A/N *Peeks in* *Waves* So sorry for the delay! If you read the last update of Shameless you read that I got burnt out. Between all the o/s I wrote I just needed a mental break. Basically I lost my mojo for awhile. It's back now! I promise not to make you wait so long for the next one! I'll have my prereaders keep me on track. Lol.

Xxo to all those who helped! You know that I love you and I couldn't do it without you. ;)

All grammar mistakes are my own… I like to tinker 0_o

Please read my thanks at the end!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not a single thing. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Stephenie Meyer. There is no copyright infringement intended.

BPOV

My head throbbed and I could hear a familiar voice calling out my name. It sounded as if I was underwater, the voice was garbled and almost inaudible, but I would recognize it anywhere.

Edward.

"Bella? Bella, can you hear me?" he stated, his voice finally piercing through my haze. I opened my eyes, blinking through the fog as it drifted away. Had I really just passed out? I looked up and focused on Edward's face. His eyes were aflame, his pupils dilated. He looked like an animal that had finally obtained his prey. I shuddered with a sudden desire to be devoured by him. Then the image came flooding back to me. Edward… blond… kissing…

Looking around I noticed that a crowd had started to form. I wasn't sure how long I'd been out, but I was thoroughly embarrassed that I had suddenly become the center of attention.

"Bella? Are you okay? Nod if you can hear me." I looked back at Edward who was now hovering over me so close that I could smell his aftershave, Old Spice. The same brand he'd worn in high school; he hadn't changed at all.

I nodded minutely hoping that this would be enough for him to back up and give me some space. My mind was reeling from the scene I'd been privy to, the questions that had flooded my mind, and the decision that I'd made. My world felt like it was collapsing inward; I needed to breathe.

"I'm fine, Edward. Can you let me up now?" I asked finally finding my voice. My mind was begging for him to go away, but my heart was demanding that he stay. He offered me his hand and I took it, trembling slightly. Every time we touched it was hard for me to pull away. My heart would race, thundering radically in my chest and I would always find myself breathless. This time was no different.

Immediately upon his grasping my hand in his, my heart took off, fluttering rapidly in my chest and my breathing picked up. Apparently, time hadn't calmed my foolish reactions to this man, and with everything that was now our soon to be fate, I realized I was officially screwed.

"Bella, you sure you're okay?" he inquired sounding genuinely concerned bringing up his other hand to stroke my cheek. Staring into his eyes, my hand in his, I was momentarily lost. I wondered how it would feel to have him pull me close and wrap me in his arms. How would his lips feel on mine? Soft and gentle? Would he put his hand on my waist or cup my face?

"Edward? What the hell?" complained an annoying female voice beside me that suddenly brought me back to reality.

"Jane, not now!" he yelled turning toward the voice. Jane. So the blond has a name.

"Bella, are you alright?" I turned around and saw my father's assistant, Riley, looking at me worried. "I saw you falling and I tried to help but you were out of it. I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine, Riley, really. Thank you for helping." Behind me I could hear Edward whisper yelling to Jane. Not interested in their heated conversation I changed the subject. "Where's Garrett?"

"Right here, ma'am," Garrett replied tipping his hat. "Are you sure you're okay? I can take you to the hospital if you'd like," Garrett suggested. He was my chauffer essentially, but most recently had stepped in as my bodyguard protecting me from any unwanted attention. I wished he had been here a few moments ago.

"Yes, you should go. I'll ride with you," Edward piped up randomly. Anger started to boil inside of me. Where the hell did his girlfriend go and why was he suddenly worried about what I was or wasn't doing.

"No, that won't be necessary," I clipped righting myself and smoothing my skirt out. "Garrett, please just take me home." Garret nodded waving his hand toward the awaiting car.

"Bella, you need to go to the hospital," Edward stated again more forcefully this time. "You hit your head pretty hard." I couldn't believe this. Was he being serious right now? How could he have seen anything with the parasite attached to his face? It was then that my verbal filter went completely off.

