Page 21 of The Emma Special

Emma stopped and turned to him. “Wait. Someone once warned me I shouldn’t take rides from strangers. Do we know each other well enough for this?”

James rolled his eyes as he opened the passenger door. “You organize my schedule and know how I take my coffee. I think you’re safe this time.”

“But what do you know about me? What if I’m the villain?”

He was a fine chauffeur in a suit again, standing there holding the door. “Would you please get in the car, Your Highness?”

“I should probably text your tag number to my friends just to be on the safe side.” She slid into the seat and tossed her bags into the back.

When he settled into the driver’s seat, James pinched a few pieces of her pink confetti out of the center cup holder and tossed it over her. “Where am I taking you today?”

“It’s on Byler Road just past Drummond Farms.” Emma flipped the visor down for the mirror and swiped on a layer of bright pink lipstick. “Drive smooth now, I’m going to put on my eyes.”

“Put on—” He watched from the corner of his vision while she deftly attached fake eyelashes. “Impressive.”

“All in the details, remember?”

The five-minute drive passed quickly as she painted her face into a cartoon royal, and James was about to turn at the driveway Emma indicated when she put her hand on his arm. “Wait. Stop here.”

“You don’t want me to take you to the house?”

She unbuckled and clambered into the back seat, almost kicking him in the face in the process. “I need to finish my transformation into a princess before the kids see me.”

“In the back seat?” James asked, turning to watch her contort herself in his small car.

“Eyes ahead, driver. This isn’t my first rodeo.”

James turned the rearview mirror to face up. “Please tell me it’s the first time you’ve undressed in the back seat of a man’s car.”

“I’m not a hussy.”

Covering his eyes with a hand, James lowered his chin. “I wasn’t implying that you were… that.”

“Good. Oof.”

“You okay back there?”

“Shapewear has it out for me.”

“Why do you wear it?”

“Uhh… because breathing is a commodity beauty can’t afford. Who’s that? Oh my girdle, is that a kid coming this way?”

A boy who looked to be about twelve years old was riding his bike toward them.

“I am indecent!” Emma squealed.

“I’ll handle it,” James said as he stepped out of the car. He met the kid on the driveway with a wave.

The kid stopped his bike a few feet away and shaded his eyes from the sun. “Are you a debt collector? We don’t owe nothin’.”

Hopefully, it was the suit James wore giving off the debt collector vibes and the kid wasn’t used to getting visits from people demanding money. “I’m dropping off the princess for a party, but she’s finishing some royal duties. Can you give her ten more minutes before telling anyone she’s here?”

The boy lifted his chin to glance around James toward the vehicle. “I bet she’s not a real princess.”

James thought of Emma dressed so convincingly as a woodland fantasy creature. “I’m not sure, but the birthday girl probably needs to believe the princess is real. Can you make sure that happens?”

Slowly, the boy nodded. “Yeah. Amelia believes everything I say.”