Love Like Theirs

by Sophie Love

  His enthusiasm was infectious.

  “How can I resist?” Keira said.

  They walked together to the cathedral, and once inside, Keira was astounded. She couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. She tiptoed along the aisle, glancing all about her in wonder.

  “There was a royal wedding here not that long ago,” Milo told her.

  “I can see why,” Keira said, twirling on the spot. She was about to say that it was a wedding location fit for a princess, that she would love to marry in a place like that, but she kept her mouth shut, remembering what had happened with Cristiano in France.

  “I have one more place to take you,” Milo said. “If you still have the energy?”

  “That coffee was so strong I don’t think it will ever wear off,” Keira joked. “So yes, I’m happy to see somewhere else.”

  “Good,” Milo said, smiling.

  They left the cathedral and Milo directed Keira toward the canal. There, waiting by a small jetty, was a boat.

  “A boat tour,” he explained. “Stockholm looks fabulous from the canal.”

  Keira couldn’t help but think of the gondola in Italy, of the way her thigh had pressed against Cristiano’s. Milo must have sensed her hesitation, because he looked concerned.

  “Is that okay?” he asked. “Or am I making it too much like a date? You were very clear that this was not a date but a business meeting.”

  Keira couldn’t help but laugh. Milo was so forthcoming it was a breath of fresh air. She could really see what Venla meant now about not playing games. Everything was above board, vocalized, and discussed. It was different, but refreshingly so.

  “No, it’s perfect,” she said. “I’m just a little chilly, that’s all.”

  “I anticipated as much,” Milo said. He took a blanket from his satchel. “Here, you can wrap this around your shoulders.”

  Keira took it and wrapped it about her before stepping into the boat. If Milo hadn’t literally just made it clear that there was nothing romantic behind his intentions she’d have perceived it to be an extremely flirty and romantic gesture.

  He was right though; Stockholm from the vantage of the canal was a sight to behold. For a travel writer, it would have been criminal not to take this trip. Keira was very inspired by all the sights, not to mention the company. She could hardly stop from laughing at all of Milo’s comical quips.

  The boat guide looked over at them and grinned. “It is so nice,” he said, “to see a young couple so in love.”

  Keira looked at Milo, her eyes wide with shock. He looked back at her coyly, amused, but blushing at the same time. And in that moment, Keira realized she was falling for this guy whether she wanted to or not.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Keira’s mind was spinning by the time she got back to her room that night. Her day with Milo had been fantastic. She’d even planned to meet him again tomorrow. There was no denying that she was falling for him. She didn’t even have any of the anxiety she usually felt when getting to know someone new. She felt like she’d known him her whole life.

  But the other side of Keira’s mind wondered whether that was just what rebounds did to your mind. Could she cope with yet another rebound, of the heady highs and the crushing disappointment that followed? Or should she be throwing caution to the wind? What if Milo was The One, if this was all happening for a reason? What if the universe was trying to tell her something?

  As she mulled these thoughts over, toing and froing from one position to the next, she began packing all her stuff. Tonight was her last night on the boat. Tomorrow she would be in a hotel, sleeping in a bed that didn’t rock back and forth while she slept. She’d enjoyed the unique experience, but it had been colored somewhat by the drama of Emma’s breakup, by her freckled, flirty server, and by that horribly rough day at sea. All things considered, she wasn’t that sad about seeing the back of it.

  She folded up her sweaters, placing them in her case on top of her shoes. In went her makeup bag, her toiletries, and the carrier bag of Bryn’s gifts.

  Once she was all packed, she sat down for a final writing session on the boat. Once she’d left, it would be difficult to recreate the experience, and Nina hadn’t been particularly complimentary of her passage dedicated to the cruise ship. This, really, was her last chance to capture the essence of the cruise.

  She closed her eyes, breathing calmly to feel the ambience, then began to type. But when it came time to mention Milo, she hesitated. She didn’t feel like sharing her thoughts or experiences with him yet. For now, she’d skip the specifics. It just didn’t seem right. So she reduced him to a mere tour guide, a bit player with a fleeting walk-on role, rather than the significant person she felt he was about to become.

