**Stephanie Meyer owns all. I'm simply borrowing these characters to fulfill my own little fantasy world.**

What is that obnoxious noise? My head throbbing, I fall out of bed trying to find the lamp. I realize it's my phone, so I crawl over to where I dropped my clutch and pull it out. "Alice" the screen is blaring at me. I quickly answer, "Hello?" I groggily ask.

"WAKE UP! You do realize we have plans for this morning right? You have exactly one hour to get ready and meet us at The Copper Onion" she shouts.

Clutching my head, I whisper, "Please don't scream. I have the worst hangover right now. Thanks for waking me up though; I would have slept all morning."

"Oooh, you must have had a really good night! You lucky girl; you better spill all the details at brunch. I'll see you in an hour" she says before hanging up on me. She really has to stop doing that.

I groggily stand up, unbalanced, and head straight for the bathroom. I take two aspirin, and drink a huge glass of water. I look in the mirror; last night is apparent on my face. I wash my face and pull my bangs and hair up into a top knot. As I'm brushing my teeth I try to remember what happened last night. The conversation I heard in the bathroom comes flooding back to me and I cringe, trying to remember what happened after that. Right around my third or fourth glass of champagne, it all gets a little fuzzy. Can I rely on Edward to fill in the blanks?

I hop in the shower, forgoing washing my hair. I wrap myself in a huge towel and put on a little bit of mascara and some chapstick. I head to my bedroom to get dressed. Slipping on a white lace bra and some matching panties, I look in my closet for something to wear. I grab a pair of distressed boyfriend jeans, rolled up at the ankles. On top of that, I throw a rust colored burnout tee, some gold leaf earrings, a pair of brown leather sandals, and a brown leather purse (pic on profile). I look at the clock and realize that I need to head out. I grab my cell phone from the side table, and head downstairs.

Opening my door I see a large and beautiful bouquet of white and yellow orchids sitting on my front step (pic on profile). Leaning down to pick it up, I notice a small card attached. I bring the arrangement inside and set it on my coffee table. I open up the envelope and inside is a note:

I feel awful about last night. I hope I can make it up to you. Please give me the chance to make things right. Have a wonderful weekend.

-Edward

I've never received a bouquet from anyone, let alone a boss. I'm speechless, and more than a little stunned. I'm going to have to thank him for this but I'm not sure how. An email? Too impersonal. A note? When would I give it to him? I guess I'd have to call him. This was going to be an awkward phone call. I definitely need to discuss this with Alice and Rose; they always seem to know how to get me out of these sticky situations.

I smell my flowers one last time and then leave. I hail a passing cab and give him the address. As we drive over to the café, I think about what I can say to Edward to find out what happened last night and apologize for how I acted. I clearly got drunk enough to act out, but what did I say or do that made him feel like he had to apologize? I don't have much time to dwell on it; we've pulled up to the restaurant. I pay the cabbie and step out. Alice and Rosalie are waiting for me at a table outside.

"I didn't realize this was a formal affair." I gawk at them. Both girls are dressed up to the nines and snicker at me.

"When will you realize that everything we do is a formal affair?" responds Rosalie. I giggle and sit down.

"What are you guys getting? I think the lemon ricotta pancakes sound awesome." I gush. I love eating here; it's one of those special little places you find that you just can't get over. We started coming here about three months ago and made it our Sunday morning tradition.

"I think I'm going to get the summer fruit salad and another mimosa. You should get one; hair of the dog and all that jazz." Alice says. We place our orders and I take a sip of my water while we wait. We talk about mundane things like what we've done all week and what we have going on in the next little while. After our food arrives, Alice and Rose both round on me.

"Okay girl, spill." Rose demands. "Alice told me you work up hungover and groggy. Oh, and she also said you looked amazing last night! I'm so pissed you didn't take a picture for me."

"Sorry. I'm sure I can snag a picture from off the internet; press was everywhere trying to get a picture of Edward. Um… what do you want to know?"

"What did you do last night? What did he wear? Where was it? Just give us every detail you can possibly think of."

"Well it was at that modern art museum downtown; you know the one with all the glass walls? Wait… before I continue I need you guys to promise to hold all questions till I'm done. I don't want this story to span decades because you keep interrupting me. Promise?"

Both of them nod their heads. I explain the night to them, from the second Edward picked me up to the minute I got home (well what I could remember). "I don't remember much after I heard those girls talking about me in the restroom; just being upset and leaving pretty quickly. I don't know what I said to Edward, or what he assumed happened, but he sent me a bouquet of flowers this morning to make up for it." I blush at this; now they'll never believe that I don't have feelings for him. They both squealed at this revelation.

"Oh he totally has feelings for you! Guys don't give girls flowers if it doesn't mean something. What are you going to say to him tomorrow? Or will you call him today to thank him? I am so excited for you!" Alice gushes.

