“And if my parents ask, I’m telling them you’re spending it with Liam because he just broke up with his boyfriend.”
“It was only Liam who thought they were boyfriends, like he always does after any guy fucks him.”
“Details I don’t need to share with my parents. At least this way it’s not an outright lie.”
Milo had avoided Liam. He’d already gone home for Christmas, but not before texting that they would “speak when they both got back,” which sounded like a problem for January Milo. At least after these few days with Edward, he’d know for certain if there was anything he needed to share. Liam had been dropped by the guys he was seeing after a few weeks for being too clingy– that always happened with him. He fell hard and fast and always ended up getting hurt. Milo hoped he wouldn’t change, though. One day he’d meet a guy who was wired the same way and they’d be perfect for each other. Liam wanted the big, all-consuming love you got in romance novels, whereas Milo was more of a high-angst, high-stakes reader. And that’s what he was getting in real life, wasn’t he? Well, at least the high-stakes part.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Lexie.
“Just wondering how this story is going to end.”
“You should write it as a book.”
“I haven’t done anything with the one I’ve finished. I’m hardly going to write another.”
“What?”
Oh shit!
Lexie didn’t know he’d finished his book. Whenever she asked about his writing, he always said he didn’t have time to write.
“When did you finish your book?”
“Fairly recently.”
“Do you want me to tickle you?”
He scowled at her.
“How long, Milo? Or do I need to call Liam and ask him, and perhaps mention you aren’t spending Christmas with me?”
“Bitch! Okay, it was two years ago.”
“What!” she shrieked, making him jump. “Right, this iswhat’s going to happen. You’re going to send me a copy so I can read it over Christmas. No arguments. And if it’s as good as I think it will be, we’re doing something about it in the new year.”
“Fine,” he grumbled.
There was no point arguing with her. Even if she liked the book, he didn’t have to do anything about it. Although Lexie was a lot harder to ignore than Liam.
“Have you gotten Eddie a present?”
“Yeah. I’m nervous about it, but hopefully he’ll like it.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll tell you if he likes it.”
“Bitch!”
They looked at each other, and both cracked up laughing. Milo would miss spending Christmas with her, but he was excited to see what could happen being in a cabin with Edward for the next week. They weren’t due back until New Year’s Eve. That was a lot of time to spend alone with one person, and hopefully he wouldn’t start the new year with a broken heart.
CHAPTER 12
EDWARD
The flight had been smooth. Edward hadn’t liked not being able to sit with Milo on the plane, but it had been Milo’s idea. Edward knew why he’d suggested it, but it didn’t make it feel any better. It was only a ninety-minute flight, and they’d picked up their rental car quickly. They’d been driving now for close to two hours, and it was already dark, but the night sky was lit up with stars because of the lack of light pollution. It was stunning. Milo kept pointing things out, but Edward had to concentrate. The roads were narrow, and there was snow on the ground. In the UK, a sprinkle of snow would bring the country to a grinding halt, but in Norway it was just like any other Thursday in the winter.
Derek had purchased the cabin after visiting the small town on a cruise of the Norwegian fjords. It was astonishing how far inland they went, and how deep the fjords were if a cruise liner could dock here. Edward had checked, and there were no cruises due whilst they were staying here. That could have been a disaster as it would have been full of Brits, and he wanted to enjoy his time with Milo without the worry of having to hide from the outside world. Although Edward didn’t intend to spend much time outside the cosy cabin. Thiswas an opportunity to get to know Milo better, and discover if they could make a real relationship work.
