The One That Got Away
Chapter 21
A/N Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Sorry for being a bit late posting this week – I was away and didn't realize I wouldn't have an internet connection.
Thank you for all the comments on the last chapter! And a special thank you to those of you who commented on so many chapters. This is my first fanfic and you've really encouraged me. Hope you enjoy this! An epilogue to follow.
The increasingly loud cheers and whistles from the audience made Edward and Bella realize their passionate display was taking place in front of millions of TV viewers, but they couldn't bring themselves to stop. Their kisses went from passionate to sweet, until they finally came up for air, their foreheads still touching and their hands still joined together.
"Nice of you both to join us again" Ellen said, and they both looked up and blushed. Ellen just laughed, and introduced Bree, Claire, Rachel and Kim to the audience to huge cheers. The girls were delighted, obviously enjoying their 15 minutes of fame. At Ellen's invitation, they each stepped forward and hugged Edward and Bella.
Bree gave Bella a big squeeze then wrapped her arms around Edward. She released him and stepped back, looking up to stare wide-eyed at his face. "Holy cow, you're even hotter in person than you are in the pictures!" She gasped as she realized what she just said on national television. The other girls just stared at her, amazed at seeing their fearless leader so frazzled. She whipped around and looked at Bella with pleading eyes. "Oh, Miss Swan, I am so sorry!"
Bella couldn't help but grin. She winked at the girl. "It's OK, Bree. I think he's pretty hot too." Edward buried his face in his hands as the audience laughed. Bella turned to Ellen. "Thank you, thank you for everything. It's overwhelming – Edward, the movie – and I was so excited just to be on your show." She turned to the girls. "Bree, girls, thank you too. Thank you for everything you did to find him. He most certainly is the one that got away."
Ellen shrugged her shoulders. "I can't top that!" She waved to the audience. "And cut!" The producer said, and the audience jumped to their feet, applauding madly. Jasper and Alice came out from backstage and everyone on stage exchanged hugs.
The next few weeks were a whirlwind of activity. Once the curtain came down, so to speak, on Bella's more than slightly overwhelming TV experience, everything in her life seemed to jump to faster than normal speed.
After Bella and Edward's passionate kiss on stage, it seemed as though every network in the country picked up on the story. Bree, Claire, Kim and Rachel became internet stars for their story. Alice fielded hundreds of phone calls asking for TV appearances and book signings across the country. Bella's publisher once again reprinted the book, this time with Bella's name as the author.
"Alice, look at this" Bella exclaimed, pulling a copy of the book out of the box that had just been delivered to Alice's office. She pointed to the words on the top corner of the cover. "Soon to be a major motion picture." She shook her head. "I just can't believe it."
"Believe it, Bella" said Alice. She walked over to her dearest friend and placed her hands on Bella's shoulders. "You've waited a long time for this Bella. Even when you didn't know you were waiting for him, you were. The connection was always there." Alice wiped a tear from her eye. "Now, enough of this, it's ruining my mascara."
Bella crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. "Well, I wouldn't want to be responsible for that."
Alice stuck her tongue out at Bella.
"Real mature, Alice."
"Shut up." Alice stopped, sucked in a deep breath of air, and straightened up to her full 5 foot height. "Now I'm switching over to agent mode. Ms. Swan, do you have any questions about your next book signing?" Despite her professional tone, Alice nearly danced her way around the desk to sit in her oversized desk chair.
Of course, thought Bella, Alice always seemed to dance. "What time does my flight leave in the morning?"
"7:30 AM from JFK. A car will pick you up outside our building at 6. Here's your boarding pass – first class, of course."
"Oh crap, Alice, do you know how early I'll have to get up?" Bella slumped in the cushy chair in front of Alice's desk.
"It's the price of fame, dear, you know that."
Bella pouted. "All I know is when I was a lot less famous I got a lot more sleep."
Alice continued. "You arrive at 10:30 AM, Seattle time, and get a car to the hotel before going to the bookstore."
"Hotel? Alice, I'm going to be in Seattle. Why can't I stay at my condo?"
"Duh! Because it's up for sale, remember? They have to have it empty so they can show it." Alice continued. "Now, the book signing is from 11:30 to 1, and then you can relax for the rest of the day. Your flight back to New York is the next morning."
Bella took the papers from Alice's hand. "Alice, that makes no sense. Why do I have to wait to fly back until the next day? Why can't I fly back that night?" She looked at her friend and spoke quietly. "I don't want to be away from Edward any longer than I have to."
"That sounds like things must be going well. Are they?"
"You know they are. We're going to Philadelphia this weekend so he can help me look for an apartment." Bella smiled. "And show me the clinic."
"And show you his townhouse?"
"Umm, yeah. That too."
Alice squealed. "Oooh, so exciting!" Her tone shifted rapidly. "So one more day won't make any difference. Get your ass back to my apartment and pack for Seattle. Oh, and make sure you wear the blue dress for the signing. This is an upscale book store."
-TOTGA-
At 1:00, Seattle time the next afternoon, Bella looked up to see that the line for her book signing was still winding through the aisles of the bookstore nearly to the front door. She's already been signing for almost two hours. She was keeping a highly unscientific count of which of her books she was signing the most. Whether she liked it or not, the little romance was outselling her other books nearly 4 to 1. She shook her head as yet another copy was handed to her. She looked up at the young woman standing in front of her.