"How would you know, Edward? Huh? Was it when Jane first wrapped her arms around you? Or, wait, was it when she kissed you and you kissed her back? How do you even know what happened?" I screamed. I began to shake from anger, my face growing increasingly hotter. Edward looked shocked at my outburst then worried. He reached for my hand, but I instinctively pulled away. "Don't touch me," I hissed at him.

"What's going on out here?" my dad asked from behind me. I looked over to see him now standing near Riley, Carlisle at his side.

"Yes, son, what exactly is going on?" Carlisle inquired glaring at Edward, his eyebrows raised, his arms crossed across his chest.

"Nothing, Dad, Bella fainted and bumped her head, and I was merely suggesting that she go to the hospital to get checked out. She has refused."

"Bella, is this true?" my dad asked now suddenly at my side looking at my head for injuries.

"Dad, it's nothing. You know how clumsy I am. I'm fine, really," I claimed absently rubbing my elbow and pulling away from his inspection.

"I don't know, Bell. Maybe you should go get checked out just to be on the safe side." It was pointless to fight him when he had made up his mind and by the tone of his voice I could tell that is exactly what he had done. I shot an evil glare at Edward who had a smug look on his face as if he had won a contest. With that, I nodded my agreement to my father and began to walk toward the car. Garrett offered me his arm to escort me and I was thankful for the help. I still wasn't a hundred percent stable after my fall, and if I was being honest with myself, going to the hospital wasn't such a bad idea.

"Edward, we'll take Bella to the hospital. You need to stay here and meet with Aro," Carlisle advised as Garrett opened the door for me and I entered into the back seat.

"Dad, I really think I should come with you guys. I can call Aro and reschedule," Edward counteracted looking almost panicked at the thought of having to stay behind.

"No, son, you know that's not possible. Aro is leaving first thing tomorrow morning for Italy and won't return for a few weeks. It has to be today." Carlisle shot me a worried look and lowered his voice. "Bella has already done her part in this so you need to complete yours. I'll ride with them to the hospital, but I'll call you later with an update, okay?" Edward nodded.

My emotions were in turmoil. I wanted him to join us because I was unexplainably drawn to his presence; something that apparently no matter how hard I tried to fight could not be turned off. At the same time the sane part of me needed him far away so that I could clear my head and think straight.

As the car drove away, I looked back to see Edward standing on the sidewalk, hands in his pockets, staring at our retreating vehicle with a conflicted look. I wasn't sure what he was conflicted about. Part of me hoped it was about me but the logical part of my brain reasoned it most likely involved a certain blond.

"Everything's going to be alright, Bella," my father assured me, patting my hand. I looked briefly at Carlisle who was looking at me sadly before turning away. I wondered briefly what he was thinking about. Did he see his son with Jane? Is that why he was sad? Does he think this agreement was a bad idea? I turned toward the window and sighed.

In my mind I was relaying all of my past encounters with Edward. This was the first time I could remember that he'd actually touched me without being forced to. He'd touched me before, of course, but always because of some mandated reason or another, whether it was when our moms were teaching us how to dance and stuck us together as partners or when I got stuck on the monkey bars when I was five and he helped me down, but it was never on his own accord. It was always out of obligation. And the look in his eyes was different. Before, he looked at me like I was his little sister or someone he had to deal with because I was always around whether he wanted me or not. The look he'd just given me was burned into my memory. It was as if his eyes were on fire, an unknown emotion lighting them.

After I got the all clear from the hospital, Garrett drove back toward the law office.

"It was good to see you again, Isabella. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again soon," Carlisle leaned forward hugging me slightly before retreating.

"Bella, I'm going to be a little while longer. I have a few loose ends to tie up, but Garrett will take you back to your apartment and we'll talk later, okay?" my dad said.

"That's fine, Dad."

"Remember to take it easy, kid," he warned.

"I will," I replied. He gave me a kiss on my forehead before heading out.

