The Man She Never Knew

AN: Okay so this story came to me, and this is my first Twilight FanFiction. I hope you all like it.

Summery: Bella Swan goes to Visit Carlisle Cullen three years after her father dies. She never really knew her father, and she hardly knows Carlisle, but sometimes big surprises come in some of the oddest ways.

I don't own Twilight, but I own this idea and the seven hundred books in my bedroom.

I sat there staring at my desk computer wondering why I came to work every day when I hated my job. It was the same thing every day, day in and day out I booked travel arrangements for everyone, well everyone but myself. Since Charlie died three years ago, I hadn't had much time to do anything for myself.

Since Charlie had died three years ago, it had killed me. My heart was ripped out of my chest, and it was as if I couldn't bring myself to breathe for a long time. When his will was read, I learned that Charlie had left me everything, and when I say everything, I mean everything. He had left me his house, all of his belongings, and the number to his best friend from college, Carlisle Cullen. I had phoned him a few days after the funeral and informed him of my father's passing. Carlisle I remembered slightly from my childhood where there was business between them.

Carlisle had invited me to join his family for the holidays many times, well every time to be completely honest, but I had always turned them down explaining conflict with work hours, or being ill, but the truth was that I was running out of excuses and I really needed a vacation.

So when Carlisle called me last night to invite me for Christmas and New Years, I couldn't say no. I informed my boss this morning that I was taking all my vacation time for the Christmas holiday. In three years I had collected seven weeks or paid vacation and I wanted them all for this trip. I had made a promise to Carlisle and I was not about to go back on my promise to him.

Michael was more than willing to give me the time off, and added the rest of the week as well. After work I called Carlisle and informed him that I would be arriving in Chicago at around noon Wednesday.

Tuesday, I spent packing up my suitcases and making arrangements for my friend, Jacob, to check on the house while I was gone. Once all of that was taken care of and finished I settled into my bed, knowing that I had to be up at two in the morning so that I would be able to make it to the airport on time for my flight.

~ * ~

How had I allowed Carlisle to talk me into this? I was at the airport awaiting the arrival of some woman I had never met flying in from Washington state so that I could bring her to my parents house for the holiday. I was tired from working a sixteen hour shift and the hospital, I hadn't slept in thirty six hours, and to say that I was a little pissed off about having to be in the airport waiting on this woman then have to deal with the lunch traffic would be stating it lightly.

I knew nothing about this woman that was arriving, other than what I was told by Carlisle last night when he phoned me at the hospital and asked me to do this for him. Normally I wouldn't have a problem doing anything that he asked, but like I said, I haven't slept in thirty six hours and the time was starting to really get to me.

I had known Charles Swan since childhood. He was my father's best friend, and very close to the family. He would come spend time every year with my father during the summer, and they would go over plans for the buildings that they were taking over. When Carlisle and Charlie got together on a project they were an unstoppable team. It was too bad Charlie always wanted to stay the silent partner, he had a brilliant mind. In all the time that I knew Charlie, I had never known that he had a daughter. He never talked about her. I didn't even find out about her until the night Carlisle called me to tell me that Charlie had died. He said that his daughter, Isabella, called to let him know. Carlisle knew he wasn't doing well; his last visit was to sell his part of their business to Carlisle and put the money into a trust.

I walked over to the arrival and departure boards to see if her flight was still arriving on time. I silently thanked the man upstairs for her arrival still being on time, and slowly walked towards the arrival gate. Her plane would be arriving in a few moments and then I would be able to drop her off and be on my way to get some much needed sleep.

It was strange that the airport was so busy for a Wednesday, didn't most people travel on Fridays or Mondays? But then again, this Isabella Swan was a travel agent, and wouldn't she know when the best deals for travel would be? I sat in one of the chairs by the gate to wait, wondering if this woman, this Isabella, would be anything like the joyous and content Charlie that I had come to know and love.

Charlie was a good man, and it deeply saddened me when I heard of his passing. I was glad that he wasn't suffering any longer, but the young boy in me missed him. Growing up I was rather close to him, and though I only saw him in the summers for a few weeks, that time with him was wonderful. He took me fishing, and told me the things that Carlisle wouldn't about life and love. He taught me that a woman, a good woman was worth waiting a lifetime for and that I shouldn't settle for anything less. Though Charlie's wife had left and divorced him many years ago, he still held close to the fact that she was the love of his life and that he would never for the rest of his life find another like her. Looking back on some of our conversations, I wonder if he didn't mention his daughter because she was like his ex wife.

