Page 22 of Royal Icing

“I’m not peeing on princes,” Emma said. “Probably should have though, since he lied to me about who he was.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

“Your problems are so much cooler than mine,” Lola muttered. Her fingers clattered on a keyboard in the background.

“Really? You want to add a disabled mother and a terrifying career change to yours?”

“Point taken. How is your mom?”

Emma had spoken to her only half an hour ago, but now that she didn’t have the distraction of five types of baked goods in process simultaneously, the distance was making her nervous.

“She’s fine so far. I check the nanny cams every half hour at least.”

“It’s not going to happen again,” Lola said firmly.

“One in four stroke survivors go on to have another one,” Emma said flatly. “And once again, I’m not there.”

Lola started to say something, but the conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Shit,” Emma whispered. “I was supposed to have another hour. I have no clothes. What am I going to do?”

“Go naked. Bring home a royal baby.”

“You’re the worst. Love you. Bye.” Emma hung up and swept a glance over her room. There was a dirty coffee mug in her kitchenette sink, and the few clothes she had brought were strewn all over the bed.

“Emma?” a female voice came from the other side of the door.

Oh, thank god. It wasn’t Leo. She crossed the room and pulled the door open.

“Ruby! I mean, uh, Your Highness.”

Shit. She still should have cleaned up.

Ruby smiled.

“What can I do for you?” Emma asked.

The young woman wandered into the apartment and settled on the bed next to Cooper. He lay his gigantic head in her lap and happily accepted her pets.

“I’m sorry about my mom,” Ruby said.

Emma glanced around the room, but there was no way to tidy up without the princess noticing. At least it was a teenage girl and not the queen herself. She would have had to pitch herself out the second-story window if Eleanor had shown up.

Would it be super inappropriate for her to interrogate Ruby for information on her mother’s likes and dislikes?

“I—uh—appreciate a good challenge,” Emma said.

Ruby snorted at that. “You can be honest.”

“I do wish there had been a bit more guidance. But Maya—my boss—is working on some ideas.”

The princess straightened up. “She loved it, you know. That was by far the least amount of criticism I’ve ever seen her give a pastry. That’s why I wanted you guys to come here. You’re the best.”

Emma’s heart softened. “Thank you. Stop in when you get to New York for school, and I’ll make you something special on the house.”

Ruby glanced around the room. “Are you going somewhere?”

“Kind of. I was planning to go to the winter carnival to get a feel for the town, but I realized I don’t have anything appropriate to wear.”