Hello lovelies. Thank you for all the reviews. Keep them coming so I know how I'm doing or what you guys like.
Miranda enters the apartment and looks around. Caleb shouldn't be here and yet he was. Miranda says as she closes the door softly behind her. She knew she didn't look how she left but maybe Caleb wouldn't notice.
"Hey" Caleb says as he drinks his coffee. Holy shit! Miranda didn't even notice him sitting there.
"Hey babe. I thought you weren't going to wait up?" Miranda says. Caleb smirks.
"I didn't babe, don't worry, and plus its three." Caleb says. As much as he was smiling he knew what he was seeing. Miranda looked good. Too damn good for someone who only had a job interview last night and stayed at a hotel to sleep. Sleep that should have just lasted eight hours. Miranda has, practically, been gone all day. Miranda's dress didn't have one wrinkle which meant she wasn't wearing it all night. One thing Caleb knew, or rather thought he knew, was that Miranda didn't sleep nude in foreign sheets unless she was having sex.
"Why aren't you at work?" Miranda asks curiously as she walks into their bedroom and quickly changes. Not fast enough since Caleb was fully aware that Miranda wasn't wearing underwear and he knew she wore a thong when she left.
"I'm meeting an old acquaintance of mine in Rosewood so I took the day." Caleb says. Mona called him when he was driving home from Hanna's this morning and told him he needed to come to Rosewood as soon as possible. He made it there and spoke to Mona. He still hated her but he trusted Hanna.
Thankfully he did trust Hanna since, because of her, Caleb was closer to finding the hacker, a lot closer. Thanks to Mona and her software Caleb knew that the hacker was someone close to him. That would be the only way for them to get as far as they got and also, like Caleb thought, the only thing that saved him from full system overhaul were his passwords. Mona added extra encryptions to his system so if the hacker tried again they would fail and this time leave a definitive trace. Caleb knew it wasn't anyone he worked with and to double check Mona confirmed it.
"Oh yea? When are you leaving and can I come." Miranda says and asks. She needed to go. She needed to meet whoever he was meeting. Maybe this was the help she needed to finally give her boss what he needs and go home. She seriously missed her life but Hanna was making this life easier. Maybe she could hold on for a few more months. Miranda thought.
"If you want to M but I promise you Rosewood is exactly as I described." Caleb says as Miranda smiles. Miranda kisses Caleb and grazes a finger down his jaw.
"I believe you babe." Miranda says as she situates her skirt and puts the oversized sweater on over her head. Miranda pulls up her knee high socks before she puts on her boots and zips up the back. "Ready?" Miranda asks as she gets her jacket. Caleb looks at her. This is the Miranda he recognized. The one last night was different, yet, somehow, the difference also seemed to be Miranda. Has he been blinded by what he thought he wanted in a partner? Someone that was different from Spencer and Hanna? A girl that he used to want when he was still a part of the system before he moved to Rosewood? Why did Caleb feel he deserved someone who reminded him of the life he had before Hanna made better? Why the fuck did he leave her? Caleb asks himself.
"Yea, I'm ready. Your car or mine?" Caleb asks as he puts on his jacket.
"Yours" Miranda says as she opens the door and Caleb follows her out and begins asking her how the job interview went.
Spencer bought every suit and matching accessory Hanna made her try on and as expected Hanna was right. Each ensemble looked exceptional on Spencer. Hanna styled her and even straightened her hair for her case this afternoon. Hanna looked at the time. Where has the day gone? It's three already? Hanna says to herself as she looks at Cecile.
"Cecile you can take your lunch." Hanna says as Cecile washed the cups and saucers.
"Thanks Hanna." Cecile says as she dries the last cup. Hanna knew this was the perfect time to send Cecile for lunch. A rush of customers just left and only two customers remained. Cecile walks to the back to take her lunch while Hanna helps the customers that were left.
The bell on the door dings and as if on auto pilot Hanna replies without looking up.
"Welcome to Eleven- 05 designs and boutique. My name is Hanna and I'll be right with you." Hanna says as she puts the edge of the pin between her teeth. The customer she was working with was short so Hanna had to pin her pants that way they fit exactly how they were supposed to.
"How does it feel Megan?" Hanna asks. Megan smiles as she looks at herself on the platform in the mirror.
