Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise, I just use their creations to have my wicked way with them. No copyright infringement is intended.

This story wouldn't be what it is without my wonderful beta, The Real Teacher, holding my hand and correcting my many errors. Thank you so much!

As always, pictures of all sights, people, clothes and vehicles mentioned in this chapter can be found on my blog. The link is on my profile page.

Chapter 10 – The City of Love

Or how we stared at one wall and broke another one down.

There was something about airports that made me feel all melancholy. The rush of people around you saying goodbye or being reunited again had a way of making me feel kind of lost and alone. It had hit me for the first time when I landed in Rome; the fact that I was so far away from everyone and everything I knew and loved and had only myself for company almost sending me headfirst into a panic attack.

Not this time, though.

This time I was jumpy like a jackrabbit but not from nerves or panic or any other negative emotion. This time, my nervous anticipation was connected directly to a whole bunch of butterflies spinning around in my stomach and an almost electric undercurrent singing through my veins, my eyes flashing around me, barely taking in their new surroundings as I sprinted across the maze of hallways and corridors leading to baggage claim at Charles de Gaulle airport.

T-minus ten minutes until I got to see Edward again!

People around me were looking at me as if I'd lost my mind and with a slight snort I realized that had my hair been slightly darker and my skin tone just a little more olivey, I'd probably been snatched up by airport security as soon as the plane had deboarded and would now be spreading my ass cheeks for a thorough skin search.

I finally managed to make my way into the huge baggage hall without attracting the attention of the scary looking French cops or the even scarier German Shepherd's they had with them only to find out that our luggage had been delayed and would be rolling off the belt no sooner than twenty minutes from then.

Crap! T-minus ten minutes had just doubled into forever.

I bit my nails, or what was left of them after seven long hours and twenty unbearable minutes of counting down the seconds until the damned plane would finally touch down on French soil.

I flung myself onto one of the hard, steel benches dejectedly as I glared at the empty, unmoving conveyor belt. This was not going as planned.

The eternity it took until the first bags finally started to roll onto the belt was used texting Edward to keep him informed of the slight delay and Alice to let her know I'd landed safely and would let her know when I'd reached the hotel, my legs bouncing continuously on the marble floor as my eyes stayed transfixed on the luggage belt, my body ready to spring into action at the slightest movement.

"Finally," I muttered when, after what seemed like half a decade, my lime green suitcase finally slid into view.

From there on out it took me only seconds to navigate the luggage hall and find the one face in the throng of people standing outside the sliding doors I was desperate to see.

And then he was in front of me, just like that, and everything else slipped away.

Edward.

I let out a content sigh as I spotted him, leaning against a wall in all his laidback glory, one hand in his hair as the other held up a tattered book, his lips muttering something I couldn't hear from so far away.

How could a man be so….so sexy, without even trying?

Just the sight of him had my thighs clenching and my ovaries doing a jig at the prospect of having him near me for the next couple of days. Imagine being able to run my hands all over that! Talking to him over the last couple of weeks had been amazing but this…..there was nothing that could compare.

Suddenly his eyes shot up; liquid pools of green boring into mine and setting my whole being alight; a lopsided grin breaking onto his face as he pushed away from the wall and started moving towards me.

And just like that I felt like the first day in kindergarten: small, nervous and completely inadequate.

What do I say? I wondered, licking my dry lips as he got closer and closer. Do I kiss him? Do I hug him? Do I wrap my arms and legs around him and let him have me right here on the floor?

Suddenly he was right in front of me; my unconscious taking over as my mind still scrambled to decide on the best course of action. "Hi," I breathed, already feeling my cheeks become aflame with the look he was giving me.

"Hi," he answered, his lips pulling into a wide, happy smile that lit up his face and made my heart flutter inside my chest. "You're here."

"Yes." I nodded, licking my lips again. "I'm here. And so are you."

"Can I….." he seemed hesitant, leaning in slightly, his tongue peeking out to wet his lips as his hands came to rest on my hips, pulling me closer as he awaited my response.

I nodded again, this time a little more fervently. "Yes."

It was all the encouragement he needed to close the gap, his lips brushing softly against mine once…twice….three times, before they lingered a little longer as his free arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me into him….into our kiss.

I sighed contently, closing my eyes as our lips remained connected. This….it made everything worthwhile. The waiting, the uncertainty…This was where I wanted to be….who I wanted to be with.

"I missed you," he muttered against my lips, kissing the corner of my mouth, the tip of my nose and my eyelids as they fluttered closed again while I gasped for breath. "I missed you. So fucking much"

"So did I," I whispered, holding onto the front of his coat as I rose to tiptoe so that I could kiss him again. "But I'm here now."

