Page 18 of If the Shoe Fits (Rainbow Tales #2)

Leo sat beside his father at the royal table in the castle dining hall and ignored the women of the court who were trying to get his attention.

It was dinner, a time of night he usually enjoyed.

There was always some entertainment, and the food tended to be better than at breakfast or lunch.

But how could Leo enjoy himself when he didn't know what the future held?

In particular, if he would be holding Xander in it.

Word of the party and the nuptials that would follow had gotten out.

Everyone in the castle knew that Leo wasn't interested in women.

They knew where his passions lay. Some of them—all right, a lot of them—knew from personal experience.

But that didn't stop the women from pursuing Leo.

It was just as his father said—they were after a crown, not Leovar. He was just a means to an end.

Could he do it? Marry a woman? Father children?

Not without Xander. The knowledge was startling considering how long he'd been a determined libertine.

To go from fucking multiple men a day to waiting for one to decide whether to be with him was a turn of events Leo never could have foreseen.

And for it to happen so quickly. He would have thought the whole thing magical if his father hadn't demanded that he marry right on the heels of his newfound desire for monogamy.

If only he could marry Xander.

But the only way Xander and he could be together was if Xander consented to being a secret lover.

And Xander deserved better than that. Leo wanted to give him better.

As a prince, he should be able to provide his consort with anything.

But he couldn't. Not that. Secret love was all he had to offer.

So, if this was all he could give Xander of himself, Leo had better find something else to sweeten the deal.

He stood up.

“Leovar?” The King frowned up at his son.

“I have something I need to do, Father. Please, excuse me.” Leo ran off before his father could say anything.

There were record keepers whom he needed to speak with immediately.