Love Like Theirs

by Sophie Love

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  True to his word, Milo was waiting outside Keira’s B&B bright and early the next morning, his backside leaning against his little blue car, two takeaway coffees in his hands.

  A grin burst across Keira’s lips as she hurried toward him.

  “For me?” she asked, as he held out one of the cups.

  Milo nodded. Keira planted a kiss on his cheek. It felt like the most natural thing in the world.

  “Why do I feel like you have something extravagant planned for the day?” she asked, looking at the car. “Have you planned a day trip?”

  “There’s a castle I really want to see. It’s a bit of a drive, though. It’s a few hours outside of Stockholm.”

  Keira sipped her coffee. “I love castles. And I don’t mind road trips.”

  “Great. I packed some stuff for breakfast, in case you hadn’t had any.”

  “I haven’t,” Keira told him. Milo had thought of everything. He was so considerate.

  She got in the passenger side of his car and looked in the back seat, where there was a wicker basket filled with goodies. She noticed a tube of caviar paste and, grimacing, pulled it out and waved it at him. “What is this?”

  “It’s a delicacy,” he replied, laughing.

  “Squeezy caviar?” Keira replied, dissolving into giggles.

  Milo started the car and then pulled away from the hotel. They were heading southeast, Keira noted.

  “This is exciting,” she said. “I haven’t Stockholm properly yet. It will be nice to see more of Sweden. And since I have you trapped in a car for a few hours, I can ask you all kinds of probing questions.”

  He shrugged. “Fire away. There’s no question off limits as far as I’m concerned.”

  Keira decided to put that to the test. “Okay. Tell me all about your last relationship, then. I’ve told you my romantic history, now it’s your turn.”

  “Sure,” Milo replied. She may as well have asked him what his favorite ice cream flavor was. He didn’t seem fazed in the slightest. “Her name was Tindra. We were together for five years.”

  “Five years!” Keira exclaimed. “That’s a long time. What happened?”

  “She cheated on me,” Milo told her. It was the first time she’d heard him sound anything less than happy.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “It was devastating,” Milo said. “I was so, so sad. I’ve not dated much since then. And I’ve not had a serious relationship since.”

  Keira didn’t know what to say. She felt bad for probing now and fell into silence, sipping her coffee while watching the world go by.

  “My longest relationship has been two years,” she said. “I’m twenty-eight. That’s pretty bad, isn’t it?”

  “Bad?” Milo asked, looking curious. “Why would it be bad?”

  She shrugged. “Because it shows I’m not very good at keeping relationships alive.”

  “Who cares?” Milo said. “Who are you trying to prove yourself to?”

  Keira pondered his question. She wasn’t sure what the answer was, but even before she’d become a writer with an audience, she always felt watched and judged by some imagined force. Two years with Zachary had seemed like something she’d needed to do to prove that she could, that she wasn’t as damaged by her absent father as crazy Bryn was, or her perpetually lonely mom, for that matter. If someone could stay with her for two whole years, she couldn’t be too much of a lost cause, could she? But honestly, who was she trying to impress? Why did it matter anyway?

  “Let’s change the conversation,” Keira said. “I’m hungry. Shall I make up some sandwiches?”

  “Please,” Milo said.

  “You want squeezy caviar in yours?” Keira joked.

  “Of course,” Milo replied, completely seriously. “And cheese and olives.”

  Keira leaned into the back, selecting all the foodstuffs. She made up their sandwiches, and Milo turned on the radio, singing along loudly to a Swedish pop song she didn’t know. Keira looked over at him and smiled. This was exactly where she needed to be.

  *

  Kalmar Castle was absolutely wonderful. It was built in a Baroque style, and all the staff were dressed as if from the middle ages. Not only were the green areas around the castle beautiful, but there were bunny rabbits hopping around freely! There was a cemetery nearby filled with interesting and unique headstones, and of course, Milo was having the time of his life, walking around the ramparts and sitting on the cannons. Keira herself was more taken with the furnishings inside the castle, which were extravagantly gorgeous. She and Milo spent at least two hours on the site, either inside the castle or wandering its courtyards and lawns, but the time flew by, as it always did, Keira noted, when she spent it with Milo.

