Chapter 3
It had been three days since Victoria had done more than text Enzo, and he'd sent cursory responses but nothing more since he left.
She knew there was likely a good reason for it that had nothing to do with her specifically, but rather with everything going on in Dellisole.
Between his mum's health and getting ready to take over the day-to-day business of the country and who knew what else, he likely just hadn't had a chance to get back in touch with her.
The knock on the door of her hotel room surprised her, but Victoria looked through the peep hole then opened it. "Cap?"
The family's head of security stood outside the room. He tipped his head toward her. "Good morning, Your Royal Highness. I need you to come with me please."
Victoria nodded and went to put shoes on. Grabbing her purse, she left with Cap.
"You know everything, don't you?" she asked as they entered the elevator.
"Yes, ma'am." He didn't elaborate or pass judgment on her actions, just confirmed his awareness.
"Does anyone else? My brother?" Victoria looked up at him as the door slid closed.
"I haven't told him anything, ma'am. Not since you began your travels." He stared straight ahead.
"Nothing about why I left?" That was something she'd kept very close to the vest. She knew they would disagree with her anyway.
"It's not my place to tell him things he doesn't need to know for the safety and security of the family or country." Cap still didn't look at her, but kept his voice level.
Victoria didn't ask anything else. It only took a couple of minutes to reach the SUV waiting for them. As they traveled through the streets toward the palace, she stared out the window but didn't really see anything as it went past.
Fifteen minutes later, they drove through one of the side the gates of the palace. She didn't want to have this conversation with her brother or her mum or the PR team or anyone else.
It would have been easier if Enzo was with her, but instead she'd be doing it alone. Could they video chat with him so she wasn't completely on her own?
The vehicle came to a stop in the garrison. They wouldn't want her arrival to be publicly visible.
Instead of going to her brother's office, she was shown to her mother's. "Where's Frederick?" She looked around but didn't see him anywhere.
Her mum stood up from behind her desk and greeted her with a hug.
"He's still recovering from his appendectomy.
He does want to see you, but won't be able to today.
He's not even here just now. I'm not sure what the plan is after that, but he likely won't be told about any of this just yet.
We'll be keeping all but the most urgent things off his plate for the next couple of weeks. "
It still stung a little bit that no one had officially informed her of the surgery.
She hadn't known anything except what Enzo told her.
Looking it up online would have given her answers, but she didn't want to get the media-filtered version or even the official statement.
She wanted to hear it directly from her family.
They took a seat near a small table.
"Want to tell me more about this fiancé of yours?
" Her mum picked up her cup of tea. "You didn't say much the other day, but I need to know more now.
Since your brother is unable to be a part of this at the moment, it's up to us to figure out how to release this information the best way. Who is he?"
"His name is Enzo."
"You told me that."
“He's from Dellisole." She stared into her coffee cup like she had done the day before.
"What does he do for a living?"
Something about her tone made Victoria wonder if her mum already knew more than she was letting on. "He's in the family business," she hedged.
"Victoria." The warning note in her voice said her mother wouldn't allow her to get away with it.
With a deep breath, she took a sip of her coffee before speaking. "His name is Vincenzo Gianni Raphael, and he's the next king of Dellisole."
Her mother didn't look surprised at all. Was it because she already knew or because she was that good at schooling her reactions?
"I see. Does his family know?"
"He was supposed to talk to his mum the other day, but we haven’t had time for more than a few quick texts." That bothered her. A lot. "I know there's been a lot going on with his family, so I'm not overly surprised."
A flash of something crossed her mum's face. "Is everything all right with the queen?"
"I'm not sure how the queen is," Victoria replied honestly. "He hasn’t said anything to me about the queen since he left."
"But is there something wrong with the queen's health?" her mum pressed. "I've known her as long as I've known your father. I met them about the same time."
Victoria shook her head. "It's not my place to say anything that’s not public knowledge, Mum. Enzo asked me not to say anything to anyone, and he specifically mentioned talking to my family without official clearance."
"I see."
She thought her mum actually meant it, though she likely wasn't very happy about it.
Victoria didn't quite understand it herself, except that information about anything to do with the monarch's health was very carefully controlled.
Even though they were allies and trading partners, Enzo's family likely didn't want anyone from leadership in another country to know.
"Mum, I love you. I can't tell you anything more right without clearance - now or ever.
" Victoria felt hot tears fill her eyes.
Her mum had to understand the position she would be putting Victoria in if she pressed the issue.
“It would be the same way if the situation was reversed. Please don't ask me to."
Her mum sat silent for a moment or two then gave a slight nod. "Very well."
The conversation moved on to other, much more trivial, matters.
When Victoria returned to the hotel, she thought about texting Enzo again.
She didn't want to come across as clingy or needy as she'd seen some girlfriends be in her years of traveling.
She wasn't just a girlfriend, but their relationship had started after her last purchase of fresh produce.
Her insecurities likely had no basis in reality, but even her status as a "princess" had never given her a solidly positive self-image.
A good counselor could probably go into why that might be, but for the moment Victoria didn't care to delve into that much self-reflection. After checking the clock and doing the time zone math, she decided to risk it though it was later than she would normally text almost anyone.
Immediately, the return text bubbles appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Disappeared.
Appeared.
And finally a text came through.
Enzo
If you’re still awake I’ll call you in a few minutes.
