Chapter 04

The scent of his cologne – one I was intimately familiar with – sent a shiver through my body as I remembered the days when he used to hold me so close. My body reacted involuntarily, pressing back into his chest just as he slid an arm around my waist.

"I'm so proud of you, Bella."

Goose bumps rippled across my flesh as his breath fanned across my ear. I turned in his arms, slipped a hand around his neck and smiled.

"I thought you weren't coming."

"I wouldn't miss my girl's big day."

I rolled my eyes and pushed us an arm's length apart. "Paul, I'm not your girl anymore, remember."

"How could I forget? My apartment's so cold and lonely without you in it."

"Please," I scoffed. "I seriously doubt the parade of women going in and out of that place has left either you or your apartment cold and lonely."

"But they're not you."

For a split second, his eyes dropped from mine and I thought I'd detected the barest hint of sadness in his voice, but that couldn't be possible. Not after nearly six years apart. I brushed it off, chalking it up to my overactive imagination.

"I am one of a kind," I teased.

"Yes, you are." He flashed a brilliant smile before his eyes lifted over my head to scan the room. "So, where is Mr. Wonderful tonight?"

My heart fell and I fought the urge to step back into Paul's arms, allowing him to comfort me.

"He's working," I answered dejectedly.

"Tonight! Are you serious?" he raged.

"It couldn't be helped." I shrugged.

"Bella, this is your big night. The night you've been waiting twelve years for and he couldn't bother to show up? What kind of man does that?"

His level of anger didn't surprise me one bit. Paul had always been protective of me. He had been since we were juniors in college and he watched his brother, Jared, break my heart. Feeling responsible for not warning me about him, Paul was the one to help me pick up the pieces and move on.

We were really good friends, but that all changed the day we had both been hired at Newton's and Paul kissed me for the first time. It wasn't meant to be the kind of kiss lovers shared but the instant he pulled away, we both realized we had wanted more.

For four years, we were everything to each other and even though he never asked, I fantasized constantly of our future together – married with kids and living that happily-ever-after kind of life I'd always dreamed of.

I wanted that life with Paul so much until the day Rosalie met her then boyfriend, Emmett, and he introduced us both to his brother, Edward. From that day forward, my life was never the same.