As soon as I walked in, Harry spotted me. I sent him a small wave and then pointed at the counter to let him know I was just going to get something first. He nodded and I approached the counter. I got a cup of tea and made my way over to his table. When I got there, he glanced up at me and smiled.

"Thanks for the invite Lou." he said gratefully.

"Well it's not like you gave me much of a choice, with that threat before you left and all." I said sarcastically. The smile on his face instantly dropped.

"Louis," he began. "I didn't mean to threaten you. That wasn't my intention."

I already didn't like the way this conversation was going, so I quickly shook my head. "No. I'm sorry. Just slept like shit last night so I'm a little grumpy." I explained.

"I know the feeling." He said, so low I almost didn't hear it.

I decided not to engage in that conversation. I drank my tea as I thought about where to take this. I decided the best way to start this is to find out where he stands in this.

"What exactly do you want Harry?" I asked, trying to keep a neutral tone.

"I want to have a relationship with my daughter." He responded easily. "I want to know her. I want her to know me. I want to be in her life, as her father." I could see the determination in his face.

I took a sip of my tea and winced as the heat burned my tongue. "Harry," I said softly, as if it would scare him away. "You do know that you can't just appear in her life as her father right? I mean she is only four. She understands things, but that would be too much of a shock for her." I explained.

He nodded in understanding. "I know that Louis. Please know I'm not looking to mess anything up for her. I just want to know her." He pleaded.

I sat there thinking what the best way to go about this was. After a few minutes, I made a decision.

"Why don't you come over tomorrow?" I suggested. "We can take Kayden to the park."

His eyes widened and the smile on his face could put the northern lights to shame. "Oh my god! Yes! Definitely yes!" He exclaimed. "Thank you so much Louis!" He was bouncing in his seat with excitement.

I smiled but had to explain. "Wait Harry." His smile faltered a little bit and the bouncing stopped. "We can't tell her who you are. We have to introduce you as one of my friends." I explained. "She will know you from hearing about you from Lottie, but she won't know you as her other father."

He seemed to hesitate for a second but then smiled again. "Of course. I completely understand." He said. "We will take this at whatever pace you feel is best for her. I just want to spend time with her. To get to know her."

I nodded. I could understand why he wanted to be in her life. She is his daughter too, and she is absolutely wonderful. Maybe this will be good for her. I just hope she doesn't get hurt. I will physically hurt Harry if he hurts her.

"How long are you in town for?" I questioned.

"Well I have a two month break now before I head off to the America part of my tour for three months." He answered. "But as far as being here, I didn't plan a time frame exactly. I may head back to my house tomorrow night, but that's not very far away."

Hearing about his tour in two months made my heart drop a little bit. I made a mental note not to let her get too attached before he has to leave to go on tour.

"Okay. Well I have work tomorrow until 2:30 and then I pick up Kayden from school at 3. Why don't you meet me at my house around 3:30. Does that work for you?" I asked him.

"Works perfectly." He responded instantly. "I will be there."

We both got up and walked out of the coffee shop. When we got outside, I was about to walk to my car when Harry stopped me.

"Hey Lou?"

"Yeah?" I turned around to look at him.

Suddenly he walked towards me and wrapped his arms around me. I hesitantly hugged him back.

"Thank you" he said in a whisper. "For not fighting with me on this."

I pulled away and shook my head. "You were right." I shrugged. "She is your daughter too. It's wrong to keep her from you."

He smiled and I continued.

"But Harry, I swear if she gets hurt somehow from this, I will come after you with a wrath you have never seen in your life." I threatened.

He quickly shook his head. "I would never dream of hurting her." He said confidently. I accepted that answer.

We said our goodbyes and I got in my car and drove away. On the way home I decided to call my mom. She said she was on her break at work and told me to come by and we would talk. Luckily, her job was only a few blocks away so it only took me a minute or two to get there. I walked in and back to the break room. When I opened up the door, my mom noticed me. She instantly got up and hugged me. She always knows exactly what I need.

After a few moments, we separated and she led me to the couch.

"So what's new?" She asked.

I wondered where to begin. I decided to just blurt it out. "Well Harry came by last night, and I just left from having tea with him." I said casually.

Her mouth opened and closed as if she was trying to figure out what to say. I decided to save her the trouble of having to ask any questions.

"He wants to be in Kayden's life." I began. "I suppose I can't really keep her from him if he is saying he wants to be involved. But I told him that he can only be known as one of my friends for right now. I don't want to rush this with her. It's too dangerous." I rambled.

"Baby." She stopped me. "Over the past four years, you have been the most amazing father to that little girl. I know for a fact that any choice you make in this, will be the best one." She said softly. "With that being said, I really don't think Harry would want to come into her life if he didn't have any intention on staying. Do you really think he is the type to want to hurt an innocent four-year-old? Let alone his own daughter?"

I shook my head. "No." I said simply. "He tripped over a dog once and apologized to it." We both chuckled.

"See." My mom said. "I don't think you have anything to worry about." When I nodded, she continued. "What are the next steps from here?"

"Well, tomorrow he is coming over and we are going to take K to the park." I answered.

She nodded. "Well I think that's a good plan." I guess she could see the look on my face because she reached her hand out and put it over mine. "Hey. What's wrong?"

"It's just," I began. "He goes back on tour in two months, in America. He will be gone for three whole months. What if she gets attached to him before that? What if he has to leave and she is left heartbroken?! Mom, I can't even handle when she pouts because she's in trouble. I definitely can't handle her being heartbroken." I could feel my eyes well up with tears.

"Oh Lou." My mom hugged me close. "I'm sure everything will be okay. Just take these two months slowly. When the time comes for his tour, you will figure it out then."

I knew she was right. There is no use in worrying about it now when it is still two months away.

"Thanks mom. You always know what to say." I told her.

She smiled. "That's what moms are for sweetie." She glanced at her watch. "Shoot. I have to get back to work."

We both stood and she gave me a hug. She told me to call her if I need anything. I agreed and we said our goodbyes.

When I got home, Lottie had already put Kayden to bed. As soon as I walked in she started tossing questions at me. I sat down with her and told her everything. She was kind of shocked when I told her that I told Harry to come over tomorrow, but she understood where I was coming from. That's the great thing about my family. They have always accepted any choices that I make when it comes to Kayden. Well, aside from when Lottie went behind my back and posted her picture on Instagram.

When we got done talking, I could barely keep my eyes open. It probably has to do with the shit sleep I got last night. I said goodnight to Lottie, locked up the house, and got in bed. Just as I was about to drift off to sleep, I heard my phone ding. I reached over and grabbed it, seeing a text from Harry.

thanks again lou... you won't regret it.

I decided not to answer and put my phone back on the nightstand. I hope to god he meant that, because that little girl is my reason for living, and I won't let anything hurt her.