"Hmmm, yes you are," he purred, his lips pulling me into oblivion again as they reconnected with mine.

For a few minutes the whole world around us falls away and it's only us but then, as is always the case when two people stand entangled in each other in the middle of the arrivals hall in a busy airport, real life comes crashing back in.

And this time it did so in most literal sense of the world.

"Oomph!" I gasped, as a family of four migrating though the crowds like a stampede of buffalo had me careening into Edward with a force that almost sent both of us crashing to the floor.

"Watch where you're going you idiot!" Edward snarled, the pater familias so busy looking after his own that all we got in the way of an apology was a slight wave. "Bloody wanker!"

"Are you okay?" his attention was back on me, his eyes scanning my body for any visible signs of trauma before settling on my face, his fingers ghosting over my flushed cheeks as he stood protectively in front of me; shielding me from whatever dangers could come at us.

"I'm fine," I shrugged, rubbing the spot on my calf a hard-shell suitcase had made contact with. "I guess that teaches us not to suck face in the middle of a crowded place, huh?"

My words did little to diffuse the tension in his body or the anger in his face, though he did humor me by pulling his lips into a wry smile as he wrapped his arm around me. "Let's just get out of here, shall we?"

I nodded eagerly, not just happy to get out of this busy place and on to a – hopefully – much more private spot but also because the thought of getting out of here and into Paris, the place I'd seen and heard so much about, made me giddy with anticipation.

Seeing as Edward had left his yellow Vespa in Rome, we had to resort to public transport to get to the city; a train taking us first into Gare du Nord before we changed to the underground which took us straight into the Boulevard de Clichy and the lively 18th arrondissement of Paris also known as Montmartre.

"The first time I came here…..I was so stupid," Edward chuckled, shaking his head as his lips pulled into a self-deprecating sneer. "I was barely twenty years old and so full of myself…I had all these dreams of being a big, celebrated artists and I thought that Paris would welcome me with open arms, being the city of art and all that."

I sighed, the tone of his voice making me a bit uneasy. "Let me guess: the welcome wasn't as warm as you thought it would be?"

Edward snorted. "The trouble is that with Paris being the city of art and Montmartre the beating heart of it, the density of artist in this city….it's insane. I did try to hawk my stuff – hell I think I wore out two pairs of pretty sturdy shoes pounding the pavement in search of someone who would take a chance on me – but with dozens of other better and more experienced photographers out there….."

He shrugged, looking sideways at me as we waited in front of a traffic light, his hand letting go of my suitcase just long enough to run it through his hair. "If it hadn't been for Tanya I think I would have had to throw my lot in with the clochards. I think I would have looked pretty hot sporting a beard, don't you think?"

I rolled my eyes though I didn't let the image of Edward with a beard distract me for long. "Tanya?" The mention of the name – a woman's name - stirred up all sorts of feelings inside of me – possessiveness and jealousy being two of them. He'd mentioned that name two or three times before in our conversations, each time with a reverence that made me want to claw the woman's eyes out even though I didn't know her.

"She's a friend of mine," Edward was quick to explain. "My best friend, in fact. Hell, I think she's the only real friend I've ever had apart from my sister and Bea doesn't really count since she's family and therefore under an obligation to put up with my crap."

"How long have you known each other?" I asked, trying to mask the huge sense of relief that came from knowing that this Tanya – whoever she might have been – wasn't some sort of ex girlfriend hovering in the background.

A friend.

I could deal with that.

Right?

"We met in art school," Edward explained, his hand on the small of my back guiding me into a quiet side street off the Boulevard the Clichy. "She was a fourth year who took pity on me; a quiet unworldly little momma's boy from the suburbs. The rest – as they say – is history."

I nodded, a few more pieces of the puzzle that was Edward Cullen lowly sliding into place. "And she came with you to Paris?"

Edward nodded. "I was in a pretty bad place back then. I think she felt she had to watch over me….make sure I wouldn't end up somewhere in the gutter with a needle sticking out of my arm. Besides…she'd just finished up in London and was looking for a new challenge – or that's what she tells me."

"What happened?" I asked, realizing my mistake even before I watched the shutters shoot back up around Edward's heart, his mouth setting into a tight line as his face molded into a stoney expressionless mask.

It was like looking at a marble statue.

"Later," he said, grabbing my arm to halt me in front of a small, quaint looking hotel. "We're here."

The cozy, light interior of the little boutique hotel that would be our base camp during this week couldn't lift the heavy feeling that had settled in the pit of my stomach.

What had happened to Edward to drive him out of London?

