Here's the next chapter … big fat juicy lemon in the next one!

I awoke to rain, soft and steady, drumming on the window. I lay in bed listening to the sound, thinking about last night and about Edward. Especially about Edward. I sighed, and started my day.

Renee had swimming lessons on Sunday mornings, and afterwards, we ran errands – picking up groceries, visiting the library, dropping off dry cleaning. It wasn't until mid-afternoon that I realized I hadn't heard from Rose.

This gave me pause. I always heard from Rose after she made a conquest. I was the lucky recipient of all the gory details, whether I wanted to hear them or not. But this time – nothing. Total radio silence. I checked my cell phone to make sure it was working. It was.

Shortly after dinner, I walked through the living room and saw a red car pulling into Edward's driveway. A tall, slim woman with strawberry blonde hair got out. Lily flew out of the house and flung herself into the woman's arms. Lily's mother, I thought. Oh God, that's Edward's ex-wife.

It was pretty depressing seeing who he used to be married to. She was beautiful. Tall. She looked successful. I turned away from the window, feeling short and unattractive.

When I got Renee settled down to sleep that night, I wandered around the house, restless and sad. I realized I was missing Edward … so I went down to the patio door and stepped out into the dark and rain. No one in the right mind should be out on a night like this, but I knew I'd feel closer to him here.

"I was going to give you another 10 minutes and then I was going to bang on your door," said a voice out of the darkness. Startled, I jumped and let out a little scream.

"Shit, Edward, I didn't think you'd be here," I gasped. He laughed out loud at my reaction, but when I looked at him I could see his smile was sad. I thought I knew why.

"It must be hard giving her back at the end of the week," I said. "I've never had to share, so the thought of only have Renee half the time is pretty foreign to me." Edward didn't say anything for a moment. "I'm sorry," I said instinctively. "We don't have to talk about this if it's none of my business." Edward shook his head and crooked his finger at me to come closer. He reached across the rail and took my hand, interlacing our fingers.

"First, you really need to learn to stop apologizing," he said. "And second, you are exactly right – it is very hard to give Lily up at the end of the week. I always feel down when she goes back to Tanya. All the life seems to go out of the house when she leaves.

"So I came out here, hoping that maybe you would join me, even in this lousy weather. Because you are the only person I really want to talk to right now." He looked down at our joined hands. "You know, you're very perceptive. Sometimes I feel like you can read my mind when we're together. You always seem to know what I'm thinking."

I didn't know what to say to that … so I just lifted our hands and held his against my cheek. We stood like that for a long time, as the rain poured down, savoring the strength of our connection.

Our moment was broken by a buzzing sound coming from my jeans pocket. I flipped open my cell and read Rose's text message:

Think I'm in love. Call me asap.

"Oh," I said, torn between wanting to share this news with Edward and protecting Rose's privacy. I looked up at Edward, who had just produced a phone from his pocket and was staring at it in shock.

"I just got a text from Emmett," he said. "And … uh ….it seems that …" he trailed off, faced with the same dilemma I was.

"If it's similar to the one I just got from Rose," I said, "I think your family's match-making talents are in full force." Edward didn't answer; he just turned his phone around so I could read the message on the screen:

I think I'm off the market, Eddie.

"I'd better go call Rose before she calls me," I said. "See you tomorrow?"

"I hope so," he answered, reaching over the railing and pulling me to him. His kiss was so irresistible that I went back for more, and it wasn't until my phone started ringing that we finally broke away from each other.

"Hi Rose," I gasped into the phone.

"I didn't interrupt you having sex with Edward, did I?" she asked loudly enough that Edward could hear it beside me. Edward went into a fit of silent laughter while I blushed.

"No, Rose … I haven't had sex with ANY of the Cullens yet. I'm wondering if you could say the same?" Edward covered his ears and headed back into his house, as I braced myself for a blow-by-blow description of Rose's night with Edward's brother.

~~ - ~~

Two nights later, we were back on the deck, watching the last of the sunset vanish. Renee was asleep upstairs.

"Hey … listen," I said a bit nervously. "Tomorrow I'll be in your neck of the woods. At Seattle Children's Hospital." Edward looked up at me, concerned.

"Is everything OK with Renee?" he asked. I fiddled with my hair and took a deep breath.

"Yes, everything is OK with Renee. I take her every Wednesday to the hospital for speech therapy." I paused. "You must have realized by now that she …"

"… doesn't talk. Yes, I was aware of that," said Edward. "Actually, it was Lily who noticed it first." He reached over and took my hand, rubbing soothing circles on the back of it with his thumb. "May I ask … why she doesn't speak? Is it a physical problem?"

"No, Renee can and does speak … just very rarely and usually only to me or someone very close to her, like her therapist. She's what they call an 'elective mute' – someone who is physically able to speak but is unable to bring themselves to do so.