"You should definitely thank him today. It would be rude to wait until tomorrow. Maybe see if he wants to go a late lunch with you. You could go to that little French bistro you found a couple weeks ago. I could help you figure out what to wear. In fact, I've got an outfit idea forming in my mind as we speak – "

"I don't think so" I cut her off. "I have the feeling that I wasn't too 'friendly' last night. I mean, whatever I did obviously gave him a bad impression. I think I just want things to go back to the way they were before all of this happened. With the exception of him being a total jerk to me."

"Oh come on! Give him a chance. What did I tell you last night about being open to new things?" Alice asks.

"It's true you know. If you don't prepare yourself now, you'll never find love" adds Rose. I'm surprised at this comment; she's hardly the lovey-dovey type. "I know, I know. It doesn't sound like me, but I decided that since I can't reverse time and get any younger, I'd better start trying to figure out what to do with my life. I don't want to spend my life alone."

By now, we've eaten our food and paid our bill. I stand up and stretch, feeling the warm breeze blow across the bit of skin that shows between my shirt and my pants. It's almost fall, and soon we won't have days like today to enjoy. "I think I'm going to head to the flea market, I want to try and find some more vintage books. Thanks for the meal girls... let's get together next week for a movie night okay?"

I hug Alice and Rose goodbye and decide I'll walk to the market. It's only about 5 blocks down from the restaurant, in a park. I stroll up to the first stall, looking through a basket of bracelets. They are made of reclaimed wood and are very pretty. I decide to forgo them for now and head off in search of the book tent. Along the way, I poke into various stalls and see what they have to offer. After a while, I head toward the book tent. I find it quickly and kneel down on the grass to look through the lowest book shelves. That's where all the best books are found. I find an impeccable first edition copy of To Kill a Mockingbird and start thumbing my way through it. It's pretty expensive but a lot less than I'd find at a book store, so I decide to buy this and come back later to look for some others; I collect vintage books and am always trying to find something new.

I become aware of someone standing behind me so I try to stand up. The person behind me is leaning over a little, trying to look at a book in the top shelf. As I stand up, I hit my head on their chin. "Oh excuse me! I didn't realize you were so close to me." I exclaim.

"Ooh. That hurt" he responds. I turn around quickly. Twice in one weekend I'm surprised to see Edward in the same place as I am. He just smiles at me, not an ounce of surprise on his face as he rubs his chin. "Well hello there."

"H- hi" I stutter, mentally slapping myself for sounding like such a dork. "What are you doing here?"

"I come here a lot. It's been a while since I came last and I thought I'd check it out again while the weather was still so nice."

"No, I mean what are you doing here? In this stall, right behind me. Are you following me or something?" I ask warily.

Scratching his head nervously, he says, "Oh. That. Well I saw you at the first booth and wanted to come and say hello but you looked lost in thought. I thought maybe I could bump into you, although I didn't think it would be literally. What are you looking for?"

"Oh. Well, I collect vintage books. I come here every Sunday looking for new ones to add to my collection. This is the only first edition I've ever found" I hold the book up to him. "Have you ever read it?" He takes the book from me, the tips of our fingers brushing. I quickly pull my hand away and shove it in the back pocket of my jeans. As he looks through the book he says, "Yeah. I think it was one of the first real books I read as a kid. It's been years though. It's amazing you found a first edition. This is probably worth a lot more money than they're asking for it" he smiles at me conspiratorially.

While Edward studies the book, I study him. He's wearing the most casual outfit I've seen him in: dark jeans, boots, a white button up, and a black vest. He looks really comfortable and relaxed. He hands the book back to me "It looks like a great find. Hey have you ever tried the caramels that they sell a few rows over?"

"No" I admit, "I typically spend most of my time in the book stalls. It's hard to get away from a passion."

"Would you join me? I was going to get a couple. They're really the best in the whole city; I miss them all winter long when the flea market closes down."

I nod my head, and pay for my book quickly. We start walking to the booth he mentioned. "Edward, I need to ask you something. It's really embarrassing."

"Go for it. I won't laugh."

"What exactly happened last night? After I left the restroom it all gets a little… fuzzy." I blush, thinking of the bouquet in my living room and start to speculate about what happened.

He glances down at me, "You really don't remember?"

"Unfortunately, no. I have the feeling that I embarrassed myself though. And probably you, given the size of the bouquet you sent, which was lovely by the way. Thank you."

"Well to be honest, I'm not sure exactly what happened. I came to find out after you went to the restroom. You were downing a flute of champagne really quickly. You got really upset at me and said you should leave. I took you home and you wouldn't tell me anything beyond that. What happened anyway? It seemed like something happened to you between the exhibit upstairs and when I found you. You were really mad at me for something but wouldn't tell me what. Any hints today?" he nudges me with his shoulder.

