Author's Note: As always, thanks for the reviews, and keep them coming.

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Chapter 11: Christmas Bella

Bella walked through the mall on Christmas eve, glancing around trying to decide what to give people for Christmas. She always waited until the last minute. It gave her a rush she couldn't describe, racing to get gifts for the people she loved. She'd even stopped a few times and looked at things she knew Eddie would love. She sighed, now running her hand over a soft cashmere sweater. Eddie loved cashmere.

"I look better in green," she looked up and she blinked. Eddie was smiling at her.

"It's not for you," she huffed, "it's for TJ!"

"TJ can't wear cashmere," he said following her as she walked away. "It gives him hives." She glared at him. "You were going to buy me a sweater."

"I was not!" She said. "Why would I buy you a sweater? We're not speaking!"

"We're speaking now," he said.

"You're following me," she pointed out. "Shouldn't you be with your precious Ellie, winning her a teddy bear at the amusement park or something else really pathetic and high school cliché?"

"Ellie's in Maine," he frowned. "Which you knew. And we're not a cliché." She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she said and moved to another part of the store and started smelling perfumes. She'd decided to give Eva one. She needed a new scent. "Why are you following me?"

"Well, we have to spend Christmas together," he shrugged, "I figured we should probably be like, at least civil."

"You figured wrong," she said. "My mom said I don't have to speak to you if I don't want to." Eddie nodded.

"Ellie thinks that we should all try to be friends," he said.

"Yeah," she nodded. "What do you think?" He looked down. "I'll be your friend, Eddie," she whispered, "it's just hard to be friends with someone, when every time you see them, you think about that time that they showed up in your bedroom and made love to you for five hours." Eddie swallowed. "Do you remember that night?" She stepped close to him. "After I said I didn't want to have sex anymore and then you showed up, and we just kissed and kissed until neither of us could take it and we just had to?" She walked her fingers up his chest.

"Bella, don't do this," he said. She looked at him.

"Don't you miss sex, Eddie?" She said. "Even if you don't miss me, I mean."

"I do miss you," he said, his arms wrapping around her waist instinctively. "And how do you know I'm not having sex. I do have a girlfriend, after all." She laughed.

"You wouldn't be holding me like this if you were," she whispered and kissed him.

"Hey," Tammy walked into Anne's bedroom. Anne looked up from the book she was reading. "I have a meeting at Barney's."

"And?" Anne said.

"I thought that you could go crazy with the Black Card, while I'm in the meeting and then we could get lunch at Fred's." Tammy said. "I won't even look at your receipts."

"Why are you being so nice?" Anne said.

"Anne," Tammy groaned, "I'm trying, OK? It would be nice if you put some effort in too." Anne sighed.

"You won't look at the receipts?" Anne said. Tammy shook her head. "Or the labels?"

"Anne," Tammy sighed, "you know that…"

"No, I want to be able to buy any designer I want," she said, "even if they once poached a model from you at fashion week!"

"Fine," Tammy said. "Will you put a skirt on please?" Anne rolled her eyes. "Anne, if it weren't for business I wouldn't ask."

"Ugh," Anne groaned, "I hate uptown people. No one at Urban Outfitters would make me wear a skirt. Can't you have meetings with them?"

"Yes, uptown people are terrible and snobby," Tammy nodded. "But without them, we'd be living in Queens, so come on, get moving."

"Fine," Anne groaned going into her closet and pulling out a simple blue wool dress. "Does this work?"

"When did you start willingly wearing my designs?" Tammy frowned.

"If I wear it with heavy boots it's actually very my look," Anne said. Tammy nodded. "See Mom, your designs can be edgy!"

"Very funny," Tammy nodded. "Your brown bomber jacket too. I'm leaving in fifteen minutes."

About an hour later Anne wandered around Barney's. She wandered into formal wear. Mostly she stayed away from this section, but now she had prom to think about. She noticed a woman about her mother's age trying on gowns and a sales girl bringing her a few. She frowned. The sales girl was also doing a terrible job. This woman clearly still had it and she was giving her matronly hide the belly type dresses. Once she walked away, Anne's busybody nature got the best of her.

"Excuse me," Anne said. "I don't mean to interrupt you, but you look terrible." The woman looked at her. "I didn't mean you, you're beautiful, but those dresses aren't right for you. You should be wearing something in soft tones, and strapless probably."

"Thank you!" The woman said. "I've been trying to get through to that girl, but she saw I was over thirty and just wouldn't," she sighed. "I'm Bonnie Nichols."

"Anne Callins," Anne smiled. "I go to school with a boy named Hunter Nichols."

"That's my son," Bonnie laughed. "Callins," she stopped, "Oh, you must be Tammy's daughter! How is your mother? I haven't seen her in ages."

"She's good," Anne said. "She's in a meeting with the buyers now."

"She's running the business again?" Bonnie said. "Oh thank God! That board of directors was terrible. She and Kelly always did a better job by themselves." Anne nodded. She didn't know there had been a time when her mother and aunt hadn't run RDC Designs.

"Um," Anne said. "I guess. You know my mother?" Bonnie laughed.

