Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, only the things I make them do. All character credit goes to Stephanie Meyer.

Outtake: Never Bet Against Alice

EDWARD

I'm on my lunch break and I've been craving sweets all day. Last week, when I was driving home, I saw a sign for this bakery. I was instantly intrigued but I didn't have enough time to stop. Today, I've got all the time in the world. More precisely, I've got an hour and fifteen minutes to get my ass back to Volturi, Hunter and Associates. Instead of driving and risk losing my great parking spot, I decide to walk. I take my briefcase with me and close my office door behind me. I walk down the hallway briskly, preparing myself for what happens everyday.

"Hey, Edward!" Vicky says in her syrupy sweet sing-songy voice. Every. Damn. Day. I shoot her a wave in acknowledgement, but keep up my brisk pace. Every day since I started working here she's flirted shamelessly with me.

I hate every second of it.

First of all, she's a cougar. The woman has to be at least in her late forties if her crow's feet are any indication. She wears a different variation of the same outfit everyday, an inappropriately short pencil skirt with a low-cut blouse and pumps. Secondly, she's married to James Hunter, one of my bosses. I won't even pretend to understand their relationship. I mean if my woman, my wife flirted openly with other dudes constantly, I'd be asking for a divorce.

One of these days she's going to get my ass fired.

I practically run from her presence before she can sink her ruby red claws into me again. When I get to the elevator I press the button and wait impatiently, hoping and praying that Vicky doesn't need to leave for lunch. When the doors slide closed and I'm safely inside, I breathe a sigh of relief. I slowly relax as the numbers drift down from 26 all the way down to 1. The doors slide open and I step out into the brightly lit lobby, the grimace on my face morphing into a smile.

I wave at Jim the security guard on my way out of the sliding glass door of the building, and he nods in my direction. Once I'm outside, I loosen my tie and wait at the crosswalk for the light to change. I pull out my phone and pop in my earbuds and scroll through my library until I find a suitable song for walking. The light finally changes, and I start my trek towards Beautiful's Bakery.

I stand in front of the door to the bakery, and I smile. The sign is a caricatured blushing woman with freckles and flowing brown hair, a smile on her face, holding a tray of cupcakes with icing towered on top. The woman is wearing a gingham apron inscribed with 'Beautiful's Bakery' in curlicue script. I pull open door and my senses are immediately overwhelmed with all of the different scents. There's a really short woman standing behind the counter loading up a tray of cupcakes. When the door closes behind me, a bell overhead rings announcing my arrival. She whips around in my direction with a smile on her face.

"Welcome to Beautiful's! What can I getcha?" She asks excitedly. With that one statement, I can tell that she's just naturally effervescent. There is such a wide variety of treats that I stand shocked for a moment. After a moment of me just staring, I finally say "Umm… I'm not sure. Can I look around for a moment?" The woman smiles and says "Sure take all the time you need. My name's Alice. Just give me a holler when you're ready." Alice steps back from the counter and starts loading in more cupcakes to the old fashioned diner display.

The variety of cupcakes is overwhelming. Every type of cake I've ever heard of is represented by at least the half dozen along with more exotic flavors. There's German Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, Red Velvet, Sock-It-To-Me, Salted Caramel, Chocolate Ganache, Strawberry Shortcake, Lemon Curd, Key Lime, Chocolate Raspberry, Black Forest, and Banana's Foster. That's just on the first two shelves.

There are also full cakes in the same variety. I can't even begin to choose.

I'm so focused on trying to make up my mind that I don't hear Alice step up to the counter again. She laughs and it kind of sounds like tinkling bells. "Overwhelming isn't it?" She says with laughter in her voice. She kind of reminds me of Tinker Bell.

I nod. "It's actually my first time here. I'm Edward by the way. I don't know what I expected when I walked in, but it most certainly wasn't this." I gesture to the display case of goodies. "I work up on the hill and I just really wanted something sweet. What's your favorite?"

Alice squints her left eye at me, maybe sizing me up, and then says "You strike me as a chocolate man. Am I right?" I nod, more than a little freaked out. "Good. So we just started a new recipe for a Double Chocolate Molten Caramel cupcake. It's our regular chocolate recipe plus ribbons of melted dark chocolate run through, with melted caramel in the center. It's kind of still in the taste testing phase, but we'd love your opinion!" Alice takes a pair of tongs and lifts an innocent looking chocolate cupcake with toffee colored frosted onto a plate. She carries the plate over to the counter area and I pull out my wallet. Alice refuses to take my money, so when she turns her back I slip it into the tip jar.

