Harry was gone so often that I was starting to question my sanity in encouraging him to pursue a music career. I felt like a single parent again, although I knew Harry still had my back. I just missed him like crazy.

The kids and I had gotten into the habit of walking around the neighborhood before dinner. The leaves were falling and I had always loved the crunching sound they made under my feet. The kids collected their favorite colored leaves and brought them home to press them. I had no idea what they were planning to do with them, but I let them collect the leaves just the same.

We were beginning to recognize some of the people who lived near us. An older couple who was always outside working on their landscaping, a 50-something couple whose college-aged sons seemed to always be visiting, a wealthy business man and his wife who drove a Jaguar and a Mercedes, respectively. We happened upon a house where there were three kids playing outside.

"Hi, Jeannette!" Aurora yelled and waved.

I looked at her, surprised. "How do you know her?" I asked.

"She's in my class," she said, as if I should have known.

We walked across the lawn and met Joey, who was in second grade, and another boy, Jack, whom I figured to be about four years old.

"Hi Jeannette, I'm Mrs. Styles, Aurora's mom." I waved at Aurora as we approached her and her brothers.

Jeannette's mom came out the front door and walked over to us. "Hi, I'm Bonnie Fredericks," she said, holding out her hand.

"Lise Styles," I said, shaking her hand and smiling. "It's nice to finally meet some people in the neighborhood."

"Did you just move here?" She asked.

"We moved just before school started. We bought the old house down the street and we've been renovating it. I'm sorry about the noise," I laughed.

"Oh, I love that old house!" She exclaimed.

"It's going to be great when it's finished," I said. "But for now, we're living in a bit of chaos." I looked at the kids running around the yard and made sure Danny hadn't wandered too far. "So, Jeannette and Aurora are in the same class. Does Jeannette like the teacher?" I asked.

"She loves her," Bonnie replied.

Just then, Jeannette and Aurora came running over. "Mom, guess what?" Jeannette yelled.

"What, honey?"

"Aurora's daddy is famous!" She yelled.

Bonnie looked at me questioningly. I laughed and said, "Well, not yet. He just released his first single."

"You mean a song? He's a singer? That is so awesome!" Bonnie said. "What song does he sing?"

"It's called Be Careful With My Heart," I told her.

"I've heard that one. It's awesome – I can't believe that's your husband!"

"To be honest, I can't either," I said. "It's still kind of surreal. It's all happening so fast. And he's gone a lot. That's the huge downside of all of this."

We chatted a bit more, exchanged phone numbers and agreed to let the kids play together. Just before we left, I had an afterthought. "Do you know someone named Victoria who lives in this neighborhood? She's in her early 20's, long blonde hair, looks like a fashion model?"

Bonnie thought for a minute and then said, "Yeah, yeah, I think so. The Lawtons – they live one street over, at the end of the block. Victoria is their daughter. I don't know if she lives at home anymore, though. Do you know her?"

"Yeah. She, um, went to college with my husband," I said. I decided to leave it at that.

Well, now I knew why she was around, and I just hoped she really didn't live at home, and I prayed that we wouldn't run into her very often.

When we got home, I put the kids to bed and went online to check my email. There were 67 new messages from a C.Valow. "Shit!" I muttered. "Why the hell won't this person give up?"

After reading two or three of the messages, I just sent them all to the spam folder. Then I called Harry up on Skype.

"Hey, babe, how are you?" I asked, trying to sound cheerful.

"Missing you, darling. Missing you a lot," he said quietly.

"I miss you, too." I decided not to mention the emails since he seemed kind of down. "Want me to come and visit?" I asked with a smirk.

"Yeah I do, actually," he said.

I looked at him apologetically and said, "I was kind of joking, babe. I don't know if I can get away. Courtney is working and she's so tired out from the pregnancy."

"Please, love. I need you," he begged.

"I'll see what I can do," I said, and I left it at that.

My parents had been exceptionally busy, but I gave them a try. They agreed to watch the kids for a few days, but they were leaving for Cancun in a week. Oh, the life of a retired couple! They said they could come for the next few days if I could book a trip immediately. I got online and found a flight first thing in the morning, so I told my parents I'd take it.

I hung up and rushed to pack my bags. I didn't even call Harry. I just decided I would hop on the morning flight and surprise him at his hotel. The children were surprisingly peaceful about me leaving on such short notice. The flight was uneventful, the airport was unusually quiet, and I had no trouble hailing a cab. The trip was so easy, it just seemed like it was meant to be.

When I arrived at Harry's hotel, I could hardly contain my excitement. I rushed to the reception desk to find out where his room was. When I finally stood outside of his room and knocked, I felt like I was going to burst.

The expression on Harry's face was priceless. "Oh, my god! Lise! How did you get here?"

"On a plane, duh!" I laughed.

He grabbed me and squeezed me into a vise-like hug and then he kissed me about ten times. "I'm so glad you're here," he said, his forehead touching mine. "I'm so glad you're here," he repeated in a whisper.

"Me, too," I whispered in return.

He picked up the bag I had dropped in the doorway and then closed the door and locked it, all with one arm still firmly wrapped around my waist.

Then he aggressively attacked me with kisses anywhere and everywhere that my skin was exposed. He started at that wonderful little spot just under my ear and worked his way down my neck, across my shoulder and down my arm. I closed my eyes and enjoyed his attention, scratching his back lightly and running my fingers through his hair. He gently pushed me back against the wall while we still stood in the entry way of the hotel room, but then he pressed himself firmly against me while working his way up my chest, my jaw, and eventually back to my mouth with wet kisses. He ignited a fire inside of me that wouldn't be easily extinguished if he didn't follow through.

Then he breathed into me, saying, "I want you."

I laughed a little and said, "I'm already yours."

