A/N: Some more background info in this chapter. Some more questions raised; some answered. Don't worry, everything will be answered eventually. Some of you are speculating about who Maddie's dad is. You'll find out soon. Bella hasn't had it easy, as you'll all start to see soon.

And it seems that everyone has fallen in love with little Maddie. She is adorable; I know.

Thanks to my darling Beta Danna0724. She's a busy little bee, but she still manages to catch my many blunders and add her own two cents to make this story make sense! Love ya girly!

All characters in this story belong to Stephenie Meyer; I'm just moving them to the East Coast for a while.

Things are not always as they seem; the first appearance deceives many. – Phaedrus (Roman Poet).

BPOV

Chapter 2 – Not Always As It Seems

Maddie and I sat on the soft, black leather sofa in the waiting area of the Human Resources Department. I watched my daughter as she spoke quietly to her little rag doll Angie, her safety doll.

"But Angie, I was only gone a little while. Besides, the nice man took good care of you. He protected you from the mean lady."

I inclined my head and stared at her curiously. I could feel the worry lines creasing my forehead. "Sweetie, what nice man and mean lady are you talking about?"

My daughter looked up at me innocently, with those big brown eyes so much like my own, yet filled with a softness and trust that mine would never again possess. "The nice man we met downstairs mommy," she replied matter-of-factly, and then her face scrunched up into a cute little scowl, "and that mean lady that was in the room with him."

I bit my lip, trying to hold in the expletive that was on the tip of my tongue. I'd hoped Maddie hadn't realized that Mr. Cullen and Lauren had been locked in the conference room together, but as usual, my daughter had been extremely observant. Of course, being only four, she had no idea what she'd witnessed, and I was definitely not going to enlighten her. She didn't need to know the type of behavior adults with no morals engaged in. I'd shield her from that type of knowledge for the rest of my life if I could. A part of me thought of how ironic it was that it was keeping her from that type of knowledge that had us here in this city instead of home in Forks right now. Yet as I thought of that I also wondered what it was that had her calling Mr. Edward Cullen a 'nice man', while Lauren took the title of 'mean lady'. I personally thought they were both disgusting pieces of shit.

Not that he wasn't one of, if not the, most perfect looking specimen of a man I'd ever laid eyes on. Holy Hell, the pictures of him in the newspapers and magazines did him no justice! Not that I'd ever gone out of my way to buy one of those mags or read one of the articles about him. But they were pretty hard to avoid. His face showed up on either one of the gossip newspapers or magazines pretty regularly. And based on the crooked grin that almost always plastered his face, he enjoyed the attention tremendously. Cocky son-of-a-bitch.

But as I'd rounded the corner downstairs a few minutes ago, looking for my Maddie, and come face to face with the one owner of the Agency I hadn't met yet, the initial impression I'd received from him had been completely different. He'd been holding out Angie, Maddie's doll; his arm outstretched as he gazed down sweetly at my daughter, and my heart had stopped momentarily. Both from relief at having found Maddie, even though she'd only been out of my sight for a couple of minutes and I knew she had to be somewhere nearby, but also from the sight of this beautiful man gazing down at my daughter with a look of total innocence and bewilderment. It had momentarily stunned me that a man like this, who'd never met Maddie before in his life, could look at her with more awe and emotion than her own father ever had. I'd felt my eyes grow wide with shock. But before I could make heads or tails of the scene in front of me, I'd noticed Lauren, one of the other Graphic Artists in our department, with her head sticking out guiltily from the small conference room. As I'd looked between her and Mr. Cullen, their actions had become plainly obvious to me. Lauren's hair was a disheveled mess, very different from the carefully coiffed hairstyle she'd been sporting earlier this morning. Her skirt was skewed and the top two buttons on her blouse were undone. And Edward Cullen's shirt was a crumpled mess, his pants all wrinkled, and his hair pointing in fifty different directions. Very unlike the impeccably dressed playboy that graced the gossip columns. I'd had to hold in a disgusted snort.

