Page 89 of Royal Icing

“Is—is this you?” The woman lifted her phone.

Emma tensed and moved her hand to her purse. Was this some new kind of scam? Distract people so a pickpocket could move in?

But no, it really was her. On TikTok. Screaming at the queen of Lynoria and smashing a gingerbread house. Great.

“Nope. But I’m sure that girl had a good reason,” Emma said, then led Cooper across the street the second the light turned green.

Fuck.

Finally, she and the dog climbed the steps to her apartment. Back to reality. Her tiny apartment in Greenpoint with peeling paint, burned-out lightbulbs, and linoleum flooring that was so worn the subfloor was visible in some spots.

Cooper barged ahead into the living room.

“You’re home!” Her mom’s voice was like a salve.

Emma stepped inside and was greeted by glimmering Christmas lights and the earthy warmth of a thousand meticulously kept house plants.

“Mom!” She released her suitcase and rushed into her mother’s arms.

Lisa gave her a tight hug and rocked her like she hadn’t since she was a little girl.

Emma pulled back and looked at her. She looked no worse for the wear—no drop in weight, no obvious bruises. At least there was one thing her trip hadn’t ruined.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

“What do you mean?” Emma asked.

“You know I have a nose for drama. Something happened.”

Emma paused and debated, but there was no point. Her mom always got the truth out of her eventually.

“I ruined everything.”

The entire story came pouring out, from Leo’s community plans to her sudden burst of feelings for Leo to the retaliation against the queen. Lisa sat there and listened until it was all on the table.

When it was over, she wheeled into the kitchen.

“Mom?” Emma asked. Was she immediately jumping into crisis mode?

The refrigerator opened, and Lisa came back. “I had a feeling we were going to need this. I kind of hoped we’d need it because you’d come home in love, but this works too.”

A crisp bottle of champagne and some flutes rested in her lap.

“We’re celebrating me getting fired?”

“We’re celebrating your new freedom, sweetheart. I don’t like to speak poorly of people. But that Maya was a real clown. I was this close to sourcing some dead mice to hide in her walls. I still might,” Lisa muttered.

Her mom struggled with the bottle, and Emma took it from her. The cork popped out smoothly and instantly reminded her of her outburst not even twenty-four hours ago. Her eyes watered as she poured two glasses.

“This isn’t the end, Emma. It’s just a minor setback. We’re going to be fine. And it’s going to be hilarious to watch Maya try to run the business without you. I might make popcorn and park myself across the street tomorrow morning.”

At least something good had come from her destroying her own life.

“And for what it’s worth, I have a feeling you’ll see Leo again,” Lisa said softly.

“I don’t even know if I want to. He couldn’t understand why I did what I did.”

And then there was the fact that her outburst had almost certainly endangered his project. She couldn’t see outside of her own rage during the incident, and now Hollybrook could pay the price for her gingerbread-smashing home run.