Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
EMMA
Emma strolled the streets of Hollybrook at a leisurely pace. A blanket of clouds had crept in, and snowflakes drifted lazily from the sky.
She spent an hour perusing the local stores.
She ducked into a grocery shop and dodged around the people piling bread and milk into carts.
There were flavors and spices she didn’t recognize—mahleb, woodruff, cloudberry, blackcurrants and lingonberries.
She pored over a counter of colorful desserts and bought several flavors of halvah and some carob cookies, neither of which she’d ever tried before.
Everything here was amazing. The spices were fragrant, the people were pleasant—well, except for the queen.
She glanced down at her phone. There was a freakin’ prince’s personal number in her phone right now.
What alternate universe was she living in?
Last week she had been experimenting with just how long she could stretch a packet of ramen, and now she was preparing a career-making dessert for a royal family.
Her thoughts turned to the night before as she sampled a fudge-like piece of halvah.
Unless she was drastically misreading the signals—which was always possible—she could have sworn Leo was moving in for a kiss the night before.
She’d lain awake in bed last night, wondering what might’ve happened had the house manager not walked in.
After a lot of googling and perusing gossip sites, she’d gleaned that Leo hadn’t had a girlfriend for a number of years.
The last one had left the country and moved back to Sweden.
He also didn’t have any social media to speak of, so there was no official register of his likes and dislikes. He was an anomaly. A mystery.
She had no intention of getting involved, but her attraction to him was becoming more unignorable by the minute.
It wasn’t because he was a prince. He had given her heart flutters from the second she saw him across the park, and now he was single-handedly helping her dream come to fruition.
He was more help than Maya had ever been.
Maybe that was just how he was with everyone, but he made her feel seen.
It had been a long time since she’d felt seen.
Perhaps she should just go for it. No matter what she was telling herself, she was drawn to him.
He was smart, kind, a great listener, sexy with his little Clark Kent glasses and surprisingly rugged physique.
He cared about his community in a refreshingly authentic way.
If he lived in New York, she would have thrown caution to the wind and started trying to bake her way into his heart.
She would have to keep it a secret if anything did happen, because her mom would never shut up about this. Her bingo friends would beg her to write a tell-all autobiography about the experience.
No matter what happened, Leo’s privacy was always going to be her priority. It must be hard living in the spotlight, especially in such a small country where there wasn’t a lot going on. Luckily the paparazzi hadn’t been stalking around today, or if they had, they at least hadn’t recognized her.
Her stomach growled, and she glanced at her watch. It was five o’clock and almost dark out. She should probably get some dinner and head back to the castle before the worst of the storm hit. Cooper was obsessed with snow and would never want to come back inside.
She checked the nanny cam as she walked to Sal’s pub.
Her mom was chatting with the nurse, who was preparing lunch.
She breathed a sigh of relief. In a week, she would be home, and their circumstances would be vastly changed.
As long as they made it through the one-year lean period of her noncompete, very real change was on the horizon.
Her own business meant being her own boss. Only taking the orders she wanted to. Hours that were doable. Money for better physical and occupational therapy for her mom. Everything was in her grasp. All she had to do was knock it the hell out of the park.
She pushed the door of the pub open. Sal didn’t seem to be working. She slid into a booth and accepted a menu from a server.
While she ate a succulent dinner of fish and chips, she watched people come and go. Many were picking up take-out orders, hurrying home to their families before the worst of the storm hit.
The bell over the door rang again, and a burst of cold air rushed in along with a group of young people.
Hang on…she knew that laugh.
A poorly disguised Princess Ruby stumbled across the threshold, laughing with a bunch of kids who looked older than her.
Emma narrowed her eyes. Something wasn’t right here.
Ruby slid into a stool, and one of the boys in the group stood behind her, arm over the back of her chair.
“Move, Paul,” Ruby said. “My elbows need space.”
He glowered but retreated a couple inches. Emma’s hackles rose. She watched and waited. She didn’t want to embarrass the princess if she was just out having fun with some of her friends. But judging by the cloud of vodka wafting over from them, they had been doing some day drinking.