And as if their clothes hadn't been a dead give-away, the look of horror that crossed Edward Cullen's face as Rosalie appeared behind him completely confirmed my suspicions. He was totally busted, and he knew it. Yet instead of acting contrite at having been caught with his hands in the cookie jar, or up that skanky Lauren's shirt, he tried to play the "I'm the boss" card with Rosalie. If he hadn't actually been the boss and I hadn't been scared as hell at having been busted by Rosalie myself with Maddie here again, I would've laughed out loud when Rose gave him the 'I'm gonna fucking hang you by the balls when I get you alone' look after he got smart with her. 'Good for his dirty ass,' I'd thought to myself.

But part owner of the Agency or not, I hadn't been able to suppress the 'shut the fuck up and mind your own goddamn business' look I'd given him when I'd thought he was going to give me trouble about Maddie. I may not have been the most business-savvy person, but I more or less knew the hierarchy in this Agency. Edward Cullen, along with his older brother Emmett, and his college friend Jasper Whitlock, had started this Agency five years ago. In the past five years, it had grown into one of the top five marketing agencies in the Northeast, and one of the top ten in the country. The trade publications all credited the Agency's success to the immense hard work, dedication, and talent all three men possessed in different aspects of the marketing field.

However, Rosalie Hale-Cullen, Emmett's wife of three years, had come to work for the privately-owned Agency a couple of years ago. The marketing field had immediately hailed her as an invaluable asset to the company, and her extreme talent and hard work had earned the Agency some of its biggest and most important accounts. Today, Rosalie Hale-Cullen was as much a boss in the company as the Cullen brothers and Mr. Whitlock were. It was she that had hired me a couple of weeks ago. And as such -and knowing that her word was just as important in this Agency as that of the three men whose names appeared on the plaque in the lobby downstairs- I was sure that it was her I had to answer to, not to this man in front of me who'd just been fondling one of his employees and who now had the balls, I thought, to be giving me hell for bringing my daughter to work.

So I'd been completely taken off guard when he'd actually brought up the child-care list available up here in HR. And just like that, he'd confused me again. Because why would this selfish, immoral and cocky man care about my problems with my little girl? And why had he looked all nervous and confused? Like there was something he wanted to say, or ask me? And why did I have this overwhelming urge to touch him, to put my hand on his arm and give him a grateful squeeze, when he softly suggested that I come up to Human Resources?

I shook my head now, trying to clear it and focus on what I'd come up here for; to see if I could finally find someone I could trust my baby to during work hours. I had to stop thinking of Edward Cullen. Regardless of how helpful he'd been by telling me about the Agency's Child Care List, the fact was that he was an obvious player, and more than that, my boss. He was exactly the kind of person I didn't need in my life. The man could literally have any woman on this planet. And from what I'd heard and read, and now seen for myself, it was not beyond him to try to do just that. We were in two different worlds, and when you could have caviar, the only reason you'd try deviled eggs would be to experiment. And I was done being anyone's experiment. I chuckled to myself, because this was Edward freakin' Cullen I was thinking about. He didn't need to try deviled eggs. The only reason he'd probably even thought of the Child Care list was to make sure that as one of his employees, I worked at my full potential, without having to worry about how my little girl was doing all day.

I looked back at Maddie. My little Maddie. I still wasn't sure if I'd made the right decision for us, for her, by bringing us to this big city where we knew no one. But Forks had just gotten…unbearable. I missed my dad. I missed Jake…But even that had gotten so hard…

