10. Edward #2
Although he’d be spending Christmas Day with Derek, he had no other plans.
He wondered what Milo was doing, and if he would have any time off from work.
Perhaps they could see each other a few times.
Did Edward need to get Milo a present? They’d not ended up doing much talking because they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
Not that he was complaining, although he was grateful he wouldn’t be spending the day on the Commons benches.
The hard seat would give him a constant reminder of the punishment his arse had taken all weekend. He had no regrets.
He'd caught up with Olivia, but they didn’t talk about Hargreaves or her stepping down.
She was in wind-down mode to spend Christmas with her family, although as prime minister she was never on holiday, or off duty.
If anything happened, Edward would usually cover as her deputy, but it would depend on the circumstances.
Some situations demanded her presence, which wasn’t a slight on anyone else, it was just what the public expected.
The chief of staff had droned on about the calendar for January for almost two hours.
The guy was excellent at his job, but uptight, and it was hard to get any form of emotion from him.
Edward’s afternoon was packed with meetings.
Why did so many people need to speak to him before Christmas?
At least he had lunch with Derek to break the monotony of the day.
They were meeting at a restaurant in Covent Garden, so he made use of his driver to get there quickly.
London was ready for Christmas. The weather was unseasonably warm – you still needed a coat, though scarves and gloves weren’t a necessity like they would be in January – but everything else screamed Christmas.
The streets were packed with people shopping for presents and enjoying festive activities, there were food trucks and pop-up stalls, and every shop you went past had Christmas music blasting out of it.
He’d loved this time of the year when his mother was still around, but once it was just him and his dad, there’d been no magic to it.
They’d met up on the day, had a meal, exchanged token gifts, and then had a drink while his dad kept banging on at him about meeting the right woman to settle down with so he could become a grandfather before he died.
Edward wondered what Milo thought of Christmas.
It wasn’t something they’d talked about.
Given his mum was no longer around, it might be a sad time for him, so Edward had avoided the subject.
Would Milo be on his own, or would he be with one of his friends?
He’d only met Lexie once, but he couldn’t imagine someone like her would leave one of her friends on his own at Christmas.
He’d exchanged numbers with Milo now, which meant he could delete the app, but he hadn’t because he didn’t want to lose all their message history, which had been restored when Milo had unblocked him.
He had no intention of going back on there for any other reason, though.
The car pulled to a stop outside the restaurant, although it was more like a brasserie.
He’d been here a few times over the years, but it was under new ownership now and seemed to be a lot more successful than it once was.
Given its location, it should have been constantly busy, but the place used to be empty.
That had changed about six months ago. Walking inside, he spotted Derek, so he pointed him out to the ma?tre d’ and went over to greet his friend.
Edward looked around to check if there was anyone else he knew here.
“Relax, Eddie. I already scoped the place out.”
He shook his head, laughing.
“I ordered us a bottle of red,” Derek said, holding the bottle up and gesturing to his empty glass.
“I’ve got meetings all afternoon.”
“I thought you said they were all on Teams.”
“Fair point. Fill her up.”
Derek filled his glass and gave him a knowing look.
“What?”
“Do I need to ask the question?”
“He stayed the weekend.”
“At your place?”
Edward nodded and could feel his face heating as he remembered everything they’d done.
“That good was it?”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Just keep doing whatever puts that smile on your face.”
“How can I do that?”
“I think you know how it all works by now.”
Edward rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Let’s be serious for a moment,” said Derek, lowering his voice. “Is this just fun, or something more serious?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it.”
“Mouth full was it?”
Edward couldn’t help but snort, but he was mindful they were in a public place and didn’t want to be overheard having a conversation like this.
Before Derek could say anything else, their server came over to take their order.
They both went for the steak. The new chef they’d brought in here was excellent and cooked it to perfection.
Once the server left them, Derek leaned back in his chair and sipped his wine.
He watched Edward intently, as if he was waiting for him to say something, but he didn’t find the silence uncomfortable.
It was a great asset for dealing with politicians, who always loved to talk constantly about themselves.
“I’ve got an idea,” said Derek, leaning forward.
“Why does that sound terrifying?”
“Not terrifying. Risky perhaps, but I think it could help you decide.”
“Decide what?”
“Whether to try for something more with Milo.”
“I don’t like you getting in my head all the time. Okay, what’s your idea?”
“Take him to the cabin.”
“Your cabin?”
“Yes, it’s sitting there empty. You get about five hours of daylight at this time of year, so lots of cosy nights to get to know each other better.”
“What about you at Christmas?”
“I’ve got the club and I can find someone to entertain me.”
Edward chuckled. He knew his friend could find someone to keep him company.
He did not discriminate on gender or age, so he had a lot of options, although Edward was not aware of him ever fucking around at his club.
Perhaps that was a hard limit for him – not shitting in your own back garden.
The same philosophy did not apply in politics. If only those walls could talk.
“I don’t know if he’d want to go. He’s probably got plans for Christmas already.”
“Ask him . . . and use the time to see if there’s more there than what you’ve already been doing. See if he’s worth it.”
“Worth what?”
“Blowing your life up.”
“Thank you for that!”
“You know what I mean. If it came down to having to choose between your career and him, which would you choose?”
“My career, of course.”
“And if that meant you’d never see him again?”
Edward hesitated.
“Exactly. There’s something more there. It’s worth seeing if it’s reciprocated, and if it’s not, at least you know. If it is, then you’ve got January to decide.”
“Why can’t I have both?”
“I’m not the one who said you couldn’t. That’s your dad, who’s still in your head.”
Derek leaned back in his chair and took another sip of his wine.
He’d said his piece, and it was for Edward to process.
His head was spinning. What was he supposed to do?
Even if Milo wanted to spend Christmas with him in Norway, he might just see it as some privacy to fuck all day.
I mean, that’s what they’d done all weekend.
And if he suggested to Milo he wanted more, he might lose him.
Edward would hardly be easy to have a relationship with.
He came with a lot of baggage, and he could be the prime minister in a couple of months.
Was that the time to start a relationship?
Logically, he knew he needed to end this thing with Milo and focus on the leadership contest, but the thought of never seeing that beautiful young man again was the thing that made him hesitate.
Whether it was being driven by his heart or his hormones was something he wasn’t sure of yet, but Derek was offering him an opportunity to get his answer. Why shouldn’t he take a chance?
“I’ll ask him.”