Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

I Hate You, Kiss Me

"It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them." - Pierre Beaumarchais

Chapter Three

Mondays seemed to be my significant day of the week—the day the tides turn so to speak. I ignored my emails, I ignored my morning coffee. I ignored these morning rituals at the office like playing hooky instead of going to school.

I snuggled deeper into my chair and propped my feet up on my desk because the only way to enjoy something sinful is to go all the way. I ran my index finger through the creamiest white frosting, slowly to enjoy the suspense. Edward was as good as his word, and did not skimp on delivering. That's right, a box of six cupcakes and from a high end bakery, not the kind sitting at the grocery store that taste like sponges. I looked at the dollop of frosting on my finger with triumph and then enjoyed it. My eyes rolled up in dessert ecstasy and I closed them with a moan.

"Enjoying yourself?"

I peeked an eye open to Alice standing in the doorway, still with her coat and bag on. I closed my eyes again for a moment, resisting the interruption.

"Ya know, people might get the wrong idea," she said with a grin as she dropped her coat and bag in her chair and half sat on a corner of my desk.

Instead of replying, I handed her one of these little cakes of heaven. She sampled one and moaned too. I giggled and continued eating mine. Alice got more comfortable and fully sat on my desk with her legs swinging over the edge like a kid at the playground.

"I'll never go back to low-fat sugar-free anything ever again," she sighed. "Where did you buy these?"

I finished chewing my last bite slowly and tossed the wax wrapper in the garbage before answering. "Mr. Cullen bought them for me," I replied casually over my coffee mug.

"Well that was very nice of Mr. Cullen," she said slowly and significantly.

"Oh please Alice, it's not like he sent flowers. Besides, it's called bargaining." I gulped down my coffee more quickly.

"Bargaining?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I'm evening the odds. If he thinks he's going to keep treating me like his personal lackey and rule the day, then he's never dealt with a Bella Swan."

"You're going to teach him a lesson by gaining weight?" Alice eyed the box of cupcakes.

I laughed dryly. "No, the cupcakes were for his ego. Men always think gift giving will clear them of responsibility and guilt. And that's when I make my move." I felt like I was giving Rocky a pep talk at the boxing ring.

Alice cackled gleefully. "Genius. Or you can just sleep with him again and get it over with. That should relax both of you."

"That is not what this is about and for God sakes lower your voice," I said irritably.

"You two seemed to have a good time Friday night."

I glared at her, preparing my lecture. "Yeah about that Alice—"

"I hear the clicking heels!" She jumped off my desk and scooted back to her chair.

I angled my head. "I don't hear anything," I hissed with a scowl and I rolled my chair around the half-wall to her. "Nice try."

She grinned like a sly elf at me. "So did anything happen after we left Jupiter?"

The four of us left the bar, stepping outside into the chilly air. Alice and Jasper were going in the opposite direction and said goodnight. I caught Alice wink at me as they turned to leave. I pretended it was more of a group goodbye so I ignored Edward and started walking in the direction of my apartment. He followed me at my elbow, easily keeping pace with me.

"There's no need to feel obligated, I can find my way home." I walked a bit hurriedly keeping my head held high but my eyes scanned the path before me. Admittedly, I'd had a few cocktails and tried to my head clear.

"Don't be absurd Bella." He faked a hurt look as if I had offended his chivalrous nature. "Your place is on the way to mine, I don't mind dropping you off." I couldn't guess how he knew where I lived.

When we walked further from the bar and restaurant scene, it quieted except for cars passing and our footsteps. Normally I would welcome the silence between us but tonight it was more of an annoying buzz, making my ears strain uncomfortably. Edward did not initiate any conversation and I certainly wasn't going to either. I breathed a sigh of relief as my apartment building finally came into view. The outside lights quietly illuminated the street.

I walked up the steps to the front door and heard Edward's footsteps on the pavement follow. I turned around with the intention of telling him I was fine and he could go home now, but he was so close that I almost slammed my face into his chest.

He looked down at me with amusement and steadied me with two firm hands on my arms. Before I could speak he leaned down toward my face and my breath hitched in surprise. I leaned away, biting my lower lip, unsure what a moment of weakness would mean tomorrow. His gaze dropped to my biting lips for a moment and then he leaned past them, grazing the bridge of his nose along my jaw slowly, light as a butterfly, leaving a path of sensations on my skin. I shivered as he paused right below my ear, his breath tickling my skin and whispered, "Goodnight Ms. Swan."

