Prince in the City [Harry Styles AU]

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Prince's POV:

Zoe and Carlos's wedding reception was, without a doubt, better than any royal wedding I had attended.

The reception was being held in a ballroom of a hotel that was was just a few blocks away from the church the ceremony was at, and it was decorated beautifully. The lights of the room were soft pinks and purples, the floor carpeted save for the dance floor in the center. On either side of that were several round tables for the guests, with gorgeous centerpieces made up of white roses and pink carnations and pretty silverware to go with it. As I entered the room, I saw a stage at the other end of the room where the DJ was set up, playing his music on the other side of the dance floor, while opposite of him was the long rectangular table where the bride, groom, and their parties would sit.

Buffet style tables were set up on the right side of the spacious area, while on the left was what seemed like a big photo booth—the one that held several people and you weren't required to sit. There was even a table next to it with props to use for the pictures.

I walked further into the room, offering the occasional smiles to people who looked my way with Dave at my side. Throughout the wedding ceremony, I hadn't failed to notice the way people had been gawking at me or doing double takes, in disbelief that I was sitting amongst them. While I had been aware of the continuous stares, it pleasantly surprised me to see that not many, if not anyone, people had pulled out their phones to take a picture or something. There had been whispers and excited chatter and people coming up to speak to me, but no pictures. That's not to say that I didn't expect to not see anything on the Internet by the time the night was over, but still. The focus should be on the bride and groom.

Though my focus was all of a sudden shifted towards the beautiful woman making her way towards me, clad in the purple bridesmaid dress that hugged her figure snugly and made me want to take her in my arms right away. Vera looked absolutely gorgeous, with her long dark hair in loose curls and dark eyes standing out against her makeup. She approached me, a smile on her pink lips, stopping in front of me.

Vera was close, but not too close like we normally stood with each other, as she greeted, "Hi."

The two of us had agreed not to be seen too close to each other at the wedding. The guests were already aware of my presence here, they didn't need to know of my relationship with Vera. That part, the both of us agreed, was to be kept between us and the people that already knew of it. "Hi, love," I returned with an easy smile. "You look gorgeous."

Gorgeous was an understatement, and I so desperately wanted to kiss her. But I reined in those urges, already aware of some eyes gazing our way. Vera smiled at my words, and I wonder if she was blushing, since I couldn't tell because of the pink lights of the room. Her dark eyes flickered over to Dave, smiling as she mused, "Looks like the extra security's keeping all the cameras off of Harry."

Dave smiled smugly in agreement, and my brows furrowed in confusion as I looked between the two of them. "Wait, what?" I asked in bewilderment, earning mildly amused looks from my girlfriend and bodyguard. "What extra security?"

Vera raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Did you seriously not notice the extra suits at the reception? Or now?" she questioned, and as if to lead by example, her gaze began flickering around the room.

I followed her sight, realization dawning upon me as my eyes landed on the occasional big, burly men in black suits lingering by the walls of the reception hall. They stood at ease, eyes wandering around the room full of guests, and I noticed the earpieces in one ear of each man, before looking over at Dave. Sure enough, there was one in his right ear, and I would've noticed if he hadn't been standing to my right all the time. He had a tendency to stay on that side of me.