Twilight and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.
It was already evening and Edward was at his house, sitting on his favorite chair in his very big and comfortable living room while savoring a glass of the very best whisky money could afford. Unconsciously, he ran his index finger along the rim of his glass as he remembered that morning's events letting a small smile tug at the corner of his lips.
He slowly stood up and took a look at himself in the vast mirror that framed the opposite wall; there he inspected the image that reflected back to him. It was that of a tall man, six foot one to be exact, with a lean body, a strong angular jaw, unruly reddish- light brown hair and a pair of deep green eyes that have mesmerized many a woman and intimidated anyone who dared challenge him. He wouldn't necessarily consider himself a vain man but he knew he was very attractive, he knew it perfectly well. But he wasn't foolish enough to not realize that his fortune was also alluring to women, even so, he still had not found someone with whom he could share and enjoy life with. Up until now he has only needed women for entertainment purposes, a pastime if you will, and to his credit he has known numerous, too many to keep count, not that he was. They have all come to him of their own volition, some eager to be with the elusive bachelor, others were curious of his rumored exploits as an incredible lover while others were just interested in his notoriety and fortune; whatever the reason he didn't care, as long as they all understood one very important thing, come morning time he would not be in their beds. That was his most important rule, never stay until morning. They would pleasure each other and then he would leave… nothing more.
This morning however, something happened that surprised him, suddenly he'd noticed how the world had stopped for a minute, perhaps it had just been a few seconds, but he had noticed it and more importantly, he had felt something he had never felt before. He could have sworn that his heart skipped a beat, a heart that up until now had been hard as a rock and cold as ice. He considered this 'situation' a side-effect of the world he had been raised in, one where elitist-social-climbing-back-stabbing-shallow-callous snobs ruled. He knew his parents loved him very much, as much as he loved them and that they had meant well when they gave him anything he had ever wanted without questions. When it came to his education he couldn't have expected any less than what they provided him. Edward had attended from an early age an exclusive boarding school reserved for the country's blue bloods, the same one his father and grandfather had attended. He had always been proud of his education and never resented having to be away much of the year; even so, he had always suspected that he had missed out on many things that a normal childhood entailed.
Growing up he had not had many friends, in fact he could count his friends with one hand and still have fingers left over. It wasn't that he was unable to make friends; it was more like it was hard to find some he could trust and when he did, Edward didn't have the time to spend with them or the energy to explain his family's peculiarities. When he was at home on a break, Edward would spent his time between his fathers company and the mansion which was more like a compound really. He had never been encouraged to go outside the gates, only being told that it was 'not safe for our family to do so' and if he ever got the idea of going outside one of the gardens perimeters he would be stopped by one of the many bodyguards that surrounded the property at all times.
His father, Carlisle Cullen, had been a prominent business man and had expected his son to take over the family business when he came of age, for that reason he had groomed Edward from an early age, so that he could inherit the empire, as he had jokingly told him often. His dad had been the only man that he had ever admired, watching the way he commanded respect and fear from others had been thrilling to him. Seeing him in action at the office was very interesting to say the least; it was like watching Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde up front and personal, and had he not grown up with him, he would have never suspected of his split personality, if you will. At home, he was a loving, caring and gentle man, but at the office he would transform into a different person, he would become this cunning, cold and calculating man. He had always advised his son to separate the heart from the mind; emphasizing that the heart had no place when it came to dealing with their business world. He knew that his father honestly believed this; Edward knew that if those measures weren't taken he would end up bait for the sharks as his father had put it. But in reality, instead of separating, as his father had counseled, Edward simply sacrificed his heart. And after his father death, only a few years ago, he put all of his effort in the family business trying to live up to what he thought were Carlisle's expectation and his success; in the end not only did he overshadow his fathers success, Edward also became known as a cold, manipulative and heartless man in his professional and personal life… but that morning, the organ which he had long though of as dead begun to beat, causing a warm feeling to spread all through his body, a feeling that he didn't recognize, one he had never experienced before.
Edward put his half empty glass on the side-table and picked up the tulip that was resting there and sat down on the sofa; he caressed the petals tenderly with his fingers causing his lips to curve into a smile again, slowly closing his eyes allowing his mind to go over what happened that morning.
It had been a long and hard week, which is why he had decided to spend some time at the only place he could unwind, a place he considered his sanctuary, his flower shop. Edward had always liked flowers, he found them to be comforting and soothing; he supposed this was due to his early introduction to them by his mom, Esme, who was a superb and dedicated gardener, as a result of this shared passion he would spend as much of his vacation time as he could spare relishing himself on their very limited 'Mother and Son' time. It had been during these times that he developed a strong bond with his mom, which allowed him to open his soul to her like he was unable to do with anyone.
Due to all those reasons and also because he wanted to 'own' something that was not marred by the ruthless world he worked in, he had bought this quaint little flower shop a few years ago and aptly named it 'Esmes Garden'; it was a place he went to when he needed to disconnect from everyday life, something he would achieve by tending to the flowers.
As he walked to the front of the shop he slowly put on his apron, and began arranging the flowers that were on the counter. When he finally lifted his head, he saw her. She was standing in front of the glass doors of one of the fridges that held all the flower arrangements; she stood there with a doubtful look in her face, biting her lower lip. He observed her carefully, from where he was standing he could see that she was petite in size with long, wavy, brown hair, her skin was pale and smooth like cream with a delicate blush that stained her cheeks, he could also see that her lips were full and had a pink tint to them, She wasn't exactly a model but he could see that she had a nice body. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans that hugged her curves and a simple white fitted t-shirt. She stood there unassuming and unaware of her surroundings.
