“I can appreciate your wanting to be closer to your family,” Rico said.
“Can I assume you’re not moving to another part of the country? You’re setting up your business in the city?”
“Yes, I bought a building on the Viale, Your Royal Highness, and the renovations are nearly complete.” A spot on the busy boulevard should help with visibility and name recognition.
Stefano paused at the foot of the stairs leading into the palace. Rico stopped beside him. “Rico, I think you should call me Stefano if I am going to be applying for a position at Santori Security.”
Rico worked hard to keep a blank expression. “You want to work for me?” More incredulity than he would have liked came out in his voice.
“I think it would be a good fit. Not only do I have the skills necessary to protect your clients, I also have experience installing and updating security systems. I did just that for a number of government buildings.”
“But after I have worked for the royal family all this time, you, a prince, want to work for me?” Rico couldn’t even imagine it.
Stefano laughed. “My being royal has nothing to do with it. All that’s important is how we fit. Where we can do our best. Don’t you agree?”
Intellectually, it made sense, but his gut told him it would never work. Still, he’d give the prince the benefit of the doubt. “I can’t argue with that. I’d be honored to have you join our team.”
“Honestly, you’ve taken a load off my mind,” Stefano told him. “I’ve wanted to come home, to be closer to family, but had no idea what to do with my time. Vittorio’s the only one of us, I think, who had a clear vision for his future.”
Rico knew that it had taken a while for the Crown Prince to be able to embrace a future in which he had no choice. And then Rico remembered his conversations with Angelina in Tuscora. How her uncertainty for her future mirrored Stefano’s. He hoped she’d soon find a place where she fit. Where she could be her best. And before long she’d find the right man to fall in love with.
His chest clenched, but the princess was no longer his problem. He shook hands with Stefano and said he’d look forward to seeing him when he returned. Then Rico headed in to find Tony.
Rico hadn’t felt sorry for pulling Phillip, Duke of Larkin, out of bed in the middle of the night. The thought of that conceited royal with the entitled attitude putting his hands on Angelina made his hands ache from clenching them into fists for so long. What he wouldn’t have given to smack that smug grin off his face. The only reason he didn’t was that he’d been afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop once he started.
Now Rico stood with Tony and Vittorio in the prince’s office after the duke had been unceremoniously escorted to the airport by two of their men. The prince poured them each a splash of brandy.
“Well, that’s over with,” Vittorio said with a grimace. “He’ll never set foot in Mezzano again.”
“He still didn’t confess,” Rico reminded him, looking at the prince over the rim of his glass.
“He might as well have,” Vittorio replied. “If this was a hundred years ago, I would have ordered the bastard to be executed. The thought that he’d touched my sister…”
“He never confessed,” Rico repeated slowly.
“That’s why all we could do was kick him out of Mezzano.” Tony sounded as disgusted as Rico felt. It figured royalty would protect their own. Without irrefutable proof, royalty from any country could only be banished from Mezzano.
“I’m not convinced he did it,” Rico admitted. He desperately wanted to believe it, but something didn’t feel right about the whole thing.
“Of course, he did it,” Vittorio said. “The cocky bastard might not have admitted to anything, but he hinted he might have done much more while in our country.”
“I agree he’s guilty of many things,” Rico replied, “but I’m not certain attempting to kidnap the princess was one of them.”
“Relax,” Vittorio said. “You protected my sister, the bastard has left the country, and now you can leave the palace.” His friend’s voice had an edge to it. He raised his glass to Rico. “As you desire.”
Rico wasn’t going to rise to the bait. “I still don’t like it, Your Highness. Don’t let down your guard yet. I beg you.” He’d never forgive himself if something happened to Angelina after he left the palace security team.
“You’re serious?” Vittorio set his glass down on the desk.
“I think Rico’s right, Your Highness,” Tony said carefully. “The duke was slime but he might not be guilty of this crime. We should continue to investigate and keep security on high alert.”
“For how long?” Vittorio asked.
“Until we know for certain,” Tony replied. “This is the princess’s life we’re talking about.”
“I know that,” Vittorio said. “But I’m not looking forward to telling my headstrong sister that after coming back from seclusion, she’ll be restricted to the palace for the foreseeable future anyway.”
Rico knew it was for the best, but after Angelina had told him how much she appreciated her freedom of movement in Tuscora, he regretted it was necessary in her own home.
Vittorio turned to Rico and held out his hand. “Thank you, my friend. I wish you good luck in the future. I hope we’ll still see each other from time to time.”
If Rico needed a reminder that the princess was no longer his responsibility, this was a big one. He grasped the prince’s hand and then Tony’s. Then without another word, Rico turned and walked out of the prince’s office for the last time.
Chapter Thirteen
Rico was gone the next morning. Angelina never had a chance to see him again after she gave him back his ring. It was probably for the best.
