his charm. But it was no use. She really loved the stupid jerk!
Miranda had no idea how long she sat at her desk crying, berating herself, but the phone at her elbow rang and she jerked upright. Glaring at the phone, she considered not answering it. She couldn’t face anyone right now anyway, it would be better if she just pretended like she hadn’t come into the office. Maybe she should just e-mail her boss and tell him she had to go home sick. She certainly felt sick at heart. Was that ethical though?
She laughed harshly and shook her head. Was it ethical to stay here and not get anything done?
She dropped her head onto her palms and tried to figure out what to do. If she left looking so distraught, everyone would know that something was wrong. It was late enough in the morning that the rest of her co-workers were already sitting at their desks.
Her phone rang again and she jumped, glaring at the phone through her tears. When it finally stopped, she took a deep breath, trying to get her head on straight.
But it was no use. She still couldn’t think properly. Maybe she should just….
She was about to type up a note to her boss when the door burst open. And there stood Royston, looking so wonderfully magnificent and her eyes drank him in like he was the last glass of water in the desert.
“Ah, honey,” he soothed as soon as he saw the forlorn expression on her face and closed the door behind her, dropping the envelope onto her desk a moment before he pulled her into his arms.
With his first touch, the storm she’d been trying to hold back burst out of her and she sobbed onto his chest, apologizing for being so silly.
“Stop, Miranda,” he urged hoarsely, his hand moving up and down her back. “And why did you take off your ring?” he demanded gruffly, reaching behind her to lift the box off of her desk where it had fallen out of the envelope. “Here,” he said and slid the ring right back on her finger. “That’s where it belongs.”
She sniffed and looked down at the ring. “I can’t take this ring,” she said, feeling a huge amount of sadness. “You’re going to need it when you propose for real. And I won’t have any place to wear it. It’s too big.”
Royston pulled back, furious with her for saying the words, even though he knew what he was feeling was ridiculous. “You’re not taking that ring off,” he snapped and closed her fingers so her hand formed a fist. “Now tell me why you were crying and why you didn’t answer your phone.”
Miranda laughed but it came out as more of a hiccup. “I was being silly,” she said sadly.
“Silly about what?” he prompted.
She sighed and fell back down onto her chair. He followed her, leaning back against her desk as he waited for her to explain. He felt a small amount of relief when she stared down at the ring, one finger tracing it as if she considered it something precious.
He couldn’t really explain what he was feeling himself, all he knew was that he couldn’t stand the thought of her in another man’s arms. And he needed to know that his ring was on her finger. Perhaps it was some sort of stamp of ownership, or something just as barbaric, but he didn’t care. He was feeling very Neanderthal-ish at the moment.
She started to slide the ring off her finger but he growled. “Don’t even think it, Miranda. It stays right where it is. Now explain to me why you were crying.”
Miranda’s sadness shifted away as irritation over his commands surfaced and overrode her silly feelings. “Don’t tell me what to do!”
“I’ll damn well tell you what to do when you’re doing something wrong!” he retorted right back at her.
She stood up, poking him in the middle of his chest. “I can’t believe I was feeling sad a moment ago. I’m definitely grateful to you for showing up! Otherwise, would have let those ridiculous feelings keep on nagging at me.”
“What ridiculous feelings?” he demanded, standing up so he could intimidate her. But after the past four days, he should have known that he couldn’t intimidate her. Maybe that first day, but after that, she’d stood up to him like a gorgeous, sexy Valkyrie, refusing to back down.
“I was starting to think that I’d fallen in love with you! How ridiculous