Author's Note: Thanks again to moosals for pre-reading. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.

I still haven't gotten out to see BD2 yet. Maybe this week?

Everyone seems pleased with the progress, but reviews have really dropped off in the last few chapters. I'd love to hear from all of you! I'm not working this week, so I have plenty of time to reply to reviews. :)

Chapter 20

Monday, July 29, 2013

"Need any help?" the large man with dark, curly hair and huge dimples asked.

"That would be great, thanks," I replied. Goddamn, it was hot outside — figured we'd be moving on the hottest day of the year.

Emmett McCarty, our new neighbor, grabbed one of the larger boxes out of my car, carrying it up the stairs. Edward was already inside, directing the movers on where to put all of the things that I'd left in storage in Chicago. The furniture delivery truck with our new king sized bedroom set, kitchen table and desk had come early this morning, so our condo was starting to look a lot like a home.

After our offer was accepted, Jane recommended a contractor who could update the kitchen for us at a reasonable price. The previous owners, a couple in their 50's, let us have a chance to come in briefly with the contractor to measure everything, so that we could order the new cabinets and flooring ahead of time, speeding up the process.

Once we took possession ten days ago, we ripped out the existing kitchen and got started putting it back together. It still wasn't completely finished — we were waiting on countertops — but it was at least in working order enough that we could move in.

It was while checking out the progress last week that we'd first run into the affable Emmett, who worked as a bartender nearby. His wife, Rose, a nurse up at St. Luke's, was working that day so we hadn't met her yet.

"Thanks so much, Emmett," I smiled as he set the box down on the coffee table.

"What have you got in here? Bricks?" he asked cheerfully.

"Close — books. I've got a lot of reading for my paralegal course," I replied as we headed back down to the car for more boxes.

Once we had everything from both cars inside the condo, Edward and I thanked Emmett profusely.

"Oh, no problem. Hey, is it ok if I bring my wife by to meet you guys when she gets home from work? She's been anxious to meet you since I told her about running into you last week. She's excited to have new neighbors closer to our age."

"Yeah, that sounds fine," Edward replied, and I nodded.

"Great. Her shift ends in about an hour," he answered. "Don't worry — we won't be in your hair too long. I need to get to work by 5:30."

Once Emmett left, Edward grabbed me in a huge hug, spinning me around.

"Stop it," I laughed.

"I can't help it," he smiled, putting my feet back on the ground. "It's just so unbelievable that we're here in our first home. "

Looking around, I frowned at all of the work ahead of us. "We can celebrate later — we have some things to put away first."

A little over an hour later, the doorbell rang while I was unpacking the boxes of books. Standing up, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and headed to the front door.

I opened the door to Emmett and a tall gorgeous woman with light blonde hair and icy blue eyes. She was truly stunning, making me feel even more unkempt with my messy bun and no make-up.

"Hi, Bella," Emmett said pleasantly. "I'd like you to meet my wife, Rosalie. Rose, this Bella Swan."

"It's nice to meet you, Rose," I said with a smile, holding my hand out to her. "Please, come on in, if you don't mind the mess. I think Edward is busy in the bedroom."

"Looks like you've made a lot of progress in the last hour," Emmett remarked as he looked around.

"Yeah, we have. I still need to start on the kitchen though. I can at least get the upper cabinets done before the countertops come in next week."

"Are you originally from St. Louis, Bella?" Rose asked as we got settled on the couch.

"No, I grew up in Phoenix. I went to college in Illinois and lived in Chicago until about three months ago," I explained.

"Will you two please excuse me for a moment? Edward is probably buried in a closet and doesn't realize you're here. Let me go get him."

I headed down the hallway to the bedrooms, finding Edward hanging my clothes in the walk-in closet.

"Hey," I called, throwing my arms around his waist from behind. "You know you don't have to do that."

"I wanted to," he replied, turning his head to kiss me.

"Emmett brought his wife, Rose, over — come out and meet her."

When Edward and I reached the living room, I saw Rose look up at us. Her eyes raked Edward up and down as he lifted his t-shirt to wipe the sweat dripping off his face, showing off a piece of that toned stomach. Rose's eyes widened as she stared. Was she checking out my boyfriend? In front of her husband?

I cleared my throat. "Rose, this is Edward," I introduced him.

Edward smiled shyly before walking up to where Rose was sitting, shaking her hand briefly. "It's nice to meet you," he said quietly while she just continued to stare, not speaking.

