true. And not just because Jules, who was far more involved in the diplomatic and political side of things than any of the other brothers, thought so, too, but because Jules’s unsolicited advice echoed all the things that had been stirring inside Leo ever since… well, ever since he’d found Eddie. Ever since he’d started looking at the “burden” of unasked-for responsibilities in a different light, one where it could be an opportunity, not a weight. Where fulfilling his duties could enrich his life, not constrict it.
Jules was right about Leo not liking to be told what to do, but with this changing perspective on the things he had to do, he was starting to strongly suspect that the actual doing of them might turn out to suit him just as well as Eddie did… especially if he was going to be doing them with Eddie by his side.
“Jules,” Leo started, intending to say some of that.
“I know, I know, you need to get going,” Jules said at the same time, talking right over him. “But what I really wanted to say was just that… well, that I love you—” y-o-u i-d-i-o-t, he finger-spelled, grinning, “—and just… look, just don’t choose a life partner as some sort of last hurrah rebellion, okay? Wait until you really find the right person.”
Leo already had found the right person, and choosing Eddie would never be a mistake.
“Trust me,” Jules went on, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’ve made dumb choices about love all because I panicked and acted impulsively without really thinking things through, and I… I just don’t want you to make that mistake, too.”
Jules had made choices about love? Leo’s curiosity was piqued. Despite the inevitable sensationalist trash that the tabloids occasionally printed, there had never been any real hint of Jules being romantically tied to anyone—well, not to anyone but Dante of Thedes, but that was nothing more than the world’s longest-running in-house joke—but Jules was on a roll and didn’t give Leo a chance to ask about it.
“I’m sure Mother and Father and the entire event planning staff for the Royal Ball would kill me for saying so,” Jules said with a smirk, “but honestly, if that means you don’t announce anything at the ball, if you have to wait a while to find someone suitable, then make that your rebellion, okay? This marriage thing is… well, it’s hopefully forever.” He winked. “If you get it right, at least.”
Leo’s throat suddenly tightened up, his nosiness about Jules’s love life fading under a surge of emotion that he hadn’t been prepared for. Jules hadn’t had to seek him out and say these things, but he had. Of course Jules had brought up Rosavia, because everything any of them did had an effect on Rosavia, but he’d come to Leo as a brother, not as a representative of the crown.
And the truth was, Leo did want to get it right. “Hopefully forever” with Eddie sounded pretty much perfect, actually… but what would make it even more perfect was if he also had his family’s approval and understanding that Eddie was the right choice. For Leo and for Rosavia, because they were inextricably combined and always would be.
Leo cleared his throat, scooping up Treble to avoid more ankle scars and tucking her against his chest with one hand.
“Choosing Eddie isn’t a rebellion, Jules,” he said, hoping that her ridiculously loud purring masked the fact that his voice had come out a little hoarse. “He’s…”
His free hand strayed to the pocket his phone was in as he pictured the way Eddie’s face had glowed with happiness in the selfie he’d sent earlier. For all the languages Leo was fluent in, though, he couldn’t for the life of him come up with the words to explain how that—just that glowing expression on Eddie’s face and the fact that Leo had had a hand in putting it there—made him feel… well, made him feel things he truly didn’t have words for.
He huffed out a breath, determined to do his best anyway. “Look, Eddie may not have been on Mother and Father’s vetted list, but I’m choosing him because he’s suitable, not because I’m trying to make a statement. I choose him because he suits me. And I appreciate what you said, but trust me, I don’t want to wait. I don’t need to. Because Eddie doesn’t just suit me, Jules, it’s that he’s the only one who ever will. There’s no point in me looking