It had to have been bad if his friend would just skip countries to keep an eye on him. But then again….where were his parents in all of this? Were they somehow connected to his leaving town? Where they the cause? It would explain the way he spoke about them or reacted whenever they were mentioned.

"Let's get us checked in, okay?" Edward suggested, the apologetic vulnerability in his eyes almost breaking my heart. "We'll talk more later."

I nodded, biting my lip. "Okay."

I was quite happy to take a step back and let Edward and his – what appeared to be – fluent French take care of business while I sat down in one of the seats across the front desk and ogled his fine form. Seriously, was there anything that man couldn't do?

Well, maybe apart from laying all his cards on the table…..

It was amazing to find how easy it still was to be around him, even after spending almost two months apart and having to start all over again after the disastrous ending to our Roman affair. It was like nothing had changed; how we just fell back together like two parts of a whole. We each had our flaws and I suspected that he knew as well as I did that we had some pretty tough conversations still ahead of us but when we were together none of that mattered. When we were together I could really see that, in spite of all our obstacles, we could have a happy ending.

Together.

That had to mean this was meant to be, didn't it?

"I think I've got everything sorted out," Edward grinned proudly, returning from the front desk with a smug look on his face as if he were a victorious soldier returning from the battlefield. "Here's your key."

"Thanks," I snickered, watching as he jostled my suitcase into the small elevator. "Hey? Where's your luggage, by the way?"

"Right here," he shrugged, patting a bag that looked about the same size as my carryon bag.

"That's all you packed for five days?" I gasped, trying to wrap my mind around the possibility of enough clothes, toiletries and other necessities as well as his photographical equipment could ever fit inside something as small as that.

"I don't need much," he shrugged, both of us barely able to squeeze into the small, confined space of the elevator car as it brought us up to the second floor.

"I'd say!" I chuckled. "I'm almost ashamed to think of all the stuff I brought now – stuff I'm pretty sure I don't even need."

He smiled warmly, his hand reaching out to take mine. "You just like to be prepared." There was something about the way his thumb rubbed the back of my hand that set every doubt his

hesitance to talk about his past might have raised back at ease.

I didn't know why but in that moment, as I looked into his deep, green eyes, I felt like I could trust him with everything I had, including my heart. Did this mean that I was…

I blushed, looking down at our joined hands as the elevator stopped, the doors sliding open to reveal a small hallway with only a few rooms leading off of it. No, it was much too soon for that. It had to be too soon for that…

"You're over there," Edward announced, pointing at one of the doors. "I'll be just across the landing." He slid his keycard into the slot, the door to room 303 opening with a slight creak as natural light flooded into the hallway.

I nodded dumbly, my mind still trying to play catch up to the fact that – contrary to all the plans for stealthy seduction Alice and I had hatched in preparation for this trip – we wouldn't be sharing a room.

"I can imagine you'll want to freshen up a bit after your flight and…do other shit you women do," Edward went on, completely oblivious to my inner confusion. "How about I come and get you in half an hour? Would that be enough time to get settled in?"

"I guess," I managed, dumbly opening my own door when it seemed like Edward was waiting for me to do so, the door clicking back into the lock behind me as I let my eyes glide across the light and airy attic room I now found myself in.

Hmmm… Separate rooms with not even as much as interlocking doors where I expected there to be one room with a big ass bed covered in romantic pillows or – when I let my daydreams take a little leap with me – rose petals.

Should I be worried?

Twenty minutes of over thinking and one of the most unrelaxing showers (though that had nothing to do with the actual shower – which was lovely and relaxing – but everything with me – confused and anything but relaxed) later and I still wasn't anywhere closer to figuring it out.

Edward was supposed to be the kind of hot-blooded twenty-five year old who'd pounce on a girl as soon as he was able and knew she was willing. The fact that he didn't….well, it worried me.

Then again, hadn't he always been a perfect gentleman to me? He'd stepped away, back in Rome, when it was clear he could have had me and even over the past couple of weeks he'd never made crass remarks or insinuations like Mike had always done.

I just couldn't figure him out.

Which meant there was only one thing left to do…call in the cavalry.

"Bellaaaaa!" Thank God Alice picked up, my relief at successfully calling in a helpline making me forgive her for squealing into my ear. "Bonjour! Ca va?"

"I have no idea what you're saying just now, you know that right?' I snorted, before returning to business again. "Let's make this quick because Edward's picking me up in ten minutes. I've run into a snag."

"A snag?" I could hear I now had Alice's full attention. "That kinda sucks! Oh, but Bella? I feel like I should warn you. I'm having lunch with Rose so you're on speakerphone right now."

"Even better!" I breathed.

"So what did he do?" Rose pressed impatiently.

