Serendipity by the Sea

Chapter Fifty-One

SARAH's POV

I sat in the coffee shop staring at the cover of the tabloid magazine. I can't believe someone sold photos of Harry to the tabloids, while he was visiting his hometown. In the lower right hand-corner of the magazine cover, there was a small photo of my face with the quote, "Harry introduces the new girl to the family." I opened the magazine to the middle pages, where Harry's face was plastered over every inch of the two-fold article. There were photos of Harry and I walking around Holmes Chapel, from a few days ago, when we were visiting Harry's favorite places in town. The article went into detail about where, when and who Harry and I have been with. It made me feel nauseous looking at the photos. I felt a hand on my shoulder and immediately looked up to see Harry's mother, Anne.

"Don't let it bother you huney. Those magazines are trash."

I smiled, stood up and gave Anne a hug. She rubbed my back with her hand, as Gemma walked into the coffee shop to join us. We were planning a day together; shopping, lunch and a manicure. Harry was with his friends in London, so he planned for Anne and Gemma to meet with me so, I wouldn't be alone for the day.

Gemma saw the cover of the magazine, as I placed it on the table. "Ugh, this crap again. When will they ever leave him alone?"

"Gem, let's change the subject."

"No, Mum, seriously. Harry is hounded every single second of his life. It's ridiculous." Gemma started to get angry and turned the pages of the magazine viciously. She opened up to the article about Harry and me; she turned to face me to say, "Oh Sarah. Don't let this get you down. 100% of the stuff in this magazine are lies anyway....Well, except for the fact that you two were in Holmes Chapel. But, other than that, lies!"

"It's alright. It's not my first time in the tabloids. I just wish our visit wasn't documented for the world to see."

"Harry is very protective over his privacy. He keeps to himself a lot, even when he's with the boys on the road. He likes to have a separate life outside the band, which I think is good for him. That's what keeps him sane. But, you allow him some sort of normalcy in his personal life and I don't think he's had that.....well, ever." Anne said, as she reached for my hand.

"Ok, enough of this drama," Gemma threw the magazine in the trash, "Let's go shopping."

The three of us ordered coffees to go and then, we walked out the door.

HARRY's POV

"I'll have a vodka tonic, please." Harry said to the waiter.

"So, what's she like?" A blonde hair man asked, as they sat at a long table with about eight other individuals; all of Harry's friends from England.

"She's beautiful, intelligent, funny, easy-going; you know, the usual cliché things that guys say about girls. But, I actually feel different about this one. I've dated a lot of girls here and there, but Sarah makes it easy. She doesn't need fancy dinners, high-end clothes and expensive gifts. She makes me feel more comfortable in my skin."

"Geez, mate, sounds like you got it bad for this girl."

"Well, I did bring her home to meet my family, so I guess I do." Harry joked.

SARAH's POV

I was exhausted from the day with Anne and Gemma. They were absolutely wonderful to me. I ended up buying a nice black dress with spaghetti straps, some new shoes to go with it and I'm hoping to take Harry out to dinner on our last night in London to thank him for a great vacation. Even though the outfit was out of my budget, Gemma said I couldn't leave it behind because it looked so good on me.