Suddenly she turned around and approached the counter simply saying "Hi" he stared at her without saying a word, unable to break his eyes from hers, they were big and were the deepest brown he had ever seen. "Do you any tulips left?" she inquired while giving him a smile that took his breath away.
It took him a minute to react, but once he did he went to check if they had any tulips in the backroom, they did. He found a few tulips sitting in a bucket. He grabbed them and as he began to walk to the front he stopped dead on his tracks to observe her, he was hidden from her sight but he could see that she had picked up a flier that was on the counter, it announced a symphony concert that would take place that very night just a few miles from the shop. He didn't understand why, but he was suddenly curios to know more about her, this need became more acute because of what her eyes exuded: a mixture of innocence and determination that had moved him to his core. He looked down at the tulips in his hands and suddenly had an idea.
"Do you live near by?" he asked her without leaving the backroom.
"Yes… why?" she answered as she tried to look into the backroom
"I don't have any tulips left you see, but if you'd like I can order some for tomorrow?"
She hesitated a moment, then answered "Ok."
He noticed how this had annoyed a little bit, something that made him chuckle to himself, he returned the tulips in the bucket and walked back to the counter.
"Well then, your tulips will be here tomorrow morning" he confirmed
"Can you order yellow ones?"
"What ever color you want" he grinned at her while pretending to casually notice the flier that she was holding.
"Do you like the symphony?" he inquired
"Yes, I love it" she answered with some reserve
"I have an extra ticket for tonight's show, would you like to come with me?"
He had asked on an impulse, but he did not regret it, even though he had sounded like a teenage with his first crush. He saw a smile light up her face and then she seductively leaned towards him as she placed the flier back on the counter.
'Yes. I have a date tonight' he smugly thought to himself
"Sorry" she said with the smile still on her face "I usually don't date strangers"
"That has a solution" he quickly countered as he extended his hand to her "My name's Edward Cullen… and I hope that now you will accept my invitation" he gave her a crooked smile that women found irresistible.
She took his hand and shook it firmly "Well" she began to say not taking her eyes from his "I have a problem Edward Cullen. You see, it so happens that all day long today I'm forbidden from going out with anyone whose name begins with the letter E"
He began to chuckle, he had never been turned down with such style… actually if truth be told, no woman had ever turned him down, and she had done it twice in less than five minutes.
"I'll be back tomorrow morning for the tulips, and who knows, maybe you'll have better luck then" she grinned and gave him a small wink.
He saw as she turned around to leave and it was then that he noticed her perfume, it was soft scent of freesia, and it immediately intoxicated all his senses leaving him wanting more.
"Wait!" he blurted out just as she was about to exit the shop.
She turned around making her hair bounce to the sides.
"Yes. Edward Cullen."
He didn't know what to say, he just knew that he didn't want her to leave yet, so he said the first thing that popped in his head.
"You haven't told me your name"
She grinned as she said "You didn't ask"
He smiled at her reply "well I'm asking now"
She vacillated for a moment then smiled "You can call me Bella."
"You are very quiet tonight Edward"
Esmes soft voice interrupted his musings. He stood up smiling and hugged his mom. Ever since his father's death she had been living with him, it had not been easy to convince her. She had refused claiming that she did not want to burden him, as if she ever could. They talked most evening but mostly she kept to herself with her many activities and divided her year living here with him and visiting with her sister in Alaska.
She could tell he was giving her one of his patent smiles, the kind that he used when he wanted to distract people from really seeing him, she knew this and that's why she looked at him intently. She knew him well; just as well as she knew of the cruel world he had been forced into, the one he inherited. She was one of the few that knew of his human side, to everyone else he was a heartless man whose voice didn't falter when he gave an order or whose hands didn't shake when he needed to execute such an order… but to her he was he was her baby, her child, her son… and that is how it should be.
He pulled away from the hug remaining in front of her "I was just thinking mom."
"You think too much you know. I worry about you" she said gazing into his eyes, expecting them to be cold as always… a small furrow crept across her forehead.
"What?" he asked amused
"You are not thinking about business matters." She stated arching one eyebrow "When you think about work your eyes become hard, but now they…" she trailed off.
He ran his hand through his hair; he knew he had to tell her what had happened that day, she would know, she always did. "I met someone mom, we only exchanged a couple of words… but I don't know, I can't stop thinking about her."
Esme looked surprised; she knew of Edwards's sordid dalliances with women and had never known him to waste time thinking about any of them "That woman must be stunning for you to be thinking about her like that, I'm sure she didn't refuse you." She said genuinely
He laughed quietly. "Twice actually, she turned me down twice" he said with an incredulous smile "and what attracted me the most about her was the look in her eyes and her smile, but I'm sure that she will end up being like the rest of them" he sighed.
"One day Edward, you will know what love is, and on that day you will feel like the happiest man on earth" Esme declared.
"I already know what love is" he smiled softly at her.
She hugged him while she said in a sad tone "You know what kind of love I mean Edward"
He didn't answer, he just hugged her tighter. Esme worried about his casual, no-strings-attached relationships with women, if you could even call them relationships. She didn't say out loud but he knew she feared that because he had lived in boarding schools most of his life plus the exposure to their world and that of the family's business had made him cynical towards love. He had never had the heart to tell her that she was probably right.
She gently pulled away from him and looked him in the eyes again, this time with a hint of concern in them.
"You know that you need to be careful, right?" she said with a knowing look.
"I don't think she knows who I am mom, but don't worry, I'll be careful"
He stood there and watched as his mother headed up the stairs. Once he couldn't see her anymore he sat down in his chair again, picked up the remainder of his whiskey and watched as the liquid swirled in the glass.
"I'll have to dig around to find out more about you, my mysterious lady… Bella"
A/N: