I could apologize a thousand times for this taking so damn long, but you've heard it before. Instead, I'm going to thank you all for your patience and your encouraging words on twitter that helped me finally get this chapter out!

Thank you to my beta, AydenM, for everything you do for me. A special thank you to St Angels, who really helped me get motivated. It is nice to hear from all the fans of my stories!

For those of you that fave/alert, thank you. To those of you that review, thank you as well. I adore you all!

ENJOY!


EPOV

I paced back and forth in the living room, waiting impatiently for Bella to come out of her room. I knew it took women a while to get ready, but this was on a whole other level. It had been almost two hours since she had gone in there.

My mind had been in a constant whirlwind all day, trying to battle both the memories of Bella in my arms and my nervousness about bringing her to this dinner. There were things she didn't know, and didn't need to know, that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep from her.

Reflecting back on my choices to keep my relationship with her mother a secret, I wasn't so sure I had made the best decision. My situation with Bella was strange and unusual as it was. Her finding out that the man responsible for treating her dying mother was also her client would have put her over the edge. There had been so much stress for her; I had just assumed that adding me into the mix would add unnecessary stress. The last thing I ever wanted was to make her more upset than she already was.

So I kept my mouth shut and stayed hidden, but it seems now I am paying the price. I don't know how I ever thought that I would get away with this secret, given that I had brought her deeper into my life like this. It was really only a matter of time before she found out.

Now was the time to tell her... if she ever came out of her room.

I crossed the living room slowly, adjusting my necktie and jacket before I lifted my hand to knock on her door.

"Bella?" I said softly. "Everything okay in there?"

"I'm fine. I'll be right out," she answered.

I sighed heavily, running my hand through my combed hair as I turned away from the door. Making my way to the couch, I sat down and tried my best to distract myself with a magazine. Despite the article written about my father in the Medical Journal, I shifted restlessly in my seat, unable to settle my nervous jitters.

Things had been good between Bella and I last night. Dinner had been successful and what happened in my bedroom after was better than I could have ever imagined.

She wanted to take care of me. The words flowed from her mouth and settled deep in my heart as she looked into my eyes and pleaded with me. Regardless of her need to take control, I couldn't give in. Having her in my bed, and in my arms, was the one way I could show her how much I actually cared. Where I failed with actual words, I made up with cries and moans of pleasure.

"I'm sorry I took so long," Bella said, pulling me out of my daydream.

I looked away from the window, and when my eyes fell upon her, my heart stopped. I felt my last breath leave me as I took every inch of her exquisiteness into me, her beauty completely taking me over.

"Jesus," I muttered under my breath as I tried to peel my eyes away from her.

"What?" she said awkwardly as she patted down her dress. "Do I look alright?"

Her luscious brown hair was swept to the side in a pony tail, curling delicately down her shoulder. The black lace dress she wore fit perfectly to her thin frame, and stopped just high enough on her thigh that it made me instantly hard looking at her.

Mine.

"You look more than alright," I said as I walked towards her. "You look stunning."

Her cheeks blushed the perfect shade of crimson, making her done-up face glow all the more radiantly. If we didn't have a place to be, I would have dragged her to my bed and kissed every inch of her beautiful face.

"I wasn't sure how to dress for you. I hope you like it."

I nodded and tried my best to fight the flush I felt rising in my own cheeks. Although she was here, with me, it still amazed me hearing her say such things. To me.

She smiled lightly at me as she walked to the window and looked outside.

"It looks like it's going to be a rainy night. The clouds are rolling in."

"I know. I had hoped it would hold off until we at least made it to the dinner, but I don't think it will. I have an umbrella just in case."

"Good. I can run fast too, if we get stuck in a downpour."

"I'd like to see you try to run in those heels," I teased, eying the black stilettos she was wearing.

"We shall see," she laughed.

"I meant to ask you today how your mother was doing. Have you spoken to the doctors?"

"Oh. Um, yeah. I talked to them today. She's the same I guess. No response to anything. She hasn't woken up."

"I'm so sorry. Her condition is very fragile. I know it is hard on you, but you have to be thankful that she's not in any pain."

"How do you know? She's not awake to tell anyone. She could be suffering and we would never know it."

Bella eyed me curiously as I tried to explain to her that I was positive that her mother was not suffering. It was the perfect way to finally tell her about my relation to her mother, and her treatment. The secret that had been weighing on me for weeks would finally hinder me no more.

"Bella, there is something..."

The shrill of my cell phone interrupted me. I sighed heavily and rolled my eyes, frustrated at the timing of the call. Looking down at the phone, I saw my father's name and number appear on the screen.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Where are you?" he replied quickly.