"Ms. Swan, here's the list you needed," came a voice from behind where we sat, breaking me out of my reverie. Mrs. Cope, the Human Resources Manager was handing me the well-researched Child Care List. I quickly snapped back to the present and stood up to take the list from her, holding it with reverence and hope that this paper might finally hold the answer to a peaceful night's sleep. Peace that had eluded me since I'd first arrived in New York City a little over two weeks ago to work as a Graphic Artist in this Agency, a job I'd somehow managed to get after two initial interviews with CCW headhunters in Seattle before Rosalie herself had flown down to interview me. And standing here, almost 6 weeks after that interview, I still didn't know how I'd managed to impress such a difficult woman enough to convince her to hire me, a woman fresh out of college, a few years older than most graduating in my class, with no real experience in the field, and who would cost the company relocating costs. I'd graduated at the top 5% of my class, that was true, but I was sure Rosalie could've found someone better qualified than me in this big city. All these weeks later, I still wasn't sure what had possessed her to go recruit across the country, rather than in her own back yard.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cope." I smiled up at the kind woman before sitting back down next to my daughter to peruse the list. I took a quick glance through it and noticed there were about 30 names on the list, some of them were names of people, while some of them were names of child-care centers, nursery schools, and the like. Before moving to New York City, my dad's old friend Sue Clearwater had taken care of Maddie while I went to work and school over in Port Angeles. Between my dad and me, we were able to juggle our schedules so that one of us was with her most of the day. So Maddie wasn't used to being around a bunch of kids. I knew it was something she had to get used to eventually, she'd be starting Kindergarten next year, but this move to New York had been such a traumatic and life-altering experience to her little mind to begin with, throwing her in with a bunch of other children was making it even harder for her to adjust.

But at the same time, I knew no one here. No one I could trust enough to watch her while I was at work. This list sounded like a godsend. The Agency had put their trust and reputation into the names on this list. Next to each name, just as Rosalie had mentioned, were the names and phone numbers of Agency employees who trusted their children to these people, and who I could call as references. As my eyes scanned the list, I could feel my tense muscles relaxing slightly for the first time in weeks, as my hope that I'd find someone reliable on this list increased.

My eyes stopped at a name. Sue Collins.

It was the same first name as Maddie's caretaker back in Forks. But it was her address that caught my eye. She seemed to be located just a few blocks from our apartment in Brooklyn, in a little neighborhood called DUMBO, which is where the Agency had been able to find me a place that I could afford. Next to Sue's name was a long list of contacts, Agency numbers, which meant that I could call them right now and hopefully get there opinions on this Sue now.

"Mommy, can we go back down to your cube now?" Maddie asked quietly. She'd been sitting patiently next to me while I scanned the list.

"Just a few minutes baby, and then we'll go back down," I whispered as I pulled out my cell phone and started dialing the first reference on the list. My cube downstairs wasn't very private; I had people on either side of me, and I didn't really want them hearing me make these phone calls. No one else besides Maddie and me were out here in the HR Waiting Area, so I'd have more privacy making the phone calls from here.

Maddie didn't answer, but her little brown eyes registered her disappointment, and she looked down and began talking to her doll quietly again. I immediately felt guilty. My poor daughter shouldn't have had to be sitting in a boring office all day. She should've been out in the fresh air somewhere, having fun, with kids her own age. For the thousandth and one time, I questioned my decision to move us to New York. She could've at least been running around in the fresh beach air right now, with Sue Clearwater and her granddaughter, instead of trapped within these four walls…

The first reference answered. It was another woman who worked for CCW and who'd taken her son to Sue Collins for two years before he started Kindergarten. She had nothing but wonderful things to say about Sue. I spoke to her for about five minutes before calling the next reference. It was a man this time, whose daughter had gone to Sue Collin's about 4 years ago, when the Agency was still very new. Again, he had nothing but high praises for Sue. She was responsible, caring and trustworthy. She wasn't the type to keep the children home in front of a TV all day. She took them to the park, the zoo, lunches out. I called the next reference. This next woman informed me that Sue still took care of her 10 year old daughter after school. The school bus dropped the girl off in front of Sue's house and the girl stayed there until one of her parents picked her up.

I was starting to feel lighter, as if a huge weight were being slowly lifted off of my chest. I called a few more references. Some didn't have their children going to Sue's anymore if the children were old enough to be in school full day. Some still had their children going to Sue's either full or part-time, a few days a week or for the full week, before school, after school, all varied schedules. But there was one thing they all agreed on, Sue Collins was Mary Poppins personified.

