Page 39 of Midnight Wishes

‘Anyway,’ she said, ‘maybe that’s why I indulge in so much reality TV and historical romance now. To remind myself I can enjoy classical music and arthouse cinema and still be a normal person.’

She wondered if, had she known him back then, she and Alex might have been friends. They clearly had shared interests. He was older, which might have made bridging the gap she felt to her the kids around her a little easier. After too long spent feelingisolated and alone, maybe they would have found comfort in each other.

Maybe Alex was thinking the same, because he asked, ‘Do you still get lonely?’ And when she saidyes, her voice quiet, he said, ‘Will you call me when you do? Not for sex. It could just…be company, you know?’

When her only response was a slight nod, flustered and confused as to how this night had taken such an earnest turn, Alex continued, ‘I’m sorry for letting you down earlier. There’s no way to say this that doesn’t make me sound like an ass, but…I kind of forgot.’

‘I tell you I spent most of my life feeling left out and alone, and you tell me youforgotyou wanted to see me?’ Sarah asked flatly. It was like he had a switch tuned to her alone. One annoying word from him could take her from turned on to ticked off.

‘I want to see you all the time.’ His gaze was laser-focused on the amber dregs in front of him as his words filtered through her buzz, attacking the wall she’d put straight back up. ‘But it’s been a busy day, and every time I thought about texting you, something would come up and derail my plans, and then I got dragged out to this shithole and— I’m sorry.’

He really did look it, and coupled with the roughness in his voice—that sign of truth she was becoming hyper aware of—she found herself saying, ‘I’ll forgive you.Thistime.’

Alex raised his eyes to meet hers, his stare calculating. After a moment, he seemed to reach a decision.

‘Drunk confession?’

Sarah inclined her head, letting him go on.

‘Did you know neurodiverse traits are often inherited?’ he said. Sometime while they’d been talking, another drink had appeared in front of her.

She hadn’t. Admittedly most of what she knew came from that single conversation with Erik.

‘And that if one child is neurodiverse, it greatly increases the chance that their sibling will be too?’ His voice had dropped slightly as he swirled his fresh glass, not looking at her.

But Alex, who spent half his free nights at bars or clubs, chasing highs and seeking company, couldn’t be suggesting he experienced the same sensory overload as Erik.

And then, because he’d proved himself unbearably perceptive—which, come to think of it,wasa trait he shared with his brother—he continued, ‘I’m not sensitive like him. I have ADHD. No one picked it up when I was a kid. I— I worked hard not to be a problem. They thought I was just…spirited…or whatever. But last year, I was having some memory issues. More severe than I had growing up. I thought it was just burnout, so I started seeing someone, and after a few sessions, they realised I ticked a lot of the boxes.’

Sarah couldn’t pretend she had a wealth of knowledge on the subject, but even the little she knew all began to line up neatly in her head. Alex was a ball of energy, always moving, even if it was with astonishing grace. His near misses with lateness when they’d met for wedding appointments. Impulsiveness—hooking up with a stranger in a club fit that bill.

The only thing that didn’t line up, really, was a short attention span. Even when they’d spent hours together, Alex’s focus never seemed to waver.

‘I’m medicated now,’ Alex continued. ‘Things are better. But I wasn’t wrong about the burnout. It gets worse when I’m overworked. And as much as I’ve had a not insignificant amount of stress relief lately’—he tipped his head towards her—‘my job is…a lot at the moment. I’m not sleeping enough. So if I screw up, it’s not because I don’t care. It’s because I’m trying so hard to hold everything together that things are inevitably slipping.’

Well, that didn’t leave her much room to give him any more of a hard time.

‘God, Aleksander. I got a little pissy over a text. Way to trauma dump and make me feel bad.’

It didn’t mean shewasn’tgoingto give him a hard time.

But when he saw the smile peeking out the top of her wine glass—her lips shaped in a way that felt unfamiliar when directed at him, but somehow not uncomfortable—the line of his shoulders relaxed.

‘I haven’t told my family yet. I’d appreciate if you didn’t mention it.’

Sarah nodded as another facet of Alex rotated and clicked in her brain. But it broached the question, ‘Why are you tellingme?’ Sitting in a bar,bonding? It just wasn’t them.

‘Because I know you think I’m a dick. But maybe now you won’t think that’s all I am.’

She’d never tell him how wrong he was turning out to be. That it didn’t matter if he frustrated her or annoyed her or, yes, had moments ofactinglike a dick. In every regard that mattered, Aleksander Larsson was, unfortunately, turning out to be a decidedly decent human being.

When he spoke again, his voice was lighter. Sly. Flirty. ‘It’s not without its perks. Did you know some researchers have suggested a link between ADHD and hypersexuality?’

And he was back.

‘Sounds like bullshit.’

A grin—nothergrin, but his usual megawatt smile—lit his face as he slid off his stool.

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