Harry and I lay entwined in each other's bodies for a long time. It was the most amazing feeling I'd ever known in my life.

"Harry," I whispered.

He rolled over and propped himself up onto his elbow, using his free hand to move some stray strands of hair away from my face. "What is it, luv?"

"I love you."

Harry just stared at me with a bit of shock on his face. For a moment, I was frightened, thinking maybe he couldn't say it back to me anymore. Maybe he loved someone else now and hadn't expected me to say it to him.

"What's the matter, Harry?" I asked, a tear filling the corner of my eye.

"You've never said it like that before," he said.

"Oh," I smiled in relief and the tear escaped before I could dry it away. I wasn't sure what he meant because I had told him I loved him before.

"Hey, what's the matter? Are you crying?"

"No...well, um yes. I wasn't sure how you felt about me anymore. I mean, yes, we just had sex, but these are unusual circumstances, and I thought-"

"I love you, Lise. I've loved you almost from the day I first met you as a 17-year-old kid in high school. I told you nothing would ever change that, and nothing has. This year has been torture for me so far, but I wanted to be able to come back to you, more in love with you than ever and tell you that you – and only you – are my soul mate, my other half."

"I love you, too," I said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"You just said that," he winked. He kissed me hard and then asked, "Were you starting to doubt that I still cared about you?"

I just nodded.

"Why?"

"Well, it sounds stupid now, but I thought maybe you were into Victoria."

"What?" He laughed. "That gold-digging witch?!"

I laughed, too. "Well, she told me some things..."

"What did she tell you?" He asked, suddenly more serious than just a moment ago.

"Well, she um, said that she had hooked up with you on more than one occasion and that you two were spending a steamy New Year's Eve in New York together."

"That lying bitch!" he said, making me laugh out loud.

"Watch your language, Harry!" I scolded, still giggling. "You have no idea how relieved I was to hear your grandma talking about your New Years Eve here. That was my first clue that Victoria had been lying."

"Oh, Lise, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that she hurt you and that you doubted my love for you. Can I kiss you and make it all better?"

I giggled and said, "Yes." 

Then he kissed me deeply and I sighed once again. "And do you want to know what else Victoria said?"

He just cringed.

"She said that you were really hot in bed!"

"Oh, my heavens!" He said, rolling his eyes. "I guess I will have to set her straight when we get home."

"Can our year be over now?" I asked.

"Yes!" Harry said emphatically. "So I've finally proven to you that I'm in love with you?" He teased.

"You didn't have to prove it to me, Harry. I wanted you to prove it to yourself."

We fell asleep in each other's arms and woke up the same the way the next morning. As I watched him sleep, I was grateful that I didn't have to shoo him out of my bed before the girls came in. We would have to be careful about our PDA's when we returned home, and I wasn't quite sure how we should approach the topic of sex. I had always been a little old-fashioned, wanting to wait til I was married, which I did with Eric. Obviously, that plan went out the window last night with Harry, and of course, these were very peculiar circumstances. But knowing that I wanted to marry him, I still wanted to have something to look forward to, and I hoped he would understand that.

I heard his breathing pattern change, so I knew he was waking up. He opened one eye, saw me looking at him and then yanked the covers over his head like a little kid.

"Were you watching me while I was sleeping?" He asked in a muffled voice.

"Yeah, just a little," I said, ripping the comforter off his head. "I was just thinking, actually."

"About what?"

"About us."

"Is that a bad thing or a good thing?" He asked.

"Definitely a good thing. But you know that I'm in this for the long haul, right. And I believe you are, too. I just wonder if we should wait to have sex again. I mean, I wouldn't change last night for anything, but I think it's better if we wait, in general. You know, have something that we only share with each other after we're...married." It sounded so foreign to say it out loud, just because we went from waiting for a year to I love you in no time flat.

He gave me a devilish grin. "Absolutely not!" He teased. "I want it three times a day, minimum!"

"Harry!" I screeched, and then he pulled me into a tight hug, burying his face in my hair.

He breathed, "I always wanted it that way, too."

I pulled away and looked at him curiously and asked, "What made you change your mind?" Oh, my god, I hoped it wasn't Victoria.

He grinned and said, "You."

I shot a surprised look at him. "You're joking, right?"

He gave me the most serious look and said, "No. You were my first. And my only." He pecked my lips and then said, "But we probably shouldn't wait too long."

"I'm confused," I said. "We just agreed that we would wait until we get married."

"That's what I mean – we shouldn't wait too long to get married."

"Harry, you're only 19."

"And I'm in love with you. Why should we wait?" He grinned.

"Well, let's talk about it when we get home, okay? I still haven't convinced my whole family that I'm not some kind of pervert," I laughed. "Besides, we have to get through the next few days."

And we both remembered the reason we were in England. Harold's wake was today, with the funeral at noon tomorrow.

We got up and showered separately. We convened downstairs and found a full breakfast spread on the table.

I could get used to this, I thought.

It looked as if Nana and Aunt Bev had already eaten. Harry and I sat down and he poured me some coffee. I took a delightfully hot sip and closed my eyes.

"Are you going to be okay today?" I asked Harry.

"I think so. At least the initial shock is over. I'm not making any promises though."

I was stunned at the number of people who showed up for the wake, the vast majority of them well-dressed businessmen. Harold was clearly well-liked and highly-esteemed, despite his "indiscretions." Harry and his family greeted a steady stream of people offering their condolences. He seemed to keep his composure, modeling himself after his father.

After the visitation, Nana took us all out for dinner. A few of Harry's cousins joined us, as well as his aunt on his mother's side. When the chauffeur pulled up to a lavish-looking restaurant, I whispered to Harry, "I think I'm under-dressed."