After about a half-hour of phone calls, I hung up with the last reference and dialed the number to Sue Collins herself, my heart feeling like it was ready to jump out of my chest from anticipation.

"Hello?" came a strong yet soothing female voice on the other end.

I crossed my fingers and continued.

Forty-five minutes later, Maddie and I were back in the elevator, headed out of the building this time and back to Brooklyn, to our own neighborhood. I'd had a pleasant phone call with Sue Collins, and we were on our way to meet her. I'd felt nothing but good vibrations emanating from her from our phone call, and she'd agreed to meet with me immediately after I'd explained to her that we'd just moved here from Washington and Maddie was having a bit of a hard time adjusting. She sounded genuinely sympathetic, and asked if she could meet Maddie today. From years of experience, she continued, she immediately knew once she met a child if they would thrive in her care.

I rushed into Rosalie's office, knowing full well I could possibly get fired for doing just that. But hell, at this point, if I didn't find someone capable and trusting to watch Maddie for me I'd have to quit by the end of the week anyway and return to Forks with my tail between my legs. I was basically out of options at this point. Luckily after explaining the situation to Rosalie and doing some serious groveling and promising to work through my lunch break for the rest of the week, she agreed to let me leave early.

Unfortunately, the elevator decided to go up one floor, instead of down. I huffed out some air and rolled my eyes, anxious to get going. As the doors began to close again, I pressed on the 'L' button impatiently, itching to be on ground level and to get to Brooklyn. But before the doors were fully closed, two strong hands appeared and pried the doors open.

Edward freakin' Cullen.

I had no idea why my heart stopped as he walked into the elevator. My pulse quickened and I felt the blood rush to my face. My hands felt sweaty all of a sudden, and I hoped Maddie didn't notice as she held my hand tightly.

Edward's eyes found mine immediately. He stepped in quickly and the doors closed behind him, trapping the three of us in here alone.

"Bella," he breathed, except to my overactive imagination it sounded like a sigh of relief or something, as if he'd been hoping to bump into me again all morning.

"Edward," I managed to respond in a weak voice. A huge, glorious crooked grin formed on his perfect lips, taking me completely by surprise. I blinked twice, like a dazed idiot, and it took me a couple of seconds to realize that I should probably at least offer a small smile back in return, or maybe even have addressed him formally, as "Mr. Cullen," even though everyone else went by first names in the office. It would be the polite thing to do, at least. As I stared at him, his smile faltered slightly. I realized I probably looked like a deer stuck in headlights, and that I was reacting exactly like an awestruck bimbo. I looked away immediately, trying to figure out why he was having this effect on me, and promising myself that he'd never know about it.

"Edwood!" I heard Maddie exclaim happily and when I looked down at my daughter she was wearing a blissful smile. It made me both happy and wistful at the same time; I hadn't seen a smile that carefree on her little face in a long time. Her baby brown eyes sparkled up at him expectantly.

"Maddie!" Edward responded, his voice matching her enthusiasm at seeing each other. I again wondered at the strange reaction they both seemed to have towards one another. He stood facing me and Maddie, his back to the elevator doors. "Where are you going?" he asked her, sounding genuinely interested. Out of the corner of my eye, my eyes focused intently on my daughter, I saw his eyes flicker back up to me momentarily before going back down to Maddie.

"We're going to Brootlyn!" Maddie responded cheerfully. "To meet my new babysittuh!" she continued.

"Aah, so the list seems to have helped then!" he exclaimed. He kept his eyes trained on Maddie. After a couple of awkward seconds, I wondered if he was waiting for me to say something. Either way, it was too late to respond now.

Edward's eyes came up to me. "So you're sneaking out early then huh?" he asked. When I looked over at him he had an eyebrow arched furtively, as if he were waiting for me to let him in on a little secret.