"Perfect. When will this be ready?" Megan asks. Hanna looks at her watch.
"Give me another hour and if I'm at lunch at that time Cecile will have your garment bag ready." Hanna says as she smiles at Megan.
"Thank you Hanna. Is there a card of yours that I can have, to give to some women at my office?" Megan says and asks. Hanna smiles as she takes a card out of her blazer pocket.
"Here you go." Megan smiles before carefully walking into her assigned dressing room. Hanna gets off of her knees and smiles at Emily.
"I haven't seen you since Tuesday." Hanna says as she crosses her arms in front of her chest. Emily sits on the couch and Hanna sits beside her.
"I know I've been swamped at the school. Five new kids just joined so I've been doing assessments and rearranging schedules and classes for the rest of the year until spring. Then on top of that I just hired two more swimming instructors not only for the kids' classes but adults so I had to watch their training and teaching techniques." Emily says as the back of her head rests on the couch. Hanna smirks at Emily as she touches her knee. Even though Emily was semi complaining she loved her job, loved working with kids and loved the people she hired.
Megan comes out with her suit carefully over her arm. Hanna gets up and takes the garments from Megan. Hanna puts it in the back on the rack by her sewing machine.
Cecile is rubbing her temple willing her headache to go away. Cecile didn't get much sleep last night. Her boyfriend was back in town and she didn't want to call out of work. The headache she could deal with. The bruised ribs, not so much.
"Cecile you ok?" Hanna asks concerned. She's been watching Cecile since she came in. One thing she knew was that Cecile was favoring one side of her body over the other one but she wasn't going to say anything unless she needed to. Hanna walks into the bathroom, looks in the medicine chest and takes out two Aleve before walking out and giving it to Cecile.
"This will help" Hanna says. Cecile smiles at Hanna before Hanna walks out of the back. Hanna returns to Megan and smiles as she hands her, her ticket and receipt.
"See you in an hour Hanna and thanks for the card. Don't be surprised when more women come in your boutique." Megan says as she smiles and walks out.
"New client?" Emily asks.
"Something like that. Now I know you're here for a reason Em so spill." Hanna says.
"What do you think about taking Spence out tonight to celebrate her engagement?" Emily asks. Hanna thinks about it.
"Good idea. You or Aria pick the place while I kidnap Spence." Hanna says. Emily smiles as she gets up and stretches. Emily walks to the door before she turns and looks at Hanna.
"By the way Han. Don't think I haven't noticed that you had sex last night. It's practically rolling off you in waves so obviously he was good. Who's the lucky guy." Emily asks. Good is such a mediocre word for the greatness that was sex with Caleb Rivers. Hanna thought to herself as she smirked.
"Me to know and you to find out Em. See you later." Hanna says.
"Later Han and let's all just meet upstairs and take one car. We'll probably stay the night with you anyway." Emily says before she walks out. All that told Hanna is that she needed to buy alcohol, wine, crackers, cheese and other stuff they would probably want to snack on when she takes a break. Hanna didn't want to bring up Alison but someone needed to call her. Hanna picks up the land line and dials Ali's number.
"Hello"
"Hi Alison"
"Hanna? Hi! Sorry I haven't made it to the boutique yet. This pregnancy is kicking my ass." Hanna smiles as she hears Ali. She was excited about being a mom and Hanna couldn't blame her for her excitement.
"I believe it but I'll see you when I go home for Christmas and don't worry I have stuff for you and the baby."
"Can't wait so what's going on. You wouldn't have called if it wasn't urgent." Alison asks.
"We are throwing Spence a happy engagement night. Did you want to come?" Hanna asks. Rosewood was only an hour and a half away. Alison has plenty of time to make it. She didn't need to drink but her company would be welcome, mostly. Alison is silent and Hanna doesn't ask why.
"I can't but I'll see you guys when you come home for Christmas." Alison says. Hanna sighs inwardly.
"Fine Alison. See you in another week." Hanna says. Alison says bye before ending the call. Cecile comes out of the back room and stands beside Hanna.
"Sorry about that Han." Cecile says as a new customer walks in.
"Don't worry about it. I need to go in the back to hem so if you need anything while I'm gone call me." Hanna says. Cecile nods, smiles and walks to the new customer. Hanna walks to the back and begins on Megan's suit.
