Page 124 of The Unlikely Heir
I watch him closely, and there’s a slight upturn of his mouth, which is about as happy as he gets.
“Good work,” he barks over the phone.
He hangs up, then meets my eyes. "The operation was a success, Prime Minister. The militants have been neutralized and all of the hostages were rescued unharmed.”
I breathe a sigh of relief, rubbing the back of my neck.
Thank fuck.
"Well done, everyone. Now let’s focus on repatriating the dead, supporting the injured, and ensuring the safety of our staff going forward," I say.
The general nods and discussion breaks out.
Meanwhile, I’m taking deep breaths through my nose, trying to calm my heart rate back into the normal zone.
This morning has been a stark reminder that life isn’t snuggling in bed with my lover.
It’s a brutal world where there are bad people, and the citizens of this country have trusted me to make the right decisions for them.
People’s lives depend on me.
* * *
The adrenaline in my system fades fast, leaving me feeling flat. And now I’ve got a cabinet meeting.
Toby and I are alone, heading through the rabbit warren that is Downing Street, when he turns to me.
“So, who is he?”
“Who?”
“The guy you were with last night.”
Suddenly my adrenaline spikes back up.
“You don’t want to know,” I say.
His eyebrows fly up. “Why don’t I want to know?”
I exhale deeply. “Think of the worst person it is possible for me to be with, and you’ve got it.”
His eyebrows threaten to fly off his face and shoot for the moon. “You’re not fucking Harry Matheson, are you?” he says.
“Okay, maybe don’t go quite that far,” I say.
He sniggers. “So, who is it?”
“I’m not outing him.”
His eyes widen. “You’re dating someone in the closet?”
Is Callum officially in the closet? He doesn’t seem to have any issues around that part of our relationship. He realized he was attracted to guys. He kissed me. I’ve never sensed any reluctance from him to embrace his sexuality.
I’m pretty sure the only reason he’s not officially out is because of the scrutiny that would be placed on his love life, which he can’t afford right now.
Luckily we’ve reached the cabinet briefing room, which forces our conversation to end.
My luck in escaping the Callum conundrum is short-lived because after I’ve given cabinet a rundown of the situation in Nigeria, the next item on the agenda is security for Callum’s investiture as the Prince of Wales. The Metropolitan Police want even more funding to make the ceremony as secure as possible.