My pelvis fluttered and I swallowed nervously. Edward straightened reluctantly as his simmering eyes instantly changed back to complacent. He then smiled and walked back down the front steps. When my trembling body caught up with my brain, I jammed my keys in the lock and wrenched the door open. I shut it with a slam, my face flushed and my desires unsatisfied.

"Nothing happened," I said truthfully. I didn't know what kind of game Edward was playing but I was determined not to be played. I turned Alice's thoughts elsewhere. "In all seriousness, how am I supposed to behave around him? It's not everyday I rub up dancing against a coworker who happens to be higher up on the food chain than me."

"Well if you're that uncomfortable about the amazing chemistry you two share, then pretend the night didn't exist."

I ignored her implications. "And what if he brings it up?"

"Easy. Pretend he doesn't exist," she answered with a smile.

To my relief, Edward did not bring up the night at Jupiter though he seemed even more smug than usual. I was sure he thought those cupcakes had buttered me up real nice and I would suddenly wag my tail whenever he sent me on an errand.

I found a deep satisfaction in enjoying those cupcakes as I plotted his demise.

"Why don't you just get a dinner bell instead of interrupting my phone calls?" I asked through gritted teeth. I had plenty of work to do and was agitated more so when Edward called me into his office on the next afternoon.

Instead of the usual "here's a task" "there's an errand" and me stalking off with a string of curses under my breath, Edward called me into a cluttered office that resembled a paper factory.

Ignoring my temper he just said, "Sit."

My lips tightened. "I'm not a dog."

He sighed and moved a pile of papers off one of the chairs. "Please sit down Bella. I need you to help me organize all of this," he said in gentler tone, his eyes softened slightly.

I stood over the desk ogling at all the piles spanning across the surface of his work area. "I think we need a second desk. What is all this?"

He smiled at my little remark and sat down in his chair. "Conversations." I sat down across from him in the chair that he cleaned off. "So start with a pile and we'll need to skim all these conversations and high light the ones that are dated August 23rd." He tossed me a highlighter.

I reached across his desk for the phone. Edward looked startled. "What are you—"

I had already punched in Alice's extension. When she answered I told her where I was and what I was doing. "I'm not sure how long this will take, can you take over a few things for me?"

"Sure what do you need?"

"Great. I need you to FedEx the briefing report for the Quinn case, the address is on my desk written on the pink Post-it note. And then can you call Joel Madison to confirm his appointment with Mr. Lawrence?"

"Rose's father?"

"The other Mr. Lawrence. That's for tomorrow."

"You got it!"

"Thank you," I breathed.

"Haaaaave fun and don't do anything I wouldn't," she sang sweetly.

I made a face and hung up. Knowing Alice, there wasn't a whole lot she wouldn't do. When her and Jasper first started things up I would catch them making out or nuzzling each other in our office. I felt my cheeks burn a little at the memory.

Edward was staring at me, looking very satisfied. I ignored him and sat back down to work, hoping he hadn't overheard Alice's implications.

Edward would take a phone call occasionally but we worked mostly in silence. After awhile I glanced at my wrist watch. It was only half-past three, the hours moving at a snails pace. I tried to stifle a yawn.

Suddenly, Edward picked up his phone and dialed a code. "Lauren, can you please bring two large coffees to my office with creams and sugars. Thank you."

I thought he was ignoring me like I was him. "Thanks..." I muttered.

He laid his stack of papers on the table, stretched and loosened his tie, rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, exposing his forearms. My gaze wandered a bit to the well sculpted everything. Edward breathed a small chuckle. My eyes snapped to his smirking face, my expression souring.

"Why the hell do you always do that?" I grumbled in annoyance.

"Do what?" he taunted.

"That. Acting like an arrogant, egotistic, superior specimen of the male sex."

"Is that what you've been stewing about for the last hour?" His eyes were guarded and the smile didn't reach them, but it wasn't an unfriendly expression. I couldn't understand it.

"No, but you make it impossible just to be nice and friendly. And I'm not stewing."

"Nice or not—what does it matter? Men and women aren't supposed to be friends in any case."

There was a small knock at the door and Lauren came in with our coffees. She looked at me enviously, but she didn't know I would have switched our places if I could. I anxiously grabbed mine, letting the fresh roast dance over my senses. Opening a packet of sugar I protested, "Where do you get off thinking that?"

He took his coffee carefully and sipped it black. "It's simple. There's always the sex factor. It gets in the way of true friendship," he answered matter-of-factly.

