Okay, so I know I didn't reply to everyone's reviews. I just got caught up with school and it didn't work out since I wanted to get this chapter out quickly. I think I'm going to have to try a new approach. If you ask a question, I'll do my best to get back to you but I can't promise I can reply to each review anymore. It's gotten overwhelming...in the best way possible, so keep it coming! ;) The last chapter was by far and away the most reviewed chapter of the story and it looks like we'll be breaking 1000 this chapter, which is the proudest moment in writing for me. I've never gotten that many reviews before.
The general question last chapter was: why Bella didn't wear her ring? So for those of you who didn't receive a response, I'm going to reply quickly here: If you remember back to the scene when Edward initially found out, Bella admitted to not really feeling comfortable wearing it in the first place. Since Jacob was away she took the opportunity to take it off and enjoyed the freedom (a clear sign of the fact she's unhappy with him). She also didn't want Edward's comfortability during this so-called "test" to be compromised by her engagement ring. To her, she thought it might make things easier.
I hope that clears things up. There's a blog this chapter if you need more insight.
Chapter Song: Can't Get It Out of My Head (E.L.O. Cover) by John Paul White
I don't own Twilight, but I'll end it here since I'm getting long-winded and can't wait to see the review mark pass 1000 ;)
"Lieutenant, we replaced the walkies in Pagan and Badger's packs," Trigger reported.
I glanced up from my locker. I was strapping myself in and adjusting my vest.
"Thanks, Trigger. Is everyone basically ready? The vans are waiting."
"Yeah. Everything has been triple-checked and Deputy Commissioner says Herman is following the plan to the mark."
"Good. Tell Emmett to round everyone up. I want to go over assignments once more before we head out," I instructed.
Trigger nodded and scurried off to find Emmett. Tonight was going to be a late night for us. It was 11:30 and Peter Herman was just cozying up with our undercover officer. We almost had to scrub the mission. Our first choice had been called in on an assignment she was currently working on and couldn't make it.
To say I was pissed, was putting it mildly. To say I was livid, when Emmett thought suggesting Bella was good idea, was more accurate. I adamantly refused. I would rather put the mission on the backburner than to endanger Bella and expose her further.
I also didn't want Peter Herman anywhere near her. The thought of her in a skimpy stripper outfit and his grimy hands on her made me furious. Emmett could see the rage in my eyes and retracted his suggestion quickly. There was no more talk of Bella going undercover from that moment on. And if he was as smart as I thought he was, there would never be.
I looked around the locker-room, and my team members were grinning and laughing. I finally tuned into their conversation and loaded my gun.
"I can't wait to see the look on his face when he gets caught," Valence laughed.
"Tonight is one of those nights that I really love my job," Emmett grinned back wickedly.
I chuckled to myself and slammed the locker shut. I strode over to the group and they shut up quickly.
"Alright! Everyone has their assignment. Operation Nightingale," everyone snickered—Emmett had thought of the name, "officially begins when Officer James gets Councilman Herman into the backroom. If you're not one of the officers entering the room…it's your responsibility to secure the perimeter. No one knows of this assignment. Any suspicious characters or bogies are handled immediately. Head out!"
Everyone left the room and made their way to the vans. The van ride wasn't quiet. The men seemed especially pleased to bust Herman tonight. Tonight was one of those nights where I really trusted and admired my men. This plan would go off without a hitch. Everyone was 100% dedicated to it.
We landed a few blocks away from Wallace's club. We weren't allowed to enter the facility until the detectives and officers gave us the clear. There was still the possibility Herman was being watched by Fiori.
The detective in our van turned on the video and audio feed while we waited. It was like watching a comedy. Herman was a bumbling fool. The other "patrons" in the club were undercover officers. Herman was the only one not in on what was about to happen. Officer James had done a great job of piquing his interest from the beginning. She paid attention to him, and drew him in easily.
"That's Officer James?" Valence asked incredulously.
"Yeah," I responded lazily and rolled my eyes.
"Holy fuck! She is smoking hot! How do I not know her?" he wondered.
"Because she works over at the North precinct you dick," I retorted.
