A/N: Happy Friday! Thank you so much for your reviews! I love reading your thoughts! I do believe it's nearly unanimous…Em's an ass…

Scorpio11 – Thank you, dear one! Xoxo

SMeyer owns all Twilight characters. I sure as heck wish I did!

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9.

EDWARD

Friday was finally here, and it had been busy. There was a team meeting wherein McCarty roasted my nuts the whole time picking over the report I'd given him. When he couldn't find a flaw in the fucker, he was actually pissed. I saw Jasper look at me and grin.

After the meeting, Whitlock cornered me in the men's room, of all places. "What did you do to piss off the boss after only two weeks, give or take?" he asked.

"I have a date with his sister-in-law tonight. He ain't too pleased," I responded. Whitlock laughed as he washed his hands. I'd guess anyone not in my shoes would find it funny. I didn't find anything too fucking funny about it.

"She's expectin', right?" Whitlock drawled, causing me to chuckle. At least I wasn't the only southern boy in the joint.

I was surprised he knew, though, because I'd assumed McCarty didn't broadcast the news, but then again, knowing him, maybe. "She is. How'd ya know?" I asked as we walked out of the men's room.

"Well, fate brought McCarty's wife into my girlfriend's dress shop. My Alice met your Bella. Apparently, she's a beautiful girl, so you're pretty lucky," Whitlock enlightened. I agreed with him. I was lucky, but I wondered exactly what he meant.

"I feel lucky, but why do you think so?" I asked as we stopped in front of his office which was down the hall from mine. How the fuck I ended up with the office next to McCarty I'd never know. I'd have given a pinky finger to have Whitlock's.

"I'd say a beautiful young woman who cares about her sister so much she'd carry babies for her to make her sister happy is a rare gem. Alice wants me to set somethin' up with the four of us after you two get a little further down the datin' road. Are you gonna go further down the datin' road?" Jasper asked.

I chuckled. "Actually, that's entirely up to the lady. See ya," I called as I walked to my office and closed the door.

Later that evening, I was driving to Bella's house, and I was a little nervous. I'd stopped at a little flower shop not far from my apartment and picked up a bouquet of mixed fall flowers for the young lady, and I was second guessing myself the whole drive.

I had done a lot of soul searching about why I freaked out when Emmett told me something he never should have, and I determined I was a moron. I knew it was exactly what my sister would have told me if I'd given her the whole story, and I trusted her assessment of situations implicitly, so I had to go along with what I presumed would be her determination of how I'd behaved…stupid fucking moron.

I'd worked myself into a tizzy when I thought about how much better a person Bella was than me, and it was a humbling experience. For someone to give something so unselfishly without a thought to their own well-being made me feel like a total prick for some of the lascivious thoughts I'd had about her since I met her. I was about to nominate the woman for sainthood until I kissed her. I couldn't help myself, and after that kiss, well, I knew I couldn't stay away from her under any circumstances.

I didn't know how I'd fight the physical urges I had for her, and I didn't know how she'd feel about me after the babies were born, but one kiss sealed my fate…I had to see if there was any way I was good enough for Bella Swan. I had to put her inexperience out of my head and see her for the beautiful woman she was, inside and out.

I couldn't treat her like a china doll, because I got the impression the lady wouldn't stand for it. I also had to make sure the date was spectacular after the tremendous git I'd been earlier in the week. I would make it up to her come hell or high water.

I pulled into the driveway of McCarty's house and walked around the side to Bella's door, knocking and giving myself a pep talk. We'd talked the night before, and it had been another great discussion, so there was no reason to be nervous. She'd told me she was looking forward to our night out, and I'd confirmed I was as well. See, no reason to be nervous…*cough* bullshit *cough*

When she opened the door, I felt like I'd been kicked in the chest. The whoosh of air that came out of me should have been as embarrassing as if I'd showed up with no pants, but I couldn't feel that way. She looked amazing. She was wearing a blue dress that hugged her body in a very pleasing way. The highlight…oh, my god, the woman had an incredible rack. It was like trying to look away from a car accident. You know you shouldn't look, but you can't help yourself.

"Shit. I knew this was too low-cut. I told Rosalie…" she complained as her hand flew up to cover the delightful cleavage turning a little pink under my gaze.

I cleared my throat and looked into her beautiful eyes. "No! You look incredible. I apologize for starin'. These are for you," I responded as I handed her the bouquet. I could feel the heat rise in my ears, but I couldn't help but be pleased.

"Oh, they're beautiful. Come in while I put them in water," she invited. I wiped my feet on the mat and followed her inside, taking in the view from the back which was just as pleasing as the view of the front.

"So, um, how was your test today?" I asked, remembering when we'd spoken the night before she'd been studying for a forensic accounting test. I'd quizzed her a bit, from what I remembered about the class, and I was pretty sure the woman was a straight A student.

