Page 70 of Royal Icing
She nodded.
“Uh, next on the agenda,” Leo said loudly, “the community kitchen needs a temporary sous chef for six weeks starting in February while Colette is on medical leave. Emergency funding was approved, so the short-term position will be compensated. Please spread the word.”
A couple of the attendees whispered to each other and took an extra look before turning their attention back to Leo. Emma slid into the last row. Her heart was still pounding, and she wasn’t sure if it was from making a damn fool of herself or from that snapshot of Leo that would live in her brain forever. Concern melding into joy, relief.
She tried to focus on what he was saying. He looked so at ease at the front of the room, listening attentively as citizens described struggles facing the kingdom.
The fire company needed to raise money for repairs to one of their engines. Parliament was threatening to take away the free lunch program at elementary schools in the kingdom. And then there were a handful of smaller concerns.
“Yes, Mrs. DuPont. I will personally check on the feral kittens on Alpine Street,” he said to an old woman wearing what looked to be six layers of clothing despite the fact that it must have been eighty degrees in the room.
His list grew longer by the minute, but he never looked stressed. He was calm, interested, and invested. Royal, even. It was fascinating to watch him work. He truly just wanted to help the kingdom. What a lasting legacy he was going to leave, even though he had no interest in his title.
His project was going to have such a profound, lasting impact on this community. Women and children would be safe, cared for. The library would educate the local children, while the garden would teach them about agriculture. It was amazing. A real impact that directly helped people. Much more impactful than making fancy desserts for rich assholes.
A burst of realization was unfurling deep inside her. She wanted to see all of Leo’s expressions. Gratitude, annoyance, joy, pride. Whatever he looked like when she put a plate of freshly baked cinnamon rolls in front of him on an arctic February morning.
An image popped into her mind of Leo in a simple gray suit at the end of an aisle dotted with wildflowers grown by her mother. Cooper sat at his side, panting happily with a ring box strapped to his collar. The community garden bloomed in the background, sunlight glancing off the new library. A cozy reception in the town square with every villager.
What the fuck?
She sat back in her chair as if it could put some distance between her and the intrusive scene. Why the hell was she fantasizing about marrying Leo? She had never even considered the possibility of marriage before. The only example she had was that of her own parents, which had ended catastrophically. Her mom had never dated much after the divorce. The only successful relationship she’d witnessed was Lola and her husband, Mateo.
Now those two were meant to be. The universe had put them in the same English class at the same university at the sametime. No complications, just an instantaneous spark across a crowded room. That’s how it was meant to be. Not whatever tangled mess this was.
There was only one solution. She needed to shut this down now before she got hurt. Or fired. They needed the money more than she needed a boyfriend.
The meeting adjourned, and Emma fidgeted with the strap of her purse. She needed to turn off the tiny horny romantic running the controls behind her brain and apologize. Even though the two of them weren’t meant to be, she still wanted to be on good terms with him.
Villagers filtered out, some of them nodding at Emma on their way. Eventually it was just her and Leo.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hey. Um, I wanted to apologize for last night.”
He shook his head. “You have nothing to apologize for. It was my fault. I was so consumed with need that I didn’t stop to think.” He reached forward like he was going to take her hand, then stopped. “I’m sorry.”
She reached over and took his hand, even though she knew she shouldn’t. “You couldn’t have known because I didn’t tell you specifics. I haven’t dated in a long time, so I’m not used to…explaining myself. Especially this early on.”
He squeezed her hand and stared straight into her eyes. “I will never do that to you again.”
She hesitated. His words suggested a promise that didn’t apply. Their story would careen to an end in seventy-two hours. Before she knew it, she’d be back to her everyday normal of working all day, then helping her mother to the toilet and cooking and cleaning all night. This entanglement of theirs—whatever it was—was going to be a mere blip on his radar, maybe a moment he looked back on fondly on his deathbedwhen he was married to a Queen-Eleanor-approved aristocrat and surrounded by a gaggle of grandchildren.
She bit her tongue. Why was this so hard to say? “This isn’t going to work, Leo. We’re from different worlds, and there’s too much at stake. I think we should?—”
“Wait,” he interrupted with a voice of authority she had never heard before. She paused in spite of herself.
“Before you say anything else, let me try to make it up to you. I’ll leave you alone tomorrow so you can focus. But what about Friday before you start the last push?”
She dropped her gaze. It was too hard to look into those brown eyes. “I don’t think it’s?—”
“Please, Emma.” He brushed a curl off her face, and his touch was like velvet. “I’m not ready to let you go.”
Reason warred with desire. Standing in this drafty town hall with Leo had brought relief, comfort. His very presence gave her a profound sense of peace. Like sliding into flannel sheets after a double shift at the bakery.
Shit. She had caught feelings. It was her own fault. In a few days, she would be on a plane to New York, and she still had to pull off the biggest project of her career before that. The last thing she should do was put her entire future in jeopardy by having another date with Leo. She needed to turn him down and focus. Everyone was relying on her—her mom, the dogs, their crappy apartment in desperate need of repair.
But when she looked into his deep, warm eyes, her brain disconnected from her mouth.
