Edward had gotten him an editorial package, for him to work with someone who would give him the professional reassurance that what he’d done was good. The next part of the gift was support for getting his book published, whichever route he took it to market.
“I guess it’s my turn,” said Edward
“Oh, God. This doesn’t compare. How much did this cost you?” he asked, holding the paper up.
“You don’t ask questions like that, Milo. And that isn’t how presents work. That you chose something for me is priceless.”
“Look at you, being all romantic. I thought you hadn’t done this before?”
Edward felt his face heat, but Milo was giving him one of his wicked smiles, so he knew he was just being teased. The gift was so beautifully wrapped that he didn’t want to damage any of the paper. He carefully unwrapped the bow and opened the paper at the seams. It was something his mother had done, as she’d liked to save quality wrapping paper and reuse it.
Pulling the paper off the box, he wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t this. He wanted to burst into tears.
“How did you get this?”
“Online. A guy was selling it, because it had belonged to his dad. He wasn’t interested in it and wanted it to go to someone who would really appreciate it.”
“How did you know I wanted this one?”
“I didn’t, until you told me,” said Milo, letting out a breath he must have been holding. “You talked about how much you love the Tudor period. I saw the ones you already had and wondered why you didn’t have this one.”
“I’ve never been able to find it.”
“I’d like to make this bold claimthat I scoured the internet for weeks looking for it, but I think I just got lucky on eBay, and he lived in London so I could pick it up before we came here.”
Edward looked at the box in awe. He'd been slowly building his ship-in-a-bottle collection for years. His mother had gotten him the first one, but he didn’t have a vast collection. Each of his ships was a replica of something significant from British history, like the Titanic, Cutty Sark, and Mayflower. He’d never been able to find a Mary Rose that didn’t look cheap or that fitted with his collection. This one was a perfect match.
“Do I need to give you two some alone time?” asked Milo.
Edward really wanted to tell Milo how he felt about him, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment by making things tooheavy. Until he was home and he had a plan for how he could be with Milo openly, he didn’t want to set the wrong expectations.
“I love it,” he said, leaning forward to give Milo a kiss. That was all he could say right now, but he hoped Milo picked up on what he really meant.
The rest of their break went by in a blissful bubble locked away from the outside world. Nothing had happened back home that required Edward to leave early, and Milo had spoken to Liam and Lexie on Christmas Day, then turned his phone off. He’d wanted a complete break.
All they’d done for the past five days was eat, watch films, and make love. Edward wasn’t sure if he’d be walking right again until February, but that’s what he got for falling in love with a younger man. Neither of them had said anything about their feelings for each other, but Edward believed Milo felt the same way about him. He just hoped his situation wouldn’t eventually become a deal-breaker.
They planned to go back to the town they’d been to on their first day, when things suddenly changed.
“What the fuck!” said Milo from the bedroom.
Edward dashed over from the kitchen, where he’d been making lunch. Milo was looking at his phone with a concerned look on his face.
“What’s happened?”
“I’ve got like a gazillion missed calls from Liam, Lexie, and Kieran. And loads of messages asking me to call urgently. These have been coming in for three days.”
“Who’s the most level-headed?”
“Lexie.”
“Call her first. I’ll give you some privacy.”
“No, please stay here with me. It’s gonna be bad news.There’s no other reason for them all to have called me this many times. They’d just tell me in a message.”
Edward knew he was right, and there was no purpose in trying to reassure him otherwise. All he could do was be here for Milo, and whatever was just about to be dropped on him. Milo took a deep breath and called Lexie.
“Where the fuck are you?” Lexie’s voice was so loud that Edward could hear her clearly.
