Priceless Love

by Emily Walters

  Miranda shook her head. “After the breakfast we had, I’m stuffed. What’s on the agenda today?”

  Alec grinned and answered, a twinkle in his eyes. “Oh just wait, you’re going to love it.” Miranda couldn’t help but giggle at his excitement. And he wasn’t wrong; Miranda’s eyes grew as big as saucers when she saw what he had planned. He had the driver take them to a large field and there in the center a huge blue and red hot-air balloon stood with a guide waiting to steer the balloon for them.

  Turning to Alec, she said in a bewildered voice, “You’re not serious, are you? Are we really going to see all of Paris in a hot-air balloon?”

  Alec laughed and said, “Well, we’re going to see parts of it anyway. Now, come on. Let’s get in and fly away, shall we?” Miranda just giggled with excitement and she got in.

  Miranda looked down at the City of Love and she was completely blown away. The people and cars were miniscule and she could see the river below twisting and turning, playing hide and seek. Alec pointed out different spots and told her a little history about them. It would be sunset soon and the sky was painted every shade of pink, red and orange. Miranda had never seen a prettier sight.

  Alec bent down and pulled out a wine bottle and two glasses from a picnic basket. He grinned at her as he filled their glasses with red wine and handed her one. “I have food in there as well, if you’re hungry.”

  Miranda smiled and said, “Thank you. This is so beautiful, Alec! I can’t believe you thought of all this.” She turned and saw a look of incredulity on his face. “What?” she asked, worried she had stained herself somehow.

  Alec shook his head slightly and said, “You just said my name.”

  Miranda thought back and her face broke into a smile. “So it seems I did.” She smirked.

  Alec came close to her and captured her eyes with his, looking deep into her soul. With a voice full of emotion, he begged, “Say it again, please. Say my name.”

  Miranda gazed at him, drinking him in. She licked her lips and in a low grunt, she said, “Alec.”

  “Say it again,” he exclaimed, now only mere inches away from her. She could feel his breath on her cheeks, feel the pull of his lips. Her body ignited with the proximity of his body to hers and she felt shivers of pleasure run up and down her spine. It seemed time had stopped and it was only the two of them, cut off from the world, floating among the clouds.

  “Alec, Alec, Alec,” she whispered, her lips almost brushing his. Before she was done saying his name, his lips had crashed onto hers. Alec was kissing Miranda with a wild abandon as if he had lost all control over his own body. Instead of pushing him away, Miranda pulled him into her, wrapping herself around him. She could feel his hands running all over her as he deepened the kiss and she in turn had her hands all over his back, through his hair, on his chest. She couldn’t get enough of him. She was drinking him in and he was the water she had been craving for all this time. He breathed into her and Miranda felt her legs almost give out in response.

  The kiss lasted for maybe five minutes but it felt like a lifetime to Miranda. When they finally slowed down and then stopped, they were both out of breath. Alec’s hair was a mess and Miranda was sure she didn’t look much better. Miranda shyly peeked at Alec and her breath caught. He was staring at her with an expression she had never seen on his face before. It was like a once-blind man seeing the sun for the very first time or a baby watching the wonders of the world.

  Alec cleared his throat, taking in a deep breath and said, “I’d say sorry for doing that but I most certainly am not so there’s no point.”

  Miranda just laughed at him and pulling him towards her, she said, “No apology necessary. Just do it again.”

  Alec grinned at her and said, “With pleasure.” He winked at her before he bent down and began to kiss her with a soft, excruciating passion.

  One hot-air balloon ride and a few thousand kisses later, they finally made their way back to the hotel. Alec walked her to her room and then stood there debating for a minute before following her in. “We need to talk,” he said seriously.

  Miranda looked at him, all her blissful mood vanishing in a moment. She nodded and went out to the balcony. He followed her out and stood while she sat in one of the chairs. He looked at her deeply, his blue eyes hypnotizing her. Finding his voice, he came and sat beside her. “Look, I want you to know that our kisses weren’t premeditated. I didn’t take you up there thinking that would happen, you have to know that.”

  Miranda smiled at him reassuringly and replied, “I know you didn’t plan it, Alec, that’s why I kissed you.”

  Her reply seemed to make Alec feel much better and he smiled at her using his name so comfortably. He continued, “You’re not just some ordinary girl to me, Miranda. I don’t want to just randomly kiss you and then move on to other girls. You’ve cast a spell on me and I guess I don’t want that spell broken. I want you, Miranda, all of you.”

  Miranda looked into his eyes, trying to read the emotion there. “What are you saying, Alec?” she asked hesitantly.

  Alec stared deep into her eyes as if trying to fish out an answer before he finally asked, “Will you be my girlfriend, Miranda? I have never felt for anyone the way I feel for you. Your happiness, your joy means more to me than anything else and I can’t think of not being with you or of being with someone else. I just want you, you and only you. So, will you give me a shot and go out with me on an official date?”

  Miranda giggled and said, “I would really like that, yes.”