His arched eyebrow and the fact that he'd just accused me of sneaking sent a quick shot of irritation through me. He'd hit a nerve. I responded quickly and firmly. "No. I'm not sneaking out. I spoke to Rosalie and she knows perfectly well I'm leaving early. I'm going to make the time up later on in the week. I don't sneak around."

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to kick myself. Not only did I sound guilty and defensive, I was sure I'd stressed the 'I' in my last sentence a little more than I'd meant to. I felt my face go hot.

Edward stared at me with an unreadable expression before finally speaking. "I was just kidding Bella. I didn't mean to imply anything." 'Unlike you just did,' I finished for him in my mind. My cheeks burned with mortification. I'd just accused one of the owners of the Agency I worked for of being sneaky. Perfect.

Thankfully, he turned his attention back to Maddie. "So Brooklyn, huh? I've got a sister that lives in Brooklyn," he told Maddie, in a soft velvety voice. I bit my lip and stared at the elevator wall.

Of course. How could I have forgotten? Of course he'd be Alice Cullen's brother!

Alice Cullen had stormed like a little cyclone through the doors of the Art Department of CCW two days after I'd started working here. She'd walked right into Rosalie's office, unannounced and without knocking. I'd been sitting across from Rosalie, in an informal meeting, and she'd almost blinded me with the brilliant smile she'd shot at me before scurrying right up to Rosalie and exclaiming in a sweet yet excited voice,

"Barney's is having its twice yearly sale! Grab your purse and let's go!"

Rose had rolled her eyes at Alice before turning back to me. "Please excuse my rude sister-in-law, Alice Cullen. As the only one of the Cullen siblings without a stake in this company, she forgets it doesn't run itself."

"Yeah, yeah whatever," Alice had responded impatiently, bouncing up and down in front of Rosalie. "Say whatever you want, just grab your purse and let's go! You know the best things are the first to go!" she whined. And although I hated whiners, something about her way made me automatically smile.

"Alice," Rose continued in an exasperated tone, "you see I'm in the middle of a meeting. I can't leave now."

Alice turned to look at me, and her face lit up sweetly, her green eyes sparkling with barely contained energy. "So bring her with us! You can hold your meeting in the fitting room! You like shopping, don't you?" she asked me, but it sounded more like a plea.

"Um…" I'd mumbled, looking between Rosalie and her sister-in-law quickly, and not knowing what to respond. The truth was I hated shopping, but I got the feeling that that wouldn't deter little Alice Cullen from her little excursion. Not that I thought Rosalie would entertain the idea of a meeting in Barney's for a second.

Shockingly though, Rosalie looked right at me, as if waiting for my response to whether we should continue the meeting while trying on $800 leather skirts and $500 silk blouses.

That was my first clue that the Cullens were definitely in a class all their own.

"Uh, I guess we can continue this meeting later? Rosalie, I'll have those draft sketches ready for you when…"

Rosalie turned back to Alice, a smirk on her face. "Alice, Barney's will have to wait until after work." She turned to face me. "Bella, I think you've got a good handle on what I'm looking for. Get started on those sketches and I'll take a look at them later this afternoon."

And with that, I'd gotten up to leave, watching Alice Cullen glare at Rosalie with a sad pout on her face. Her face suddenly brightened again and she turned to look at me once more.

"Hey, are you the new Graphic Artist then? Rosalie mentioned you! You're the new girl from Washington!" she smiled at me eagerly.

"Uh, yes. I'm Isabella Swan. Bella, for short," I clarified in a low voice.

"Bella! That's a beautiful name!" she exclaimed. "So, how are you liking CCW so far? Is Rosalie treating you nicely?" -her eyes flickered to Rosalie quickly and she gave her a playful sneer- "How do you like New York City? Is it very different from Washington? Where do you live?" She shot each question out back to back, never giving me a chance to respond to any of them, until she got to her last one and waited quietly for my answers.

