Page 35 of Royally Knocked Up
Every night, when she climbed into his bed, she was able to forget about those worries for a few hours. She was able to focus on the pleasure of everything that was going on between the two of them. But during the day, she could only give half her attention to the enjoyment of daydreaming about him. The other half was taken up with worries about what would happen when his father found out — a thing that sometimes seemed as if it might be inevitable.
“Who is the letter from?” she asked Isla.
“I don’t know,” Isla said. “I don’t go through my employees’ mail.” She raised her eyebrows. “Go and see for yourself. I can handle the tablecloths.”
So Hailey abandoned what she had been doing and made her way up to the reception desk. The receptionist was waiting for her. She was on the phone, but she made brief eye contact with Hailey and pointed to an envelope on the desk. Hailey picked it up and took it over to one of the armchairs in the lobby to read it.
She knew at once that this was something serious. The envelope was heavy and cream-colored, and when she turned it over, she saw that it had been affixed with a wax seal. The image was one she had seen in the throne room at the palace when she was there.
Her heart pounded madly.The king. He knows.
She didn’t know how hecouldknow. She and Enzo had been careful. There had been no public displays of affection. They tried not to even flirt in places where other people might see them. They hadn’t done much more than make eye contact with one another, grinning at each other across their daily work. Apart from that one day in Vista Grande, she wasn’t sure when they could have been seen together.
And yet… here was a letter that she was sure must have come from the palace.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she opened it, and she shook her head vigorously. What was she so afraid of?
I’m afraid he’s going to take me off the job and I won’t be able to see Enzo anymore.
If she was pulled from the job, there would be nothing to stop her from being with Enzo. There would be no reason she couldn’t just dedicate herself fully to time spent with him. For a moment, she allowed herself to dream about that — going to him, telling him that they didn’t need to worry about keeping things secret anymore…
Except that he had never been keeping things secret because of her assignment. He had never known about her assignment. And when he found out, she was sure that he would push her away.
She sighed and opened the letter. No sense in putting this off.
Ms. Jones, the letter began, with no attempt at friendliness.The time for the king’s coronation is fast approaching, and he has determined that his son ought to be brought home now to take part in coronation events. Of course, you will still be needed to continue in your capacity as his supervisor once he returns to Luria.
Hailey frowned. She hadn’t realized that she would be expected to return to Luria with Enzo. Still, the idea of going back to the capital with him was far preferable to the idea of having to say their farewells here and now, even though she didn’t know when she might be able to spend any time with him once they got back.
She read on —
King Edoardo will be reaching out to his son to let him know that it’s time to return home, and you are expected to come along with him. How you arrange this is up to you, of course, since His Highness cannot be made aware that you have been shadowing him, and the king will not be informing him of that. Do what you need to do to ensure that you are able to travel with His Highness in three days’ time when he returns to Luria. Accommodations will be arranged for you in the city.
His Highness looks forward to seeing you again.
Best regards,
Hailey wasn’t able to make out the name that had been signed at the bottom of the letter.
She turned it over, hoping that perhaps there might be more — something to help explain how she was meant to achieve thistask. But there was nothing. She was going to have to figure it out for herself.
She glanced at the open fireplace in front of her. There were several fires around the room, meant to establish ambience here in the ski lodge. She looked around furtively. No one was watching her.
She leaned forward and put the letter in the fire, watching as the flames consumed it. She couldn’t risk the possibility that Enzo might discover it. If he did, it would ruin everything.
Then she got to her feet.
She had to find him. She had three days to convince him that he should take her back to Luria with him. She had three days to make him believe that there was nothing strange or suspicious about her desire to leave behind everything that she was doing here and go along with him.
She didn’t know how she was going to accomplish that. She only knew that it had to be done.
“Your father is making you return home?” she asked Enzo that evening as she poured the wine that had become a part of their regular evening ritual.
He nodded. He was staring moodily out the window. “I wish I could just tell him no,” he said. “But this is where it begins. Even if I wanted to take the opportunity to resist my father’s mandates, he’s right. I do need to be there for the coronation. It’s the right thing to do.”
“I respect that,” Hailey said softly. “And I think you’re right to go. It makes a good impression on the rest of the country. It shows them who you are and who your family is, and they need to see that as your father assumes the throne.”
“So you’re on his side?”
