Song: "Open Arms" By Journey

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I woke up on Saturday, once again wondering how I really felt. I sat up slowly and after a brief stint of dizzyness, I stood and made my way to the kitchen. Harry was still snoring so I decided to let him sleep. He'd been through a lot in the past few days; we both had. I grabbed some orange juice from the fridge, chugged a glass, and then I ate some Greek yogurt with strawberries and Chia seeds. That was Harry's influence. I'd still be eating sugar-laden, low-protein yogurt if he hadn't pointed out the evil in it. Harry touted Chia seeds as a superfood that provided energy, fiber and protein. I found they didn't have much flavor so I added them to a variety of things, enjoying the slight crunch. However, I still giggled to myself every time I opened the package and images of a Chia pet loomed in my mind. Or I imagined myself as a Chia head with curly green hair.

After the yogurt, I took a shower, only to be met by a now-very-awake Harry who suggested we do some yoga. 

"Ugh, only if I don't work up a sweat - I just showered," I blithely complained. 

"I don't mind you sweaty," he smirked. "But we can just stretch and get some energy. I assume you're feeling better?" 

"Mmhmm," I answered with a happy nod. 

Harry dressed quickly and we stretched like willow trees and saplings and...dogs. It was honestly just what I needed, providing the promised burst of energy plus it made my body feel a little more like its old self rather than a lump of tired flesh that had sleeping twenty hours a day. 

"I'm gonna grab a quick shower," Harry said. "Then, do you want to take a drive with me?" 

"Yeah, sure. But when we get back, we have to clean this place up. Your parents will be here in a few days!" 

"Agreed," he said, smiling fondly. "But it's really not that messy. And my mum certainly isn't going to come in here with a white glove." 

"Still," I retorted. "I want to make a good first impression." 

He came back across the room to where I was standing, with the cold January sunlight streaming through the large windows. "They are going to love you. No worries, okay?" 

"All right," I nodded. I decided to make oatmeal for Harry's breakfast. Not just the flavored oatmeal packets I was used to, mind you. This was steel cut oats with walnuts, a smidgen of brown sugar and of course, more Chia seeds. He was clearly grateful for the warm, hearty breakfast as he wolfed it down in almost no time. 

He cleaned up the few dishes while I tugged on my boots and pulled out both of our coats. "So where are we going?" I asked.

"It's a surprise," he said with a sly grin. "But it's not too far."

Harry drove us out of downtown Detroit, south on 75 for a little way. Then he took an exit and headed closer to the river, finally turning to cross the bridge that led to Grosse Ile Township, a community situated on an island in the Detroit River. When we got to the other end of the bridge, my curiosity was insatiable. "What are we doing?" I asked excitedly.

"I want to show what I've been working on," he said plainly.

After another ten minutes, he pulled into a circular drive in front of a massive old brick house with a realty sign proclaiming "SOLD" in the front yard. It honestly reminded me of an old castle with a round turret front and center. The windows around the circular portion were made of  heavy leaded glass in diamond designs, further lending themselves to the feel of an castle. The brick was crumbling in some places and looked dingy, but the whole picture still had a rather charming feel.

"What is this?" I asked as Harry got out and opened my door for me.

"What does it look like? It's a house," he grinned. "Wait right here for just a minute." He let himself into the house and disappeared for no more than ten minutes. Then he came back out, took my hand and led me through the tall double doors. I looked at him, still full of questions. "Let's get inside, it's freezing out here." We stepped into a welcoming warmth, certainly better than the frigid outdoors. "I just turned the heat up, so it will get warm quickly." My jaw dropped open and I just shook my head at him, not a single word coming to my mind. "Now, I hope you'll forgive me for keeping this one last secret from you, but it's something I've been working on for a long time."

I looked around, unsure of what he'd been doing since the interior was quite run down and in desperate need of a renovation. It didn't look like any repairs had been done as of yet, but still, it had promise and I started to realize where he was going with this.

"I discovered this place a few years ago," he continued. "It was on the market forever. I used to drive out here sometimes when I needed break from work or from studying. I'd sit in the driveway and make plans for what I'd do with the space. Then in November, I finally called the realtor and asked her to show me the place, which she did. That's when she informed me that it would be going up for auction early in January."

I nodded, sort of following but still shocked as hell.

"My house sold in the blink of an eye, so I was here the very next day to bid on this beauty. And I bought her for a song."

I felt like I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time, so I did both. "This is your dream, right? The bed and breakfast?"

A grin rippled across his face as he laughed and said, "This is it!"