"That's ridiculous. Emmett and I are the best of friends and we've never...we would never let it lead to anything else."

"Just because you haven't doesn't mean he never wanted to."

I blinked back with a frown and dumped the cream in my coffee. "Wow, she must have done a number on you." I shook my head, pitying him.

"Who?"

"Who ever she was that screwed your head up. Men and women can be friends without sexual tension. Just you and I can't be friends." I took a gulp of my coffee.

"Because of the sexual tension?" he quirked an eyebrow.

"Because you're a jerk."

We sat in silence for a bit sipping our coffee, shooting glares at each other.

"Is that even good?" Edward asked in distaste.

"Yes, it's the only good way to drink coffee. Clearly you don't want to keep your stomach lining."

"It's coffee in its natural form, the way it's supposed to taste. Your concoction is meant to transform it altogether." Extending a slender index finger, he pointed to my cup. "Whatever that is, it isn't coffee anymore."

To disprove him, I gulped the rest down.

~/~/~/~

I decided that looking for ways to get back at Edward wouldn't work because he usually had the upper hand. I also didn't want to be childish and leave whoopee cushions on his chair and super glue quarters to his desk—as tempting as that was. I figured whenever the opportunity presented itself, I would take advantage of it. Sure enough, two weeks later my opportunity came knocking in the form of Jessica Stanley.

I sat at my desk scheduling court hearings, trying to compromise on dates and times between the judge's office and Rosalie. The process was tedious until an agreement was made and by the afternoon things were finally settled. After that I headed to Edward's office with a folder of original documents he had asked me to make copies of and file. The evil bastard.

His office door was ajar so I knocked lightly and opened it all the way to find Mr. Lawrence seated across Edward's desk. They were discussing a project so I stepped backward preparing to close the door.

"Hold on there Ms. Swan." Even if Edward wasn't my boss, his voice could still make me pause. With the beckoning of his hand, he invited me in. "I think Ms. Swan would be great for the job actually," he suggested, turning back to Mr. Lawrence.

Approaching cautiously, I wondered what Edward had just signed me up for. "That would be fine. Ms. Swan, would you like to work with Edward this week on putting together a presentation for the Rodriguez case?"

I looked back to Edward who was smirking like he had a royal flush at a poker game. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction and it was clear they weren't really giving me a choice. I heard Jessica pass by the doorway giggling about something to a coworker, and that's when the light bulb went on in my head.

I put on my most angelic smile and turned to Mr. Lawrence. "Actually I think Ms. Stanley would be perfect for the job. You know how good she is planning things out and I wouldn't want to leave Rosalie and Alice swamped." I batted my eye lashes for the added affect.

Mr. Lawrence beamed at me. "Oh that's perfect! Ms. Stanley would really bring some character to the project and win over the jury. And we don't want my daughter left high and dry..." he continued babbling and I turned my fixed smile to Edward.

"Mr. Cullen, why don't you buzz Ms. Stanley in right now and you can tell her the good news." I urged innocently.

Edward looked at me with murder in his eyes as he slowly picked up the phone. Mr. Lawrence clapped his hands together. "Yes! Tell Ms. Stanley - gracious girl she is - and I'll inform my brother of the good news."

Jessica came bouncing into the room. "You wanted to see me sir?" she asked eagerly.

Edward shot a glare my way and my smile widened. Before he could change his mind now that we weren't under Mr. Lawrence's watchful eye, I took the liberty. "Yes Jessica, I thought it would be great if you helped Mr. Cullen on a project this week. You're so good at organizing things and he's really going to need a lot help."

Her whole face lit up like she was about to meet Brad Pitt.

"Well I've got to get back to work so I'll leave the rest to you, Edward." Mr. Lawrence muttered excitedly on his way out.

As soon as he was gone, Jessica turned to me. "Thank you Bella, I'm glad you acknowledged my qualifications for the job this all sounds great! I'll need to see everything so I know what colors to choose, oh there's so many details we should talk it over at dinner, I won't let you down, Mr. Cullen." She left the room squealing and telling anyone who would listen.

I glanced back to Edward who had turned pale, his brow worried, his eyes frightened. The formidable, self-important Edward Cullen was cowering and at a loss for words! I threw my head back laughing uncontrollably. He snapped a pencil in half at his desk. The sound immediately sobered me up. His murderous countenance was back on his perfect face, giving him a dangerous look. I fought the urge to pounce on him in a fit of angry passion. Averting my gaze, I swallowed back a nervous cackle as I left my folder on his desk and strutted out of his office.

