Life in the Palace (Prince Harry #5)

Chapter Nineteen

It was their last day at the cabin before the four-hour drive home. For Meredith's father, it was the last day to catch a fish, and boy, was he ready for the big one. Dawn wasn't even breaking, and he was up and out of the cabin. Meredith heard the door close, startling her away, but Harry was in the bed beside her. She rolled over and went back to sleep.

When she awoke again, sunlight streamed through the thin privacy curtains. Already, people were awake at the resort because she heard people boating and swimming. It was their last day at the cabin too. They wanted to get in as much relaxation as possible. Meredith blinked at the light, and then she turned to find Harry awake.

"How long have you been like this?" she asked groggily.

"A while," he said, blue eyes glistening on her. Rolling up, he kissed her tenderly on the lips. "I didn't want to wake you up."

"It's probably for the best." She kissed him back. "I've been told I'm a bear when I get woken up."

"Yes." He kissed her. "You are."

She chuckled. Her fingers wrapped around Harry's neck, drawing him in closer, and he smiled. In the sunlight, his head looked to be on fire. His hair was wild in the morning, not that he did much to tame it during the day. If Meredith was ever up early enough, then she was sure it looked like a sunrise. Her hand ran across his face, from his sideburns down to his chin. He was getting scruffy, but then again, he liked it like that. 

Carefully, Harry put a hand on Meredith's stomach. It hadn't grown any, but he noticed the changes. Any day now, he thought, there was going to be a change. Truthfully, Harry wasn't going to notice that easily. Most likely, he'd blink and suddenly the time was gone in a flash. Looking back, it seemed like yesterday that he met Meredith, but that had been a few years ago.

"You're thinking about London, aren't you?" she asked.

"No," he said.

"Then what?"

Harry kissed her again, and then he rolled back onto his side of the bed, leaving his hand on her stomach. "I was just thinking about our past... and our future-- and maybe London too."

"You miss it," she said. "I can see it sometimes."

"I love you, Mere--"

"It doesn't have to either/ or," she said. "You can miss London and love me. Sometimes, I miss London. There's a lot to do there. There is so much happening. I get why you miss there. Your family is there, and I'm sure they'll be very excited to see us."

Harry hadn't seen his family in over six months. Talking to them on the phone wasn't the same thing. It was the longest he had been away from them. 

"I'm happy to be here too."

His tone didn't convince her.

"You've been away from your family for longer. You've moved to London--"

"And I like London, and I like being here, and I like your family, and I love you, Harry," she listed. "And..." Meredith moved her hand down to her stomach, "and I love this child. We'll be back in London soon, but honestly, I don't wish to be there now. I don't mind being in the light, but everything is going to change when we get back."

"We don't have to tell the media right away, not until you're, like, showing, and then I mean, you have worn flowy things in the past."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "I meant your family knows. Somehow, I think they'll make a bigger deal out of it than my father did."

"It is a big deal," Harry said. "Another grandchild, another great-grandchild. There's a line of succession."

Meredith rolled away and groaned. Keeping her tone light, she said, "Let's not, Harry. You're not one to care about that stuff, and when we get back to London, I'm sure there will be all the hoops to jump through and stuff to talk about." In her head, Meredith already heard boring old men with dry tones going through lists of what she could and could not do as a pregnant member of the royal family. "Come on." She smiled. "The day is still long. We should do something with it."