Miranda smiled for what felt like the hundredth time that afternoon. Ever since her graduating class had thrown their caps in the air while cheering, she had been pulled from one end of the school to the other for pictures. Her face was starting to feel numb. She didn't see why her friends were so excited about graduation when, in less than a fortnight, half of them would be shipped off to different parts of the country to pursue their careers. She was going to miss most of them dreadfully.
"Hey, Randy, my folks want to take a couple of pictures with Beth and I. Do you mind?" her friend, Barney asked. He and his twin sister Bethany weren't going anywhere, which was a relief. They were her closest friends. She also grew quite fond of their parents, who were an eccentric couple; one would have to be to name their kids Barney and Bethany.
She smiled at the twins and waved them off, scowling at them when they shot her pitying looks. Her aunt's expectancy date was in the next few days, and she had gotten early maternal leave at her doctor's counsel, and her uncle took a week off since it wasn't advised for her to be alone. Since minimum movement was a necessity, neither of them could make it to her graduation. She honestly didn't mind, but it was difficult to convince everyone else. It kind of bugged her that she was standing alone while everyone else was having 'family-photo-fun', but she figured it would all be over when she and her friends went out for celebratory drinks.
As deep as she was in her thoughts, she didn't hear the heavy footsteps drawing nearer and nearer to her until the owner was upon her.
"Mr. Colonomos!" she gasped in surprise. Who would have expected him to show up at her graduation when he had barely said anything to her in the past three months? Miranda almost thought she had imagined that night in his office.
The debonair rake grinned at her, stepping closer, invading her personal space. "I suppose congratulations are in order," he said in a low voice as he grasped her hand in a gentle, yet firm hold to place a light kiss on the inside of her wrist. One would have to be a fool not to see the sheer possessiveness in that simple peck. Luckily for her, not many people took notice of her. Her train of thought backfired on her when she saw most of the eyes in the car park trained on them. She pulled back her hand lightly, but insistently.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded in a whisper.
He looked amused. "You didn't expect me to let you spend one of the biggest days in your life alone did you? I'm sorry; I didn't know whether or not flowers would sit well with you so I came empty handed."
Miranda couldn't help being touched at the man's thoughtfulness. "Thank you, but you really shouldn't have. I'm not alone, I just..." She trailed off when she noticed the disbelief in his eyes.
What the hell was she supposed to say to the guy when he found her standing alone in a partially crowded car park?
He waved off her excuse and took hold of her elbow. "Never mind, I have arranged for lunch at one of my restaurants."
"Alexander, I can't. I made plans with a few of my friends already."
"Well, tough," he scowled. "When I arrived, none of those friends were here so you'll have to postpone."
The nerve of the man! He said it as if it were the simplest thing. He was obviously accustomed to everyone dropping everything on the schedules for him at the snap of his fingers. Well, tough! She definitely wasn't one of his lackeys. Before she could open her mouth to argue, however he did something that surprised her. Who would have thought it possible for a thirty-three year old man to perfect the puppy dog eyes routine? She sighed. One meal couldn't hurt, now could it?
"Let me go get my purse. I left it with a friend of mine to hold it for me."
Alexander watched with narrowed eyes the young man his Miranda walked up to. He was only four or so inches taller than her, and didn't stand a chance if he stood next to him. He did not, however, like the easy way Miranda laughed with him. He disliked the familiarity the two of them so obviously shared. He scowled when she pointed over at him to show the friend who she was leaving with. A protective glint came up in the boy's eyes. He obviously didn't like the fact that 1miranda was leaving with him. Alexander knew he was trying to talk her out of it, but after a few words of reassurance, the boy reluctantly nodded and handed her purse back to her. The boy opened his arms to hug her goodbye. He gritted his teeth together in anger to keep himself from storming over at the two to rip her from his arms.
