Page 13 of Royal Icing

“I’m so sorry again. I—I’m going to go now,” she stammered, then darted down the street, dragging the dog after her.

Something stirred in him. His mouth opened, ready to call after her. But she was fast and disappeared around a corner before he could snap out of it.

He turned back to Sal, who was watching with arms crossed and one eyebrow cocked.

“What?” Leo called defensively.

“You’re seriously going to let her go?”

“I—” He turned to look again, even though he knew she was already gone. He was being insane. She clearly wasn’t local and wouldn’t be sticking around long. She was a tourist, not some divine intervention from the universe.

He went to take a step back to the park but hesitated.

It didn’t make sense to chase her down. It might even scare her. But why was it that every cell in his body was screaming forhim to do it? It was the strangest feeling, like he recognized her even though he’d never seen her before.

He glanced back at Sal.

“Go, you plonker,” Sal called.

Without pausing to think of the consequences, Leo turned and jogged in the direction she had disappeared.

His steel-toe boots pounded the sidewalk as he scanned storefronts and side streets. A handful of citizens stopped in their tracks to bow, but she wasn’t among them. How could a woman and a human-sized dog hide so effectively?

Eventually, he pulled to a stop and trudged back toward the park with a heavy heart. He searched every face on the way back, but she really was gone. It was just as well. It wasn’t meant to be. He didn’t need the distraction, no matter what his gut was telling him.

CHAPTER FIVE

EMMA

Emma blewa sweaty strand of hair off her forehead. She had only been in the kitchen for an hour, but already a creeping sense of panic had set in.

These were by far the highest stakes she had ever faced. And she was in an unfamiliar kitchen that ran on Celsius, trying to impress a woman who had offered her no insight. While the castle chef had kindly given her a tour, the implication was clear that the kitchen needed to be spotless before staff arrived to prepare breakfast in the morning.

But it was only for ten days. She could do this. Her apartment in the gatehouse was unexpectedly charming and had a small oven. She could bake small batches of things throughout the day. After she got some freakin’ sleep.

“You’re sure you’re all right, sweetheart?” her mom called through the speakerphone.

“I’m fine, I just have a lot of balls in the air.”

The head injury she sustained from gawking at the hot maintenance guy hadn’t helped anything.

She rolled her shoulders back and took stock of her progress. The kitchen was a mess of dough. Some rising, some chilling in the industrial-sized refrigerator. The dreamy scent of vanillaemanated from the closest oven, which was hopefully not burning her famous sponge cake. Choux pastry rounded out the preparations. It was barely controlled chaos, but it was the environment she thrived in.

“So the princess herself gave you a tour?” Lisa asked.

“She did. She’s honestly so lovely and funny. I didn’t expect a princess to be just a regular teenage girl. She’s actually going to be attending NYU next fall, so maybe I’ll be able to introduce you someday.”

“How exciting.”

A yawn racked Emma’s body.

“You sound tired,” her mother said. “Did you get any rest?”

The past twenty-four hours hadn’t been restful by any sense of the word. She was running on two hours of sleep and was only allowed to use the baking facilities at night. Maya had disappeared—undoubtedly on a quest to make herself the next queen of this country—and shifted the entire burden of this project onto her. And when she had ventured into the impossibly beautiful village looking for some inspiration, Cooper hadpeedon an innocent—and very handsome—maintenance worker. She would never be allowed in Lynoria again.

“I’ll be fine. Have you taken all your medication today?” Emma asked.

“Yes, mother,” her mom mocked.