Page 9 of Royally Knocked Up
For now, though, he was good and stuck. That was why he had stopped on the way up here. He’d wanted to give himself a last hurrah — a chance to party before he was on his own for two months straight. And he had also hoped that his picture would be taken in the bar he’d stopped at. Let his father enjoy that — one last send-off from the son who was too difficult to be kept around. Let him see what he could make of it!
He sat back in his chair, sipping his coffee. His gaze returned to the American woman, who was drinking from a bottle of seltzer water.
Her eyes kept coming back to him too. He wondered whether she had noticed that — whether she realizedhehad noticed it.
“What are you looking at?” he asked her.
If she was affected, she didn’t show it. “I’m looking at the only person who’s wearing sunglasses indoors,” she said. “Are you hiding an injury?”
“You’re so interested in my sunglasses.”
“It’s not that bright in here. I’m just curious. You have to admit, it’s an odd choice.”
Enzo removed his shades, folded them slowly, and placed them on the table. “Are you happy?”
“It does make it easier to get to know a person when you can look him in the eyes.”
“And you’re so interested in getting to know me?”
“Well, I’m going to be working as a member of this team,” she said. “I’m interested in getting to know everyone.”
“I’ll bet you’ve never met a prince before.”
“I can’t say that I have, no.” She cocked her head at him. “Have you ever met an American before?”
“There are a lot more Americans in this world than there are princes,” he told her. “Of course I’ve met a few of them. Did you think I might not have?”
“You never know.”
“I suppose you’d want me to believe that it’s a common occurrence for Americans to be as rude as you are,” he said.
“I don’t think my behavior comes across as rude to most people,” the woman countered. “I asked you about your sunglasses — well, they were odd. I’m not the only one who noticed that. I’m just the only one who said something about it. Meanwhile, you’re expecting people to fetch you coffee — and I doubt you’ve even bothered to remember my name.”
She had him there, little though he liked to admit it. He knew everyone in this room had been introduced to him, but he hadn’t remembered any names. “Jennifer?”
“It’sHailey,” she said.
He held up his hands in mock defense. “Sorry. Hailey from America. I won’t forget again.”
She sighed. “You know what, I’m going to go get a muffin.”
She rose to her feet and went back to the buffet.
Enzo watched her go, aware that everyone else at the table was still watchinghim. “Well,” he said, “she’s something else, isn’t she?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” an eager voice said — obviously, somebody wanted to please Enzo.
It was the sort of treatment he was used to, and yet he found that he wasn’t enjoying it today. He usually liked it when people agreed with him. But there had been something engaging about the way Hailey from America had spoken to him — something he didn’t expect any of the rest of them were going to be capable of replicating.
It had startled him.
Lunch came to an end and they were given the rest of the day to themselves. The woman who was in charge — Enzo heard someone refer to her asIsla, and he filed the name away for future reference — approached him.
“Your Highness,” she said.
“Enzo will be fine.” There wouldn’t be any need for formalities — everyone here knew who he was. If they were reminded of it at every turn, it might start to feel like a joke to them. The better move was to demonstrate that he could be humble and self-effacing — a man of the people.
“Enzo, then,” Isla said. “I know you’re more than familiar with the grounds. Is there something we can do to make you comfortable as you settle in here? Do you need help in your suite?”
