Chapter Text
Languorously dragging herself forward, Andy followed the sound of the twins’ chatter up the stairs and down the hallway. Even though her bath had been heaven-sent, she was feeling worse than before. Her limbs felt heavily weak and her head was killing her in a thousand different, tortuous ways. Yet, when she reached the threshold of the girls’ playroom, she smiled warmly at the vision of the twins sprawled out on their bellies on the floor, surrounded by a cluster of pillows and a laid-back Miranda, legs stretched out, free of heels, and crossed at the ankles on the couch.
Miranda glanced over at her with an unguarded smile, which quickly faded when her eyes locked with Andy’s as if she was able to read the lethargy in them. With her mind too tired and not able to think clearly, Andy slumped over towards the couch, grabbed Miranda’s ankles, lifted her legs, causing Miranda to let out a surprised little squeak which Andy found incredibly adoring, flopped down with a heavy sigh, and laid Miranda’s feet back down onto her lap as she rested her head against the backrest.
“You okay, Andy?” Cassidy asked.
“You look a bit pale,” Caroline added.
“Mhm,” Andy hummed, smiling reassuringly down at them. “I’m fine, kiddos. Just a bit tired.”
The twins looked up at her with faces that told Andy that they didn’t believe a single word she’d said.
“The doctor should be here any moment now,” Miranda said, with a look of equal disbelief as her daughters.
“I see,” Andy sighed. “That’s fast.”
“Well,” Miranda smirked. “Being a well-known figure does have its perks sometimes.”
Andy didn’t quite know how to feel about that statement and she wasn’t even in the slightest bit capable of pondering that thought, so, she let it slide as she merely nodded, then asked. “So, what are you tiny terrors up to now?”
“We wanna watch a movie before dinner, but decided to wait till the doc’s checked you out,” Caroline answered, then Cassidy picked up.
“We just decided to simply order take-out, but don’t know if we want Thai or Chinese. Which do you like better?”
“Oh. I-” Andy glanced over at Miranda with an uncertain look on her face.
Smiling soothingly, Miranda nodded. “Yes, Andréa. You will be staying over for dinner.”
Andy blushed as she wondered with a bit of trepidation if Miranda was always able to read her so easily. Looking down at the twins again, she shrugged. “I-, uhm, I like both actually. As long as they’ve got some great curry.”
Caroline nodded, mind seemingly all made up. “Thai it is then. The place we order from has the best curries in town. You’ll be a drooling mess once you catch a sniff of it.”
“Very well.” Miranda acceded. “Why don’t you go ahead and order something for us all, Caroline? And Cassidy, would you be a dear and set the table so that everything is ready once the food arrives?”
“’Kay, Mom.”
“Okay, Mom.”
Once the girls left the room, Andy chuckled as she looked at Miranda. “You’ve trained them well.”
Miranda snorted as she rolled her eyes. “Oh, believe me. It usually takes a lot more troublesome effort to get them to do anything anymore. They are going well into those harrowing, rebellious, pre-teen attitudes.
Andy smiled half-heartedly. She really wanted to laugh, but her head prevented her from earnestly feeling her gaiety.
Miranda gazed at her for a silent moment. “You are not feeling well, are you?”
With a lopsided smile, Andy shook her head, seeing no point in denying how she felt since she no longer had the energy to keep up appearances. “No, not really. I’ve never experienced a headache so severe before. It’s draining me a little.”
“Hm,” Miranda hummed, then opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.
“I’ll get it!!” They heard Caroline yell from the ground floor.
“That must be the doctor,” Miranda said as she lifted her feet from Andy’s lap, not once having shown that she felt bothered by their position on the couch. “Stay here. I will be right back.”
“Okay,” Andy said as she watched Miranda leave the room.
Several minutes later, Miranda walked in again, a blonde, older woman with graying hair carrying a typical doctor’s black bag, in tow. Andy stood up to greet her, then closed her left eye and scrunched her face at the slight dizzying feeling the movement induced, causing Miranda to quicken her step until she reached the brunette’s side, holding onto her upper arm.
