Page 113 of Wear It Like a Crown

That Leo had insisted on also involving Tristan and Mo meant nearly as much. They should arrive along with Nate in a quarter of an hour, allowing for about ten minutes to get everything ready and distract Leo with aimless banter before the serious talks were to begin. By then Leo had better be dressed, or Joshua couldn’t guarantee he’d be able to concentrate.

With a glass of water in one hand, a couple of painkillers in the other, Joshua dropped to the floor next to Leo. Leo eyed Joshua’s offerings, then opted for tugging him into a gentle kiss before prying the pills out of his fingers.

“My hero,” he said.

“You can call me Prince Charming,” Joshua told him, grinning, and Leo flicked him on the nose.

“You’re not half as charming as you think you are.”

“Then I guess you’re just easy.”

“Fuck off,” Leo muttered, but he was smiling around the rim of the glass. He’d been smiling a lot since Rio, and Joshua hoped it would stay that way even after they were back in the UK.

* * *

Blessedly, the painkillers set in a few minutes before the Skype conference was due to start. Leo still felt a little queasy, but he wasn’t certain he could blame the remnants of alcohol in his blood.

With Joshua on one side, Nate on the other, Tristan and Mo sprawled on the floor in front of the sofa, he waited for the livestream to connect. It did so with a noticeable lag, the image stuttering before it finally displayed James’ conference room, along with slightly blurry versions of Carole, Ben, James and George spread around the table.

Throughout the introductory small talk, Leo was mostly quiet and focused on keeping his breathing steady and easy. Joshua’s hand was a warm weight on his thigh.

“So,” James said eventually, clapping his hands. On the screen of Nate’s notebook, James’ mouth moved out of sync with his words. “Are we ready to do this? Leo?”

Sucking in a deep, harsh breath, Leo glanced at Joshua and found the Prince looking at him already. The nauseating pressure in Leo’s stomach eased just slightly.

All right. Okay. If this didn’t break them, nothing else would.

“I’m ready,” Leo announced, turning to face the camera lens. It was partially true. “First things first, though: I want there to be a backdoor for Joshua. Plausible deniability. If this turns sour, I want to give Joshua the option to deny that he knew the details of my past so he can walk away mostly unharmed.”

“No,” Joshua said briskly. His fingers tightened around Leo’s thigh, digging into the muscle. “Absolutely not. We’re in this together.”

“I’m James’ client,” Leo told him, as calmly as he could. “Means that I’m calling the shots, love.”

Leo found it difficult to maintain his resolve when Joshua’s eyes narrowed, disappointment written into his frown. “I’m yourboyfriend.” Joshua’s voice was firm, yet quiet. “This is a relationship of equals, and you can’t just go ahead and decide things without me.”

Oh, fuck.Boyfriend.

In theory, Leo shouldn’t be caught off-guard by a word as simple as that, but there was something disarming about hearing it out loud, stated so casually. It made him hitch in a breath, his chest too wide and too narrow at once. He turned to face Joshua fully, deliberately angling himself away from the webcam.

“Joshua.” The name felt loaded, like a declaration in itself. “I’m not trying to make a decision for both of us. I won’t push you out that backdoor. Never. But I do want to give you the option.”

“I won’t use it,” Joshua told him, a stubborn tilt to his chin. “So you might as well scrap the thought.”

“You’re absolutely impossible, you know that?” With a sigh, Leo leaned in to press their foreheads together, closing his eyes for a second before he added, so low only Joshua would hear, “But please give me that. Okay? It’ll make me feel better.”

A palpable moment of hesitation passed, and Leo was keenly aware of the others around them, watching and waiting. He didn’t know how much James had told Carole and Ben in advance, but since no one uttered a single word, he assumed that they’d had a vague notion, at least.

Just as the silence became heavy, Joshua shifted to drop a kiss to the corner of Leo’s mouth. “All right,” he agreed.

“Good,” Leo told him.I love you, he thought, and maybe Joshua could read it in Leo’s eyes because the tension in his features drained away and made room for a beaming smile. Without thought, Leo returned it.

After that, the questions set in.

James fired them off in rapid succession, and Leo foughtto keep his voice even and his posture relaxed as he answered as honestly as he could. Joshua’s hand on his thigh was grounding, as was the press of Nate’s shoulder against his. A few minutes in, Mo sat up from the floor to lean against Leo’s thighs, and Tristan’s fingers snaked around Leo’s ankle, clasping it in a light grip. Leo loved all of them wildly, aggressively, with every single molecule of his body.

“What are the chances of someone recognising you?” James asked. “Past clients, I mean.”

“Generally slim.” Leo cleared his throat. “For one, I used all sorts of fake names when I worked. I also had really short hair, which—maybe you guys remember that from early on. Because easier to keep clean, you know, and more hygienic when regular showers are a bit tricky. Made me look like quite a different person, and I was younger, thinner, much more of a twink.” He paused for a chuckle that didn’t come out entirely convincing. “I mean, hey, I had hair a bit like now at Eton, tousled fringe and all, and Joshua and Tristan still didn’t recognise me.”