Up for Heir - Stella Starling Page 0,33
stealing Leo’s breath, and if Leo had still harbored any curiosity about why the slight, shy librarian attracted him so much when his “type” had always been so much different—not just female, but flashier, louder, more overtly sexy—seeing Eddie like that killed that curiosity for good, replacing it with simple, undiluted want.
And while courting him by spoiling his siblings had been inspired, if Leo did say so himself, seeing the younger Bloms’ happiness had also been its own reward. Leo was already fond of them, and that was saying a lot given that he’d cleaned up their vomit, but the whole package—the Blom family and the idea that Leo could enter into a lifetime of spoiling them—had been intensely satisfying as well.
He grinned, glad Wren wasn’t around to read too much into it, and slipped Treble another piece of ham.
The queen cleared her throat as if prepared to say something uncomfortable.
“No,” Alphonse said quietly but firmly before she could start in. He took a sip of his tea, eyes locked onto Leo’s. “A librarian with the Royal Library? That’s unacceptable, son, and I think you know it,” he added calmly. “This Blom is a commoner.”
Leo’s jaw clenched, the glow that memories of the weekend had just filled him with instantly quenched. The king didn’t wait for him to confirm it before going on.
“This isn’t the time for one of your rebellions.” Alphonse took another sip of tea, then leaned forward. “This is the future of Rosavia.”
“A commoner simply isn’t suitable, Leo,” Aubrey added, resting a hand on her husband’s arm in a silent show of the kind of support and solidarity that they were known for. “She—he won’t have the training or experience to rule at your side. To be your true partner in the ways that you’ll find matter the most over the years. The women you’ve—” she cleared her throat again, “—chosen in the past—”
“That was different,” Leo cut in. Everything about Eddie was different, and the pushback from the king and queen was getting his back up. They didn’t know Eddie. It was true that Eddie hadn’t been groomed for such a position the way that the candidates on their list had been, but that was a positive, in Leo’s book. Eddie could learn whatever he needed to, Leo was sure of it, but what Eddie already brought to the table wasn’t anything Leo could imagine finding with anyone else. Wasn’t anything Leo could imagine feeling with anyone else.
“You’ll need to consider more than simply an… intriguing physical attraction for this match,” Alphonse said. Then he paused, frowning, and picked up his tablet, tapping something out on the screen for a moment before turning it to face Leo. “Is this Blom?”
“Yes,” Leo bit out. It was one of the pictures that that harpy, von Tarr, had snapped when he’d taken Eddie out to dinner. One where he was holding Eddie’s hand.
The king passed the tablet to the queen. Her eyes softened for a moment, but then she shook her head and placed it face-down on the table.
“I can see how you’re looking at him—”
What? What did she mean by that?
“—and while a love match would be nice, Leo—and of course that’s what your father and I want for you—it’s not just for the crown that we’re pressing you on this matter now. You’re thirty years old. I already had three children by that age. You’ve had your fun—”
“But you haven’t settled down with anyone, son,” Alphonse cut in. “You need a true partner. And you can grow to love the right woman—”
“He means the right person, Leo,” Aubrey interrupted. “We simply hadn’t realized your interests were more inclusive.”
“Of course,” Alphonse continued, drumming his fingers on the table as he nodded. “You can learn to love the right person, but it does have to be the right person, Leopold.”
“Eddie is the right person,” Leo said, not sure if he was digging in his heels out of habit or if he was failing the self-control test that Wren had passed earlier… but definitely sure, even if a list of Eddie’s “suitable qualities” wouldn’t been met with the king and queen’s satisfaction, that he was correct.
Eddie was the right person for Leo, and the right person to have at his side for Rosavia, too.
Eddie made him want to be a better version of himself, and what could be better for Rosavia than that?
Love, though… that part of their argument was unnecessary. And, to be frank, it made Leo a little