove along in the sunshine, flicking through the channels impatiently before returning to his original choice of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show. He ran his hands through his hair and then chewed his fingernail as he frowned at the road ahead.

"What's up with you?" I asked. "You're like a cat on hot bricks."

"Nothing, I'm fine." He pinched his bottom lip between his thumb and forefinger, before realising I was staring at him and releasing it quickly, his brow relaxing. "I'm fine," he repeated.

I said nothing, but stared at him for a moment longer, before turning my attention back to the road ahead. We drove along in silence for half a minute, listening to Grimmy chatting about that morning's news just before he finished his slot. Harry suddenly stepped on the accelerator, then braked hard as we approached a sharp bend in the road, throwing the car round the corner before speeding up again. 

I grabbed the dashboard in front of me. "What are you doing?" 

"Relax, I know these roads like the back of my hand," he muttered.

"I thought you said there might be a diversion though?"

"Have you seen any signs?"

"Not yet," I admitted, looking forwards again at the hedgerows flying past. "But I'll miss them if you carry on at this speed. My side of the road is practically a blur." 

Harry slowed for another bend, just as Grimmy was signing off.

"I'm gonna leave you with a great song now that has special meaning for some friends of mine," Grimmy's voice came through the radio. "I'm not saying who, but if they're listening, they know who they are. This is Ellie Goulding and Love Me Like You Do."

"Oh my God!" I cried. "Is this for us?!"

I looked over at Harry who was smiling coyly and staring straight ahead. He shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Maybe. Who knows?"

"Did you request it?"

"Maybe."

"You are so cute."

"Manly," he corrected.

"Manly," I nodded. "Yes, definitely."

"You could say it with more conviction."

"Manly!" I growled, tensing my biceps, balling my hands into fists and frowning.

"That's better."

I sang along to Ellie Goulding, smiling to myself at the words that meant so much to us, thinking back to the first time I had stayed in LA with Harry and how this had become our song.

We passed a wide driveway on the left, and up ahead I could see a white sign attached to the trunk of a tree. "Slow down," I said. "There's a sign coming up."

As we approached it Harry slowed down, but there was one word written on the sign: Jess.

"Hey, that's weird!" I said. "It's got my name on there!"

"Does it?" Harry frowned.

"Yeah! Maybe someone lost their cat or something."

"Maybe," he chuckled.

We reached the end of the road and Harry came to a stop. Directly in front of us were sign posts left and right for Twemlow and Cranage, and another white sign with Jess on it, and arrow pointing to the right.

"Is this some sort of weird coincidence?" I asked, pointing at the sign.

"Maybe I should follow it," he said mischievously, indicating right and pulling onto the lane.

"Looks like the road is clear anyway," I remarked as we accelerated up the familiar track. "Good thing you didn't need to take a diversion. Hey look - another sign!"

"What does this one say?"

I squinted as it came into view. "Follow me," I read aloud. "Is someone having a laugh?"

Harry chuckled again. "Looks like it."

We rounded another bend, and another sign was tied to a tree. "One Direction," I read. "Ha! They've got taste, whoever they are. Look, the arrows have all pointed this way."

"We must be on the right track then," he observed.

He slowed down for the side-turning into our usual parking spot for the river, and yet another sign was tied to a metal post in the ground. Follow the signs.

I stared at Harry. "Are you in on this? Is it something to do with you?"

He didn't answer, but tucked the car up by the hedge, and killed the engine. "Come on. Let's walk."

I opened the door and jumped out, the gravel crunching beneath my wellies. Harry walked around the back of the car and took my hand as we began to make our way onto the grassy bank of the river, taking our usual route. The sun was fully out and it was surprisingly warm in the shelter of the trees as we walked along. I unzipped my jacket and breathed in the delicate scent of the blossom, absorbing the beauty and silence of our surroundings; the only sound that of our wellies swishing through the grass as we sauntered along hand in hand.

"Do you remember the first time we came here?" Harry asked after a couple of minutes.

"I do," I nodded. "We came for a walk with your family, and I remember being so happy that I could hold your hand in public, and act like a normal couple."

He smiled. "I remember you kept letting go of my hand and moving slightly away from me every time we saw someone coming. I knew then there was something special about you. You just seemed to understand me, without me having to explain."

"I think we had a pretty strong connection from quite early on," I remarked.

He squeezed my hand. "We really, really did."

We passed a couple of large hawthorn hedges, and a large white sheet of paper caught my eye. "Look!" I exclaimed, pointing ahead with my finger. "There's another one of those signs!"

I let go of Harry's hand and walked ahead of him to examine it closely.

Follow the signs.

I turned to look at him. "This is definitely something to do with you. What are you up to?"

He started innocently up at the sky. "I don't know what you mean. Are the signs confusing you?"

"Well, I'm intrigued by them," I admitted, turning the piece of paper over to see if there was anything on the back, but it was blank. An arrow beneath the text pointed along the path, in the direction we were heading.

"Well in that case, you'd better do as it says," he smirked. "You could almost call it a Sign of the Times. Ha! Come on."

I chose to ignore this typical Harry joke. He took my hand and pulled me along the riverbank, and I fell into step beside him, smiling at his obvious glee. I stared intently all around us as we spent a further five minutes walking briskly, until I saw another piece of paper pinned to a tree. I broke free from Harry and ran up to it, unable to hide my grin. 

This one had an arrow pointing to the left this time, which would take us up a grassy slope to give us a fantastic view of the Cheshire countryside and the winding River Dane, and also happened to be the same spot where Harry had taken a spontaneous photograph of me that had become his lock screen; the moment he had realised he was in love with me. I pulled the sign off the tree and read the words: For your eyes only.

