Disclaimer – I own nothing.

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

"Who do you have left on your list?" Alice asked as we dodged pedestrians on the crowded city streets. Between our combined bags and necessary outdoor wear we were taking up the majority of the sidewalk.

"I don't know, I guess just Mom." I said as we approached the corner and stopped to look around. "Let's just go to Le Creuset. When shopping for Mom anything culinary related is a good choice."

"Ok, I think there is down this street." Alice said heading off in the direction she had indicated. I followed two steps behind to avoid bumping bags together. Once we were in the store I gathered all of my bags into one hand and started perusing the latest cookware. I figured cast iron was the way to go and was picking up an orange baking dish when I felt Alice's hand dig into my coat pocket. I nearly dropped the dish in my hasty attempt to grab my shopping list from Alice's hand.

My list consisted of all the people I needed to purchase Christmas gifts for. Most were friends and family and of course my employees. My assistant Jessica keeps an annual runny tally in document form that she printed out for me last week when I approved the final list. Her eyebrow quirked slightly when I had her add one more name to the list before it was being spit out of the laser jet printer next to her desk. It was that name that was causing me to panic and nearly destroy the colorful display case of finely made cast iron and stoneware cookware.

"Why is Bella on your list?" she asked, whipping her head in my direction to read my reaction.

"Isn't she on yours?" I deflected, suddenly needing to finely inspect the green lasagna dish I picked up.

"Well...yeah...but I wasn't expecting you to put her on yours." Her eyes narrowed considerably as she inspected my face for any visual clues as to why Isabella's name was on my shopping list.

"I am guessing that the Swan's will be joining us for Christmas again this year" I said, looking up to meet her eyes. She nodded as I continued. "And if that's the case, I am betting Bella will be with them."

I held my breath as Alice slowly nodded accepting my excuse. She picked up a blue roasting pan and I breathed a sigh of relief thinking I had dodged a bullet.

"What were you thinking about getting her?" Alice asked, making me want to stomp my foot like a child and run in the opposite direction.

"I don't know." I lied, thinking of the light blue lace negligee I had order last night. I had explored the entire Victoria Secrets website in search for the perfect gift while Isabella busied herself in the kitchen creating a meal out of the random items I had left in the refrigerator. It was when she appeared in the doorway wearing a pink frilly apron stating that we needed to go grocery shopping that I decided lingerie was the way to go.

"I knew it!" Alice shouted pointing a finger at me and jumping up and down earning questioning glares from the other Le Creuset patrons.

"Knew what Alice?" I asked, knowing full well that my cheeks had warmed at the idea of Isabella in the blue negligee, and it was that slight blush that Alice had picked up on. Damn her hypersensitive attention to detail!

"So when did you two start dating again?" she asked, smiling from ear to ear. "She's been avoiding me since that night we all went out. Did something happen on the cab ride home?" She was wiggling her eyebrows in suggestion and her eyes were bright with happiness. I knew if I told her anything word would be spread throughout Forks before we even made it home tonight for dinner with my parents.

"It's a long story," I said shaking my head. I could tell she was hoping for more details, but something about the way I said it or the expression on my face forced her to bite her tongue. She smiled knowingly, dropped the subject, and held up the roasting pan claiming that matching set would be the perfect gift for Mom.

Two hours later I was riding the elevator up to my apartment heavily weighted down by the ridiculous amount of gifts I had purchased. I barely opened the door wide enough to walk through and drop the bags carefully on the dinning room table before rubbing my red, aching hangs. The apartment was quiet except for the sound of humming coming from my bedroom. Peeling my coat off as I walked down the hallway, I stopped and leaned against the bedroom door utterly fascinated by the sight before me.

Isabella was folding some laundry and putting it into the appropriate draws or hanging then in closet. She hummed happily while completing the tedious task. What made me smile was the fact that it was our clothing that she was putting away. Both hers and mine. She had moved in two days after my initial invite and has slowly seeped into every aspect of my home.

The subtle changes I would come home to each day warmed my heart. At first it was just a vase of some fresh flowers she had picked up at the street market. Then it was her shoes at the edge of my bed. It was when our toothbrushes shared the same holder that I realized we were truly living together. So consumed with happiness that we both shared about starting over, we chose to keep our living arrangements to ourselves. Neither one of us wanted our new found relationship public. She didn't want to come across as jumping from relationship to relationship, while I just needed time to adjust to being back in a relationship.

I walked into the bedroom and wrapped my arms around Isabella's waist dropping a kiss to the spot where her neck and shoulder meet. She gasped not having heard me approach, but sighed contentedly leaning back onto my chest.

"How was shopping?" she asked as she closed her eyes and my kisses ventured up and down her neck.

"Fine." I whispered in her ear as I breathed her in. She smelled so good, it was a scent I never wanted to be without again.

"How was Alice." She giggled knowingly.

"Uugh," I grunted dropping my forehead to her shoulder. "She definitely knows something is up, but oddly she didn't push."

"Yeah, she was been bugging me for days to get together for lunch, but I'm running out of excuses as to why I'm not in Forks." She said, pulling my arms closer around her waist.

"At least your parents didn't ask too many questions when you said you were moving in with a friend." I said, picking up my trail of kisses once again.

"True, but then again, they may think my friend is named Angela, not Edward." We both laughed as I spun her around and kissed her properly. I sat down on the bed and watched as she finished putting away the laundry. It made me smile that she knew where everything was located – it was as if she had lived here for years instead of just a handful of weeks.

"I have to head to my parents soon. Were having dinner tonight and then we have to get started on decorating the tree and the rest of the house, so I might just stay over night." I said, thinking about how tired I would be and not wanting to make the four hour drive back.

"Oh," Isabella said as she straightened out a picture frame on my dresser. "Christmas at the Cullen's was always quite the event." She sounded so far away, lost in the memories of the Christmas's in the past that she spent with my family.

"You could come you know." I said, wanting to do anything to erase the sadness in her voice. "I could say that I ran into you and invited you to come help decorate. Mom would love it, you guys always use to enjoy getting the house Chistmas-ized."

Her smile was immediate and radiated happiness as she turned to the closet saying "let me just grab my shoes."

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