Page 26 of Wear It Like a Crown

As it was, he snuck inside, shoved the parcel into the mailbox labelled “Top Floor” and slipped out undetected. He didn’t let himself wonder whether it had been his last contact with Joshua.

Leo’s phone rang just as he was about to climb into bed.Bloody Prince Joshua WTFthe display announced, and these late-night conversations were becoming a bit of a habit, weren’t they? Did two days in a row constitute a pattern?

Falling onto the sheets, Leo picked up with a cheerful, “Little prince. Calling about those diamonds and holiday trips to exotic locations?”

Joshua’s chuckle rasped like fine sandpaper. He sounded exhausted, yet somehow relaxed, at ease in a way Leo hadn’t heard him before. “That reminds me that I never actually paid for your taxi.”

“I didn’t take a taxi.”

“I told you to take one,” Joshua protested, and Leo sighed.

“I’m perfectly fine using the tube, mate. Tends to be faster anyway. Maybe you should give it a try sometime, see how the other half lives.” That had come out slightly more provocative than Leo had intended. Still, in for a penny, in for a pound. “Or the other ninety-nine percent.”

Joshua was silent, the faint rhythm of his breathing disconcerting, too intimate with the phone pressed to Leo’s ear. He put the call on speaker, placed the phone on his pillow and wondered whether he should apologise for his comment. It had been the truth, nothing more and nothing less. But fine, all right,maybehe could see how it mightbe tricky for Joshua to take a bus when the country’s entire population recognised him on sight. And thirty percent wanted to marry him.

“Sorry,” Leo said quietly. “That was a bit dickish, right? I guess you’d cause a mob scene if you ever hopped on the tube.”

“Yes.” Joshua let the word hang between them for a moment. When he spoke again, there was a rough edge to his voice. “Johnson left me a message, like, saying goodbye. He had another copy of the video. Left that, too.”

“Did he, now.” Leo didn’t strive too hard to feign surprise. “Just so you know, the guy has sailed off to the Americas. Figuratively speaking. Took a flight out this morning.”

Another pause trailed Leo’s declaration, long enough for him to grab the phone and roll out of bed in search of a glass of water. “I guess that’s for the better,” Joshua said eventually.

“You’re glad you don’t have to do anything, aren’t you?” On his way into the kitchen, Leo bumped into the doorframe. He hit the light switch and waited for the lamp above the table to flicker to life, wondering briefly what Joshua would make of his flat. It wasn’t anything special, nothing like Joshua’s tastefully decorated loft with its custom-made furniture and view over Regent’s Canal—but it belonged to Leo.

Well, two thirds belonged to the bank. He was steadily paying off the mortgage.

“Whatever I could have done wouldn’t have affected only him, you know? His sister is very nice.” Joshua’s voice carried a trace of challenge. “It’s never just about the direct consequences. There are usually implications beyond that.”

“Is this”—Leo switched the phone off speaker mode and brought it back to his ear—“your roundabout way of saying that you’ve decided to stay in the closet?” He fought to keep his tone even, not let his disappointment show. It was Joshua’s call. And he did have valid reasons, Leo could admit as much.

Just… he’d thought that maybe Joshua would make a bold statement. Have some of those bloody traditionalists choke on their breakfast when they unfolded the morning paper. Leo’s parents included.

He swallowed around the bitter taste in his mouth. This wasn’t about him.

“No,” Joshua said. The word came out quiet, but calm. “It’s my roundabout way of saying I’ve decided to come out.”

Leo’s head jerked up. He took a deep breath and reached for a glass of water, filling it to the brim before he said, “Okay, wow. I did not expect that.Damn.” He cleared his throat. “Good on you, man.”

“You really think so?” Joshua didn’t sound convinced.

“Yeah.” Even though Joshua couldn’t see him, Leo nodded. “I really think so. This ismassive.”

“Hey, I was wondering…” Joshua hesitated, then continued. “I mean, George does regular PR for us, but his speciality is managing what is thrown his way, not so much hatching out grand schemes. Which is what you guys are known for.”

Leo chugged down some water and set the glass down with a decisive clink. He felt a smile twitch around the corners of his mouth, grow and brighten, until he was grinning at his own reflection in the windowpane. “Are you asking whether we will take on the biggest story of the year? If not the decade? I don’t need to check in with James when I sayhell yeah. This will be brilliant.”

A small puff of breath, not quite a laugh. “Sound more excited, please.”

“Sue me.” Leo rolled back his shoulders. “If you ask me, this is the best thing to happen to the monarchy since… Queen Elizabeth’s patronage of Shakespeare, possibly.”

Now Joshua did laugh, soft and warm, fleeting like a ghost touch. “You just pulled that out of your arse.”

“Why, Your Royal Highness. I amshockedat this outrageous accusation. And the use of profanities.” In contradiction to the words, Leo was still grinning, and he was certain Joshua could hear it in his voice.

There was another, very short gap before Joshua asked, “Can it be you? My main contact with James’ team, I mean. It’s kind of…” He snorted. “You’re a little shit sometimes, but you’re honest and clever. And I’m comfortable with you. Talking about… things.”

A little shit, eh? Yeah, Leo could sort of see how Joshua had drawnthat conclusion. He decided not to take offence, instead went for a dry, “Eloquent, Princeling.”