Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter Fourteen

Take care of yourself. Don't put her first.

"You're up early." I spoke through a yawn as I found Renee sitting on the back porch.

She smiled over her coffee cup before handing it to me. "Early bird catches the worm and all that."

Since when the hell was that her motto?

"What are you doing today?" I sipped the coffee while silently thanking whomever discovered caffeine.

"I met this nice man Phil yesterday," Renee said casually. Or, she tried to sound casual and completely failed. "He owns a garden center called It's About Thyme."

"That's...cool." I eyed her.

"Thyme. Like the herb."

"Ooh. That makes more sense. Now it's funny," I admitted. "It's About Thyme," I repeated and chuckled to myself.

"Anyway, I noticed noticed a sign hanging in the window about needing help."

Handing her the coffee cup, I told her that sounded like a good plan. It was certainly up her alley. And, really, she sounded better today. Hopeful, even. But that may have been due to the caffeine.

After showering and trying to find something presentable, I dropped Renee off at the garden center and drove around town, not exactly sure what I was looking for.

Unfortunately, I didn't have Edward's phone number. I had been lucky to have him randomly show up the past few days.

Since he didn't give me directions to his mom's office, I spent ten minutes driving around town looking for some sort of realty office. Cause really, how many realty offices could there be in Forks?

A tiny office off the 101 caught my eye, so I pulled into the small lot and walked in.

There was an empty desk sitting in the middle of the room, and a tiny office off to the right.

"I'll be with you in one moment," a soft voice called out.

I sat in one of the chairs against the wall, wishing I hadn't worn my fucking Vans.

"Hi. May I help you?" A woman with chestnut hair and kind eyes asked as she exited her office.

"Yes. I'm here to meet with Esme," I explained, pushing the hair out of my face. She was immaculately dresses and I suddenly felt very...plain. "Edward-"

"Oh! You must be Bella!" Esme lunged towards me, keeping a smile plastered on her face. "Edward told me you'd be coming by sometime today."

"Yes. I'm Bella." I smiled shyly, because it wasn't lost on me that I was meeting Edward's mother.

Before I realized what she was doing, she pulled me into a suffocating hug. She was a dainty woman, but her hug was warm and welcoming. "It's so nice to meet you," she practically mumbled into my hair.

"It's nice-"

Esme pulled back, still smiling. "You're just darling. Really."

What was I supposed to say to that?

"Th...anks! Um, so-"

"Did you happen to bring a resume with you?" Esme asked, walking back to her desk. I followed her into the office.

"Actually...no. It completely slipped my mind."

Esme waved her hand and winked at me. "Not a problem. You come highly recommended."

Before I could say anything, I heard someone enter the realty office.

Edward, I thought to myself. Imagine my disappointment when it was an older blonde man. Well, not too disappointed because he was handsome. And I had never used that word before to describe anyone.

The man walked past me into Esme's office, seemingly startled by my presence.

"Oh. Hello. I didn't know you were busy, honey. I have less than an hour. Did you still want to do lunch?" The man asked, smiling at me before kissing Esme hello.

"This is Bella," Esme explained, giving the man a pointed look.

I tried hard to keep a straight face. Perfect. Wonderful. Not awkward at all.

"Bella! Hey, Bella. I'm Carlisle, Edward's father." He reached a hand out and overzealously shook my hand, causing my arm and pretty much entire body to shake.

Whiplash. That's all I gotta say.

"It's nice to meet you both," I replied politely. "I can...come back later, if you'd like. Edward didn't mention a certain time for me to stop by, so..."

"Nonsense! We were just going to lunch. Would you like to join us?" Carlisle nodded enthusiastically in his sweater vest.

"Uh..."

"Please do," Esme pushed. "We can talk about the job and maybe get to know you a little."

I stood there in my jeans and dirty Vans, staring at Edward's parents who were...normal. Their eyes held the same crinkle and easiness that Edward's did.

In other words, I wanted to say no to spare myself a heart attack. But I couldn't.

"Okay. That would be great."

"Perfect," Esme beamed.

And they were.

A/N: Yeah, so...you can thank Kitty Vuitton for this extra update. She bribed me with wine. I would've settled for some Rob porn. Thanks for reading!