Page 48 of Midnight Wishes

When she placed her finger on it like a scrying crystal finding its mark, Alex laughed. ‘Sorry, wrong choice, Princess. You’ll make fun of me, and it’s too late to have you getting me all riled up again.’

She’d bug him about that one another time, then.

He was right. It was late. But she hadn’t been ready for him to leave half an hour before, when she’d asked about the tattoos she’d known would take the longest to explain. And she wasn’tready for it now. ‘I finished a painting today. Do you want to see it?’

‘Does it have fur on it?’

‘Not a strand.’ Sarah smiled.

‘Then yes.’ His voice, low and rumbly, was sosoft. So removed from the rounded vowels and crisp consonants that usually marked his speech. ‘Yes, I’d like that very much.’

When Alex joined her in the living room five minutes later, Sarah was floored at how quickly he could go back to the picture-perfect specimen who had arrived earlier. Almost unnervingly, she found that she already missed the way his hair had been mussed by her fingers. Missed the way his shirt had crumpled under her hands. The only pieces of evidence remaining from their tryst were the pink lines on his wrists and a slightly shiny patch on his left trouser leg.

Sarah winced. ‘Sorry.’

Alex shrugged, crossing the room until he was only a breath away from her, crowding her with all his bulk. And Sarah… She loved it.

‘I told you to ruin them.’ Again, that smile she’d once thought was painfully rare—the one that was coming out more and more, despite the overwhelming exhaustion that seemed to weigh him down each time he saw her—lit his face, igniting something in her chest along with it.

Then he turned to her painting, and his face dropped. Her stomach went into freefall.Did he hate it?It was a simple still life: a spray of wildflowers cascading from a partially repaired vase, with a butterfly resting atop the pink petal of a sweet pea. She felt slightly exposed as he scrutinised it. Abby had told herit was beautiful before leaving for dinner with Erik. But Abby didn’t have Alex’s eye, or his art comprehension. She wondered how much of the symbolism he would understand. If he would know how much of herself she had put onto that canvas.

Where bits of vase had been stuck back together, gold paint followed the repair lines, with a few sharp ceramic pieces still lying scattered. The flowers were lush, fresh blooms. And the butterfly, transformed from something mundane into something beautiful.

Life had been ugly for a while after Gregg. It was less to do with losing him—she’d decided pretty instantly that he wasn’t worth her tears—and more to do with the knock in confidence she’d taken. She hadn’t cared that he’d found someone prettier, skinnier, probably more flexible to fuck. She’d cared that he hadn’t respected her enough to end things. Stringing her along for months instead, just in caseLydiarealised she could do better.

Now, she was rebuilding. She was only partially satisfied with her job, but that was still significantly more satisfied than she’d been with her office job. She had the best friends. And for another week, she had a godlike man who looked at her like she was strong and powerful and worth more than Gregg ever had. She wasalmosthappy. And if she still had a few sharp barbs sticking out, stopping people getting too close, well, maybe she was just waiting to see who would pick carefully through them until they could trace the beautiful gold repair cracks.

‘Do the specific flowers mean anything?’

It wasn’t the question she’d expected after a minute of silence had passed between them.

Sarah shook her head. ‘I did a floriography short course at uni, so I guess subconsciously, maybe? But really, I chose them at random. I don’t plan my paintings. Not these ones. I just…let them come out as I need them to.’ And she had needed this one. Needed something tangible that acknowledged the growth and change she had undergone in the previous year.

Alex nodded, his jaw tight. ‘Can I buy it?’

‘You don’t have to do th—’

‘I love it, Princess.’ A small crack broke through his speech. ‘I really love it. Can I take it tonight?’

‘You don’t even know how much I want for it.’ Entirely at odds with her unaffected tone, that spot in her chest was now a blazing inferno, overwhelmed by his reaction. For someone to stand in front of her work, voice filled with emotion—and not becauseBruno is just the most beautiful boy, isn’t he?—was all she’d ever wanted. And try as she might to pretend otherwise, that it was him made it all the better. Because he had taste, sure. But also because, despite her best efforts to keep their relationship purely physical, she found herself craving his approval, almost as much as she craved him.

‘I’ll pay it. Whatever it is.’

‘The gold. It’ll need a few days to dry.’

Alex nodded, eyes poring over her, reminding her that she was still wearing just her underwear and a sheer gown. But far from self-consciousness, his assessing gaze had begun to make her feel confident and powerful. The way she felt when she looked at herself, unhampered by concerns of what another person thought of her body. She had been utterly wrecked by the sex earlier, and going another round did feel impossible, but shewanted to drag him back to her bedroom anyway. To lie on his chest like he’d let her do minutes before and drift to sleep with his arms around her.

Sarah was, she decided in that moment, completely fucked.

Then Alex gave her a reprieve, walking to the door to pick up the laptop bag she hadn’t noticed on his arrival. ‘I’ll see you soon?’ he asked, fidgeting with the strap over his shoulder.

He was a walking, talking ball of energy, always moving, but always graceful. She’d never seen him fidget before. It implied a level of nerves she wouldn’t imagine he possessed. Her eyes fixed on that strap again. Sarah had assumed he’d come from a night out, and that was how he’d found himself near enough. But it was unlikely he’d lugged his laptop around a party.Had he come straight from his office?If he’d just wanted a release, he could have done that himself. Hell, they could have video called again if he really wanted good company. So why had he travelled double the distance to come to Ealing at midnight, only to travel all the way back to Holland Park?

Before she could spiral, he said, ‘I guess I’ll go.’

Sarah nodded, pulling her lip into her mouth as Alex lingered with his hand on the doorknob. ‘What?’ she finally asked, free of her usual bite.

‘I’m trying to decide if you’ll let me kiss you.’

---