"You're beautiful," he smiled.

Dinner was surprisingly light-hearted, given the circumstances. Everyone shared their favorite stories about Harold. It was nice to hear all the favorable stories about him.

When Harry and I got home, we Skyped with my girls and my parents. I was in tears when I saw the girls, and Harry put his arm around my shoulders, squeezing me.

"Mommy, is Harry hugging you because you're crying?" Grace asked.

"Yes, lovey. I hug Harry when he's sad, and he hugs me when I'm sad."

"Harry, is your daddy still dead?" She asked.

I bit my lip to stifle a giggle. It wasn't the most appropriate question, but I was glad to see a little smirk on his face. "Yes, Princess. My daddy will be dead forever. He's in heaven now."

"Oh, that's nice," she said in a matter-of-fact way.

Aurora talked my ear off about school. Grace told me that Grandpa had been letting them have cookies in the morning and I heard my father in the background, saying, "Tattletale!" Rachael just babbled at me on the screen. When it was time to sign off, I could hardly bear it, but I told the girls I would see them in a few days.

"I love you girls!"

"We love you, too, Mommy! And we love you, Harry!"

"Love you, too, Princesses," Harry said with a wide smile on his face.

Harry asked if he could sleep in my room again, and I gladly allowed him to do so. Neither one of us felt as if we were obsessed with having sex again, although I assumed that might change over time. But for tonight, we just needed to be close to each other.

It had been a long and emotional day, so it didn't take long for us to settle down for the night. As we were drifting off to sleep, Harry whispered, "I love you." I remembered with a smile when he had said it during the blizzard.

Except this time, I could say it in return. "I love you, too, Harry."

The funeral was a bit more difficult than the wake, which was to be expected. But the worst part of the day was the burial. As Harold's casket was lowered into the ground, I felt myself coming apart at the seams. I had managed to deal with my own sadness thus far, but I felt a new round of grief for Harry and Charlie. Although they were now adults, they were still orphans. I could feel their pain from a parent's perspective, knowing how much it would hurt me to see my own children in pain.

Harry wept bitterly while the shovels full of dirt cascaded onto the white casket. I just held him while he cried, knowing I couldn't do anything to make it better.

After the cemetery service, we all went out again, but this time we went to a pub. A few of Harold's closest colleagues joined us, as they knew Harry and Charlie as well. They each bought a round of drinks for us, and several people toasted Harold. It was definitely a lively send off for him.

When we returned to Harry's estate, it was dinner time, so we ate our fill of a delicious meal prepared by the cooks. It was perfect timing because, to be honest, I was a little drunk after the pub. We were just finishing up dessert when Nana announced, "We have a family meeting with Harold's lawyers tomorrow at 10:00 AM."

Harry and Charlie just nodded, but I was a bit shocked that such a meeting would take place so soon after the funeral. I wondered whether Harry would want me to be there for him.

Apparently, he planned to stay in my room for the rest of our stay in England because, when I returned, his bags were sitting neatly next to mine. "Moving in?" I laughed as he followed me into the room.

"It's my house," he said, winking.

"True," I laughed. "I'm going to put on some more comfortable clothes. Do you want to watch a movie or anything?"

"Maybe," he shrugged.

I went into the bathroom and decided to just put on my pajamas. They were modest enough. When I came back out, Harry was standing there in his boxers.

"Harry!" I exclaimed. "Are you drunk?"

"A little bit, I think," he slurred.

I dug into his suitcase, knowing where everything was because I had packed it, and I found some lounge pants. "Well, at least you can cover up with these. You still have to be a gentleman around me," I teased.

He grabbed me roughly and playfully said, "I don't want to be a gentleman."

I kissed him and then pushed him down onto the bed, laughing. "I think you need to sleep." He snuggled up to a pillow and I pulled the comforter over him. I climbed in bed next to him and put my arms around him. "I love you, Harry."

"Love you too," he whispered and then fell asleep.

I got my laptop and climbed back into bed, propping an overstuffed pillow behind my back. I decided to see if my family was on Skype. They said they would just leave it open all day, and they could answer the call if they were around. I sent the video call and I was surprised to see Aurora's face pop up.

"Hi, Mommy!"

"Hi, lovey!" I said a little too loudly. I was really missing my girls and it was hard to keep my emotions in check. "How is everybody?" I asked a bit more quietly

"Great, Mommy! We got a big snowstorm and we didn't have school today!"

"That sounds like fun," I said. "What did you do then?"

"We made cookies with Grandma, but Grandpa made us promise to wait til after lunch to eat one." I laughed, thinking my father had learned his lesson.

Grace came rushing to the screen. "And we builded a snowman with Grandpa!" She yelled.

Rachael camed toddling in a moment later and started slapping at the computer screen. "Mommy! Mommy!" At first it seemed like she was playing a silly game, but then I realized that she really missed me. She was trying to get to me and she started to get frustrated when she couldn't reach me. I choked back a few tears, watching my little darling pining away for me. I was reminded of Harry's loss, both of his parents now gone permanently.

My mom came in and sat Rachael in her lap, trying to explain that Mommy was still in England. But she just couldn't understand, and she became increasingly upset. Finally, my dad came in and took her off my mom's lap, carrying her into the other room while I could hear her screaming for me.

I had tears streaming down my face when I said, "I miss them, Mom!"

"I know, Sweetheart. Just a few more days. How was the funeral?"

I told her everything about the service and the burial and the fact that Harry had gotten a little drunk at the pub afterwards.

I moved my laptop a little so that I could shift myself in the bed to get a bit more comfortable. As I was getting settled, I heard her gasp. "Lise! Is that Harry in your bed???"

"Um, yeah, Mom. It is."