  Suddenly, her phone started ringing. Her heart leapt. At first she thought it might be Milo. But when she looked over, she was surprised to see Cristiano’s name flashing up at her. Cristiano was calling? Again?

  Last time she’d spent so long deliberating over whether to take the call he’d rung off. This time, she wanted to speak to him. She’d given him such mixed signals by texting to say she missed him. And now she wasn’t thinking about him like that at all. Her mind had shifted over to Milo. Better to take the call and make it clear, to set the record straight, just like Milo would do.

  She answered, afraid as she did so that it would be his new girlfriend calling to attack her. But the voice on the other line was so familiar it felt like lightning striking her heart to hear it again.

  “Keira?”

  “Cristiano, hey,” she replied. She felt suddenly extremely awkward to be speaking to him again, after all those days of misery she’d spent thinking about him, pining for him. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes,” he said. He sounded breathless. “This is a bit strange but I was looking through my phone and I saw that you had texted me a few weeks ago. And I hadn’t seen the message, but there was a reply from my number.”

  Keira was surprised to hear that he hadn’t even seen the original message.

  “Your girlfriend replied,” Keira said. “And I’m really sorry. It was a dumb thing to do. I didn’t know you’d moved on. I hope I didn’t make things awkward between you. That was never my intention.”

  “Not at all,” Cristiano said. “We’re not together anymore. She was too controlling, and paranoid, always in my phone.”

  They were no longer together, Keira thought. That was quite strange. She must have just been a rebound fling after all.

  Cristiano continued speaking. “And if anyone should apologize it’s me. I shouldn’t have cut you out of my life like that. I promised to stay friends with you. But it hurt and I was being childish.”

  “That’s okay,” Keira said.

  There was a long pause.

  “So?” Cristiano said, breaking the awkward silence. “Is it true? Do you miss me?”

  Keira felt a tightening in her throat. “I did. I do. But not like that. Not romantically.”

  “Huh,” Cristiano said, sounding disappointed. “So there is no reconciliation on the cards for us then?”

  “No,” Keira admitted. “I do miss you but we can’t be together. That hasn’t changed. I’m sorry.”

  Perhaps if he’d called a week ago, things would have been different. But now, it was too late. Someone else was in her mind, pushing Cristiano completely out of it.

  “Okay,” Cristiano said simply. He sounded so wounded, like Keira had ripped his soul out all over again.

  Before she had a chance to say anything else, the call cut out. Cristiano had gone. Keira felt awful for having given him false hope, and furious at her past self for being so weak and selfish. But things were different now. She had changed. It was time to truly move on.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  On waking the next morning, Keira felt sad to know she’d be leaving the cruise ship behind. She’d become quite fond of her little cabin. But she was excited to have a whole eight days to explore Sweden.

 
And Milo… her brain added before she even had time to stop it.

  She washed in the bathroom for the final time, and dressed in the clothes she’d laid out last night; her warmest sweater, jeans, boots, and a jacket. She was about to wheel her case from the cabin when her cell phone beeped.

  Keira took the phone from her purse and saw that she’d received a text from Milo. Two days in a row! He really was interested!

  Morning, K. Want some help moving your stuff to the hotel? M.

  Keira smiled. Milo’s text was very him, very straightforward and to the point. She liked it, and couldn’t help but instinctively compare it to her past partners. Shane only ever communicated in joke form, whereas Cristiano turned everything into a flirting opportunity. Something about the simplicity of Milo’s communication really appealed to her.

  She sat back on the bed and typed a response.

  That would be great!

  Within two seconds, her phone pinged his return message.

  Good. Because I’m outside.

  Keira peered at the message in disbelief. Outside? Outside where? The boat was surrounded on most sides by water!