“Oh, dear.” The doctor chuckled as her friendly gaze scanned over Andy. “I think you might be right, Miranda.”
“When am I not?” Miranda smirked.
“Please, sit back down, Ms. Sachs. My name is Lucille Collins. I heard your head took quite the beating by an eleven-year-old.”
Andy chuckled. “Yeah, something like that, and please, call me Andy.”
Lucille nodded as she asked gently. “Alright then, Andy. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been feeling since then?”
Rubbing at the back of her neck, Andy explained. “Well, my head really hurts and I’m feeling a bit dizzy every now and then.”
“Andréa also seems to be a little sensitive to light,” Miranda added, stern eyes transfixed on Andy.
“I see.” Lucille nodded. “Would you mind showing me where your head hurts, Andy?”
Andy gestured to her temple and when she pointed to the back of her head, Miranda lifted an accusing eyebrow at her. Andy shrugged sheepishly. “I’ve sort of hit the back of my head as well when I fell.”
“And you are only telling me this now?” Miranda voiced it more as an accusation rather than a question.
“Sorry,” Andy whispered, eyes wide as she looked up at Miranda’s narrowing ones. “I didn’t think it would get this bad.”
Miranda rolled her eyes as she placed her hands on her hips.
“Alright, Andy,” Lucille spoke up again. “Mind if I examine you for a bit?”
“Sure.” Andy nodded.
After several minutes, the doctor scribbled down a prescription for pain medication as well as a medical leave letter for a week’s rest.
“And remember,” Lucille began. “Plenty of sleep and rest, stay hydrated, limit exposures to bright light and loud sounds, avoid strenuous activities, and eat healthily, lots of proteins, omega-3s, and anything with antioxidants will work wonders.”
Andy smiled. “You got it, Doc. But-, well.” She stole a sideways glance at Miranda before looking back at the doctor. “Uhm, I sort of have a lot of work to do. So, when I go home today, is it okay if I work from home tomorrow?” In her peripheral vision, she saw Miranda frowning with a piercing gaze directed her way.
Lucille nodded. “I suggest you don’t do any work for the first couple of days at least. Then, I suppose if you feel up to it, it would be alright. Just make sure to take a lot of breaks, modify what you do, and reduce any screen time.”
Andy sighed as her shoulders slumped. “Alright then. Thank you, Doctor.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” Lucille smiled gently. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
“I will walk you out, Lucille,” Miranda said as she gestured for the doctor to walk ahead of her.
A couple of minutes later, Miranda returned and moved to stand close beside the seated brunette. “Come along, Andréa. The food has arrived,” Miranda said, a hint of coldness lacing her voice.
Andy blinked at the sudden frigidity in Miranda’s tone and posture. Looking up at the older woman, she was met with a steely face of indifference, a stark contrast to the unguarded woman of only half an hour ago.
Andy’s mind swirled in confusion as she warily asked. “Miranda? Are-, is-, is everything alright?”
Miranda crossed her arms over her chest as she said. “Due to your unfortunate concussion, you have left me with no choice but to excuse you from moving at a glacial pace, Andréa. However, that does not mean that I find waiting for absolutely no reason whatsoever suddenly tolerable.”
Andy frowned irritably as her temper abruptly flared, not comprehending Miranda’s sudden change in demeanor. Feeling burned by Miranda’s derisive tone and remark, Andy huffed and mumbled under her breath. “I see the Ice Queen has decided to join us at last.”
Not quite discerning Miranda’s fleetingly hurt expression, she stood up from the couch with clenched fists and made for a quick beeline towards the door. Before she reached the threshold, another bout of dizziness took a hold of her, causing her knees to tremble as she staggered forward.
Slender, yet strong arms encircled her waist from behind, catching Andy just in time before she’d inevitably tumbled down onto the floor. Andy couldn’t breathe as she registered that her back was entirely pressed against Miranda’s front. A visible shiver ran up and down her already trembling body as she felt Miranda’s hot breath ghosting over the back, and side of her neck.