  “We’d better head back,” Milo said, looking at his watch. “I’ve made a reservation at a restaurant in Stockholm.”

  Keira was a little sad to leave the castle behind. It had been a lovely place to spend the day, and she was looking forward to immortalizing it in her article. She remembered then about the passage she’d sent to Elliot accidentally about Milo. She had no plans to use it, but she wondered how Milo himself would actually feel about being in her article.

  “You know my article…” she began. “The one I’m writing about Sweden?”

  “Yes?” he said, looking over at her from the steering wheel.

  “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind if I included you in it? I don’t have to use your name if you don’t want me to.”

  “I wouldn’t mind at all,” Milo told her. “Actually, I’d quite like it. If you’re going to disappear out of my life in a few days’ time, it would be nice to have something to remember you by.”

  Keira felt her stomach drop. She hadn’t given any thought to what would happen in the future. In fact, leaving Sweden hadn’t been on her mind at all. But it seemed as if Milo had already thought about it, and was already prepared for her to go away and never return. Maybe that was why he was so open, so forthright, because he knew there was no future in it.

  “Have I said something wrong?” Milo asked.

  Keira shook her head. “No. Just… I don’t like thinking about endings. That’s all.”

  They fell silent. Not even Swedish pop songs could lighten the mood.

  Keira spent the rest of the journey processing her feelings. When they reached the outskirts of Stockholm, Milo spoke for the first time in a long time.

  “Would you prefer me to drop you back at the hotel?” he asked. “I feel as if you would like some space from me.”

  Keira shook her head. “No. I want to spend as much time with you as I can.”

  She snapped her lips shut. Milo might be used to brutal honesty, but Keira wasn’t. Had she revealed too much?

  “That’s fine by me,” he said, and he continued on to the restaurant.

  After parking, Milo and Keira went inside the restaurant. It had a very pleasant atmosphere, with large windows filled with plants. Just like the last place he’d taken her, there was nothing pretentious about this place. It seemed down to earth, with most tables occupied with groups of friends rather than couples on dates.

  Keira took a seat and looked over the menu. The entrees on offer included meatballs (of course), a herring platter, steak, and sea bass fillet, but Keira’s gaze was drawn to something even more unique; the reindeer burger.

  “Reindeer?” she said, looking over her menu at Milo. “Like, actual reindeer?”

  He nodded. “Rudolph.”

  She began to laugh. “I don’t know if I could eat Rudolph!”

  But part of coming abroad was experiencing new cultures, and that meant being brave when it came to food. She’d already chickened out of trying Milo’s strange savory cake and squeezy caviar. Now was time to be brave.

  “I’m going to do it,” she said. “I’m going to order the reindeer.”

  Milo looked amused.

  When the food arrived, Keira felt nervous to try it. But she f
inally bit the bullet and was pleasantly surprised. Reindeer tasted pretty delicious.

  After getting over the nerves of her meal, Keira relaxed into the rest of the evening. She let Milo’s comments earlier sift out of her mind.

  They finished eating and the server came over with the bill.

  “I’ll get this,” Milo said.

  “Are you sure?” Keira replied. “I know it’s not how things are usually done. Don’t feel like you have to pay just because I’m an American girl who expects it!”

  “But you are,” he laughed. “And I don’t mind, I want to treat you.”

  Keira smiled and allowed him to pay for her meal, making a mental note that next time—if there was a next time—she’d foot the bill, to keep things equitable as he, a Swedish boy, would expect.

  They both stood, collecting their things.

  “I had one more surprise planned,” Milo told her. “But it’s been a long day and I understand if you’d like to go home now.”

  Keira shook her head. “Not at all. What did you have in mind?”

  “This way,” Milo said, directing her toward the waterfront.