Miranda didn't know what to say or think. Something changed between her and Caleb and now she couldn't get on his system. She knew she must have messed up recently. He wasn't how he was before. He was paying too much attention to her now. Plus, that girl he met with, Mona. She helped make his system impenetrable. Miranda thought to herself. Miranda didn't dare try to get on his system when Caleb left to talk to Mona privately. Miranda went to the coffee shop in the area, some place called the Brew. Coffee was surprisingly good but as Miranda opened her laptop to try, something told her not to go there. Miranda continues drinking her coffee when an attractive guy walks in. He's definitely attractive. Miranda says to herself as she smiles at him at the exact moment he looked around. He returned Miranda's smile and walks toward her.
"Hi" Miranda says.
"Hi, I know a new and pretty face when I see one. You aren't from around here are you?" He says. Miranda smiles.
"Guilty. My name is Miranda." Miranda says as she gives him her left hand.
"Nice to meet you Miranda. I'm Jason. What brings you to Rosewood?" Jason asks as he sits on the opposite side of her table.
"Business. What about you. Why are you in this small town?" Miranda asks.
"Family and duty." Jason says as his phone goes off. "And duty calls. Give me a call sometime Miranda." Jason says as he hands Miranda his card. Miranda smiles.
"Definitely Jason." Miranda says. Jason smiles before he walks out the Brew and to his office. Jason had to pick up his dad later and he wasn't looking forward to it. However, Miranda was a welcome distraction. Jason realized he and Aria weren't going to work and he planned to end whatever the hell they had going on when she came back to town. At least he would try to but there was something about Aria he couldn't get out of his system. There was also something about Miranda that intrigued him and he couldn't wait to talk to her again.
Miranda put her ring back on her finger just in time.
"All done babe?" Miranda asks.
"Yes and no. I may need to stay in Rosewood longer than expected." Caleb says. He and Mona had a plan in motion which required him staying in Rosewood. Good thing is Caleb still had his apartment here. Toby kept it up for him so he knew, if he asked, Toby would restock half the fridge with the beer they liked.
"How long is long" Miranda asks.
"Probably until a little after the New Year. So I'll head back here this weekend." Caleb says. Miranda had no intention of spending all that time in small town USA.
"That sucks babe. I start on Monday so I can't stay here with you." Miranda says actually thankful for the reprieve.
"Don't worry about it M. I'll try to visit at least every weekend. Do you still plan on going to your foster sister's house for Christmas?" Caleb asks. He was curious. He already suspected that Miranda had no intention of staying in Rosewood with him. He also knew that Miranda was going to say yes even though Caleb knew Miranda's foster sister wasn't going to be in the country. He came home for lunch the day she called and left Miranda a message. Miranda didn't bring up a change of plans so Caleb didn't mention what he overheard.
"Yes. She's expecting me but I'll try to make it back for New Years. If I can't I'll call you babe. Are we heading back?" Miranda asks. Caleb looked at her as he went over the lie she just told him without an ounce of hesitation. How many lies has she told before now? Caleb wondered.
"Ready when you are M." Caleb says as Miranda kisses Caleb again before she grasped his hand and they walked out the Brew together.
Cecile decided to stay later than seven. Hanna didn't mind. For a Thursday she was exceptionally busy. At 7:30 Cecile clocked out as her boyfriend came inside the store. Hanna knew him and she hated the fact he now knew she was here.
"Hanna Marin. I'll be damned." Hanna's eyes narrow as her lips purse.
"Detective Wilden oh how I've missed you." Hanna says amused since they both knew he was no longer a detective. He got demoted back to a street cop after the "mix-up" of what happened to Garrett and of course his fake death. Regardless Hanna always knew Wilden was scum who unfortunately had a badge. Now Hanna knew he was an abusive scum since Cecile just winced after the look Wilden gave her.
"Still a smart ass. Tell Ashley I miss her." Wilden says as the appraisal he gave Hanna gave her the chills.
"I'll make sure I'll put you in the past regrets category. Have a good night." Hanna says as another customer walks in. Miranda. Hanna says to herself as she ignores Wilden's glare. Wilden and Cecile walk out before Hanna gives all of her attention to Miranda.
"Hey Miranda. I was so sure I would see you earlier." Hanna says as Miranda laughs.