I could hear Emmett's chuckles in my ear. He was in the other van—our microphones were connected. I took off my helmet. It was stifling in the van. I didn't expect to have to wait this long, but Herman was annoyingly cool as cucumber. I expected him to be more anxious to get some alone time with Officer James.
But after what seemed like eternity, he finally caved. We got the okay to head in and took off. It was hard running with so much equipment but the goal being seen through was my motivation to keep pushing forward. The prize of nailing Herman was worth it.
Emmett's group got into place to secure the perimeter and my group waited by the backroom and the parking lot. I passed Wallace on my way in and gave him a nod. He just stared at me. His eye was yellowish. I must have given him a pretty nasty shiner.
I cocked my gun and readied it. As soon as I got the okay from the detectives, I was busting that door down. The anticipation was palpable. Seconds were slowly turning into minutes. My fingers were itching to do something and my legs were ready to strike down the wooden door.
I could hear muffled groans and giggles. I felt terrible for Officer James. I'd hate to have to fake that shit with Herman.
"Okay, Lieutenant. Be prepared," one of the Captains warned me.
I gestured to my officers to get ready.
"Now!" the Captain whispered harshly.
Everything after that was a blur. The only thing I could distinctly remember was seeing his face. He looked absolutely terrified, and rightfully so. He was probably expecting Fiori's hit men when I busted the door down. To a certain extent they were more terrifying. At least we weren't killing him.
We made little show of his arrest. As little as possible had to happen. I didn't want any attention drawn to the scene.
I enjoyed myself immensely when Councilman Herman was sitting in the interrogation room. I watched through the tinted glass window with a mile-wide grin. He was stuttering and stammering like a horny 16-year-old caught by his girlfriend's dad. Emmett was standing in the corner. His forearms were folded over his chest, making him look even more massive than usual. Captain Oliveros and I watched while Detective Harper lit into him. The A.D.A watched on with a bored expression.
"What are you going to do if something happens?" Captain Oliveros asked quietly.
I looked at him quickly.
"I'm not sure," I whispered back honestly.
I didn't really anticipate anything happening to Herman. We were already getting his protection arrangements in order, but, as usual, my Captain was right. What was I going to do if something happened to Herman? I didn't like him but that didn't mean I wanted him to die either. And if something happened, there was still the possibility me and my officers would be next on a long list of casualties.
No matter what I wasn't endangering my officers' lives like that. I'd rather die than see any of them take the fault. If something happened, I was going to have to make it very clear I was the brains behind this operation. It was the truth. I'd be a coward not to admit that.
"Edward…I know you. Don't get reckless," Oliveros warned me and then entered the interrogation room.
I continued watching Peter Herman. His eyes were wide and his skin was a ghostly shade of white. The lights in the interrogation were doing nothing to help his sickly complexion. They made him look translucent.
I ran a hand through my hair out of frustration. The tapes were still moving and I could hear his whimpers and pleas. He wanted nothing to do with the department. He was determined that if he told us anything, he would die. I sighed heavily and reached into my pocket for my cell phone. I pressed the speed dial and waited. It didn't take long before she answered.
"Hello?" she mumbled groggily.
I glanced at my watch. It was nearing two in the morning. I didn't want to wake her up but we needed to talk. I wanted to make no mistakes; she was still my first priority. I was going to send some officers to patrol her area. All these worries made me torn up with anxiety. I would surely cease to exist if something happened to her. I didn't want her caught up in the tangled mess anymore than necessary.
"Bella?"
"Edward?" she asked with a surprised gasp.
I heard some shifting and a door close. I was going to tell her to go back to sleep.
"Edward?" she whispered again.
"Bella, go back to sleep. I can call you tomorrow," I ordered.
"No! No. You called. It's important. What is it? What happened with Herman?" she continued whispering.
I glanced at the frightened man once again.
"Everything went well. I just wanted to tell you I'm sending some officers over to patrol. Don't be frightened if you see some random men occasionally," I chuckled awkwardly.
"When will I see you?" she breathed.
I closed my eyes and leaned my arm on the tinted glass.
