The Unexpected Journey-A Prince Harry Fan Fic

Chapter 177

Maddie hadn't planned on drinking so much that night with the Bishops, she really hadn't. But it was the first time the four of them had been together without the children. With both little ones off at their respective grandparents, Maddie should have known that they would all cut a little loose. She should have guessed that the alcohol would pour freely.

But for some reason she was still surprised to find herself giggling on the couch next to Ella, sipping on her fourth glass of champagne feeling, for the first time in a while, completely relaxed. It was that freedom she felt, that slight edge from the liquor, that gave her the push she needed to open up the great big box of obvious that had sat in the room with them. The one neither of their friends had mentioned, out of a great love they all shared.

But there on the couch with a fresh glass of champagne in her fingers, Maddie decided it was time to just open it up and get it out in the open.

"So..." She sighed, settling back into the cushions tucking her feet up underneath her as she turned to Ella with a grin. "Are we really not going to talk about it?"

"It?" Ella's smile was wide, her own level of intoxication just enough that she didn't see it coming.

"The pictures," Maddie waved her hand, looking over at Harry and Bishop who sat in chairs across from them, nearly as deep into Scotch as they were into their champagne.

"Ahhh..." Ella nodded, her eyes glancing over to her husband as her cheeks flushed. "The pictures."

"You've seen them?" Maddie lifted her eyebrows, looking at Ella over her glass as she drank.

"Yeah," Ella nodded, having the wherewithal to look slightly embarrassed. "I saw the first two that popped up with the article but I didn't look at the rest."

Maddie nodded, swallowing more champagne. "And?"

"And?" Ella laughed lightly.

"What did you think?"

"Ha..." Ella met Maddie's eyes, holding her gaze as she tried to read her, as she tried to judge which way this was going to go. "Well..." She took a deep breath and went with her gut instinct. "I thought your hair looked nice."

"Jesus," Harry groaned as Maddie pulled her glass away from her mouth, laughter pushing from her lips as she swallowed what was in her mouth.

"My hair looked nice?" Maddie sighed, shaking her head as she giggled. "That's what you're going to say to me right now?"

"What did you want me to say to you right now?" Ella grinned as she shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know," Maddie laughed, shaking her head at her best friend. "But there are pictures all over the world of me with Harry's cock in my mouth and..."

"Whoa, whoa," Bishop held up his hand, nearly choking on his own drink.

"And all you really have to say is...nice hair?" Maddie sighed. "Come on Ella. Be real with me. We've been through way too much for you to tiptoe around this and..."

"And what?" Ella countered her. "So you occasionally blow your husband..."

"For fuck's sake," Harry wiped at the Scotch that tumbled from his glass, shocked at the words that were flying around them.

"Good for you," Ella raised her glass. "Good for him," she snickered, nodding in Harry's direction. "It's really fucking unfair that people follow you around and make money off of showcasing your private life but...I don't know Maddie. People are making a really huge deal out of something that's really fucking small."