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Part 17

Feeling Miranda's soft lips against her forehead, and her whispering 'darling' against her ear, it was all Andrea could do to remain standing. Her knees felt weak and she was grateful for this woman's strong arms holding her up. "Okay," she finally responded quietly, hugging her tightly.

Miranda felt relief and loads of gratitude flood through her at hearing Andrea tell her that. She snuggled deep into the younger woman's embrace, burrowing into the hollow of the brunette's neck and inhaling Andy's scent… the same sent that had driven her crazy for years. The unique fragrance and warmth of her skin made her cling to Andy as if she were afraid that she would wake up and it would all be just a dream.

"I do feel obliged, however, to point out that you are a very complicated person to be involved with," Andy noted, her voice rough with tears, after a moment of just holding her. "If that is what this is…." She mentally cringed at her own words and groaned as she trailed off.

A small remorseful snort escaped from Miranda and she drew back. "I know, Darling," she whispered. "Sometimes I don't even want to be involved with myself." She sobered and reached up to stroke Andrea's cheek gently. "Are you sure this is what you want, because I get it if you don't. I won't like it, but I will respect it. Besides, like I said, I really don't deserve your forgiveness, or even you for that matter."

Andy paused and searched Miranda's blue eyes, seeing the truth reflecting back at her. It was that sincerity, or maybe it just felt way too good to leave the warmth of her arms and the smooth richness of Miranda's scent that Andy knew she was addicted to. "Right now," she growled. "It seems you're worth it, however…don't ever do that to me again, because there will be no going back this time."

"I can't promise I will not upset you again," Miranda said quietly. "Because I am me after all. But I promise I won't let fear of what might happen, or the press, or anything, or anyone else state my actions. And I won't ever again tell you that any of this isn't real."

"For reals?" Andy questioned, placing a finger under Miranda's chin and raising her face so she could delve deeply into her eyes. Her heart still wasn't quite there yet, but the older woman noticed her tiny smirk.

Miranda softly smiled and then slid her arms around the younger woman's neck. "For reals," she whispered softly, then drew her head down for that long awaited tender kiss. Unable to find the right words to erase whatever doubts remained, she tried to express in a kiss.

Andy shivered as the feel of that smooth velvety tongue swiped against her bottom lip and she opened her mouth and finally let go as she hungrily kissed her back. Her hands slid up Miranda's sides to rest on the outer swell of her breasts. The heat from her palms penetrated the material of her black dress, making Miranda forcefully pull her mouth away to catch her breath from the blast of arousal that shot through her. It still amazed her that just a simple caress could do that to her.

They parted long enough to take their breaths, and Miranda felt the other woman tremble in her arms. "Darling," the older woman said, resting her forehead once again on Andrea's. "Are you all right?"

Tears filled Andy's eyes. "Yes," she barely made out. "I just, I mean, I can't believe this is happening. I guess I am still in little in shock by it."

"I understand that, believe me I do," Miranda said, because she was feeling the same way. It amazed her that this beautiful sweet woman would let her back in after everything she did. She made a vow to herself then and there that she would do everything in her power to protect this. "Andrea, it is a little chilly out here tonight."

Andy exhaled deeply, and drew back. "Wait, are you cold?"

"If I told you yes, would you leave with me right now?"

Andy blinked and considered what she was saying for a moment. "What do you suggest?" she asked, her fingers lightly moving down Miranda's bare arms. "I mean, if you want I could hold you….warm you up?" she winked, as she thought back to their time looking out over the falls.

Miranda caught the brunette's roaming hands in a gentle grip, only so they would stop distracting her. She liked the idea of Andrea holding her, but she wanted to be alone with her. After a moment she settled her own erratic breathing and pulled her phone from her clutch. "Roy, how soon can you be around front to pick me up?" She waited for his answer, then flipped her phone shut and quickly put it away.

"The car will be around in ten minutes." She noticed right away the confusion in Andrea's brown eyes. "Andrea, I want you to come with me; will you?"

Andy blinked, not sure what to do. Before she could respond, the warm soft lips she seemed to constantly crave slid over her own again.

"Please?" Miranda asked again, against her lips.

That seemed to be the magic word and Andy nodded. "You know, I don't think I have ever heard you say that word, and now I've heard it more than once."

Miranda softly ran her fingers over Andrea's cheek. "I reserve that word for only the people I care about. So, are you ready to leave with me?"

"Yes, but I probably should tell Nigel that I'm going."

Miranda smirked. "Trust me, he already knows."

Andy slightly flinched. "Wait, he…" she faded off, then growled. "I knew it! God, I am such an idiot. I shouldn't have agreed to come with him."

Having started toward the elevators, Miranda suddenly halted her steps and turned back to Andy, ready to drop the younger woman's hand. "Oh, so you regret that we…." she choked, and now was starting to question everything that just happened.