"I want to see you tomorrow but I don't know if I can. Things are really delicate right now. I promise the second I get a chance, I'll call you."
"Edward, please be careful," she begged.
My heart thumped loudly.
"I will."
"Promise me."
My head fell against my arm. I was so exhausted and even though we'd been on the phone for a minute, she was tiring me out.
"I promise," I whispered, "go back to bed."
"Okay."
"Goodnight," I choked out.
"Night," she whispered.
A stray tear fell when she hung up. I wiped my eyes furiously and entered the interrogation room. Captain Oliveros glanced at me and walked out the room with the A.D.A. Detective Harper stepped back and I took the seat across from Herman. His lip was trembling.
"Evening, Councilman," I drawled.
Emmett shifted his eyes between Herman and me.
"Mr. Herman, we have a problem," I began, "I have an unsolved murder and I think you might just be the key to the case."
"I didn't kill anyone!" he insisted and looked at me with wild eyes.
I sat there stoically, completely unmoved by his outburst. If my approach was going to work, I needed to appear calm and levelheaded.
"I understand, Councilman. I don't suspect you; however, I do have a terrible suspicion you might be able to connect me with who did."
"She lied to me! She lied! All I did was a few lines. The money on the table was nothing…nothing!"
I sighed.
"I have no interest in what happened with you and the prostitute you encountered tonight. The public on the other hand," I trailed off and looked at him apologetically.
"Oh God," he cried and placed his head on the desk.
"I can make this all go away if you help me out," I offered.
"I can't! I can't say anything! He'll kill me!"
I rolled my eyes. I was getting impatient. I took out my gun from my holster. I took the safety off and placed the gun on the table.
"So can I, Councilman. The problem with doing that is that if I do…I go to prison for a very, very long time. And I might not even make it the whole way," I shrugged, "inmates love to get fresh meat…especially officers, politicians…"
"I won't make it out of this office if I say anything!" he whimpered.
"I can guarantee you one thing, Mr. Herman, if you hold your tongue here…you'll go to prison. Think about your wife…your daughter. At least if you're a free man you can protect them. What do you think is going to happen if you go to prison? What's more important to you? Their lives…or yours?"
I leaned back in my chair—satisfied. It was a cruel hand to deal but it was necessary. I wasn't even lying to him. There wasn't much we could do for a man in prison. His family's protection wasn't our responsibility by that point. At least if he was an informant, it was our job to protect him.
Nothing was guaranteed, especially when you were fighting against the mob, but it was better than leaving his family wide open. I worried for Bella. I could only imagine what they'd do to unfortunate Peter Herman's family. Herman stared me in the eye. Even if he was a sneaky rat, he clearly still loved his wife and daughter.
"What do you want?" he whispered.
If I had known those words would seal the fate of his life, mine, and Bella's…I couldn't tell you if I would have stopped him. Selfishness and gluttony were my only justifying motivations. I ended up with everything I wanted…and some things I didn't because of those words.
"Edward, do you think this blue goes better with those brown and silver glasses I picked out?" Rosalie asked me.
We had been walking around this home furnishing store for the last hour. I wanted to poke my eye out with the fucking fork she was looking at.
"Rosalie…I don't care," I said for the 100th time.
If I would have known this idea was going to lead me to this torture I would have changed my mind. I would have met Bella in a million different places aside from this fucking store. Everything was overpriced and Emmett wouldn't care about half the things Rosalie bought anyway. As long as the food was good…Emmett could give a crap what it was served on.
"You're such a dick sometimes, Edward," Rosalie huffed and rolled her eyes.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and utilized some of the stress-relieving exercises my therapist suggested. I sighed and pushed away the negative energy. I followed Rosalie down another aisle when I noticed her. She was coming through the sliding doors of the store and the wind blew her hair slightly. It felt like a ram had charged me in the stomach. The air left my lungs in a whoosh and I forgot to breathe.
She was ethereal.
Her cheeks were tinted with pink, most likely from the cold air, and her nose was a delicate peach. I wanted to Eskimo kiss her for the rest of my goddamned life at that moment. Her eyes were darting around anxiously. I knew she was looking for me but I didn't want to address her yet. I loved watching her like this. She was completely open and honest. The walls weren't up. The lines weren't drawn.
