Prince in the City [Harry Styles AU]

Chapter 32

My boyfriend groaned, leaning his head back slightly as he pouted adorably. "Already?"

"If I don't want Zoe to turn into Bridezilla, then yes."

Harry looked skeptical, his lips tugging up. "She hasn't turned into one so far, I doubt she will now."

Clicking my tongue, I stood up from the bed as I responded, "The wedding's not until day after tomorrow. Plenty of time for her to chuck her wedding binder at my head."

The remark prompted a loud laugh to escape Harry, making me smile as well as I picked up my suitcase and grabbed my purse. He got off the bed too, following me out of my room as I turned off all the lights and taking my suitcase from my hand. "I'll walk you to the car," he said, putting on his sunglasses as we stepped out of my apartment and I locked it.

We were down the elevator when I checked my phone and saw that my Uber was waiting outside, walking out of the building and down the pathway to where the car was waiting by the sidewalk. The driver popped the trunk open and was about to get out of the car when Harry called to him saying in his well-practiced American accent, "It's alright, I've got it."

Harry shut the trunk and then, being the gentleman he is, opened the backseat door for me as I got in, shutting the door behind me. I smiled up at him through the rolled down window as he leaned down so his face was level with mine. "I'll see you at the wedding," I grinned.

He lowered his glasses down the bridge of his nose slightly, green eyes meeting my dark ones as he returned the smile. "Yeah," he replied lightly as he pressed a kiss to my lips. Pulling away, he added casually, "I love you," before standing up and slapping the hood of the car.

The air had rushed out of my lungs as my eyes widened, his words registering in my mind a second too late because the Uber driver was already halfway down the street. Exclaiming in surprise, I twisted around in my seat, looking at Harry through the rear window as he remained standing on the sidewalk for a few moments before turning and walking back into the building.

The Uber driver was glancing at me curiously through the rearview mirror, but I was staring at the seat in front of me with wide eyes and parted lips. My mind was running a mile a second, trying to comprehend what the fuck Harry just said. My stomach was twisting and my heart was beating rapidly, and now my mouth was drying up because of how long I've had it open, as were my eyes.

I love you.

We hadn't said that to each other. Not until now, at least, and I was pretty damn sure that my heart was about to leap out of my chest. Staring at the back of the headrest in front of me, I leaned back in the leather seat, unable to keep the utterly disbelieving expression from my face as my mind tried to process this.

Harry had said it so casually, as if we said it every day instead of him saying it for the first time. Did he even realize what he said? Was it just a slip of the tongue? Or did he actually, truly love me?

Once again my heart picked up its rate as my cheeks warmed at the thought. Putting aside the fact that Harry may have accidentally said something without realizing it, I took a moment to decide how I felt. We've only been dating for a few months, but my feelings for him were as clear as day to me. Everything about him made me happy and he made me feel adored and important and safe. Nobody was perfect, sure, but Harry came pretty close to that.

My hand came up as I absently bit my nails, something I hadn't done since I was a teenager, as the smile began growing on my face. I loved him. I was in love with Harry, I knew that for a fact, and as I admitted it to myself, the smile was widening and the butterflies were fluttering and my face was heating up. Harry understood me in a way that nobody else did, and he always knew what to say when I was having a bad day and knew exactly what to do to make me feel better. He was, in my eyes, the perfect person and the perfect boyfriend and, holy shit, I loved him.