"I'm at home, about to leave. Why?"

"You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago. Everyone is here, waiting for you."

I looked down at my watch, checking to make sure that I wasn't late.

"I was told the dinner started at seven. It's only six thirty now."

"No, Edward. It started at six, and you're late. Get here as soon as you can."

I flipped the phone shut and cursed under my breath at my secretary who had obviously gotten the time wrong.

"What's the matter?" Bella asked.

"We're late. I had the wrong time. We need to go," I spat.

I turned on my heels and stalked towards the door as Bella followed. Opening up my cell phone once again, I called downstairs to make sure the car was ready.

Twenty minutes later Bella and I walked into the banquet hall filled with my colleagues and bosses. My father immediately appeared, looking annoyed and frustrated.

"I've been trying to distract Dr. Banner, who had been asking for you since he arrived. I told him you were stuck in traffic, but he's not pleased."

"My secretary is a frigging idiot," I muttered as my father eyed Bella curiously.

"Dad, this is Isabella. Bella, you must remember my father, Dr. Cullen."

"Yes! Yes, I do. It's wonderful to see you again, Doctor," Bella said, shaking his hand fervently.

"It's nice to see you as well," Carlisle said slowly, glancing from Bella to me and back again.

Turning back to me, Carlisle pointed out the head of the hospital- my new boss- wished me luck, then turned and walked away.

"You didn't tell me your father was my mother's doctor. Why?" Bella asked as soon as Carlisle was far enough away.

"I didn't think it was important, I guess."

"Not important? How could you think that was not important?"

"Can we not discuss this now? Could you please go get us drinks while I go introduce myself to my new boss?"

Bella snorted, sighing and glaring at me with a furrowed brow. After a moment, she turned away and walked toward the bar.

I huffed and ran my hand nervously through my hair, annoyed that the evening had quickly taken such a dreadful turn. I hated being late and furthermore hated that I was going to have to spend the whole evening with a pissed off boss and an annoyed Bella. It was only going to get worse from here, considering I was sure she would find out everything about me during this dinner.

"Chaos. Complete fucking chaos," I muttered under my breath as Bella reappeared.

"I noticed that you liked scotch in your house, so I got you one. I'm sorry about questioning you. Now is not the time or place. I am here as your date, and I will act professional. I'm sorry."

The look in her eyes hurt my heart. Somewhere in the four minutes it took her to get our drinks, the Bella I adored had disappeared. What was standing in front of me now was the working Bella. It occurred to me in that instant that I had never seen her this shut down before.

"You were going to go find your boss. I need to use the ladies room, so I'll find you in a few minutes, if that's alright."

"Of course," I said. "I'll be waiting for you."

I tried to look her in her eyes, but she was staring at my shoulder. She wouldn't even make eye contact with me, and it hurt. I could have beaten myself for having not taken better care to explain everything to Bella before we got here.

"Doctor Cullen," I heard a voice say sternly behind me.

I turned towards the voice, startled by the anger that resonated in it. Standing before me was a dark haired man in a dark suit, with even darker eyes.

"I would have assumed that you would come and introduce yourself to me, but instead I had to seek you out since your lady friend is obviously your priority."

"Dr. Banner. I'm sorry for my tardiness. The traffic was horrible because of the rain. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," I said, holding my hand out to him.

The glare in his eyes and the open contempt for me made it hard to stand there, feeling like a fool. He never took my hand, instead he turned and walked away.

After a moment, I made my way further into the dining room. Fellow doctors and colleagues greeted me happily, unknowing of the panic that was stirring inside of me. I took a deep drink of my scotch, cringing as it burned its way down my throat.

"I'm curious as to how you got Isabella to be your date to this dinner," my father said as he walked up beside me. "I didn't realize you had met her, considering you avoided her mother's room while she was there."

"I did meet her, obviously," I snapped back, annoyed at the smirk on his face. "I didn't realize you were so interested in my dating life."

"I didn't realize you had a dating life and certainly not with her. You were so strange with that case, and now you show up here with the patient's daughter. What's going on, Edward?"

I shook my head and sighed, my eyes catching Bella's as she walked back towards me.

"Let's find our seats, shall we, Dad?" I said as I walked away.

I moved towards Bella quickly, my guard up as I noticed several men in the room watching her. My instinct to wrap myself around her, to show everyone in the room that she was mine, almost overpowered me. Instead, I ushered her quickly to our table and sat her down.

