Up for Heir - Stella Starling Page 0,22

middle finger. He’d never tried to hide his personal life from the press—had definitely been known to flaunt it at times, in fact—but Eddie’s personal life was another matter. Leo wanted Eddie to have a good time, not to feel like a spectacle.

For some of the women Leo had dated—all right, for most of them—that kind of publicity and attention was a perk, but in Eddie’s case, Leo figured it would just embarrass him. And at the moment, Eddie was clearly already embarrassed—for, Leo figured, having presumed to ask about the royal engagement—but in what Leo was already coming to recognize as true Eddie style, the earnest librarian held his gaze and forged ahead anyway, only his pronounced stutter and blazing cheeks giving him away.

“S-S-Sorry. I-I-It’s probably just rumors, right? O-O-Or not my business. But if that’s not it—”

“That’s exactly it,” Leo cut in, because really, it was perfect.

It had been a week since the king and queen had presented him with their vetted list of marriage candidates and given him the ultimatum to pick one, a week since Leo had decided to ignore that list and find his own bride instead, but then, with the Royal Ball just weeks away, he’d gotten too caught up in his fascination with Eddie to take any action on that.

But maybe… maybe he had been taking action, and just hadn’t realized it.

“Eddie,” Leo started to say, his brow crinkling a little as he felt the idea out in his head.

The long-held vision of a rigidly prescribed and uncomfortably confining future under the weight of the crown, a lifetime of ruling next to a “suitable” stranger who’d been groomed just as diligently for the role as Leo had, suddenly shifted, giving him a glimpse of something… different. Not shattering that vision with a bold, rebellious choice that both he and the country would be stuck with for decades to come, but something else.

Something better.

Before he could fully bring the new vision into focus, though, or figure out how best to move forward if he was truly going to pursue it, he—they—were interrupted by a cloyingly sweet, shrill feminine voice, shattering the moment.

“Your Highness. Fancy running into you here.”

It was Ida von Tarr, a ponytailed parasite who masqueraded as a royal reporter and was the bane of the van Rosavia family’s existence. She gave Leo a repulsively insincere smile as she bore down on their private table, a photographer as big as Nils but who looked only half as smart in tow.

Not acceptable.

Leo would have to take that up with the restaurant staff another time, though. At the moment, he had other priorities.

He dropped Eddie’s hand and shot to his feet, eyes narrowing at the woman who had to be, hands down, his least favorite member of Rosavia’s press corps. He didn’t buy her feigned surprise at “finding” him for a single second, either. Clearly, someone in her snitch network had let her know that he’d been seen dining out—sans bodyguard or entourage, as was his preference—and, even though there was nothing to actually report, she’d immediately slithered her way through the capital to find out what she could drum up.

Von Tarr’s beady, heavily made-up eyes darted greedily between him and Eddie, and she whipped an old-school notebook out, pen poised over it. “Who’s your friend, Prince Leo?” she asked irreverently.

“Von Tarr,” Leo bit out, moving around the table to block Eddie from her avaricious gaze. “We were just leaving.”

He knew he had a reputation with the press as friendly, accommodating, and always good for a juicy headline, but tonight was different, and the idea of her bothering his… well, his Eddie, made Leo’s blood boil.

The pushy, parasitic reporter smirked, flipped her ponytail, and leaned to the side to peer around him. “Hallo, sweetheart. Hi. That’s right, look over here. I was hoping to catch Leopold out and about with his secret fiancée, so you’re a bit of a disappointment… unless you’re covering for her? Got her stashed under the table there, love?”

Leo’s spine snapped even straighter. A bit of a disappointment? Forget being the prince who bucked protocol by being open, friendly, and accommodating with the press. Leo saw red. Before he could do something truly unwise, though, Eddie made a small sound of distress, instantly realigning Leo’s priorities.

He ignored his anger at the intrusive reporter and turned, pulling Eddie to his feet.

Eddie swallowed, his throat working and all the color draining from his face. “L-L-Leo, have I-I-I-I—”

His words locked up, but Leo knew