Eternal Love

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE PLOT! Uh…sort of, it's "technically" Stephenie Meyer's, but I switched the characters around a bit…which are also hers.

Summary: When Esme Platt moves to Forks to escape her abusive fiancé, she didn't expect to fall in love with the mysterious doctor. But what happens when a certain ex-fiancé shows up?

By the way, this one's more of a filler. Just saying.

Bella Italia

Esme POV

Carlisle and I entered the restaurant. A blond hostess was in the front, playing tic-tac-toe by herself. She looked up and immediately fluffed her hair at the sight of Carlisle.

"Hello, welcome to the Bella Italia, how may I help you?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at Carlisle. A funny feeling ran through me as I resisted the urge to glare at her.

"A table for two, please," Carlisle said, smiling, still looking at me. I smiled back, feeling slightly triumphant for some reason.

The hostess led us to a table right in the middle of the very busy restaurant. Carlisle slipped her a bill. "Something more private, if you would."

She nodded and showed as a table in the very back, separated from the rest of the restaurant by a partition. "Your hostess will be right with you." She ogled at Carlisle one last time and then left.

I rolled my eyes. "You really shouldn't do that."

"Do what?" he asked innocently. I scrutinized him. He really didn't know.

"You dazzle people. That poor girl's probably freaking out in the kitchen right now."

His golden eyes studied my face. "Do I dazzle you?"

"…Yes. Along with every other girl in the world," I muttered.

The black-haired server came. She gave an over-welcoming smile in Carlisle's direction. "Hi, I'm Amber, and I'll be your server. What can I get you to drink?" Her words were directed to him.

Carlisle was still looking at me. I spoke up. "I guess I'll have a lemonade."

"Two lemonades," he added.

"I'll be right back," she said to him with yet another smile. He was still watching me.

"Do you feel any dizziness, sickness, or cold?"

I sighed. "No, I'm not going to go into shock. I have gone to medical school, you know."

Carlisle gave another beautiful smile at me. The waitress came with the lemonade and bread. Her back was turned to me.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked Carlisle.

He looked at me. "Esme?" The waitress frowned ever so slightly and looked at me.

I glanced down at the menu and selected a random dish. "I'll have the chicken parmigiana."

"How about you?" She smiled at him again.

"No, thank you." Of course, I never saw him eat anything.

"If you change your mind, just call me." Carlisle paid no attention to her. She left unhappily.

"You should drink that," he advised me.

I took a drink from my lemonade, and then downed the rest of it when I realized my thirst. When the glass was drained, he moved his to me.

"Thank you." The icy drink was still cold. I shivered.

"Are you cold?"

"It's just the drink."

"Don't you have a jacket?"

"Yes – oh. It's in Linda and Stacy's van." I saw him removing his jacket. It was a cotton navy zip-up hoodie. He wore a collared, light blue button-up dress shirt under it.

"Thanks." I draped the jacket over me. It was cold. But it smelled heavenly. I inhaled ever so slightly. It wasn't cologne. It was like a delicious blend of seawater and rising bread. I rolled up the too-long sleeves.

Carlisle smiled at me. I felt my cheeks burn, and I looked down. He pushed the bread towards me. "I'm not going into shock," I defended myself.

"You should be. A normal person would." He looked slightly concerned and unsettled.

"I feel very safe with you."

He frowned ever so slightly. "This is harder than I thought."

I nibbled on a breadstick. "I have some theories, you know."

He smiled. "And what would those theories be?"

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