Author's Note: Hi everyone! Many thanks for your kind words about my surgery and recovery; your well-wishes mean more than you know. My condition is continuing to improve a little each day, and I'm happy to be back on fanfiction. In the next chapter or so we'll be getting into the full swing of the story as I've been envisioning it since the beginning. I can't wait!

All Best,

Rebecca

Bella had intended to meet Angela back at the Ashley Eden, but Edward had booked a suite at one of the Eden's biggest competitors, the Blue Promenade Hotel seven blocks away. Bella felt oddly like a traitor to her employer as she was ushered over the threshold towards the elevator. She had briefly considered applying to the Promenade once or twice, but Angela lived closer to the Ashley Eden, and Bella hadn't wanted to switch jobs and leave her friend behind.

Now, she found herself craning her neck, scoping out the competition. "I like their maid outfits better than ours," she remarked to Eric as they walked down the hall. Edward and Emmett were striding ahead of them, deeply engrossed in conversation. "But those bellboys downstairs looked ridiculous. And did you see the concierge?"

Eric blinked back at her bemusedly. "You do realize that you're not a maid anymore, right Bella?"

"Once a maid, always a maid," Bella said, without thinking. Then she stopped short, horrified by her own statement. "God, I hope not…" she muttered.

Eric snorted. He was watching her the way one might study a particularly bizarre animal at the zoo, like he wasn't sure whether to be impressed, fascinated or horrified. "You are something, Isabella Swan," he told her.

"Technically, I haven't resigned from the Ashley Eden yet." Bella remarked.

"Well, I doubt your employers are expecting you to show up for your next shift. Not if they've been on the internet this morning."

"Still, I need to contact them and officially resign." Bella felt oddly shaken at the prospect. It would be the first of many big changes, and as much as Bella had been looking forward to eventually outgrowing her job at the Ashley Eden, she was a little stunned by the suddenness of it all.

"Bella?" The familiar voice made her spin around immediately.

"Angela!" Her friend was standing at the other end of the hall, in her Ashley Eden uniform, one hand anxiously twisting in her skirt. Angela was one of the most boisterously confident people Bella had ever known, but now she looked oddly hesitant.

But there was no hesitation on Bella's part. She hurried back down the hall to embrace her friend, and, thankfully, Angela's arms were open when she got there. It was a tremendous relief just to rest her head on her friend's shoulder.

"What in the world is going on?" Angela asked, once they had parted. "First you didn't show up last night, then I couldn't get in touch with you for half the night, then you called and told me that you were fine but that you couldn't explain what was going on, then you asked me to meet you here, and then just a few minutes ago I went online and-" Angela finally had to pause to take a breath, and Bella gestured for her friend to follow her back towards the suite.

Edward and Emmett were already there, but they had paused on the threshold to watch Bella's reunion with Angela. Eric was still waiting in the hall, and he cast an assessing glance at Angela.

Bella followed his gaze to her friend, taking note of the shadows under Angela's pretty brown eyes and the many wrinkles in her uniform, souvenirs from what had most likely been a sleepless night.

It was a mark of just how uncertain Angie was that she didn't giggle at all when she was introduced to Edward. She just met his gaze levelly and solemnly shook his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Angela," Edward said smoothly. Watching him now, most people never would have guessed that he was part of a notorious crime family. He was suave, sophisticated, like someone who had been born into a family of easy privilege rather than one that had clawed its way to the top of the criminal food chain.

But Bella could see it. They hadn't spent much more than half a day together, but she was already starting to notice his tells. The way his gaze warily swept the hall over Angie's head just after they were introduced, as though checking to make sure that no one had followed her up to their floor. The way he shifted his weight ever so slightly from one foot to the other, the only clue that he was tensed and ready for action at a moment's notice. Not to mention the calculating gleam that lit his catlike eyes as he assessed and then discounted Angie as a potential threat.

Until yesterday he had been little more than a handsome stranger, but in the course of just a day, she was getting familiar with his particular flavor of leashed intensity.

Bella wondered if Edward ever really relaxed.

"Likewise," Angie squeaked out, in response to Edward's pleasant greeting. She turned immediately to Bella, her eyes wider than ever. "Can we talk?" She whispered.

