Page 47 of Wear It Like a Crown

“It’s safe to say that in this flat, Tristan is the only person with an exclusive interest in boobs.”

Returning with a bottle of vodka in one arm, and five spoons and ice cream in the other, Tristan set everything but the ice cream down on the coffee table, then plopped himself down on Joshua’s lap. “It’s a tough job,” he confided. “But someone’s got to do it. And I’m up for the challenge.”

Joshua wrapped an arm around Tristan’s waist. “Upfor it,” he said,heavy emphasis and a quiet giggle tagged onto the end. Jesus. He was positively ridiculous and Leo was so charmed, so very out of his depth.

“That’s a sad attempt at a pun,” he told Joshua. “If that is the best you can do, I weep for this grand old nation.”

Joshua’s smile showed a lot of teeth. “No one here to judge me.”

“I’m judging,” Leo said.

“No.” Slowly, sweetly, Joshua shook his head. His smile softened, and Leo wanted to touch him again—always, always. “You’re not, really. Not anymore. Thank you.”

There was no good response; nothing Leo could say that wouldn’t betray the unease sizzling in his veins. He was still all wrapped up in Joshua’s space, and for the sake of his own sanity, he should move back. He didn’t want to, though. Wrestling his gaze away from Joshua, he found the other three watching him with varying degrees of curiosity, waiting for his reply. Leo drew a blank.

Nate narrowed his eyes at him. Leo widened his own eyes in response.

Sooner rather than later, he would need to talk to Nate. He didn’t owe him an explanation, didn’t owe anyone anything, but… he wanted to. He needed at least one person to understand.

“Ice cream?” he asked, breaking the strange silence that had cloaked the room. On the edge of his vision, he noticed how Joshua’s smile dropped, and—yeah. Calling for ice cream was an inadequate response to Joshua’s honest expression of gratitude, could suggest that Leo was uncomfortable with it, uncomfortable with Joshua trusting him, relying on him, considering him a friend.

Could they be friends? Would Leo ever be satisfied with having Joshua as a friend,justa friend, when he was struggling to quench emotions from the past?

What if this had nothing to do with the past?

Leo tried to crush the thought as soon as it had occurred.

“Ice cream,” Tristan confirmed loudly. “And someone please find a semi-legal streaming website so we can watch some boobs.”

“Semi-legal?” Joshua sat up a little straighter and released an audible breath. His arm was still wrapped around Tristan’s waist, their physical proximity easy and casual, as it always was with them. It drove home thepoint that all those times Joshua had sought out Leo’s touch, it really didn’t mean anything.

Which was good. Much safer for everyone involved.

Leo looked away, just in time to catch the probing glance Nate sent his way—yet another time Nate had caught him out. Jesus, Leo really wasn’t subtle when it came to Joshua, was he? He needed to try harder.

Nate scrambled off the sofa to collect his laptop. “Don’t worry, I’m on it.”

“Make sure we don’t have police knocking down His Royal Highness’ door, will you?” Leo asked. Nate’s response consisted of a flat look.

Tristan popped open the carton of ice cream, and Leo wasn’t surprised that it was the homemade kind, not the industrial stuff that could be bought in stores. He wondered if Joshua himself had made it, wouldn’t be entirely surprised to find him mixing swirls of liquid chocolate into the creamy substance, concentration written into the crease between his brows.

Leo needed to stop. And he needed to put some distance between himself and Joshua.Now.

He didn’t move an inch.

“Who wants the first taste?” Tristan asked. Before anyone had a chance to reply, he quickly added, “Me, obviously,” and dug his spoon into the mass. In retaliation, Joshua shoved him off his lap and Tristan tumbled to the floor, bumping into the coffee table with the carton clutched protectively to his chest.

“Serves you right,” Mo told him.

“Just for that comment,” Tristan said, “you won’t get any. Joshua won’t get any either.”

“But I made that,” Joshua protested.

Tristan righted himself, tipping up his face with a broad smirk. “So?”

Over Tristan’s head, Leo met Nate’s eyes. Leo raised his eyebrows, and Nate grinned and nodded, then crawled across the floor to dig his fingers into Tristan’s side, making him jolt. Leo used the distraction to pluck the carton from Tristan’s hands.

Grabbing a spoon off the coffee table, Leo ignored Tristan shouting insults in between trying to squirm away from Nate’s tickle attack. Leoheld both items out to Joshua and received a slow, surprised smile in return. “Thank you,” Joshua said, and this time Leo was ready with a reply.