Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.
Thanks to MeteorOnAMoonlessNight for being my beta and Sara aka Nikki Black and Sukiethree for pre-reading!
oOo
There was a soft knock at my bedroom door. "Bella? May I come in?" I heard Edward ask from the other side.
"Yeah, come on in," I called back, and the door opened as Edward walked into the room.
"I was hoping to get the chance to talk to you. I know we kept getting interrupted today, and I'm sorry about that."
"You have a lot of responsibilities." I shrugged, trying to hide my disappointment.
"I do, you're right. That's not to say you don't deserve some of my time. If I could, I would give you almost all of my time, but that goes to Katie." He gave me a soft smile.
I stared at him, not sure what to make of this revelation. "Why? You don't owe me any of your time, Edward."
He shrugged. "Because I care about you, and as I've said before, I enjoy your company. This is difficult for me, Bella. It's been a long time since I've had any real interest in getting to know someone, and frankly, I'm terrified of you."
My eyes widened at that statement. "Terrified of me? What, why?"
"Because you're beautiful and smart, and hard working. I can tell that you care deeply for those around you and, well, I think I'm falling for you. But I… it's going to take me some time, Bella. I have Katie to think of, and Andy—Andrea,I mean," he said with a slight smirk. "She, well, let's just say she left a mark. Plus, as we both know, I'm not always the easiest to get along with."
"Edward, I—"
"Here I am going on about all of this when maybe you're not even interested in me in that way. I'm sorry. I know you just ended a long relationship, and—"
"Edward!" I nearly shouted, causing him to pause. "I'm falling for you, too. I have been for a while, but, well, I thought you were gay and that nothing could ever come of it. You're right. I did just end a relationship, which I'm not exactly broken up over, but maybe we could take this slowly?"
"Slowly. I can do slowly." He sighed, reaching over and lacing his fingers with mine. "Is this all right?"
I nodded, giving his hand a light squeeze.
"I don't have a lot of free time, Bella. I know you know that better than most. But I want to try. Sometimes either Katie or work is going to take precedence, though, so if there's ever a time you feel you can't do this, tell me truthfully."
"I'm sure I can handle it, Edward," I said with a small smile.
He nodded as he stood up. "All right, I'll let you get some sleep, then." He kissed me softly on the forehead. "Goodnight, Bella."
"Goodnight, Edward," I said as he left, closing the door with a soft click. I wasn't sure how I was going to sleep after that conversation.
oOo
"Good morning, you look lovely today," Edward greeted me quietly as I walked into the dining room the next day. I felt lovely today. Alice had dressed me in a bright red mini dress with scalloping along the neck and hemline, pairing it with knee-high brown boots.
"Bella, you have the prettiest dresses!" Katie exclaimed. "Andy always has pretty dresses, too, but she never lets me touch. She says I'll get them dirty." She pouted, and I glanced over at Edward, confused as to why a five-year-old would be calling her mom by her first name.
"I'll explain later," he said softly, and I nodded.
"Your dress is even prettier than mine!" I said, crouching down in front of Katie. "You look just like I always imagined a princess would." The smile that she gave me was blinding, and so very much like her father's.
I glanced up, feeling Edward's gaze on me. There was a look in his eyes that I couldn't quite place. It almost seemed as if he was in awe. I stood up quickly, straightening out my dress.
"Time for school, Miss Katie!" Tanya called out. Katie jumped up from her chair, giving Edward a quick hug.
"Bye, Daddy! Bye, Bella!" she yelled as she ran off.
"I haven't had breakfast yet, would you join me, Bella? There's a really nice cafe just a block or two from here."
"Don't we need to be at work soon?" I questioned. I'd love to have breakfast with him, but it wasn't like the Edward I'd come to know to run late.
"It keeps them on their toes for me to be a bit late or early from time to time. They'll never know exactly when the boss is going to show up. It's worked on you before, hasn't it?" he said with a wicked grin, and I laughed.
"Is that Edward Cullen's secret?" I teased.
"Something like that," he said with a shrug, and we headed out the door.
oOo
"Can I ask you a question, Edward?" I said as we sat in the little cafe, enjoying our coffee and pastries.
"Anything you'd like," he replied honestly.
"Maybe it's none of my business, but why does Katie call Andy, well, Andy?" I asked.
He sighed deeply, his eyes losing the recent gleam they had obtained. "Andrea… well, she's very much into herself. I knew that she was that way from the very beginning—maybe not to the extreme that it is now—but regardless of that, there was a spark between us at one time. Katie wasn't planned, and Andy would have never had her if it weren't for me. She'd been adamant about not wanting children, and up until the moment she said she was pregnant, I had been okay with not having children as well."
I stared at him, my jaw hanging open. While I understood and supported a woman's right to have an abortion, I couldn't imagine that beautiful little girl not being here. It also tore at my heart because I was pretty sure my own mother had felt the same.
He continued, "From the moment I saw this little alien-like creature on the ultrasound I was in love. And the moment I heard her first cry, Katie was my everything. I was wrapped around her tiny little finger. Andy tried, she honestly did, I have to give her that, but after a year she told me she just couldn't do it. Even with Tanya and myself taking on the majority of Katie's needs, she just didn't want to be a mother, and she couldn't handle coming second to her own daughter." He shrugged, his eyes sad.
"I'm sorry. My mother didn't want to be a mom, either. When I was about three, one day she just left and never came back. But I had my dad, who obviously knew nothing about raising a little girl, but still, he tried. And Katie has you, and from what I've seen, you're an amazing dad."
He gave me a sad smile. "I really hope you're right. I try my best, but I always feel like I'm lacking. Anyway, Katie calls her Andy because even though Katie knows that Andy is her mother, Andy just doesn't want to be called Mommy. She doesn't want to play that role, she's made that clear. But still, from time to time she'll pop in for a random birthday, or she'll send her extravagant things. Meanwhile, what Katie really wants and needs is someone to have a tea party with." He sighed.
We sat in silence for a few moments, both of us reflecting on our own thoughts. "Bella?" he said barely above a whisper.
"Hmm?"
"Your mother is a ridiculous woman to not want to be part of your life," he said as he gripped my hand in his.
oOo
It was later that day that Alice approached me, asking if I wanted to have a late lunch with her.
"Sure, go on ahead and I'll meet up with you. I have a call I need to make," I told her.
"All right, I'll see you in a few minutes," she told me with a smile.
I picked up my cell phone, dialing the number I knew by heart.
"Hello?" his gruff voice answered.
"Hi, Daddy," I said in reply.
"Hey, kid! I was just thinking about you. Everything okay?"
"Everything's fine, I was thinking about you, too. I just wanted to thank you for being such a great dad. I know it wasn't easy."
I heard him as he cleared his throat. I knew compliments of any sort weren't easy for Charlie. "You made it easy by being such a great kid," he replied, and that warmed my heart.
Maybe my mom didn't want me, and maybe Katie's mom didn't want her, but we were both lucky because we had great dads.