and Edvin’s eyes popped back open. The slightly spooked look that had flitted across Leo’s face when Edvin had asked him about love had disappeared, replaced by his normal air of slightly cocky (and much too appealing) confidence.
“Adorable,” he murmured, brushing Edvin’s hair away from his forehead. “But not really the answer I was looking for.”
Of course it wasn’t. Edvin was an idiot. Speech was not his strong suit, and that seemed to be true whether the words got stuck in his throat or poured out of it in a flood of nervous babble.
“I-I-I-I just m-m-meant that I can… can… that… yes?” Edvin made himself slow down, taking in a slow, deliciously prince-scented breath that might technically have done more harm than good when it came to calming him down. He pushed forward anyway. Leo needed him. “That’s what I was t-t-trying to say,” he finally managed. “The answer is… is yes. Anything you need. Always. I’ll… I’ll help you find someone. J-J-Just tell me what you’re looking for, Leo. What you w-w-want. T-T-Tell me what you need—”
“I need you,” Leo cut in, tipping Edvin’s chin up with strong fingers that lingered for a moment before sliding along his jaw to cradle it.
Edvin’s heart did a slow roll in his chest. “I… erm, what?” he asked, unaccountably breathless because surely he’d misunderstood again. “Me?”
Leo smiled. “I know it’s sudden, and… surprising. And I can’t guarantee that we’ll suit. But I haven’t been able to shake the idea, or muster any enthusiasm to try with anyone else. So, yes, Edvin Blom. I need you, because if you’re up for it, I’d really like to find out.”
Edvin blinked. “F-F-Find out?”
Surely, he wasn’t following. But… but holy leaping library science. That slow, sexy smile of Leo’s was going to be the death of him, wasn’t it?
“Find out if we’d suit,” Leo murmured, which made no sense at all because Leo looked fantastic in a suit… and—Edvin had no doubt whatsoever—out of one as well. But if Leo had actually meant “we” in the non royal-we sense, as in: would Leo and Edvin suit, then…
Well, then Leo’s statement still made no sense, because—other than the small Leo-was-a-prince-who-liked-both-excitement-and-women-and-Edvin-was-neither-of-those-things issue—of course they’d suit. They completely suited. They were practically bespoke. In fact, Edvin had never met anyone who was as eminently suitable for him, or who made him feel like he mattered, and filled him with flutters, and impressed him with not just an amazing package on the outside, but—far more importantly—-with everything on the inside, too.
But… but that was selfish. That was all about Edvin. None of it meant Edvin was suitable for Leo. And even if by some miracle he was suitable for Leo, then, as Leo had said, Leo still had a duty to fulfill. The crown prince’s engagement couldn’t just be about what he needed, it also had to be about what Rosavia needed, too.
So, in conclusion, no matter what Edvin’s heart (and other parts) wanted to hear, there was no actual way that Leo could have really meant—
“May I kiss you?” Leo asked, bringing Edvin’s runaway-tram thoughts to a sudden screeching halt.
Edvin blinked.
That… that had sounded a lot like Leo had meant it, actually. Like he’d meant every single thing Edvin secretly hoped for and dreamed of and kept trying not to be so foolish as to let himself start believing in. It had, in fact, sounded a lot like Leo had asked if he could kiss Edvin.
But then, before Edvin could even begin to figure out how to make his mouth work well enough to answer, and possibly because Leo already knew that Edvin was the kind of man who liked his date to decide certain things for him anyway—or maybe simply because Edvin had already told him that his answer was already yes, to everything, always—Leo didn’t wait for permission. He just did it. He kissed Edvin.
He kissed Edvin.
And it was… magical.
Chapter Seven
Leo
Leo was in too good of a mood after one of the most enjoyable weekends of his life, with someone who was quickly becoming one of the favorite people in his life, to mind the fact that Treble had taken it upon herself to follow him to breakfast. She wound about Leo’s feet in an endless figure-eight as he left his suite, showing every sign of following him all the way to the cozy, private dining area that he was headed to. The king and queen typically breakfasted there, along with any other family members who chose