"Oh, look! It's Isabella!" Rosalie grinned and pushed her cart down the aisle.
I wanted to kill her for ruining the moment. Irritation was the only word coming to mind.
"Iz!" Rosalie called out.
Bella's head jerked and she found us quickly. She smiled beautifully. I grinned in response and walked forward.
"Hey guys," she breathed.
"Hi," Rosalie and I said in unison.
We all chuckled awkwardly and stood there.
"So, do you have a place of your own?" Rosalie interrupted the uncomfortable silence and continued down another aisle.
I couldn't believe we hadn't seen every inch of this store already. I'd been here long enough. I fell into step with Bella, while we walked behind Rosalie.
"Yes, actually, I own a house…not too far from Edward," she replied.
Bella glanced at me and winked.
"Oh, really?" Rosalie smirked over her shoulder at us.
I glared at her and shoved her forward. She laughed loudly and clucked her tongue. I chanced a look at Bella, and she was staring at the ground. I nudged her shoulder and she looked at me. I winked back and she grinned.
"So, what are you looking for?" Bella asked curiously.
"Oh, nothing in particular. I'm just trying to update the house a little bit. It's all basics and mismatching pieces from when Emmett first moved in. I've been there for a year and haven't done much. I guess I'm just sick of living in a house that looks like a 16-year-old boy decorated it," she laughed to herself.
"Hey, don't make fun of Emmett," I tugged on the back of Rosalie's ponytail playfully.
"Oh, shut it, Edward! You know it's true. You're the only guy I know who decorated his own apartment and it didn't turn out something like Emmett's. If I didn't know you any better, I'd swear you were gay," she retorted.
Bella giggled and I glared at her teasingly. She shrugged and strolled forward, leaving me behind her and Rosalie. I forced my eyes to stay trained to the back of her head. If I looked down south, they'd surely stay glued to her backside the entire time we were in the store. After a while though, it became a problem. I started to imagine me running my hands through her hair while I made love to her. Or worse, if she ever gave me…
God I wasn't even going to go there.
I exhaled sharply. I was getting annoyed with my lack of self-control. I sat down on a sofa and looked at some of the random magazines they placed for show.
"Hey."
I looked up and Bella was standing there. I shifted from my place on the sofa and allowed her to sit down. She took a magazine of her own and started reading it.
"So, what's been going on?" she spoke quietly.
Ah. So she wanted to do it this way. I started flipping through the magazine while I replied.
"He's been under observation. We got more than we need. Dylan…well, it looks good," I smiled to myself.
"Really?" she sighed happily.
"I promise."
The article 'What Your China Set Says about You' seemed like a good place to idle while we spoke.
"That makes me so happy. I'd hate for justice to be lost on him."
"Have you noticed the others? In your area?"
Everything needed to be vague if we were in public.
"Yeah. Ja-Jay never noticed which is good. I still haven't told him about us. I just…can't…for whatever reason," her voice was full of frustration.
"I understand," I lied.
I never quite understood why she didn't tell Jacob about our working together. She said it had to do with keeping him in the dark as much as possible. She didn't want him more involved than need be, which was understandable, but I didn't really believe it was only because of that. I felt like it had to do more with the fact that it was me. I was sure Jacob would hate her working with me than let's say Emmett.
I couldn't blame him. Look what I had done—fallen in love with his fiancée. I wasn't sorry for it but I couldn't ever fault him for not trusting me. I didn't even trust me at times. I was so close to damning everything to hell and just taking her last week when we were together. My self-control was wavering.
"So Christmas Eve is tomorrow," she added conversationally.
"I know," I mumbled.
"Are you going to Emmett's family's house?"
"Yeah. I have nothing better to do. Besides Esme would flip if I was home alone with take-out on Christmas," I chuckled to myself.
I heard her shut her magazine and I looked at her.
"Who's Esme?" Bella wondered—her eyebrows were inching together.
"My mother," I explained.
She smiled at that.
"I'll bet she's really great," she grinned.
"She is," I sighed.
