Our routine didn't change much after our conversation. Harry continued coming over as always. He seemed a bit more relaxed, but he didn't answer my question right away. A few weeks later, he asked, "Are you free this Friday? Well, Friday over Saturday, actually."

"I think so," I answered, looking at him curiously. "I'll have to check with my parents to see if they can watch the kids."

"Already done!" He smirked. "They'll be here Friday morning."

"You called my parents?" I laughed. "So, what did you have in mind?"

"Just some time together," he said, kissing me warmly. "The last time we really had a date was in England, but I would hardly consider the rest of that trip quality time for us. And I suppose we need to talk through some things, too. So I thought we could use a little getaway. Do you think that will be okay with the girls?"

I closed my eyes and smiled at the thought of some alone time with Harry. "I think they will have to be okay with it," I said mischievously. "So we're staying overnight somewhere? What will my parents think?"

He leaned in close to my ear and whispered, "I don't care."

Friday arrived and my children were perfectly happy to have Grandma and Grandpa there to babysit again, especially when I promised I would be back the very next day. We gave my parents details about our outing, and they didn't even ask about the fact that it was an overnight date. Then we drove away in Harry's SUV.

"So, where are we going?" I asked.

"Let's start with the Mall of America," he said. "I haven't been there yet."

"Harry, you've been here almost two years and you haven't yet visited the Mall of America???"

"I'm not much of a mall person, but I hear it's worth the visit," he said.

"Don't they have malls in England?"

"A few. They're not as popular as they are here. I'm just not crazy about such big places," he said.

"Well, we don't have to go there," I laughed. "I've been there plenty of times. There's no sense in us going to a place that you won't enjoy."

"Oh, sure, we have to go. Isn't that a typically American experience? Besides, I will enjoy it because I'll be with you."

"Okay," I agreed with a smile.

We parked in one of the ramps and ventured inside. Harry stopped with his mouth hanging open and just breathed out, "Wow."

"Impressed?" I giggled.

"Yeah, a little bit."

"Well, what do you want to do first? Shop? Eat? Go on a ride? Maybe the aquarium?"

He turned to me with his mouth hanging open. "They have all that here? In the mall?"

"Yes! Didn't you do your research?" I teased.

"I guess not," he mused.

"We could go to a movie or a comedy club later, have dinner, go dancing, and even stay at the Radisson."

"Okay, yes, I'm impressed," he laughed.

"Should we just walk a little bit and explore?"

"Sure," he said, grabbing my hand.

It felt nice to be with him like this – not concerned about what anyone was thinking, not worrying about the kids asking questions, not trying to hide the fact that we were together. However, I did notice more than one female head turning in our direction when they caught sight of Harry. I couldn't blame them – he was devastatingly handsome, tall, and he just had that certain something that made people stand up and take notice.

I tightened my grip on his hand and thought to myself, Sorry, girls, he's all mine.

We wandered in and out of stores, just browsing and chatting and suddenly I felt like a high school girl on my first date. I stole glances at Harry while he squeezed my hand and planted little kisses to my temple or whispered things in my ear.

We spent far too much time in the first store we entered, the Build-A-Bear Workshop, creating custom bears for the girls, at Harry's request. Since he always called my girls "Princess," we decided on a Disney princess theme. Harry insisted that Aurora had to have Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. We made a Snow White bear for Grace and a Cinderella bear for Rachael. Harry was beside himself with glee until I made him carry the boxes around the mall for a bit.

Finally, he told me that he was going to bring the bears out to his car and that he would meet me back by the Rainforest Cafe so we could have lunch.

"You really are just a big kid, aren't you?" I asked, standing on my tiptoes to peck his lips. He just shrugged and walked away with a smile. As an afterthought, I called to him, "Meet me in Macy's, by the cosmetics. Then we can walk from there."

He gave me a thumbs up and continued walking while I made my way to Macy's department store. I started in women's apparel, wanting to find a light sweater for the transition from spring to summer. I found a few things, but then I decided to wait for Harry before trying them on. I went to the cosmetics department to find my favorite lipstick, and lo and behold, I almost literally bumped into my least favorite person in the world.

"Hello, Victoria," I said cordially.

"Hi, Lise," she chirped. "Doing some shopping?"

My brain responded, No shit, Sherlock. But the polite side of me replied, "Yeah, just trying to find a few things." I decided not to mention the fact that I was with Harry, wondering if she would come up with another tall tale.

"Let me see what you found," she said, referring to the sweaters I was carrying over my arm. "Ohh, that one's pretty," she remarked after looking at the pink one. Then, eying the turquoise one, she said, "This one will definitely make you look younger."

Seriously. Does this woman have no shame?

Finally, she said, "Well, I have to go. I'm meeting Harry in a bit."