It rains in Seattle all the time but this week it was particularly bad; people were bulking up with trench coats and umbrellas. Not even the weather could put a damper on my humor. I floated to work every morning like a twirling professional figure skater in triumph. I didn't hear from Edward all week and I had a feeling Jessica had bolted the door to his office from the inside.

I almost felt guilty. Almost.

Alice tisked with disapproval, claiming that no one deserved that much of Jessica Stanley. But my resentment for Edward had been piling for weeks and my outlet came in the form of the most annoying gal in the office.

I had more time now to catch up with the rest of my work. My desk had started resembling a storage closet of piled folders and bankers boxes. Once I caught up, I even got to leave work a little early and get a lot of personal errands out of the way.

I hit the grocery store, eager to get a large trip done instead of my usual 'grab a few things for the week and scram'. I took my time reading ingredients, examining fruit, and envisioning all the dinners I wanted to make. The automated doors opened and the cold air rushed inside, disturbing my deep thoughts on chicken piccata. A familiar bronze head caught my eye.

Edward wheeled his grocery cart in and I almost died. I ducked behind the apples hastily and a few tumbled to the ground. People were looking at me like I was a crazy person, but I didn't care. Why the hell am I the bearer of bad luck? I guess only living twelve blocks from each other we were bound to use the same grocery store... I poked my head over the fruit venue and didn't see him anymore. Fumbling, I picked up the apples on the ground pretending to buy them and smiled sheepishly at rudely staring customers.

I pushed my cart forward, casting furtive glances behind me. I decided to wrap up my shopping trip sooner than later and rounded the corner. There he was, his back facing me, picking a box of mac n' cheese off the shelf. I made a quick U-turn and darted down the next aisle.

"Hey!" an old lady snapped at me as my cart missed her by mere inches.

Suddenly, it was the perfect time to call my mother back. If Edward saw me he wouldn't be able to approach me if I was on the phone. That is...if he wasn't still furious with me over the Jessica thing.

After five rings I was about to give up when Renee finally answered. "Hi mom!" I greeted a little too anxiously.

"Bella sweetie! How are you? I won't say I'm not disappointed that you never call me but while I've got you here....." I let her prattle on as she updated me on every insignificant detail from her last meal to the neighbor's new curtains. I wheeled the cart through a few more aisles picking things out and tossing them in with less consideration than before. "And Phil might have a signing in Florida, I've already shopped for new clothes. They all wear the color salmon down there, don't they? And white wicker sandals! I saw the cutest pair and said to myself 'Renee you just have to buy those'..."

As I headed for the checkout, I thought I saw Edward a few lanes up waiting in line. "That sounds great mom! Err—what was the last thing you said? Um, I bet Phil is really excited." I tried to sound convincing as I loaded my items onto the conveyer belt. My mother wasn't impressed.

"Sweetie, you alright? Is it a boy that's got you all worked up?" she asked, sounding hopeful. A nervous giggle burst through my lips.

"Boys? Oh mom you know me…" I wheedled and glanced in Edward's direction. He bagged his groceries and to my relief, walked out through the automated exit. Before she could interrogate me I interrupted with, "Mom I'm in line at the grocery store so I'll talk to you later. Say Hi to Phil."

"Byeeeee!" she sang and I flipped my phone shut. I took a deep breath and smiled at the cashier. Maybe I wouldn't take long grocery trips anymore, or I would find another store further away from my apartment. The stress wasn't worth it, I contemplated, bagging my items.

Monday came up fast and I saw that Jessica had finally resurfaced. She was still smiling dreamily and I wondered if she had actually gotten more from Edward than just doing the project. I frowned at my lap and battered away my jealousy. I didn't want a man like Edward, arrogant, snarky, flirtatious, gorgeous...

But I didn't see or hear from him at all Monday. Or Tuesday. Or even Wednesday. I hated to admit it but I was starting to get worried that I had really offended him. Maybe after working with Jessica he was unable to forgive me. This is what I wanted all along, for Edward to just leave me alone, right?

If Edward hated me... for some reason that bothered me now.

I debated on whether to go to his office with some lame excuse of giving him a file folder. Then Edward's triumphant grin surfaced in my mind. Hell no! I was not that girl. I kept my ass glued in my chair and worked for the rest of the day.

"Something wrong Bella?" Alice inquired behind the half-wall. She must have heard me huffing or sighing.

"Nothing," I muttered.

Thursday came and I didn't expect much change. Edward was at the courthouse today. I settled into my desk with coffee in hand, staring blankly at my monitor. I did some work here and there but still felt spaced out. A hand waved in front of my face.

"Bella, what the heck is wrong with you today?" Alice was bent over, hands on hips, her expression full of concern and annoyance.

"Huh?"

"Did you see a three legged dog on your way to work this morning?"

I cleared my throat self-consciously. "No, I'm fine. What's up Alice?"

"I said, the museum is having an exhibition on Da Vinci's pencil drawings November twenty-first. You want to go?"

I sat up in my chair and flipped through my planner. "Can't. That's the weekend before Thanksgiving. My friends from high school, Ben and Angela are coming for a visit."

"They're the married high school sweethearts you've mentioned before."

"Yup," I confirmed with a smile. "When they visit their families in Forks for the holidays, they usually make it a point to see me in Seattle."

"Well the exhibit will be out for a month so we can plan another date to see it."

"Sure thing." My spirits already felt lighter. Alice had a way of cheering me up with simply her presence.

Suddenly, Jessica skidded to a halt across the room right outside of Rosalie's office in a panic. The commotion drew my attention and I briskly approached her doorway to see what was wrong.

"And he's already at the courthouse!" Jessica yelped.

"You better get there and deliver before Edward has to request a recess and wait for you," Rosalie snapped as she walked from around her desk.

"What's the problem?" I asked a little panicky myself.

"Jessica forgot to put this last presentation board in the pile that Edward took off with." She glared at the trembling girl.

"Give it to me I'll take care of it."

"But it's my fault," Jessica whimpered stubbornly.

"I'm the one that suggested you for the project. If you screw up, I get into trouble too," I bit back.

With a confirming nod from Rosalie, I snatched it out of Jessica's hands and scurried out the door.

"I just wanted it to be perfect!" Jessica's wail floated from behind.

I grabbed my keys and coat.

"What—"

"Later Alice," I called and ran down the staircase.

Use stairways in case of fire or emergency.

This was an emergency.

~/~/~/~

I drove fast down the obstacle course that was downtown Seattle. I almost broke a heel off my Franco Sartos on the stone steps while balancing the darn presentation board and my purse. I must have resembled a sheep on its hind legs and a string of curses fluttered under my breath. Why do court houses always have lots of stairs?

I went through security screening and obtained which court room the trial was held from the personnel at the front desk.

"Ma'am, the court is in session," the guard at the door reminded me.

"It won't be for much longer if they don't have this." I pointed to the presentation board.

Wordlessly he opened the door and I quietly snuck in. The room wasn't packed but there were a few families and friends on the defendant's side. It wasn't difficult to spot the bronze hair sitting at the front with Mr. Lawrence. The other Mr. Lawrence—Rose's quiet uncle—sat in the first row. Other than the few reporters scribbling notes and some other businessmen I didn't recognize, there weren't a ton of people on our side of the courtroom.

I crept to a row and sat down behind Edward. He heard the small noise of paper sliding and looked behind him to see me push the board in so it rested against his chair with the others. When he saw me he looked very surprised and then understanding flooded his features. He gave me a quick smile and turned back to face the judge.

Maybe he wasn't mad at me. Maybe he had just been busy.

Instead of going back to work I decided I wanted to see the trial. It was a case on document fraud and the defendant was accused of making fake marriage certificates to get immigrants into the country. Mr. Lawrence questioned a few witnesses who purchased or saw a business exchange from the defendant. I didn't even want to know how many deals were struck just to get witnesses to testify for this. These people didn't want to give up their freedom here and possibly get deported back to their respective countries.

When the social circumstances were verified, Mr. Lawrence humbly announced, "Your Honor, my co-counselor Mr. Cullen has further evidence that these documents are fraudulent and is ready to question the defendant."

The Judge was perched up in her seat like a vulture. "Proceed counselor."

Edward gracefully stood, not an ounce of nervous sweat on him, and efficiently set up the presentation boards on a makeshift easel for the jury and defendant to view.

"Mr. Rodriguez," he started and pulled a few samples of the documents that were in plastic evidence bags from the table. "Did you create all of these?"

Mr. Rodriguez, a heavy set man with olive skin and black short hair resembled the elephant terrified of the mouse. He pointed a shaky finger to the bag in Edward's left hand. "Only that one."

