Love, Valentine Style Page 9

  Ian could open another antique shop in Texas. With his knowledge and expertise, he’d have it flourishing in no time. He wouldn’t even have had to close Yesterday’s Treasures if he didn’t want to. Annie, Ian’s sister—a stay-at-home mom—was ready to go back to work and had been hinting that she’d like to partner with him. She could easily take over the business.

  However, Ian hadn’t seen things Miranda’s way. He didn’t want to move. He didn’t want to start a new business, and he didn’t understand why she was ready to give up the life they’d built together in Pleasant View for a job in Dallas when she’d never even been to Texas. What if she didn’t like it there? And what if the job wasn’t as great as she thought it would be? Sure, there were risks. But she was willing to take them. It was her dream job and might never be offered again. Besides, why was his business more important than her career?

  After a huge argument, she made the decision that they should go their separate ways. And they had. But the job hadn’t turned out as expected. Plus the traffic was awful. She got lost all the time and was downright miserable and homesick. All the things Ian had predicted. Six months later, she was back and ashamed to admit that he’d been right. At least she’d been able to find a cute little condo in town, though. If she’d had to move in with her mother—despite how much she loved her—that would have been the ultimate humiliation.

  “You know I didn’t want to end things with Ian, Mom, but I had no choice.”

  Beatrice lifted a penciled-in brow. “Do I? One always has choices.”

  Miranda set her hands on her hips. “You always make things sound easy. Even when they’re impossible.”

  “Impossible only because you’re both way too stubborn. You two were perfect for each other. I knew it right from the start. Ian couldn’t take his eyes off you, and you, my dear, had been positively glowing.”

  “And your feeling that way had nothing to do with the fact that you set us up,” Miranda said sarcastically.

  “I set you up on many dates, but none had given me the reaction I got when you were with Ian.”

  Miranda bit her bottom lip. Her mother was the region’s best matchmaker, as had been her mother, and her mother before her. Miranda was the first to break with tradition and venture out on her own. Advertising was where she excelled. She couldn’t even find a man for herself. How in the world could she have done so for others? But her mom, on the other hand…

  She sighed, sank into a chair, and buried her face in her hands. “Please, please, please. Do not meddle in my business and try to get us back together. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that’s what you have up your sleeve. It won’t work, Mom. Ian and I are done. Forever.”

  Beatrice pursed her lips, but there was a sparkle in her eyes. Miranda was in for trouble. There just wasn’t any way she’d be able to keep her mother from meddling.

  “Well, I don’t want to outstay my welcome.” Beatrice leaned over and kissed Miranda’s cheek. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Bye, Mom. And thanks again for the music box. I love it.” She watched her mother cross the room and head toward the front door, her short tawny curls bobbing with each bouncy step. Beatrice was a jovial, good-natured woman, and it showed even in her walk.

  It wasn’t until later that Miranda had a chance to pick up the music box again. Having come from Ian’s shop, it would always be a reminder of what could have been. Terrible regrets assailed her. She shouldn’t have left him. As soon as she’d boarded the plane to Dallas, she’d been second-guessing her decision, but Miranda wasn’t a quitter. She’d made a promise to herself to commit one hundred percent to her new venture, and she had. However, she also knew when she’d made a mistake. And leaving Ian had been the biggest mistake of her life. She pictured his handsome face, tan and rugged, with a wide, engaging smile and deep-chocolate eyes, and her heart began to race. She wondered if she’d ever get over him.

  She studied the music box more closely. The hand-painting was impeccable, especially the intricate mosaic pattern covering the base. As she ran her fingers over it, she discovered a small drawer made nearly impossible to see due to the fancy design. Upon opening it, to her surprise, she found a ring. Not a piece of costume jewelry, but a diamond ring. What in the world? How did this get in there? Although her mother’s matchmaking business was thriving, she didn’t make near enough to afford something like that.

  She lifted the ring from the box, and the elegantly set solitaire twinkled under the kitchen lights. The platinum setting had an antique quality to it, and inside the band was etched a date—February 14, 1964. Valentine’s Day!

  How did an engagement ring get inside the music box? The owner must have forgotten it was in the drawer when the box was sold to Ian. The poor woman must be going crazy looking for her ring. Miranda had to find out who it belonged to and return it, but there was no way she was going ask Ian for help. Picking up the phone, she dialed her mother’s number.

  Beatrice answered on ring three. “Hello.” Her voice was husky.

  “Did I wake you?” Miranda asked.

  “No, no. I was just dozing, dear. What’s wrong?” Beatrice had always had an innate ability to know when Miranda was stressed or upset without her having to utter a word.

  “I need your help, Mom. I found a ring inside a drawer in the base of the music box. An engagement ring!”

  “Oh my. Some poor woman somewhere must be frantic. I’m sure Ian will help you find her. He must have a record of who sold him the box.”

  “That’s why I’m calling, Mom. I can’t go to Ian for help. But you can. Besides, you’re the one who bought the box from him.”

  “Sorry, honey. I don’t have a spare moment this week. I’m booked solid with clients.”

  “You don’t have time for a phone call?”

  “I’ll barely have time for a bathroom break. You’ll have to do this yourself.”

