After You (Because of You 2)

“You’re the best daughter ever.”

I grimace, given she’s only a few years older than I am. “Ew.”

Snorting, she says, “Sorry.” Then she gives me a sideways hug and hops up, heading over to her friends at the bar.

I glance down at the loud blue shoe, the heel of which has been blinged out with rhinestones. It looks so ridiculous on my foot, I impulsively grab my phone and take a picture.

Attaching the picture, I text Henry, "My shoes have been confiscated by the bride!"

A moment later, Henry responds. "Where's the other slipper, Cinderella?"

Smiling, I type back, "The prince only gave me one. I guess he likes Steve Maddens. And only has one foot."

“Why is this one-footed bastard giving you shoes to begin with?” Henry demands.

I type back, “We’re sort of a thing. Sorry, I tried to resist, but… well, he’s a prince.”

“I’m gonna kick his royal ass.”

“Your fault for sending me to the wedding alone,” I tease. “He assumed I wasn’t spoken for.”

“I knew you weren’t okay with that,” he sends back, immediately. “Why did you say it was okay if it bothered you?”

Rolling my eyes and smiling faintly, I assure him, “I was just kidding. I’m not bothered that you can’t make the wedding. It’s really not a big deal.”

"Are you at least having fun?" he asks.

"I'm watching everybody else have fun, so sort of?"

"Sounds about right. You're such a passenger."

I frown lightly. "I am not a passenger."

"You are. I'm gonna take you kayaking one of these days so you'll have to steer your own boat." He punctuates it with a wink, but I still give the phone a dirty look and slip it back into my purse instead of responding.

Screw him. I am not a passenger.

A few minutes pass before Bethany finds me again. She rounds up the bridal party for an impromptu photo op. Once a satisfactory image has been captured, another bridesmaid checks the picture, apparently finding her appearance suitable, then says, "Tag me."

“I’ll tag all of you.”

Within a few seconds, a notification pops up on my phone.

A moment later, Henry likes my picture.

Mere seconds after that, he’s texting me. "How come you never wear low-cut tops like that when we go out?"

I laugh a little, replying, "How come you’re too busy to come to the wedding, but not too busy to stalk my social media?”

"Now that you told me about Prince Charming, I feel like I need to pay attention. Make sure that bastard doesn’t try to steal my girl."

"Don’t worry, I’m not easy to catch and princes are pretty lazy."

"Ha, you don’t have to tell ME how hard you are to catch,” he shoots back, attaching a winking emoji.

I smile and close out my messages. Finished texting for now, I drop my phone back into my purse and look around for Bethany. She was standing right next to me a minute ago.

I finally spot her back at the bar—some guy is buying her a drink. She’s grinning, leaning in and playfully running her hand down his arm as she thanks him.