"What makes you think this was something he did?" I scowled, really not seeing why after all this time Rose still held a grudge against him over the Rome thing. "We're in separate rooms."

The reactions I got couldn't have been more different if they tried.

"Oh no!" Alice gasped.

"And you're freaking out because of that?" Rose asked, apparently not seeing the point there. "I don't see the problem here."

"It is if they are going to get their sexy times on," Alice was quick to explain. "I don't have to tell you that getting all hot and heavy together is going to be difficult if you're both in different beds."

"Who says you have to sleep in your own bed every night?" Rose countered. "Really, the way I see it this separate room thing isn't that big an issue."

I frowned. "And why is that?"

"It's what any sane person would do in this kind of situation," Rose clarified. "What do you think Jane would have said if she'd ever find out you and Edward shared a room on a business trip?"

I cringed. Jane….I hadn't factored her into the equation. "Erm…..you're fired?"

"That's right," Rose chuckled. "And for that matter, have you given any thought to how it would make the two of you look? I mean…..Edward's a guy, so we can pretty much assume that, at one point, he's at least thought about having sex with you, but to come out and blatantly assume he's going to get laid…..No guy in his right mind would be so stupid!"

"Oh, o-okay," I stammered.

"And no girl either," Rose went on. She really was on a roll there. "Booking a single room when you go on a business trip with a guy you've never slept with is as much as saying 'hey there, sailor. Don't bother spending any money on wining and dining me because I'm pretty much a sure thing, so just drop your pants and let me hop on and do my thing.' You don't want that to happen, now, do you?"

"N-no," I gasped. "I certainly don't."

"Really Bella? You and Alice can be such…..virgins sometimes!" Rose still appeared to be quite befuddled by my little panic attack. "Have you really been out of this game for so long that you've forgotten the rules?"

I chuckled even though I knew I should probably feel hurt or indignant right now. "You forget I never even opened the box, Rose. You have to get the board set up and get started before you can wonder about the rules…."

"True," she snickered, "but just because you were crazy enough to marry your high school sweetheart instead of playing the field a little, doesn't mean that you can go around and act like a two bit whore now."

I cringed. "No, I don't think I want to be doing that."

"For some strange reason, Edward seems to like you just the way you are – insane panic attacks and everything – so just go on being you and enjoy the city of love with the guy you like and everything will work out just the way it should."

"Wow, Rose," I breathed. "That's kinda deep for you."

She chuckled. "I have my moments. Don't tell Jane, though. I think she'll fire me if she suspects I'm going soft."

"Duly noted," I giggled, jumping at the sound of Edward knocking on the door. "Edward's here. I've gotta go. Thank guys….you've really saved my life here."

Their giggles still sounded through as I ended the call, feeling a lot lighter and more sure of myself as I went to open the door.

Rose had been right. Sharing a room with Edward right now would have made me look cheap and easy. As much as I wanted to have sex – hell, maybe even needed to have sex or at least some kind of release – I knew my hormones needed to take a backseat to reason right now. Letting them rule my actions would only ruin this ….this great thing we could have together. Having my own room to fall back on gave me the opportunity to make sure this was right before we took this next, all important, step in our relationship.

"Are you ready?" Edward asked, leaning against the doorframe dressed in casual jeans and a leather jacket.

I swallowed hard, subduing the urge to pull him into my room by the lapels of his jacket and never emerge until I had to catch my flight back to New York by repeating Rose's words over and over again in my head. I will not be a two bit hussy. I will not be a two bit hussy. I will not be a two bit hussy.

"Just give me a second," I managed to wheeze out, shooting back into my room top grab my bag, my coat and – with a look outside the window – the huge red umbrella my mom had given me as a go away present when I moved to New York. There was nothing that would make you remember Forks quite like an umbrella.

We took the elevator back to the ground floor, the atmosphere inside the small, stifling little car cackling with a kind of energy that made me hop from one foot to the next just to divert my thoughts from wandering into all sorts of exciting and decidedly naughty alleys. "So," I finally started after licking my lips for the umpteenth time. "We're going to explore Montmartre today, aren't we?"

Edward nodded. "It's a shame the weather's not looking too good."

I shrugged, looking up at the sky above as we stepped outside. "It's not that bad." Sure, the sky was overcast and it looked like it could start raining any minute, but in lieu of any actual rain it was still dry and not so cold that we wouldn't be able to enjoy our walk.

"I'm thinking about the view," Edward explained, taking my hand in his as if it were the most normal thing in the world for him to do. "On a clear day the views from the Sacre Coeur observation plateau are quite amazing. Right now, though, not so much."

"Maybe it will clear up?" I tried, even though the prospects weren't that good.