They stood like that for a long moment, the silence thickening with laden tension, surrounding them, weighing heavily on their shoulders as the air suddenly elevated with several scorching degrees, with neither woman seemingly knowing how to proceed. Eventually, Andy felt the urgent, uncontrollable need to breathe again as she inhaled a much-needed breath.
“I’m sorry,” Both women whispered concurrently.
After another oppressed moment, Andy reluctantly stepped out of Miranda’s slowly retreating circle of arms. Turning, Andy intended to look at Miranda but suddenly, the older woman swept right past her without another word or glance. Feeling lost, Andy stared out into the empty hallway, not understanding what had just transpired between them. With a weary sigh, Andy continued her journey down the stairs.
When she entered the kitchen, everyone was already seated around the table, serving food from the white take-out boxes onto their plates in silence. She took her seat opposite the twins, with Miranda at the head of the table as usual. When Andy took the first bite of her meal, she couldn’t even acknowledge how good it was, her mind sorely occupied by her pounding headache, and not being able to feel past the unease that had settled in the pit of her stomach.
“So,” Caroline apprehensively broke the awkward tension. “What did the doctor say, Andy?”
Andy took a sip of water before answering. “It’s just a minor concussion that will pass in a couple of days. Nothing to worry about.”
“Does it still hurt?” Cassidy asked timidly, feeling unsettled by the sudden change in atmosphere.
Not wanting to worry the twins more than they already are, Andy forced a smile as she winked at them. “Just a little headache. Nothing a painkiller can’t fix.”
An uncomfortable silence settled around them once more. Wanting to erase the twins' slightly somber looks, Andy tried to lighten the mood. “So, I guess I’ll be treating you two with ice cream and candy, huh?”
But the twins didn’t seem to perk up at that. They looked at one another for a moment, non-verbal communication seemingly flowing between them, then turned to look at Andy again.
“No, that’s alright, Andy,” Cassidy said as she pushed her food around her plate.
“Yeah, we didn’t get to finish our match. So, we didn’t actually win, y’know,” Caroline explained, fumbling with her napkin.
“Of course, you did.” Andy tried to cheer them up. “You were in the lead when we had to stop. So, in my book, you guys won fair and square.” Leaning forward on her elbows a little, Andy tried for a teasing look. “But if you really don’t want it, I guess I’ll just have to finish all the candy I’ve brought along myself.”
The twins’ heads snapped up. “You brought our candy?” Caroline inquired curiously.
“Sure did.” Andy nodded as she tried not to smile at their wide eyes. “Well, I guess it’s my candy now. Since you said you didn’t want it.”
“We didn’t say we didn’t want it.” Cassidy hastily provided.
“Oh?” Andy smirked. “But technically, you guys didn’t win. You said so yourself. So, unless you can give me a really good reason to share my bounty of sugary sweetness, I guess I’ve got no other choice but to take it back home with me.”
“No!” The twins chorused and Andy tried not to wince at their loud voices.
“I mean-,” Caroline began. “You’ve brought it with you all this way. It seems silly to just bring it back home with you again.”
Cassidy nodded eagerly. “Yeah! We really don’t mind taking some of that weight off your shoulders, Andy.”
“Pfft.” Andy waved her hand dismissively. “I’m a lot stronger than I look, y’know. My heavy backpack doesn’t bother me at all. Besides, that much candy really isn’t that healthy for your little bodies and teeth anyway.”
Caroline groaned as she ran a hand through her hair. “You’re not playing fair, Andy.”
Andy just chuckled in response.
“But it’s good for our hearts though,” Cassidy quipped. “Think about it, if you were to share with us, would mean that you love us, right? That would be like the ultimate gesture of you showing your love for us and that’s definitely healthy for us, wouldn’t you agree?” She finished with a little pout of her lips and wide, twinkling eyes, Caroline mimicking the pleading look.