I ordered a fresh scotch as my father and Dr. Banner sat down with us, along with a few of the other department heads of the hospital. I introduced Bella accordingly, relieved when Dr. Banner didn't snub her as he had me. He was actually rather gracious towards her.

Appetizers and salads were enjoyed as presentation after presentation about the hospital and its success stories kept the night going. I was more than relieved that there wasn't much time for small talk, saving me from Bella finding out the things that I hadn't told her yet.

Dinner was served and the presentations ceased, replaced with a band playing some sort of jazz. There was some small talk at the table, which I tried my best to sway from the subject of work.

"Doctor Cullen, how do you feel about your new position? Did you know the promotion was coming?" Dr. Banner asked snidely.

Clearing my throat, I quickly glanced at Bella before returning my gaze to the bitter man across from me.

"I had no idea I was being considered for this. One could only hope to be honored with such a title, and I am happy to accept it."

I did my best to smile as Dr. Banner narrowed his eyes at me. I could feel judgment resonate from him as I took yet another sip of my scotch.

"To Edward, the new Chief of Surgery," my father interrupted, raising his glass high in the air.

"To Edward!" the rest of the room cheered.

More than anything I wanted to look at the silent beauty by my side, who I had noticed raised her glass only slightly during my father's toast. I looked quickly to my right, and noticed that Bella was starting to stand up from the table. As panic hit, I slid my chair out and stood next to her.

"I'll just be right back," she whispered to me quickly.

"I'll come with you."

"No, it's fine. I'm just going to get a fresh drink. I'll get you one too," she said as she walked away from the table.

I watched as she walked out of the dining room area, through the bar and out the front door. Looking around the table quickly, I made my way after her.

The cool night air rushed through me as I stepped outside the door, letting it shut silently behind me. I quickly combed the people standing on the sidewalk, looking for the beauty in the black lace dress. As though everyone knew what I was doing, the crowd parted and there she was.

Her long, curly hair waved gently in the wind as she wrapped her arms around herself. I could see goosebumps on her skin and immediately removed my coat. As I walked up behind her, I laid my coat over her bare shoulders.

"I realize that this is neither the time nor the place for my behavior, and for that I apologize," she said without turning to look at me.

"There is no need to apologize," I whispered.

"Yes, there is. Like I said before, I am a professional and I do my best to act that way but you have deceived me. You are a doctor. Now it seems you are the doctor. You didn't feel the need to tell me that?"

She finally turned to face me, and the look on her face took my breath away. Her eyes were cold as steel and her lips were pursed tightly together. She was pissed.

"It all makes so much sense to me now! How you got my mother into a full time home, how you knew so much about her."

She stopped, her eyes catching mine and holding them. I could see the realization in her face as she finally figured it all out.

"You knew me," she whispered. "You knew me from the hospital those times that we were together in Midnight Sun."

"Yes."

"You never said anything. At the hospital or anywhere else. You never said anything."

The wind picked up and blew against us with intensity, as though it was trying to match the severity of our conversation. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand, although I couldn't be sure if it was because of the weather, or the look Bella was giving me.

"I didn't want you to be uncomfortable. I saw you at the hospital after I had seen you at Midnight Sun, and I didn't want to be a burden. So I stayed distant. Should I have told you earlier? Yes. I tried this evening, before we came here, but we were late."

My throat burned as I forced myself to keep some of the truth to myself, the truth she didn't need to hear. I may have seen her first at Midnight Sun, but she would know nothing of how I had trailed her to find her home, her work. She couldn't know of the lengths I'd gone to in an effort find out about her. Those secrets would die with me.

"I don't like to be lied to. In this case, I don't like having information left out. It makes it almost impossible for me to trust you, and what is going on between us right now needs boat loads of trust. I am staying in your home. I am acting as a part of your life. The only way this will work is if we are honest with each other. Okay?"

I nodded, reaching out and rubbing her arms to keep her warm. She trembled under my touch, leaning into me to block herself from the wind. I could smell the perfume wafting from her neck, and it made my mouth water.

"Why does this seem like it's going to be so hard, Edward?" she asked, looking up at me with doubt in her eyes.

There were so many things I wanted to say. So many reasons why nothing would ever be right between us. Too many lies, too much deceit, all on my part. From the beginning, I had done it all wrong, and even though she didn't know why, I knew she could feel that something was off.

"Come on. Let's get inside before we both get sick. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get the hell out of here."

She smiled and laughed, but I noticed as we walked together back to the restaurant, the coldness in her eyes had not disappeared.


I hope you enjoyed this! Shoot me a review and let me know!