Garrett took me home and walked me to my door. "Have a good night, Miss Swan," he reached out and opened my door for me.

"Thank you, Garrett, but you know I've told you to call me Bella."

"Okay, Bella," he conceded. "Have a good night."

I spoke to my dad later on and found out that Edward had signed the papers. We were officially 'committed' now.

"We'll talk details later, but Esme wants you to go by the house this Sunday," he stated and I groaned. I loved Esme, really I did. My mother had passed away shortly after I was born and Esme had raised me like her own, but I knew this conversation was going to be nothing but wedding talk. Esme was over the moon that I was marrying her son. She had always told me I was her daughter but now it would be official.

"I know she can be overbearing, Bella, but just let her go through this with you. You know she's only trying to help since your mother isn't here. I'll have Garrett make an excuse for you to leave if it takes too long. Also, Alice will be there, too." I groaned again. I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through this conversation with both of them. To say they were excited would be an understatement.

I received a text later from Alice confirming that I was coming over on Sunday to discuss wedding details. I agreed but told her if I saw even a wisp of white fabric anywhere in sight I was leaving immediately. I wasn't ready for that quite yet.

I received a text a few moments later, and assuming it was Alice, I ignored it. I really didn't want to read her excuses. After I'd showered and returned to my room, I realized I had five text messages and one missed call all from an unknown number.

Hi, how are you?

I'm sorry.

Are you okay?

Are you ignoring me?

One missed call.

I'm sorry. Please don't ignore me.

Who in the world was texting me? As I was contemplating who it could be my phone rang again. Hesitantly, I answered.

"Hello?"

"Bella?" the familiar voice questioned.

"Yes?" I sighed. Who'd given him my phone number?

"It's Edward."

"I know it's you, Edward. What do you want?" I snapped. I closed my eyes to stave off the image of him and Jane that was flooding my mind again.

"Oh. Okay. I was calling to see if you were okay?"

"I'm fine Edward. Thank you for calling," I waited for him to say goodbye, but was met with silence. A moment later he spoke.

"Bella, do you think we can meet for lunch or dinner sometime soon?"

"Why?" I asked, suddenly aware that Edward was really asking to see me.

"So we can talk about this," he sighed. I could imagine him sitting on his couch running his hands through his hair over and over again.

"Do we need to talk about it? What's done is done."

"Bella, I think we need to talk about it. We need to at least try, don't you think?" I pondered his statement. Try. He was willing to try. That was more than I had been expecting.

"Okay. We can meet. When and where?"

"How about tomorrow at seven? I'll pick you up."

"Okay. Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. I'll see you then." With that he hung up. As I saved his phone number in my phone I started thinking how odd it was that we were just now going to talk about this.

It wasn't like I didn't know Edward. I probably knew him just as well as anyone in his family, but we had never talked about our impending nuptials. Up until today it was only a possibility, but now it was official.

I had no idea how he felt about it. Was he excited? Was he scared?

As I lay down and attempted to sleep I knew this conversation was desperately needed, but I wasn't sure if I was ready for it. Edward was right, though. We needed at least to try.

There is no set time frame known for how long it takes a diamond to form. It all depends on the conditions surrounding it. If the conditions are right from the beginning, then a diamond can form fast; however, if they change, then a diamond can stay in limbo forever. I was hoping that my conversation with Edward would let me know exactly where we stood—forming or potentially lost forever.

A/N

Hope it was worth the wait! I know it was mostly filler but we are getting into the good stuff! Please leave a review and let me know what you think;)

Thank you to my beta coachlady12! Please go check out her stories on her ff site they are amazing! She has a finished one Dangerous Corporate Liaisons and a WIP Guarding Bella Swan. Both awesome so go now! 2113307/coachlady1

Thank you to my prereaders: 84Gemma and Cherieblossum

Please check out 84Gemmas lovely polyvore's for the fic on my profile.

Please check out Cherieblossums fic at .net/u/2116857