When he stopped the car around ten minutes later, we were parked by the side of the road. I looked out of the car nervously, and asked tremulously, "Did we break down?"
Edward shook his head a fraction and slid out of the car, like a sea snake moving fluidly through a stream of water. "This is a Volvo, Quinn. It doesn't break down."
"I'm vehicle illiterate," I answered, watching him as he walked around the front to open my door. "So does this mean we're going on foot from here?"
"It's not far, I promise," he said. "Otherwise trust me, I would have told you to bring more sensible footwear."
"What's wrong with my shoes?" I asked indignantly, staring down at my tanned feet.
"Nothing," he replied smoothly, crooking his elbow so I could step out.
"Good," I answered grumpily. "These cost me almost one hundred and fifty dollars. Tony Bianco doesn't make cheap sandals."
Edward tried to hide his smile as he led the way through a small path in the overgrown bush. "I like a woman who takes care of herself."
I liked that he'd called me a woman. It almost made up for the fact that I was going hiking instead of on some wonderfully posh dinner. "I like to be appreciated," I shot back flirtatiously. I intertwined by hand with his as we started to walk. His grip was icy cold, but I didn't flinch. I was certain that the frigid weather had turned my hands into ice cubes as well.
We took a couple of steps in silence, and then Edward's grip tightened.
"Do you want to get there a little faster?" he asked, his voice somewhat tentative.
"That depends," I responded sarcastically, tripping over a raised tree root. "Did you bring your rocket launcher pants?"
"I'll assume that's that famous Australian humour coming through," he said drily. "No, I mean, I can get us there a little quicker. If you like. But I just want to make sure you trust me."
"Sure," I shrugged, tugging the hem of my sweater down a little.
He glanced at me sideways out of the corner of his eye. "If you're certain."
"Jesus, Edward," I said. "What's the big deal? If you can get us there quicker, then go ahead-"
It all happened so quickly. One moment, I was trudging through the dirt, wincing as my beautiful shoes collected mud, and in the next, I had just touched the ground, my head spinning and my eyes adjusting to the shimmering light. I pressed my fingertips gingerly to my temples.
"We're here," Edward said quietly, unabashedly scooping my hand into his own and gently propelling me forward. His hesitant and careful manner made me smirk to myself. He hadn't been so shy and unassuming earlier when we were sharing a locked cubicle.
I heard him snort, and his grip became more vice-like. "Just here will do, Quinn," he murmured, setting down the basket he'd brought with him. I'd barely noticed it before now. It was small and wicker, with an embroidered dual-opening cover. He produced a folded tartan blanket and spread it along the ground, so that the sparse dew dotting the grass wouldn't stain our clothes. "You can sit."
"That's a nice basket," I said, dropping to the ground.
"It belongs to my adoptive mother, Esmé," he replied, settling himself next to me. "One of her prize possessions, actually."
"It looks quite old," I commented, running my hand over the pleated wicker. "Has it been in her family for years?"
"Something like that."
I nodded to myself, and opened my mouth to keep speaking, but for some reason, my mind went blank. I searched the corners of my brain, tiny frown lines appearing between my eyes, but I couldn't seem to pinpoint exactly what I'd been thinking. I knew I wanted to ask him something important. Something about getting here. But what the hell had it been?
"So, Quinn Hadley," he said, breaking into my stilted thoughts. "Tell me about yourself."
We spoke for a while, bantering back and forth like a couple who had been dating forever, before he asked the question that I knew was coming. It was inevitable.
"How come you moved all the way over to rainy little Forks?"
I pushed that niggling questions to the back of my mind. "Well, I moved here with my mother and father after my grandmother died. We used to live with her in her big house in Queensland, on the Sunshine Coast. She had one of those big beach-front houses, with the double-story balconies and whatever. It was a beautiful place. One morning we woke up and she was lying at the bottom of the stairs. She'd tripped in the middle of the night on the way downstairs. I guess she wanted a glass of water or something. When she died, Dad couldn't stand the thought of living there without her. He didn't even want to be in the region as that house. Instead of just moving somewhere else in Australia, he decided on Forks. So here I am."
"Here you are," Edward agreed, pulling a bottle of wine from the basket. He poured some into a plastic glass and handed it to me with a flourish. "I'm sorry to hear that. Losing a family member is never easy."
