Page 31 of Midnight Kisses

“Hey, no judgement,” Sadie said. “I would rather be downing mojitos right now than fulfilling Princess Miles’ every wish. But a girl’s gotta eat.”

“I’ve got a cold,” I admitted. “How can I help, Sadie? Is anything wrong?”

“I heard the meeting with Bradford Lewish moved and I was wondering what was up, but I think you’ve just answered my question.”

“Mucus,” I replied, trying to sound droll. “Mucus is what’s up. I feel terrible that I had to postpone, but Bradford’s assistant kindly agreed to move our sit down until next week.”

“So he didn’t cancel it?”

“No.”

She covered her phone so her next words were muffled, but I heard them anyway. “You better get on the phone and apologise.”

A deep, familiar voice grumbled something in the background.

“What happened?” I asked.

Sadie heaved a sigh. “Miles thought Bradford was fobbing you off, so he rang him and delivered a colourful scolding, despitesomeone—me, obviously—telling him it was a bad idea. But it’s fine. He can fix this.” She covered the mouthpiece and repeated sternly, “You can fix this.”

“Why did he do that?”

“Take pity on him, Perry. He’s never had a crush before. He doesn’t know how to act.”

“Shut up, Sadie,” Miles barked in the background.

I dragged a hand down my face, trying to think, trying to process, and feeling like I was wading through treacle. I didn’t know what to do with this information. Yes, Miles had laid out breakfast, before he’d finished designing a business plan for me. But from everything I knew about him, he was a player. No ‘pretty pussy’ could ever change that.

Unless… a tiny voice in my brain whispered.Unless you’re meant to be.

My whole life I’d been made to feel likemeant to bewasn’t for me. I didn’t see myself in fairytales, and somewhere along the line I’d internalised thinking those stories weren’t meant for me. It was hard to recalibrate to allow for a possibility like this. Every nerve in my body was screaming, ‘that way lies danger, girl’.

But maybe I could at least feel out the edges, see where the sharp bits were.

“Give me one sec,” I murmured, then put the phone on mute to hack up a lung and blow my nose. Back on the call, I asked Sadie, “Do you have time to talk properly? Somewhere Miles can’t hear us?”

I could leave it alone. Maybe I should.

But I wanted to be wrong about Sadie more than I wanted that.

“Sure.” There were rustling sounds and a sliding glass door. “What’s up, buttercup?”

“This is a bit uncomfortable, but I got the sense you weren’t pleased I was with Miles at the masquerade. But you’ve been so helpful sending me all these contacts and things and I guess… I guess I just wanted to clear the air.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“At the masquerade. You glared holes in me.”

Sadie sucked in a breath. “Oh,no, Perry. No! I have a resting bitch face. I was just trying to figure out what Miles was upto. He’s never taken any notice of a woman Helen pushed on him, and I thought he’d come to the party to try and find the bathroom girl he made out with—turns out this was you the whole time. I was just trying to figure out what the fuck he was up to.”

“Is there something between you and Miles?” I asked, point blank.

“Unadulterated loathing,” she replied cheerfully. “As for anything romantic? No way. Miles is a brother to me.”

“Right.”

I should feel better, but the memory of her stare raking over me, decidedly unimpressed, was still prickling over my skin, like I’d tried to exfoliate with stinging nettle.

Sadie picked up on the tension. “Do you have a problem with me, Perry? Because that would suck.”

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