A/N

Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer.

I only own the plot of this story.

*Almas Beluga Caviar article by Peter Brady – information from Lussorian – Luxury Food- December 6, 2006,

*Information on San Miniato White truffles and Volterra Truffle fair from www (dot) san-miniato (dot) com

Chapter 9 The Pink Diamond Ring

Bella POV

Things had pretty much gone back to normal since the discovery of Edward's identity. We all decided to leave the subject alone unless Edward brought it up. He told me that he was going to contact the lawyer mentioned on the document, so until he was ready to tell me, I wasn't going to push him.

I worried about him, but his eyes no longer held the emptiness that used to exist in them. Just that fact gave assurance things were better than it used to be. There was no doubt things were still going to be difficult for him, but now that there were enough information to go on to learn about his past, I was sure that one day in the near future Edward was going to be happy again. He may never remember his past fully, but sometimes there were things in the past you didn't want to remember.

Maybe the amnesia was Edward's self preservation technique to protect him from all the pain he endured when his parents died from the fatal car accident. Maybe he felt responsible or guilty that he survived and his parents didn't.

Aro Volturi ended up being someone totally different than we first perceived. Not only did he give us the information on Edward, but he also passed our names to his friends. He had been very kind to us and through him we got this wedding catering job at the Queens Botanical Garden at noon today. We closed the café and market today for the wedding. The amount we were getting paid highly exceeded the amount of money we would have made in a day with both the market and the café open.

Alice had done a wonderful job coordinating with the bride for the flowers and table settings. The bride had a specific cake in mind so she took care of the cake herself and we followed up with the bakery until we received the cake at the venue. Since Edward had experience with bartending, he was in charge of the bar and drinks. He looked happy tending the bar. He charmed many of the lady guests with original cocktails and many wouldn't leave the bar.

The mother of the bride recommended us the waiting staff they always used which made everything much easier on us. They were all very professional and knew what they were doing.

I enjoyed coming up with the menu. The bride and the mother of the bride told us they wanted an Italian Japanese fusion menu. The bride and the groom met in Japan, and there were many Japanese guests attending. They also had some specific items they wanted incorporated in the menu such as wasabi, ponzu, mentaiko, San Miniato white truffles, and the white Almas beluga caviar. I knew what white truffles and Almas beluga caviar were, but had never seen or tasted them since they were outrageously expensive.

The mother of the bride delivered them to me 3 days before the wedding. She told me she ordered the Almas caviar 4 years ago. That was how long the waiting was to get your hands on the Almas caviar. Almas were rare and the only outlet that carried them were Caviar House and Prunier in Piccadilly, London. The white caviar was packed in 24K golden tin. When the caviar arrived we gawked at it. Emmett was so excited he took pictures of them and even videotaped it. The mother of the bride even gave us some for us to taste.

The white truffles were couriered directly from San Miniato so that the aroma and flavor wasn't lost. The mother of the bride's relatives from Volterra sent the black truffles from their truffle fair to be incorporated into the menu.

Together with the bride and the mother of the bride we came up with the menu that consisted of spring rolls with garlic shrimp and mozzarella cheese topped with spicy arrabiata sauce, avocado, prosciutto, and tuna carpaccio with ponzu dressing, gorgonzola cheese and mentaiko baked in shiitake mushroom, gnocchi with scallops and asparagus with spicy sesame cream dressing, Parmigiano cheese and Miso flavored mushroom risotto, crusted veal fillet with truffle wasabi sauce, and most importantly the Lobster with yuzu and limoncello sauce topped with San Miniato white truffles and Almas beluga caviar.

I thought everything went well at the reception until I saw a man and woman approach Edward with a shock on their faces.

"Edward? Edward Masen? What the hell are you doing here?" I over-heard the man say to Edward.

Edward looked startled. It was the first time he actually heard someone call him by his real name.

"Edward, you look like you don't even remember us." The woman said to him.

Before I could react, Alice saw what went on and quickly approached them. "Hello, my name is Alice Brandon. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Oh, umm, maybe we're mistaken but this guy looks so much like our friend we haven't seen in years. My name is Pietro Marino and this is my wife Carlotta."

"He gets that a lot. For some reason people seem to mistake him for someone else. We all can't seem to figure out why. He doesn't even look like an average Joe, but still there's always someone who thinks he's someone they know. Could we interest you in a drink?" Alice said and saved the day. Pietro still didn't look convinced but they both got their drinks and went back to their table.

Alice stood beside Edward and looked like she was rubbing his back. She whispered something into his ear and Edward nodded. I saw relief in his eyes but he still looked tense. I really wanted to know what she said. I made a mental note to ask her later.

After the bride and the groom had their first bite, Aro Volturi approached. "Ah, Miss Swan, your dishes were phenomenal. Many of the guests approached me after hearing from the mother of the bride that I was the one who recommended you as the caterer. Is there any possibility for you to quit working for the Cullens and work as my personal chef in my home?"

"Please call me Bella. Thank you very much Aro. I'm flattered, but I have no interest in leaving the Café. I love the Cullens and where I work. They are my family and the Café is my home."

"I understand but I had to try. Congratulations for this highly successful catering job, and thank you. Your dishes have made this unbearable wedding very interesting. Without your food, I probably would have left as soon as I was done at the receiving line."

"Again I'm flattered, but I should be thanking you for recommending us to the bride. We actually have a few more wedding catering requests from your acquaintances."

"Oh that is good to hear. That means I get to enjoy more of your exquisite dishes. I should go and congratulate the father and mother of the bride. I look forward to seeing you at another wedding. If you ever need anything, please call me." Aro smiled and left leaving me his card with a cell phone number on it.

I looked towards the bar and found Edward smiling at the guests requesting him for his original cocktails. He was smiling but he no longer looked happy. It probably had something to do with the man and the woman who approached him earlier. I was so concentrated on Edward that I didn't even notice that Emmett now stood beside me.

"I need to ask you to do something."

"Sure. What can I do for you?"

"Alice asked me to contact the bride later to get the contact information of a Mr. Pietro Marino. Evidently they recognized Edward. Not Edward Green, but as Edward Masen. I'm not sure if I can get the information without explaining why we need it so I was wondering if you can contact Aro Volutri since he knows about Edward's past and his amnesia."

"Can't you just contact Jenks?"

"I could but I want to tread on this lightly. Who knows what Pietro Marino does for a living you know. Maybe he's also got connections to the Cosa Nostra. You don't want to dig around the mob unless you want to be dead in a dumpster."

"You serious? Come on, if he knows Edward, then he has to be someone safe. Maybe he's an artist too. Stop being so paranoid."

"Maybe he's an artist who exclusively paints for the Mafioso."

"Gosh, just because Aro knows the family of the bride doesn't mean that all the bride's guests have anything to do with the mob. Stop being ridiculous."

"Whatever, Bella. Just call Aro for Edward's sake. Okay?"

"I'm doing this for Edward. Not because of some silly fear of the guy possibly having connections to the mob." I scowled at Emmett.

I wasn't sure when Aro left the reception but thought I'd give him a call now than later. I thought I had a better chance to get a hold of him now since he couldn't have left that long ago.

"Hello. My name is Bella Swan. I'd like to speak to Mr. Aro Volturi, please." I said to the man who answered the phone and the man sounded really familiar.

"Hello Bella, I never imagined you would give me a call so soon." The man on the phone chuckled.

I didn't realize that Aro Volturi gave me his personal cell phone number. That was creepy. Why would he give me his personal number? Just the thought of having his personal number gave me the chills. He had been kind to us but he was still a creepy old man who none of us could figure out why he was so kind to us.

"I was calling to ask you if you could help me find out the contact information for Mr. Pietro Marino. He and his wife were guests at the reception and recognized Edward. They said they knew him, but it was neither the time nor place to be discussing Edward's amnesia so one of our staff basically told them that they were mistaken."

"Let me see what I can do and I'll contact you later."

"Thank you very much Mr. Volturi."

"Oh Bella, please call me Aro."

"Thank you, Aro. I hope to hear from you soon."

The phone call was short but it was uncomfortable. He probably wouldn't even go through the bride's family. He had enough resources to find out quickly.

Edward POV

I couldn't sleep much last night and felt exhausted. Alice promised me she would get the contact information of the man and the woman who recognized me from my past. Part of me wanted to go and find him during the reception and explain to him that I had no memory of him because of the accident, but another part of me was scared to meet the people who used to know me.

When I got back from my lunch break Emmett rushed over to me to stop me from going into the Café. "Edward, I need to tell you something," he said with a worried look.

"What's wrong, boss man?"

"The guy from the reception who recognized you is here at the Café, waiting for you. If you don't want to see him, I can tell him that you left for the day."

I felt my heart beat faster and my stomach churn. I needed to see him if I wanted to know more about myself but it was so hard. I had no idea who his was to me. I took a calming breath and told Emmett that I was fine and wanted to see him.

Everyone in the kitchen looked so worried. I smiled at them and headed into the Café.

The man looked happy when he saw me approach him. "Umm. Hello," I said to him. I sounded like an idiot. I couldn't come up with anything better to say. I was so nervous.

"Hi, Edward. It's good to see you again," he said and offered me a seat at his table.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," I said to him.

"You don't need to apologize. Mr. Volturi explained to me about the reason why you didn't recognize us. I'm sorry to barge in on you like this without warning, but we're leaving later today to go back to Chicago. We were just here for the wedding."

"You must have had somewhere you needed to be then. I'm sorry to inconvenience you."

"Please don't apologize. I wanted to be here. Let me show you something," he said and pulled a velvet ring case out. "I know you from Chicago, because you made my wife's pink diamond engagement ring." He opened the case and showed me a beautiful floral shaped pink diamond ring with pave emeralds shaped like a leaf and stem. I heard gasps from Emmett and Rosalie who stood by the counter. Pietro noticed and smiled at them.

"I…I made this for you?"

"Yes. You spent months with me designing this ring and we travelled to Australia to find the perfect Argyle pink diamond. You were very patient with me and made numerous changes until it turned out to be exactly the way I imagined it to be," he said and looked really happy with the ring. I couldn't believe I made something so beautiful.

"Did your wife like it?"

"She absolutely loved it, Edward. It's her favorite jewelry. I wanted you to make another one for her, for our first anniversary and tried contacting you and even visited your place but the doorman told me that you were travelling. I kept leaving you messages but you never returned my call. I always wondered what happened to you."

"Thank you so much for showing me this ring. It's beautiful and I'm glad to hear I made you and your wife happy." I was overwhelmed at the fact that I once held the power to make someone so happy.

"We had a great time on our trip to Australia. We went to Ayers Rock. We stayed at the Sails in the Desert Hotel. We took a helicopter tour around Ayers Rock and had dinner at Sounds of Silence under the canopy in the desert. We went star gazing. We laughed so much when we went on the camel tour. We were both really exhausted when we went on the Kings Canyon Rim Walk. I was so out of shape that you had to help me up the 500-step climb. I took a lot of pictures and videos. I also kept the sketches of the design with your notes on them and had pictures taken of this ring at our engagement party so I'd be happy to send a copy of them all to you once I get back home. If you're ever in Chicago, please contact me. I could take you to some of the places we went and had dinner and drinks. If you'd like, please feel free to show this ring to your friends. She looks like she's dying to take a closer look," he said and pointed at Rosalie and chuckled.

I waved over to Rosalie and Emmett to come over. Rosalie jumped at the opportunity. Pietro showed them the ring. "Would you mind if we took a picture?" Rosalie asked Pietro.

"Be my guest," he said and smiled.

Rosalie ran into the kitchen and Jasper and Bella came running out of the kitchen with a big smile on their faces. They oohed and ahhed over the ring. "Alice is going to be soooo jealous when she finds out that we all got to see the ring Edward made." Jasper said and chuckled.

I was surprised to see the tears in their eyes. They were really happy for me. Bella came and wrapped her arm around me. "The ring is absolutely gorgeous. It's so delicate and beautiful," she said and smiled.

I had no memory of creating this but I felt proud. It felt really good. I was thankful Rosalie asked if she could take a picture of the ring. I wanted to ask him, but I was too embarrassed but didn't want to wait for him to send me pictures later.

Pietro had to leave but he left me a card with his contact information. I gave him my cell phone number and promised I would contact him if I was ever in Chicago. At that moment I decided that I would contact the lawyer tonight. I wanted to contact him while I felt good about myself and my accomplishment.

Before we closed for the day, Emmett invited us all to their place after work. He looked at Bella and smirked.

"Does that smirk mean you want me to cook dinner?"

"Hell yeah! We even have expensive caviar to celebrate with," he said and laughed.

A/N

I'm sorry I took a while to update this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I also have a new chapter of Amor Vincit Omnia up, Chapter 30, if you haven't read it yet. I'm not sure if I'd be updating before Christmas, so I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

I'd appreciate it, if you would please leave a review! Thank you!