Edward shrugged, using his free hand to retrieve a packet of cigarettes from his pants pocket and fished one out of the packet using his lips. "Maybe."

He sounded about as hopeful as I was but to be honest, I couldn't care less if the heavens would burst right that moment, engulfing us and the world around us in a downpour of water, since all my attention was fixed on the sensual way his lips folded around the butt of his cigarette, taking a long pull from the newly lit smoke before releasing it almost as if they were kissing it goodbye, the smoke escaping his mouth in small clouds before the whole process was repeated all over again.

I swallowed hard, fidgeting with the heavy wool scarf around my neck. Dear lord, I'd really caught the love bug in a bad way if even something as life threateningly disgusting as Edward smoking a cigarette could get me all hot and bothered.

Apparently as hot and bothered as the rest of me was, my stomach was about as cold and empty as it could get and it chose that very moment to advertise its need for nourishment to the rest of the world by grumbling so loud I think they would have heard it all the way in Spain.

"Sorry," I blushed, wishing I hadn't pulled my hair back in a ponytail so I could use it to hide behind. "If there's anything my new job has taught me, it's that I hate airplane food."

"Don't be embarrassed," Edward chuckled, squeezing my hand a little to put me back at ease. "It's just your body's way of telling me I need to feed you every now and then."

"I still wish it would chose a quieter way of doing so," I muttered, looking everywhere but at him as we turned into a busier street lined on both sides with little café's and shops.

"I think it's adorable," Edward chuckled, brushing a strand of hair away from my cheek. "So what do you want to eat?"

I shrugged, the pink in my cheeks deepening to red as Edward's hand lingered on my cold skin, the soft leather of his gloves ghosting over it as he brushed his thumb upwards from my chin. "I-I dunno? Something French?"

Okay, Bella. Out of all the things to say you picked that?

What the hell is the matter with you?

Did Edward pull some kind of weird sexy mumbo jumbo on you that completely messed with your brain and caused it to only utter completely stupid things?

Something French.

Come on!

You're in France, for crying out loud. Everything on the damn menu is French.

While I was busy giving myself a well earned mental bitch slap, Edward didn't seem to think there was anything strange about my words, his eyes shooting across the street before zoning in on something across the street. "I think we can make that happen," he grinned, looking almost proud at having found some half-decent establishment to quench my word vomit and silence my stomach.

"Good," I muttered, meekly following after him as he pulled me in the direction of whatever had caught his eye.

We paused in front of a small window, the sign above it advertising it as some sort of take away place or something. "You can't go to Paris without buying a crepe at a place like this and finding some nice, quiet spot to eat it," Edward announced, ordering something from the guy across the counter.

I tried not to be annoyed by the fact that he didn't even ask me what I wanted to have, something made considerably easier by the fact that after taking Edward's order, the guy across from us proceeded to pour batter into a big, round pan on the counter and bake two perfectly round and thin pancakes right in front of our noses, covering them in a healthy (though I suspected my doctor might have disagree) dollop of Nutella before sliding the neatly folded package into a paper container.

"Merci," Edward spoke, handing both packages over to me as he paid while I tried not to descend upon my crepe like a hungry wolf, the sweet, sugary smell wafting up from my hands not doing me any favors.

Apparently Edward was all into delayed gratification, his hands taking back the two deliciously chocolaty crepes before I could do anything to stop him. "Let's find a nice, quiet spot to eat."

I pouted and a slight whine might have escaped my lips as I trudged on after him, my stomach rumbling in discontent as we crossed the Place des Abessess and into a small, seemingly private garden right off the square. "What is this place?" I asked as I parked myself on a small iron bench next to Edward.

"I'll tell you later." He chuckled, his laughter deepening as my stomach rumbled yet again. "Right now, let's get you fed before you faint on me."

He didn't have to say that again. I eagerly dove into my pancake as soon as he gave me back the coveted piece of food, a deep moan escaping my throat as the gooey mixture of sweet dough and slick chocolate spread hit my palette, my eyes rolling into the back of my head as I chewed around my first bite. "So good," I mumbled, my mouth already half full with the next bite before I noticed how things had gone awfully quiet next to me.

I cranked my eyes open, finding Edward with his mouth hanging open and his pancake seemingly forgotten as he stared at me with a look of pure, unadulterated lust. Though why was completely beside me since I was currently scarfing down a pancake like some wild beast with chocolate smeared all around my mouth, at least, if the sticky feeling around my lips was anything to go by.

On any other day both the hot stare and the dirty mouth would have given me cause for embarrassment, the first because I didn't know how to act around a guy who liked me enough to give me such a stare, the second because it meant that even after thirty one years on this planet, I still hadn't mastered the fine art of eating without making a mess.

