Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
LEO
“Where have you been all night?” the queen asked, looking at him in a way she usually reserved for servants who brought the wrong kind of tea. “And why are you with the baker?”
Leo bristled. “The baker has a name, Mother. Emma fell through the ice during the storm last night. I’m taking her to see the doctor.”
Fewer details were better. She didn’t need to know that they’d technically spent the night together.
The queen was silent for a moment. She turned to look behind her.
“Rosa, take Miss…Emma to see the royal physician.”
Emma squeezed his arm before she and Cooper were swept away by the maid.
Silence fell as his mother looked at him. Her eyes were sharp, angry. “I explicitly told you not to get involved. You’ve left me with no choice. She’ll have to go home.”
Fuck. Leo’s heart flew into his throat. He’d just destroyed her dreams. Why the hell hadn’t they walked in separately?
“You can’t send her home.”
She looked at him disdainfully. “Watch me.”
“Do you know what she’s done for this family?”
“Yes, we’re all very impressed that she knows the Heimlich,” the queen said disdainfully.
Well. That showed how much she valued his life.
“Not for me,” Leo said. “For Ruby.”
The queen paused and looked at him.
He explained the situation from the night before but left out the drinking.
The queen’s mouth dropped open. “Paul? He had the audacity to lay a finger on a member of the royal family? We won’t stand for it. Beatrice, get Lord Axley on the phone immediately.”
“So you won’t be sending Emma home?” Leo interrupted.
The queen swiveled to look at him like she’d forgotten he was there. She probably had. Her expression was stormy, and she looked annoyed at the prospect of having to reconsider.
“In light of…recent revelations, I’ll give her one more chance. As long as I have your word that there’s nothing going on between the two of you.”
He shook his head. “There’s nothing going on between us.”
It was a snap judgment, and it wasn’t entirely the truth. Especially since he had kissed her and bared his soul to her last night. But this gig meant everything to Emma. He needed to protect her at all costs.
“She ran out into the storm without a coat on and fell into the lake. I pulled her out and helped her get warm. That’s all,” he added.
Another silence fell as she seemed to weigh his words. “Well. I do appreciate you avoiding an international scandal. But you should have called security to handle it. You could have been hurt.”
Leo bit back a retort. If she actually cared if he got hurt, she hid it well.
“Stay away from her,” the queen commanded when he didn’t say anything. “Trouble follows that girl, and we don’t need to give the press anything more to talk about. They should be focused solely on the ball.”
Leo nodded dutifully, but there was zero chance of him avoiding Emma until she left. He wasn’t sure what his feelings were at the moment, but he knew he wanted to get to know her better. She was so refreshingly honest, funny, talented…and maybe a little bit stunningly beautiful.
This conversation needed to end before he lost his shit. “I’m headed into town to check on the shelter. Make sure everyone still has power.”
“You’re not driving,” she ordered. “The roads aren’t clear.”
“No. I’ll take a kick-sled.”
The queen paused. “Thank you, Leo. Be safe. I don’t want to have to send the guard to pull you out of a ditch.”
Huh. That was probably the warmest thing his mother had said to him in a year.
He nodded at her and left. As he passed by the door to his suite, noises from John’s drew his attention.
There was a lot of grunting, some exaggerated moaning.
“Oh, god,” said a female voice. Definitely American. Well, that explained where Maya had disappeared to.
Two hours later, Leo pushed his kick-sled to the front door of their local representative of parliament and chained it to a bar outside.
He opened the door, and a receptionist curtsied and offered him a dozen kinds of tea before nervously dusting off a chair for him to sit on.
Leo used the opportunity to glance over the gingerbread blueprints Kat had just handed over.
It was totally doable, and with Emma’s artistic flair, it would be magnificent.
Her dreams would come true. He would make sure of it.
“Your Highness,” a male voice interrupted.
“Henri.” They shook hands. “Thanks for seeing me. I was hoping we could chat about an upcoming project.”
Henri swept him into his office and closed the door.
“What do you have for me?”
Leo fired up a tablet and handed over the blueprints for the community charity project.
“I want to build this on the massive vacant lot over on the edge of town. The one that backs up to the mountain. But I know it’s going to be a tough sell to my parents.”
Henri swiped through the pictures, then leaned back in his chair. “You’re right. Have you thought about how you’re going to approach it?”
“The best-case scenario would be making them think it’s their idea. But short of that, I’m going to have to convince them another way. May I speak frankly?”
“Of course.” Henri looked a tad surprised.
“You’ve worked for them for a long time. What do I have to do to this project to make them say yes?”
Henri glanced at the tablet again. “I don’t suppose there’s any way to make this project generate income.”
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 the quickening 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.