Andy’s smirk had softened midway Cassidy’s reasoning and was now gazing at them with a look as tender as may morning with her heart blooming like flowers in the sun. She looked at Miranda then, who hadn’t even made the slightest sound during the entirety of their dinner, to see that the older woman was already watching her. Miranda’s features gave nothing away as to what she was thinking, but Andy could see a tempestuous storm full of thoughts and emotions swirling in the depth of her arctic blues.
Feeling her heart skip a beat, Andy looked back at the twins, who were still assailing her with their pleading looks.
“You love us, right?” Caroline feigned a saddening whine.
“Don’t you, Andy?” Cassidy stuck out her bottom lip just a little further.
Andy conceded, beaming her mega-watt smile. “Of course, I do, kiddos.” She chuckled as she shook her. “Alright, fine. You win. I could never deny anything you Priestlys wished for.”
“Thank you, Andy!” The twins cheered gleefully, bursting in a fit of triumphant giggles.
“Can we go check your bag, Andy? Y’know, to see if you got the flavors right,” Caroline asked curiously.
Andy smiled, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. “Clear the table first, girls. Then, sure, go right ahead. But no eating them until your mother says you can.”
“’Kay, Andy.”
“Okay, Andy.” They chorused as they jumped off their seats and as a whirlwind, started to run back and forth to clean the table.
When all their plates had been rinsed and put in the dishwasher and the leftovers stacked in the fridge, the twins shot out of the kitchen like lightning, leaving the two women alone in the suddenly silent kitchen.
After a minute, Andy dared to glance at Miranda, who was looking down into her glass of water, seemingly deep in contemplation.
Starting to feel the uneasiness from before overwhelming her again, the need to say something and ease the tension got the better of Andy once more.
“Sorry,” Andy whispered shyly.
Miranda blinked out of her daze and looked at Andy then, a hint of confusion in her eyes. “What for?” She asked softly.
Andy rubbed at the back of her neck. “Well, I-, I thought-, I don’t know.” She let out a nervous chuckle. “I wasn’t really thinking. I should’ve asked-, well, I guess, your consent first? I just hope I didn’t overstep, y’know, with the girls.”
Miranda gazed at her for a long moment, face as unreadable as ever. She blinked once more as if she’d made up her mind about something, her features softening slightly. “It is quite alright, Andréa.” She hesitated for a moment. “You are rather good with them,” Another apprehensive pause. “To them. I-, well, I suppose I should thank you for that.”
Andy shook her head as she smiled. “That’s not necessary, Miranda.” Her smile faded as she turned serious. “I understand that this might feel strange to you. Me, your assistant, getting along with your children, and I’m sorry if you feel as if I’m intruding in your life. It has never been my intention to interfere where you find my presence unwelcome. I acknowledge that I might’ve created a rather unusual situation for you. However,”
She cleared her throat and took a sip of her water. “I want you to know that I would never make light of this situation. I realize that your children are everything to you, Miranda. And I promise that I would never do or say something that might bring harm to your family in any shape or form. Because-, well, they-, they weren’t wrong. About me-, sharing.”
Miranda had been intensely observing the brunette, when Andy fell silent, she inclined her head to the side, silently waiting for Andy to elaborate further.
“I-, I-, do-,” Andy let out a nervous breath and paused for a moment, then whispered. “Care.” She averted her eyes to gaze down at her fidgeting hands on the table as she fell silent again, suddenly longing to say so much more but knowing it was unwise, perhaps even unwanted, and that she was just making a fool of herself.
“You care?” Miranda asked softly but strained after a minute has passed. “About what?”
With a slightly trembling hand, Andy took another sip from her glass, trying to moisten her dry mouth. “About them,” She whispered still looking down at the table. “About-, I-,”
She let out another sigh, feeling frustrated by her obscuring mind and angry at her painfully yearning heart. “For God’s sake, I don’t know what I’m even trying to say. I guess it doesn’t matter anyway.”
Wanting to escape the drowning hole she unintentionally dug out for herself, Andy slid her chair back as she mumbled. “I think I better leave.”
A hand shot out to grab Andy’s forearm, keeping her from getting up.
“Andréa,” Miranda said, a distraught expression on her face as her eyes locked with Andy’s.