  Miranda groaned. “I can’t call him. He’ll hang up on me.”

  “Then you’ll have to go to his shop.”

  How convenient. That fell right in line with her mom’s plan to reunite her with Ian. “If I find out that you had time for your weekly Thursday lunch with Inez but couldn’t make a quick call to Ian, I’ll never forgive you.”

  Beatrice chuckled. “Who knows, he just might be happy to see you.”

  There’s not a chance of that. “Good night, Mom.”

  After Miranda hung up the phone, she padded to her bedroom dreading tomorrow.

  *

  Ian Anders watched his assistant dust an Elizabethan-style chair. Holly’s chestnut hair fell over her shoulders, shining like satin in the morning sun. Everything about her reminded him of Miranda, from her hair, to her long, shapely legs, to her size-seven feet. But that wasn’t why he hired her. He needed help. Business had picked up over Christmas and had stayed steady ever since. However, that was why he’d dated her. After a couple of weeks, though, he’d known she was a rebound. It wouldn’t have been right if he kept seeing her. She was a sweet girl and deserved someone who was open to falling in love. And that wasn’t him.

  Holly had appreciated his honesty, and their relationship shifted gears to good friends. The problem was every time he looked at her, he saw Miranda, and that left him with a dull ache in his chest that never went away. It had gotten worse too since Beatrice Kane had come into the shop a few days ago looking to buy a music box for her daughter.

  Ian had always had a great relationship with Beatrice. Three years ago when he moved to Pleasant View, he didn’t know a soul. Trying to get Yesterday’s Treasures off the ground took all his time, so when one of his customers suggested he see a matchmaker, Ian didn’t take much convincing. What did he have to lose? He’d been lonely and miserable for months.

  Right off the bat, Beatrice had put him at ease during her matchmaking interview. When it was over, she’d handed him a photograph from the console behind her desk of a gorgeous young woman, then announced that she was fixing him up with h
er daughter. Miranda and he hit it off immediately and wound up moving in together a month later. Everything had been perfect. Or so he’d thought until she’d brought his world crumbling down around him when she announced she was moving to Texas.

  She’d come home from work on a beautiful September afternoon. The sky had been a perfect robin’s egg blue, not a cloud in the sky, and the leaves had just begun to change color. So when she’d suggested they take a drive, he’d thought nothing of it. Even when she’d told him they needed to talk, he hadn’t been worried. Like a fool, he thought she was going to tell him they should set a date to get married. They’d talked about it a number of times, and she was well aware he was ready whenever she was. How could he have known that instead of becoming his bride, she wanted to move across the country.

  And now she was back in town.

  It hadn’t taken Beatrice longer than, “Hello, Ian. It’s nice to see you again,” to inform him that Miranda’s job in Texas hadn’t worked out and she was living in a little condo on the west side of town. Now with Beatrice being a matchmaker and her having fixed them up in the first place, it wasn’t a stretch to assume the reason she’d come into the shop wasn’t only to purchase a music box but to get them back together. There was no way in hell that was ever going to happen. Miranda might still encompass his dreams, but he’d never let her back into his life. He’d been a fool once. Never again.

  “What else would you like me to do?” Holly asked, rousing him from his musings. She draped the dust cloth over her arm and looked at him with a smile.

  “I have to go through the rest of the boxes from the Douglas estate sale. Care to watch the front of the store?”

  “Go on,” she said, playfully waving the cloth at him. “If someone comes in with two thousand dollars looking to buy the Japanese sideboard, I’ll come get you. Otherwise, I can hold down the fort.”

  “What would I do without you?” He chuckled as he walked toward the back room.

  “Good thing you don’t have to find out,” Holly called after him.

  She was right. Her friendship meant a lot to him and was certainly easier to maintain than a love relationship.

  *

  Miranda’s head ached. She’d been bothered by it all day. No doubt due to worrying about seeing Ian. She washed down two pain relievers with a cup of black coffee, then turned off her computer.

  “Have a good night.” Sue Thomas, a coworker from across the hall, poked her head in Miranda’s office. “Doing anything exciting for Valentine’s Day?”

  “Nope. Not a thing.”

  “Well, this is only Thursday. There’s still time for Prince Charming to show up.”

  “Not going to happen.”

  “I thought your mom would’ve hooked you up with someone.”

  Miranda shook her head. ‘I’m not interested in dating, and I’m certainly not interested in going out on Valentine’s Day.”

  “Me neither. Always thought it was an overrated holiday anyway. Candy and flowers. Who needs them? One makes you fat; the other makes you sneeze.”

  Miranda laughed. “See you tomorrow.” She’d gotten her old job back at Patterson Advertising and had been staying late every day since. She wanted to make sure her boss knew how much she appreciated him taking her back. Today, however, she was leaving on time.

  She pulled a mirror from her handbag, then applied fresh lipstick and removed a smudge of mascara from under her eye. After she tucked the mirror back in her purse, she took the carousel music box off her desk and headed out the door.

  The drive to Yesterday’s Treasures seemed to take forever. She hit every red light, giving her way too much time to fret over her meeting with Ian. When she entered the shop, her hands were trembling and her heart was pounding hard against her chest. A very attractive young woman got up from behind Ian’s desk and walked toward her.