  To Keira’s surprise, there was a small beach. Milo laid out a blanket for her to sit on.

  “It’s kind of freezing,” Keira said. As romantic as the gesture was, she didn’t much feel like freezing to death for the sake of politeness.

  But Milo had planned ahead. He took another blanket from his bag and wrapped it around Keira’s shoulders. Then, from his bag, he also pulled a thermos flask.

  “What’s that?” Keira laughed. “And has that been in the car with us all day?”

  Milo nodded. “It’s hot chocolate. It’ll still be warm. If there’s one thing us Swedes know how to do, it’s keep out the cold!”

  They sat, and Milo poured her a cup of chocolate. She took a sip. It was rich and creamy. And yes, still warm. Then Milo pointed up at the sky.

  “This is why I wanted to bring you here tonight,” he said. “It’s a clear evening and the forecast said we’d be able to see them.”

  Keira frowned and looked up, then realized that the Northern Lights were shining above her. It was breathtaking. She couldn’t believe something so beautiful could exist. She turned to face Milo, overwhelmed with emotion. But to her disbelief, he was no longer looking at the Northern Lights at all. In fact, he was texting!

  “Milo?” she said, shocked that he wasn’t sharing the beautiful moment with her.

  “Sorry,” he said, putting his phone down. “My friend just invited me to a bar. I was just telling him I’d be free in a couple of hours. Is that okay?”

  Keira felt herself deflate. Was Milo ditching her?

  “I thought we were on a date,” she said.

  “We are. Now. But after?”

  She frowned, confused. “Well, the date doesn’t just end like that, does it? I thought that maybe you’d come back to my room.”

  “I still can,” he said, looking confused. “After the bar.”

  Keira couldn’t help but feel furious with him. There was nothing romantic about him ditching her for a few hours so he could see his friends at a bar! She felt reality come crashing down, dragging her down from cloud nine with a bump.

  “What’s wrong, Keira?” Milo asked. “You’ve gone quiet on me again.”

  “You’ve ruined our date,” she snapped. “Everything was perfect. But now I just feel like you want to see your friends.” She folded her arms. She sounded so petulant and hated herself for throwing a tantrum.

  “I won’t go,” he said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you’d mind. I didn’t know it would upset you.”

  She folded her arms and looked away. On what planet would someone not mind their date leaving them to go to a bar?

  Milo took her hands. “I can see them anytime, but I have a time limit with you. I’ll text him now and say I’m too busy.”

  Keira felt bad. And for some reason, Milo’s reasonableness was only making her feel worse. It was as though she were some overemotional child and he the calm, rational parent.

  “There,” Milo said. “I’ve texted him to say no. Do you want more chocolate?”

  “No,” Keira mumbled. “I think I want to go back to the hotel.”

  “Oh. Okay,” Milo said. He seemed utterly perplexed over why things had gone so wrong with her. “Am I coming too?” he asked.

  Keira didn’t know what to say. He’d cancelled his plans for her but she didn’t feel able to put aside her sadness over his mistake in making them in the first place.

  “Yeah, of course,” she said finally. “But I’m super tired from the day.”

  She hoped her intention was clear. But Milo, being Milo, still had to get absolute certain clarification.

  “Is that your way of saying no sex tonight?”

  Keira felt her cheeks burn. “Yes. That’s what I’m saying.”

  “Got it,” he said.

  But Keira really wasn’t sure he did.

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  Keira lay in bed staring at the ceiling, listening to the sound of Milo snoring. He’d woken her for what must have been the tenth time that night. She groaned, rolling over and pressing a pillow over her ears. Then she saw the clock beside the bed. It was six a.m. She’d have to wake up soon and it didn’t feel like she’d even slept!

  She tried to calm her frustrated mind, to take some deep breaths and fall back to sleep. But Milo let out another loud snore. Unable to hold back her irritation, Keira grabbed her pillow and threw it at him. It bounced off his face onto the floor.

  Milo’s eyes pinged open. “Is it morning?”

