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Part 12

Restless nights seemed to happen more and more to Miranda, and not getting enough sleep was starting to affect her. She was so on edge lately that even her long time friend she hadn't talked to for well over month picked up on it through the phone.

"Miranda, what is going on?" Angela sighed heavily.

The fashion editor rubbed the back of her neck with one hand and clutched her phone with the other as she peered out on to the busy streets of New York. "Nothing," she replied harshly, then quickly softened her tone, "Why do you think that something is going on?"

"The way you bit my head off two seconds into our conversation."

"Well, it's because you keep insisting on setting me up, and I still have no earthly desire to do so."

Angela tried again. "Oh come on…. it has been over two years since your divorce was finalized; it is time you get back into the saddle."

"Saddle?"

"Yeah, maybe one that's rugged and very hard and has a sturdy seat that you could ride all day," Angela teased with a snort.

Miranda rolled her eyes and groaned. "You didn't?"

"Miranda….I have a very nice man here that is dying to date you."

"And when did you become a matchmaker?"

"When Ben asked about you. In fact, he did it again today," Angela confessed. "Just give him a chance; he is a very nice, and charmingly good looking…and very well to do."

"Hmmm…..now if he is all that, then why is he still single?" Miranda rebutted quickly, brushing a piece of lint off of her dark nylons.

Angela lightly giggled. "Maybe he is single because he is like you and still is searching for that certain someone."

Miranda's heart twisted with an ache inside her chest, and she had to close her eyes to ward the sudden rush of feelings that fell around her. She didn't even realize she hadn't said a word, and her silence dredged on longer then she herself was even aware of until Angela cleared her throat. "Um, Miranda, are you still there?"

"Yes, and…" she faded off as a vision of Andrea's face seemed to be everywhere at that moment and her head whipped around as she watched a woman walk across the street. It had been weeks since she had seen her ex-assistant, and now it seemed she was seeing her everywhere. She didn't even want to be reminded about how absurd she was being during the model run through the other day. Her gaze lingered on the brunette longer than she wanted to, and a low growl slipped through her lips.

"That's not….no that can't be her…." she voiced quietly to herself. "Of course it's not her. God!" she fumed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Uh Miranda, who are you talking to?" Angela spoke warily.

"No one…just had a …" She clenched her teeth together and fought the urge to groan. "You know what…yes I will go out with him," she said, not really caring at all if this man was a sleaze or not. She couldn't believe she had said yes to a blind date.

Miranda could hear the smile from the other woman. "That's great, I'll set it up. How's does this weekend work?"

"I suppose I could take off a few hours on Saturday evening," Miranda relayed.

"Perfect," Angela responded. "I'll call you with details on Friday."

Miranda quickly snapped her phone shut and rubbed the ache between her eyes. Deep down she knew that this was a bad idea, but she had to start somewhere.

…

"I will try Cassidy," Miranda promised, sighing back in her chair.

"Mom," the twin asked with concern. "Are you okay?"

Jostled out of her thoughts, Miranda nodded. "Of course; why do you ask?"

Cassidy hesitated and then shrugged with a frown. "You just seem sad."

Miranda suddenly felt the need to smile. "I'm not sad, I am just tired."

"Why don't you go to bed then?"

Miranda knew her daughters were getting older, despite how she wanted them to stay little forever, and with age came more knowledge. "Fine," her shoulder's sagged. "You caught me…and you're right, I am a little sad."

Cassidy slowly nodded, like she didn't already know. "Why are you sad?"

"I'm sad because I have been having a hard time sleeping," she diverted cleverly, and gave her daughter a mischievous smile.

"Moooommmm…" Cassidy groaned. "I'm serious."

Miranda laughed low in her throat. "Me too."

Just then Caroline popped into the room. "Hey what's going on?" she asked, slipping by both her sister and her mother. She dropped onto the couch and quickly sunk back onto the cushions, pulling up a magazine.

Miranda narrowed in on her other daughter, tilted her head, looking over at her curiously. "What in the world are you reading?"

Caroline exhaled loudly and dropped what she was reading. "The Enquirer," she stated matter of factly.

Immediately Miranda straightened in her chair and glared at her daughter. "Oh no you don't…not in this house young lady."

"Oh Mom," Caroline protested. "It's not a big deal."

"You will not read that trash; you know better."

"But it is good," she sighed, and then her eyes went wide and she swiftly lept up from the couch. "Oh my god! Mom…. you have to see this." she began to shift the magazine.

Miranda suddenly forced her hand up between them. "Excuse me, what did you just say?"

Caroline just continued to go through the rag of a magazine, determined to show her mother and ignoring what she had asked her. "It's right here," she pointed out, and slapped the paper down in front of her mother.

Miranda glared at her daughter, both for her swearing and for her bringing that shit in her house, so refusing to give in, she held her hard stare.

After a moment, neither Priestly woman had backed down. It was Cassidy who now stood up to take a gander. "Is that Andy?"

Miranda wanted to die right then and there. She could no longer hold her intensive gaze at her daughter and it instantly narrowed in on the image below her. Cassidy was right, it was indeed Andrea. She was smiling and holding hands with some other woman. Miranda blinked and blinked again, not believing what she was actually seeing. She flinched and snatched the magazine up to get a better look.

Why is she holding hands with her?

"Mom," Cassidy began. "Did you know she was a celebrity?"

Miranda's raised an eyebrow as she saw the happy expression on Andrea's face. The words 'Birthday Bash' flew across the title, and 'chummy' and 'happy together' also clouded her vision in big black letters.