I wasn't exactly sure which question to respond to first. "CCW is wonderful so far, thanks. New York City seems nice, but I haven't really had a chance to see much of it so far. It's pretty different from where I grew up-"

"What do you mean you haven't had a chance to see the city yet?" she cried, shocked. "Where do you live?"

"I live in Brooklyn, in a neighborhood called DUMBO?" I clarified. "It's just-"

She cut me off again. "You're. Freaking. Kidding." She looked from me to Rosalie again. "Rose, why didn't you tell me she was living in DUMBO?" she asked with disbelief. Rosalie just pursed her lips and rolled her eyes again. She mumbled something incoherent, but it sounded like "…..Bella…..head start…..threw her…..your crazy ass."

Alice turned back to me. "Bella," she put one hand on her chest before continuing, "I live in DUMBO too! With Jasper, my fiancée! We have a cute little loft right by the river!" she continued with a huge, happy grin on her face. I smiled back at her warmly. Her smile was definitely contagious.

Even though I'd only been here for two days at that time, I already knew Jasper Whitlock, one of the owners, was engaged to Alice Cullen, sister of Emmett and Edward Cullen, the other two owners of the company. It seemed most of the employees in this agency, while hard working and dedicated to their jobs, also couldn't get enough of the Cullen's personal lives. And while I wasn't actively listening to any gossip, some of it made its way to my ears as I sat in my cube, or as I walked down the corridors, or in the elevators, or in the ladies' room, etc.

Alice had walked me back to my cube, chatting away excitedly, and we'd discovered we lived fairly close to each other. She was so full of energy, like an atom getting ready to explode. Yet I immediately felt a warm connection to her, feeling as if I'd found someone I could connect with in this big, demanding city. It made me feel strangely content to know she lived so nearby. She'd walked into my cube and immediately seen the picture I had of Maddie in the little 5x7 frame.

"Oh. My. God! Is this your daughter?" she'd cried, picking up the picture to admire it. I'd nodded my head proudly.

"She's an absolute angel! What's her name?"

"Maddie. Short for Madisen," I'd responded quietly.

"Madisen. Like Madison Avenue!" Alice had giggled.

I'd shrugged my shoulders. "I guess. Except with an 'e' at the end instead of an 'o'."

"That is such a cute name. It suits her perfectly. She's adorable."

"Thanks," I'd breathed, with obvious pride in my voice.

I'd seen Alice's eyes flicker quickly to my left hand, before going back to Maddie's picture. "So, you're married?" she'd asked trying to feign nonchalance.

"No. Divorced," I'd murmured.

"Oh. Sorry," she'd responded in a more subdued tone.

And for some reason, the honest look in her eyes made me answer in a way I'd never expected myself to, especially with someone who was practically a stranger. "Don't be. I'm sure as hell not."

Alice's eyes had registered surprise at my unexpected response. And out of the blue, we'd both broken out into quiet fits of laughter, until I felt tears stinging my eyes from the force of my outburst.

Alice's chortles finally died down and she looked at me with a sparkly gleam in her eyes. "Bella Swan" she'd declared, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

So for the past couple of weeks, Alice would come down to the office a few times a week, and after visiting Jasper, she'd come down to our floor and pop in on Rosalie and me for a quick hello. I'd come to see that she and Rosalie were good friends. It was becoming obvious to me that the Cullen's were a tight knit family. Emmett came down to our floor a couple of times a day to see Rosalie. He was a huge, muscular and handsome man, and he had an infectious brawny laugh that could be heard across the entire floor when he was here. I'd met him in Rosalie's office my first day here, and he'd been very courteous. His green eyes matched his sister's, and both had the same wicked sparkle in their eyes.

I met Jasper the same day I met Alice. She'd come back down to say goodbye before she left and had dragged her fiancée down with her. And although he wasn't a Cullen, I couldn't help but notice how attractive Jasper Whitlock also was. He was tall and blond, with bright sky blue eyes, and a quiet disposition that immediately put you at ease. He apologized profusely to me for not having been down to introduce himself earlier, but he said he'd had some pressing matters to get to, and as he'd spoken I'd noticed the slight but present southern drawl he had, and it had made me smile.