"I'm sorry for my rudeness," she finally said, shaking her head. "I was just under the impression that you guys were a couple. Emmett didn't tell me you were living with your… brother?"

Edward laughed. "Bella's not my sister — she's my girlfriend," he replied, putting his arm around me and kissing me lightly.

Rose's eyes widened even further after Edward's display. Fuck, this was exactly the kind of thing I was afraid of.

"Girlfriend? How old are you, Edward?"

"Rose," Emmett warned.

"What?" she asked, turning to face her husband. "I'm just curious — he looks like he's barely out of college."

"I'm not," Edward replied. "I'm 19, and I'll be a sophomore this fall. Yeah, I'm younger than Bella, but so what?"

I felt my face flame under Rose's obvious disapproval. She clearly thought I was robbing the cradle.

"Rosie, what difference does it make?" Emmett asked. "You're older than I am."

"Yes, by two years."

"And I'm 11 years older than Edward… but there are a lot of advantages to dating a younger man… wouldn't you agree, Rose?"

While Edward blushed a gorgeous shade of pink, Emmett guffawed, and Rose raised an eyebrow at me.

"You're all right, Bella Swan," she finally said. "I like you."

"Sorry, Edward," I told him quietly.

He was still blushing, but he grinned at me, winking. He was so fucking proud of his sexual prowess — typical man.

"How did you two meet?" Rose asked.

"Uhhhh…" Fuck, how did I answer that one?

"I stole her from my brother," Edward answered with a shit-eating grin. What the fuck?

Emmett laughed, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I get it — that's classified information. Listen, I really need to run, or I'll be late for work," he added, standing up.

Rose smiled at me as she followed her husband to the front door. "I hope I didn't offend you — I was just caught off guard. More power to you though," she said with a wink.

Once they were gone, I playfully beat on Edward's chest. "I can't believe you told them the truth!"

"They didn't believe me," he laughed. "I don't want to lie to people, Bella."

"Can't we just say we met through family? That's not a lie. I'm not… proud of what I did, regardless of the outcome."

"Ok," he agreed. "You know, I was afraid you were going to freak out when Rose reacted like that. It's the first time we've gotten any negative comments."

"No, it's not," I responded quietly, watching his brow furrow in confusion. "When you picked me up from work a couple weeks ago while my car was in the shop… the next day, Lauren, one of the other legal assistants, made a snide comment about how young you looked. I was so shocked that I didn't really say anything… and I've been wishing for a do-over ever since."

"So you're not upset? You're not gonna freak out?"

"Nope. I choose to be proud that a 19-year-old wants to sex me up on a regular basis," I replied, kissing him tenderly.

Edward giggled, picking me up fireman-style and carrying me down the hallway.

"Put me down," I yelled, laughing. "Where are you going?"

"We have a new bed to test out," he replied in a husky voice.

Yes, please.

While Edward had class on Tuesday, I was able to take a second day of vacation. I'd hoped to be further along with the unpacking, but Edward had sufficiently distracted us from our less fun work with his plan to test out the new bed last night.

By the time he got home from class, I had our new home pretty much put together. I was taking a much-needed break on the couch when I heard the tell-tale sound of the garage door being opened.

"Hey," I called when Edward walked in. "How was class?"

"Fine," he answered quietly — too quietly.

"What's wrong?" I asked as he sat heavily beside me.

"I checked my phone after class and had a voice mail from Jasper."

My eyes widened. I really hadn't expected to hear from Jasper again. Though he'd told Edward he forgave him almost six months ago, neither of them had made any effort to try and repair their relationship.

"What did he want?" I asked after a long pause.

"He's in town working on a new ad campaign with one of their clients. He wanted to know if we can get together later this week."

"What — what did you say?"

"I haven't called him back yet," he replied with a shrug.

"What do you want to say?"

"I don't know… He's my family, and a part of me wishes I had a family. But I'm scared."

"Scared of what, sweetheart?" I asked, taking his hand in mine.

"Scared of how he'll react to finding out we're together. I can't lie to him, Bella. If he and I are to have any relationship at all, he'll have to know about us and accept it."

"I agree," I replied. "But the last time I talked to him, he told me that I shouldn't not be with you because I was afraid of what he'd think."

"He said that?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "He wasn't exactly encouraging me, but…"

"What did you say to him?"

