Page 48 of Honeythorn
“You would…that would be allowed?” he asked in wonder. Raphael looked down at their joined hands.
“Of course. I know…my behaviour has not spoken kindly of my character in the past but, let me assure you, I will be in support of any of your endeavours,” he said quietly.
Milan squeezed his hand gently. “That’s good to know. Not all Alphas are like that.”
Raphael scoffed in disgust, a noise which made Milan smile widely.
Raphael shook his head. “I’ll let you get back to your book. Tell me when you want to go for a walk—I’ve finished with the accounting and don’t want to get started with the rest yet.”
“We can go now,” Milan said easily. The sun was shining outside, meaning it would be cold but beautiful.
“No, please, you were obviously in the middle of—”
“It’s nothing. The book will be here when we return, and my back is aching. I need to stretch my legs.”
Raphael looked like he didn’t quite believe him but nodded and got up anyways.
After dressing for the weather, they stepped outside into the fresh air, an instant revival of the senses. They walked down their usual route, which had grown longer the more accustomed to each other’s company they became. There was even a strange, intimate romanticism about their hands swinging between them, sharing warmth.
Raphael cleared his throat. “I know it has been my fault for not asking before, but I don’t know much about your family. Do you miss them?”
Milan smiled ruefully. “Very much. They are—well, there’s a lot of them. My father has two brothers and a sister, and my mother has four sisters and two brothers, so I have cousins to spare. And I have two sisters myself.”
“And you get along with everybody?”
Milan laughed loudly. “Raphael—even as tolerant of my character as you are, you must know that isn’t true.”
“I truly have no idea what you are talking about,” Raphael answered, looking puzzled. Something fond unfurled in Milan’s chest.
“Well—I’m not the most docile of people. It’s not that there is much bad blood between us, but I’ve gotten into quite a few arguments with several people in my family. I find it natural to do so, though—you cannot be surrounded by so many people and get along with all of them.”
“And with your sisters?”
“Yes—they are both younger. An Alpha and an Omega, and I love them dearly. Imane is the younger one—Alpha—and she is as quiet and polite as a mouse. She would not step on your toes, even if it was the only way to get out of a burning building.”
“I imagine you are quite protective of her.”
“You imagine correctly. It was difficult to leave her behind, but I know she is being taken care of.”
Raphael was silent for a while. “You must have been very lonely when you came here, coming from all of that,” he said quietly. Milan looked down at the muddy earth they were crossing.
“Yes,” he said simply. Raphael ran a hand down his face.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Milan sighed. “I know.”
“I had convinced myself that I was trying, you know. But I wasn’t. That first night—I never have my associates for dinner. Never.”
Milan laughed quietly, remembering his first dinner at Ledford Manor, how shocked he had been that Raphael and he hadn’t been alone.
“I must say, I wasn’t terribly happy to find myself in a room full of Alphas. I thought you might be sending me a message.”
Raphael choked, freezing in place and making Milan stop walking with him. “Milan—truly, I did not mean it that way. Those were the only people I could invite at the last minute—I did so in a panic the day before. I thought, I don’t know, if you were like…like Jack, if others could see…”
“I know now, Raphael.” Milan sighed again. “For those months—we lived different versions of the same events. You were convinced I was trying to hurt you. I was convinced you were trying to hurt me. We must accept what has been done.”
“It’s not that simple,” Lord Raphael argued.