Right now, though, I couldn't find it in myself to give a shit about either of them. Not when I had a delicious slice of heaven – aka a crepe nutella – to inhale.

Which just went to show. Nothing could come between a woman and her chocolate, not even as fine a man as Edward Cullen.

"You okay?" I asked in between bites when Edward still had that lobotomized look on his face though his eyes burned with the fire of a thousand hot coals. "Your crepe's getting cold." I mean, if he wasn't going to eat it, then please could I?

"Oh….erm….yeah," he fumbled, taking a bite out of his pancake, the sight of Edward and chocolate all tied up in one drool worthy picture taking my thoughts away from my own food for a second.

We ate the rest of our lunch in silence; me too distracted by my food to pay attention to anything else long enough to comment on it, Edward doing whatever it was he was doing.

"Now….." I started, brushing the last crumbs of pancake off my coat, "wanna tell me what this place is?"

"Let me show you." Edward's smile was as radiant as ever as he took my hand again, my feet following his lead without question as he took me around the corner to an open space bordered by a large wall on one side.

"It's called 'le mur des je t'aime'," he said, the French rolling off his tongue in a sensual, almost poetic singsong tone.

"The 'I love you' wall?' I asked, frowning as I looked back at the wall, the big slab of black marble covered in white scribbling and small red hearts now making more sense than it did before.

"You speak French?' Edward asked, a light hint of awe seeping though in his voice.

"I don't speak it," I corrected him, "and I can only understand a few words." I shrugged. "I took French in high school."

"Bella Swan, you never cease to amaze me," Edward muttered, wrapping his arm around me as he pressed a sweet and slightly chocolaty kiss into my hair.

"So what's the deal with this wall?" I asked. It was all I could do to keep myself focused on the job that had brought me here.

"It's a statement against hate," Edward explained. "It's supposed to be a place of reconciliation in a world marked by violence and dominated by individualism."

I arched my brown. "Did you come up with that yourself?"

"No," he chuckled. "I know the artists behind this work from back in the day when I used to live here."

I nodded, my eyes shifting back to the artwork in front of us. All grand words and big thoughts behind it aside, it did do something to me.

It made me think.

I knew that it was far too soon in this relationship to even be thinking of big words like the ones spelled out in front of me in hundreds of languages – or so I kept telling myself – but even though my mind kept telling me that, my heart wasn't quite on the same page.

In fact, it fluttered every time my eyes flittered over the small tile spelling out the words in English. Could this be it? Could this be love?

I knew there were all sorts of conversations – hugely important conversations – that needed to take place – truths had to be uncovered and pieces of the puzzle had to slide into their place - before I could even think about uttering those words out loud. But right there, in front of a whole wall of love I knew the feeling they were trying to communicate had already started to take hold of me.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward's arms wrapped around me, pulling me close.

I could feel him press a kiss onto the crown of my head as I allowed myself to bask in his warm, masculine scent for a moment before I answered. "Love."

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he murmured, leaning his head on mine.

"Hmm." I nodded, both of us contently leaning into each other for a few moments until the first drops of rain started to fall from the heavens.

"Shit," Edward groaned as I rifled through my purse in search of my umbrella. "I'm never going to get a decent frame in this dreadful gloomy weather."

He did make a valiant attempt for my sake, though, his lips muttering curse words around his cigarette as he crouched down in search of an angle that would make everything seem 'less gloomy and depressing' – his words – while I stood off to the side, hiding from the rain under my umbrella as I watched him work.

"I give up," he finally muttered after taking – what seemed to me – a fairly decent amount of pictures. "Let's go."

"Where to?" I asked as we left the enclosed little haven for the hustle and bustle of the town surrounding it.

"Left," Edward announced, already pulling me into a little street leading away from the square and – as I soon found out – straight to the Sacre Coeur.

"I remember this place," I muttered, drinking in the sight of the all too familiar carousel at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the church.

Edward frowned. "I thought you said you've never been here before."

I smiled. "I haven't, but I've seen in dozens of times in one of my favorite movies….Amelie?"

"Ah," Edward chuckled, offering me his arm as we started to climb the hill, the two of us tucked away under my umbrella; sharing the same space…the same warmth.

Even with the rain falling harder and harder as we got closer to the summit of Montmartre, the view from the top was amazing.

I smiled, staring out over the endless rows of elegant nineteenth century houses with their grey rooftops and quaint charm.

I still couldn't believe I was here, in Paris with Edward.

I turned around when the sound of the rain splattering against the umbrella was joined by the clicking sound of Edward's camera. "I doubt Jane would be impressed by pictures of me," I chuckled, looking straight into the lens.

