Page 12 of Midnight Wishes

‘I’m aware, but the shelter had already named her when I adopted her. They were doing a music theme with her litter.’ Among his other options had been Freddie, Madonna, and Cher. ‘I thought about changing her name, but she’d been through somuch already. I just wanted to make her transition as smooth as possible.’

‘What happened to her?’ Sarah asked, stepping past him, into the room. Her voice had never been so soft when speaking to him. Celine tensed as Sarah walked closer, her glossy head turning to Alex to determine if their new visitor was safe. When he nodded, she turned her nose to Sarah’s outstretched hand, sniffing gently before she slumped down again. Not overly enthused, but less fear than she’d shown the first time she’d met Abby, Maggie, and his mum.

‘Her previous owner was…not great. When the litter was born, she basically left them to starve in filth. She beat them too.’ His throat tightened. The shelter hadn’t managed to take any real legal action against her, but at least the whole litter had been rescued. Last time he’d checked in, they’d all been homed too. ‘When I adopted her, she was tiny. So scrawny. Flea-ridden. And terrified of people, women especially. So I’ve stocked the room to keep her comfortable and entertained, and when I’m going to have company’—he inclined his head towards her—‘I let her hang out here so she doesn’t get spooked. Maggie eventually got her to trust her using food, but I was the only person she’d let near her for the first few weeks.’

‘IsMaggieyour girlfriend?’ Sarah raised an eyebrow.

God, she really thought he was an asshole, didn’t she?

‘She’s fifty-five,’ he said dryly.

‘I don’t know what you’re into.’ Sarah slid her hand closer to Celine, who twitched.

‘Yes, you do.’

In the low lighting of the club and his dining room, he’d thought her eyes merely brown. But golden light streamed through the window next to her, and even across the room, he could see what it was doing to the colour. They were so fucking pretty like this, shades of molten honey shifting in the setting sun as they widened. Narrowed.

Silence stretched between them, gaping and dangerous.

‘We should finish setting up for the party,’ Sarah said, rocking back onto her heels with a slight wobble.

He let her get back to the living room. Waited until she was about to cross the threshold to the dining room to say it. ‘Oh, right, Maggie—my housekeeper, by the way—did pretty much everything before she went home.’

Sarah stiffened as she walked towards the table, already laden with food, the sideboard covered in alcohol, ice buckets, and mixers. He wondered if she’d taken in the tasteful congratulations banner above the fireplace, or the board in the corner of the living room, covered in a patchwork of Abby and Erik’s quarter century of memories together. If the roles were reversed, he’d have been too distracted by her to notice the garlands of Polaroids in the front hall.

‘Why am I here, Aleksander?’ She sounded tired. Frustrated.

‘A miscommunication.’ That was true, even if she wouldn’t believe it. He’d asked Maggie to ensure all the food and decor was ready to be laid out when he got home at six. And because she was an angel who had known him for years, when he hadn’t been home by six, she’d taken it upon herself to set everything up, anticipating that he’d lost track of time. He hadn’t—not too badly, at least—but her thinking hadn’t been without precedent.And of course, he hadn’t told her he was expecting help in the form of a gorgeous brunette. ‘Is it so bad being alone with me?’ Alex asked, strolling nearer, hands in his pockets. ‘Are you…nervous?’

Her hands were twitching, and a second before, she’d pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, the even, white edges leaving tiny indents in her lipstick. Those would be front and centre of his mind for a while.

‘You don’t have to be uncomfortable with how attractive you find me.’ His grin was genuine. He’d noticed her stares at dinner. Felt her eyes on him at the stationery shop the week before. And you didn’t approach someone with the intention of making an ex jealous if you didn’t think they were at least passably hot.

And just like that, she transformed, any trace of nerves vanishing before his eyes. ‘I am notattractedto you, you gormless prick. I’m sure you’re used to women falling all over themselves for a shot with you, but unfortunately that doesn’t meanmyheart is fluttering whenever you walk into a room.’

‘Keep telling yourself that, Princess. And I’ll keep letting your body tell me exactly how much you want me.’

She might have cut a more convincing figure without the flush spreading across her chest. If she hadn’t been shaking slightly, the tip of her tongue darting out to wet her lips. Yes. She may not have liked him, but there was no pretending she wasn’t into him.

‘Tell me you don’t think about that night.’ He stepped closer, crowding her against the table. ‘My hands on your thighs.’ Her eyes fluttered shut. ‘My lips on your jaw.’ Her breath hitched when he dipped his face towards her neck. ‘My—’

‘Alex?’

Chapter 7

SARAH

gold rush | Taylor Swift

‘Dining room,’ Alexcalled back.

He couldn’t be oblivious to the way Sarah had seized up at the sound of her best friend’s voice, but despite the footsteps coming closer, the little shit was still hovering over her. He peeled back seconds before Abby walked through the door.

Her entrance had saved Sarah from making an utterly terrible mistake. Because shedidthink about that night. Thought about how well his body had fit with hers. How good that first kiss had been. How his hand had curved perfectly around the back of her neck. Other things, that came to her when she needed a reminder that she was desirable.

And with his solid, warm body leaning over hers, she might have caved to the temptation to kiss him.

‘Alex,’ Abby said again, ‘before people start arriving, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.’

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