"There can be a number of different reasons for why someone becomes an elective mute. Autism is one of them, so is extreme shyness."

"Neither of which she appears to suffer from," Edward said with a smile.

"Yes, you noticed that, did you?" I chuckled. "In Renee's case, the doctors believe her unwillingness to speak is connected to … trauma." Edward's thumb stopped moving and he squeezed my hand a little harder. I looked up at him, saw his brow crinkled in concern.

"Trauma," he repeated.

"She was the one who found her father's body," I said softly. I swallowed hard, pushing the tears back like I always did. Edward turned toward me and put his hands just below my arm pits. Then in one motion, he picked me up off the deck and lifted me over the railing between us, bringing me down into his arms.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry you've had to go through all of this alone. I wish somehow I could have known you, could have been there for you." He cradled me in his arms. I leaned into him, feeling his warmth and strength. For the first time in a long time, I felt like someone was protecting me, looking out for me. It was an odd feeling.

We stayed in each others' arms for a long time.

~~ - ~~

In addition to her regular speech therapy, Renee had a session with Dr. Snow, her psychiatrist, that morning. I took part in the speech therapy and was invited to observe her session with Dr. Snow, but declined. I spent 45 minutes drinking a latte instead. Even though Renee was only five, there was something about watching her sessions with Dr. Snow that seemed intrusive.

When I came back to Dr. Snow's office, Lynn waved me into her inner sanctum. "Renee's just helping Nancy tidy up the play room," she explained. "I wanted to take 10 minutes with you to review Renee's progress."

"Is everything OK?" I asked. Lynn smiled.

"You tell me" she said. "You already know what's written in her speech journal here." She tapped the notebook on her desk – it was a journal that I kept for Renee, documenting each instance of speech, the circumstances around it and her mood when it happened. The number of entries had been steadily growing in the last few months. "She's definitely starting to speak more frequently, and under new circumstances. This is a very positive sign.

"Renee also drew some pictures," said Dr. Snow, looking at me closely as she placed the artwork in front of me. Not unexpectedly, there was a drawing of our new house. "Congratulations on the house, by the way."

"Thanks," I said automatically, looking at the next drawing. It was a Renee stick figure playing soccer with a taller blonde stick figure – Lily Cullen.

"She's made friends with the girl next door. Lily. She's eight." I explained to Dr. Snow who nodded and then put a third picture on top of the pile. I caught my breath when I saw it and understood why Lynn had asked me in for a conversation today.

Again, the picture showed the Renee and Lily figures playing soccer. Standing behind them were figures representing me and Edward. The adult stick figures were holding hands.

"Oh my," I said. I looked up at Dr. Snow, coloring flooding my face. "But she's never even seen us holding hands before – honestly!"

"Holding hands with a man is hardly a criminal act, Bella," said Dr. Snow with a smile, "even in front of your daughter. And children always figure these things out faster than the parents expect. Can I take it you've started dating the man in this picture?" I sat there, not sure how to answer the question.

"I … I don't know … I guess so," I stammered. "I mean, he's my next-door neighbor, Lily's father. We've become … close … in the last few weeks, both of us being single parents. He's very sweet. He actually works here at the hospital – for the foundation. Edward Cullen?"

Lynn looked up at me in surprise. "One of Carlisle Cullen's boys?" she asked. I nodded, startled that she knew Edward's father. "Dr. Cullen used to be on pediatrics staff here – he's semi-retired and only does consults on select cases now," Lynn explained. "Actually, he's consulted on Renee's case in the past." This explained why the name was familiar … I had read Renee's file from top to bottom, dozens of times.

"I'm glad you're seeing someone, Bella. It's good for Renee to see you leading a more balanced life. It's time she learned that you can have other people in your life and still love her the same way you always have," said Dr. Snow. "You may see her reacting to your relationship with Edward. If anything happens that worries you, you can always call me. I know that you've got Renee's interests at heart, so I'm not too concerned. Just let her adapt to the changes at her own pace." I rose when Dr. Snow did and went out to collect Renee from Lynn's assistant.

After a double session, I usually took Renee to the hospital food court for lunch. Renee was digging happily into her chicken nuggets and fries when she looked up over my shoulder and pointed with a huge smile on her face.

I half turned around in the plastic cafeteria chair to see Edward standing there, smiling at Renee's reaction. I was suddenly glad that I had taken extra care getting dressed this morning, choosing a pair of white Capri pants and black and white halter that tied around my neck. Edward looked amazing in dress pants, white shirt and tie.