  Alec bent towards her and placed his lips softly on hers, sealing her answer with a kiss. “Get ready, I’ll pick you up in an hour. And wear something fancy.” And with a wink he was gone, leaving Miranda to sigh after him. She had just taken a huge leap and she hoped that he was worth it.

  Chapter 10

  The date went spectacularly. He took her to an extremely fancy restaurant that looked over the river and they spent the time laughing at some joke or other he was always sharing with her. He seemed to have completely let loose since the kiss and she had never seen him as relaxed and himself than she did while he was with her.

  After dinner they took a moonlight stroll and then ended up dancing in one of the clubs. Alec was a perfect gentleman, keeping his hands to the appropriate spots, fetching them drinks, making sure other men kept a respectable distance from her. That made her laugh, watching him be so chivalrous. When they headed back to the hotel, Alec bid her goodnight, kissed her passionately and retired to his room. Miranda was a little disappointed that he hadn’t asked to come inside but she knew that if he did, things would escalate really fast between them. She respected that he wanted to give her space and time to take it at her own pace and her heart melted for him.

  The plane ride home was uneventful. Alec kept her so preoccupied with his kisses, wandering hands and random facts that he would state between kisses that Miranda had no time to panic or hyperventilate. They landed and she wished that the plane had stayed in the air a while longer. Alec dropped her home and told her to get her rest. He kissed her outside the door and promised that he would see her tomorrow.

  As soon as he was gone, Miranda missed him already. She couldn’t figure out how in such a short period of time her feelings for Alec had changed so drastically. But, if she were being honest with herself she had always had some sort of feelings for him, she had just suppressed them as best she could. Now, however, they were out with a vengeance and she found herself falling hard for a man that just a few days ago had irked her so much.

  She was tired and quickly fell asleep, getting much-needed rest. The next day Alec called her and asked her if she wanted to hang out to which she gave a resounding yes. He picked her up at around eight. “Wow, you look gorgeous,” he exclaimed, tracing her every curve with his eyes. She had on a royal-blue, backless, wrap-around minidress and it hugged her form in all the right places. Her toned legs were accentuated thanks to the dress and Alec’s eyes kept returning back there.
They stepped out of her apartment building and she saw that he had driven a different car from the one he brought to office. His driver wasn’t there either. It was a silver convertible and it looked more like an antique car collector’s item than anything else. Miranda didn’t know the first thing about cars but she could see from the interior and the style of the car that it was a very expensive car.

  Once they were in the car, Alec zoomed away. Miranda was worried that her hair would be ruined in the wind but a glance in the side mirror satisfied her that her hair was still intact. “Where are we going?” she asked.

  Alec just grinned and said, “You’ll see.”

  Miranda sat back and enjoyed the ride, not in any hurry. She liked this playful side of Alec and she wanted to enjoy it as much as possible.

  After about half an hour of driving and talking, Alec finally pulled to a stop. Miranda looked around and saw that they were parked at the docks and lots of yachts and boats belonging to rich folk were moored there. She turned to Alec with a questioning look but he just grinned and held her hand instead. He led her to one of the yachts a little further away and gestured for her to head up. “After you, my lady,” he chuckled, bowing for her. She giggled and walked up the short ramp into the yacht that Alec had rented for the evening.

  His usual driver was waiting there to greet her. He bowed too and now Miranda couldn’t help but laugh. Hiding his grin, Alec’s driver said, “Follow me this way, madam,” as he retreated further in. Miranda glanced at Alec who was beside her by now and then shrugged as she walked in. She followed the driver down the side of the cabin until they were at the back deck of the yacht.

  Miranda stopped in her tracks as she looked around. It was like walking onto the set of one of those cliché romantic movies she loved to watch. The deck was decked with fairy lights, a table for two was set up with a red tablecloth and everything. There was even a man with a violin standing aside, ready to play his sweet melodies for them as soon as they sat down. Completely speechless, she turned to Alec.

  Alec grinned and said, “I thought a cliché first date, now that we’re back home, was the best way to start this whole dating thing. What do you think?” Miranda leaned into him and kissed him. He got involved really quickly, his arms holding her tightly against him and his lips opening up for her.

  After a minute, Miranda pulled back and smiling up at him, she said, “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

  He beamed at her and then led her to the table. He held out her seat for her like a true gentleman and bowed slightly, making her giggle, before sitting down himself. The violin started playing in the background and the driver sent out a waiter and waitress with their first course. It was a hearty meal and Miranda loved it. After dinner, Alec asked her to dance and she happily obliged.

  As they swayed from place to place, Miranda leaned her head against his shoulder. She sighed happily and enjoyed this moment. How romantic he could be, she thought to herself. He was a perfect gentleman and he hadn’t even looked at the waitress with the skimpy uniform, even though she had tried to flirt with him heavily. She couldn’t believe that the obnoxious man she had met on the cruise was the one who made her feel so special in this moment. She looked up at Alec and he smiled down at her. “Thank you,” she said contentedly. “You’re nothing like the man I thought you were. I’m sorry I misjudged you so much. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

  Alec looked deep into her eyes and said, “You had every right to judge. I did act like an ass but I swear I won’t be doing that any longer. I just want you to be with me, that’s all I want.” And he bent down to kiss her, sending her heart into a drumroll of its own creation.

