British Rose

2. Paradise found

H's dressing room – The Forum – LA – 1 hour after the final show

After the initial shock of seeing Charlotte, Harry didn't waste another second and pulled her into a hug that almost knocked the air out of her lungs.

"I missed you so much, love."

The sound of him saying the nickname again made Charlotte's stomach flutter, as if it hasn't been twisting and turning in excitement all day upon the prospect of seeing him again.

"Missed you too. Like, a lot." Like a piece of my heart was missing. I carried on, but something felt odd.

Had Charlotte worried earlier that day that maybe their connection had gone lost over the last few weeks of being apart, all of that was being swept away now.

"When did you arrive? How did you get here? Why didn't you tell me?" The questions that had been laying on the tip of his tongue were falling from his mouth, almost stumbling over each other.

"Easy, baby. I arrived just a few hours before the show. And I took an Uber from my hotel." They had separated a few inches so they could look at each other while talking. Biting her lip, Charlotte pondered how to answer to the last question. Why didn't she? Yes, the surprise factor was one thing, but there was more to the Why. Better lay all cards on the table now.

"I didn't tell you, because firstly I didn't want to disturb you in your touring flow and preparations for this and didn't want to load you with additional stuff to handle, like organizing my stay and logistics and all of that." Charlotte felt proud having explained her reasons so well. Harry remained skeptic, though.

"And secondly?"

"Hm?"

"You said firstly. So there must be a secondly," Harry frowned.

"Oh, right." Charlotte inhaled deeply. "Secondly, I wanted it to be a surprise. And I know how much unnecessary work my mind has been doing the past weeks since I received your invitation, overthinking our relationship and considering all possible outcomes of this meeting and I didn't want to put you through that as well. So I kept it a secret." Charlotte hope she hadn't overstepped with assuming he was as much of an overanalyzer as she was.

Unconsciously she held her breath for the time it took him to answer, which was almost uncomfortably long.

Harry was touched. His initial confusing disappeared to make room for joy and admiration for her awareness and consideration of how he might possibly feel about this. Because she was absolutely right, which was simultaneously easy and hard to admit. How was she able to read him so well after the short time they spent together? But then, he already knew in Barcelona their connection was special.

They stood in silence for a while, Harry trying to contain his overwhelming and Charlotte anxiously awaiting a reaction.

Eventually, her presence and everything that had happened the last few months, the end of the tour washed over him like a wave and he surrendered, letting the tears fall.

"Hey, you okay?" Charlotte softly touched his cheek with her hand and wiped away some of the tears.

"Yeah, I guess. Sorry, it's just a lot right now. But I'm happy you're here. Very." Harry let out a few quiet sobs and Charlotte gestured him to sit down on the sofa.

"Come on, let's take a break. And don't even start with you have to be somewhere now. You have just finished an 80-show global tour. You can take a moment to breathe and reconnect. Your people will still be there in a minute."