Right away Andy caught on to what that must have sounded like to the older woman. "No, no, I mean," she started, and squeezed Miranda's hand in reassurance. "Yeah okay at the time when I saw you enter, I regretted coming here."

"And now?"

"And now I don't, so please don't give me a reason to."

"Never again."

…..

It seemed like only seconds passed as they rode the elevator down to the main level and the doors opened to clusters of people. Right away a few people gathered in the area looked to them as soon as they stepped out. They were still holding hands, and on instinct Andy quickly released her fingers from Miranda's.

Miranda startled immediately when that soft hand fell from her own. She glanced at her, and Andrea offered her smile in return, motioning to the crowd ahead of them. For the first time in the older woman's life she hated that she had to maintain a certain presence about her.

Miranda held it together, keeping her face impassive and falling back on the solid mask of the Runway's editor to conceal the woman behind the wall who was feeling the loss of Andrea's warm hand. She walked ahead of Andrea and hated every moment of it. It didn't take long before she almost lost her in the crowd. She ignored a few guests, but there were a few she knew she couldn't.

"How are you?" Miranda asked the fashion designer that now had gotten her attention. She tried to keep up with his small talk and still keep an eye on Andrea, but was finding it hard.

Andy took a breath, controlling herself with every ounce of will she could summon as she tried to avoid one person after another. She just wanted to get outside and find Roy, but now she was having second thoughts. Maybe this isn't what Miranda wants. I mean she is in there just smiling and talking to Ralph Lauren, and has totally forgotten about me. She mentally groaned and closed her eyes. She has to keep up appearances you nitwit; it has nothing to do with you. She told herself that over and over, and even though she was now this big celebrity, still being with or not being with this woman was leaving Andy feel undone and completely lost.

She smiled and told someone…. she hadn't a clue who it was…. that she was leaving, but she was not any closer to getting outside then Miranda was. Suddenly rough warm hands were over her eyes, clouding her vision. "Guess who?" His tone was remarkably cool and very familiar.

She swallowed, feeling totally queasy as she pulled his hands from her face. "Christian," she politely spewed.

"Well hello there, Miranda's girl." He glanced back behind him at the editor, and Andy couldn't hold her smirk knowing he was right in so many ways. "You know, I saw you in that movie, sooooo I am little confused." He held a finger to his lips, and then took another look at Miranda. "So what is a girl like you doing still hanging around the dragon lady?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," she smarted dryly. "If you don't mind, I have somewhere I need to be."

Christian looked shocked and he mockingly pressed a hand to his chest in hurt pride. "You break my heart, I thought we were friends?" he leered, and then erased what little was left between them so they were almost pressed together. It looked very intimate, even though it wasn't.

"Friends? I don't think so." Andy tried to move back, but collided with another warm body, just as warm hands slid around her waist. Shock filled her eyes and she knew right away who it was just from the smell alone. God this can't be happening.

"Oh my chéri, I have been looking all over for you," Jacqueline husked next to her ear. "No big deal, I understand that a beautiful woman as you has many fans." She then glared at Christian. "Fan of yours?"

An irritated smile creased Christian's lips. "I was just about to ask my dear friend Andy here if she cared to have dinner with me tonight."

"I actually have plans," Andy told them. "In fact, I am running late, so if you don't mind." She went to slip by them both when she looked up and saw the fiery gaze from Miranda's eyes. She didn't even get to look at her long when Jacqueline pressed a hand to her cheek and turned her head back to her own eyes and before she could register what was happening, she felt her lips pressed to her own in a soft kiss.

"See, Mr. Thompson she already has plans," Jacqueline smiled, and her eyes shined with a sense of victory.

"Fuck," Andy groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose, knowing this wasn't going good. She inhaled deeply, afraid to even look up to find Miranda, but apparently she didn't need to.

"Andrea," Miranda's voice clipped firmly and it fumed with irritation. "Darling, you know it is time we leave. We would hate to leave Roy waiting."

Stunned she couldn't believe that Miranda had said "Darling" and the looks of utter shock on both Christian's and Jacqueline's faces were just priceless, like mirroring the look on her own.

"I did tell you I had other plans." Andy smiled as politely as she could, and thought all was well, until she saw that heated glare from her former employer knowing all too well that Miranda hated to wait.

"With her?" Jacqueline rebutted in a death sneer toward the editor. "You told me that you were done with Runway."

"I was, I am, but I am not done with Miranda," she voiced confidently, then turned and walked the few feet toward the Miranda. "You ready?"

Jacqueline wasn't finished. "I understand you have certain requirements, but if she is holding something over you Andrea…Well, I am your friend, and I was hoping that we could be more than that. So you don't need to be blackmailed by her and you no longer need to be controlled by her." She tossed a heated glare toward Miranda, then her gaze softened as she directed it back to Andrea and held a hand out for her to take. "You don't need to leave with her; she will only disappoint you again."

Andy felt the blood drain from her face, and her eyes widened in shock. She had never told Jacqueline anything that went on between her and Miranda, so how in the hell did she know? "What?" she snapped, in confused irritation.

