Page 57 of Royally Knocked Up
Honestly, he didn’t know. Maybe it was best that she was gone. Maybe it was best that he didn’t have the option to go and find her. He shouldn’t go after her. That would be a mistake.
He tore open the envelope and read the letter.
As he did, his eyes grew wide, and his heart began to sink.
Every word was a punch to the gut.
She couldn’t have written with this kind of sincerity if she hadn’t meant it. She couldn’t have penned these words if they hadn’t been true.
And why would she have tried? Knowing that she was being forced to leave the country, knowing that things were over between the two of them… if she had used this letter to beg him to return to her, he might not have trusted it, but that wasn’t what she’d done. She just wanted him toknow, she insisted. She just wanted him to understand that she’d never wanted to hurt him, and that her feelings had always been sincere.
And he believed her.
It killed him to admit it, but he believed her — and now it was too late.
He put the letter down slowly, staring forward out the windshield of the car.
“Your Highness?” Romano said gently.
“She’s gone,” Enzo said, feeling hollow. “I’m too late. If I hadn’t gone out and gotten drunk last night, maybe I could have caught her before she left — but she’s gone.”
Romano turned. “She isn’t gone.”
“What?”
“I just dropped her off at the airport about half an hour ago,” he said.
The pounding of Enzo’s heart made him nearly dizzy. “She’s still in the country?”
“I believe so. It’s unlikely she could have gotten through customs that fast, let alone onto a plane.”
“Romano — you have to take me to the airport. Right now.”
Twenty minutes later, escorted by members of airport security, Enzo found himself walking past the customs line to Gate F1, where the plane to Baltimore was waiting to board.
He rarely felt thankful for his status as a member of the royal family, but right now he couldn’t imagine having ever been more grateful for something in all his life. A civilian would not have been able to do what he was doing right now — bypass security and walk to the gate without a ticket. It was only the fact that he had been recognized as the prince that was allowing him to do this. Anyone else, he knew, would have lost Hailey here.
He still had a chance.
And when he reached the gate, he saw that his determination was going to pay off. She was sitting in one of the uncomfortable airport chairs, a magazine open in her lap. A quick glance told him it was the same one his father had had — she was reading the article about herself. His stomach dropped. He wanted to yank the magazine out of her hands — it had been the source of all the trouble.
No. I’m the source of all the trouble.
His father shouldn’t have sent Hailey away — but more to the point, Enzo should have stopped him. He should have intervened. He should have told Hailey right away that he wanted her to stay, that he wanted to hear her side of the story. He should have put his faith in her.
No wonder she didn’t tell me the truth about herself and what she was doing here in the first place. She didn’t trust me with it — and as it turns out, she was right not to.
Nothing had ever made him feel so ashamed — but there was still time to set it right.
He crossed the concourse and took the seat beside her. “Hailey.”
She looked up. Her eyes widened as they met his. “Enzo?”
“Can we talk?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t just let you leave.” He drew a deep breath. “Romano gave me your letter.”