Edward jerked his head in the direction of the suite door. "Let's take this inside, shall we?"

The suite where they'd be staying was as luxurious as any Bella had ever seen at the Ashley Eden, but she was too focused on what she was going to say to Angela to take in the details. Edward walked ahead of them across the sitting room and opened the bedroom door smoothly. "We'll give you two some time to talk things over."

On the other side of the room, Eric was already setting up his laptop while Emmett walked to the window and pushed the curtain aside, surveying the street below the suite. The Cullen brothers were definitely expecting some kind of trouble.

Bella pushed that thought of her mind as she and Angela walked into the bedroom. As soon as Edward had closed the door behind them, Angela rounded on Bella, her eyes wide and earnest.

"I just don't understand, Bella. The papers are speculating that you two had been carrying out a secret relationship for months, but there's no way… I mean… There's just no way. You weren't, right?"

"Angie, you know I wasn't," Bella said. "I mean, first of all, you would have known if I was sneaking around with freaking Edward Cullen, and second of all, I would have told you."

Angela nodded, seeming to calm a little. "I thought you would have. But then this makes even less sense. I mean, last night I was trying to convince you to flirt with Edward, and early this morning you married him? I mean, kudos to you, but seriously, what is going on?"

That was a really good question. Once again, Bella wasn't sure exactly how to start. "The thing is, I can't tell you everything," she said, and Angela's shoulders slumped.

"Bella… I don't get it. I mean, I'm happy if you're happy, but, are you happy? And I feel like I'm missing a big part of your life, and I'm not used to feeling like that. We've been friends since fourth grade, Bells, and you've never thrown me for a loop till now."

"Angie?" Bella peered into her best friend's eyes, comforted by the familiarity and warmth she found there. "Do you trust me?"

Angela bit her lip. "Well, I thought…" she sputtered, but then her face softened. "Of course," she said, finally. "I love you Bells. It's not that I don't trust you. I'm just worried about you."

"I know what I'm doing," Bella said, and for the first time she half-believed herself. "Now, I can't give you details. Not now, but, I sort of got… mixed up in some stuff, and this marriage seemed to be the best solution."

Angela did not look reassured. "I gotta tell you, Bells, that is neither illuminating nor comforting."

"Okay, well, it's the best I can give you for now." Bella gripped her friend's hand when Angela shook her head. "Come on. Angie, I don't want to lie to you. I'll lie to my dad if I have to, I've done it before, but I've never lied to you before, and I don't want to start now. But I can't tell you everything, either, not right now.

"But you're okay?" Angela whispered, "I mean, you're not in danger, right? 'Cause if you need to get away for a while, I can totally Thelma and Louise it down to the border with you. Or up to the border… I guess technically we're closer to Canada than Mexico…" Angela shook her head. "But anyway, the point is…"

"I don't need to leave the country," Bella smiled. "Anyway, that movie doesn't end so great. So no Thelma and Louise for now, okay? Let's just try to stay cool and I'm going to figure out what my next move is."

"Okay, staying cool," Angela nodded. "Not my strong suit, mind you, but I'll give it a try for your sake."

Bella couldn't stifle a sigh of quiet relief. Her father was going to be a problem, but at least Angela was on board. Bella was fairly certain she could take on the whole world if she had Angela on her team. Even now, her heart felt a little bit lighter.

"So… what's it like?" Angela asked, peering at Bella in fascination. "I mean, seriously, what has it been like?"

"It's hard to say, really, I mean, it hasn't even been twenty four hours. It's all just so… crazy. I don't even know." Bella shook her head.

"But what about Edward?" Angela insisted, "what is he like?"

Bella frowned, trying to put into words the tumult of conflicting emotions that the mere mention of Edward's name triggered.

"He's like… he's like… Very hard to tell what he's thinking," Bella said inarticulately. "Very cool… But also very hot… Sometimes very nice… But also very intimidating… There are a lot of guns… He has really beautiful eyes… Usually they look green… But when he's angry, they're kind of more dark… But this morning they were more gray… The thing is…" Bella cocked her head, "…his eyelashes are actually really beautiful…"

She stopped, abruptly. Angela was staring at her like she was speaking in tongues.

