Page 1 of Royally Knocked Up
CHAPTER 1
ENZO
The hangovers were getting worse.
Enzo Mancini gritted his teeth and pulled the covers up over his head, shielding himself against the crack of light that made its merry way in through the curtains in his apartment. He’d had a lot to drink last night — actually, he didn’t remember how much he had had to drink, but that in itself was a pretty clear sign of how much he’d had. Even so, he wasn’t used to this order of hangover. This sort of thing had never happened when he was younger.
But Enzo was going to be thirty next year. The way his body responded to alcohol was changing, and he was going to have to figure out a way to deal with that.
In the meantime, he wasn’t going to stay in bed all day. He would never allow himself to be the sort of person who was so sidelined by a night of fun that he had to spend the whole next day wallowing. He pressed himself slowly up into a sitting position, doing his best to ignore the way the room slowly spun around him. A good hearty breakfast would cure this, and maybe a walk outside. He could take in some of the fresh air of Luria. Enzothought Monteverde’s capital city was the most beautiful place in the world.
He got to his feet and staggered into the bathroom to splash some water on his face, avoiding glancing into the mirror. He took pride in his appearance, and right now there was no chance he would look anything close to his best. He imagined his dark curls in tangled disarray and bags under his striking brown eyes. He’d give himself a little time to recover before looking in any mirrors.
Instead, he went to the kitchen, a part of him longing for the household he had grown up in — his father’s kitchen staff would have come in handy right now. Most of the time, Enzo preferred his solitude when he was in the sanctuary of his own home, but he couldn’t deny that it would have been nice to have waffles made for him this morning.
Instead, he went to the fridge and grabbed the carton of eggs. He heated up a pan on the stovetop, dropped a pat of butter into the bottom, and then cracked egg after egg into it. He would sop the yolks up with some toast, he though, closing his eyes and leaning against the refrigerator. That would be a good breakfast.
His phone buzzed on the charger across the room.
Enzo opened his eyes and eyed the device suspiciously. Who would be reaching out to him at this hour of the morning?
He had a bad feeling about it.
He almost ignored the phone, but he knew he couldn’t. As a member of the royal family, he didn’t have the privilege of simply disconnecting. Especially now that his uncle had abdicated the throne and left it in the hands of Enzo’s father…
Enzo crossed the floor and picked up his phone.
And stared.
His entire home screen was a log of missed calls from the palace.
His heart beat double-time. If someone was this desperate to get him on the phone, there might be a problem. What was more, the calls were coming from an official phone line, not from any of his family’s personal numbers. What if something had happened?
Enzo answered the call, heart in his throat. “Enzo Mancini speaking.”
“Good morning, Your Highness.”
“Who is this? Is everything all right?”
“Your Highness, your presence is required this morning at the palace. A car will be sent to collect you.”
“What? I can drive,” Enzo said.
“Our instructions are to send a car.”
Enzo took a breath. The palace employees would be in trouble if they didn’t do as they had been instructed, and he didn’t want that. “Can you tell me what this is regarding?”
“I’m sorry, I’m not able to give any information.”
Enzo felt sick. “Can you please at least tell me if everyone is all right?” he asked. “I know you’re not supposed to tell me anything, I get it, but… if it was your family, you would want to know, wouldn’t you?”
A moment of silence.
Then the voice spoke again, more quietly this time. “Everyone is all right.”
Enzo felt the tension bleed out of his body. “Thank you.”
“The car will arrive in ten minutes.”