  Keira didn’t feel like speaking to him. She was still feeling wounded about the argument last night. She rolled away from him.

  “Not yet.”

  “Why are you awake then?” Milo asked, never one to mince words.

  “Because you’re snoring obnoxiously loudly,” Keira replied, tersely.

  Milo laughed. “Oh no. It’s my deviated septum. I’m sorry. There’s not a lot I can do about it, though.”

  Keira just grunted in response.

  She heard Milo shuffling, and felt his arms loop around her from behind. “You’re angry,” he said. “And I don’t think it’s just because of my snoring.”

  Keira sighed and squeezed her eyes shut.

  “Hmmm,” she heard Milo say in her ear. “Am I supposed to guess? Like a game?”

  “No,” Keira said. “You’re supposed to be quiet and let me get at least five minutes of sleep.”

  “What if I were to fetch us some coffee and breakfast?” Milo suggested. “So that when you wake up it’s all there for you?”

  Keira sat up abruptly, shoving his arms off her. “Fine. I’m never going to get back to sleep, am I?” She reached for the remote and turned on the TV.

  Milo pulled himself up to sitting beside her. But he didn’t look worried about her little outburst. If anything, he seemed amused. It annoyed Keira even further. Surely he could appreciate why she was still frosty with him, after how he’d ruined their date by asking to ditch her.

  “This show is in Swedish,” Milo commented.

  “So?” Keira said, folding her arms. “I can work out the gist of what’s happening.”

  She couldn’t, of course, but she wanted to save face.

  “Hmmm,” Milo said again. Then he got out of bed. “The kitchen will be open and serving breakfast. I’m going to go and fetch us both something. When I get back, how about you tell me why you’re really mad at me? Because it can’t just be my deviated septum that is making you so cross.”

  He walked over to the door where the complimentary bathrobe was hanging and slipped it on.

  “You can’t go like that!” Keira exclaimed.

  Milo didn’t seem fazed at all. He just shrugged. “It’s fine. I’m sure they’ve seen it all before.”

  Keira watched, mortified, as Milo left the room in nothing but a fluffy bathrobe.

  Without him, the roo
m felt suddenly very empty. Keira shut off the TV and its incessant Swedish buzz. She wallowed in her tired grumpiness for a moment, then realized that Milo was going to be too stubborn to just apologize about last night, because he wanted her to articulate herself to him honestly and truthfully. She sighed, infuriated by the logic of it all. She’d never learned how to have calm conversations without them turning into arguments and petty insults. She wondered if Milo had ever lost his temper in his life.

  Her opportunity to fall back asleep well and truly gone, she got up and showered. But as soon as she was clean and dried, she climbed back to bed, too tired and grumpy to choose an outfit or put her makeup on.

  A moment later, the door opened, and Milo walked in with a tray in his hands. It was filled to the brim with buffet foods. There was an entire pot of steaming coffee. Keira flushed with embarrassment.

  “Did you really walk into the dining room and fill up a tray with food?” she asked with exasperation.

  “Yes,” Milo said simply.

  He came in and placed it on the bed. Amongst the breads and cheeses were cold cuts of meat, berries, jam, soured milk, and an entire tube of squeezy caviar.

  “Milo!” she cried, and this time she couldn’t help but start to laugh. “You took the whole tube?”

  “I’m quite sure none of the tourists will mind,” he said, smirking.

  Keira sighed. She took the coffee he poured for her and buttered herself a hunk of bread, laying a few slices of smoked ham on top of it.

  “Thank you,” she muttered as she bit into her food.

  “You’re welcome,” Milo said, the smirk still on his lips. “What happened to our telly show?”

  “I had a shower and turned it off to save electricity,” she said, lying again to save face.

  “Ah,” he said, knowingly. “I thought you looked less grubby.”

  “Milo!” she cried again, and he dissolved into laughter.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “You’re just very cute when you’re mad. And very easy to wind up. So, are you ready to tell me why you threw a pillow at me this morning?”

  “Because you kept me awake with your snoring,” she implored.