"Do you miss her?" Bella guessed.
"All the time, but I'm happy for her. She went through a lot. She's happy now."
Bella was going to say something back but Rosalie interrupted.
"Well, we better get going. It looks like it's going to snow."
I groaned and stretched off the couch. I raised my arms above my head and released the tension in my back. I exhaled and glanced at Bella. Her eyes were slightly frantic and were fixed on the coffee table in front of us.
"Are you okay?" I wondered curiously.
Bella looked at me.
"Yeah, fine," she muttered and took off after Rosalie.
Well that was odd.
I met them at the checkout counter and waited for Rosalie to ring up her items. I shook my head at her when I saw the total. Rosalie rolled her eyes and collected her bags.
"So, how do you plan on explaining this one to Emmett?" I laughed on my way to Rosalie's car.
Rosalie just smirked deviously and unloaded her belongings into her newly acquired red coupe. Bella smiled at her and shifted her eyes between Rosalie and me. I told Rosalie to call me tomorrow and kissed her goodbye. Bella and Rose shared an awkward hug and she took off.
I walked Bella to her car and chatted her up. I didn't have anything of real importance to discuss, but it was an excuse to speak to her and stay longer. I teased her about her antiquated truck and she made fun of my allegiance to my Volvo.
The snow flurries had started to descend and I was mesmerized by the way they fell and melted in Bella's dark hair. Her hair was wavy today. I liked it like this. It had all this volume and it was just big. I wanted to thread my fingers into it.
"I guess I should go," she murmured and looked up at the snow.
I sighed.
"I should too."
I couldn't make my feet move and I noticed her hesitation too. We just stared at each other. There was this intense anticipation of something.
"Bye, Edward," she whispered and sank her key into the door.
I started to move back and walk away. It was torture leaving her but I knew I needed to. I kept having these errant fantasies of pressing her against her shitty truck and kissing her in the snow. While I stalked away, I realized something.
"Wait!" I shouted and turned around.
Bella was frozen in her driver's seat. Her leg was still hanging out the door and her eyes were wide. I met her by the open door and stared at her intensely.
"What time are you leaving tomorrow for La Push?" I asked.
I knew she and Jacob were flying there. With the weather being so uncertain, they didn't want to risk driving in her truck. I was so beyond obsessed I even knew what time they were landing in Port Angeles. It was sick.
"Um, around 11:30. Why?"
"Can I see you tomorrow? Before you leave? Can I meet you in the park?"
Bella blinked and her mouth fell open.
"I, um, yeah. Of course," she shook her head to collect her thoughts.
"Meet me at 9."
"Okay," she nodded.
I nodded back and walked away determinedly. I slipped into my car without another look behind and started the engine. I heard her truck roar and I waited. It would be weird if I followed her. We lived in the same area. I waited until she was long gone from the parking lot and pulled out. I seemed to let out a breath I was unconsciously holding as well. Tomorrow I would do it. I would give her the bracelet.
So I woke up the next morning and made sure I was clean-shaven. I was dressed in my nicest jeans and what I figured was a nice coat—the snow was falling steadily now—and grabbed coffee for Bella. I got them both black. I figured I'd give her the cream and sugar the barista included in the bag if she needed it. I walked to the park, brushed some snow away, and sat on an empty bench while I waited.
I knew she would be here but for some reason I still held this dread that she might not show up. The bracelet felt like it weighed a hundred pounds in the pocket of my coat. My nose was turning pink and my cheeks were windblown. I was sure my hair was in disarray. In my pathetic attempt to look nice for her, I only thought a scarf and gloves would look good. It was a dumb idea but I lived with it.
I took a sip of my coffee and relished the feeling of it going down my throat. It was freezing. I had picked a hell of a day to meet Bella outside. I glanced up and noticed her walking towards me from across the park. She was wearing jeans and a pea coat. I envied her for a moment. She was wearing a scarf, gloves, and a beanie.
When I caught her eye, she smiled and walked a little faster. My heartbeat started to beat faster as well. All I could think about was the bracelet in my pocket. What if she hated it? What if I crossed the line? I couldn't handle not being at least friends with her.
