Chapter 41 #2
He reached for her hand. “Once things are underway, I’m going to help you too.”
“There’s no need. I can manage. I’ve been preparing for this for years.”
He narrowed his eyes against the sun glancing off the snow. “I don’t think you had factored in helping a particularly needy prince on a different continent. Let me help.”
“Fine. Maybe,” she said with a smile. “But first, the shelter.”
His stomach twisted. The guilt he felt taking her away from setting her plan in motion was unreal. But maybe if she spent a little more time here, she would reconsider moving her business here. Or maybe they could split their time between Lynoria and New York.
But Leo still hadn’t figured out a job for himself. He’d had to apply for the zoo position in person since they hadn’t believed his initial application. He had an interview at the end of the first week of January. Having a real job meant a fixed schedule, no freedom.
Plus, Emma had never actually said she wanted to keep dating. She had come here at the drop of a hat, sure, but maybe she just thought they were friends.
Friends who had mind-blowing sex and crossed continents for each other. That was a thing, right?
She nudged him and startled him out of thoughts of international booty calls. “We should check your post.”
He pulled out his phone and fumbled for a minute, trying to find the stupid app. When he opened it, his screen was a mess of red notifications.
She peeked over his shoulder. “Oh boy. One post and you’ve hit the big time.”
For his first post, they had decided on the picture of Leo in front of the castle. It had felt grossly self-serving, but Emma assured him that it would gather attention.
And she had been right.
“What does this number mean?”
“That’s your followers,” Emma said. “Twelve thousand in less than an hour. That’s impressive.”
“You’re humoring me. Didn’t the bakery have like half a million?”
“Eight hundred thousand, but who’s counting? Oh, here we are.”
They stopped at the end of the street where the vacant lot waited.
He could see every detail of it as if the buildings were already there.
The community garden, the library with rows of windows and natural light.
A new soup kitchen with its doors propped open in springtime, filling the block with the scent of homegrown garlic and rosemary.
“Okay, now just stand in front of it. Don’t cross your arms. Hands in your pockets, neutral expression. You want to look approachable but still semi-serious.”
He struggled to keep a straight face as he attempted to follow her litany of suggestions.
She backed up and took pictures from several angles. It would have been exhausting even if he hadn’t been up since 4 a.m.
She flicked through the pictures and chose one. “Perfect. Okay, now the library.”
“Should we get your mom first?”
“Great idea. She loves a library.”
An hour later, the stolen wheelchair clattered over the threshold of the library.
“I love it,” Lisa whispered.
“You’ve said that about everything we’ve seen,” Emma said, but her tone was teasing.
“Because it’s true. It’s all so quaint and lovely. I feel so at home here. Don’t you feel at home, Emma?”
“I do love a library,” she said noncommittally.
Leo shot her a look. Unless he was mistaken, Lisa was heavily hinting that she would give up their apartment and move to Lynoria. What did Emma think about that?
Maybe he was misinterpreting and Lisa was just happy to travel outside the small radius she had been trapped in for two years. He shouldn’t get his hopes up.
He really needed to just man up and ask Emma what she was thinking. But the thought of losing her friendship gave him a type of anxiety he had never experienced.
Besides, everything was up in the air right now. He wasn’t in any position to be a good boyfriend when he was jobless and directionless.
“Okay,” Emma said, “the library and the community garden need to be our main plugs. While our donors need to know what they’re paying for, for safety reasons, we can’t disclose the location of the shelter to the public.”
“Right.” He glanced back at Lisa, who had a far-off look in her eye as they traveled between the tomes. Was all this talk of shelters making her relive her experience? He should be more sensitive.
“Ah,” Emma said, coming to a stop in the children’s section. “This is perfect.”
A woman and child were playing with some faded-looking toy cars on a battered table. The children’s section really did need an upgrade.
The mother looked up, and her mouth popped open in surprise. She rose to her feet, tugging her son with her. He couldn’t have been more than three.
“Your Highness.” She sank into a curtsy. Her son bowed next to her, then hid behind her.
“Just Leo,” he said. He was ninety-five percent sure this was the woman who worked the evening shift at the local grocery store. “It’s Mary, right?”
“I—uh—yes, Your Highness,” she said, visibly surprised. “I mean, Leo. No, that’s not right. I can’t do it, Your Highness. I’m sorry.”
Her cheeks flushed.
Leo cracked a smile.
“I’m Emma.” She stuck a hand out to Mary, who shook it. “I just love a library, don’t you?”
“Oh, yes,” Mary said. “We come for story time every Tuesday. The princess read The Very Hungry Caterpillar last week,” she said.
“Isn’t she the best? Children’s literature is so important. You know, Prince Leo is actually trying to build a new library,” Emma said.
“Really?” Mary said.
The son peeked out from behind his mother and inspected the group. “Why are you in a wheelchair?” he asked.
“Asher,” Mary said harshly. “I’m so sorry.”
Leo held his breath, but Lisa smiled.
She leaned forward to look at Asher. “Something happened to my body that made my legs not work so well. I can walk a little, but it’s safer for me to stay in the wheelchair while we’re out and about.”
“I’m so sorry,” Mary repeated. Her face had gone from scarlet to pale as a fresh cut of wood.
“There’s no need to be sorry,” Lisa said. “It’s good to ask questions. And it’s better than the alternative. People often avert their eyes around me, or they speak to me like I’m elderly and infirm. Do you want to touch the chair?”
Asher crouched down to tap a spoke, then smiled.
Leo’s stomach hardened, and he resolved to remember this moment every time he met someone in a wheelchair. He would personally make sure every part of the new project was accessible.
“So, Your Highness, you’re building a new library?”
“Well, I’m trying to. A ski resort is trying to lease the lot we want to use.”
Mary’s face fell. She glanced at the worn blocks and a toy train that looked like it had been chewed on. “We don’t need another ski resort.”
“I agree.”
She probably didn’t even know the danger the town was in.
“But the prince is trying to change that,” Emma said smoothly. “The crown maintains ownership of the land, so we’re staging a peaceful protest outside the castle on Saturday, followed by a holiday extravaganza to raise money for the project.”
“A protest?” Mary asked.
“Yes. We’re fighting for what’s best for this community.
We’d love to have you and Asher fight alongside us.
We’re actually having an emergency town hall meeting to discuss it tonight at 6 p.m. if you’re available.
Here, take some flyers.” Emma handed over a few of the pages they’d had printed before picking her mom up.
Mary stood tall. “We’ll be there.”
“Excellent. Tell your friends.”
“This is how it starts,” Lisa said with a musical quality in her voice.
Not with a whisper, but a throat punch.