"And who should I make this out to?" Bella shook her wrist under the table. It was starting to ache a bit, but she wasn't complaining. This was her dream come true, and she intended to enjoy every bit of it. As she finished signing a book "To Jane, all the best, Bella Swan" she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Angela Weber, the coordinator for the book signing, leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Ms. Swan, if you can give us another 15 minutes, we'll cut off the rest of the line. You've been more than generous squeezing us in on your tour, and we really appreciate it. You must be getting tired."
Bella smiled at her. "I am a little tired, but I'd be happy to keep signing as long as you have people."
"Oh no" said Angela. "I have very strict orders from your agent that you are to be out of here by 1:30."
Bella frowned. "I…I have no idea why she would have said that."
Angela motioned the next person in line to step forward. "I have my orders, Ms. Swan. I'll be back in 15 minutes."
Bella looked at the line again. "Make it 30 minutes. If Alice says I need to leave at 1:30, I'll leave at 1:30."
Thirty minutes and many signatures later, Bella watched, gratefully, as Angela spoke politely to the remaining people in line, promising that if they left their name and address, an autographed copy of the book would be mailed to them. "Ms. Hale's instructions" she said, when Bella looked at her quizzically. "Right over here, please" she said, leading the rest of the line to another table where someone took their information. Bella stood and watched in amazement. She didn't understand why Alice would have done this.
"Really" she murmured, turning around to pick up her jacket. "I'm stuck here till tomorrow anyway."
"Excuse me, Ms. Swan? Could you autograph this book?"
"I'm sorry" she said, turning back toward the table "I'd love to, but the book store said…" She gasped as her eyes took in a familiar crooked grin.
"Oh, I think they'll make an exception for this one." His green eyes sparkled.
"Edward!" She ran around the table and into his arms. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to take you on a date, if you'll have me."
"Lead the way, Dr. Cullen." She took his arm, and they headed out the door. "Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see Ms. Swan. Patience." He led her to a car and opened the door.
Still floating on the pleasant cloud of surprise that Edward's appearance caused, Bella answered dozens of questions as he asked her about every aspect of her life in Seattle. She looked at the clock on the dashboard and realized they'd been on the road for a long time.
"Edward, where are we going?" She looked out the window and recognized some familiar landmarks. "We're going to Forks?"
"No, we're going to the beach. I…um…thought it might be kind of fun to go back to a place where we spent so many fun times." He glanced over to try and gauge her reaction.
She looked down at her hands, neatly folded in her lap. "Lots of fun times, and one not very fun time. Edward, it's the place where I broke up with you."
"I choose to remember other things about it." He reached over and took her hand.
Soon he turned off the road into a parking lot. As she opened the car door, Bella could hear the sound of the beach. She could hear children laughing as they ran up and down.
Bella looked down at her outfit. "I'm not really dressed for walking on the beach, Edward. And neither are you."
"C'mon, Bella. Have some fun. Lose the heels and you'll be just fine." He leaned against the car and pulled off his own shoes before rolling up his shirt sleeves and his pants legs.
Bella tossed her shoes back in the car and reached to take his outstretched hand. They walked along quietly, each lost in the memories of their teenage adventures. When they walked past the old fire pit where they'd spent so many nights laughing with their friends, they looked at each other and smiled. They walked a little more, along the water, until Edward tugged on Bella's hand and pulled her up the beach to a sand dune.
Her eyes opened in recognition and surprise. "Edward, this is the same place where…where I ruined everything. I don't understand. Why would you come back here? Why would you bring me here?"
He took both her hands in his, and looked deeply into her eyes. "Bella, millions of things happen to us every day. Our brains manage to record only a small percentage of them. Our hearts record a smaller portion still. And then, out of all that, we decide to remember the most significant." He closed the space between them. "Yes, this is the place where life changed for us. But it was also the place where you sacrificed everything for me to follow my dream. And, what I choose to remember, is that it's the place where I tried for the first time to make love to the girl I adored." He smirked. "Even if I didn't get too far."
"Oh, Edward." Bella sniffed. "I want to remember it that way."
"Well, that's one of the reasons we're here." He licked his lips to moisten them. "You might be the writer, but we're here because I want to rewrite the story of our lives, right here, on this spot."
She was intrigued, but confused by what he was saying. "I don't understand."
Edward took a deep breath, and still holding both of Bella's hands tightly in his, he knelt down on one knee in the sand. Bella gasped and her eyes widened.
"Bella, I know that it hasn't been very long since we found each other again, and that we are still learning our way back to love. But I also know that I've thought about you every day for the last seven years. Every day, Bella."
She nodded her head. "And I've thought about you every day too. I've never stopped thinking about you, Edward. And I've never stopped loving you."
He smiled her favorite smile. "And I've never stopped loving you either. Bella, I read your book. I read about the love your characters have for each other. I read about the way their lives came together, their wedding, their children, the way they spent the rest of their lives together. And I want that for us. I've always wanted that for us. And I still want it, more than anything." He swallowed. "Bella, if you still want that too, then let me rewrite our story. Starting today, starting now, let this be the place where we pledge we'll be together forever."
"I want that too, Edward. More than anything."
He pulled one of his hands from hers and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small velvet covered box and opened it to reveal the most beautiful diamond ring she'd ever seen. "Then let's make this the first day of our happy ending. Marry me, Bella."
For a writer, she found herself amazingly short on words. But she managed to get out the most important one. "Yes." She knelt in the sand and threw her hands around his neck. "Yes!"
And they sealed their new story with a kiss that said more than any words ever could.