Milo looked up with a smile on his face. Edward loved seeing him in his place, especially when he got home. It had been a month since Edward had made his press statement, which had been followed up by his interview with Sally. She’d been respectful and hadn’t asked him questions about Milo. He’d simply said his boyfriend wasn’t in the public eye, and people should be respectful of his privacy. All the press attention had died off, and they were effectively old news now. It had been carefully leaked to the press that the PM wasn’t going anywhere, and the journalists were sniffing around for the next political scandal.
“Will you move in with me?”
“What?” asked Milo, with a look of shock on his face.
“Didn’t you say your tenancy was up?”
“Yeah, but you really want me here?”
“All the time. You could write while I go out and do my office job.”
Milo snorted. He’d quit his job, with immediate effect.Edward had encouraged Milo to clear the air with Patrick, which he had. He didn’t have any personal grudge with Patrick, but seeing the impact the story had on Edward had made Milo realise they’d done that to lots of other people. It was no longer an industry he could work in, which Patrick had understood.
“Can I talk to the guys first?”
“Of course,” he said, trying not to sound disappointed.
Milo jumped up and walked over to Edward, taking hold of his hands.
“I want to move in with you, but I promised the guys we’d get a flat together. A two-bed flat versus a three-bed will have a big impact on their budget. I just want to do the right thing. But the short answer is yes, I will move in with you.”
Edward leaned forward and gave him a kiss. “I love you.”
“Love you too. I made dinner.”
Edward looked around and sniffed. “Is it a salad?”
“Cheeky fucker. No, Thai food.”
“What time will it get here?”
“About ten minutes.”
Edward laughed. “Great, I’ll grab a quick shower.”
“Shall I join you?”
“Not if you don’t want the food to get cold.”
Edward gave Milo another quick kiss and dashed upstairs. He turned the shower on whilst he got undressed. Before, he’d gotten home at all hours, and just eaten something and gone to sleep, showering in the morning. Now he was with Milo, he looked forward to their evenings together. The Commons sat late a couple of nights a week, but even on those occasions, Milo was always waiting up for him in case Edward needed taking care of. Milo was here almost every night, so it only felt right that he’d asked him to move in.
Thankfully, Milo’s flatmates had come round to the idea of him being with a politician. Well, to be fair, Kieran was the only one who’d given him a hard time, but Edward hadn’tminded. It was refreshing to hear someone young speak so passionately about issues. Even if they disagreed on some things, and Edward wasn’t up for abolishing the monarchy, he respected his point of view, which had thrown him a bit. It was clear he was used to people just arguing with him.
Lexie was trying to convince Edward to be the patron of a trans charity that had supported her. He was going to do it, but he’d had a lot of similar requests from LGBTQ+ charities, and he couldn’t do them all. Hassan had given a mini lecture on how underfunded the NHS was, none of which Edward disagreed with. He was honest and said they had to make the money they had work, as there wasn’t a bottomless pit. Liam was a wonderful guy, and he knew Milo missed seeing him every day, but Heartwood was a gorgeous little town. Edward could see himself living there if he ever wanted to slow things down one day.
Once he was out of the shower, he dried off and pulled on some joggers and a singlet, which showed off his arms– Milo was always touching his biceps. As he walked down the stairs he got a waft of deliciousness, which made his mouth water, so the food had arrived. He walked into the kitchen diner and stopped. Milo was staring at his phone with a shocked look on his face.
“Is everything okay, Milo?”
“That was Hannah Jackson.”
Edward couldn’t help but smile.
“Did you know she was going to call me?”
“I didn’t think it would be this quick. I only sent it to her a week ago.”
Hannah Jackson was the commissioning editor at one of the big four publishing houses. Edward had read Milo’s book, at his request, and he’d loved it. Milo had worked with the editorial service Edward had purchased, but they’d given him a refund as there was nothing she could offer to make the manuscript any better. She’d advised him to send it to agentsimmediately, but Milo had hesitated through fear of rejection. Edward knew it all too well, so he’d been decisive and bypassed agents, going straight to Hannah. He’d met her a few times, but she was Derek’s friend, not his. She didn’t owe him anything. Edward had only asked her for some advice on where Milo would be best marketing it to.