Edward grinned back at me, taking a few more pictures before he put his camera away again. "It's a good thing then that these are purely for private use.

"More frames for your wall?" I asked, remembering the huge wall in his apartment in Rome; the living testimony of his talent and experience in the world.

Experience and talent that eclipsed me in more ways than I could think of.

"Definitely," he nodded, looking every bit the artist as he tapped his chin in quiet contemplation. "I think I might call this one 'the girl with the red umbrella'."

I rolled my eyes, playfully swatting his arm as I welcomed him back under my red rain shield. "You're so full of yourself!"

We walked around Montmartre for a while, descending along a huge flight of stairs that looked like they had come out of a fairytale, until finally the falling of night and the emptiness of our stomachs forced us to take a subway back to the Place the Clichy where, according to Edward, a restaurant was located that served some of the best seafood platters in the city.

"What's so special about this food?" I asked as we were shown to our seats by a waiter clad in an immaculate three piece suit. "And by the way, I still think we should have dropped by the hotel to change. I feel underdressed."

Edward swung around, his hands cradling my face as his lips pressed a quick but urgent kiss to mine before retracting again. "You look lovely."

I scowled, not letting him dazzle me into a false confidence. "I look like a hobo."

Edward merely shook his head, taking the seat across from me at the small table while the waiter held my chair back, his elegant gesture only making me more self conscious of the way I was dressed.

I had to give Edward credit where it was due, though: the food at the place was amazing and well worth any embarrassment I might have felt over my casual and slightly waterlogged appearance; the huge plate of oysters, mussels, cockles, crawfish and other indefinable clams stacked up high on a pile of ice tasting better than anything I'd ever had in my mouth before.

That was, until I dug into the crème brûllee.

"God, you were right about this place," I moaned, scooping another spoonful of heaven into my mouth, my eyes falling on an elderly couple a few tables down from us, holding hands over the table as they dug into their own tower of seafood. "Do you think that forty years from now we'll look like them?"

The words were out of my mouth before I ever realized I'd spoken them out loud, my cheeks staining a radiant pink as I peeked at Edward through my lashes to ascertain his reaction. What are you doing, you complete and utter lunatic! Too much…too soon. Do you want him to run away screaming?

"I hope so." Even though his words gave me hope – I mean, everything that didn't include him hightailing it out of the restaurant in search of a girl less clingy than me was a pure win – his face shifted back into that distant, perfected mask.

Until he looked at me. "Bella….."

"Yes?" I looked up.

"I owe you an explanation." He looked down, his hands fumbling with his napkin. "You know? For earlier today? When you asked me why I left London?"

I reached my hand across the table, capturing his in mine and squeezing until he looked at me. "You don't have to tell me anything. I meant it when I said I'd wait…"

"I want to tell you," he answered, squeezing back as his lips pulled into another wry smile. "It's just….I'm afraid of what you'll think of me."

I took in a deep breath, never taking my eyes off his as I tried desperately to figure out what he needed from me. "I can't tell you that everything is going to be okay because…well, I don't know what you're going to tell me so I have no way of knowing how I'm going to react to it. What I do know is that we're never going to get anywhere with this – us – unless you do."

"I know." He sighed, closing his eyes as he steeled himself for whatever it was that he was going to tell me. "It was a girl."

His voice had been so low I almost thought I misheard him. "What?"

"A girl….that's what drove me away from London," Edward repeated. "I…she…..she broke me but not after I'd gone and ruined everything that was good in my life."

The pain in his mouth…his eyes…his whole being tore me apart. "What happened?"

Edward sighed, shifting in his seat. "I thought I loved her….you know? I thought she was the one I was going to grow old with."

His lips pulled into a smile so self-loathing that it made the hair on my arms stand up. "I was wrong."

I let out a deep breath, knowing all too well what it felt like to put all of your hopes and trust into someone only to find out you'd been mistaken. "Who was she? What did she do?"

Edward shrugged. "My parents saw right through her straight away. We're not exactly rich – well, not like the queen or anything – but with my mum being a school principal and my dad a GP we're not exactly poor either and Vicky…."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair as his hand hovered over the pants pocket I knew contained his cigarettes. "I guess she only saw me as a meal ticket; short term because my parents had set me up with a nice studio in Camden and a college fund that kept me pretty comfortable, long term because – according to everyone – I was going to make it big."

"And she wanted to tap into that." I nodded in understanding even though my situation with Mike had been quite different.

"The worst thing about it was that I stood up for her." He shook his head, the self deprecating grimace back in place. "I should have seen what she was doing to me….I mean, my grades were slipping, my teachers were getting fed up with me excuses for not handing stuff in on time and I….I was a bloody mess. But still I defended her. I couldn't see her for what she was."