So it was that I realized that the Cullen siblings, as well as their significant others, had the most amazing personalities I'd ever encountered, and I could immediately see why the public was so taken by the Cullen Clan. I'd found myself wondering if the last of the Cullen siblings that I had yet to meet, Edward Cullen, who'd been currently away on a business trip, would be as amazing as the rest of his family.

And on my first encounter with him, he'd been apparently holed up in a small conference room, feeling up one of my co-workers. So much for that great personality.

I was snapped back to the present by my daughter's response to Edward's comment about his sister.

"Really? We live in Brootlyn too! Right mommy?" Maddie tugged on my arm while waiting for my confirmation, and Edward looked back up at me.

"Yes honey." I answered quietly, keeping my eyes on her.

Maddie turned her attention back to her new hero. "Mommy's got a friend that lives in Brootlyn like us. She's really nice. She bought me ice-cream the other day when I was heuh!"

Thankfully, the elevator reached the lobby just as Maddie finished speaking. As the doors popped open, I let out a breath I hadn't even realized I'd been holding. Edward stepped out first and held his arm out to hold the elevator door.

"Thanks," I murmured as I stepped out with Maddie.

"Where are you going Edwood?" Maddie questioned as we walked through the lobby, with Edward on Maddie's other side.

"Oh, I'm just stepping out for a quick cup of coffee," he answered her gently.

"Mommy drinks coffee sometimes. Don't you mommy?" Maddie asked while pulling on my arm again.

"Sometimes," I agreed, keeping my eyes straight ahead and focusing on my footsteps. I'd always been more or less on the ungraceful side, and even though at 25, I'd finally outgrown my clumsiness, I still found myself tripping and stumbling every once in a while, and I wanted to make sure this wasn't one of those instances.

Edward looked back over at me. "Would you like a cup of-"

"No thank you." I answered quickly, not even giving him a chance to finish his sentence. I cringed internally, for my obvious rudeness, but I didn't want him to think I went around coaching my daughter to trick strangers into offering me a cup of coffee. The last thing I needed was Edward Cullen thinking I was one of his new groupies.

Edward simply nodded and looked away from me as we finally exited the building. It was a hot late-August day; he'd left his jacket upstairs, and had loosened his tie. I glanced at him quickly while he scanned the busy Manhattan streets, watching as the bright sun sparkled off of his emerald green eyes. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, he was good-looking. His strong, sharp profile was so perfect it appeared to be chiseled out of stone. His jaw was almost perfectly square, and I watched, almost mesmerized as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed; looking slightly nervous for some reason.

I noticed he wasn't wearing the same clothes he'd been wearing earlier. These pants, although dark like the ones he wore earlier this morning, were well ironed, and his white shirt was immaculate, not a wrinkle in it. His hair was still unruly, but as I watched him pass his hand quickly through it, I realized that it was his hands that made it that way, rather than someone else's. For some reason, that knowledge brought with it a sense of relief. Not that it made any difference in my life, one way or the other. For some unexplained reason, the thought filled me with a sudden pang of sadness. But I had one and only one priority in my life; the little girl holding on tightly to my hand right now. And I neither wanted nor needed anything else.

Edward turned his eyes back to Maddie, but before she looked back up at him I thought I saw some confusion in his eyes. Yet as soon as she turned her attention back to him, that look disappeared and the look of awe that I'd thought I'd detected earlier returned. He gave her a huge, dazzling smile, and she giggled up at him, completely taken.

"Well Princess Maddie, it was truly the highlight of my day meeting you, and your fair mommy." He shot a quick glance up at me. I gave him a small, quick smile. Maddie continued giggling. "Will you promise to come visit us again soon?" he asked hopefully.