"I had an interview last night and since the interview ran late I decided to spend the night at the hotel." Miranda says as she sits on the couch. That was weird. What kind of interview happens so late at night? Hanna asked herself even though she knew the answer.
"I hope you got the job." Hanna said.
"Definitely. I start Monday. By the way do you have anything new from yesterday to today? I need a suit." Hanna looks at Miranda and smirks. Hanna knew of a navy subtle pinstripe that would look great on her.
"Follow me Miranda. I got the perfect one." Hanna hands her the suit and writes on Miranda's dressing room door.
Miranda and Hanna sit on the couch after Miranda not only buys two suits but some more lingerie.
"Caleb is going to kill you." Hanna says amused even though her heart strings panged at the thought of Miranda wearing lingerie for Caleb. Miranda shrugs.
"He just has to deal with it." Miranda says as she shrugs. Hanna nods as she gets up to make her a cappuccino. Hanna looks at the time. Spencer should be here any moment. The door dings and Hanna smirks.
"I could set a clock by you Spence." Hanna says as she hands Miranda her cup.
"You said 8 Han so I'm here at 8." Spencer says as she walks to the back and puts down her briefcase. Spencer comes back and Hanna realizes she's still in her suit.
"Spence tell me you have a change of clothes."
"Nope but when your best friend runs her own boutique and she's your stylist you know you can just by your next . . . what is she doing here." Spencer says as she finally sees Miranda. Hanna looks at Miranda who is looking at Spencer with utter disdain.
"Do you two know each other?" Hanna asks.
"Unfortunately I've had the pleasure in meeting Miss Collins on a few memorable occasions." Spencer says rudely which Hanna felt was unlike her. The only person Spencer has ever treated that way was Mona. Then again if Hanna remembered correctly she threatened Kate too.
"Unfortunate is exactly what those meetings were. Lucky for me Caleb came to his senses and didn't kiss you back that night when you desperately wanted his attention. It's amazing Toby still wanted you after that." Miranda says momentarily forgetting who she was pretending to be and where she was. Hanna's blue eyes become angry exceptionally fast and Miranda realized where she went wrong. When looking at Hanna, Miranda realized that she just lost a friendship she actually wanted. Miranda let her dislike for Spencer cloud her judgement.
"Never, disrespect, my best friend like that again Miranda. I like you and I could see a serious friendship developing but after that . . . I'm not sure anymore. You said exactly what my step sister would say. My store is closed and I think it best that you leave." Hanna says.
"Hanna, I'm sorry." Miranda says as Hanna shakes her head.
"I'm not the one who needs the apology Miranda. You weren't nasty to me. See you later." Hanna says as she takes Miranda's empty cappuccino mug and puts it in the sink before walking to the back. Hanna didn't want to hear the half ass apology Miranda was about to pull out of her ass. Ashley always told Hanna you see a person's true colors when they talk to someone they dislike. Miranda acted exactly like Kate and everyone knew how much Hanna despised her step sister. Probably more than Ashley despised Kate's mother.
Spencer watched Hanna as she walked into the back and right at that moment Spencer realized, fully, that she should have never dated Caleb. Hanna stood up for her without a moment's hesitation. What Miranda said was true it hurt but it was true. Spencer did want Caleb's attention that night and even now Spencer was amazed Toby wanted her.
"I'm sorry for what I said Spencer." Miranda says. Spencer looks at her. She really disliked this girl because she wasn't genuine. Just like Kate in high school. Kate tried to play nice and ended up hurting Hanna anyway practically turning the entire school against her.
"No you're not. You're sorry that you fucked up and showed your true colors to Hanna. I'm happy you did since Hanna can be careful around you now. But keep up the charade because if Hanna ever tells me you did something to hurt or offend her . . . I'll end you." Spencer says as Miranda's eyes narrow. Miranda doesn't say anything as she takes her bags and walks out. Spencer closes and locks the door behind her as Spencer's eyes narrow. She knew that Caleb needed to be careful but he wouldn't listen to her no matter how many times Spencer told him she wasn't who she pretended to be. But Spencer knew the truth about Miranda. How Miranda acted when she was around Spencer, the rude and uptight bitch, was exactly who Miranda was. Spencer just couldn't figure out her game but eventually she would and maybe Hanna could help her.