"Hi," she breathed and sat down next to me excitedly.
"You look anxious," I commented and handed her the coffee.
"I'm excited. It's Christmas!" she grinned.
"Do you need cream or sugar?" I waved the bag at her.
"No, I drink my coffee black….Thanks to Charlie," Bella winked.
I smiled in spite of myself. She really was the daughter of an officer.
"So what's there to tell me?" she looked at me expectantly and drank some of her coffee.
I stared at her for a moment. I hesitated. Her face was tinged with pink and her eyes were alight. I wasn't sure if I'd ever seen her so lively before. The chestnut of her hair was accented by the navy coat she wore. I'd never noticed before but she had slight hints of gold running through it. Bella's lips were parted, in anticipation, for me to respond. Her lashes hovered over her eyes delicately. They were so long and full.
"I have something for you," I began despite the sudden dryness in my mouth.
"Really?" she grinned.
I set my coffee down in the snow and reached into my pocket.
This was it.
I opened my palm and revealed the sterling silver bracelet to Bella. The red in the lips and rose charms were brilliant against the blackness of my glove. The yellow of the star stuck out marvelously. I heard her gasp a bit and I finally looked at her. Her mouth was open, and her eyes were full of confusion and surprise. She couldn't really tell but my hand was shaking. I was afraid at any minute I might drop the bracelet.
"Edward, I…"
"You don't have to say anything. You don't have to accept it," I whispered despite my agony.
I was hurt she didn't seem to like it more but I understood. My eyes fell to the snow.
"No," Bella argued.
I looked back at her, shocked by the insistence in her voice.
"I love it. It's beautiful," she assured me with a smile and reached for the bracelet.
Bella held it between her fingers and admired it for a moment. My heart was ready to combust with how much larger her smile grew while she looked at the bracelet.
"Did you choose the charms?" she wondered while stayed fixated on the bracelet.
"No. I saw it in Alice's shop and I don't know…I just thought you might like it. It reminded me of you," I replied quietly.
We looked at each other then. A million different thoughts seem to be expressed in Bella's eyes. There was a hint of something she wanted to say but didn't for whatever reason. I wanted her to tell me, but it seemed like a secret she was going to keep for herself. I didn't mind. I was keeping a huge secret of my own. I was deeply and irrevocably in love with her. I didn't know if many secrets could top that.
"Thank you so much, Edward," she whispered after a long time.
"You're more than welcome," I said.
She sighed.
"I wish I had known we were exchanging gifts. I would have gotten you something," she admitted through her frustration.
Bella bit her lip and scowled at the snow, displeased with her misfortune of not considering the idea. It didn't bother me one bit. She'd given me her, and that was all the gift I needed for the rest of my life. I could end up down and out tomorrow and still be a happy man to have her in my life. It didn't matter in what capacity, and that was why I didn't push her.
It meant more to me to have her, than to do something silly like declare my undying love for her and complicate her life. I came with too much baggage—too much danger. It meant more to me to have her, than to endanger her or love her briefly. Everything about me was unstable. She deserved more. She deserved better.
"I don't mind. I'm sorry that I was so forward. I don't expect anything in return. The fact you like it is enough," I consoled her.
"No, I love it," she maintained.
I nodded and smiled at her. Bella smiled back and seemed to want to hug me or something similar. It was almost an unspoken agreement we never got that close. There was an undercurrent of danger when our proximity became too close. Any time I got too close, it seemed like a buzzing sound was going off. The closer I got, the more frantic the buzzing became. It was best to leave those waters uncharted for now.
I brushed a hair from her cheek and grazed her cheekbone. Her eyes closed for a moment and fluttered back open. Even though I didn't want to, I returned my hand. To the passerby we probably looked like a couple and that's the last thing I needed.
"I should go. You probably have things to do before you leave and I don't want to keep you. I'm sure Jacob is waiting on you," I mumbled.
"I don't want to leave just yet," she confessed
I nodded understandingly and grabbed my coffee. I drank some more and glanced at her from the corner of my eye. The bracelet was now sitting on her left wrist, while she drank her coffee. I smiled to myself and sighed.
