Page 22 of Royally Knocked Up
“I was thinking of stepping out to Vista Grande for the weekend,” Enzo said.
He had gone back and forth on whether that was something he wanted to open up to Hailey about. But the texts from Luca were truly starting to cause him sleepless nights. Much as he didn’t want to admit it, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to relax until he got away from La Fantasia for a while. At this point, it was about proving something to himself — that he wasn’t going to just roll over and do whatever his father expected of him. He wouldn’t allow his life to be constrained by the expectations of being a part of the royal family. Enzo Mancini was someone who liked to have fun, and he needed to find a way to go on doing that, even now.
“Vista Grande?” Hailey repeated.
“It’s the larger resort town a few miles away from here.”
“No, I know what it is,” Hailey said. “I passed through it on my way here from Luria. It seems a little…”
“A little what?”
“I don’t know. Chaotic. Loud.” She laughed. “It reminded me of Las Vegas.”
“Never been.”
“But you like American movies, so I’m sure you’ve seen it before.”
He had. “Vista Grande isn’t anywhere near as wild as Las Vegas looks in the movies,” he told her.
“Maybe not, but I heard it was famous for its nightlife. Legendary clubs, right?”
“So I take it you’re not going to come along with me?”
“Am I invited?”
He actually hadn’t thought about that until just now. “If you wanted to come along, you could,” he said. “I could show you around.”
His perception of the weekend suddenly shifted. Instead of getting drunk with Luca and trying to avoid having to explain why he hadn’t answered any texts lately, he could go to Vista Grande with a beautiful woman on his arm. Even though there was nothing between the two of them, therewassomething magical about being out on the town with a woman. He would enjoy it more with her than he would with Luca — although Luca would be deeply offended to know that.
“Maybe sometime,” Hailey said noncommittally.
“It really isn’t like Vegas. And we wouldn’t have to go to any nightclubs, if that isn’t your scene. We could go to a restaurant.” Was he asking her out? Was that what this was? He didn’t usually ask women to dinner. His liaisons with women were usually confined to meeting for drinks — or, more often, meetingoverdrinks — and then taking things back to her place. How was Hailey going to interpret a dinner invitation?
For that matter, what had he meant by it? If Enzo was honest with himself, he wasn’t entirely sure. He couldn’t reconcile in his mind why it suddenly felt so important for her to accompany him to Vista Grande — it would benicesure, but did it really matter that much?
How could it be that he suddenly didn’t want to go unless she was coming along?
Hailey was watching him carefully. “I think we should stay here this weekend,” she said. “I think we should focus on the assignment Isla gave us. I want to do a good job — don’t you?”
“Well, sure. But I don’t see why we couldn’t do it over dinner.”
“It would be hard for me to focus.”
He narrowed his eyebrows. She hadn’t struck him as someone who had trouble focusing on things — in fact, she seemed much more focused, generally, than he felt he was himself. “I think you’d be all right.”
“Not this weekend,” she said firmly. “Maybe another time.”
And that was the end of that. He knew she wasn’t going to compromise.
He thought of Luca’s unanswered texts. He should send a reply, at the very least.
He pulled his phone out and fired off a quickNot this weekendbefore sliding it back into his pocket.
Hailey was watching him. “What was that all about?”
“Just returning a text from a buddy of mine,” he said casually.
“Someone who wanted to meet up with you in Vista Grande?”