"I think I did well. Honestly, did Emmett give you shit today?" she asked as she walked back into her living room with a clear vase in which the flowers were situated. She put it on her coffee table, and looked up at me with a beautiful smile.

I'd forgotten she'd asked a question for a moment. She cleared her throat a little, and I snapped out of my daze. "Oh, um, well, no more than I'd expected. Every time he passed my office door, he gave me the two-fingered 'I'm watchin' ya' gesture. It actually became funny toward the end of the day. I guess we should go?" I asked.

She'd made the reservation, and the fact she'd told me to stop by at 6:30 gave me the indication our reservation was for 7:00.

She grabbed a little purse and her keys off the coffee table, and we headed out. I stopped outside for her to lock the door, and then I offered her my arm, remembering what Emmett had said about making sure she didn't stumble. There were stairs and a sidewalk from her place to the driveway, and just as we approached my car, I heard a whistle behind us, as well as a groan from Bella.

When we turned to look at the front porch of the house, we saw Emmett sitting on the top step with a beer. He gave me the two-fingered gesture and pointed to his watch. "He's such a fucking toolbox," Bella said in a soft voice. I laughed and waved at Emmett as I opened the door to my car to help her inside.

I hurried around and got in, shoving the keys in the ignition and then pulling up the GPS on my phone where I'd already programmed the address to the restaurant.

When the directions came up, I handed it to Bella. "Would ya do the honors?" I asked, causing the giggle I loved to hear.

"So, tell me about life in Forks," I asked, hoping to break the ice.

"Boring as hell," she responded. I glanced in her direction to see if there was more, but when there wasn't, I knew she was just as nervous as me.

"Your daddy is the chief of police. There must be some interestin' stories," I suggested, hoping to loosen her up.

"Charlie," she started and then chuckled a little. "He's a good, decent man of few words and high standards. Growing up, Rosalie was a hellcat, as you might have guessed. I, on the other hand, was a wallflower. I didn't date. I didn't party. I didn't have a curfew because I didn't go anywhere except to the library or my job. Oh, and I went fishing with him during the summer.

"We'd get up at 5:30 on Saturday mornings and go fishing with his friend, Billy and his son. Mom hated it when we caught anything because she hated fish, much like you, but when I got old enough, I learned how to cook them for Charlie and me. He's a good man," she explained.

I reminded her I didn't hate fish, I just wasn't very adventurous, and we settled into an easy rhythm of me explaining what it was like growing up in Atlanta and her telling stories about how it was growing up in a town of just over three-thousand.

I told her about my college roommate, Felix, and she told me about her friend, Jessica, with whom she'd roomed before she moved in with Emmett and Rosalie. She sounded sad when she talked about how her friends, Jessica and Kim, basically abandoned her when they found out she was pregnant, and I got the distinct impression she didn't have many friends to hang out with. I certainly couldn't understand why.

I pulled up to the valet stand in front of the restaurant, and after the valet helped her out, I handed him the keys. I walked around to the sidewalk and offered her my arm. "Well, Miss Swan, shall we?" I asked as her hand settled in the crook over my suit jacket. I adjusted my tie because I'd dressed up for the date. Bella Swan was the type of girl for whom you dressed up when you had the privilege of her company.

"Reservation for Swan," Bella announced to the hostess. The woman gave me the eye, which I didn't appreciate much so I put my arm around Bella, resting my hand on her hip and drawing her closer to me.

The woman arched her eyebrow at me, but showed us to a table smack dab in the middle of the room. I looked around and saw a better table, so I reached in my pocket and pulled out a ten-dollar bill, folding it and looking at the woman with a smile. "I think I'd like that table over there," I remarked as I pressed the bill in the woman's hand. She reluctantly picked up the menus she'd placed on the table and led us to the more intimate one by the windows.

I pulled out Bella's chair and offered my hand to help her get situated, taking my seat to her left after she was comfortable, although the hostess had pulled out the chair across from Bella. I heard the woman 'hmph' when I sat down and held out my hand for the menu. She handed one to me, which I handed to Bella, and then I snatched the other from the girl's hand, catching her off-guard. I despise rude behavior, especially toward a lady.

"The dinner specials are listed on the third page. We have a number of salads the lady might like," she spouted as she pointed to the salad portion of the menu in Bella's hand. I saw Bella cringe, and I didn't like it one fucking bit.

"Oh, with what this beautiful woman is doin', she won't be eatin' rabbit food," I commented as I placed my hand on Bella's stomach and smiled at her, ignoring the rude woman.

The woman cleared her throat, and when I looked at her, she smiled. "Can I give your waiter your drink order?" she asked.

I turned to Bella. "Darlin', what would you like?" I asked.