Miranda didn't know what was going on between the two of them, but she was not going to stand there and just let this happen. She blew out an annoyed breath and just swept in and reclaimed Andrea's hand. It only firmed for just a second before it softened, and it seemed as if their own their fingers naturally slid together on their own. A moment of relief rushed through Miranda and before she could say anything, Andy said it for her.

"She's not holding anything over me. I am not that naïve, and once again, I have made other plans, and yes they are with Miranda." She now turned her gaze to the editor. "You ready?"

Miranda nodded, and she didn't let anyone else respond, she just pulled on Andrea's hand and led them to the street and into the car.

Once they were settled into the backseat, Miranda ordered Roy to drive to her townhouse. It took a moment for Andy to realize exactly where they were going and it made her slightly uneasy. Hell just being back here in this car with Roy driving them was bringing back uncomfortable memories.

Picking up on Andrea's discomfort, Miranda momentarily frowned and scooted closer to the younger woman. She got her attention as soon as her lips caressed the fingers that were still incased together within her own. She kissed them again, and smiled at her. "Darling, what is troubling you?"

"I'm not… okay maybe a little," she babbled nervously. "It's just being here with you like this, and going to your house….I mean it's just a little unsetting. I mean I never thought I'd ever be here." She motioned to the car. "And then going to the house where…." She faded off, and Miranda watched her suck in a huge breath of air.

"All right, I understand. Would you like to go someplace else?"

Miranda still felt the sting of jealously feel her chest at seeing that French woman hanging all over Andrea. She gritted her teeth together, but the snide comment fell out of her mouth regardless.

"Would you feel more at ease with Jacqueline? I could tell Roy to take you back, and you could go home with her instead. Hell it's not like it would be your first time, anyway." Now the fingers that Miranda softly kissed were harshly untangled from her hand.

Oh great here we go, Andy thought, and she swallowed down her nervousness. "Oh no, you didn't just say that."

"Well, if that is what you want, I will have no problem in telling Roy." She kept her eyes ahead of her. "In fact, the sooner you tell me, the better."

Andy groaned in frustration and rubbed her forehead. "Would you stop? You know better, and you heard me in there tell her that I made plans with you. Wait a second maybe it's you who is having second thoughts…and once again you deflect and put it back on me," Andy fired.

Finally Miranda moved her gaze to Andrea's. "You don't want to be here with me. I felt you tense as soon as we got in the car. Plus I saw you kiss her. Fuck Andrea…what else have you done with her?" she vented. "Oh and don't get me started on Mr. Thompson."

Andy felt heat blaze through her, and then suddenly it registered that Miranda was just jealous, and a haughty smile graced her lips. "Nothing happened," she confessed, continuing to smile.

"Oh?" Miranda heaved.

Andy inched closer and focused deeply into Miranda's eyes. "We kissed, that is all. Plus, she tastes like stale cigarettes, and well the obvious reasons." She drew in even closer, her breath trickling across the older woman's lips. "And don't even mention Christian, which was over before it even started."

Miranda wasn't worried about Christian, but even though she knew he wasn't someone she needed to worry about, she just couldn't help what she was feeling. "Obvious reasons?" she asked, her voice rough.

Andy snorted in amusement and then caressed Miranda's cheek, her brown eyes intent on Miranda's. "Very…. obvious." She moved in closer, and hesitated only briefly before covering those perfect pink lips with her own, kissing her intently. Both women were trembling when they finally parted for air, and once again Andy rested her forehead against the older woman's. Her face was flushed and her breathing was erratic. "I want you… only you."

Miranda felt the impact of those words sizzle along her spine and settle in her lower abdominal region. "So next time am I free to beat those two off of you with a stick?" she growled.

That elevated the mood, and Andy laughed. "I'd love to see that."

The mood didn't last long, and Miranda saw the slump in Andrea's shoulders. "Darling what is it? Is this about my daughters?"

Andy slightly shook her head, and then paused. "A little; I don't know what it is."

"Well for one, they adore you Andrea, and two, they are with their father this weekend." Miranda dipped her head. "Is it something else?"

"This thing," She pointed between the two of them, her chest rising and falling in trepidation.

Miranda caught her hand and held it between her own. "Shhhh." She placed another kiss to it, and then released one of her hands and reached up and cupped her cheek. Her palm was warm against Andre's skin, and her face was so vulnerable, so unsure in that moment, that it pained Miranda to know she's the one that put it there. "Trust me."

Andy nodded and before she could say anything she felt the car stop, and seconds later Roy opened the door. "Ma'am we have arrived."

Miranda offered an assured smile with a slight squeeze to her hand. "Come, Andrea. I just can't let you go, not yet," she said quietly, then added. "Please."

There was that word again, so Andy did the only thing she could… she allowed Miranda's wiry strength to pull her out of the car and into the townhouse.