My heart missed a beat, and then another, and then another. I turned to look at him, but he was busy fiddling with the zip on the pocket of his jacket, so I ran ahead up the slope, the piece of paper still in my hands. When I reached the top I stared all around me, looking for the next sign, waiting for the next clue in the puzzle. Stuck to a branch of cherry blossom about twenty feet away was another sheet of paper. I ran over to it clumsily, my wellies pounding the grass beneath my feet, my heart pounding hard.

So it turns out I'm not that great at reading signs. Turn around. 

I held my breath and turned around slowly, to see Harry standing at the top of the grass slope looking nervously at me. We stared at each other for a moment, before he began to walk towards me, his hands shoved in his pockets, his shoulders slightly hunched. 

"Good job they didn't get taken down temporarily," he smiled shyly. "Or I'd be screwed."

"Did you put all these up?" I asked, my voice wobbling.

"Yeah. I came out early this morning to set it up."

I wanted to ask why, but I already knew. I knew where this was going, because the past couple of years had been slowly leading up to this point. We were so close, closer than we ever had been; our relationship built and cemented with icloud leaks, haircuts, promotions, debut interviews, movie auditions, learning lines, property sales and purchases, funerals, song writing and solo music breakthroughs. Harry's first album had reflected his venture into solo territory, and the transition of our relationship into the public eye; some references subtle, some not so: Ever Since New York being the summary of the bleak hours, days and months following Harry's night in New York with Sara Sampaio before he and I had eventually reconciled. (I still couldn't listen to the song without crying, even more than a year down the line. His obvious pain in the soulful lyrics was just too hard for me to bear.)

I knew what was coming, because I had been thinking it too. I had seen it, heard it, felt it between us more and more over the last few months. Our relationship dynamics had shifted, and we both sensed it, I could tell. My heart was thudding in my chest as he reached me, tucking my hair behind my ear affectionately, running his tongue between his lips in the nervous gesture he had never lost in all the time I had known him.

"I don't think I can put into words what you mean to me," he began, his voice husky and trembling. "And it's hard for me to admit that, as a songwriter. But every time I try to sum us up, it's never good enough. It never quite reaches the depth of love in my heart. And I've started to think that's because there is no boundary to us, to our relationship. What we have is incomparable; timeless; infinite. It can't be explained, and it can't be quantified."

I swallowed the burning lump in my throat, and attempted to blink back my tears. I didn't want to look a mess for this moment, but I knew it was inevitable. And I also knew that was part of what he loved about me.

"You complete me, Jess. You understand me. You love me despite my faults, and because of my imperfections. You love me for who I am, and I love you for who you are. You know every inch of me, every corner of my soul, every quirk of my character. Your body is completely in tune with mine... I have never known two people to be as close as we are. We're so in sync it's like we're the same person; yet at the same time we're so different sometimes, and we complement each other with those differences. Pretty much since the moment we met, I could never see myself loving anyone else but you. I believe we were meant to be, I believe that fate led you to that party that night, and if we hadn't met then, we would still have met somewhere down the line. We were always meant to be together, and you know I've felt for years that we were in this for keeps."

I nodded, tears now streaming down my face.

"You're kind, sweet and funny, and you keep me grounded. You've never been affected or impressed by my fame, and you don't hesitate to pull me back in line if I ever sound like I'm becoming complacent with my achievements. You just fit, with me and with my family. You remind me every day how lucky I am, just by being at my side. I could lose my career tomorrow but I know I'd be fine as long as I had you. I want you with me, forever and always, on my side, fighting my corner, cheering me on. And I want to be next to you, showing you off, bragging about your own success, telling anyone who will listen just how amazing you are, and how happy I am that you chose me. I want to do that for..." He hesitated as his voice broke momentarily, "...for the rest of my life."

I watched him, unable to speak, as he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a tiny velvet box, and carefully got down on one knee. A involuntary sob escaped my lips, and I took a deep breath, trying not to ruin the moment.

"I brought you up here because this was the exact spot I realised I was in love with you, exactly three years ago to this day, and I couldn't think of a more perfect place to ask you the most important question of my life."

I smiled down at him through my tears as he opened the little box and held it out to me; his fingers trembling, his eyes searching my face for reassurance, and the breathtaking diamond sparkling brilliantly in the morning sunlight. "Jessica Bradshaw, I love you more than anything in this whole world. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," I nodded, my voice breaking with emotion. "Yes, of course I will."

He gave a half laugh, half sob, took the ring out of the box and slipped it smoothly into my finger. It was a perfect fit. 

I let out a ragged breath as he stood up shakily, and threw my arms around his neck. He squeezed me tightly, his body shuddering gently with silent sobs, and leaned backwards to lift me off the ground. When he set me down again I kissed him as though my life depended on it, our tears mingling on our cheeks and the warm sun shining down on us, absorbed in our own perfect moment with the world of opportunity at our feet.

---***---

Happy Easter! 🐣🐥

I don't mind admitting I cried writing this, because it's so near to completion now, and this scene has been floating in disjointed parts in my head for about a year, so to write it down and share it with you is rather emotional! I hope you enjoyed it. There are two more future chapters to come, and I will write and post them as soon as I can (I know I always say this), so look out for the updates! 

If you haven't yet checked out my next two projects, I would love it if you would take a peek and let me know what you think. I have a new Harry Styles AU (Twist of Fate) and a Louis Tomlinson real-life spin-off (No Control | The Night Before). Both are in the very early stages, but I have big plans for them and I hope you enjoy them :) Thank you for all the support on them so far xx

Don't forget to tap the yellow star and vote on each and every chapter that you enjoy! It's like a nod of approval to me, and means just as much to me as the lovely comments! 💖