The Prince's American Girl | Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

5 | No You Didn't

Once Meghan and Harry had settled in to their table at the back of a quite mom and pop restaurant that Harry had been going to for ages and ordered their food, the conversation began about work. 

"So Meghan, how has work been going for you so far?" Harry asked.

The dimly lit restaurant seemed intimate, but his question was the opposite which put her at ease. 

"Well it doesn't seem like work for me. I enjoy it so much. And they have given me much more responsibility so quickly, so I feel like I'm growing and expanding here." Meghan explained enthusiastically.  

"Actually, at my last job I'd been in such a routine of things that although I was helping others grow, I wasn't growing any more myself. So it's been really nice to feel like I am able to make progress personally. Plus, our town's so small that the same people kept coming back and we had made so much progress with them that I felt a little stagnant. Small town with a very similar set of problems we were working on. So Heads Together has really given me the challenge I desired in all aspects." 

"Well that's great to hear! Certainly the event today showed me what you're capable of. I'm impressed. What sparked your interest in charities?" Harry was fascinated listening to Meghan. 

Meghan shifted in her seat. Taking a sip from her water and looking around and the wandering eyes aimed at Harry. She then set the glass down and adjusted the sleeves of her white dress. 

"Well it's not charities per say. It's more so helping people see their potential and giving them the space to do so that they otherwise might not of had. It was a course requirement in high school to get exposure to some job or volunteering. It just kind of fell into place and my life was forever changed. I come from a small town where everyone knows everyone and what they did last Sunday. So when I went outside of that main core of people, it just was completely eye opening." Meghan shared.

"Like Mrs. Bridget on 3rd street, when her husband passed away unexpectedly, she couldn't keep up with the bills to help pay for her son Martys' epilepsy treatment. And she didn't even have the time to work and take care of him. And no one from the community would help her. They just turned a blind eye. And I just thought for the longest time that she had moved to a different town. But when I volunteered that first day, I was shocked to see her dropping Marty off." 

Harry seemed intrigued. "So I'm sure everyone probably had thoughts about you doing something very different than expected right?" 

"Yeah, veeery strong opinions. And they would come up to me and say "when are you going to be done with that help nonsense Meghan?" and "don't you know that those people need to just deal with the cards they've been given? You are so bright and have better things to be doing." It was hard to do my work and be constantly badgered when I went back home." Meghan admitted. 

"Well I'm glad you've been strong enough to stick through it. It's quite admirable." Harry smiled at her. 

Meghan gave an appreciative grin and blushed, looking down at her menu needing to figure out what to order fast. 

"So what should I get?" She asked Harry whose eyes were glossed over the menu. Still oblivious to the eyes gazing at them every so often. Normally it would have excited her to be able to ask questions about the menu at a new restaurant, especially one that a local brought her to. But she felt too distracted to fully evaluate the menu. 

"I can order for you babe. It'll be a nice surprise." Meghan flinched internally at the term of endearment. It came out so casually from Harry's lips. 

"Oh two surprises for me in one day? How will I be able to manage?" Laughing, Meghan agreed.

Once the food came the conversation had gone off the rails from work. It must have been the wine Harry had ordered and convinced her that she had to have some with the meal otherwise it wouldn't taste the same. 

Meghan was giggling uncontrollably. 

"No. No you didn't!" She exclaimed, almost ready to stand up out of her seat. 

Harry's deep laughter escaped him as well while he explained the rest of the story about how his older brother and him had managed to insert an extra note in a invitation for tea with the Queen and other government officials to bring their dogs. Even if they didn't have dogs, to just bring a dog. And when the room became filled with dogs, the Queen asked why they brought their dogs. And they all said because the invitation said so. And so they initially blamed Margaret who does the calligraphy and sends out the cards. Him and William (his brother) then managed to tell one of the servants that the Queen requested her cat to be brought in to show with the guests. And once that happened, all hell broke loose. The funniest part was seeing their grandmother running to get her cat back. 

"That's so bad but so funny!"

"Yeah we just wanted the party to be less boring and give the American's a good story for when they came back. These formal gatherings can get pretty boring. But luckily I was only 9 so my grandmother was alright with it. We did have to apologize to everyone after they left and got their dogs back, but they all had a good laugh." 

"So do you get into nearly as much trouble now?" Meghan questioned and raised her eyebrows playfully. 

"When I'm around you I tend to get into some trouble." He responded mischievously. Harry's hands were holding Meghan's now and his thumb was rubbing gentle circles. 

"Ah, yes. Not telling me who you were when we first met and then just showing up un announced to my event. What will you be doing next to get under my skin?" 

"I'm going to call this our first date." He said matter of factly. 

Oh he did not just try and make this a date, Meghan thought. "Um, nope this was not supposed to be a date Harry. I thought we agreed upon that when I accepted to go to this dinner. This was just to discuss work and what we can do in the future together." 

"Yes and we have made some great plans for your future events. But I also think our future plans should be outside work. I would really love if you gave us a shot." 

"Harry, I'll admit that since I first found out about you I did go online. I know I shouldn't have but I did. And -"

"Wait you went and searched about me online?" There was a change in Harry's demeanor. He seemed defensive. His hand slowly slid from Meghan's waiting for her to finish. 

Maybe Meghan wasn't as different to the people she didn't like in her town as she thought. 

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Thanks for reading this chapter! Please leave comments for what you would like to see happen in the future between these two!