"I… I told him I didn't want you. Please don't be upset — I was lying to myself back then."

"Do you still want Jasper?" he whispered.

"What?!"

"If Jasper wanted you back, would you go back to him?"

"That isn't going to happen."

"Hypothetically, then."

I sighed. "No, I wouldn't go back to him. Jasper turned out to not be the man I thought he was. I mean… I fucked up, I know I did, but he wouldn't even try to fix us. I offered to do whatever he wanted. I'm not perfect — no one is perfect — yet he gave up on us the first time I made a mistake."

"I'm a mistake?" Edward asked, barely audible.

"No, sweetheart," I replied, taking his face in my hands. "Sleeping with you while I was married to Jasper was a mistake. I did it for all the wrong reasons. But you and me, now, together — we're not a mistake."

"Do you promise?" he asked, his voice trembling.

"I promise." I crawled into his lap, bringing his lips to mine.

"I love you so much, Bella. I have everything I ever wanted, but I'm so afraid I'll lose you." His fingers were inching up underneath my tank top, making my skin tingle with anticipation.

"Why would you lose me?"

"Because… what if you decide you can't handle this? What if you never fall in love with me?"

"Oh sweetheart," I said, running my fingers through his soft hair. "It's impossible not to fall in love with you."

"I need to hear the words, Bella," he whispered.

Gazing into those gorgeous green eyes, I saw his love for me. I'd spent months being so unfair to him: using him for sex, denying my feelings. But his love never once wavered. I knew then that I could safely give Edward my heart and he'd never stomp on it.

"I love you, Edward. I—"

My words were cut off by his lips on mine. I kissed him back with everything I had. Fuck, I had messed up, waiting so long to tell him. "I'm sorry," I panted once Edward's lips moved to the top of my breast. "I should've told you sooner."

"Say it again," he demanded.

"I love you," I repeated, laughing as I felt his hardness grow beneath me. I reached down to palm him through his shorts. "Time to give the new bed another test?"

"But it's so far away," he whined.

"Well, we did have some good times on this couch at my apartment in Chicago, didn't we?" I began sucking on Edward's neck as I felt his fingers working the button on my shorts.

"Take them off," he whispered. I quickly obliged, standing up and yanking my shorts and panties down before resuming my place on his lap. I threw my arms around Edward's neck, taking those pouty lips in mine.

"Oh God," I yelped, as I felt Edward's fingers between my legs. "I love… your fingers," I panted as he began pumping two fingers in and out while his thumb worked my clit. With his other hand, Edward grasped the top of my tank top, pulling it and my bra down so that he could attach his lips to my nipple. "I love your tongue, too."

Suddenly, Edward lifted me up, laying me on my back across the couch. His fingers never once faltered and I was getting close… very close.

"Come on," he whispered, "I want to watch you come."

"Oh my God… I love you," I screamed as I came. When I opened my eyes, Edward was staring down at me, his fingers still moving slowly inside me.

"I love you, too," he whispered, kissing me gently. And then he finally removed his fingers, sucking them into his mouth while he stared into my eyes.

"Are you planning to fuck me now?" I asked with a grin.

"Oh yeah," he smirked, standing up and removing his shorts. He tugged on my right leg, spreading me open as he placed his right knee on the couch, his left leg still on the floor. My breathing sped up in anticipation when he rubbed his cock through my wetness.

"Are you gonna tell me you love my cock now?"

I laughed. So cocky, that boy. "I'm not sure. I might need a demonstration." And with that incentive, he plunged inside.

I pulled Edward's head down to me so I could kiss him while he fucked me, trying to show him how much I loved him.

"Yes, I love your cock," I whispered, running my fingers through his hair. "But not as much as I love you."

That was all it took to spur him on, quickly driving me to the brink again with his relentless thrusts. He knew exactly what to do to my body to make me insane. Just when I thought I couldn't take any more, I came again. Edward followed just behind me with a long grunt, collapsing on top of me.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing me sweetly. "And don't even think I'm done with you yet."

A/N: Yay, she said those three little words! :)

Finally we met Emmett and Rose. And Bella has now had to deal with negative comments on the age difference, but she didn't freak out. Did that surprise anyone?

Plus, Jasper is back! How do you all think that is going to go?

Next chapter on Wednesday, since I know the Americans will be busy eating turkey and watching football on Thursday!