"Well that was educational," Angela said frankly. "You are out-of-your-mind attracted to him, aren't you?"

"I'm… not." It was possibly the most pathetically unconvincing denial Bella had ever uttered. "I'm completely indifferent."

"Oh, I believe you," Angela said, with fake earnestness. "Nothing screams indifference like rambling about a guy's eyelashes for five minutes. Good thing you didn't get started on his ass, or we might have been here all day."

"Angela! Keep your voice down!" Bella hissed.

"What?" Angie shrugged. "C'mon, Bella, he's like your husband now. You're allowed to be attracted to him."

"It's not like that though," Bella whispered. "It's more of a. . . Mutually beneficial arrangement than a marriage. I have no idea how he feels about me, or if he was seeing anyone else when this whole thing happened. I don't really know where we stand."

"Well, there's only one way to find out. Ask him." Angela said bluntly.

"Oh please," Bella snorted. "Have you forgotten who you're talking to? If Mike hadn't made the first move back in high school, I'd probably still be a virgin."

"Ooh, speaking of Mike," Angela reached into her purse. "I brought your cell phone and other stuff from the Ashley Eden. Good thing I know your locker combination."

"Oh good." There was something grounding about having her cell phone and other essentials back in her possession.

"Fair warning," Angela said as she pressed Bella's phone into her palm, "the damn thing has been ringing off the hook this morning. Mike alone must have called like twenty times."

"Oh wow," Bella sighed.

"What?"

Bella shook her head. "Nothing, it's just . . . This is the first time I've thought about Mike since yesterday. He just sort of slipped my mind."

"Well," Angela laughed and clapped her on the shoulder. "He's definitely been thinking about you. Your voicemail is full and you've got like thirty text messages from him. The funny thing is, if you read them in order you can actually see him going through the four stages of grief."

"I think there are five stages of grief." Bella said absently, digging through her purse in search of her sketchbook.

"Yes, but the fifth one is acceptance, and take it from me, Mike ain't there yet."

"How do you know what his text messages say, anyway?"

Angela smiled sweetly. "I know your phone passcode too."

"Hey! That's only for emergencies," Bella reminded her, but without any real irritation.

"Um, hello? You married Edward Cullen, overnight, in Las Vegas, and I didn't know what was going on or why you had no-showed on me. That was one hundred percent an emergency."

"Fair enough."

Outside the bedroom door, Bella heard the muffled tone of Edward and Emmett's conversation shift slightly in pitch. It sounded like one of them was getting angry about something. Maybe Emmett.

Angela had caught the change in tone as well, and she cocked her head attentively. "What are they talking about, anyway?"

"Oh, who knows." Bella muttered, finally giving up and upending her purse, scattering its contents all over the floor of the suite. "Probably whoever they whacked in Miami."

"What?"

"…Nothing. Have you seen my sketchbook?"

"No, now that you mention it. It wasn't with the rest of your stuff. Are you sure that you put it back in your locker?"

"I thought so." Bella shook her head. "But it's not here."

"Maybe Lauren picked it up." Angela scowled. "I could see her doing that."

"Oh great." Bella cringed at the thought of Lauren pawing through her most personal possession. "The last thing I need is anymore trouble."

"I don't know, I kinda wish I had some of your kind of trouble," Angela shook her head, "it's like overnight your life is full of incredibly hot suitors."

"Overnight, yes," Bella agreed, "although I don't really have any suitors. I have one…. Sortofhusband," Bella said, all in a rush. It was the first time she had referred to Edward, out loud, as her husband, and suddenly her face was flushed like she had a fever.

"Well, and then there's that Jacob. He's sure interested in everything about you."

Bella frowned. "Who's Jacob?"

Angela rolled her eyes. " 'Who's Jacob?' she asks, like men that handsome grow on trees. C'mon, Bella, think… tall, dark, handsome. Dreamy eyes? Super intense. Not Edward Cullen hot, but almost."

"I don't know anyone named Jacob," Bella gnawed on her lower lip. "What did he want?"

"What he wanted, was to know everything about you."

"What, like where I lived?"

Angela shook her head. "No, way weirder stuff than that. Like when your relationship with Mike had ended and whether I'd known that you and Edward were dating. I kind of got the impression that maybe he'd been waiting for you to become available and was kind of bummed that he'd missed his chance."

