He smiled and went over to the fridge, pulling out a bottle that looked expensive, but then Milo knew little about wine. All he knew was what he liked, which was most things, as long as they weren’t too dry. As Edward poured him a glass, the whole thing felt domesticated. Is this what it would be like to be in a relationship with someone older? Milo had always gone for older guys, but he’d never dated one. His last boyfriend had been the same age as him. Their sexual compatibility had been incredible, but that was all they’d had going for them, and it had fizzled out after three months.
“Let’s sit down. I wanted to talk to you before we have dinner.”
That sounded ominous, but he nodded his agreement. It felt like their power dynamic had shifted again. Edward had a glass of red wine. He moved Milo’s bag off the sofa and gestured for Milo to sit next to him, then took a rather large gulp of his wine. Was he nervous?
“How would you feel about changing your plans for Christmas?”
“What do you mean?” He didn’t want to make any assumptions.
“I really like you, Milo. I’d like to see if there could be more here. If we spent some time together, where we had clothes on, we could get to know each other better.”
“So, we’d just stay here instead?”
“No. My friend has a place in Norway and he’s said we can use it. It’s a small town that only has about three hundred people living there. It’d be away from the chaos for both of us.”
Milo wasn’t sure what to say. It wasn’t often that he was lost for words.
“I know it’s a lot to take in, and you don’t have to decide now, but there’s a flight on Thursday. Then it’s a couple of hours’ drive from there.”
“Okay. I guess you’ve thought of everything.”
“It’s just a suggestion, Milo. You can say no, and I won’t be upset. I know I just sprung this on you, but I think we could have something really special here.”
Milo’s head was spinning. What did he mean by that? Did he want Milo to be his boyfriend? How would that work when he was prime minister, and still in the closet? Before he could get his mouth to work again, the alarm for the oven went off, and Edward was up dealing with dinner. For the first time since the night they’d met, there was an uncomfortable silence between them, and Milo hated it. But what was he supposed to say? He didn’t need to spend Christmas with Edward to know there was something more between them. What would happen if his feelings grew stronger but nothing changed? Their relationship would still be a secret, and the fear of being exposed would hang over them constantly. How could he live like that? And if it came out, it would be a tremendous scandal, which was ridiculous, but it didn’t stop it being true.
Edward put dinner in front of him, which was a delicious-looking beef casserole with dumplings and crusty buttered bread. Before Milo could say anything, he walked away and came back with a jar of pickled red cabbage. This was his favourite meal his mum used to make for him whenever it started getting cold.
“How did you know?” asked Milo, his eyes watering.
“You told me one night. You know, when you used to do all the talking.”
Milo laughed before he started crying. This had to be the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for him. He felt Edward’s hands grip his own. He looked, and Edward was crouching down beside him with a concerned look on his face.
“You don’t have to eat it if it’s triggered something.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just... Yes, I’ll do it.”
“Do what?”
“I’ll spend Christmas with you.”
“Oh. My. God. I’m so excited for you,” said Lexie, squeezing him with one of her hugs.
“You’re not pissed off about the last-minute change?”
“Of course not, but I expect all the details when you get back. Well, not all the squelchy stuff. The romantic shit, like that meal he made for you.”
“I know, right?”
Milo still couldn’t believe he’d done that, and it had tasted incredible. It was like a fancier version of his mum’s casserole. Of course, Edward used premium ingredients, but money had been tight growing up, so she’d made stuff work with whatever she could get whilst holding down three jobs.
“What are you going to tell the others?” asked Lexie.
“I was just gonna let them assume I was still with you, if that’s okay? I don’t think the signal will be great there.”
“Is there a way to get hold of you in case there’s an emergency?”
“No idea, but I’ll ask Eddie.”