Just then I noticed that the plane I was waiting on had finally landed, and people were beginning to come through the arrival gate. Standing there I watched as people met back up with their families, their lovers, and friends, but what caught my attention weren't these people, but a young woman, the last to come through the gate. She stood there with her head slightly down as if she were looking for the ground to swallow her whole. Her hair was a rich milk chocolate, long, but not overly so. My guess would be that when down it would come to just below her shoulder blades. She was of a small frame, with a body of a temptress, but the way that she carried herself was as if she didn't even see her beauty.

It was women like her that made a man become disarmed at the seam. Sonnets and poetry were written about women like her by poets like Byron and Hemmingway. They were deadly in the way of stealing away with a man's heart within the night, and this woman would be no exception. How I longed to be able to see her face, she was slightly hidden by having her head hang slightly down, but at least I could now make out all of her face with the exception of her eyes. Her lips had an inviting look to them. The upper lip was slightly more plump then her bottom, and they were a beautiful shade of pale brick red, with a slight shine when the light hit them, her nose was small, but not overly so, prefect for her face I was sure, and her skin though pale in comparison to most people, was like a rare ivory that brought out her natural body colors in a way I had never seen before. If the woman I was watching was Isabella Swan, Charlie had named her well, for even I could not deny that she was breathtakingly beautiful.

She stood there as if unsure of what her course of action was to be, so I stood from my chair and as I went to make a first step towards her, she looked up and straight at me. The vision that was her eyes stopped me dead in my step. Deep bottomless pits of chocolate and caramel mixed perfectly as one. There would be no trouble at all falling into them and being lost inside a stare like that. This woman was going to be trouble, and I knew that I was going to be powerless to stop it, I just didn't know if I was going to fight the attraction that was already there, or just allow myself to fall prey to her mystical ways.

Just then she smiled slightly and began to make her way towards me. Finally I was able to get my feet to move, and met her half way. We stared at each other for a moment, as if evaluating one another, and then she spoke, and I think my heart stopped. "Hello, you must be Carlisle's son, Edward. He told me that you would be picking me up from the airport."

Her voice was like soft wind chimes in the distance, it had a strange melody that reminded me of a lullaby. "Yes, I'm Edward, and you are Isabella?"

She had smiled brighter at me, but it was as if her smile never reached her electrifying eyes. "Yes, but please call me Bella, only my mother would call me Isabella."

I gestured that we should go to baggage claim so that she could pick up her belongings and she followed. By the time that we arrived there, most of the luggage had been picked up. Without a sound she walked away from me and headed toward the belt where I spotted three bags that had a red and black lace ribbon to it. For some reason it struck me as odd to tie lace on a bag, when it was just as easy to tie a shoelace or something like that to it. I grabbed up her bags putting one on my shoulder, one in my hand, and the other thank goodness was a roller, so that made it a little easier. "You don't have to do that, Edward; I know you just got off a long shift at the hospital and that you are tired." She said softly.

"It's no problem, really." I said to the angel next to me. "I'm probably just going to bring you to my parent's house and crash in my room. We should get going though; traffic at lunch time is terrifying." She laughed in earnest.

"Well then you may want to just shoot me where I stand, because I am going to ask a favor." I looked at her, waiting to see what this favor was, wondering if I was going to have to brave the city to give her what it was that she wanted. "I'm starving, I haven't eaten since two o'clock this morning, and the food on airlines is shit. I was hoping that you knew a place nearby that had stuffed French toast, and I would get you anything on the menu you wanted as payment. Please, I will be in your debt forever if you can just find me some good French toast and coffee."

I couldn't help but laugh at the woman. The smile on her face had finally reached her eyes, and it was breathtaking. "I know a place about ten minutes away, but if I do this for you, you are going to have to do more then buy my breakfast. Do you know what type of traffic is out there right now?"

She stared at me for a moment and giggled, yeah you heard me, she giggled and it was cute. "If it is anything like summer time in Jacksonville then I have an idea." She said as we walked out of the airport and towards the parking lot. We made it to my car and dumped her belongings into the trunk, I opened the passenger door for her and closed it when she got in and then folded myself into the driver's seat. I stated the car and pulled out to go to our next location. Breakfast here we come.