Just Harry and Meg

~the first trip to botswana~

~July 2016~

"If you turn out to be a serial killer, I'm screwed." Meghan giggled at his eager face as the plane landed, but as soon as she spoke, Harry shook his head, pretending to be offended. It was adorable, she thought briefly, before shaking her woos away.

"Excuse me! I'll have you know if anyone was going to be a serial killer, it's definitely not me. Besides, my grandmother is the Queen of England, imagine how much trouble I'd get in. It'd be all over the bloody press." He kept his sarcasm up long enough for her to question whether he was actually being serious.

"I mean, I don't know! It could be the perfect cover up!" Meghan laughed as the seatbelt sign switched off and the pilot declared landing.

"Seriously, if you're not comfortable with this, we don't have to. I can fly you back out to Toronto." His tone changed, to one that made her heart warm, she awkwardly scrunched her nose in reaction to his attentiveness. He didn't see it as awkward, he just took note of her cute button nose.

"No, no. I was just kidding, I can't wait to get to know you more." She smiled at him as he stood up and held out his hand to pull her up. She took it graciously, mentally checking the gentleman side of him that she'd told Jessica he had.

They got to the retreat quickly, and soon had their belongings scattered over the rooms. Meghan had marvelled over the big, gaping windows in the bedroom; she noticed instantaneously that there was only one bed. Her wide eyes observed the desk in the corner of the open plan kitchen-dining-living room, remembering that on the second date in Soho he'd mentioned he could only work in quiet places.

"You like it?" Harry broke her from awe when she was staring out of the bedroom window towards the endless land.

"It's beautiful." She looked over her shoulder to watch him draw closer, until they were side by side.

"It's my happy place." Meghan stole a look at his cheeky grin, triggering her own beam. Suddenly becoming aware of this man's presence, she stepped back and admired him.

"I can see why, it's just so blissful." They stood for a bit longer than a minute, already comfortable in silence, watching the bare plants sway in the gentlest breeze, the ripples in the lake a couple hundred metres from the window.

"Do you want something to drink?" Harry halted the lull as tenderly as the way the water moved.

"What do you have? We've been here for like half an hour!"

"Don't underestimate my skills! You want alcohol or soft?"

"Soft, it's only," She looked over at the bedside clock, "Oh, it's five, maybe just a glass of water, to cleanse my throat from the flight." Harry turned and headed out of the bedroom, to which she followed.

"Coming right up, Meg." The way he already called her Meg sent shivers over her skin, and was that a wink as they moved? If she wasn't careful, Meghan knew she was going to get herself tangled up in all sorts of complicated situations. At that moment, she didn't want to think about those, she wanted to think about the fact that he was the kindest, sweetest man she thought she'd ever met.

♡♡♡

"So, there's only one bed, as I'm sure you would've noticed." He brought it up when they had finished a conversation about her filming schedule when they get back (it was pretty hectic).