"Oh Harry, I'm so happy for you!" I jumped into his arms and he lifted me up off the ground to kiss me.

"Are you mad that I kept it a secret? Or that I didn't consult you?" He asked.

"No, not at all." He set me down. "It's your dream and your money. I'm glad you chose to do something that you wanted to do." My emphasis on the word you wasn't lost on him.

I turned to look around the foyer, noticing that the rounded turret area housed a circular staircase with slate steps. The floor looked to be some kind of slate as well. To the left was what I assumed to be a dining room or living room, I couldn't exactly tell which. Straight ahead appeared to be the kitchen and off to the left of that was another area to be discovered.

"What are you waiting for?" I said eagerly. "Show me!"

He stepped into the carpeted room to the left and said, "This will be the dining area. After I pull up this carpet, of course. There are hardwood floors throughout, with the exception of the foyer, although some are covered in carpet and others are painted over."

"What a shame," I commented absent-mindedly as I studied the details in the crown molding in the room. An old radiator sat next to the window, spewing out heat. "Are you going to keep those?" I asked, referring to the ancient contraption.

"If I can use them safely," he said. "They can get very hot to the touch." He tugged me on towards the kitchen which was remarkably large; in fact, I was beginning to realize that the whole house was much bigger than it appeared from the outside. "I was thinking that I should remodel this whole area and separate it into two kitchens, one serving the bed and breakfast and one for the family. Wouldn't want little kids' curious fingers getting into the food I'm serving to my guests." The warm smile on his face told me he was more than eager to have some curious little ones in his life.

"And this, of course, is the living room," he said, pulling me through an archway to another room, at the end of which sat an exquisite fireplace.

"Oh, I love it," I said, rushing over to the fireplace. Built into the stone mantle was a small cast iron plaque proclaiming Burnham Est. 1875. "Wow, it's over a hundred years old."

"I thought you might like it," he said, grabbing my hand and kissing my temple. "Let's go upstairs so I can show you what I'm thinking for the bedrooms, and then I have another surprise down here.

The second floor housed an unexpected number of rooms - I think I counted ten or eleven - which Harry proposed to turn into six different suites with private bathrooms. He really had done some thinking about all of this, which was certainly necessary to take on a project of this magnitude. I was starting to understand why he hadn't done any actual work on the place yet. He'd been spending his time coming up with ideas for his dream project.

After the second floor, Harry led me up a narrow stairway to a third floor area. He turned proudly and said, "I want this to be the honeymoon suite."

"Oh, that's so romantic," I crooned.

"I want it to have a kitchenette so that the happy couple can choose to stay up here and enjoy their time together, or they can join the other guests downstairs if they wish." He walked with purpose over to one of the dormers. "And here, I'd like to put a jacuzzi."

"Harry, this is going to cost a fortune!" I said, my eyes widening. But I ended up smiling at his enthusiasm; it reminded me of the excitement he'd had on Christmas morning.

"I think it'll work. Maybe with a small business loan in addition to what I already have." He seemed so confident, I had no doubt he'd make it a success. "Okay, now for your surprise." He put his hand on the small of my back and guided me back to the stairs. When we reached the first floor, we turned in the opposite direction, away from the kitchen, or kitchens, I should say. Harry went ahead and opened a door in front of me. I stepped inside and found a wool blanket laid out in front of a crackling fire, housed in another gorgeous fireplace, this one a bit smaller than the other.

"Wha-?" I stuttered. "What's all this?"

"This, my dear, is the master bedroom. Or at least that's what I want it to be." He glanced at me, full of hope. "What do you think?"

"Are you kidding? I love it!" I squealed with glee, walking over to the massive fireplace which was surrounded by a layer of brick and a solid wood mantle. "This is for us?"

He nodded eagerly. "If you want it. Let me show you my plan for this whole part of the house. It will be the family wing so that the aforementioned children aren't running around bothering the guests." He showed me to a small-ish room near the front of the house and said, "This is the nursery." I had no idea if that's what it had actually been or if that's what he had decided it would be, but I was too happy to disagree with anything. Then he showed me a larger potential bedroom, another round room which had many windows to let the sun stream in, and at the very back of the house, he proposed adding on a family room. "Do you think it will work? Family on one side, guests on the other and upstairs."

"Yes," I said contentedly. "I am stunned. You have such a vision for this."

