Page 23 of Royally Knocked Up (Princes of Passion #1)

ENZO

“ D o you truly insist on having her here for the coronation?” the king asked.

He was complaining, but Enzo chose to focus on the bright side.

His father had chosen to allow Hailey to remain in the country.

Not only that, he had allowed her to attend the coronation.

He might not be happy about it, but he certainly had the power to send her away from the festivities if that was what he had wanted to do.

He had clearly decided not to do that, and Enzo was grateful.

“She’s the mother of my child, Father,” Enzo said. “She’s important to me.”

“You two are in a relationship now, is that it?”

“We were in a relationship before. It was just that neither of us understood that we had the freedom to make that choice,” Enzo said. “Now we know, and we’re going to protect our bond. So she’s going to attend the coronation.”

“I hope you realize that you’re going to be hounded by reporters all day long,” his father said.

“We do. I’ve spoken with Hailey, and she knows to expect it.

” Enzo said. He hesitated. “I realize that today is meant to be about you, Father, and about your coronation. It’s not my intention to detract focus from that — I know that this will.

But I have to have her here. It’s important to me.

Hailey and I are working on building a life together, and I have to include her in important things. ”

“You’re really going to do this, aren’t you,” his father said. “You’re going to try to make this work with her. No matter what I say.”

“I am,” Enzo said. “It’s not out of any desire to thwart you, Father. It’s just that this is what I need. She’s the mother of my child. They’re my family now.”

“And you do understand that we have the power to make this go away? I don’t want you feeling trapped into something that isn’t truly what you want,” his father said.

“We can set her up in a lovely home anywhere in the world. We can do it in a way that doesn’t tie her to the royal family at all.

We can release the news that the baby wasn’t yours after all.

We can compensate her for any difficulty that brings her.

We can make sure she and the child are both provided for as long as they live. She wouldn’t suffer.”

“You’d really be willing to do that?” Enzo was surprised. “Believing that I’ve been irresponsible, you would still bail me out like that?”

“Enzo, you’re my son,” his father said. “No matter what I may think about your choices, I will always support you.”

“Then I trust you’ll support me when I say that I’m in love with Hailey,” Enzo told his father. “I have no doubts or second thoughts. I don’t want a way out. All I want is her.”

His father nodded. “You sound very sure,” he said. “And I suppose you’re going to make your own decision.”

“I am. I only hope that, in time, you can come to see her the way I do, for the remarkable woman she is.”

His father examined him closely. “What you say is true,” he said.

“I do see a change in you since you returned from Vista Piccola. Something happened to you there. I sent you away from Luria to keep you out of trouble, but it turned you into a different kind of man. And I believe I have her to thank for that.”

“You do,” Enzo said.

“But I want you to know this, too,” his father said. “Whatever happened out there — it wasn’t just her. It was you too, Enzo. She might have inspired you to be different, but you are the one who actually made the changes I see in you. I honor you for that.”

Enzo didn’t know what to say. He had never imagined he would earn his father’s respect.

He nodded, the lump in his throat making it too difficult to form words, and left his father to prepare for the coronation.

“Are you sure it’s all right for us to be here?” Hailey asked. “You don’t need to be with your family?”

Enzo wrapped an arm around her shoulders and smiled. “I am with my family,” he told her. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else on a day as important as this one.”

Hailey’s eyes widened. “If you consider me family…”

“You are family. You’re the mother of my child.”

“Does that make me a part of the royal family?”

“In a sense, yes. But I don’t think you should worry about that today. We have plenty of time to try to figure out how all that is going to work. For now, let’s just worry about facing the press.”

Hailey drew a deep breath. “Don’t let me embarrass you.”

“You could never embarrass me,” he assured her. “I’m so proud of you, Hailey. You look beautiful today.”

She really did, in a periwinkle gown that had been supplied for the occasion by the royal outfitters. She held herself a bit stiffly, and Enzo understood that she wasn’t used to wearing something so fine — but she would adjust. This wouldn’t be the last royal event she would attend.

“Are you ready to face the music?” he asked her.

She shivered slightly. “I shouldn’t be afraid of this,” she said. “It’s not as if I’ve never put on a show for the public before. That was a big part of my job as a private investigator — pretending to be something I’m not in order to make an impression.”

“But today is different,” Enzo said gently. “Today you aren’t pretending at all. Today you’re going to show these people who you are.”

“Are they going to resent me?” she asked. “Suppose they think I’m not good enough for their prince?”

“If anyone thinks that, we’ll convince them,” Enzo said.

