Always In My Heart

Chapter 32- Always In My Heart The Final Chapter

Louis' POV:

I sit next to Nikki at one of the tables in the courtyard, a chilled glass of dessert wine in my hand. We both listen intently to a story Daisy has been rambling on about for the past twenty minutes, claiming that she saw Miley Cyrus in the bathroom here. My mum goes along with it like the great mother she is, pretending to be amazed at the silly story.

I grin and look over at Nikki, slightly shaking my head and rolling my eyes discreetly so Daisy does not see. Nikki playfully bites her tongue, laughing silently. I smile lovingly at her, reaching over and putting my hand on her thigh. She gently places her hand over mine, lacing her fingers in the slots between my digits. I sigh relaxedly, watching people admire my work in the nearby gallery, feeling so proud of my accomplishments. I would never brag out loud as to how happy I am about my growing success, but I get butterflies whenever I think about it, so excited for what the future may hold.

"Louis, you never told me that you met someone so famous while you were in Paris!" my mum suddenly exclaims, making my eyes dart across the table to quickly meet hers. She looks at me happily, swirling the wine around in her glass. I blink quickly, knowing exactly who she is talking about. I feel Nikki's leg tense underneath of my hand and I sigh softly.

"Yeah, I sort of just forgot about it really," I say with a nervous laugh. My mum stares at me confusedly, tapping her fingers on the sides of her wine glass.

"Oh," she says, obviously not trusting or believing my weary response. I lick my lips nervously, taking another sip of my wine, my eyes remaining on anything but my mum.

"Well, tell me about it then!" she prods, smiling happily at me. I squeeze Nikki's thigh gently, trying to gather the courage and strength to even speak his name.

"Well, uh, Harry and I met at the opening of the museum," I begin to explain, "He really liked my painting and we began talking about it," I continue. My mum nods as she listens to me, reaching over to hold Daniel's hand. Daniel listens intently to me, holding my baby brother, Ernest, on his lap.

"Erm, it turns out we were staying at the same hotel and I ran into him in the elevator the next morning. I invited him to have breakfast with me and we had a nice chat about his company," I explain, earning a satisfied smile from my mum, obviously happy with the amount of information I have given her.

"So, he owns Styles Electronics? Wow, he must be a gazillionaire!" my mum exclaims, shaking her head in awe. I smile and nod, grabbing my wine glass from the table.

"Yes, Harry is very wealthy," I say before taking a rather large gulp of my wine.

No amount of wine could ever calm my nerves when discussion about Harry Styles is being held.

"What a coincidence that you two ran into each other at the opening of the museum, with both of you being from England!" my mum says excitedly, smiling wide as she pulls Ernest's twin sister, Doris, up into her lap. Doris squirms around energetically, obviously not very happy about being held right now.

"Yeah, I was really surprised to hear that he was from London," I respond quietly, looking down at the table. I feel Nikki's hand move to my knee, squeezing it reassuringly. I look up at her and give her a small smile, quickly receiving one in return.

"Have you guys met up since you have returned from Paris?" my mum asks, making my heart jump. I swallow hard and look up at her, feeling so nervous by her questioning. "Or is today the first time you have seen him since your trip?" she adds, looking at me curiously.

If only she knew.

I feel Nikki's hand squeeze my knee again in reassurance. I take a deep breath and clear my throat, gently placing my wine glass back in its original spot on the table.