Was it something about the Volvo? Maybe it had been making funny sounds. "Edward-" I began.
"What about yourself, though?" Edward prodded. "What are your likes? Dislikes? What's your favourite food? Where did you like to go on the weekends?
"Are you for real?" I blurted out. I self-consciously twisted a curl around my finger. "I mean, what do you care?"
"Well, I'm finding myself starting to care about you," he said smoothly, watching me as I downed the glass of wine in a couple of gulps. Not very lady-like, but you've got to understand my passion for wine.
"Oh," I answered, feeling stupid. "I'm just not used to having guys actually ask about me. What I like and whatever. Chomper only ever asked how I felt if it meant I couldn't give him a lift home from Surfers that night.
"Chomper?" Edward said disdainfully, an eyebrow raised.
"My ex boyfriend from back home," I muttered.
"Why Chomper?" he asked, a teasing smile lighting up his face.
I shrugged. "He had big teeth. These big white, straight teeth."
"Like a vampire?" Edward said suddenly. He wiggled his eyebrows up and down and I laughed grudgingly.
"Not so much. More like a big, spoilt brat whose dentist tried to cram one too many teeth into his mouth," I said savagely, pouring myself another glass of sparkling Eden.
"You've got a good sense of humour," Edward said.
"You've got good taste," I responded, taking another sip. "This wine is a great year. And this place is beautiful. I have to admit, when you firs stopped the car, I wasn't entirely sure that I'd enjoy tonight. But so far it's been nice. Different. Not at all what I'm used to... but nice."
"I'm glad I'm different to the others," Edward whispered huskily. He pushed the basket onto the grass and slid down onto his elbows, never taking his eyes off me. A lock of bronze hair fell over one eye.
My breath caught in my throat. He seemed to do it so easily. He just dazzled me. I completely forgot whatever I was thinking, and my head would just go blissfully blank. It was as if he could just cloud my mind. "Thanks a lot," I said throatily.
"What?" he asked, nudging the wine glass out of my hand and pulling me down so I was lying flat on my back, staring up into his face.
"You," I answered, a thousand different threads of thought running through my mind, yet at the same time, I struggled to follow one conscious stream of words. "You can just... distract me. I don't know how the hell you do it. I've been trying to remember something ever since we sat down here, but I just can't put my finger on it."
He traced my protruding collarbones, and it felt as though he was running an icecube over my bare skin. It was delicious. "Have you been trying to think of a way to thank me for taking you to my secret spot? You're the only girl I've ever taken here."
"This place is your secret spot?"
He nodded, his fingers moving lower. "As far as I know, I'm the only one who comes here," he confirmed. A twig snapped somewhere in the distance, and I jerked instinctively. "The only person, anyway," he amended. "This meadow is filled with God's creatures. I'm with one of the most beautiful creatures he ever made."
"I think it's a wonderful spot," I said, snuggling closer to his chest. "Thank you for taking me. I don't know how I can repay you, but I'm sure I can think of a way." His chiselled chest felt so smooth underneath my fingers. My head filled with naughty thoughts, and I felt him smother a laugh.
Shifting slightly, Edward leant forward, brushing my hair away from my neck. "You're very beautiful, Quinn," he said softly. "Have I told you that?"
"Not enough," I replied, moving so he had better access to my face. He placed his fingers under my chin and turned my head so I was facing the meadow. The light shone through the trees and danced over the dew-covered grass, throwing shards of rainbows into the air like a dozen diamonds suspended in the muggy air. The only way I could possibly do the meadow justice would be trying to describe it as a fairy kingdom. It just had such a beautiful, ethereal quality to it. Edward belonged in it.
He bent at the waist, until I felt his breath on my neck. "Close your eyes," he said. "I want to give you your surprise."
"I thought the meadow was my surprise," I answered, feeling drunk on love.
"This is something even better, I promise," he responded. I raised my hands to my sweater, trying to tug it off over my head, but he gently rested his hand on my arms. "You can leave your clothes on for now."
I snorted grumpily. "I happen to prefer surprises a lot more when I'm naked," I answered.
"Hold still," he interrupted. "Are you ready?"
"I'm ready."
By the time I felt the pain, it had been replaced by a feeling of elation. Almost as if I was floating off the ground.
Then everything went black.