"I wouldn't even know where to start. I – I'm so embarrassed about the whole thing." I squint up into the cloudless sky, avoiding looking at him.

"Well fortunately for you, we're here. After you eat some delicious caramels, you can explain everything to me. Trust me; they're the most amazing treat you will ever taste." He orders a dozen, giving me half. "Okay, take a bite and then I want to hear what you have to say."

The caramel I select from the box is covered in milk chocolate, and sprinkled with gray sea salt. I bite into it, and the creamy caramel melts on my tongue. It's all I can do to prevent myself from moaning with delight. "These really are amazing."

Edward smiles at me, "I told you. Now spill."

Swallowing the mouthful of caramel I have, I tell him what I overheard in the restroom. "I know that I'm an emotional drunk so I shouldn't have believed them. But I have to ask, is there a bet?"

"Wha-? No! Of course not. That's just disgusting. I would never do something like that. If I have anyone to blame for that rumor, it's Lauren Mallory. She is holding a grudge against me. We dated – casually – for about 3 months. I told her I wasn't interested in anything more serious. It didn't go over well."

"I am really sorry about last night. Honestly I hadn't eaten anything since lunch and I shouldn't have been drinking so much champagne. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. Am I forgiven?"

He smiles at me, and my heart skips a beat. Why am I acting this way? "Well… I suppose spending all day yesterday and this afternoon with me is punishment enough. I can't apologize enough for what happened. Some of the people in these circles – well they're like vultures. Preying on anyone they think doesn't belong. I invited you last night because I'm surprisingly comfortable around you, you're beautiful, funny, smart, and you don't take crap from me."

"Well thank you again for taking me even though I made a scene. I'm sure your parents are very impressed." I mutter.

"I have to admit, they thought I did something to you. They wouldn't put it past me…" he laughs but it sounds strained. "Price you pay to make it to the top."

I clear my throat, I can't believe I'm about to do this. "So - any big plans tonight?"

"Nothing really. I was just going to poke around here for a bit, then grab dinner. After that, I'm pretty open. Why? You have something in mind?"

"Well, we both have to eat, right? Maybe we could get something together. There's a little café over on Market Street that's really good. Or I could cook for you, although that might be more punishment than treat."

He rubs his chin, "I think you do owe me for almost breaking my jaw. I think I'll take you up on that offer. Is there anything else you wanna see around here?"

"No, this book put me over my flea market budget for the next couple of weeks. We can head out whenever you're ready."

"I've just got one more stop to make. Um, my car is over in the parking lot on the north side. If you want to start heading over there, I'll meet you by the lot entrance."

I nod and start walking toward the parking lot. I wait for him by the entrance and check emails on my phone. Soon I hear him walking up to me. "I got you something." Edward holds up a little bag. "You can open it when we get to dinner."

"You didn't have to do this. But, thank you." He just smiles and leads me to his car.

It's a sleek silver Volvo. He unlocks the car and I slide in the passenger seat. "Buckle your seatbelt" he says, winking at me.

As we drive to the restaurant, we discuss the weather, random news stories floating around, and a new television show. I clutch the brown paper bag in my hand and speculate what could be inside. Edward notices me glancing down at it, "If you can't wait, you can open it now." He smirks; it's as if he can read my mind.

I shake my head at him, "Contrary to what you obviously believe, I can be patient enough to wait until we get there to open this." He smiles over at me, and turns his attention back to the road. Traffic is a little backed up so it takes us about thirty minutes to get to the restaurant. After a while, we fall into a quiet spell. I take a deep breath, trying to calm the butterflies going crazy in my stomach. I don't know why I'm reacting this way; it's been ages since I met a man who made me feel this out of control of my senses. As I breathe deeply, I realize I can smell not only his car but him. It's this intense mixture of leather, clean laundry, and some sort of musky scent. Maybe cologne? I can't very well ask though so I just bask in the smell of it.

We pull up to Market Street and I point him in the direction of the nearest parking garage. He pulls in, and I go to get out of my door. He starts to walk towards me, and I trip over myself. He grabs me roughly by the shoulders and hauls me to my feet. He drops his vice grip and apologizes. "I didn't mean to hurt you; I just didn't want you to fall." I smile weakly at him, not because it hurt but because I can't stop myself from clutzing out around him. We both look away and I point towards where we need to go.

As we enter the café, I'm immediately assaulted by amazing smells. "Wow, I didn't realize how hungry I was." I exclaim.

We're seated quickly; it's early enough that the room isn't crowded. A waiter comes over and offers us a wine list; Edward picks out his favorite red wine. We look over the menu and decide what we're going to get. After placing our orders, Edward clasps his hands on the table in front of him and raises an eyebrow. "Well are you going to open your gift?" he asks.