  “Hello,” the woman said. “What can I do for you today? Is there something that you’re—” Her jaw snapped shut as she stared at the music box in Miranda’s hands.

  “This was a gift from my mother. She bought it here,” Miranda said awkwardly.

  “Yes, I know. It was just the other day. I was here when she purchased it. You must be Miranda.”

  The way the woman was looking at her made her uncomfortable. “Yes, I am.”

  “Your mom is quite chatty. She had a lot to say about your move back here.”

  “I’ll bet she did,” Miranda grumbled under her breath.

  The woman held out her hand, and Miranda shook it. “I’m Holly. Ian’s assistant.”

  A spike of jealousy shot through her as she studied the pretty brunette. Was that all she was, Ian’s assistant, or was she something more? Perhaps his girlfriend too. Miranda wouldn’t be surprised. After all, she didn’t expect him to be pining away for her. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Are you looking to return the music box? Don’t you like it?” Holly asked.

  “No, no. I love it. It’s just that I need to find out who sold it to Ian?”

  “You’ll have to talk to him about that. He’s in the back going through some boxes. I’ll get him for you.”

  Before Miranda could reply, Holly spun on her heel and hurried to the back of the shop. Any minute now she’d be face-to-face with Ian. Her heart pounded so fast her head started to spin. She grabbed the back of an overstuffed chair to steady herself. Just take a deep breath. If you pass out now, you’ll never get over that embarrassment.

  Chapter Two

  When the knock sounded at the door, Ian set the vase he was holding on the table. “Come in.”

  Before he could turn around, the door opened, and Holly said, “There’s someone here to see you.”

  “To buy the Japanese sideboard?” he joked. However, his smile quickly faded when he saw the worried expression on Holly’s face. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “Miranda’s here.”

  A gamut of emotions raced through him. He never expected so see Miranda again, let alone in his shop. Yet she was here. Confused, he paced the room. Could she have come here to make amends? Maybe even to try to get back together? Warning spasms of alarm erupted within him. No matter how much he might still desire her and long to feel her in his arms, he couldn’t go back to her. The past was the past and needed to stay there. His wounds were still healing. He couldn’t risk having them torn open again.

  He swallowed with difficulty and found his voice. “Do you know what she wants?”

  Holly shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. “She wants to know where you got the music box her mother bought from you.”

  He lifted his brows in surprise. “Why?”

  Holly shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  So Miranda hadn’t come here to make up. He hated to admit it, but a part of him was disappointed and even a bit angry. “Tell her I don’t give out customer names.”

  Holly stared at him, her face clouded with uneasiness. “Oookay. I know we usually don’t give out personal information, but this is Miranda. Your Miranda. This is your opportunity to go out there and talk to her.”

  He clenched his fingers into a fist. “She’s not my Miranda.”

  Holly placed her hand on his sleeve. “Come on. Let’s get this over with. You’ll kick yourself if you don’t see her.”

  She was right. The sooner he met with Miranda, the sooner he could be rid of her.

  *

  Miranda glanced at her watch. The more time that went by, the more nervous she became. Maybe he wouldn’t see her. What then? Her anxiety increased. She could deal with him snubbing her, but she had to return the ring to its owner. And if he didn’t come out in the next two minutes, she’d go back there and get him. She tapped the toe of her boot on the hardwood floor as she waited. A few seconds later, she heard the door open and the footsteps of someone wearing heels clicking over the floor. Holly. So Ian wasn’t going to see her after all. Despite her disappointment, it was probably for the best. It would have been awkward seeing him and
trying to appear nonchalant. As long as Holly came back with the information she needed to find the ring’s owner, she’d be happy.

  Except that when Holly rounded the side of a huge armoire, Miranda could see that she wasn’t alone. Ian—handsome as ever—was with her. The way he smiled down at Holly as they walked, his head bent to catch her words, sent a wave of jealousy flowing through Miranda. Stop it. He’s not your boyfriend. She sucked in a deep breath, then slowly let it out, hoping it would still the rapid beating of her heart.

  “Miranda.” The way he said her name sent her heart pounding even faster. He stood before her, tall and muscular, with shoulders wide as a football player’s. His ash-blond hair was tousled, just as she remembered, and his deep brown eyes were questioning.

  “H-hello, Ian.” She could kick herself for the tremble in her voice. He scanned her from head to toe. It was impossible for her to tell what he was thinking, for his stone-faced expression gave nothing away.

  “Holly, tells me you’d like to know where I got the music box your mother bought from me.” He shifted his gaze to the box in her hands.

  So that was how it was going to be. No small talk. Just business. Well, that was fine with her. The faster she could get out of there, the better. She gathered her nerve and looked straight into his gorgeous eyes. “Yes, that’s right. I’d like the name and address of the woman who sold you the box,” she replied in an equally businesslike manner. Two could play this game.

  “I’m sorry, Miranda. I can’t help you.”

  “What?” She glanced at Holly, hoping the woman might come to her assistance, but Holly avoided Miranda’s eyes. “Why not?”