I almost burst out laughing, but I bit my tongue. "Oh, really? Where are you two headed?" I asked, playing into her game.

"I don't know. I think he's planning something fun for tonight. Maybe dancing."

At that point, I glanced over Victoria's shoulder and caught sight of Harry. He stopped, realizing who I was talking to, and I assume, wanting to catch her in the act.

"Well, that should be fun," I told her. "By the way, how is Harry doing? I don't get to see much of him, even though he lives next door," I fibbed.

"Oh, great," she said. "His music career is really taking off. I know he had some fun with your little family, but he doesn't have much time for things like that anymore."

Harry decided to make himself known at that moment, stepping in and kissing me on the cheek. "Hello, luv," he breathed loudly into my ear. He turned and said, "Oh, hello, Victoria. Fancy meeting you here."

"Hello, Harry," she said stiffly and then she glanced at me with daggers in her eyes.

He turned back to me and said, "Well, we should get going, darling. We have to check into our hotel soon." Then he lowered his voice to a fake whisper, fully intending for Victoria to hear him. "I booked us a room with a hot tub."

Victoria's face turned crimson as she stuttered, "Oh, well, I'll be seeing you guys later then." She spun on her heel, trying to make a quick exit.

But before she was out of hearing range, Harry said loudly, "Let's go check out some lingerie before tonight."

We broke down laughing as soon as she was out of earshot. But then I said, "That was a little mean, wasn't it?"

"Not at all. Nobody messes with my girl," he said, pulling me in by the waist and kissing me on the lips.

We ended up going to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch instead of the Rainforest. Harry said it had something to do with the fact that I called him a kid, but his eyes went wide with excitement when I told him there was a Hard Rock in the mall.

We asked for a secluded spot near the back of the restaurant and enjoyed a leisurely lunch.

After we ate, we meandered through the mall. But then Harry dragged me into Nordstrom. He walked with purpose towards the women's department. He strode straight over to a rack filled with sparkly dresses. I crinkled my nose. I've never been a "sparkly" type of person.

He started sifting through various dresses, and then he pulled one out and held it up to me.

"Um, what are you doing, Harry?" I asked, eying him warily.

"Finding a dress for my girl," he said with a matter-of-fact tone.

"For what?"

"I thought we could go out tonight. Have a nice dinner, hit the town, maybe do some dancing."

I started laughing and he looked at me with a little hurt expression. "I wasn't laughing at your idea, Harry. It's just that Victoria said she had a date with you...to go dancing."

"Oh, that woman!" He rolled his eyes.

"You could have just asked me to pack something to wear for tonight. You don't have to buy something for me," I said.

"Sure, I do. You hardly ever do anything nice for yourself. So I thought it would be fun to buy you a dress."

I sighed, pretending to be annoyed, but I was actually touched by his thoughtfulness. "Then, can I help you pick out something smart and sexy for tonight?"

"What? This isn't nice enough?" He asked, referring to his gray t-shirt, ripped jeans and the knit hat on his head.

I just shook my head and looked at the dress he had pulled off the rack. "While I appreciate the fact that you think I wear a size 4, I'm going to put this back and find something in my size and something a little more me."

"Why not that one, in a different size?"

"Too many sequins."

I looked through some other dresses, trying to stick to the style Harry had picked out, just so I wouldn't be under-dressed. I tried to choose "my" colors – the ones that worked with my hair color and complexion – navy blue, greens and some black. I let Harry pick out a few as well. Finally, I said, "I will try all of these on, and you can be the judge after you've seen them, okay?"

He nodded and I ventured into the dressing rooms. I must have tried on ten different dresses, including a few that I really liked, but Harry wasn't convinced that any of them was "the" dress for tonight.

"Harry, you're a guy," I complained. "You're not supposed to care this much about women's clothing."

He just shrugged and then said, "I didn't see the black sleeveless one yet."

"I tried that one. It was too low-cut."

"Can I see it on you?" He persisted.

"No," I giggled. "I just said it was too low."

"Well, that's what I want to see," he teased.

I rolled my eyes and wandered back to the dresses, becoming very tired of the shopping game already. But then my eyes landed on the perfect dress. It was a black, silky material, sleeveless with a boatneck so I wouldn't have to worry about a low cut. The waistline was gathered a bit with a smart gold buckle. But I could only find a size 6 and I usually wore an 8. I decided to try it anyway.

I put the dress on and it seemed a bit snug, but it didn't look too tight. I went out to show Harry and his eyes popped open wide.

"Yes, that's the one!" He said.

"I like it, too, but you don't think it's too tight?" I asked.

"It's perfect," he said, strolling over to me and leaning in to nuzzle my neck and placed his hands on my hips. "I love all your curves," he whispered.