I pull the brown bag from my purse and set it on the table. I hesitantly start to open it; "Isn't this a conflict of interest or something like that?" I quip. He just scowls at me, "It's just one friend giving something to another."

I pull the bag open and slide out what's inside. Out tumble the wooden bangles I was admiring earlier today. I don't even know what to say, so I just glance up at Edward through my eyelashes. He has the softest smile on his face. "You don't have to say thank you. Really this is just something I wanted to do for you since I saw you looking at them. Don't over analyze this, please." He knows me too well.

"Well my mom taught me well. Thank you for this. It was really nice of you. And thanks for this whole day." He places his hand over mine, "I just want you to know how glad I am that we can be friends since our start wasn't anything ideal."

It feels as if my whole body is on fire the second he touches me. I slide my hand out from under his and slip the bracelets on my arm. They are beautiful and I touch each one with my fingertip. When was the last time someone bought me something just because? I can't even remember.

We sit and sip our wine and look everywhere but each other, but strangely it's not uncomfortable. Our food soon arrives and we start to eat. I love what I've ordered, but Edward's food looks amazing too. I wish I could ask him for a bite without sounding totally strange. He notices me glancing at his food out of the corner of my eye. "Would you like to taste it? Or is that too weird for you?"

I quickly nod my head, "As long as it's not weird for you, it won't be weird for me." He pushes his plate over to me, and I scoop some of his pasta up. It's really good, and I make a mental note to get that next time. I do the same for him, "Here try this. I think you'll like it." He takes a bite of mine and closes his eyes in what I'm hoping is delight. He quietly moans and I realize I'm gaping at him. I quickly shovel some food into my mouth and turn away so he can't see my blush.

"That is amazing. I'm so glad you brought me to this place" he says once he's finished eating. I pick at the remainder of my food and then push my plate away. He continues, "I don't get to try many new restaurants because I'm always going to the same places with our clients."

"I love trying new places. It's like a hobby to me. I don't like to cook so I just go to as many new places as possible to give me some variety." I look at him shyly. "If you'd ever like to join me again, I know some other out of the way places you might like" I invite.

"I'd love to." Just then the waiter comes over with our check and before I can do anything, Edward slides his card onto the tray. The waiter whisks it away and I tell Edward, "I was going to pay for mine; you didn't have to do that!"

He laughs, "My mom also taught me well and I don't let a woman pay on a date. Er… or whatever this was." Now he's blushing and it's a sweet look for him. He looks younger and less worldly than I've ever seen him. He signs the receipt the waiter brought over. I reach down and pick my purse up off the ground and when I look up, he's towering over me, his hand reached out. I place my hand in his without even thinking twice and he helps me out of my chair. As we leave our table, I notice he doesn't take his hand from around mine. It's large, warm, and a little rough, surprisingly.

We walk slowly to the garage, and he laughs as I tell him a little bit about my college experiences. I tell him about the sorority I pledged and all the crazy things they made us do. As we get closer to his car, I tell him that he doesn't need to drive me home; a cab will be fine. "Nope. I won't hear of it. I will take you home to ensure you get there safely. Nothing less will suffice for me" he responds. He comes around to my side of the car and opens the door for me. In this narrow space, I realize how close he is standing to me. I quickly duck inside the car and shake my head to clear it. Get a grip lady. He is your boss. You cannot be entertaining these kinds of thoughts when you have to be picking up his coffee tomorrow morning.

He gets in and we pull out. He drives me to my house, and I just stare out the window, trying not to say anything embarrassing. He stops at my front curb and before I can get out, he places his hand on my arm. "Did I do something to upset you?" he asks.

"No, why do you think that?"

"You seem upset. Or at the very least, deep in thought. I'm just wondering what's going on in that pretty little head of yours." He leans in close to me. "You can let me in you know. Just because we work together doesn't mean we can't be close outside of work."

I notice he leaves out the part where I actually work for him, not with him. I shake my head. "I just don't want to jeopardize our working relationship, or give people the wrong idea about us. This was a fun night but I really need to keep my work and personal life separate. It's easier this way. I am sorry if this sounds rude at all, that's not my intent."

Edward just nods slowly at me. "I completely understand. This will not come in the way of us professionally." He looks intently at me and his eyes seem to darken just a little bit. "Bella, I really enjoyed the last couple of days I got to spend with you. You're truly an amazing young woman, and I think we can put the past behind us and work toward a beautiful future together… professionally speaking of course."

I smile at him and get out of the car. He waits until I'm in my house, and I peek out the window at him. He stays outside for a full five minutes before finally driving away. I sag against the door asking myself what I've started. This is not how this is meant to go at all. I cannot fall in love with my boss. That is wrong in too many ways.

I climb the stairs and resolve myself to forgetting about this weekend and just moving on. But as I look down at the beautiful bracelets Edward bought me, I can't help but smile.