"What are you going to tell him?"
Bella's eyes tightened marginally.
"I told him I had to run into the office and meet with my editor. We're not really on the best of terms right now anyway," Bella murmured.
I blinked and looked at her in surprise. She shrugged and looked back at the snow. It seemed to agitate her so I didn't press. It clearly upset her to be having problems with him, and as much as that pleased me, it bothered me more that it dampened her mood.
"So, what did you ask for this Christmas?" I smirked.
Bella laughed to herself and shook her head.
"I'd rather not say," she replied coyly.
I arched an eyebrow at her and looked at her suspiciously. She looked at me with an expression that said 'don't even ask.' So I didn't. When it neared ten thirty, I decided we should leave. Bella still didn't want to leave but I made an executive decision.
We walked to the park entrance, but not without Bella nearly falling on the ice and snow more times than should be considered reasonable. I had never really realized the extent of just how clumsy she was. Her giggles and grip on my forearm each time she nearly collapsed had me in a laughing fit of my own. As I stood there with her at our midpoint, I decided to test another boundary.
"Will you text me when you land?" I asked, "Just to make sure you're safe," I clarified.
She smiled at me and nodded. I grinned back and brushed her flyaways once again.
"Merry Christmas, Bella," I whispered.
"Merry Christmas, Edward."
I went to dinner with Emmett and Rosalie that night. It was a trip. Emmett's mom cooked enough food for a starving army, and his dad was characteristically inappropriate and let anything fly out of his mouth. He was never crass but there were some things I just couldn't believe he actually said out loud.
Rosalie was nearly blue in the face from laughter, and Emmett's mom was un-amused throughout the entire dinner. It didn't help that Emmett egged him on. Those two were like Abbott and Costello. I could understand her tedium after being married to Emmett Sr. for 28 years and after having Emmett Jr. as a son.
When I climbed into bed that night, I fell in with a smile. It had become habit throughout the entire day to glance at the text message in my inbox.
Landed safely—wish I was back in the park ;)
-Bella
I wished we were back in the park too. It felt like a little bubble of ours. I lay in bed thinking of what it would have been like to kiss her in the park. At some point in my daydreaming, I started to actually dream.
The dream I had that night haunted me for the days after Christmas and the week Bella was away. I found myself getting lost in the memory of the dream at work, while eating, reading. No man would envy my love. It was beautiful but it was taxing.
It was the day before New Year's Eve and I was waiting for Jasper and Alice in the airport. While I sat waiting, the dream came back to me as I watched the people walk past me in a hurry. It reminded me of the way she seemed to float in my dream.
I was sitting on a beach; it was a late hour, sometime after midnight. I knew I was dreaming because I hadn't been to a beach like this since spring break during college. The sand was so soft—it fell through my fingers like air—and was an opaque white despite the moonlight above.
The waves were crashing softly against the shore. I didn't know what I was doing at this beach but I had this feeling I needed to stay here. I was waiting for something. I glanced across the horizon, and when my eyes focused in on the shoreline—I saw her.
She was walking towards me, a serene smile on her face. She was wearing a delicate knee-length white dress. The poise in her strides made it seem like she was floating. When she reached me, I looked up at her in awe. Her face was calm and relaxed. She fell to her knees in front of me and we stared at each other. We were eye level now. I leaned forward and cupped her cheek.
"Bella," I sighed her name.
Bella leaned into my palm and pressed a whisper of a kiss to my skin.
"Edward, I know now. I know it's you. I want you," she replied softly.
Bella leaned in and pressed her lips to my own. The determination behind them was undeniable.
"I love you," she mumbled against my lips.
My reply was…
"EDWARD!" I heard a bell-like voice squeal.
…cockblocked by Alice.
I shook my head and Alice was beaming at me. I stood up and cleared my head. I gave her a hug and squeezed her tightly. I was annoyed she'd ruined my little dream but if there was anyone I could forgive for doing so, it was Alice. She had been the genius behind the bracelet. It was because of her that Bella was wearing my bracelet. No matter what, I was with her.
Review, please! This was a long one and I'm dying to know what you think about the whole bracelet scene...