  The next day Alec had to attend to some work so he was unable to meet up with Miranda, much to her disappointment. Now though, she had ample time to worry about how things would work out in the office. She didn’t want anyone in the office knowing about her personal life or thinking she was getting special treatment. She needed to ask Alec to keep their relationship on the down-low for now. She wondered how he would take it.

  She got her answer the next day in the office. “You want us to hide from everyone that we are completely into each other?” he asked, as if a more ridiculous notion he had never heard.

  Miranda sighed and said, “I don’t want people to think that I’m only here because you like me or that I was able to seduce the boss. Plus, don’t you have the rule you apply where you don’t date your employees? Well, I am your employee so I think it’s best if we just be careful around the office. These are my colleagues and I don’t want them to hate me or talk about me behind my back.”

  Alec huffed but agreed. “Fine, no public display of affection, got it.” He pulled her close and kissed her hard, leaving her breathless and her body begging for more. “No one is in my office so technically I can do that.”

  He grinned at his own smartness and Miranda couldn’t help but laugh at that. Shaking her head at him, she made to leave but he pulled her back again and placed another kiss on her lips. “Cut it out, Alec,” she whisper-shouted, not really mad.

  He chuckled and said in a husky voice, “I love it when you say my name.” She giggled and gave him a kiss of her own. Then she was making her way out of his office before things could get heated or they would never get anything done.

  Just as she was leaving, Alec called, “Miranda, could you please go down to Mr. Freeman and hand him these files? Stay there until he has some sort of notes for them and then bring them up to me. Okay, love?” Miranda rolled her eyes at his endearment and took the file from him. “Oh and come back soon. I don’t think I can handle you being gone too long.” She giggled and shaking her head, she left.

  Humming, she went down the elevators to Mr. Freeman’s office. She went up to Christy and smiling, greeted her. “Good morning, Christy. How are you? Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

  Christy just stared daggers at her and in a hard tone asked hostilely, “What do you want?”

  Miranda was surprised since Christy had always been friendly towards her and she had seemed to really like her before. Still puzzled, she handed over the files Alec had sent and said, “Could you give this to Mr. Freeman and ask him to write a few notes to send up to Mr. Bane? I am waiting outside.”

  Christy just glared at her for a moment before snatching the files from her hands and storming to Mr. Freeman’s office. Miranda just stared after her wondering what could possibly have happened to make Christy hate her so much. Maybe she was just having a really bad day or maybe she didn’t like her new job and thought Miranda had stolen her old one. She sighed, it was pointless figuring it out. She should just ask her and get to the bottom of it.

  Miranda was sitting on one of the couches when Christy came out. She stomped over to her table and began furiously typing on her computer. After a few minutes of loaded silence, Miranda finally asked, “Christy, is something wrong?”

  Christy just glared at her with anger and said, “You can drop the innocent act now. We both know you’re not as naïve as you pretend to be.”

  Miranda gawked at her. What was she talking about? What had she done? “What’s wrong? I really have no idea what you’re talking about, Christy.”

  Christy snorted with disgust. “Oh you don’t, do you? Well let me be kind enough to enlighten you. I know your little game, missy. You charmed Alec with your innocent act so that he would hire you. You got him to replace me and pretended to be a simple naïve girl while I gushed about him to you. You slowly manipulated your way into his life and now you’re going off on trips to Paris!! When will your charade end, little miss sunshine? You may have fooled everyone else but I see right through you.”

  Miranda gaped at her. “Are you serious? You really think that I manipulated my way into this job? I was happy on my cruise and before Alec, I mean Mr. Bane, walked into that office, I didn’t even know he was partners with Mr. Freeman.” She gestured towards Mr. Freeman’s office emphatically.

  Christy rolled her eyes a
t her and sneered, “Oh, cut it off now. I don’t buy your innocent act anymore. You even call him Alec now and you had me believe you were frustrated with him and didn’t like him. I don’t know what went on between you two on the cruise but I do know that he was very adamant that Mr. Freeman buy that cruise.”

  Miranda’s jaw fell open and her eyes popped out. “What do you mean?” she choked out, all color draining from her face.

  Christy smirked at her evilly. “Oh, you didn’t know. What a shame, it’s such a good story too. Well, it turns out that your seduction on the cruise ship really worked its charm on Alec. He came flying into Mr. Freeman’s office and demanded he buy the cruise ship at any cost. He pitched in more than half the money so Mr. Freeman could do that. Then he specially had him hire you in his office. Didn’t you ever wonder why Mr. Freeman, who could hire the best of the best, picked you from a recently bought cruise ship for a job you had no experience with? It wasn’t fate or destiny; it was Alec Bane. How was it that just as you were being assigned your new job, Alec happened to walk in and sweep you off to his office, efficiently swapping a much more experienced, loyal employee like me for you?”