Page 32 of Royally Knocked Up
She took a deep breath — and once more, she pulled away from him.
He wasn’t imagining things. He knew it for certain now. He wasn’t indulging in wishful thinking. Shedidfeel something for him. She was trying to resist it. That was what was happening here — she was holding herself back from what she felt for him, trying not to give in.
Was she the smart one of the two of them? Was she making the responsible choice here? Enzo knew that he wasn’t exactly known for responsible choices. No one would ever have pegged him as someone who did the sensible thing.
Then again, the sensible thing wasn’t always therightthing.
But Hailey was shaking her head. “We came here to celebrate,” she reminded him. “We came here to enjoy ourselves and toast the fact that our event went so well. That’s all we’re here for, and that’s all we’re going to do.”
“Hailey.”
She reached for the champagne, a gesture that put a lot of space between their bodies, and topped off her glass even though it was still almost full.
He was filled with a sudden certainty.She’s fighting this.
She was fighting every bit as hard as he had fought.
But as of tonight, Enzo Mancini was done fighting. He was done pretending to be someone he wasn’t.
The partying, the drinking, the wild living — he could leave all that behind. But he would always be a man who went for the things he wanted, and right now, what he wanted most of all was this beautiful, charismatic woman who was sitting three feet too far away from him.
CHAPTER 13
HAILEY
All night long, Hailey felt as if she was trembling. She was sure Enzo must be able to see it. It was something like fear, what she was feeling — except that it wasn’t fear at all, because if it had been, her body would have been closing down, tightening up, drawing away. Instead, every time she stopped paying attention, she found herself growing warm, listing toward Enzo, unfolding for him.
It was as if she had just completed a strenuous workout. Her muscles had been pushed to the brink, that was what it felt like. Trying to do anything now was more than she could manage.
Every time Enzo touched her — and he seemed so determined to go on touching her — it felt as if she might shatter. His fingers against her cheek sent electricity through her that made it impossible to move away from him.
He was amark, for God’s sake. Shecouldn’tbe doing this. She had to get herself under control.
As midnight approached, Enzo paid the bill and the two of them stood up to leave the club. He placed his hand low on her back ina way that was protective, but also a bit possessive. Hailey found herself struggling to breathe.
It was lucky that they had decided to take a taxi instead of Hailey’s car, because she didn’t think she could have kept a clear head to drive them back to the resort, and the alcohol had nothing to do with that fact. She and Enzo sat in the backseat together. His hand came to rest on her bare knee, then gradually moved to her thigh, and this time, Hailey did not pull away from him.
In the dark of the taxi, in the light of the moon, it almost felt as though these things didn’t count. It was as if a cloak had been drawn over the two of them, shielding them from all the reasons why they shouldn’t be getting close to one another.
As she had that thought, it was like a weight had been lifted from Hailey’s shoulders.
Maybe it was the rationalization she had just come up with. Maybe it was the alcohol. She didn’t know, and she wasn’t sure she ever would know.
But somehow, in that moment, she gave herself permission to stop holding back, and she leaned into Enzo’s body.
He must have felt the difference in her, because he looked down at her, eyes widening slightly as he took her in — and then his arm wrapped around her shoulders.
She thought —he’s going to kiss me now— and for the first time since all this had begun, she felt no urge at all to put a stop to it. She felt no warning desire to pull away. When he kissed her, she would kiss him back, and let the chips fall where they may.
But he didn’t kiss her.
Not then.
He just went on looking at her.
No one had ever looked at her like that before, Hailey thought. There was something intensely intimate about it. She had never been looked at as if someone could see right to the core of her. She felt as if she was already naked, and there was no chance this night was going to end any other way. The moment she had relaxed into him, something had shifted between them. They had boarded a train together, and there was no getting off.
The taxi pulled up in front of the resort. They got out, and Hailey felt pathetically grateful for the fact that they lived in an age when a person paid for rides with a credit card, so there would be no messy handling of cash and waiting for change. They could just get out and go.