If they knew each other better, Victoria probably would have smirked and sent a text reminding him about those time zones, but instead she just sent a quick confirmation text.
After hitting send, she went into the sitting area, took a spot on the big chair, and waited.
He wasn't ready to be king.
If Enzo had learned anything in the last few days, it was that he didn't see how he could ever be prepared. Certainly not in a few days or even a few weeks, if his mum lived longer than the doctors initially suspected.
Leaning back in his office chair, he knew he wouldn't have a choice. He would be king soon, ready or not.
He needed to call Victoria. He'd planned to text or call her several times in the last few days, but he'd been mentally and emotionally worn out by the time he returned to his suite at night.
When he woke, early, it was still the middle of the night in Southern Santiero. During the day, he was busy nonstop.
Making time would have been a priority, if anyone had known they were a couple. His assistant would have made certain he had time built in to his day, even if only for a short call.
Sitting back up, Enzo picked up his phone and started a video call.
On the second ring, Victoria's face appeared. "Hi. How are you?"
His public smile spread across his face without thinking about it. "It's been a long few days. I'm sorry I haven't been able to get back to you. How are you?"
Her smile didn't reach her eyes. "I'm good. I've spent some time with my mum, but otherwise I've been at the hotel most of the time. I've read some books, watched some movies. I'm supposed to go see Come from Away with my family and a few others at the theater next week."
"What's that?"
"A musical set in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada on 9/11 when planes were grounded there.
They had almost as many people on the planes as they had living in the town.
That's really all I know. I could probably ask my sister-in-law, but I haven't seen her since I visited my brother the day of the wedding. " She stifled a yawn.
"I can let you get some sleep." It was much later where he was, but he had no idea what her schedule had been like.
Just because she'd been at the hotel most of the time didn't mean she kept a regular schedule.
In the time he'd known her, he'd come to know that she did a workout with a bar and resistance bands every day.
It seemed much more strenuous than he would have expected.
She had always seemed ready for a nap or bed every time she finished.
"No. I'm good. Not sure why I'm yawning." She did it again.
Enzo yawned in reply. "Now you've got me doing it."
"Sorry." The look on her face changed to one of mild concern. "Are you getting enough sleep?"
"Nope." The grin returned. "Not as much as I'd prefer anyway, but enough to remain functional."
They talked about a little bit of nothing for a few minutes before a knock on Enzo's office door interrupted them. "Someone is here to see me. I'm sorry to cut this so short."
She smiled. This time it did reach her eyes. "I understand. I'm glad we got to talk for a few minutes at least."
"Me too. I'll try to call you tomorrow." The crooked grin that had earned him comments from every tabloid news outlet became fixed into place. "Sleep well."
"You, too. Be sure to get enough sleep to be well rested and not just enough to remain functional." The look on her face softened. "Please let me know when you're ready for me to come to Dellisole."
"I will." He would appreciate having her here, but he wouldn't ask her to when he wouldn't be able to spend any time with her.
Being in an unfamiliar place where she didn't know anyone wasn't something he would ask her to do.
They said goodbye and he set his phone down before calling out for the person at the door to enter.
As much as he wanted to keep his promise to Victoria and get enough sleep, Enzo knew it wasn't going to happen.
He continued meeting with his aides, advisors, security teams, and anyone else who showed up.
It was well after midnight before he made it back to his quarters.
He did the bare minimum to get ready for bed then collapsed into it.
The covers were turned down before he arrived so he was able to tug his favorite blanket over his bare shoulders and succumb to the call of the sandman.
His alarm went off far more quickly than he would have liked, but such was the life of a crown prince who's mum was dying - and keeping it quiet from the public.
He had a couple of appearances to make in her stead.
The official reason was that the queen found herself a bit under the weather, not that she was dying.
The easy public smile that earned him the reputation of being "always happy" stayed fixed in place.
Enzo loved spending time with the people of his country, especially children like the ones at the event he attended after breakfast. One of the five-year-olds seemed to take a special shine to him, appointing herself his guide through the children's library being reopened after a major renovation.
She showed him the new bookshelves and reading nooks then asked him to read with her in one of them.
Since there wasn't a formal tour involved, he sat in one of the giant bag chairs and the girl clambored up on his lap.
After they shifted a bit and settled in, he opened the book and started to read.
She shushed him and started to read it herself. The words weren't quite right, but the story was. He suspected this was a regular favorite someone had read to her a thousand times before. As they flipped through the illustrated pages, the little girl also pointed out things in the drawings.
Enzo was aware of the eyes on him and the photos being taken. He also knew the comments were about to start - when would he date someone publicly, when would he marry, when would he have a wife who helped fulfill the unspoken but very real directive to give birth to at least two children.
Comments about how he'd be a great father when the time came.
They'd started mentioning it when he was a preteen and was seen playing with his younger siblings.
He did look forward to being a father, but sometimes hated that it would be in the public eye.
He needed to look at how other modern royal parents were handling the public part of their lives while protecting their children at the same time.
Mentally shaking himself, he went back to the book with the little girl.
As they finished, he looked up to see his aide standing next to an entry a few feet away. The look on his face told Enzo that something had happened, though it didn't seem like the worst had occurred. He wasn't yet king.
That was something, though. Whatever it was, Enzo knew he wouldn't like it.