Page 57 of Royal Icing
Leo shook his head. “It’s a philanthropy project that the community needs. It’ll create some jobs, but it’s not about making money.”
Henri pressed the tips of his fingers together and leaned back in his chair. “Okay, well. Then you’ll need to appeal to their egos. Name one of the buildings after the queen, erect a statue, stage numerous groundbreaking and building and ribbon-cutting ceremonies. Lots of photo ops and positive press. That’s the only way you’ll pull it off.”
Leo frowned. “I was afraid of that. Thanks for your time, Henri.”
“Why don’t you run for office?” Henri asked as Leo stood.
“What?” He paused mid-handshake.
“I’ve worked with you for a long time now. You have more than birthright. You’re young, passionate, you have great ideas.”
Leo shook his head. “I appreciate it, but I don’t want to spend all my time arguing over semantics and getting tangled up in red tape. No offense.”
Henri nodded. “None taken. Still, I’d consider it. You’ve got great potential.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you at the next town hall?”
“I’ll be there.”
Henri bowed, and Leo left.
Running for office. Ha. What, so he could propose changes and have them struck down and never get anywhere, never affect or change anything? No. Parliament wasn’t the place for him. At least no one told him what he could or couldn’t do as a prince. His hands would be totally bound in parliament—if he was even allowed to run.
His thoughts turned to Emma, and worry crept in. Had the doctor cleared her? Falling through the ice was no small thing. She seemed much improved this morning, but she could have drowned or succumbed to hypothermia in his own backyard.
Somehow, the baker from Brooklyn had become very important to him. And now his own mother had forbidden him from spending time with her. Ordinarily he couldn’t care less about what his mother insisted on. But this time was different. He couldn’t jeopardize Emma’s dreams. Or his own.
But he also couldn’t cut her off. Something about her called to him. It wasn’t that she was a damsel in distress—despite the lake incident, she was fiercely smart and capable. She’d faced more hardship than he ever had in his life, and she did it with grace and dignity.
Maybe if he explained the circumstances, she would be willing to meet in secret. Waking up with her this morning had felt so incredibly right. He needed to taste her again, feel thequickening tick of her pulse beneath his palm. He also needed to change his train of thought before he spent the rest of the day kick-sledding around town with a raging erection.
The plows were out, the sun was shining. All the buildings in town still had power, and the shelter was well-stocked with volunteers and goods. He debated for a moment, then swung into a local electronics store.
Minutes later, a new phone for Emma was nestled in his pocket. Being unable to call her mom had almost sent her into a full-blown panic attack. She needed it. It was the least he could do. No one needed to know it had come from him.
And then there was the other package. It was foolish, impulsive, over-the-top. But he didn’t care.
As he pushed his way through the castle gates, he subconsciously came to a stop outside the gatehouse. He really should check on her. Just to make sure she was doing okay.
He stowed his kick-sled behind a shrub and inspected the courtyard for prying eyes, but everything was quiet. With one last glance behind him, he darted up the steps and knocked on her door.
CHAPTER TWENTY
EMMA
Emma frozewith one hand on the door. She had just showered, the oven was pre-heating for a test batch of macarons, and her hair was hanging all over like she had just climbed out of another frozen lake. To make matters worse, she was wearing her comfiest pair of sweatpants and an old I Heart NY T-shirt. Why did he always catch her looking like she had just fallen on the tracks of the G train?
“Leo! Oh, uh, I mean?—”
“Don’t you dare start with the ‘Your Highness’ bullshit,” Leo chastised her.
He stood on her doorstep with a smile, and her heart did a full somersault. She needed to have a conversation with him, but she wasn’t ready.
Her interaction with the queen this morning had proven one thing—Her Majesty did not like Emma, or at least did not like her spending time with Leo. And that was a problem, because she was in charge of the royal checkbook. If Emma kept getting caught with Leo, she risked getting fired. And that wasn’t worth the risk—no matter how devastatingly handsome and kind and fascinating he was.
“Come in.” She needed to get him out of the doorway before someone saw him and reported back to the queen.
Leo crossed the threshold, toeing his boots off when Cooper thundered over to put his paws on his chest. He gave him a pat on the head until the dog dropped to the floor.
