He nodded.
“Obviously, I read your interview. Knew I’d beeninfluenced by the shitty press again, which you think wouldn’t be so easy given I work in the industry.”
“What?”
“Oh, yeah. Nothing to panic about. I’m not a journalist. I’m just a PA.”
“Who for?”
“Patrick Whitaker.”
He visibly relaxed. “Patrick’s one of the few decent ones, but he knows nothing about us, does he?”
“I like my boss, but I don’t talk to him about my sex life.”
He chuckled. “Fair point. Neither do I.”
Milo laughed with him and then stopped.
“What?”
“It’s just the realisation that when you say ‘boss’ you’re referring to the prime minister.”
Edward smiled. Milo wasn’t sure what to say next, so he grabbed his tea and took a sip. The man could make a good cup of tea. That was a big tick in the plus column. Not that he had a running list. Once he’d found out who Edward really was, he’d known there could be nothing more between them other than sex, but there was a part of his brain that liked to imagine unicorns farting rainbows. Well, not exactly, but that was more probable than his being anything more than a fuck buddy to Edward Chivington.
“Do you mind me asking you something?”
“Depends on what it is,” said Edward with a smile.
“Do you think you would ever come out?”
“I want to. It was just impossible when my dad was still alive. He tried to keep me away from any influences he thought were wrong. I had to go to university in London, or he wouldn’t support me financially. Then, when I was a trainee solicitor, I couldn’t afford to move out. By the time I got a place of my own, the closet was the only place I knew.”
“How long has he been gone?”
“A year.”
“So why not come out now?”
“It’s . . . complicated.”
“Because you’re going to be prime minister soon?”
“What are you talking about?”
“That was a good poker face, but I work with journalists. She’s stepping down in the new year, probably to mark her ten-year anniversary, but I’m guessing on that. She will endorse you. Job done.”
Eddie said nothing for a second, just rubbed his face. There was a slight scratchy sound from his five o’clock shadow. That wasn’t something he usually had, so he must have shaved each time before they’d hooked up. Milo’s mind went in two different directions. One was that it was a sweet thing to do, and the other was wondering what that scruff would feel like being rubbed against his cock with Eddie on his knees in front of him.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Edward.
“Nothing.”
“You can be honest with me. If you’ve got an opinion about me not coming out, I’d rather hear it from you directly, rather than make assumptions.”
“Eddie, I would never pressure someone to come out, or dictate their timeline. You have your reasons, and they’re yours. I won’t lie and say that having an openly gay prime minister wouldn’t be incredibly inspiring, but I can only imagine the scrutiny that would bring.”
“If I tell you something, do you promise not to tell anyone else?”
