Who'd You Rather? (H.S.) [ONGOING]

Part Four

"Wow. This place is amazing," Tegan gushed, looking around the lavishly decorated space as she set her clutch purse on the small table in the foyer.

"Thank you. It obviously wasn't me who decorated it. If it was, it'd probably just be a sofa and maybe a few chairs around the countertop in the kitchen," he quipped.

"Well, whoever decorated it, knew what they were doing," she said, smiling over at him.

"Her name is Marissa," Harry said, smiling back.

"Oh. Does she work for you?" Tegan asked curiously.

"No. She just furnished the home," Harry said with a smile. Tegan couldn't help the wide smile that turned up her lips.

"Do you know everyone's names who have worked for you or with you?" She asked, smiling blithely at him.

"I try to," Harry said with a nod.

She really liked how genial he was. He was just a great person, and she was so pleased to find out her view of him seemed to be in line with the person he actually was in real life.

"That's what I like about you," Tegan told him honestly.

"What?" He questioned.

"You care. No matter who it is, you care. You introduced yourself to each and every person you came in contact with at Ellen. And you did the same when we went to Starbucks. And I know you've done it in the past," she explained. Harry smirked over at her.

"I like to make an impression," he told her.

"No. You like to make everyone feel welcome and important," she countered and Harry's smirk turned into a bashful smile as he looked down at his feet and then back up at her.

"It's just the man you are," she added.

"I try," Harry said quietly.

"You succeed," she said, smiling brightly at him and he smiled back.

Harry quickly cleared his throat as he held out his hand to lead her into the kitchen.

"I've got to check on the food," Harry told her as he immediately went for the oven and looked inside.

"It smells amazing," she told him honestly. She could smell something akin to baking bread and the hint of spices. It made her mouth water.

"I hope it tastes as good," he said, closing the oven door.

"What did you make?" She asked curiously.

"Uh, I wanted to kind of cook something that uh, will kind of show you where I come from," he said with a sideways smile as he walked toward her by the table.

"Oh, yeah?" She asked, heightening her eyebrows in intrigue.

"Yes," he said, smiling from ear-to-ear.

"And?" She questioned, waiting for him to enlighten her.

"I've made Beef Wellington with baked asparagus spears and Yorkshire pudding," he told her and she couldn't help but find anything but pleasure in the way he said 'asparagus' with his deep British accent. It made her want to squeal with delight.

"Sounds amazing. I've never actually had Beef Wellington... or Yorkshire pudding for that matter," she said with a light laugh.

"I was hoping as much. It's quite good," Harry told her as he casually slipped off his blazer and carefully laid it across one of the dining room chairs before rolling up the sleeves on his shirt.

"Well, I am intrigued," she said, smiling over at him.

"Would you like a glass of wine?" Harry offered, walking over to his wine fridge, pulling it open.

"I would love one," she told him, following him over.

"I have a red to go with the meal," he told her, pulling it out and she nodded her head.

"If you don't like red wine, I have some Dom Pérignon or this Chardonnay I picked up in Napa Valley," Harry offered, setting the bottle of red on the countertop as he pulled two more bottles out.

She didn't know what the bottle of Chardonnay was, but she could be sure it was expensive because she knew the bottle of Dom Pérignon was expensive.

"Red's fine," she said, smiling at him politely. He nodded and slipped the two others back in the fridge.

"This is a two-thousand-nine Cabernet Sauvignon. It's a full-bodied dry red that pairs quite nicely with Beef Wellington. I've been told that two-thousand-nine was a very good year for this wine. The weather that year was exceptional in regards to the harvest," he explained, the words rolling smoothly off his tongue as he peeled away the top layer of wrapping to get to the cork.

"You sound like a Sommelier," she giggled lightly.

"Yeah, not quite. I actually did a lot of research into it though," Harry said, smiling slyly at her as he leaned up, removing two wine glasses out of the cabinet.

"You did?" She asked, her eyes looking admiringly up into his. She wondered if he did it in preparation for tonight. Even if he didn't, it was pretty amazing.

Harry materialized a corkscrew out of a drawer and immediately went to uncork the wine. Everything he did seemed to be smooth, like he'd done it all so many times before. And he might have. He was probably well-versed in wine and culture and anything else a multi-millionaire could dream off.

Even so, his attitude never showed it. He was humble and kind and so down-to-earth. If she didn't know any better, she would be shocked at how he carried himself, how he behaved.

Harry handed her one of the two glasses and she watched as he smelled it.

"Now you honestly look like a Sommelier," she giggled, smelling her wine as well, realizing she didn't really have the nose for it, because it just smelled fruity and slightly alcoholic to her. Harry gave her one of those sideways smirky-smiles as he watched her, highlighting his crater of a dimple and it took everything she had in her not to squeal with delight.

"So, uh, first we'll have the Yorkshire pudding. Um, it's usually eaten before the meal with a spot of gravy on it," Harry told her.

"I'm learning so much," she cooed.

Harry walked her over to the table and pulled out a chair for her before he went back over to get the Yorkshire pudding.

The table was set beautifully and it made her feel good that he went to all the trouble to make the night as close to perfect as he could. And it was, in her eyes. She had yet to feel anything but welcome, which she knew would not change throughout the evening.

"Would you like some gravy on yours? I mean, do you like gravy?" Harry inquired.

"I am open to all things, Mr. Styles," she said, smiling over at him and he cocked a playful eyebrow at her. Her heart pounded hard in her chest when she realized how suggestive it sounded.

"You know what I mean," she retorted, letting out a little laugh. Harry chuckled to himself as he drizzled the gravy on before bringing them over to the table.

"Wow, this is... this is Yorkshire pudding, huh?" Tegan asked, looking down at the puff pastry in front of her.

"It is," Harry said with a smile.

"This definitely doesn't look like the pudding I'm used to," she quipped, smirking up at him.

"No. Not like a Snack Pack?" Harry asked, smirking playfully at her.

"No, definitely not," she laughed.

"Yeah. This is quite European," he explained.

"I'm eager to try it," she told him as she picked up her fork, hoping it was the proper etiquette in eating Yorkshire pudding. When Harry did the same, she felt a bit better.

She quickly took a bite and nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"I've never had anything quite like that," Tegan told him honestly after she chewed and swallowed.

"You hate it?" He asked.

"No. Absolutely not. I'm just saying, it's different," she explained, taking another bite.