She talked to Enzo and Donato on the phone first thing that morning and was pleased to hear they both sounded better than she thought they would. They seemed to be as concerned about her as she was about them, but she assured them that she was fine and they needed to rest and recuperate. Her father refused to let her leave the palace until they could be certain there was no other threat, not even to go to the hospital to check on her bodyguards. She might as well have stayed in Tuscora.
Now that Rico was gone—oh God, Rico was gone—Tony had taken his position as head of the palace security team. She’d been assigned Carmine, a new member of the palace guard, for her personal bodyguard until Enzo was able to return to work. He was going to have an easy job of it because she was stuck here.
She missed Rosa and Giuseppe and Maria and Gina. Missed the close-knit Tuscora community. Missed the freedom she’d had there to simply be herself. She couldn’t go down to a corner bar and drink with the locals now. She couldn’t even get there on her own. Nothing was within walking distance from the palace. Even if she was allowed to leave the palace, she’d have to take a car. And that meant a driver. And a bodyguard.
Most of all she missed Rico. She’s been able to be herself with him. She’d had such a good time sitting in the bar in Tuscora with him. She drank and laughed with the locals, and she hadn’t felt like a princess. Hadn’t felt like one of his jobs.
She missed his scent and his laughter and the conversations they’d had. Missed his kisses and his touches and the sex they’d had. She realized with a start that he never did bend her over the dining table as she’d been looking forward to. Tears prickled her eyes as she thought of all the things she’d been looking forward to with Rico.
That afternoon, she paced her suite, restless and anxious and, yes, heartbroken. She had to stop thinking about him. He didn’t want her. Didn’t love her. Would never love her. He’d made that abundantly clear. It was up to her to make her own happiness. To decide how she wanted to carry on for the rest of her days.
Her time in Tuscora had left her wanting more than the life she’d been living. But how did she want to spend her time? There were only so many speeches she could give. Only so many volunteer hours she could give to the needy. She didn’t begru
dge any of the time she spent working for various charities, but she had still been acting as the proper princess, simply the representative of the royal family.
There was nothing she did for Angelina.
In an effort to push Rico and her uncertain future out of her mind, Angelina turned on the television and watched tear-jerkers all afternoon. Mia came to see her just after the third tragic movie began. She rushed over to Angelina, who was curled up on the sofa with a box of tissues in her lap. “Are you crying? What’s wrong?”
“Sad movie,” Angelina said with a sniff. She could never admit to anyone here that she’d fallen in love with her bodyguard. That she’d begged him to have sex with her. That he didn’t want her now.
“Well, it’s time to get you out of here,” Mia said gently. “Come and have dinner with Vittorio and me.”
Angelina grasped her stomach. “I’m not really very hungry.”
“I insist.” Mia threaded her arm through Angelina’s and drew her to her feet. “And you can tell us what you did in Tuscora.”
Rico had been looking forward to some quiet time once he left the palace. Instead of often working around the clock, he could now have some down time. But he realized that while he’d enjoyed that time in Tuscora with Angelina, now he just felt alone.
A week after he left the palace, Rico stood in the middle of the living room of his barely furnished apartment and wondered what he’d been thinking. He had no down time. He should have paid someone to come in and fill the space with furniture and to unpack and put away all his things. He was already tired of living out of boxes. Plus he kept discovering missing necessities he could only ignore for so long.
In addition to getting his business on the first floor set up, he had to unpack all these boxes and start a shopping list because he hadn’t thought about the fact that he’d need more than one set of sheets for the king-sized bed, or more than a couple towels for the bathroom. And he had to make time to buy groceries to fill the state-of-the-art refrigerator so he didn’t starve to death.
He may have had to march to the royal drum when he lived in the palace, but all those little things had been taken care of without any thought on his part. Now he might be able to follow his own beat, but he realized he’d probably stumble around for a while until he set a rhythm with which he could live.
It still bothered Rico that Phillip didn’t confess. The arrogant bastard probably never would. At least he was out of the country now and Angelina didn’t have to worry about him harassing her any longer. But who was involved with the attempt to kidnap the princess if it wasn’t the Duke of Larkin? Even though he was no longer working with the palace guard, Rico couldn’t let it go.
He picked up his phone and called Angelina. He didn’t bother with pleasantries when she answered. “How many other guys did you block?”
“Rico? What?” Her voice sounded soft and hazy, as if he had gotten her out of bed. A quick glance at the clock told him he probably had.
“I’m sorry to call so late, Your Highness. I wondered how many other guys there were whose calls you blocked. If there were any other men who might have tried to get your attention because they couldn’t talk to you.”
Her annoyed huff was no longer soft. “I gave all that information to Tony. He’s looking into it. You don’t work here anymore, remember?”
She hung up and Rico sank down onto the bare mattress of his new king-sized bed. No, he didn’t work for the royal family anymore, but it didn’t matter. He couldn’t stop thinking about the princess.
It didn’t seem to matter that they weren’t in Tuscora anymore. The memories had followed him home. It made no difference that he hadn’t seen her in over a week. He could still remember the softness of her skin. The sharpness of her scent. The pain in her eyes and the understated anger in her royal voice.