I sit down at a table close to the front so I can continue perusing the selection. Absently I lift the cupcake and flip back the wrapper and bite down warily. The very moment the decadence passes my lips, I actually moan. Out loud. There are no words to best describe what I'm eating. It's rich and velvety, gooey and salty sweet. I take another bite and another, and then one last bite. I slide back the chair and leave the plate on the table, my briefcase on the floor, and practically run to the counter.

"Alice, if you don't mind me asking, who made these amazing cupcakes?" For a second she looks wary, and then she gets this faraway look on her face, almost like she's seeing something that I'm not. The smile on her face turns mischievous and she says "My sister Bella is the mastermind behind all of our recipes. Why?" There's a trace of suspicion in her voice again. I smile before replying "Alice, I need to worship at the feet of the genius that made such a rich, moist, but not too sweet cupcake. Hell, if she's single, I might even marry her." My eyes go wide at what I've just said, but Alice smiles.

"Well Edward, you sir are in luck. My sister is very single at the moment. Unfortunately she's not here for you to worship." Her eyes light up and she leans across the counter like she's about to tell me a state secret. "I'll tell you what, if you take my sister out on one date, I'll send you home with the rest of these here cupcakes." She gestures to the tray with a dozen of my new favorite cupcakes on them, and waggles her eyebrows in a silly manner. "You'll love Bella. She's sweet and kind, smart, beautiful, and she knows how to cook. Anything. I'm not asking you to marry her or anything, but I think y'all would get along great. Plus she'll get a break from this place. If y'all don't hit it off, you go your separate ways. Simple."

I take a moment to think through this crazy proposition from this strange woman. "Okay Alice. You've got yourself a deal." She proceeds to do a happy dance with a squeal thrown in. I laugh because it's pretty comical. And then a thought dawns on me. "Alice, how do you know I don't have a girlfriend?" Immediately the happy squealing and dancing halts and Alice leans forward conspiratorially again.

"You're going to think I'm crazy…" She shakes her head and says "Ever since I can remember, I've had a sixth sense about people. A second sight if you will. I'm an excellent match maker and I can always tell when a person is good. Like you. And my husband, Jasper. So when I saw you, I instantly knew you and Bella would be good together." Alice frowns deeply "And now I've freaked you out! It's not as invasive or creepy as it sounds. I just get a deeper read on people than most. So If I had gotten a bad 'vibe' from you, I wouldn't have said anything."

Now normally, I don't believe in the supernatural, but the earnestness on her face makes me want to believe. "I believe you. I'm freaking the fuck out right now, but I believe you Alice." I chuckle nervously, because really! A clairvoyant.

Five minutes later, I leave Beautiful's Bakery with a full dozen of Double Chocolate Molten Caramel cupcakes and Bella Swan's phone number. My day is looking up.

I'm sitting in my office on a Sunday afternoon with my phone in my hand and a smile on my face. I've been exchanging texts with Bella all weekend, and I'm starting to think that alice was right. From our conversations I've seen that Bella is witty, sweet, and kind. I've yet to see her face, but I look forward to the day I do.

When I first called her on Friday after my lunch, Bella was extremely wary and demanding. She wanted to know who gave me her number and why. When I fessed up that it was Alice, she hung up on me. I stared at my wallpaper for a few minutes flabbergasted and a little butthurt. Seven minutes later, she called me back to apologize. I was tempted to call the whole thing off, but then she started mumbling to herself about being rude. I decided right then and there that I would give Bella the benefit of the doubt. If Alice thought we'd make a good pair, I at least had to see one date through.

It's Wednesday and I'm going on a date. Not just any date, but a blind date. All week long I've been looking forward to this. The more that I've texted Bella, the more my nerves have eased. I look at myself in the full length mirror on the back of my bedroom door. I struggled with what to wear before finally settling on my dark grey button down shirt, a pair of dark jeans, and a pair of classic low cut Chuck Taylors. I tug on my collar and undo a button. I've still got about an hour before I'm due to meet Bella at JavaBean. I have heard nothing but good things about that place, the highest of accolades coming from Bella. You know a restaurant is good when a baker complements it.