"I'll have sparkling water," Bella told me. I held up to fingers to the woman without looking at her, and I didn't even look her way as she stomped off.

"Edward, you didn't have to do that. I'm used to people giving me…" she began.

"Not when you're out with me. I won't stand for it. You deserve to be shown respect, and that woman doesn't have the slightest idea we're on our first date. Hell, for all she knows, we could be celebratin' an anniversary or somethin', and if we were, she just ruined it. Now, what looks good?" I asked as I turned to my menu, holding Bella's hand on top of the table to keep myself from hunting the rude bitch down and ripping her a new one.

"God, the cuts of steak are huge," Bella commented. I noticed it myself, and while I was sure I could handle one by myself, I didn't want her to worry if she couldn't.

"Um, well, how 'bout this. You pick a steak, and we'll share it, and I'll get the Scampi add-on," I suggested as my mouth watered.

"You'd do that?" she asked as she looked at me. I lifted her hand and kissed the top of it.

"Whatever you want," I answered, not exactly giving away the fact I meant it in a lot of ways beyond sharing a steak.

"Hello. I'm Derek, your waiter," a young man announced as he poured Bella a glass of sparkling water and then one for me. I liked him a lot better than the bitch that seated us.

We ordered the eight-ounce filet mignon to share with the scampi extra for me. Bella ordered a side of macaroni and cheese, which brought a laugh from me, and I ordered the potato cakes because I could see she was torn between those and the mac and cheese. We ordered the Béarnaise sauce, and I ordered a salad.

"Any wine?" the waiter asked.

"Edward, you can have wine if you'd like," Bella whispered with a cute smile.

"I'm good, sugar," I told her. The waiter smiled and left, leaving us alone which was all I wanted.

"Emmett told me I'm to pay half the bill so you don't expect anything," Bella joked. I'd been looking out the window at the view, but when she made the statement, I got pissed.

"I'll deal with Emmett. I asked you for a date, and I think you know I'm the type of guy who pays for a date. If Emmett wants to treat us to dinner, he can pay the whole bill," I replied, causing her to laugh and squeeze my hand.

"So, do you miss Atlanta?" Bella asked. That was a very good question. I hadn't lived at home except for summers for six years, so I really didn't miss it, but I did miss my family.

"Not really, but I miss Sunday dinners at my parents' place with the whole family," I replied.

"Oh, did you guys do a big dinner every Sunday?" she asked as she gently pulled her hand from mine and adjusted her dress a little, giving me another eyeful of the most gorgeous cleavage I'd ever had the privilege of seeing.

"Um, what? Oh, yeah. Every Sunday, Momma made a big spread, and we'd all show," I responded, not having paid much attention to her question because I was too busy rudely ogling her chest.

I snapped my eyes to hers to see her hiding a laugh. "Fine. Ya caught me again," I answered the only way I could.

"Do you have a big family?" she asked once she had my attention. Thankfully, she didn't comment about my less than gentlemanly behavior.

"Well, there's only me and Tanya, but my Uncle Mark and Aunt Didi live in Atlanta. He's Momma's brother. They'd show, invited or not, and my grandparents would come over before they both passed. Last time I was home for a big doin's, it was just my parents, me, Tanya and Andy. It was actually nice because my uncle is quite a drinker and has ruined more than one family party," I answered, thinking back to some of his antics when he'd get liquored up and make an ass of himself. Every week, Momma would swear she wouldn't allow them to come back, but they'd show up anyway, and she always had more than enough food.

"You were chugging beers at Emmett's that Saturday," she pointed out teasingly.

I laughed. "Yeah, well, I was tryin' to figure out what the hell was goin' on. It damn near broke my heart when I thought Emmett had both of ya," I responded as my salad was delivered.

I decided to get her to talk about herself while I ate my salad. "How 'bout y'all? Big family dinners?"

"Our family gatherings are probably a lot more low-brow than yours. We spend a lot of time down at the beach with my father's friends. They have bonfires and fish fries nearly every weekend. It's fun, I guess, though I'm mostly in the background," she responded. I looked up from my salad and saw her eyeing my plate.

"Would you like some? I'll never get all my food down if I eat all this. It's huge," I commented as I moved the plate in front of her.

"It, uh, it would be a shame to waste it," she replied shyly as she dug in, finishing it in record time. I tried not to laugh as I told her about some of our family vacations which weren't very exciting, but I didn't want her to be self-conscious while she was scarfing down a salad like she hadn't eaten in a week.

When she finished, I pulled the plate in front of me and poured her more water. A few minutes later, our food was delivered. We divided the steak, me giving her the larger portion and reminding her of the shrimp when she protested, and then we tucked in to one of the best meals I've had in a while.

Her moans and groans as she ate her dinner had me fidgeting like a six-year old in church. Keeping my hands off of her was going to prove difficult as I sat there observing her as I ate my dinner.