"Cheeky," I quipped, slipping out of his grasp and hurrying back to the changing room.

Harry bought shoes for me as well and then we went to the men's department to pick out an outfit for him. I chose a pair of khaki slacks and he shook his head. "Khaki isn't dressy enough. Besides, I don't do khaki."

"Okay, Mr. Picky. How about these?" I asked, pushing a pair of black dress slacks into his arms.

"They could work," he said, grabbing the slacks.

I chose a few different dress shirts, and although he didn't seem to love my choices, he agreed to at least try them. Then he walked over to a display containing v-neck t-shirts. He chose a plain white one and I thought he was trying to find something to go under one of the dress shirts, but then he strode over to a display and chose a dark blazer. I couldn't imagine where he was going with this, but I just shoved him toward the dressing rooms and said, "We need to get going if we're going to be ready in time for dinner."

Harry came out with the pair of black slacks and one of the dress shirts. It looked nice on him, but I could tell he wasn't happy with the look. He tried all the dress shirts on, with the same reaction to each.

Then he came out wearing the plain v-neck t-shirt with the blazer over it. It was my turn to let my jaw hang open because he was stunning. I winked and gave him a thumbs up. He cracked his famous dimply smile and went to change.

When we arrived at the hotel, I asked, "You didn't really book a room with a hot tub, did you?"

"No, but I can if you'd like that."

"No, it's fine. I was going to mention that I didn't bring a swimsuit, but I didn't want you to buy one of those for me, too."

"We wouldn't have to wear swimsuits," he whispered in my ear.

I playfully shoved him away. "That wouldn't work very well with our arrangement, now would it?"

We checked into a room without a hot tub and got ready for our night on the town. We dressed in our new clothes and instead of taking Harry's car, we decided to take a cab. Then we were off for a romantic evening of dinner and dancing.

When Harry told the cab driver, "Forepaugh's," I shot a glance at him and said, "That place is haunted, you know!"

"That's why we're going there," he said, giving me an evil smile. "Have you ever been?"

"No, but I'm glad I'll be going with you, so you can keep me safe," I said, winking.

Forepaugh's is a 19th century three-story mansion. It's believed to be haunted by the original owner, Joseph Forepaugh, and his mistress. The place had been expertly renovated and it was now a five-star establishment.

Upon entering, nothing seemed unusual about the place. However, when Harry and I were seated, we snuggled close together to view the menu. We suddenly felt a very cold, swift breeze between our faces. We looked up and no one else seemed to notice a chill, so we looked at each other and laughed.

"Was that a ghost?" He asked.

"Could be," I answered. "Maybe it's Joseph Forepaugh or his mistress, and they're jealous of us because we're so in love." I kissed him on the nose and went back to perusing the menu.

There was no other paranormal activity as far as we could tell, but dinner was superb. Of course, I would have been happy with Harry even if we had just gone to McDonalds.

As promised, we found a hot nightclub and prepared to dance the night away. I saw a new side of Harry on the dance floor, and I wondered if he would ever want to stop moving. We stayed on the dance floor for at least an hour when I finally said, "Harry, let's go sit down a bit. I'm tired."

I was about to order a glass of wine, but then I remembered that Harry couldn't even order a drink yet, so I just asked for a ginger ale, and Harry got a Coke. We relaxed a bit for a bit, but the moment a slower set came on, Harry dragged me back out to the dance floor and pulled my hips close to his and he started swaying us both in an exaggerated fashion. 

I started giggling and he asked, "What's the matter? Don't like my dancing?"

"You're acting a little tipsy, but you haven't had any alcohol."

"Or maybe I'm just drunk on love," he said with a corny American accent. I started laughing like crazy and he said, "Shhh. This is supposed to be romantic."

"You're right," I said, purposely shoving down my laughter and putting on a straight face. Then I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself up on my tiptoes to kiss him. What I intended to be a quick peck on the lips turned into a very heated kiss right there on the dance floor. Harry slid his hand up to my neck and gently held my head close to his as he pushed his tongue a little forcefully into my mouth.

I thought back to my date with Harold and how he had tried to kiss me. Now with Harry, I was so turned on I couldn't think straight.

I was so in love with Harry Styles.

"Harry," I whispered loudly against his mouth. I was enjoying our kiss immensely, but I was becoming self-conscious about all the people around us. He pulled away and held me close as we continued to slow dance.

After dancing for hours, we finally made our way back to the hotel, snuggled in the back seat of a taxi.

