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“It might help you to forget Ms. Priestly.”

“You saw it, too!” Tori turned and pointed her finger at Siena. “She does remind you of her, right?”

“Yeah, I can see it. She’s all prim and proper, well dressed, perfectly coiffed, and icy as hell.”

“Thank you!” Tori threw her hands up in the air like she’d just won the lottery. “I knew I wasn’t just making it up. Freaked me out when I found out her name was Miranda.”

“Yeah, that’s hilarious.”

Tori wrinkled her nose.

“But it might help you forget about her.”

“Maybe.” But Tori was doubtful. It’d been hard enough to get Miranda off her mind from the moment they had met. Hanging out with her had only made it worse. Having sex with her—mind-altering sex—had been the clincher. She hadn’t stopped thinking about her since. But she had to. Because as Miranda pointed out, they weren’t soulmates. And if Tori really wanted to find her soulmate by her thirtieth birthday, she had to stop avoiding dating.

Not to mention, Miranda wasn’t her type at all. She wasn’t in touch with herself and was far too cold and distant for Tori’s liking. She preferred warmer women, like Siena. Women who would be her best friends before, during, and after a breakup. That had to be a bad sign, right? That she was already anticipating her breakup with Miranda? It was stupid. They weren’t even together enough to have a proper breakup.

“What are you thinking?” Siena asked with a yawn.

Tori chuckled lightly. “That you need to get home before you fall asleep on my couch. Again.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Siena dragged her weary butt off the cushion. “Let me know if you want Haylee’s number, okay?”

“Will do.” Tori followed Siena to the door and kissed her cheek as she left with a goodbye.

Alone in her apartment, she had nothing left to do other than start again on finding her soulmate. Because Miranda had made herself crystal clear—she wasn’t it.

sixteen

“So I need to get her two-year-old shots before she can come back?” Miranda ran her fingers through her hair—a habit she had long ago trained herself out of, and yet here she was, doing it all over again. She knew it wasn’t Aili’s fault. She tried to remind herself of that fact again and again.

The woman had been amazing with everything up to and even including this point. Rebel had turned two a couple weeks ago, and Aili had told her about it then. She had given her the two-week reprieve.

Miranda had tried, but without Tierney’s written consent, she couldn’t get Rebel her next shots, because she wasn’t her legal guardian.

“I’m sorry, Miranda. I truly am. I know it’s not ideal, but if I allowed her to stay and anything were to happen, the department could close us down.”

“Fine.” Miranda snapped. She wanted to apologize, to tell Aili it was okay and that she understood. But ever since that talk with Tori in the parking lot, even the most minor inconvenience set her off. And then there was the whole Aili being one of Tori’s exes. She wondered if they had badges and annual meetings.

“Miranda?” The concern in Aili’s tone was definitely something she didn’t need. Nor did she need the pathetic woe is me thoughts running through her head. “I’ll save Rebel’s spot for another couple of weeks so you have time to get the immunizations.”

Miranda frowned, casting her gaze over Aili. She did fit Tori’s type, especially if she thought about herself and Siena. Tall, dark, and handsome. Perhaps she was a bit on the bigger side compared to the two of them, but Miranda couldn’t imagine that would be something Tori would care all too much about.

Miranda wanted to vomit. She nodded sharply at Aili, acknowledging what she’d said, and then turned on her heels and stormed out of the office. She collected Rebel with as little conversation with the staff as possible. Even less than normal.

Miranda had managed to bite back her frustration at the teacher who told her they had allowed Rebel to sleep almost three hours at rest time instead of the conventional two. It would make bedtime a horror show. But she had not been as successful at stopping the growl that rumbled in her chest.

She swung Rebel up on her hip, her school bag flung over the other shoulder, and headed for the exit.

What the hell was wrong with her?

This wasn’t an issue with Aili and the school. Miranda cringed. She’d had plenty of one-night stands. Almost all of her sexual encounters had been since she called off the engagement. They were that or they were long-term friends with benefits—mostly benefits since Miranda didn’t really consider herself someone who had friends. People let her down, repeatedly, and she wasn’t willing to give that trust to just anyone.

So why the hell did this one matter?

Rebel wriggled in her arms as she pushed open the front door of the daycare. Miranda stopped and stared at the drizzling rain that hadn’t shown any sign of coming in when she had gone inside.

“Sorry, Rebel. Looks like we are going to get a little wet. How about a nice warm bath when we get home?”