Bella's frown deepened. "Well, that can't be, because I don't know anyone named Jacob. You didn't tell him anything about me, did you?"

"Oh, heck no. I called him a creeper and told him to get lost. I watch Criminal Minds. I know a stalker when I see one."

"Good thinking," Bella nodded approvingly.

"He was crazy hot, though, not gonna lie." Angela added. "It's a shame that he's a deranged maniac who probably has a wall full of secret photos of you back at his creepy little psycho apartment. Ohh!" Angela gasped. "I know what he is! I know what he is!"

"What is he?"

"He's your first celebrity stalker." Angela nodded knowingly. "He probably saw your photo in the National Enquirer and decided that you're deeply in love with him, despite the fact that the two of you have never met."

Bella raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I think it's a bit soon for a celebrity stalker," she said, "anyway, I'm not a celebrity, just sister-in-law to one. And Edward showed me that photo in the Enquirer - all you can see is my leg."

"Sometimes that's all it takes," Angela said authoritatively. "These men are very easily unhinged. Trust me, I watch-

"Criminal Minds, I know, I know." Bella grinned. "I forget that you're an expert."

"So don't panic," Angela said, "but he's probably going to try to kill Edward, since he sees him as a rival for your affections."

Bella snorted. "If he tries anything of the sort he'll end up like swiss cheese; Edward has more guns than half the NRA. Anyway, believe me, Angie, whoever this Jacob guy is, he's the least of my problems."

There was a knock at the door.

"Yes?" Bella called.

The doorknob turned and Edward stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his powerful chest. There was a simmering anger at the back of his eyes, but it seemed to cool when he caught sight of Bella. "We have a lunch reservation for 12:30 at the Carlton. Alice and Rosalie will be there, and I'd like to introduce you to my uncle and his wife. The car's waiting downstairs whenever you're ready."

He started to withdraw, then paused and glanced at Angie. "Also, we've called a car for you, Angela, to take you home whenever you're ready."

Angela blinked rapidly. "Um . . . Thanks. Thank you."

Edward nodded and left them to it.

"The car's waiting downstairs," Angela mimicked once the door closed, her eyes shining with excitement. "How many cars do they have, anyway?"

"I don't want to think about it," Bella said weakly. "It makes me dizzy."

"What's Rosalie like?" Angela asked eagerly.

Bella winced.

"Ah." Angela sighed. "That's unfortunate."

"Tell me about it. I used to think that the gossip sites were treating her unfairly when they called her a mean-spirited diva. Turns out they were being generous."

"You can handle her," Angela said confidently.

"Oh, well I'm glad one of us is sure." Bella rolled her eyes. "I used to think Lauren was the heavyweight champion of mean girl fight club. Turns out she's barely a contender." She shoved her belongings back in her purse and stood up to open the door.

Edward was speaking quietly but intently to Eric and Emmett when Bella and Angela stepped out of the bedroom, but the conversation ended as soon as the men noticed their presence.

"Everything okay?" Edward asked, but his eyes met hers probingly, and she knew what he was really asking: had she managed to deal with Angela without telling her anything that could put the family in jeopardy?

Bella just smiled.

"It was very nice to meet you," Angela said politely. "I'm going to head out now."

"Well it was nice to meet you. We should all have dinner sometime soon." Edward suggested.

"That would be great," Angela said eagerly, and Bella nodded.

"Great. I'm going to make a call," Edward told Bella, touching her arm lightly. It was a confident, easy touch, not awkward even though they didn't actually know each other that well, and strangely intimate in its naturalness.

Angela followed the gesture intently, and when Edward walked away she mouthed "oh my god!" to Bella.

Bella looked away quickly, but she could feel a smile turning up the corners of her mouth.

"Bye Bella," Angie pulled her into a tight hug. "Call me tonight, yeah?"

"Definitely," Bella said, hugging her friend back.

Eric walked Angela down to the car that was waiting for her, while Edward finished his call. There was no answer, so he left a terse voicemail and then hung up.

There was a certain dark humor dancing in his eyes when he turned back to Bella. He took a moment to look her up and down and then grinned. "Ready to meet the rest of the family?"