Page 68 of Midnight Wishes

Instead, he was a dick.

‘That is such bullshit, Sarah, and you know it. You act like there’s this secret club you can’t get an invite to, but you already have the access code. Who do you think is commissioningyou? Anyone spending that much money on a painting of their fucking hamster is investing in real art too. You don’t need galleries. You already have a network of potential customers. Have you ever shown them your other work? Or are you so scared of being rejected that you won’t even try for something real?’

It was possible he’d stopped talking about art.

Sarah’s mouth flattened into a thin line.

‘Were you even going to tell me?’ Alex continued. ‘Or was I going to get ayou up?text with a pin dropped somewhere in theBarri Gotic?’

‘Well obviously I’d only be leaving after the wedding.’

Alex wanted to claw through his chest at the unspoken end of that sentence.So we’d be done.

‘And it’s not like we’re—’

Cold, sour laughter strangled Alex’s throat, one hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. ‘Sarah, I swear to god, if you say we’re not friends, I am going to lose my shit.’

All the whispered conversations after sex, the bonding over his tattoos, that night in the bar… All of it for nothing, it seemed.

‘Can we talk about this another time? This is supposed to be a party.’

‘No.’ Alex stared her down. ‘Because apparently I can’t get you to talk to me unless I’ve just fucked you. And I’m done doing that.’

As soon as he said it, he felt like an asshole. For her part, Sarah looked like he’d slapped her. But rather than apologise, he dumped the drinks he was still holding onto a nearby table and stormed towards the exit.

When Erik found him five minutes later, Alex’s head was thrown back against the brick exterior as he gulped down breaths of the cool night air. In his periphery, he could see his brother mimicking his posture, down to the hands thrust into his pockets.

‘I guess it’s pointless asking if you’re okay,’ Erik finally said. ‘What happened?’

‘We—’Was it a break up if you hadn’t been dating?Alex shook his head, then turned it to face Erik. ‘How much did you see?’

Erik shrugged. ‘Just you storming out. Sarah looking upset.’

‘Right. So how pissed are you and Abby that I hurt her friend?’

‘I don’t think Abby saw anything. And I can not tell her if you want.’ His brother’s face, so like his own, twisted. ‘Looks to me like you’re pretty hurt too.’

‘I’ll be fine,’ Alex muttered. ‘I just… I feel like a fucking idiot.’ Even more so when he considered that the grand romantic gesture he’d imagined would now be a permanent reminder of his failure.

Erik nodded. ‘Want to talk about it?’

‘No.’

‘Want to go home and get shitfaced?’

Alex huffed a frustrated laugh, scrubbing a hand over his face—a crack in the mask he’d never let Erik see before. ‘Yeah. Yeah, I do.’

‘Okay.’ Erik straightened. ‘Call an Uber. I’ll be back in a minute.’

‘Erik, wait—’

Ten seconds after that messy blonde head vanished through the door, Alex pulled his phone out with a sigh. He had to get home, even if he wasn’t about to let Erik skip out on what was left of his party. But when his brother came back, jacket in hand, he refused to listen to Alex’s protests.

‘How did you explain to your fiancée that you’re leaving?’ Alex asked.

Erik smiled. ‘I told her my brother needs me.’

‘Been a whilesince we were here.’ Erik leaned back in his armchair, swirling the whiskey in his glass.

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