I wondered if Harry had any further expectations for sharing a hotel room, in spite of our agreement to not have sex again until we were married. I couldn't deny that I loved him and that I wanted him, but we hadn't really gotten to the point where we knew this relationship could last forever. Making love would only make it more difficult for us to separate our feelings from the reality of our situation. Harry was a young, ambitious musician who had a promising future and I was a single mom raising three young children. Our lives didn't exactly mesh in a nice and neat way, and I wasn't sure if love was enough to make this work, even though I was absolutely sure I loved him with my whole heart.

When we returned to our room, I asked cautiously, "Are we having too much fun to talk about some serious things?"

"No," he said, pulling off his blazer. "That was part of the plan, remember? But how about if we order some room service first? Dessert and coffee?"

"That sounds perfect. I'm going to change," I announced, heading into the bathroom.

Once we were dressed in our pajamas and had dessert and steaming coffee in front of us, it was time to talk.

"So I never really answered your question a few weeks ago, did I? About whether I thought I could handle all of this."

I shook my head. "No, you didn't."

"I love you, Lise, and I want so badly for this to work out. I will do anything to make it work, but I've gotten a good dose of reality over the past weeks. And I'm really sorry I've been so moody."

I moved in close and held his hand. "I forgive you. And I want you to know that I love you with all my heart."

"I love you too," he said, and placed a heavy, lingering kiss to my lips. "With all my heart."

"I've been doing a bit of thinking and I wonder if you should talk to someone. You know, a professional," I suggested.

"Like a therapist?" He asked.

I nodded and said, "You've been through a lot. Your father died not even a few months ago. Before that, you finished high school and started college in a new country. And you lost your mom only a few years before that. I'm not suggesting there's anything wrong with you, but sometimes talking to someone can help."

He looked like he was absorbing everything I was saying so I continued. "Maybe you have a touch of depression. You can only handle so much at one time, and maybe this is your body's way of telling you to either take a break or seek some help."

He bit his lip while he gave it some more thought. Finally he said, "Well, I really like talking to you."

"And you're welcome to talk to me as much as you want to. But will you at least think about it?"

"Of course," he said.

"So, about us," I ventured, wondering how much more serious talk he wanted to engage in. "What do you think?"

"I already told you, Lise. I love you and I'll do anything to make it work between us," he said quietly. "Anything."

"I believe you. I just don't want you to end up sacrificing things for the girls and me, and then end up resenting us later. What if we get in the way of your career?"

"I'd never resent you," he said firmly. "And you and the girls will always come first."

"Oh, Harry. I know you're so sincere about everything you're telling me. You just haven't experienced enough of life yet to know if you can handle it all."

I saw that his jaw tensed and the muscle in his cheek twitched.

"Please don't get angry..."

"You want us to wait longer, don't you?" He said, his jaw still clenched and his eyes narrowed.

"Not exactly. But I've been thinking about it a bit and I have an idea."

He kept staring at me intensely. I wasn't sure how to soften the mood again, so I leaned in and kissed him. He stayed still for a moment, but when I pressed my lips harder against his, he relaxed. I pushed his mouth open with my tongue and let it wander inside. Soon he was kissing me back just as passionately.

Shortly, he drew away with a small smile on his face. "Okay, what's your idea?"

"Are you really serious about wanting to marry me and be a daddy to my girls?"

"More serious than I've ever been about anything in my life," he vowed.

"Well, let's stay together then, and let's give it a shot."

"Are you proposing to me?" He asked with a laugh.

"No, what I'm proposing is this: You can't exactly move in with us, but maybe we should practice what it would really be like if we were married. I can handle a lot and give you some freedom to finish school and get working on your career because I've already been a single mom for so long. But if you get involved with the day to day life of my family, then maybe you can see if you can handle it all."

"I'm already involved, aren't I?"

"Yes, but you're involved in a lot of the fun stuff. But if we were married, what else would you be doing? Running errands, getting groceries, helping get Aurora to and from school, helping with home maintenance-"

"Hey, I already do all your home maintenance!" He defended himself.

"This is true. And I thank you for that. Doing all of that practical stuff is just a part of life, but you also have to think about what it means to be a Daddy. Can you be there for the girls, not only as their playmate, but as an authority figure? Do you think you can make time for them on a consistent basis, not just when it fits into your schedule? Do you feel comfortable disciplining them?"

He nodded, trying to comprehend all the information I was throwing at him.

"My point is that, when couples normally begin their life together, it's like they're wading slowly into a pool, starting at the shallow end together, and gradually getting deeper into marriage, parenting and family life, a little bit at a time. But if you want us, Harry, then you'll be jumping into the deep end, and it's sink or swim. I just want to give you a chance to test the water first."

Harry closed his eyes for so long that I thought he might have actually fallen asleep.

"Harry?" I asked gently. "What are you thinking?"

He opened his eyes lazily and said, "I want you to teach me how to swim."