I do not own Edward and Bella, but I do have fun playing with them... just a little bit... ;-)

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It breaks my heart to think how I have hurt my husband. I can't believe he would think that I would ever cheat on him. Let alone with my boss, Mike. What in the hell was Edward thinking? Doesn't he know how much I love him?

I shut off the water, grab my towel and step out of the shower, determined to make this life—our life, better.

I wrap myself in my towel, grab my clothes and head to the bedroom looking for Edward. They way our conversation went is not sitting right in my head. I may have been a little distant but it really isn't that unusual for me to react that way when something was really bothering me. I just don't understand how he could think that I would ever cheat on him. I thought he knew me better than that…

I step into our bedroom and quickly scan the room only to find that Edward is not in the room.

I can't escape the feeling that something isn't right and that I need to find my husband right now. I set my clothes on the bed and half-run out our bedroom door and down the stairs. I am almost in a full-blown panic by the time I make it to the office doors. I expect to find Edward at his computer, but he's not there. Now, I'm really confused and worried.

I turn on my heels and walk to the kitchen… no Edward. I walk through the laundry room and open the door to the garage and look inside only to find that his car is gone. My heart is pounding in my chest and I run back into the kitchen and grab the phone and hurriedly dial Edward's cell phone. The call goes straight to voice mail. "Fuck," I mutter under my breath. I scramble around the kitchen looking for my cell phone and find it in my purse. I slide it open to text Edward, but my phone is dead. "Fuck!" I shout, I jog back to the office and plug my phone into its charger. "Come on, come on," I huff at my phone, urging for it to hurry the hell up and turn on. The battery screen finally comes on and I know it will be another minute before it has enough power to actually turn on so I can use it. I run up the stairs and throw on my clothes and tie my damp hair up in a loose pony-tail and then I head back downstairs and as I round the corner, I slam face-first into Edwards' chest. He immediately wraps his arms around me to keep from falling on my butt and as soon as I realize it's him I throw my arms around his neck and hug tightly.

"Where did you go?" I whisper into his neck, trying like hell not to cry. There is a painful lump in my throat and my chest aches, making it hard to breath.

"I just ran my work laptop over to Jazz, so he could finish over-seeing this weekends' project." He loosens his grip around my waist slightly, but when I keep my arms wrapped around his neck he asks, "What's the matter, Love?" He reaches up and places his hands on my arms and begins to pry my arms from around his neck.

I loosen my strangle-hold slightly. I keep my forehead against his chest because if I look into Edward's eyes right now I know I will lose it all together. "I… well… I came out of the bathroom and you weren't upstairs and then when I came down you weren't here either and I guess I just panicked."

"Why would you panic?" he whispers into the hair at the top of my head.

I pull my arms from his neck and wrap them around his waist, keeping my head to his chest. The lump in my throat almost keeps me from speaking, but I swallow it down and continue. "There was something that didn't feel right about how our conversation ended and I… I… I just wanted to talk about it some more. And when you were gone, I guess my mind just went to the worst possible scenario."

Edward laughs lightly and then takes my arms from around his waist. One hand comes up under my chin and lifts my head so he can look into my eyes. A slight, crooked smile graces his unshaven, face. The smile reaches his luminous, green eyes making them sparkle. He is happy and he looks absolutely breath-taking. When he looks at me like that everything in the world just falls away and I can see all the love I feel for him reflected back at me… when he looks at me like that I know that everything will be ok.

"What?" I shyly smile back.

"Come with me," he says as he leans down and kisses me sweetly on my lips. He steps to the side still holding my hand and leads me to the couch where he pulls me down to sit beside him. One of Edwards' hands falls to my thigh, while the other is stroking my back. "Talk to me, Love," he urges.

I turn slightly so we are facing one another and stare at my hands that are resting on his legs. "I don't understand why you would think I would EVER cheat on you. Don't you understand how much I love you? How much you and this family mean to me?" I blurt it out before I can chicken out or sugar-coat it.

"I know, Love. I do. But… well…," he pulls his hands away from me and rakes them through his already unruly mass of bronze hair, "Shit… I wasn't going to say anything, because, hell, I know I'm over-reacting. But, I should have just talked to you when it happened and we wouldn't be having this conversation now." He rubs his face in frustration and my heart is once again in my throat, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Ok," I whisper, "please…"

He looks at me and sees the obvious panic written across my face. "Oh no, Love. It's nothing like that." He takes my hands into his and my heart continues to pound away inside my chest. "It's just… well, it's just Mike. I ran into him about three weeks ago at lunch and he just said some shit that really got under my skin."

