Priceless Love

by Emily Walters

  Alec seemed like he was biting the inside of his cheek. His eyes were blazing with anger and he seemed like he was barely holding himself from punching something really hard. “That man was a complete moron for throwing away something so good. Didn’t he realize what a lucky man he was to have you? I have half a mind to go hunt him down and teach him a thing or two about respecting women!”

  Miranda burst out laughing at his anger.

  “What?” he asked, offended.

  She shook her head and said, “Nothing. I just didn’t expect the words you teaching him about respect. As far as I remember, you didn’t do a very good job of it either.”

  Alec’s face fell at that and Miranda at once felt guilty. She had forgiven him a while back for all that had happened and there was no point bringing that up. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

  Alec looked away. “Why not? It’s true. I did use my money and power to get you into my office. I was a complete pig and no matter how many times I apologize for that it will never be enough.”

  Miranda was surprised that he wasn’t defending himself and openly admitted that he had been wrong. She gawked at him for a moment before shaking her head slightly and saying, “Anyway, it’s all in the past so let’s not talk about it.”

  Alec nodded, still lost in thought. He stood and began washing the dishes. “I can do that,” Miranda said.

  “Nah, I’ll be done in a minute.”

  And sure enough he was. “Where’d you learn to cook?” she asked.

  “My mom taught me. She was a good mother even though she got the wrong end of the deal. My father was… well let’s just say he wasn’t a very nice man. He’s the reason my mother died. He would… beat her and me also. One day, I guess he outdid himself and she died a couple days later. He never got arrested though and I left his house after that. I guess it’s one of the reasons I never got into relationships that required an emotional connection. After my mom, I never wanted to get close to someone only to get hurt again.”

  Alec had said more than he had planned on sharing. She could see it in his eyes that he had never told a soul about this and she was grateful that after him learning now two of her secrets, she knew one of his as well. It made her understand him better.

  Alec dried his hands and said, “Well, I best be off. You rest, alright?” He grabbed his jacket and just before he left, he turned and asked, “Can I call you sometimes? Just to check up on you?” Miranda nodded in reply, her mind still churning with what he had told her.

  ***

  Over the next couple of months Alec called her almost every day. At first it was just to check up on her, make sure she wasn’t too depressed. Then it was just to talk about stuff in general. He asked her if she wanted to just hang out, go see a movie or something and she agreed. Then they started going out as a regular thing and the phone calls continued. But not once did Alec make a move towards her. He always kept a respectable space between them, he never made a move to kiss her or touch her unnecessarily. He was the perfect gentleman and behaved as was expected of a friend. She realized that he was in fact a lot like the man she had come to discover in Paris.

  His company was helping Miranda to heal. It didn’t hurt as bad now when she thought of Jeremiah or Jenny. Jenny had tried calling several times to make up and say she was sorry but Miranda didn’t want to hear it. She had thought of Jenny as a sister and sisters didn’t stab sisters in the back. Time continued to pass and Miranda and Alec grew to be close friends. He discussed practically everything with her and vice versa.

  One evening, as they sat at home watching a movie, Alec said, “There is this gala on Friday. It’s a charity event and I’m obligated to go. So, umm, I was wondering if maybe you’d be my date for the evening? We’d go as friends of course. It’s just sometimes these events can be really boring and I’d love the company. But, if you don’t want to go it’s fine. I don’t want to pressure you into anything.”

  Miranda looked at him floundering, making sure he didn’t offend her in any way and she couldn’t help but grin. He could be so cute sometimes. “Don’t worry, Alec, I want to go. What time will you pick me up?” Alec’s face lit up like a Christmas tree and Miranda decided then and there that anything that made him this happy was completely worth it.

  “Ok, good. I’m glad. I’ll pick you up at seven,” he said, his eyes shining.

  Miranda nodded and said, “Pass the popcorn, you hog.” He laughed at that and obeyed.

  Friday came and with it came the prospect of the gala. Alec was so considerate it was uncanny. He sent over a beautiful silver silk gown and dainty heels exactly her size. How he knew her size was a mystery to Miranda but she slipped on the magnificent heels and it felt like she was walking on clouds, that’s how soft it was. The slip dress ran through her fingers like water and the material was so soft, it seemed to caress her body. Only Alec could buy something so exquisite and she was sure it was extremely expensive.

  She pinned her hair up in a messy bun and put on the bracelet he had given her back in Paris. She had kept it all this time for some reason and now she was glad she had. When he finally came to pick her up, his eyes grew as round and big as saucers. He looked her up and down, his eyes tracing every curve of her body causing a shiver of pleasure to run through her. Recently, that had been happening a lot. She had begun reacting to him in ways that as friends, she shouldn’t be. Her thoughts had started to move on to a not-so-innocent place and she just hoped it didn’t show.