Since were were on the 45th floor, we didn't even bother to close the curtains when we made love. It was fast and frenzied and fabulous and we were both more vocal than we normally were. I think it was our way of expressing how much we missed each other and needed each other.

Afterwards, we held on to each other for a long time, neither of us wanting to let go because our times together lately had been few and far between. It was mid-afternoon before we even wanted to leave our bed. But finally my stomach growled and I laughed, "I'm hungry."

"Me, too," Harry said. "Let's go and get some lunch, and then would you like to see my studio?"

"Yes!" I said emphatically.

We took quick showers and left the hotel, greeted by the warm LA sun. It was fall, and definitely cooler than when we'd come here in July, but it was still much warmer than St. Paul this time of year.

Harry took me to a little Mexican restaurant that he had come to enjoy, and the food was perfect. I couldn't complain about the company either – I still couldn't believe I was in LA with my love, when I didn't even have this trip planned at this time yesterday.

We arrived at the studio where Harry had been working on his album, and we were greeted by none other than Liam Payne.

"Hello, Lise," he said. "It's lovely to see you again." He winked and I smiled, knowing that Harry had no idea about our little plan for his birthday.

"Nice to see you again, Liam," I replied. "I just took a quick trip out here to check out where my husband spends most of his time."

"Well, I'll leave you to it then," he said and disappeared down the hallway.

We walked into the recording room, and I just grinned. "Didn't I tell you that you'd make it big some day?"

"Well, I haven't exactly made it big yet. But yes, this is certainly my dream come true."

"Sing something for me," I demanded with a smirk.

He sat me in a chair and put a pair of headphones on me. Then he stepped into the box and flipped a few switches. Soon, my adorable husband was beaming at me while he sang part of a new love song he'd been working on. It was called "Forever."

When he had finished, he stepped back out of the box and I said to him, "That song had better be about me!" I said, standing up to kiss him.

"Of course it is," he laughed. "All my love songs are about you. Or Katy Perry."

I playfully slapped his arm. Just then my phone buzzed, so I pulled it out to see the message.

I could feel the blood draining from my face. A wave of nausea swept over me as a burning sensation swept up the back of my neck. I fell back into the chair.

"Harry." My voice barely registered as I handed him the phone.

His eyes widened as he read the message.

"I see you paid your husband a little conjugal visit. You should be more careful about leaving your children at home. Love, CV"

"What the fuck?!" He shouted. Then he dropped to his knees and looked at me, trying to erase the fear from his face. "It's going to be all right. I'm going to take care of this. Just wait here."

Then he swiftly left the room and I sat there in shock, not quite believing that this "harmless" internet harrasser had just crossed the line into stalking.

How did this person know where I was and what we were doing?

How did they know I even left St. Paul? I just planned the trip last night!

Why were they threatening my children?

I couldn't stop the onslaught of terrifying thoughts. I stumbled over to the waste basket and dropped to my knees, not entirely sure that I wouldn't vomit. I concentrated on taking deep breaths until Harry walked back in.

He knelt on the floor beside me. "I called the police. They want us to come down to the station and show them your phone. They're contacting the police in St. Paul, too."

I looked at Harry and then burst into tears. He sat all the way down onto the floor and pulled me onto his lap, holding me like a child. He held me firmly and whispered in my ear, "Everything is going to be okay, I promise."

We sat there only for a few moments, but then I forced myself to regain my composure so we could go to the police station.

We arrived at the station and met with the officer to whom Harry had spoken on the phone. I showed him my phone and I told him everything about the internet requests and the 67 email messages.

Harry looked at me and scowled. "You didn't tell me about that."

"That was yesterday. You seemed so stressed out, I didn't want to worry you."

He nodded slightly but then gave me a stern look and said, "Tell me everything from now on, okay? Everything!"

The officer reassured us that he had already been in contact with St. Paul's police department and that they would send an officer to our home to make sure everything was okay.

As we left the station, I called my parents, trying to figure out a way to calmly tell them that someone was stalking me and threatening our family and that a police officer was coming over to the house.

"Hi, Mom," I said hoarsely, but then I got choked up and started sobbing, so I handed the phone to Harry, who gently explained the situation.

"Did she freak out?" I asked after I had stopped crying.

"A little. But she was relieved to know that the police were coming over." Harry pulled me close to him and held me tight until we arrived back at the hotel.

When we entered the room, I found it hard to believe that only a few hours ago, Harry and I had been sharing some sweet and steamy moments and now I was fearing for my family. I had been hoping to stay for a few days, but I looked at Harry apologetically and said, "We have to go home."

"I know," he said, opening his laptop. He pulled up the website for the airline and called to find out about the next flight back to St. Paul.

When he hung up, he told me, "You can catch a flight tomorrow at 6:40 AM. That will get you back to St. Paul around 12:30 PM, Central Time."

"Just me? Aren't you coming with me? Harry, you have to come with me!" I was beginning to get a little hysterical.

"I can't leave right now," he said gently. "I have to work."

"So you don't care that someone is threatening your family?!" I asked angrily.

"Of course I care!" He yelled. "How can you even ask that?"

"Well, Harry, this is kind of a big deal!" I shouted back.

"I know, Lise! I'm trying to do everything I can to deal with it from here. I will keep in touch with the police in St. Paul every day, okay? I just really can't get away right now?"

"Well, what if something happens to one of us? Then can you get away?!" I demanded, sarcastically.

"Lise!" He said, clearly exasperated.

"I'm sorry," I said, taking a deep breath. "I'm just really scared and I need you."

"I know," he said, wrapping his arms around me tightly. "I know. I'll get home as soon as I can."

I wasn't happy with that answer, but I decided I didn't want to fight about it. I just wanted to go to bed and get some sleep.

If  I could sleep.