“It won’t take long at all before they see in you all the wonderful things I see.

You don’t need to worry, Hailey. The people of Monteverde are going to recognize you for exactly who you are.

Now, let’s get out there so they can finally meet you in person. ”

He held out a hand to her. She hesitated for a moment, then nodded and took it.

He led her out of the palace and onto the steps, where the reporters who hadn’t been allowed into the throne room for the coronation itself were gathered. As soon as they appeared, cameras began to flash and shouts for their attention went up.

Enzo held up both hands for quiet. “We’re going to take a few questions, and then we’re going to go back inside and ask you to turn your attention to the main event of the day — my father’s coronation,” he said.

“We know you’re curious about what’s happening between myself and Ms. Jones, so we’ll offer a few answers for you before the coronation begins. ”

Hands went up.

Enzo glanced at Hailey. “Do you want to call on someone?”

Her cheeks were red. “I think you’d better do it,” she murmured. “It probably doesn’t look good for my first public appearance to be dictating who gets to speak.”

He chuckled. “I don’t think it would be a problem — but I’ll handle it.” He pointed to a woman in the front row.

She stepped forward and gave her name and that of her publication. “Your Highness, is it true that you’re expecting a child with this woman?”

“Her name is Hailey Jones,” Enzo said. “The spelling is in the press packets you’ll receive regarding today’s events, and I expect to see it correct in every publication. If it’s wrong, the journalist responsible will lose their press credentials for the next palace event.”

“Enzo,” Hailey hissed. “It’s not that big a deal!”

“It is,” Enzo murmured to her. “They’re going to get off on the right foot and show you the respect you deserve, Hailey. That isn’t optional.”

He put his arm around her shoulders. “The answer to your question is yes,” he said. “Hailey and I are expecting a child, and we’re very excited about welcoming a little prince or princess to the family.”

“So you won’t be stepping away from royal life?” someone called out, not waiting to be called on.

Enzo raised his eyebrows. “I can’t imagine why I would do that.” He pointed to another reporter.

“Your Highness, will you and Ms. Jones be getting married?”

“Ms. Jones and I will discuss our future in our own time and will release the details to the public when we see fit to do so. For now, for your purposes, she is my partner and the mother of my child, and the two of us couldn’t be any happier with that situation.”

Hands shot up again, but Enzo put a hand on the small of Hailey’s back. “They’ve had enough for now,” he murmured. “Let’s go inside. We don’t want to delay the main event.”

Hailey nodded.

“Give them a wave,” Enzo suggested.

Hailey lifted her hand to the reporters. At once, they burst into loud shouts, calling out her name, vying for her attention, but Enzo steered her away, back into the palace, and shut the door behind them.

He led her out of the main foyer and into the conservatory, which was currently empty — everyone was in the throne room preparing for the coronation.

“Doing all right?” he asked her. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Not so bad, no,” she agreed. “I suppose there will be more of those, though, before this is all over.”

“Oh, lots of them,” he agreed. “But you handled it well, and we don’t have to speak to them again today. Let’s wait and see how the articles come out. We’ll see what they think of us, how our news is reflected — then we’ll be able to adjust our public personas as we see fit.”

She giggled. “I thought you said we were going to just be ourselves.”

“We were ourselves. And we’ll continue to be. That doesn’t mean we don’t edit the way we show ourselves to people.” He grinned and cupped her cheek. “But honestly, I don’t expect much to change. I thought you did great. This country is going to love you as much as I do.”

“You think?”

“Well, no.” He gave her that winning grin that had captured her imagination all those months ago. “I don’t think anyone could love you as much as I do. But they are going to love you. I’m sure of that.”

He pulled her close and kissed her.

She responded eagerly, her mouth crushing against his, her hands wandering over the planes of his back.

Enzo wished desperately that they could have run away from the events of the day, retreated to his home or to the hotel room she was renting while they arranged for her to move in with him, and spent the rest of the day in bed together.

But the coronation was too important to be missed, and besides, Enzo wouldn’t have dreamed of passing it up.

His father had been kind enough to welcome Hailey into their lives, after all, and Enzo wanted to return the kindness by giving his father what he’d have asked of him without making it a struggle between the two of them.

From now on, he was determined to be a son his father would be proud of.

He separated himself from Hailey’s kiss and took her hand. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go see my father get a crown.”

They went into the throne room and moved to their seats at the very front of the room. Enzo put an arm around Hailey’s shoulders as they sat down.

Together, they watched King Edoardo receive his crown.

But Enzo knew that his life was the one that had truly changed.