Once we were both finished, I turned to her and took her hand. "You have room for dessert?" I asked as I squeezed her hand, enjoying the heat from it.

She rubbed stomach in the most adorable fashion, and smiled at me. "Maybe just a cup of decaf?"

I laughed as the waiter cleared the table and offered us dessert menus. I perused it and saw they had cheesecake. "I can't tempt you to share a piece of cheesecake?" I asked.

I saw her review the menu and smile. "If you really want to tempt me, why don't we get a piece of the Nine Layer Chocolate Cake to go? We can take it back to my place, and I'll make us coffee. We can watch a movie, if you'd like," she offered. Taking her back to her place and spending time alone? Oh. Fuck. Yeah.

I motioned to the waiter and ordered the dessert and asked for the check. He returned a few minutes later with a bag that looked like a birthday gift. "Here's your dessert. Thank you for visiting us. I hope you enjoyed your experience," he offered.

"I'm going to the ladies' room. I'll be right back," Bella remarked as she started to get up from her chair. I stood and pulled it out for her, hearing the giggle. I watched her walk away to be sure she didn't stumble, and then I turned back to the waiter.

"She's lovely. When are you due?" he asked. Obviously, he'd mistaken the fact that because she was pregnant, we were a couple. Fuck it…who cares?

"December. Twins," I told him as I handed him my credit card. He walked away with a smile, and I found I wasn't at all uncomfortable he'd made the assumption. I was sure we'd get it a lot when we went out, and I planned to take her out as much as she was up to. She was wonderful company, and I'd enjoyed myself. Who wouldn't love that?

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"So, your mom was sitting on the bed when she crawled in the window?" Bella asked. I was telling her one of the many stories of my big sister getting caught sneaking back in after her curfew when she was in high school. Tanya was quite the hellion.

We were sitting on Bella's couch sharing the cake and ice cream. Bella had changed into a pair of black pants and a t-shirt when we got back to her place, apologizing but explaining she was uncomfortable in the beautiful dress. I bid a nearly tearful good-bye to her cleavage before she left the room, but her ass in the pants when she returned…incredible.

I'd taken off my tie and jacket, unbuttoning the top two buttons of my dress shirt and slipping off my shoes. She'd made me coffee and herself a cup of tea, and we were listening to music, having skipped the movie.

"It was two o'clock in the mornin' and my momma had gone to check on Tanya because she'd begged off dinner, sayin' she wasn't feelin' well. When Momma went in and Tanya wasn't there, she turned on the television and settled in to wait. I think Tanya was grounded for two weeks and had to clean the store for Momma for at least a month. That was how the two of them started workin' together," I explained.

Bella laughed as she placed her plate on the coffee table and pulled her feet up on the couch in front of her. I reached out and took both ankles in my hands, stretching her legs out across my thighs and placing my sock-clad feet on her coffee table, sinking into the comfortable couch while taking in the sight of the beautiful woman at the other end.

I began gently massaging her feet for reasons unknown to me besides the fact they were just there, and when she moaned, she had my full attention. "What would your proper-southern mother think of the fact that I'm carrying my sister's babies?" she asked as she sunk down further onto the couch and rubbed her stomach a bit with a small smile on her face.

"As my sister reminded me, my mother would be a sobbing mess at hearin' the story until she could manage to get to her credit card and book a flight to come meet ya. You, my gorgeous girl, are the type of woman my momma would love," I responded, seeing her close her eyes as I continued my attention to her feet.

"What would your tough police-chief father think of you datin' a southern transplant?" I asked as I closed my eyes as well. When I didn't hear an answer, I turned to see her sound asleep with a smile on her face.

She was so relaxed I couldn't, in good conscience, wake her. She was so damned adorable I found it difficult to leave, but it wouldn't do for my car to still be in the driveway in the morning, nor would it actually be proper because she hadn't invited me to stay, not that I expected she would.

I gently lifted her feet and pulled her down a bit so that her neck wasn't cricked, and I crawled out from under her. I walked back to her bedroom and found a blanket on a chair in the corner. I carried it back down the hallway and covered her with it, kissing her forehead and then gently grazing her lips with mine.

I walked to her kitchen and found a pad and pen by the phone. I left a note, thanking her for the date and asking her to call me the next day. I let myself out, making certain the backdoor was locked, and then I climbed the stairs to the driveway.

It had been the best first date I'd ever had, and I was so relaxed I had to stand beside my car and take in deep breaths of the cool night air to wake up before I crawled behind the wheel. I'd certainly never anticipated meeting a woman like Bella Swan, much less the circumstance in which she came into my life, but I wouldn't regret it ever.

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E/N: So, the date? Can't wait to hear from you!

Thanks for reading.

Till next time…xoxo