  She stood again, her frown still in place, and wheeled her suitcase out of the cabin. She followed the corridor, emerging out onto deck and taking the exit route from the ship to the outside world. And sure enough, there was Milo, standing beside a small blue car.

  Keira’s eyes widened. “You really are outside!”

  “Yes,” Milo said, as if it was obvious. He nodded to the case. “Do you want to put that in the trunk?”

  Keira was still too stunned to make sense of the situation. “Uh, yeah,” she replied.

  She dragged the case around to the back of the car and heaved it up into the open trunk. Milo slammed it down, and then they both walked around the side of the car to their respective seats.

  Keira sat down and clipped her belt in place. It felt so strange to be sitting beside Milo in a car like this. Strange, in part, because it felt so normal.

  Milo turned the key in the ignition. “I have a whole day of activities planned,” he said, looking over at her. “If you have time in your writing schedule.”

  For the second time that morning, Keira was stunned into silence. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again immediately. Finally, shaking her head, she managed to utter, “I can find time.”

  “Cool,” Milo said. “Let’s get you settled in to your hotel first, shall we?”

  “Actually,” Keira said, as Milo pulled out of the harbor parking lot and turned onto the main road, “perhaps we could stop for breakfast? I haven’t had any yet.”

  She was getting sick of having nothing but coffee for breakfast. So she was carrying a few extra pounds at the moment. In the grand scheme of things, who really cared!

  “Yes, of course,” Milo told her. “Swedish again?”

  “Absolutely.” Keira grinned.

  Milo negotiated the roads of Stockholm with ease, driving them up through the city in a northward direction. As they went, the streets seemed to grow narrower, the buildings older and more crooked.

  “Are we going back in time?” Keira joked.

  Milo laughed, warmly. “In a sense, yes. This part of the city is the oldest, the original part. Some of the buildings around here date back to 1252, the year Stockholm was founded.”

  Keira looked over at him out the corner of her eye. “You do know you’re not on tour duty.”

  Milo grinned, his eyes still fixed on the round. “Actually, I’m never off it. It’s a twenty-four/seven kind of thing for me. If you don’t like knowing dates and historical facts, then you’re hanging out with the wrong guy.” Just then, he abruptly changed topic. “Ah, I’ve thought of just the place!”

  He steered the car into a large multi-story car park. Once he’d found a spot to park, they both got out of the car and headed back to street level. Milo directed Keira around a corner and into an alleyway. It looked absolutely ancient, with all the walls bulging and wonky. Then Milo stopped beside a thick wooden door so low even Keira would have to bend to get through.

  “The oldest cafe in Sweden,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “And it serves some very traditional dishes.”

  “Why am I getting the sense that I’m being tricked?” Keira said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

  “Not a trick,” Milo said, shaking his head while looking quite mischievous.

  Skeptical, Keira ducked inside.

  The cafe was tiny, with just a few tables crammed in. The ceiling was low, and all the lights had a strange yellow glow to them, as if to emulate oil lamps.

  “Welcome to the oldest cafe in Stockholm,” the server said.

  She was standing behind a large glass counter with all the food items pre-prepared and on display. Keira leaned it to look at what was for sale. Smoked sausage, grilled mackerel, caviar, boiled eggs, and a strange savory cake.

  “I’d have the smörgåstårta, if I were you,” Milo said, leaning in beside her. He was pointing at the strange layered cakelike thing.

  “What’s in it?” Keira asked, narrowing her eyes.

  “Bread, cream, liver pâté, shrimp, tomato, lemon, salmon, and olives.”

  Keira identified each different layer as he listed them, and grimaced. “I don’t know whether my stomach would be able to cope with something like that!” She looked up at the server. “Could I just have some fruit?”

  “Of course,” the woman said.

  “Chicken,” Milo commented. Then, to the server, he added, “I’ll have the smörgåstårta.”

  She smiled and gestured to the empty cafe. “Take a seat wherever you want, I’ll bring it over to you.”

