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“Well, again, she might not be,” Taylor added, “But I also know that there are a lot of people out there who are walking around, high functioning and undiagnosed. It’s common for autistic women to fly under the radar more than men do.”

I sat up, tucking my feet near me so I could rest my arms on my knees again, “The other day, she was telling me how she doesn’t always understand nuance. How that caused a lot of contention in her last relationship because she couldn’t understand the vague comments her ex would say to her.”

Taylor smirked a little, “I’m starting to have a little bit more confidence in my theory.”

“Jesus Christ, it seems so obvious now,” I dropped my head in my hands, “God, I’m such a wanker for not seeing it sooner.”

“Okay, let’s not be dramatic and weirdly make this about you,” Taylor punched my shoulder, “Let’s get back to your original issue. She’s stressed, and not feeling like herself. But she likes loud music and sensory experiences…dare I ask, doth the lady like clubbing?”

I frowned because I couldn’t picture Jacqueline at a club at all. I pictured her behind her desk at work, or under a blanket on the couch.

“I don’t know.”

Taylor quirked their lips to the side with a look of contemplation on their face, before finally pulling their phone out of their bag, “Okay, I might have a suggestion.”

“Anything,” I agreed, as I scooted closer to them.

ChapterEighteen

JACQUELINE

“I hopeto hear from you soon.” Leo nodded as he shook Signe’s hand before leaving. When he turned to me, he didn’t look at me. He glanced at the top of my head while I quickly returned his handshake and then dropped his hold. He nodded politely at the two of us, throwing a grin over to Signe, before leaving the conference room.

As soon as he turned the corner toward the elevators, officially out of sight, I felt like I could breathe again as I promptly made my way to the sensory room.

* * *

I almost didn’t answerthe door when I heard his knock.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the knob, wondering if he would walk away if I didn’t answer. Then I realized that I didn’t want him to walk away, and I jerked forward to swing the door open as quickly as possible.

Leo stood there, one hand in his leather jacket pocket while the other held a bag of takeout from a Thai place we both liked, “Hey.”

“Hi.” I sighed.

God, Leo was a handsome man.

He must have ridden his bike here because his cheeks were flushed, and his hair looked like he’d recently run his hands through it to fight against helmet hair. I stared at the way his fingers flexed over their hold on the plastic bag, almost whimpering in disappointment from how I had insisted he not use those on me tonight.

“As normal as this is,” Leo’s voice startled me out of my horny fantasies, and when I met his eyes with my own, he was grinning, “May I come in?” It took me a second to realize he was referring to us awkwardly standing on the threshold while I ogled him.

“Shoot, yeah,” I stepped back to allow him entry, “Please, do come in.”

God, I was so weird.

“Jacqueline,” Leo sighed, setting the bag on the countertop before turning to face me. He planted both of his hands on his hips and lifted a dark eyebrow, “This is feeling way too formal for us.”

I panicked, folding my hands over each other while I took a step toward him, “I’m sorry. I’m being weird. I know. I just—” He stopped my rambling by cupping my face with both of his large hands and tilting my head back. When he pressed his lips against mine, I practically sighed into his mouth.

He brushed his lips against mine once, twice, before murmuring, “Relax for me, love.”

Just like he did that day in the parking lot.

So I did.

I melted into him, running my hands under his jacket but over his shirt, exploring the hard planes of his torso. I gripped the dips and ridges of his back, tugging myself against him so he could keep kissing me like we had all the time in the world.

After an indiscriminate amount of time, Leo pulled back and planted a quick kiss on my nose, “Better?”