the night before, he’d almost headed over to the Bloms’ apartment to check on him before Hugo had stepped in and offered an alternative, and—if Leo was being honest—probably a more reasonable strategy.
Hugo had somehow obtained phone numbers for each Blom sibling, because of course he had, and as soon as Hugo had offered them, Leo had wasted no time getting in touch.
“Ollie said that Eddie had called mid-afternoon to let them know that he was still working on the restoration project at the Royal Archives,” Leo told Hugo now. “And also that Eddie’s phone—” an older model that Leo had already determined didn’t hold a charge well, “—was almost out of battery. It sounded like it would be a late night for him, so I imagine he slept through most of today.”
Oliver had also assured Leo that the four younger Bloms were fine, in such an exasperated younger-brother tone that Leo had had no doubt that, had it been a FaceTime call, he would have seen Oliver’s eyes roll. Still, Leo had been constitutionally incapable of not asking. He’d never been the overprotective sort before—possibly because he’d never had anyone in need of that from him—but he knew that Eddie worried about the younger Bloms when they were home alone, especially the youngest girls, and so had offered to send Hugo, and anything else the Bloms needed, over to their apartment.
Personally, Leo thought Oliver was probably correct. Edvin, and their late parents before him, had clearly raised the siblings well, and they truly were fine on their own now and then. But Leo also understood his sweetly fierce librarian enough now to appreciate Eddie’s slightly excessive need to mother-hen them. After all, Eddie had already lost two of the most important people in his life, a tragedy Leo hated for all the Bloms, and Leo suspected that for Eddie’s own sense of security, he needed to know on a visceral level that his remaining family was safe at all times.
“Very good, Your Highness,” Hugo said, folding his hands behind his back again. “And if I’m not mistaken—” he never was, which was annoying, useful, and reassuring in equal measure, “—Nils should be returning here with the Bloms shortly. Would you like to meet them in the apartment, or shall I escort Master Edvin here to your suite?”
Leo grinned. Option two was tempting, but the truth was that he was just as excited to be there when the younger Bloms explored the apartment he’d had prepared for them—the one he hoped they would move into on a more permanent basis just as soon as he and Eddie could agree on arrangements—as he was to get Eddie in his arms again.
Well, possibly not just as excited, but he was definitely looking forward to both.
“I’ll head over to their apartment now,” he said, dropping the cat toy he’d been fiddling with back into its tray and striding toward the door.
“I should join you, Your Highness,” Hugo said promptly, turning to follow Leo. “There is still the allergen question, after all.”
True. And if Hugo was also secretly looking forward to watching Astrid squealed in delight over the gauzy, glittery canopy that the stuffy valet had insisted she’d need for the four-poster bed he’d selected, then Leo certainly wasn’t going to call him on having a closeted softer side… yet.
It would, however, be excellent ammunition for later.
“What do you mean he’s not here?” Astrid shouted, all color draining from her face as she stood trembling in front of her equally frozen siblings.
Leo and his valet had walked into the sitting room of the newly prepared apartment to find the four younger Bloms just as giggly and excited as Leo had hoped, surrounded by a team of stylists and several racks holding the gowns, suits, and accessories they would be wearing to the ball.
Eddie, however, wasn’t with them.
“Astrid,” Linnea murmured, resting a hand on her sister’s shoulder but looking just as stricken as the younger girl did. “I’m sure it’s… it’s fine. Right, Leo?” she demanded.
She turned her attention on him with an intensity that made him want to immediately say yes, jump in and slay dragons for her, gather up all four of them and assure them that of course it was fine. That he would make it fine, just as soon as he figured out what “fine” actually meant in this case, because… because he was confused. Why wasn’t Eddie with them?
A frisson of unease slithered down Leo’s spine.
“Eddie didn’t ride over with