With a questioning look, Andy waited for Miranda to say something else. When it looked like nothing else was forthcoming, Andy whispered. “Yes, Miranda?”
“I-” Miranda paused as she let out a heavy sigh, then lightly squeezed Andy’s arm. “Don’t.”
Andy frowned, not understanding what Miranda meant.
“I mean-” Miranda began again. For the first time since Andy had known the editor, Miranda’s tone was brimming with uncertainty. “Don’t leave.” Miranda closed her eyes for a moment, frowning deeply as she shook her head. “I-, your concussion-, I mean.” She opened her eyes again. “I don’t want you going back to your apartment in your condition. Stay the night.”
Andy closed her eyes and shook her head as well, then looked back at Miranda, desperately trying not to convey the agony her entire being felt for wanting to be closer to the older woman, and yet, not knowing how to bridge the vast distance she still felt between them. “Miranda, I’m alright. I know I’ve already overstayed my welcome when you had to call the doctor. I don’t want to be any more of a burden to you than I already am.”
“What?” Miranda blinked, eyes showing her confusion. “What makes you think that?”
Sighing, Andy sat back in her seat as she pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. “Well, you were mad at me, weren’t you? Because I can’t work for you as much as I’d like to. You said it yourself that you find my concussion unfortunate.”
Miranda shook her head. “No, Andréa. I was not thinking anything of the sort.”
Andy glanced up irritably. “Then why did you say that? Why did you pull back from me all of a sudden? What did I do or say this time to have offended you again?”
Miranda leaned back in her seat as she crossed her arms over her waist, averting her gaze from Andy. “I am not sure.”
Andy huffed. “You’re never unsure, Miranda. You just don’t want to tell me.”
Another suppressing, air-sucking, silence weighed down upon the two women, neither of them knowing how to overcome this stumbling block they had inadvertently created.
After another minute, it was Miranda who caved first and broke the uneasy quiet between them. “Why are you always trying so hard to interact with me? Not as my assistant.”
Andy blinked as she felt her heart skip several beats. “What do you mean?” She asked warily.
Miranda frowned as she continued to study the table surface. “I do not understand why you have tried so hard to make me forgive you for Paris. Ever since I stopped being so cruel toward you, you are always trying to talk to me when you notice that something is bothering me. You seem to enjoy it when I had started to unload my frustrations upon you whenever we are alone. You are always trying to lessen my workload even when I never demanded that of you. You are constantly reading me so you can predict what I might be needing at that moment or even beforehand. And you are invariably trying to venture further beyond our working relationship. I simply do not understand what it is that you want from me.”
Andy felt utterly gobsmacked, her brain short-circuited and she suddenly forgot how to breathe. Her mind swirled painfully as to how she could respond to Miranda. What excuse could Andy give the older woman for having her seemingly be a never-ending constant within her thoughts? How could she reason all her back-breaking efforts for Miranda when it had never been asked of her to do so? How could she explain why she longed for something more than merely an employer-employee dynamic without giving away that she was actually in love with her?
Andy had an inkling that Miranda might feel something more pronounced between them. However, Miranda had become a master in protecting her fortress with an unrivaled skillset in hiding her thoughts and emotions behind it. Miranda might’ve started to let her guard down on several occasions, but when it truly came down to it, she continued to keep the brunette at an arm’s length.
So, Andy was still none the wiser after her attempts at venturing out in the uncharted territory. Every time she had reached a clearing, another barrier had been conjured up. Every time she thought she’d made a new discovery, the chapter ended with its last page missing. Every time she had reached out when she thought the real Miranda Priestly had appeared before her, her hands had grabbed at an unembodied illusion, the vision of the silver-haired woman blurring into nothingness like a mirage in a hopeless desert, leaving her heart aching, and her soul deprived of hope.
With horrifying dread, Andy realized that she could not explain herself without revealing how she truly felt. However, if she didn’t want her heart to break into a million shattered pieces of melting ice by Miranda’s rejection, there was no way in hell that she could tell her the entire truth. Miranda did not need to know yet as to the true depth of what she was hiding in her heart. At least that much Andy was certain of, at least that much she knew she needed to survive with her soul intact.