"Thank you." He gave me that sweet blushing smile that he wore whenever he was proud of something he'd done. We went back to the master bedroom and he motioned for me to have a seat on the wool blanket. Then he held up one finger, signaling he would return momentarily, which he did, carrying a bottle of champagne and a small picnic basket. "Just a snack," he laughed, sitting down next to me. He popped the cork off the champagne and poured it into two disposable champagne glasses. "To my new job. And hopefully our new home," he said, nudging my glass with his. Then we both sipped our champagne. Harry pulled some cheese, crackers, and some strawberries from the picnic basket and we set about munching on the snack.

He chatted happily about his plans for the house, to restore all the hardwood, to paint the rooms in warm yellows and golden browns, splashed with some cornflower blue here and there. He said he wanted the guests to always be reminded of summer days, even in the coldest months. And he talked about planting a garden. 

"Oh," he said suddenly snapped out of his meandering thoughts. "I know a little bit of the house's history, too. It was built in 1875, which you saw on the fireplace. The man who built it was a lawyer, of all things," he said and we both rolled our eyes just a little. "The house has been in his family since that time, with only a brief period during the Great Depression when they had to sell it due to the hard times. I don't exactly know what happened during those years, but in 1942, the man's great granddaughter bought the house back and it stayed in the family until 2007 when the last owner finally passed on. No one else claimed the house and it sat to rot until the township decided to demolish it. People were up in arms about it, claiming it was a historic landmark, so the township decided to put it up for auction. And that's where I came in."

"Oh, Harry," I gushed. "This is amazing. I can't even believe your good luck. It would have been a shame to lose this place because no one cared about it."

He grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles. "I didn't buy this place just for me. I bought it for us. And I have to admit that this fireplace in the master bedroom was a selling point, since someone I know loves fireplaces."

"I don't even know what to say." My voice choked off a little due to Harry's incredible thoughtfulness.

He continued, "I know you have a job, and if you love it, you should keep doing it. I might have to hire some help for this place eventually. But I hoped that it might be the place we could eventually call home."

"It's perfect," I assured him. "I would be honored to call this my home."

"To you and me, my sweet," he said, raising another glass of champagne. "If you'll have me. I mean, we'll have to live in the loft for quite some time until I can get this place up to spec, especially with finishing law school in the fall. But one day, I can see it as our home." I had no more words; I was absolutely speechless with the shock of it all.

Instead of trying to summon more words for how much I loved it, and him, I turned and kissed Harry with everything I had. My arms looped around his neck and he quickly set aside both our glasses to avoid spilling what was left in them. One arm curved around my back and the other rested on my hip as he welcomed my kiss and encouraged more. I climbed my fingers up into his hair, now a bit snarly from the cold winter wind, and we slowly laid down onto the wool blanket, him throwing his leg over mine and trapping me in position.

We lost track of time in each other's embrace, the comfort of the fire keeping us warm. However, a sudden feeling seized me and it wasn't a good one. I pushed him away and demanded, "Let me go." I got up and sputtered out one panicked word, "Bathroom."

"The plumbing isn't turned on," he began. "I'm sorry-"

I didn't hear the rest because I raced out of the house just in time to eject everything I had just eaten to the blanket of fresh snow next to the porch. Harry followed me and watched me with concern. "Still not feeling well? I thought you were getting better." He pulled a kleenex from his pocket and wiped my mouth. "Let me get you some water. I have a bottle in the car."

"Oh my god," I said, staggering back into the house. As soon as the warmth encompassed me again, I sat weakly on the stairs. "Oh my god," I repeated.

Harry came in and saw me, probably looking pale and shell-shocked. He grew distressed and fell onto his knees in front of me. "What's wrong, sweetie? Are you okay?"

"Oh, my god," I said again, this time laughing nervously and trying not to cry at the same time.

"What?!" He asked, exasperated.

"I think that maybe I'm not sick after all. Oh gosh, I can't believe I overlooked this." I rubbed my face with my hands.

"Sweetie, you're making me nervous," he said. "What's going on?"

I chuckled, anxious to tell him of my suspicion. "Remember the fight we had after we went to the Metlers?"

"Of course," he nodded. "What about it?"

"And remember when I came to your house to talk to you?"

"Yes." I knew by the tension in his voice he was losing patience with me.

"If you remember, we did more than just talking." 

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You all started guessing too early! But you have to wait until the next chapter to know for sure! :D

BTW, I have an exciting story idea as a follow-up to this one. Not a sequel, exactly, but you'll hear more about Regan and Harry once this story is finished. I'll have more details in the next few chapters as I wrap up this story. Also, I MUST devote some time to Finding Niall lest my readers over there rebel ;)

45K reads - THANK YOU!!!