Once Upon a Billionaire(68)
He sighed. “I don’t see how it can possibly be full. The wedding is in two days and I swear I’ve visited every dignitary, museum, and charity group in all of Bellissime at this point.”
She laughed and gave him a saucy look. “I didn’t make your schedule, Griff. I just manage it.”
True. He could blame Kip for that.
They put the emeralds back in their velvet box, stopped downstairs to lock them up in a secure safe in the manager’s office, and then continued on to breakfast. They’d barely sat down before Maylee opened the computer and began to type, a look of concentration on her face. “We should ask the kitchen for a couple of sandwiches before we go,” she told him absently. “It’s going to be one of those days.”
He crossed his arms as a waiter put a cup of coffee in front of him, frowning. Damn it. The last thing he wanted was “one of those days.” He wanted a day of relaxation. A day of spending time with Maylee and seeing that beaming smile of hers again. He wanted to see her face light up like it had when she’d bought those ugly, ridiculous souvenirs. He most certainly did not want to spend it listening to a charity or three describing how his money would be best spent by them.
Griffin looked over at Maylee. There were hints of smudges under her eyes. She looked tired, and it wasn’t just from last night. He suspected his grueling schedule would exhaust anyone. He knew he was certainly tired of it. He drummed his fingers on the table, thinking. “Have you had a chance to see much of Bellissime, Maylee?”
She was reading emails and her lips moved, as if she were committing the information to memory. He had to repeat the question again before she looked over at him. “What? Oh, no. We’ve been much too busy for that.”
Even as she spoke, she put her hands on the keyboard and began to type again. Then, she pulled out that ridiculous Post-it stack and began to make notes. He constantly found them stuck in the back of the sedan. He’d even found one stuck to the bottom of a shoe once. Just like him, she was running herself ragged.
And for one day, he’d had enough. He thought of her excitement at the paltry souvenir stand they’d visited. How would she react when he showed her Bellissime by the light of day instead of a quick walk at night?
Griffin picked up his coffee cup. “I think I shall be sick today.”
It took a moment for Maylee to stop typing, and when she did, she looked over at him. “Huh?”
“I’m sick,” he enunciated, and took a sip of coffee. “Cancel my appointments.”
“Oh, but . . .” She looked at the computer, then back at him, frowning. “What about—”
“It’s either appointments with my mother, other titled people who want a visit from a royal, or people who want money. Tell the charities that they can send me a bill and I’ll give them what they want. Tell everyone else to sod off.”
She chuckled. “Shall I write it just like that? Lord Montagne Verdi wishes for you to sod off.”
“You can word it much nicer, of course. And then we’re going to go sight-seeing.”
Her eyes lit up, which was all that he needed to know he’d made the right decision.
***
After breakfast, they retreated back to their rooms to change. Griffin figured that if they didn’t want to be followed, they’d need disguises. Maylee had picked up a few touristy shirts and baseball caps for family back at home, and so they’d separated to change into jeans and the ugly silkscreened T-shirts. Griffin shoved a baseball cap over his head and frowned at his reflection. “Appalling.”
Of course, when Maylee returned a few minutes later, baseball cap over her curls and a tight T-shirt and jeans outlining her curves, he had to change his mind on their choice of clothing. Her delectable ass filled out her jeans remarkably well.
This, he decided, was a good plan.
“I brought you some sunglasses, too,” she told him, and produced a pair of plastic monstrosities with the lenses printed with the Bellissime flag.
“I have prescription glasses.”
“Yes, and everyone recognizes you in them. Can you see good without them?”
“Can you see well,” he corrected.
“I can see just fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”
He sighed. “Never mind. I can see without them, yes.”
“Then put them on. It’s all part of your disguise.”
He did, and turned to give her an unhappy glare.
She choked on a laugh at the sight of him. “Very nice,” Maylee told him, unable to keep a straight face.
“The first place we are going is a sunglasses store,” he admonished her, trying to scowl and unable to in the presence of her happiness.