Did Leo know? Ruby was seventeen. She didn’t even know what the legal drinking age was here.
Ruby hopped off her barstool and tottered off to the toilets. Her leather miniskirt and tights were not at all suitable for a winter storm.
“Are you gonna hit that?” one of the boys muttered to Paul.
Oh hell no. Emma’s fingers wrapped around her fork. She was going to end up in prison for stabbing a teenager in the neck.
Paul laughed. “I’ve always wanted to hook up with a princess. She doesn’t seem into it, though.”
Probably because Ruby was a woman of taste.
Talk turned to football, and Ruby made her way back from the bathroom. She stumbled over a chair leg and nearly went sprawling onto the floor, but Paul caught her.
“Thank you. You can let me go.”
A couple seconds passed, but Paul didn’t relinquish his grip. “Come on, Ruby. How about we go somewhere a little quieter?”
Ruby’s eyes narrowed. “I said—”
Emma jumped up from her booth and stormed over. She jabbed a finger in his face. “Let her go, or so help me, I will pluck all of your nipple hairs out individually and make you eat them.”
Paul was probably a foot taller than her. He looked down at her like she was an ant he was about to crush under a boot.
“Do you know who I am?” he asked.
“I don’t give a fuck who you are,” Emma said. “All I know is that you’re harassing a member of the royal family, and I have her big brother on speed dial. So if you’d like to keep your organs inside your body, I suggest you let her go.”
She held her phone up, and Paul let go of Ruby. Emma grabbed her arm and pulled the girl behind her.
“Don’t ever let me catch you treating a woman like that again,” she said with a jab of her finger. Pontificated fuck. The second that she got back to the castle, she was going to raise the alarm about him.
Emma threw some money on the table and yanked Ruby out of the pub.
“What the hell were you doing? And what are you wearing? Are you not aware that it’s December and there’s an apocalyptic snowstorm brewing?”
Ruby straightened indignantly. “I was just hanging out with some friends.”
“Your friends suck. Come on, we’re going home. Where’s your jacket?”
“I didn’t bring one.”
Emma looked up at the sky and took a deep breath—or as Leo would say, a dinosaur breath.
She had once been a drunk, foolish, scantily clad seventeen-year-old.
And she hadn’t grown up in the sterile environment of a castle where everyone was watching her at all times. She couldn’t judge Ruby too harshly.
Emma shrugged her coat off and stuffed Ruby’s arms into it despite her protests.
Ruby harrumphed but followed her up the winding road toward the castle.
Emma pulled her phone out with half a mind to call Leo. But she didn’t want to stir up any drama for the princess. They could handle this alone.
“Are those really your friends?” Emma’s teeth chattered as she asked the question again.
The no-coat thing was a mistake. The wind bit at her.
“Not really,” Ruby admitted. “I don’t really have any friends. People only want to get close to me because of my family, not because of who I am as a person.”
“That sounds really hard,” Emma said, even though she was dying to yell at her for doing something so dangerous. “Do you go to school?”
Ruby shook her head. “I have a governess. But soon I’ll be at NYU.”
That’s right. Maybe that meant Leo would visit too.
“What will you major in?”
“International Relations, but only because I have to. I’m also going to get my teaching certificate, no matter what they say.”
She tripped and almost careened into a ditch, but Emma righted her. The wind was picking up, and the snow pelted her from what felt like every direction. Her hands were ice blocks. She started to shiver. It was hard to see where they were going, but she could tell they were still going up.
“Leo says you have a soft spot for kids,” she said.
Ruby nodded—at least that’s what it looked like behind the thick screen of snow. “I do. In a different world, I’d teach kindergarten.”
“What’s stopping you?”
“Princesses don’t get to have normal jobs. My job is to make public appearances, christen yachts, organize charity events. None of it really makes a difference.”
Emma smiled. “You sound so much like your brother.”
“You’ve been getting awfully close with Leo,” she accused.
“Hardly.” Emma blew into the ice blocks that used to be her hands. “He’s just helping me with something for the dessert.”