"Mom!"

Miranda blinked and finally looked up at her daughters. "I did," she finally said. "Did you?"

"We knew for awhile now," Cassidy mentioned. "I mean, how could you not know….she's been everywhere."

Except Miranda hadn't known, and now she wanted to know why her daughters never voiced it. "How long…I mean, when did you two know?"

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know, months maybe."

"You know what you should do, Mom," Cassidy said, and Miranda gave her a look. "You should put Andy in Runway."

Miranda had to smile. "Oh Bobbsies, I'm one step ahead of you. In fact, she is in the next issue, and it should be out on the stands Friday."

"Mom," both girls whined. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Surprised slipped across the editor's brow. "I didn't feel the need to inform you. I mean, you never cared who I put on there before."

"That's not true," Cassidy quickly amended. "Remember last spring when I wanted you to put Katy Perry in it?"

"How could I forget that?" Miranda stated, and remembered the whole debacle of the I Kissed a Girl song and all the hype that went with it. She giggled slightly thinking how strange that whole thing was now, and how she did kiss a certain girl. Her Andrea, in fact. The memory of her red lips, her soft skin, how she tasted, and reacted to her touch shot a shiver down the editor's spine and suddenly she found that she had to suppress the groan of arousal from slipping out of her mouth.

"So?" She vaguely heard one of her daughters ask, but her mind was so hazy in that moment she wasn't sure which one of them had spoken.

"Mom!" She heard again, before blinking up at them and smiling for just a instant, and then found her eyes drifting back to the page in front of her and to the image of Andrea and the blonde she was with. Quickly her smile drew down into a frown.

Cassidy and Caroline quickly picked up on it. "Mom, you didn't happen to get us an autograph of hers?"

Miranda shot them a look. "What? Of her? I had no idea….seriously?"

"Can you get us one?"

"No," Miranda promptly said. "Of course not…that would be absurd." She made a noise of irritation in the back of her throat. "Now let me finish reading this."

Now it was Caroline who started giggling. "I thought it was trash, Mom, and now you're reading it?"

"We liked Andy, Mom, and we were sad too when she left. Can you please see if we can get her autograph?" Cassidy asked sincerely. "She's the only assistant you had that didn't tattle us out…and she did get us Harry Potter. I know you were mad when she left, but you said she is in Runway, so you guys must have made up."

Miranda had to control her breathing. Yeah we made up. "I understand that," she said, somehow managing an even tone. "But, she's in L.A., and I know she's really busy."

"But you'll try right?"

Caving in as always, Miranda sighed. "I'll try," she exhaled.

Both girls knew when their mother had said that, then it would happen.

Miranda knew you couldn't believe everything that you read, especially from garbage like that, but her heart broke all the same. It had only been a week since this photo of Andrea with this other female actress, one week after the two of them shared that night together. Were they already together then? If so, then she cheated with Miranda. That made her the other woman, and she didn't like that at all. She angrily snarled and balled up the paper in front of her and threw it in the trash.

Her chest heaved as she leaned back in her chair, ignoring the tears that fell across her cheeks. Determined not to be made a fool of, she snatched up the phone off of its place holder and began to dial Andrea's number.

…..

Andrea had been busy, busy to the point of exhaustion. She needed to stay that way, as it helped her to keep a certain someone from invading her thoughts at all minutes of everyday. It helped, but they still found its way there nonetheless.

She finally had a day to herself, and she now watched as the sun began to settle down across the ocean. Leaning back against her patio chair, she sipped at her glass of wine.

Trying to ignore how her heart felt heavy, she tried to think of something else… anyone else. The parties she had been attending helped, but it only distracted her for a few hours. She even had shared a kiss with another woman a few weeks back, but it served as only a reminder of who she really wanted, and who she knew would never ever have.

She softly set the glass on the coffee table in front of her and clenched the side of her head as tears suddenly found an exit and escaped her eyes. She rubbed the side of her face with frustration, knowing there wasn't a damn thing she could do for this lonely heart of hers which ached for only one person… who apparently had a heart of stone.

Feeling a little better after the second glass of wine, Andy received a text from her agent informing her that she got the lead in the new movie. She kind of already knew she would get it, since they came to her and wanted her. The only thing, and it was a big reason she didn't want to do this film, was that it was mostly going to be filmed in New York.

Sure she wanted to go home, yet New York hadn't been her home in a long time. And it pained her even more to go back there.

Blowing out a tired breath, she dropped the phone on the table beside her glass when it started to ring. Instantly she thought it was Cameron calling her, but the number wasn't hers. She hazily searched her brain and within seconds she registered whose number it was. Hell she knew that number by heart. It was Miranda's home number…..Miranda Priestly was calling her at eight thirty at night from her townhouse. It was much later in New York, so why in the hell was she calling her now?

Andy couldn't take another round with this woman; her heart still hadn't mended from the last time they talked. The coldness in Miranda's tone still scorched through Andy's entire body and she would not let this woman fuck with her heart, not again…..not ever again. So instead of answering it, she left it ringing and went inside the house to pour another glass of wine.

Miranda quietly rested the phone back on the receiver, ignoring the need to leave Andrea a voice mail. It was bad enough to hear her voice through the recording; it closed her throat off with bubbling emotions and she was sure she couldn't leave one even if she wanted too. She blew out a teary breath and shook her head, grateful that Andrea didn't answer, because what would she have told her anyways?

She stretched as she finally stood up and clicked off the lamp on her desk and padded up to her room, knowing deep down she was in for another restless night.