“I did all of that because I care,” Andy whispered as she looked up from underneath her eyelashes.
Miranda met her gaze then, eyes shining with apprehensive wonder. “You care?” She asked quietly. “About what?”
The world faded away, the only thing that mattered to Andy at that moment was her drowning connection with Miranda’s arctic blues. “You.”
Miranda hitched a breath, then seemed to stop breathing altogether. A faint blush crept up her cheeks as she slowly exhaled. “You care about me?” She asked, her voice barely audible.
Andy simply nodded.
Miranda cleared her throat. “As you do with the twins?”
Andy hesitated for a moment, then nodded once more.
“Why?” Miranda breathed.
Breaking their connection, Andy looked down at the table again. She closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, then shook her head. When she looked up at Miranda again, hazel eyes were pleading for understanding. “Is that not enough, for now, Miranda?”
Their eyes were reading each other intently, but it was as if the books that were their thoughts and emotions were written in a foreign language, seemingly able to recognize the words but unable to decipher them.
Eventually, after another long pulsating moment, Miranda nodded.
“Alright, Andréa.”
Andy released a relieved sigh. Suddenly, a tidal wave of exhaustion washed over her as her shoulders slumped and her eyes closed.
“How are you feeling?” Miranda asked gently.
“I’m exhausted,” Andy breathed. “I didn’t think it possible, but my headache’s only getting worse.”
“Hm,” Miranda hummed softly. “I-, I suppose I should apologize. It was not my intention to wear you out even more than you must have been feeling already.”
Andy glanced up then with a playful smirk as she teased. “Wow, look at you, Miranda. I could definitely count that as a proper apology. Who knew you had it in you?”
Miranda let out a snort, rolling her eyes. “Yes, well. It seems that all of the grovelings you have done these past months have infected me somehow.”
Andy’s weary laugh died down quickly. “Still, there’s no need for it, Miranda. I’m fine, honestly. I think I just need to lie down. I don’t really have the energy to do anything else. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Of course not, Andréa.” Miranda offered that gentle unguarded smile that had Andy falling more in love with her every time she was graced with it. “Perhaps you would like to say goodnight to the girls first? I will help you settle into your bedroom then.”
Andy’s heart skipped a beat for the umpteenth time that evening when she heard Miranda refer to the guest bedroom as hers. Not allowing herself to think anything more of it, Andy nodded as she said. “Yeah, I’d like that, thanks.”
***
After Andy had received both hugs and kisses from the twins who had been watching a movie in their playroom, she’d met back up with Miranda in front of the door of the guest bedroom.
“Here,” Miranda said as she held out a bundle of clothes to her. “For you to sleep in.”
“Thanks.” Their fingers brushed, slightly lingering as Andy accepted the garments.
Rubbing at the back of her neck, Andy said. “Uhm, I feel sort of bad, that I won’t be there to help you at work. I promise I’ll do what I can from a distance.”
“Andréa,” Miranda breathed. “Please, do not fret about it. All I want you to focus on is on getting better. That means following the doctor’s orders and not doing any type of work until you are feeling better.”
Andy smiled. “Are that the doctor’s orders, or yours?”
Miranda chuckled. “Consider them mine from now on.”
“Well,” Andy whispered. “As I said before, I could never deny anything the Priestlys wished for.”
Miranda's eyes subtly widened in surprise before a fond smile blossomed on her face. “Good.”
Andy nodded once as a blush colored her cheeks.
They silently gazed at one another, seemingly not wanting to leave each other yet.
Rubbing at the back of her neck again, Andy broke the silence between them. “Y’know, tomorrow might feel a bit strange to me.”
Miranda inclined her head to the side, a curious glint flickered in her eyes. “How so?”
Smiling sheepishly, Andy said. “I guess, I’m just so used to starting my week, my day with you, working for you. So, tomorrow might feel, I don’t know, different, because I won’t get to see you, I mean, at work.”