I walk into my living room and plop down on my sofa, turning up the volume on my flat screen. I listen to a recap of Mike and Mike arguing over who had the best stats of the year on ESPN. When I'm tired of their foolishness I change the channel to NBC. Kathy Lee and Hoda are sipping red wine and swooning over Blake Shelton (the dog), and I can't handle that. I switch off the TV and head towards my front door. I swoop up my wallet and keys from the bowl Esme gave me for my 'sofa table'. I walk to the elevator in my building and I see the doors sliding shut. I try to catch the doors before the close, going as far as yelling to the woman inside. I glimpse a head full of brown hair, pale skin, and a pair of white headphones before the doors shut all the way.

Damn. It.

I love living in Nueces Lofts, but these elevators are as ancient as the building. It can sometimes take as long as five minutes for the car to return. I step back and watch the old fashioned elevator floor indicator go all the way down to L for lobby slowly and then inch it's way back to the fourth floor.

The doors slide open and I quickly step in pressing the button for the lobby. I take a deep breath, and I catch the scent of flowery perfume and cookies. It's such an odd mixture that I breathe it in again and again, trying to tease it apart. It reminds me of something. I don't contemplate it for long because the elevator touches down on the first floor and I step out and hold the doors for an elderly couple.

My GPS directs me to turn into the lot of Java Bean and for a moment I'm confused. The parking is around the back, but the sign there says 'Parking for Executive Turf Club'. I park anyway and pray that I don't get towed. I lock up my car and start walking towards the red brick two story building I'm assuming is JavaBean. I spy what looks like the back entrance to the coffee shop and pull it open. I'm hit by a blast of coffee-infused cold air and a yelled out "Welcome to JavaBean!"

I take a look around and instantly like it. The decor is subdued, a mix of South American and 50's diner. There are giant coffee beans sacks hung on the walls for decoration and probably air freshening. The ceiling fan blades are made of wicker, and there's an entire wall covered in a bottle cap mural of the Americas. The coffee menu is written out on a giant chalkboard behind the counter, and there's a revolving rack full of sweets.

I think about all of the blind dates that I've been on (two), and I'm struck by a genius idea. I walk up to the counter and there's a bored girl with shoulder length curly brown hair reading a book. She's so engrossed that I have to clear my throat. She looks up in panic, resembling a cornered mouse, and I smile to reassure her. She stands so quickly that the barstool she was perched on almost topples over. She blushes furiously and whispers "I'm soooo sorry about that. Please don't tell my boss!" I wave a hand to show that it's not going to be a problem. "Okay then. How can I- I - mean what can I get for you?"

I put on my most winning smile and ask "Do you happen to have a sharpie that I can borrow? I'm meeting a friend here for the first time and I wanna make a sign." Her brow drops and I'm guessing that she expected a different answer. She reaches under the counter and comes out with an old coin box full of markers. "If you can get one of those to work for you, you're welcome to it. Lemme know when you're ready to order." She goes back to her stool, and I take a handful of sharpies and a few napkins to a table near the middle.

After writing out Bella's name in bold sharpie on a napkin, I return the markers to the girl behind the counter. I wait for what feels like forever. Everytime the door opens I search for my mystery girl. Brown hair and eyes, that's what Alice said. I'm about to give up after the fifth or sixth time that the door has swung open, and then it opens again. A beautiful woman walks in wearing a dress that hugs all of her curves. Her hair is brown, but it's a rich and lively brown. The wind blows and her hair dances on the breeze. Her makeup is beautiful and not overdone. In that moment I pray that it's Bella that just walked into JavaBean. With a hopeful smile on my face I hold up the sign that I made, and I wait. I watch as this woman's eyes sweep the room once, twice, a third time. I can see her brow drop, maybe in disappointment. I start to worry that maybe, just maybe, I'm not the man she's looking for. Finally her eyes focus on me and I watch enraptured as she reads her name and smiles. She walks to me a little unsurely, and I stand like Carlisle taught me to do so long ago. When Bella is standing directly in front of me, one thought echoes through my mind:

Thank you, Alice!

A/N: Thank you for reading! I just wanted to provide a glimpse into Edward's mind and to see how they came to meet.