"Well, hello, Renee," he said, giving her a big hug and getting plum sauce in his bronze hair for his trouble. As I fumbled for a napkin to wipe it out, Edward leaned over and gave me a big hug too. "Hello, lovely," he whispered in my ear before pulling back. I wiped the sauce from his hair, aware that Renee was watching us very carefully.

"I didn't expect to see you here," I said a little breathlessly.

"Well, you said you'd be here until noon, so I figured this might be a good place to find you with a hungry five-year-old." Edward smiled at Renee. "Chicken nuggets and fries is Lily's favorite too."

"Join us?" I asked, but he shook his head.

"I'm on my way to a meeting, and took the long way around in case you were here. I just … wanted to see you," he said. We looked at each other for a moment, feeling shy. I realized that this was the first time we had seen each other outside of our own backyards.

"Why don't you come for dinner tonight then?" I asked on impulse. Edward's face brightened and he nodded. "Maybe around 6:30? Will you be home by then?"

"For you lovely ladies, I'll make sure I am," he said with a teasing smile. He tapped Renee on the end of her nose, eliciting a giggle. Then he gave my bare shoulder a squeeze, letting his fingers trail over my skin before he waved and headed off to his meeting. I shivered, and waved goodbye to him before turning back to Renee.

"Do you like Edward, Renee?" I asked. She nodded firmly. "I like him too." My daughter smiled widely, showing me a mouthful of food. "Ugh, gross," I said. "Close your mouth when you're eating, please." I might have a monster crush on my neighbor, but I was still mom.

~~ - ~~

I was just finishing tossing the salad when there was a tap at the patio door.

"Come in!" I called and Edward slid the door open. Renee pattered over to meet him. With a flourish, Edward handed her a little bouquet of the white roses from his deck. Renee accepted them, sniffed them daintily then batted her eyelashes at him. I rolled my eyes at her dramatics, but had to admit I was touched that Edward had been so thoughtful. "Let me get a vase for those," I said, but he caught me around the wrist and handed me a bouquet of flowers as well. Red roses, and beautiful ones at that.

"Better get two vases while you're at it," he said grinning. "Red, for the color of your face right now." I ducked under the counter to find a couple of vases – and hide my blush.

"I hope you're hungry," I said as I arranged the flowers. "I made pasta and salad. Renee, why don't you put your roses on the table as a centerpiece?" She took the little vase from me and placed it carefully in the middle of the table, then looked back at Edward with a smile. "Stop flirting and go wash your hands," I said, shooing her to the bathroom. I put the red roses on the breakfast bar, where they lit up the whole room.

Either Edward was awfully polite or awfully hungry because he had two helpings of everything and still had room for the strawberry cheesecake I'd made for dessert.

"I'm not much of a cook," he admitted. "And I had meetings right through lunch today, so I didn't eat. Everything tasted so good. I can't believe you make your own cheesecake!"

"It's easier than you'd think. Besides, if it doesn't turn out properly, that's why you have the strawberry sauce – it covers a multitude of sins," I said. He laughed and helped clear the table and load the dishwasher.

"I have to take Renee upstairs for her bath and bedtime," I said when we were done. "You're welcome to stay … maybe watch a little TV while I'm upstairs? There's red wine open on the counter, wine glasses are in that cupboard." I hoped he would stay – I was absolutely dying for some alone time with him. You mean you're absolutely dying to get him naked, said a voice in the back of my mind.

"Sure, take your time," Edward said as I herded Renee upstairs to the bathroom.

~~ - ~~

EPOV

I carried my glass of red wine through the empty dining room and down into the living room. Bella's house was a mirror image of mine, and she had a lot less furniture than I did. But everything she had seemed to fit together in a way that my belongings never did, creating a warm, homey atmosphere.

The biggest piece of furniture in the living room was a bookshelf crammed with books. There were dozens of classics – Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, a whole collection of Dickens novels. Most of them were dog-eared and worn, as a teacher's books should be.

On the other side of the room was a small stereo with a rack of CDs – everything from classical music to pop to jazz. Plus a lot of Baby Mozart titles.

Then I saw the pictures. There were about a dozen of them, arranged on top of an outcropping beside the couch. I went over and picked them up one by one.

Most were picture of Renee. Baby photos, the kind of pictures you might get at a Sears Portrait Studio. There was a cute picture of Renee standing on a dock with an older man – they were holding up a big fish. He must be Bella's father.

There was a picture of a younger Bella standing with her arm around a woman who looked like an older version of her, but with more make up. Bella's mom, Renee.

I picked up the next photo and looked it for a long time. There was Bella, holding baby Renee. Sitting beside Bella, with his long arm slung around her shoulder, was a tall, handsome man with copper skin and long black hair. He and Bella were looking at each other, love blazing in their expressions.

This had to be Jacob. Bella's former husband. Renee's father.

It suddenly occurred to me that Bella had never told me how Jacob had died.