Page 9 of Cuffed By Love

The meeting ends, and she’s up on her feet and hurries out of the room. Of all the reactions I expected, this was not one of them.

I need to talk to her.

I stand and excuse myself, and Uncle Noah smiles knowingly. I give Ayla a courteous nod before I walk out of the conference room toward Mira’s office at the other end of the building. I exhale before I knock on the door and open it. Mira turns and looks at me; her eyes widen when she sees me standing before her.

“Tinks, do you have a minute?” I question, closing the door behind me.

She clears her throat and nods. “Sure. What can I do for you?”

Ouch. Her sharp tone throws me off a little. I force a smile. “Well, I thought we could get reacquainted and catch up. Considering we’ll be working closely together moving forward.”

Mira blinks and stares at me, dumbfounded, like I said something ludicrous. “Reacquainted?” She iterates, and I nod, keeping my eyes on her, observing her closely.

“Yes, it’s what people who haven’t seen each other in a while do after they meet again—get reacquainted.”

Mira’s brows draw together. “I know what reacquainted means, Devin.” I couldn’t contain my smirk. I rub my forehead to keep myself from laughing. “I’m just not sure what you were expecting bolling in here after almost ten years. A hug?”

I rub my jaw and take a step toward her, “I mean, I wouldn’t say no.”

Mira’s eyes narrow, and she glowers at me, her arms folding over her chest, “I would.”

I sigh inwardly, “Tinks.”

“Stop calling me that. It’s Mira.” She snaps, agitated. I take another step toward her, licking my lips and shake of my head.

“Not to me,” I reply coolly. “To me, you’ll always be Tinks.” Her caramel-coloured orbs lift to me while I gaze down into her upturned face. I’m close enough that I can smell the exotic tones to her perfume, and that stirs something within me. “And to you, I’ll always be Dev.”

“We’re not kids anymore, Devin,” Mira throws back crisply. “What made you suddenly decide to come back after such a long time?”

A strand of her hair falls in front of her face, and I almost instinctively reach out to brush it away but catch myself in time and push my hands into my pockets instead. “I didn’t. My dad asked me too.”

“Why didn’t he come himself?”

“Do you want to go and grab a coffee?” I suddenly blurt out, and Mira gazes up at me, puzzled.

“I already have coffee.” She states, pointing to a cup sitting on her glass desk. I grin charmingly and fix her with a look I know she could never resist.

“How about lunch?”

“I’m on a diet.”

Diet? What is she fucking crazy? I openly look her over and frown. “Are you trying to disappear? You don’t need to diet.”

Her adorable button nose crinkles just like it used to when we were younger. I smile and repel the urge to lean over and kiss it.

“I decide what I need. Besides, I have meetings and conference calls all afternoon, so I’m going to skip lunch.”

“Tinks, what’s with the push back? If I didn’t know you any better, I’d think you’re not happy to see me?”

I watch as she runs her fingers through her hair in frustration. “Should I be?” I stand motionless at her response and release a slow breath. “I’m not the same girl I was when you left Devin. You knew her, you don’t know me, just like I don’t know you anymore. A lot can change in a decade.”

I bite my lip and keep my eyes on hers. Time can change a lot, but how does she expect me to believe she’s not still the girl I fell in love with all those years ago. “Fair enough.” We stare at one another wordlessly. With a nod, I turn and walk toward the door. “I’ll see you about.” I throw over my shoulder as I open the door and walk out of her office.

Was she right? Could we have lost that connection we shared growing up? People do drift apart the older they get, and the more time passes. Maybe I was too optimistic coming in, hoping we could just pick up where we left things, be as we used to be—well, perhaps not exactly as we used to be—but friends at the very least.

My first day at the office was a sour one. After my exchange with Mira, my mood for the rest of the day was shot to hell. I got glimpses of her as she walked through the office. As we passed by each other throughout the day, she’d avert her gaze, not even acknowledging me, and that bothered me more than I’d like to admit. Changed my left nut; she’s still the insufferable stubborn girl she was back then. If she wants to act like we’re strangers, then I will too. We went on like this for a few days, ignoring one another. As frustrating as it was, I kept my distance despite wanting to go over and talk to her countless times throughout the day.

And then we started bickering as soon as we started working on ways to get this Samantha Wickham to publish her book with us. “Are you deliberately trying to undermine me?!” Mira snaps, slapping the manuscript on my desk and standing. I glare up at her.

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