"If my mommy lets me," Maddie responded. She thought for a moment before continuing in an excited voice. "Can you come visit us in Brootlyn? I can show you my toys, and the fishing pole my grampa Charlie made me, and the dream catcha Uncoe Jake made me and my mommy" – Edward's eyes flickered quickly to me before smiling back down at Maddie – "and we can draw together, and mommy can show you her paintings, and we can be friends foreva," she finished hopefully.

My mouth hung open in stunned silence. My shy, four year old daughter had just invited a perfect stranger to our house, and what's more, had in one sentence opened up to him more than she'd opened up to anyone –except perhaps his sister Alice- since we'd arrived in this City. Including the teachers at the two pre-schools I'd tried with her so far. She hadn't mentioned my dad or Jake to anyone since we'd gotten here, holding them and her memories of them like a secret she wasn't ready to share with anyone yet.

Edward also seemed to be taken back by Maddie's invitation, and unsure of how to answer her, he glanced up at me quickly.

"Um, Maddie honey, Edward's pretty busy my love. I'm sure he'd love to come see your toys but-" –I could see Maddie's face starting to fall, and the corners of her little mouth turning down –

"Tell you what," Edward began, cutting me off and looking at me as he spoke, "why don't you bring that fishing pole and that dream catcher with you next time you come, and make sure your mommy brings you up to my office so that you can show them to me and tell me all about them." He looked back down at Maddie and continued with an easy smile. "And I've got tons and tons of paper in there and we can do all the coloring you want. How does that sound?"

Maddie looked up at me expectantly, and I smiled softly at her, nodding to let her know Edward's suggestion sounded fine. She smiled hesitantly at first, but then her eyes twinkled and her smile grew. She looked back at Edward excitedly.

"You promise you'll draw with me? And you promise to be my friend foreva?"

Edward slowly knelt down to her level. He looked at her curiously for a couple of seconds, his eyes narrowed in confusion again, as if he was trying to figure out something himself. "I promise to draw with you as much as you want, and I promise to be your friend for as long as you want my friendship."

And like a flash of lightning, before I could stop her, Maddie threw her arms around Edward's shoulders, catching us both by surprise. I could see Edward's eyes widen in shock, but then slowly, carefully he put his strong arms around her gently, and quickly looked up at me, as if afraid he'd done something wrong.

And honestly, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have been too happy about a man I'd just met holding my daughter. But…all I could do was stare at them, completely dumbfounded, because unlike Edward, I knew how unbelievable this really was. Maddie had been locked up within herself since we'd left Forks, not sure where she fit in now, not sure who to trust, and in one morning, she'd opened herself, and her heart it seemed, to none other than Edward Cullen.

What was going on here?

Maddie slowly pulled away from Edward, a huge, satisfied grin on her face. "Bye Edwood, see you soon!" she exclaimed, appeased now.

Edward chuckled lightly. "Bye Princess," he laughed. His face grew serious suddenly, and he looked back up at me.

"Are you taking the subway home?" he asked intently.

"Um, yes."

He seemed to debate something for a second before turning back to Maddie with a firm look.

"Just make sure you hold your mommy's hand tight on the train." He sounded genuinely concerned.

Maddie giggled. "That's just what mommy says!" she confirmed. Edward chuckled and stood up. He looked at me, his eyes unreadable, yet searching. He gave me one of those signature crooked grins that I was so used to seeing on the cover of magazines, but here, in person, I couldn't help but thinking that it seemed much more real, much more genuine than it had in the papers.

"Have a safe trip home." His voice was sincere. "And good luck with the sitter. I hope everything works out well for you."

The intensity in his smooth voice confused me, and all I could manage was a simple "thanks" before turning and walking away, feeling his eyes on me all the way to the subway station down the block.

What. The. Hell?

A/N: Alright guys, hoped you enjoyed this second installment. Do me a big, personal favor and hit the button below and leave me a REVIEW please? Let me know what you think of this so far. Let me know who you think Bella's babydaddy is. What do you think was going on in Forks that made it so hard for Bella? Hell, speculate on the weather for all I care, just leave a review please!

Thank you!

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