“Sure. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. It’s been a long time since he looked that way at someone.”
What was she supposed to do with that information?
“He’s great, but we’re strictly platonic,” she fibbed. “Is there anyone special in your life? Not Paul, I hope.”
Ruby scowled. “Paul’s an idiot. Never in a thousand years.”
“Good choice. I bet you’ll meet someone amazing at NYU. It’s like a big, sexy melting pot. Did your governess give you a crash course on birth control?”
“Gross,” Ruby slurred. “I won’t need it.”
Emma looked at her sternly. “I assure you, you will.”
“I won’t. Because I don’t like men.”
“Oh. Cool. But you still need to be aware of the dangers of STIs and—”
She stopped. Ruby was standing ten feet behind her, stock-still.
“What’s wrong?” she called to her.
“I’ve never told anyone that before.”
Emma’s heart softened. She walked back and stood next to Ruby. “So your family doesn’t know?”
Ruby shook her head.
Emma gripped her hand. A strong maternal instinct was kicking in. “Thank you for trusting me with this information. I can’t imagine how difficult it’s been for you to feel like you can’t share your true self. How long have you known?”
“Forever.”
Emma was silent for a moment. A gay princess. She couldn’t know for sure, but she had suspicions about how the queen might react to the news.
“You can’t tell them. Not even Leo,” Ruby said with a hint of a plea in her voice.
“Oh, honey. I would never. That is your truth to share, and only you get to decide when to share it. Your secret is safe with me. I’ll give you my phone number.
Call me anytime. And if you ever feel like you’re in danger, or you need somewhere to go, come to me.
Especially when you’re in New York. I’m just going to be a couple subway stops away. ”
“Thank you,” Ruby said quietly, then resumed walking.
The lights of the castle flickered in front of them, barely visible through the whiteout. The wind ripped through her flimsy sweater. She was going to have to slip into a scorching tub to warm back up.
“So are there any girls in your life?” Emma asked.
Ruby wiggled one hand. “Sort of. Sammy.”
“Does she treat you well?”
“She does. But we’re not serious. For obvious reasons.”
“Right.”
Her legs burned and her toes were numb by the time they passed through the gatehouse and reached the courtyard. Emma opened the servant entrance to the kitchen and peeked in. There were too many people. Someone might notice Ruby was still drunk and tip off the queen.
“Is there another way in? A back way?”
Ruby nodded and went off in another direction. Emma followed her until they came to another door along the side of the castle. Some kind of scanner blinked red at them. As Ruby dug for something in her handbag, the door flew open and Leo ran out.
“There you are,” he said, visibly relieved. “Roo, I’ve been looking all over for you. I called you nine times. Where the hell have you been?”
“Just down in town,” Ruby slurred.
“Are—are you drunk? And wearing a miniskirt in the middle of a snowstorm? Did you do this?” he fired at Emma.
Her mouth fell open. “You think I got a teenager drunk in the middle of the day? Seriously?”
She pushed him back through the door and steered Ruby into the castle. She dropped her voice. “For your information, I found her like this and prevented her from getting assaulted. Get her some Gatorade and toast, and don’t tell your mom.”
She whirled around in a cloud of annoyance and marched back to the gatehouse. It was almost invisible thanks to the snow.
How dare he accuse her of getting Ruby drunk? The fuck?
She marched up the stairs and threw open the door to her apartment. Cooper was happy to see her, at least, and the apartment was invitingly warm. But she’d been gone all day and he needed to pee. The warm bath could wait.
She snapped a leash on him and walked him down the steps to the courtyard, still stewing about Leo’s accusation.
Cooper lifted a leg, then sniffed around frantically.
He was following something out of the courtyard and around the side of the castle grounds toward the lake.
Hopefully it led to a poop spot. She walked behind him, wishing she had put on another sweater before coming back outside.
She’d forgotten to get her coat back from Ruby.
Cooper’s entire body perked up, and he stared into the distance. He lunged forward, and the leash ripped from her hand.
“Cooper, no!”
She ran after him, but he disappeared into the storm.