Prince Stefano had surprised him when he asked to come work for him. Rico would be glad to have the experienced prince on his team, but he couldn’t see it working for long. How could a prince take orders from a man he used to give orders to?
The prince would be back in a few days and Rico had nearly finished hiring enough people to get a good start. They would necessarily start small and expand as their reputation grew. Rico had no doubt it would happen quickly. Soon he would be working nearly around the clock again.
Apparently, that was the way he liked it.
“I have to get out of here,” Angelina cried as she paced the length of Vittorio’s office, but her brother just shook his head. “I’m going crazy,” she went on. “I’m getting claustrophobic. I want to go. Somewhere. Anywhere.”
“You know it’s for your safety.” He paused and nailed her with that big-brother gaze. “And the safety of your bodyguards.”
“No fair,” she grumbled. Enzo and Donato were both out of the hospital and recuperating with family. Of course, she didn’t want to put Carmine or any of the other guards in danger. “Phillip has been gone for a month. How much longer do I have to wait before I can get a breath of fresh air?”
Vittorio crossed to the window and threw it open. “We want to be absolutely certain you’re not in any danger before we relax our restrictions.”
If she had wings, she’d be out that window and far away in a flash. “That could be for the next fifty years. Come on. No one can ever be sure. I might as well be a prisoner here.”
“You’re being melodramatic.”
“And so are you.” Hundreds of rooms and acres of grounds and all Angelina could think about was getting away. Maybe even going back to Tuscora. She’d started hanging out online with Gina, one of her biggest inspirations. When her future didn’t turn out the way she’d imagined it, she’d grabbed a chance to build another future that had brought her happiness.
Angelina had first looked up the website Gina had told her Marco set up. Then it was simply a matter of responding on the contact page. Now they instant messaged a couple times a day.
She’d felt free while she was in Tuscora, and that made being confined to the palace now even worse. And the knowledge that Rico was so close, but so out of reach made her even crazier. And now Stefano was working with Rico. Every day she had to resist the urge to ask her brother how Rico was doing.
She thought of him every day. She woke up with the memory of his arms around her. Saw his smile as she ate breakfast. Tasted his kiss in every glass of wine. Cried herself to sleep in her lonely bed every night.
She was tired of being melancholy. Mia had asked her if she’d like to help plan her wedding to Vittorio, and Angelina was ready to jump into the plans with both feet. Vittorio was the Crown Prince. Their wedding ceremony would be the kind of international spectacle Angelina used to think she wanted for herself, so she had plenty of ideas. Designers. Florists. Colors and textures and guest lists.
It would be a good distraction from her heartbreak and perhaps by the time the wedding came around, she would have forgotten all about her former bodyguard.
Why did he think he could handle the business side of his business? Rico groaned and pushed away from his desk, rubbing his tired eyes. He’d spent all morning wrestling with a new payroll software. This one was supposed to be more user friendly than the first program he’d tried to use, even though that program had come highly recommended as well. How was he supposed to know it was a piece of shit until he had to use it?
The billing system he finally got set up was working, but using it took more time than he’d originally anticipated. And an hour ago, a potential client had stopped in and complained that he couldn’t find a website for Santori Security. A website was on the list…somewhere near the bottom. Maybe he needed to move it up a little higher.
He could take care of scheduling appointments, but that meant he had to be available to speak to the potential clients. He wanted to be the one assigning manpower and until he could completely trust the other members of the team, he insisted on assessing each new client and their needs personally as well. If he was lucky, he’d get t
o work some jobs himself once things settled down into a routine. But just like the pesky details of setting up his apartment, Rico quickly lost patience for the housekeeping details of the business. He was chafing to get back out in the field.
He was going to have to give up control of some of these details. And that meant he would have to hire somebody. Soon.
Amazingly, Stefano was working out well. He was just one of the guys. He worked well with other members of the team and his expertise was an asset to the company. Rico’s only problem was that he was reminded of Angelina whenever he saw her brother. He couldn’t help but wonder if she’d found another man to take her out on a dinner date. If she’d found a way to spend her time that made her happy.
Every day he had to stop himself from asking Stefano how she was. Every day he had to push away the memory of her smile and the sound of her laughter. The way her sweet lips had tasted and how soft her skin was. How vulnerable she’d looked when she’d handed him back his ring.
Rico turned back to the computer. Every task took longer than he thought it would. He had to figure out this program before the end of the month. Which was the end of the week. Why couldn’t these things just do what they were supposed to do? Learning curve was his least favorite phrase.
And now he’d had a call from his Tia that just threw a monkey wrench into all his carefully scheduled time for the rest of the week.
Angelina was at her desk having a great time researching wedding dress designers and scheduling appointments for Mia to talk with them, when she was surprised by a request to see Beatrice Santori. Angelina hadn’t been down to the kitchen in years and as she made her way down through the familiar halls, she wondered what Rico’s mother wanted to talk about.
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