He took a few deep breaths, collecting himself before he went on. "A week before she left, my mum and dad showed up at my flat and gave me an ultimatum: either I cut her out of my life, or they were cutting me out of theirs."

"No!" I gasped.

"They just…." Edward shrugged. "They saw how bad an influence Vicky had on me; how unhealthy being around her was and how she kept sweet talking me into spending money that was supposed to go towards my education and food and stuff on her and…I guess they'd had about as much of it as they could stomach."

I could understand that but still, to cut a child out of your life at a time like that? "I can see why they would be upset with you – hell, I can see why they'd be desperate to get her out of your life even – but cut you out? That seems a bit…."

"Harsh?" He offered. "Yeah, I know. I've yet to forgive them myself, even though I can see what drove them to do it."

We fell silent, both of us pushing the remains of our food around our plates to find something to do. "So she left you?" I finally asked.

Edward nodded solemnly. "As soon as she found out the money was gone."

"Bitch!" I clasped my hands over my mouth, shocked that the word had left my mouth even though the sentiment remained the same.

Edward merely chuckled. "Kind of, isn't she?" He shrugged, his eyes back on his plate. "Anyway…..I just had to get out of London after that and seeing as Tanya was going to move here anyway….it was a pretty easy choice to make in the end."

"And your parents?" I wanted to know.

"Didn't see them for a couple of years, though Tanya made me call them every now and then to let them know I was okay." He smirked, tapping his fingers against the table top. "Turns out that just because you don't like people that much, doesn't mean that you want them to worry over you. Besides…for a while they were my only way of getting in touch with Bea and I didn't want her to think I hated her or something…."

I smiled, his concern for his sister only strengthening my belief that, in spite of all the guilt and self-loathing he seemed to harbor for himself, he was a good man.

"So yeah….that's my own personal history in a nutshell." He shifted nervously once again, the tapping of his hands and feet becoming almost unbearable. "How about we get out of here and catch some fresh air?"

"Or before you implode from a lack of nicotine!" I chuckled, watching as Edward settled the bill in what could only be record time.

We were out in the crisp, starry December night before five minutes had passed, me chewing on a desert mint as Edward smoked, his hand on the small of my back directing me in whichever way he wanted us to go.

"Thanks for opening up to me," I spoke as we rounded the corner to our hotel, the bright lights of the city fading as we entered the quiet side street. "It couldn't have been easy to tell me."

"It's quite therapeutic, actually, to just lay your shit out on the table." Edward chuckled, flicking the butt of his cigarette into the gutter. "So I guess I should thank you for listening."

"My pleasure." I smiled back at him, rubbing my hands together as we entered the lobby of our hotel to make them warm up faster.

For all its romance and pretty old buildings, Paris was still pretty cold in December and our midnight stroll had taken its toll on my fingers.

We nodded at the night custodian before entering the elevator, the silence between us getting more uncomfortably laden with every level we climbed.

"Soooo," I drawled as we exited the elevator. "I guess this is me."

Edward grinned, though there was a nervous energy to his smile that made me wonder if he wasn't maybe as far out of his comfort zone as I was. "Yeah…."

I bit my lip, my brain telling me to flee while my body just wanted to pounce. "I guess this is goodnight, then?"

Edward closed his eyes, his hands balling into fists beside his body before he opened them, the green intensity scorching back at me setting me aflame. "Fuck it."

It took him all but two seconds to cross the landing and push me up against my door, his lips claiming mine in a desperate possessive need that had our teeth clashing together as we tried to get as close to one another as we could, the growing hardness pushing into my hip telling me he likes this just as much as I did.

"God, don't stop!" I moaned, my head falling back as my hands shifted from his shoulders to his front, opening the top buttons of his shirt to give me access to more. Because God knew I needed more. More of him, more of this…..more of us.

"Bella….fuck…." he groaned shifting his hips into mine as I managed to pry another button open. "What the bloody hell are you doing?"

I snorted, my hands finding purpose on the next button. "What do you think I'm doing?"

It took him all but ten seconds – ten more seconds of delicious grinding – to put two and two together, his body freezing up on me when he did finally connect the dots.

"What's wrong?" I gasped, my voice all desperate and needy as my fingers hovered over the fourth button of his shirt.

"I can't do this, Bella," Edward panted, my body shivering against the sudden cold as he put some distance between us. "Not now. Not here. It's just….it's wrong. Fuck!"

I closed my eyes, trying desperately not to cry from the sting of rejection. "But…." I started, only to find empty space when I opened my eyes.

He'd already gone.

Poor Bella! What will she do now, you think? And why did Edward run?

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