  “Wow,” Alec exclaimed, finally finding his voice. “You look stunning. I don’t have words to express how gorgeous you look.”

  Miranda giggled and said, “Well, I have you to thank for the dress. So, thank you.”

  Alec just waved her thank-you off and then held out his arm. “Shall we?” he grinned.

  Miranda giggled and replied, “We shall.” And they were off.

  Chapter 13

  They made their way to the gala with Sergio driving as usual. She and Sergio were now friends and she realized that he was one of Alec’s actual true friends and his confidant. On the way to the gala, Alec was absentmindedly playing with her fingers until his hand brushed against the bracelet. He looked down at it in astonishment before turning to Miranda. “You kept it?” he asked, hardly believing his own eyes.

  Miranda nodded and replied, “I couldn’t get myself to get rid of it. No matter how we parted, the trip to Paris had meant something to me. So, I kept it.”

  Alec looked into her eyes, searching for something before he whispered, “It meant something to me, too.” They were quiet for the rest of the ride, both lost in their own thoughts.

  At the gala, everyone wanted to meet Alec. He was a renowned figure among these people and Miranda watched with elation the way he carried himself and talked to everyone. He was most respectful but never backed down from what he believed in and that was something Miranda had come to really admire in him. She was standing idly, having just finished a conversation with one of the women there, when someone called out her name.

  She turned and saw a colleague of hers, Amanda Carter, from when she worked for Alec, was making her way up to her. Relieved to see a familiar face, she waved in acknowledgement and waited for Amanda to approach her. Amanda was just jubilant to see her. “Oh my lord, it really is you! Where have you been all this time? You just up and left one day, not a word to anyone. You didn’t even say goodbye.” She pouted a little and Miranda felt bad. Amanda was right, she had just disappeared without a word to anyone and hadn’t kept in touch with anyone afterward. She just hadn’t wanted to deal with the incessant questions.

  “I’m sorry. Due to some personal reasons I had to leave abruptly. And then I was mostly out of the country so I couldn’t keep in touch. How has everything been? How is everyone at the office?”

  Amanda, always the gossiper, started on a detailed version of all that she had missed out on. Marriages, divorces, new relationships, children born, Amanda covered it all. �
�Oh, and you won’t believe it when I tell you but the biggest change has been our boss.”

  Miranda’s ears perked up at once. “What do you mean?”

  Amanda was excited as she said, “He has changed so much over the last two years, it’s like it’s not even him. Before, he would come and go as he pleased, take off to exotic places when it suited his mood, flirt with the cute girls in the office. But he stopped all of that soon after you left. He came into work every day. He is the first to arrive and the last to leave. He doesn’t magically appear and disappear anymore. He doesn’t even flirt with anyone. It’s like it’s his body but someone else is running it. All I can think of is that someone knocked some sense into him. He hasn’t dated in two years from what I heard, not even random hookups. He hired a male secretary, for crying out loud!” She drew a deep breath before adding, “I have a theory though. I think someone hurt him. I don’t know, maybe he fell in love or something and she didn’t like him back or maybe someone close to him died and now he’s taking life much more seriously. Whatever it is, it changed him. Look at him now, he’s the center of attention and yet he is still acting humble. Would he have done that two years ago? I don’t think so. Anyway, enough gossiping from me. Tell me, what have you been up to?”

  She chatted with Miranda for a few more minutes and then moved on. Miranda stood watching Alec, Amanda’s words buzzing through her mind. Was she telling the truth? Had he really not dated anyone since her? Was he not flirting anymore? Instead he was spending all his waking hours working? She had noticed how he had changed but it had been the same change she had seen in Paris and so she had attributed it to him being himself. Was it possible that he had really changed for the better? But why? All these thoughts were whirring through her mind as she watched him.

  She gazed across the room towards Alec, where he stood talking to a well-known businessman. His face lit up as he explained something that was dear to him and Miranda smiled in response; seeing him happy made her heart lift up. He had been her rock through the hardest time of her life when she had no one. He hadn’t made a single move towards her and had respected her in ways she hadn’t known he could. She found her heart melting for him once again and telling her that he wasn’t the same man who had manipulated her into his office.

  On the way back, Miranda was awfully quiet and that had Alec worried. Once they made their way up to her apartment, he asked reluctantly, “Is something wrong? You’ve been really quiet tonight. I saw you talking to Amanda Carter from the office. Did she say something to upset you?”

  Miranda put a hand on his shoulder and looked up at him. “She didn’t say anything to upset me, trust me, alright.”

  He took a piece of her hair that had come undone and placed it behind her ear. The gesture and his hand brushing over her cheek and then ear had Miranda shivering with pleasure. Goosebumps ran up and down her arms and at the back of her neck. She gazed into those alluring blue eyes of his as he asked, “Then what is it? What aren’t you saying?”

  Miranda, lost in the temple of his eyes, blurted out, “Have you really not dated in two years?”