Miranda’s eyes narrowed slightly, but the curiously was still glinting in their depths. “I see, well, it will come as a refreshing change then, to have your little reprieve from me.”
Andy’s eyebrows shot up. “What? No!” She shook her head, then said shyly. “That-, that’s not-, what I meant was-, that I don’t mind, y’know, seeing you every day. I-, I like it, spending time with you, even if it’s just to work. So, I guess, tomorrow, and the rest of the week will be like, I don’t know, lonely, I guess.”
After a short moment, Miranda’s narrowed gaze softened as a gentle smile crept up her face. “Silly girl, I don’t think there has ever been a person before who does not mind working for me.”
Gently smiling back, Andy said barely above a whisper. “Consider me the first, then.”
“Hm,” Miranda hummed. “Well, you may call me.”
Frowning slightly in confusion, Andy asked. “What?”
Miranda hesitated for a moment as if surprised by her own comment, but her smile didn’t leave her features. “Tomorrow evening, when I am home from work and after I have had dinner with the girls. You may call me, if you’d like.”
“Oh.” Andy blinked, eyes conveying her surprise as she stumbled over her words once more. “Uhm, you mean-, like, for work? Or, like, for something-, else?”
Smirking, Miranda shook her head. “No, not for work, Andréa. I suppose, as you said, you might start to feel lonely after not having been in my presence all day. That is an issue that can easily be remedied.”
Still feeling a little uncertain, Andy said. “If-, if you’re certain that you don’t mind me calling after you’ve had a long day at work, then, well, I-, I’d be happy to, y’know, talk to you.”
Miranda good-naturedly rolled her eyes. She raised her hand to fiddle with her necklace, a frisky glint glimmering in her eyes as she asked. “Honestly, Andréa. Have you ever known me to suggest something I did not mean?”
Feeling her apprehension elevate from her shoulders, Andy chuckled as she shook her head. “Honestly, Miranda. I fear that you’ll always remain an enigma to me.”
“Hm,” Miranda hummed, her playful look softening into a tender one. “If anyone can figure me out, it will most likely be you, Andréa. After all, you can do anything, right?”
Slightly stunned by Miranda’s admission, Andy profusely blushed as she cleared her throat, then nearly whispered. “If you believe I can, then I most certainly will.”
Miranda’s smile faded, a heated intensity glowing in her eyes as she took a step closer, standing nearly a hair’s breadth away from the younger woman. Raising her hand, she slowly traced the tips of her fingers over the slight bump and the red, dotted lines left by the seams of the soccer ball on Andy’s temple, causing a shiver to run up the brunette’s body as her heartbeat quickened, thrumming inside her chest.
“Thank you,” Miranda whispered.
“What for?” Andy shakily whispered back.
The emotion that glimmered in Miranda’s eyes at that moment was something Andy had never witnessed in the older woman before, causing her to momentarily forget about her restraints as she leaned into Miranda’s bewitching touch.
Fingertips turned, replaced by the back of Miranda’s fingers as she softly stroked down Andy’s cheek. “For making my girls so happy. For-, caring, about us.”
Andy could hardly breathe, hardly think as she was helplessly drowning in Miranda’s eyes, her skin burning, yet tingling, induced by Miranda’s seemingly loving touch.
Backs of fingers became fingertips again as Miranda gently cupped Andy’s chin between her thumb and index finger. Andy thought she was going to faint, exactly like the last time when Miranda leaned in and had kissed her cheek.
However, this time, Miranda’s heavenly soft and enchantingly warm lips lingered longer and applied firmer, head-dizzying, pressure, right next to her mouth.
Then, those transcendental lips caressed Andy’s scorching skin as Miranda whispered. “Goodnight, Andréa.”
Andy stood frozen in place as her ears followed the sound of Miranda’s soft footsteps fading away behind her and disappearing up the stairs.
A lone tear, which only the heavens could tell if it was glistening with forlorn hope or bliss, trickled down her cheek, over her still tingling skin as she whispered into the empty hallway. “Miranda Priestly. What you do to me...”