Edward placed them back on the table and approached the boards. Jessica's work wasn't bad to look at, but the borders seemed a little frivolous. They were all black and beveled with a strip of color around the edge between the beveled angle and the white of the page. Every board had two photos on each. On the left was the real document and on the right was the fake. He pointed out distinctions between the two and then the similarities between all the fake certificates. "And here you can see the same line, off by two millimeters where—"

"Objection! Your Honor, how are these miniscule details relevant?" The defendant's lawyer, Mr. Scott had the complexion of tomato red.

"Overruled. Mr. Cullen I hope you have a point."

"And I'm getting to it right now," he answered cheerfully.

The defendant had beads of sweat breaking out on his brow by this point.

"Mr. Rodriguez, every artist has a style in his work. Every single one of these documents on the table has the same flaws, the same trademark, the same signature if you will allow the term. We only have one witness who admits dealing with you first hand but the trail is clear that all of these certificates were made by the same person. So I ask you again Mr. Rodriguez, did you create all of these?"

"How in the—!" Mr. Scott blurted in disbelief.

"No further questions your Honor," Edward stated calmly.

Murmuring went around the room and Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Scott started bickering. Amidst the commotion Edward coolly packed up everything and went back to his seat next to Mr. Lawrence. He looked very satisfied with himself and actually winked at my awestruck expression.

The judge's bellow halted everyone. "This court is still in session! Anyone I have to reprimand again will be detained." She glared at Mr. Scott threateningly.

Silence fell on the room and the proceedings continued. Mr. Scott was losing his case when enough evidence was conclusive and other professional statements confirmed Edward's reasoning. The jury found Mr. Rodriguez guilty; he was sentenced to ten months in jail and released only under observation for the two years after that. Some family members were whimpering and sniffling on the other side of the room.

With a final tap the judge announced, "This court is adjourned."

Everyone stood up respectfully until the judge walked out of the room to her chambers. The rest of us started filing out as Edward and Mr. Lawrence shook hands and then shook hands with their opponent, Mr. Scott.

I despised Edward's arrogance, but I could see that it wasn't completely undeserved. He had a way of owning the room and his arguments were based on real reasoning from the evidence, not reverse psychology and badgering the witness like other lawyers did. I waited outside the court room, hoping to catch him up on his way out.

"A job well done kid. See you back at the office," Mr. Lawrence said in his deep, raspy voice and winked at Edward. When Edward caught my eye he bid Mr. Lawrence good bye and walked over diagonally down the stone steps, still carrying his things. The setting sun made his hair glow fiery tones.

"Thanks for bringing that last board, it was the most important one," he said, smiling a contagious smile.

"I didn't know that. I saved both our asses today I guess," I replied with wide eyes.

"You did. I didn't realize it was missing until you brought it. That's scarier than just forgetting it." He cringed at what the disaster could have been and ran a hand through his hair to quell the nerves.

I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It all turned out well."

"Thanks to you," he reminded with reverence.

I looked away embarrassed and we continued walking down the steps again. I sensed a new mood between us. We were back on equal levels again.

"I'm sorry I paired you up with Miss Disaster Stanley..."

"I deserved it. Well not all of it. She is one determined flirt."

"But you survived I see." A smile played on my lips.

"Barely."

"You are so dramatic." I rolled my eyes at him, trying to not envision Jessica's brazen attempts.

"So I was thinking of how horrible it was last week working with her. I know you were on a quest for revenge but..." He paused.

I looked at him quizzically. I'd never heard Edward sound unsure with words before. "But what?" I urged.

"Do you really loathe working with me the way I loathed working with Jessica?" He was curiously staring at the side of my face as we walked.

I was thinking, choosing my words carefully because I was still confused about my own feelings. Instead, I answered with another question. "Why didn't you bother me this week? I thought you enjoyed tormenting me to death."

He looked frustrated by my tactic but smiled a little. Then he gave a one shouldered shrug as he was carrying the boards in his other arm. "Did you miss being tormented?"

"Why are you avoiding the question?" I huffed.

"Why are you?" he asked calmly.

"Well I did miss arguing with you," I replied sardonically.

He laughed deep and throaty at that. "Let's just call it a truce then. You're not bad Ms. Swan."

"Fair enough Mr. Cullen," I teased.

Edward had really impressed me today, even if he was a thorn in my thigh. We walked towards my car together as the sun set behind the foggy horizon.