"Of course," Bonnie said. "My husband was her and Kelly's first investor, and I did date Jimmy for a while."

"Uncle Jimmy?" Anne said. "But that's impossible, my Aunt Julie and Uncle Jimmy have been together since they were fourteen except for the summer that she was with my dad."

"Anne, there you are," Tammy said walking over. "I think we're in business, they loved the idea of more edge for a younger demographic."

"Told you," Anne said. Tammy looked at Bonnie who waved.

"Bonnie!" Tammy said and hugged her. "It's so good to see you. I've been meaning to call you since I found out that Hunter and Cal were roommates."

"I know me too," Bonnie said. "Things have been crazy. I have ten authors who all wanted December releases, and Liam just," she closed her eyes. Tammy looked at her. Everyone knew that Liam had affairs, and that Bonnie turned a blind eye. Having once been the other woman, Tammy had more sympathy for Bonnie than anything else. But she could never understand why someone as intelligent and strong as Bonnie Hunter put up with such treatment.

"Mom," Hunter walked up, holding a garment bag, "I got the tux, can I go now?" He stopped. "Anne, um hi."

"Hi," Anne said. "I didn't know our parents knew each other."

"Actually," he said, "I told you, um, that time," Anne just continued smiling at him, and he lost words. "It's good to see you."

"Anne was just helping me pick out a dress for the New Years party," Bonnie said. Hunter nodded. "Tammy, if you and Anne weren't planning on a mother daughter day, why don't you and I go get lunch and catch up, and these two can just spend the day together."

"I think that sounds perfect," Tammy said. Anne smiled, she got the credit and none of the hassle of a mother daughter day. And it wouldn't be hard to ditch Hunter.

Bella groaned softly as Eddie kissed her one more time and then rose out of her bed and started getting dressed. She sat up and wrapped her legs around him from behind and started kissing his neck. Had it really been months since this last happened? Since he'd been inside of her and they were groaning. As usual Eddie felt like the master of the universe as he left Bella's bed. He always had, since their first time, over three years ago, when Bella's fit of tears and anger had lead to deep kissing and hard touching and then to that awkward plea for him to make love to her.

"I missed you so much," she whispered.

"I could tell," he said confidently. "I should really get going."

"Do you have somewhere to be?" She said. He shook his head. "So stay, make love to me again." She kissed him. "Although, I guess you should probably call Elisa, huh?"

"Call her?" He said. "Why in the world would I call her?"

"Well, to tell her we're back together, of course," she giggled. "She won't take it too hard, I hope. She's young, and she has the Nichols boy wrapped around her finger. She'll be OK."

"Bella," he said. "I don't know what you thought this meant, but I can assure you, we are still very broken up." Bella blinked at him.

"But we just," she said, "I mean, what just happened. I thought we were OK!"

"What just happened was great," he said softly. "But our problems won't go away because we had great sex. We always had great sex." She swallowed. "I love Ellie. I don't intend to tell her that this happened, and I rather you didn't either. It would just hurt her." He got up and started to leave.

"Eddie, don't," she said. He turned and looked at her. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," he said. "I'll always love you, that's not the point." He left and she cried for a very long time.

Anne and Hunter walked quietly along Fifth Avenue. As much as she hated being in this part of the city, there was something comforting about Fifth at Christmas time. All of the tourists bustling around and the tree at Rockefeller Center looming large in the distance. Hunter had been harder to shake than she thought, but she was almost enjoying his company.

"So," Hunter said. "You and your mom were what, shopping?"

"Not exactly," she shook her head, "Since I started," she stopped, could she use the word dating? She and Kevin weren't really doing that, they just had sex a lot. "Since Kevin, she's been really into bonding. It gets old, but it's kind of what I wanted."

"Oh," he nodded. "So is he like your boyfriend?"

"Not really," she shook her head. "I mean, I guess so. It's complicated." Hunter nodded. "What about you?"

"Oh, my dad's family throws this stupid black tie New Year's party at our Long Island house every year," he shrugged. "It's really boring and lame, and my mom needed a dress, and I had to buy a tux." Anne nodded. Uptown people were weird like that. They had to own tuxedos.

"Sure," she said. "Do you want to go to the Palace or someplace and get a drink?"

"Mm hm," Hunter nodded. They had that in common, all New York kids knew to go to hotel bars; they never carded. They walked in settled at the bar, ordered drinks. They were sipping and laughing, enjoying themselves immensely, until Hunter's eyes got big. "Oh shit." He murmured.

"What's wrong?" Anne asked, glancing over her shoulder.

"It's my dad," Hunter said. Anne nodded, not understanding the problem until he saw the small blond woman walk in after the man. Her eyes got wide. "Can we go?"

"Yeah," Anne said quickly, taking Hunter's hand and pulling him out the door. "That really sucks, Hunter." He nodded, trying to keep from crying. "You knew didn't you?"

"I never knew," he said. "But I knew, you know?" She nodded and hugged him. "Don't tell anyone about that OK?"

"I'll take it to the grave," she whispered. She kissed him. He was surprised by the kiss. "I had fun today."

"Me too," he said. "You know, until the end."

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