  Milo and Keira headed to a table near the small, crooked window. The alleyway outside was dark from the shadows cast by the tightly positioned buildings and the complete lack of sunshine this morning. There weren’t any people around either. Keira reasoned that this must be a very touristy area and since most of them would still be in bed or having breakfast in their hotels, it felt a bit like they had a the city to themselves.

  A moment later, the server came over with Milo’s savory cake, and a bowl of fruit for Keira. Even though neither had ordered any, she also had two mugs of extremely strong coffee, which she placed on the table before leaving.

  Keira peered into her bowl. It was filled with berries, many of which she’d never seen before.

  “So what have I got in here then?” she asked Milo. “You’ll have to talk me through it.”

  Milo pointed with his fork at each one. “Lingonberries, bilberries, raspberries, cranberries, buckthorn, crowberry, and cloudberry. And it looks as if you’re in luck. There’s filmjölk underneath.”

  “Filmjölk?” Keira repeated, glancing at the strange off-white creamlike substance the berries were lying on. Whatever it was it didn’t sound particularly appetizing.

  “Sour milk.”

  “Oh.”

  She prodded her berries, a little reticent. Milo just chuckled.

  “Don’t be scared,” he said, laughing. “I promise you, it’s delicious!”

  Finally, Keira took a spoonful. Milo was right. It was delicious, if not a little strange. But washed down with some of the exceptionally strong coffee, it was the perfect breakfast for her.

  “How’s your smorg-a-strata?” Keira asked, looking at the half-eaten, unappealing-looking cake on Milo’s plate.

  “A little rich,” he said. “Could’ve done without the extra layer of caviar.”

  Keira pulled a face. Such strong flavors at breakfast seemed very off-putting to her!

  They finished eating and drained their coffees. Keira felt the now familiar sensation of caffeine racing through her veins. If there was anything the Swedes did right, it was the strength of their coffee!

  When the server came over with the bill, there was a moment of awkwardness. Keira was so used to having her food paid for when she was with a man, that she absent-mindedly didn’t even reach for her walle
t. But she saw the bill had been split in two and she was expected to cover her half. Just another part of egalitarianism, she thought. Besides, her meals were on Viatorum.

  “Why don’t I get this?” she suggested. “I’ll charge it to the company. Call it a breakfast meeting.”

  Milo laughed and put his credit card back in his pocket. “I’m not about to argue with that.”

  Keira felt a little surge of power as she footed the bill, knowing it was her hard work and accomplishments that made it possible. She wondered for the first time if being an independent woman didn’t have to involve sacrificing love. At least, not in a Scandinavian country.

  Fueled for the morning, they left the restaurant and headed back to the parking lot. As they climbed the steps to the second floor where Milo had parked, he seemed in very good spirits. He was enthusiastic at the best of times, but now with a cup of strong coffee in him he was borderline hyper!

  “You’re in a good mood,” Keira commented.

  “Well, I’ve always wanted to go there,” he explained. “For the history of it, you know?”

  “You never did before?” Keira asked, surprised. “But it’s perfect for you! It’s like a museum in a cafe.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “Exactly. But it’s that typical tourist thing, isn’t it? You never visit the tourist attractions when you live somewhere.”

  “I guess,” Keira agreed, thinking of all the New York City locations she’d never visited. “Well, I’m glad I could assist.”

  They reached the car and got back in. Milo drove the short distance to Keira’s hotel. From the outside, it looked like a very small B&B. The building itself was old, thankfully, and not one of the new hotels she’d seen the other side of the city, and it was situated down a quiet, tree-lined road.

  Keira took her trunk from the back, noting the stark difference between Milo, who didn’t even think to chivalrously help her, and Cristiano, who would have died of shame had he not taken the burden of heavy lifting off her dainty feminine shoulders. It was impossible to work out which approach she preferred. It had been so drummed into her through her entire life that men should help, that her instinct was to think Milo was a little rude for not coming to her aid. But was that just the cultural differences at play? Would Venla or Anita think twice about carrying their own luggage?