A/N This chapter is posting a little early as my laptop just died *sob*. Hubs has kindly let me post this from his work laptop, but as I won't have access to be able to write until mine is fixed, I'm afraid I'm not sure how the updates will go now for this story in the short term.
Hopefully - for my own sanity as much as anything else - it won't affect things too much, but if I'm quiet you know why.
Thanks to everyone who has been reading & reviewing so far xx
9
"Come on, Em, we're going to be late."
He runs halfway down the stairs and then bends so he can see me at the bottom to speak to me. "Have you seen my wristwatch? You know what my mom's like if I'm not wearing it."
"It was in the top drawer of your nightstand the last time I saw it."
"Thanks." He turns to run back up.
"That was a couple of weeks ago though, I haven't seen it in a while," I call up after him. "I'll wait in the car."
The clock on the dash catches my eye and I see how late we are. I crane my neck and look up to our bedroom window. I can see him clearly, speaking on his phone before he wanders from view.
He doesn't mention it again, but when he gets in the car and places his hands on the steering wheel, his sleeves ride up a little. Both wrists are bare. I don't bother saying anything, I know he hates to lose things and his mom will make sure he knows her displeasure when she sees him without it.
Esme and Carlisle's house is already busy when we arrive. I knew it would be, Carlisle's a popular guy. There were always going to be a lot of people keen to help him celebrate his birthday.
Except the mother of his only grandchild, apparently.
I'm really not looking forward to seeing Edward today. I've not spoken to him since our night-time Facebook chat and I'm still kicking myself about asking him if he's happy. Any plans I have to avoid him fly out of the window when he sees me across the room and makes his way over to me through the bodies.
"Hey!" he greets me, smiling brightly. He leans in and kisses my cheek. There's nothing in it, I tell myself. He's at least the twelfth person to have done so in the five minutes since we arrived.
I'm encouraged by the fact he seems to be acting okay with me, and I relax a little.
"Are you alone?" I ask.
"Yep, I got a pass out. Bree's taken Lucy to her mom's for the day.
"On your dad's birthday?" I raise my eyebrows. The Cullens are all about family. This is a low shot, even for her.
He reaches up and scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Yeah, her aunt's visiting from New York."
He looks a little embarrassed and I feel for him. It sounds like an excuse to me, and he looks as though he knows it is. Still, I bite my tongue.
"Have you seen Em?" I ask him. It's been a while since the brothers got together, what with Em's avoidance of Bree.
"Briefly. He was replying to a text, he barely looked at me."
I roll my eyes.
"That phone never leaves his side lately," I complain, adding a small laugh to try and hide my genuine frustration.
Edward doesn't laugh, in fact he doesn't even smile. He gives me a weird look as though he's trying to work something out.
Watchful, is probably what I'd describe it as.
A silence verging on uncomfortable grows between us. I glance around the room and everyone else seems happily involved in conversation.
When I look back at Edward, he's staring at me with an intensity that causes the air to flow from my body like the ebb of a wave. My stomach is churning but I can't look away, and when somebody touches me, I jump a mile in the air.
"I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to startle you."
My sort-of, kind-of mother-in-law has her hand on my arm. A half-assed smile is on her face, one that was probably genuine a moment ago, but then she just interrupted something and she's not sure what. So now she stands here, part smiling, part looking between Edward and me as though we're a puzzle that's confounding her.
I fix a smile to my own face and flash it brightly at her.
"Can I help with anything?" I ask, silently urging my face to quit letting the burning blush steadily creeping across it, continue.
"No, no. Everything's under control. I was just coming to say hello."
I smile and she strikes up a stilted conversation with Edward about Lucy.
I can't look at him again, and after a couple of minutes I excuse myself and duck away, escaping outside to clear my head and let my still-warm cheeks cool.
~RH~
