She sniffs the air. “Mason’s cookies?”
I grin. “Yeah, I smell those too. Do you like them?”
She nods. Her eyes are still shut, but they look more relaxed. Her breaths are slowing down. “Or maybe they’re Madeleine’s cookies. She made amazing macarons for the Harvest Festival.”
“How about something you can feel?”
She thinks for a minute. “The wall behind me,” she says. She’s invested in the game now. Her fingers curl into a fist on my shirt. “I can feel your heart beating,” she whispers.
My breath catches in my throat.
“It’s getting a little faster now.” She cracks one eye open and looks at me suspiciously. “Am I making you nervous?”
Yes.“Of course not.”
She smirks and shuts her eyes again, but her breathing has completely calmed.
“What do you want to do right now?” I ask. “We can do whatever you want. We can go back to the festival, or we can go back to your tower. I’m here to make sure you’re comfortable and safe.”
Her eyelids flutter open, her bright blue eyes piercing mine. “I want to go home.”
I nod. “Then let’s go.”
She opens her mouth then shuts it.
“Don’t worry about your family,” I say. “I’ll text Agatha and let her know.”
She nods, relief evident all over her face. I pull out my phone and type out a quick message. “Done. Okay, you wait here. Let me find a path that doesn’t go through the crowd. I think we can wander behind all these booths and make it to the exit without drawing attention. We don’t want to run into Suzette again. Or even worse, Rosalie.”
Lily gives a tiny grin, and my chest warms at being able to make her smile. I step out of the corner, looking side to side for anyone who might be interested in talking to her, but the coast is clear.
“Here,” I say, shrugging off my leather jacket again. “Tuck your hair in so no one can see it, and keep the collar pulled up. I’ll keep an eye out for anyone who might be watching us.”
“Won’t you be cold?” she asks as she pulls on the jacket.
“I don’t care,” I reply.
Her eyes soften. “Thank you.”
“Let’s go,” I say softly, holding out my hand.
She doesn’t hesitate and slips her hand in mine. “The exit is this way,” she says, pointing in the direction we came.
I smile at her. “You paid attention to your exits?”
She nods, and I see a little gleam of pride in her eyes.
Hand in hand, we walk back to the exit. The whole way, I can’t help but fume at the way her brothers and father had no idea what she needed. Why would they make her first introduction to the real world such a public charade? They were determined to be a flamboyant entourage, which made everything a hundred times worse. If she’d had the opportunity to go somewhere small, like just to Cookies & Kisses or the book club, it would’ve been less traumatic.
Maybe not book club. Rosalie and Suzette would have smothered her.
At the very least, though, couldn’t Agatha have prepared her friends ahead of time? Why didn’t they think about these things?
Why am I the only one thinking about this?
Lily’s hand tightens around mine, and I realize we’re coming back to the entrance of the festival, where more people are wandering around. But with it just being the two of us, and especially with Lily’s hair tucked into my jacket, no one gives her a second glance. We exit, and I can feel the relief in her hand.
“We’re almost there,” I say.