  Alec looked at her a moment, assessing her before he replied, “No, I haven’t.”

  “Why?” Miranda whispered, not breaking their eye contact.

  Alec’s eyes flickered to her lips for a moment before he firmly brought them back up to her eyes and said, “You don’t want to know.”

  Miranda’s hand reached out and touched his cheek of its own accord. “I really do want to know.”

  Alec swallowed before answering, “OK, if you insist on knowing then here it is; no other girl was you.” Miranda just stared at him, absorbing his answer.

  Alec blew out a breath of frustration. “You aren’t so mean as to play with my affections, Miranda, I know that. And you have to know, have to be able to see how completely and madly in love with you I am. I was already falling for you when I met you on the cruise and that feeling is probably why I was stupid enough to have you transferred to my office. I just had to be near you, had to be with you. Then, on the trip to Paris it seemed that you were finally coming around, seeing me for the man I was and not the man I pretended to be. I fell for you then, hard and fast and there was no saving me. You had me locked to you before you ever kissed me. When you found out from Christy, yes, I know how you found out, and well, you decided to leave, it was the end of me. I was almost completely broken and I realized just how deep my love for you was. Over the last two years I tried, futilely, to forget about you, to go about my life as best I could. Then, as fate would have it, I run across a girl in a wedding dress and it turns out to be none other than you.

  “I knew I couldn’t lose you again, it would finish me so I have been nothing but the most loyal friend you could ever ask for. I have never tried to cross any lines and I never will if that’s what you want. You know me better than anyone, Miranda, and I think I know you too. I can finally be myself with someone and I like that feeling. I don’t know what Amanda said but please don’t go judging me once again for this time I have done nothing to deserve it.”

  Miranda was speechless. He loved her. He had so clearly, so blatantly accepted it. He had no doubts, no shame for loving her; he just did. As the sun was shining and the flowers were blooming, he was sitting there silently loving her. Overcome with emotion, she jumped across onto him and crashed her lips into his, taking him by surprise. They toppled over onto the sofa and they both giggled before Miranda brought her lips down to his once again. She could feel all the love as he kissed her back, his soft lips moving against hers. He bit her bottom lip and a light groan escaped her, which only made him kiss her harder.

  Every inhibition she had about him, or about giving him a second chance, flew out the window then. He loved her as surely as the sky was blue and that was more than enough for her. She realized she was able to get over Jeremiah so quickly because she hadn’t ever really loved him. She just thought she did but deep down her heart had stayed back with Alec. Jenny had actually done her a favor because if she hadn’t run from the wedding, she never would have met Alec that morning and she would never have gotten the chance to kiss him as she was right now.

  Once she was out of breath, she pulled back and looked deep into his eyes. “I love you too. I didn’t know it at the time and I didn’t know it till now either but I think I have been feeling this way for a while now. I didn’t want to love you at first and then I couldn’t help but love you. You are nothing and everything that I thought you were.” She laughed. “I know I’m not making sense but who cares; I love you and that’s enough.”

  Alec grinned and said, “Yes, it is.” And he brought her head back down to kiss him some more.

  Epilogue

  The Golden Star looked as magnificent as it always did. Everyone greeted the newlywed couple. “Oh my God, Miranda, it’s so good to see you,” was repeated over and over again as she met all of her old co-workers. They had been her family for the longest time and she had skipped with joy when Alec had told her that he had planned the perfect honeymoon for the both of them.

  They had been dating for over a year when Alec popped the big question. Miranda couldn’t believe her lucky stars and she had jumped on top of him, kissing him breathless before saying yes. They were married a few months later in a beautiful chapel and now they were on the Golden Star for their honeymoon. It had been a surprise for her this morning and she couldn’t wait to properly thank her new husband for such a spectacular gift.

  Miranda gazed across the vast ocean in front of her and breathed in the salty air. She would always feel at home out here on the waters. As she stood enjoying the smell of the sea, someone tapped her shoulders. Miranda turned and was face-to-face with Jenny. Her heart hurt for a second for the betrayal of a friend but then she smiled at her and hugged her. “It’s good to see you again,” Miranda smiled at Jenny.

  “You as well,” Jenny replied. After moving out of the apartment, Jenny had come back to apologize over and over and
after a while Miranda had forgiven her. After all she had Jenny to thank for reuniting with Alec. But even though she had forgiven her, things hadn’t gone back to the way they used to be. With nothing more to say between them, Jenny just smiled and said, “I better get back to work.” Miranda nodded and then she was gone.

  Just then Alec came up behind her and gave her a silent hug, knowing it was what she needed at that moment. Miranda turned to Alec and gave him a kiss that left him begging for more. He growled softly but she only laughed and turned back to all her friends. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have such an amazing husband and be surrounded by friends who rejoiced in her happiness. This was going to be a really good honeymoon and a really good life, she could feel it.

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