I gasp in relief, "Wha… What did he say?" I couldn't possibly imagine Mike having anything to say to Edward let alone something that could possibly upset him.

"He told me how good you looked when you came into the office that Monday."

"Is that all?" I couldn't believe that would make Edward question my fidelity.

"No. He alluded to the two of you going to lunch and then something about phone calls. But, what really did it was when he actually saw who I was having lunch with. You see, Jasper and I were meeting to finalize a contract with a new client and that 'new' client just happened to be Tanya."

"Oh," was all I could say. Tanya is an old family friend, a very beautiful, statuesque family friend. She started her advertising agency about six months ago and needed a web-development firm and immediately brought her business to Edward and Jasper. She is also very openly gay and has been in a committed relationship almost as long as Edward and I have been together.

"Well, you know how me, Jazz and Tanya can be, we were joking around having a good time. She was sitting in the between Jazz and myself and we were just having a great time eating good food and relaxing. At some point, I got up and went to the bathroom and when I did, she kind of blocked my way and said something obnoxious, I don't really even remember what it was, but it made Jazz crack the hell up and then when she finally let me by, she smacked my ass."

I couldn't help but laugh, because that was Tanya. She has done the same thing to all of us at some point or another. She just liked to push boundaries to see what she could get away with. It's just who she is. "Ok…"

Edward interrupts me before I can ask what the big deal is,"Mike must have seen what had happened and when I came out of the bathroom, he ambushed me in the hallway. He started asking me if you knew about my 'girl-friend' and that maybe he ought to say something to you so he could be there to 'help you get through it'. I waved him off and told him to go ahead and talk to you and you would set him straight. Then he pushed past me mumbling something about 'being happy for you to straighten him out' and when I asked him what the hell that was supposed to mean, he just shrugged and smiled and headed into the bathroom and I went back out to join Tanya and Jazz."

I am no longer worried about Edward, but I am very angry with my boss. "He never said anything to me about it and if he had, you're right, I would have set him straight."

"I know that, logically, I know that. But, shortly after it happened you completely stopped communicating with me unless I was standing in front of you asking you pointed questions. And then this morning I thought you said his name as I was waking you up and it scared the shit out of me. I was just so scared that that fucking weasel could have wormed his way into our lives and that I had let him. In the shower this morning, I just realized how stupid I had been to ever doubt you and how stupid I was not to tell you what happened immediately. I just feel like I have been making so many poor choices lately. And now I just want to focus on doing better for me and you and the boys."

I can't help but smile widely at my husband. "I'm glad that's all it was. And YOU should know me well enough to know that I would fuck Tanya, before I'd fuck Mike and you know THAT will NEVER happen!" I laugh out loud, making Edward laugh in turn. "You should have told me about Mike, but I also understand why you didn't. I know I was pulling away from you and you didn't want to add to my angst. But you still should have told me so I could put my stupid boss in his place."

"Edward," I continue, "you know I love you and I will never cheat on you. I'm sorry I get so sullen and pull away like that." I push myself forward so that I am in his lap, "I'm gonna try and talk to you more, I promise." I kiss his cheek and rest my head on his shoulder.

"I love you, too." He leans his head against mine and then continues, "I think we are finally on the same page and hopefully we can keep it here for a while."

"It just takes effort, Baby. Effort by both of us," I reply snuggling in tighter, reveling in his warmth and earthy, uniquely Edward smell.

"I know, Love, and I promise that I will try my best." He wraps his arms around my shoulders and gives me a squeeze.

"That's all I ever really wanted… for you to just try."

"I know."

We sit here for a while not saying anything to each other. We sit here and enjoy being close to one another, enjoy the silence and enjoy the understanding we seem to have reached.

I know things will not always be easy, but I also know that as long as we come together we can make it through whatever this life throws at us.

a/n: I think there is one chapter left and I hope to have it out mid-week next week... r/l is very hectic right now and my spare time is at a premium... anyways...

Thanks for reading... Please, please, please review and let me know what you think... I really appreciate every word! ;-)