A/N: I don't own this, we all know who does. What I do own is a dog that isn't nearly as cute as the puppy E.C. wants. I refer to my dog as a rat, but maybe she's more like a weasel. Either way, she annoys me to no end.

Thanks go to my uberbeta coldplaywhore. I love her and she knows it. She makes me giggle with her ideas about what should and should not be used to make cakes.

Thanks to My Constants and My Girlies. They are lovely…

Thanks to Twilight44 & Unchanged Affections for prereading this. I could not love them more, and I'm sure I could be classified as somewhat dependant upon them at this point. :D

So, the review thing went well last chapter. :D Only two of the three clues were found. They were –

Kate Jones – found by RosyCheeks17
Zhang Lee – found by appleburple

The one not found was visual, and it was Kate's red hair. My favorite tv show ALIAS featured Sydney Bristow sporting a bright red, bobbed hair style in the pilot episode. Google ALIAS and you'll see it. :)

The random winners were –

991 - mountainlion718
1000 - amandaolsson
1013 – lovingit3

These girls got this chapter a day early, except for amandaolsson. Send me your email and I'll give you the next chapter early. :)

I have another offer for you with this chapter. More info on that at the end. Yes, longest A/N's ever…I know. I'm wordy, it can't be helped. :D

Enjoy!

o~*~o~*~o~*~o

What Hurts the Most Chapter 21 – Cold As You

You have a way of coming easily to me
And when you take, you take the very best of me
So I start a fight 'cause I need to feel something
And you do what you want 'cause I'm not what you wanted

Oh what a shame, what a rainy ending given to a perfect day
Just walk away, no use defending words that you will never say
And now that I'm sitting here thinking it through
I've never been anywhere cold as you

You put up walls and paint them all a shade of gray
And I stood there loving you and wished them all away
And you come away with a great little story
Of a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you

"Cold As You" by Taylor Swift

The rest of the weekend went by quickly and I was actually a little sad as I left Emmett at the airport, knowing that the next time I saw him, he'd be a father. I knew how excited he was about that, as well as about getting back to Rosalie, and after watching him with E.C., I no longer feared for the safety of his unborn child. Not that Rose would ever leave the baby's side long enough for Emmett to make a mistake. I think Emmett felt a little more at ease, too, now that he had some experience under his belt. It had been a great week so far, and with the beginning of classes quickly approaching, as well as Bella actually speaking to me, I was on a high.

E.C. and I spent Saturday afternoon at the beach, playing in the water and finding sea shells. I loved how comfortable he was in that environment, but watching him swim through the water made me a little resentful. I didn't know how or when he'd learned to swim, and I was beginning to notice other things I hadn't been around for. The fact that he could already tie his shoes, or that he knew how many squirts of soap to use when he washed his hands, wasn't lost on me. I wanted to teach and show him things, and I was quickly beginning to understand all of the little opportunities I'd missed out on in the last almost four years.

Sunday morning I got up early and drove to the closest doughnut shop. I was hungry, plus I'd offered to get E.C. some doughnuts with sprinkles for breakfast. Bella was going to drop him off at my house on her way to work, and I was excited for the opportunity to spend the day with him. I wanted everything to be perfect.

When I returned home I noticed a few neighbors out in their front yards. A couple of women were working in their flower beds, a few men were raking leaves or cutting the grass, and the woman that lived directly across from me was outside with a little girl, playing with what I assumed was their dog. The dog was small and had a fuzzy mop of hair covering it. Suddenly, I remembered offering to buy E.C. a puppy once I got settled into my house. I knew, with the smaller backyard that I had, the dog couldn't be too big, and I thought this might be a good opportunity to not only meet my new neighbor, but also to see how she felt about the size of her dog. I put the doughnuts in the kitchen and then went back out front, walking across the street and over to her house.

"Hi," I said, smiling and hoping that I wasn't being too forward.

"Hello. You must be the new neighbor," she said, walking toward me with her hand stretched out. "I'm Missy, it's nice to meet you."

"Hey Missy, I'm Edward. I hope we didn't cause too much commotion moving stuff in last week." She seemed nice, and the little girl with her looked to be a couple of years older than E.C. Missy was older than me, probably in her early 30's, and her smile was very friendly and welcoming.

"Oh no, you're fine. I was a little worried to see two young college guys moving in. I hope there won't be a lot of parties going on at all hours of the night, or at least if there are, that you'll invite me." Her tone was teasing, and she laughed as she said it.

I looked closer at her, trying to make sure that she was, indeed, joking, and not just some bored housewife who was looking for a little fun with younger college guys. She didn't look the type, with her light brown hair pulled back into a loose bun, her black, thin framed glasses perched on her face, and her button down, checkered short sleeve shirt and denim shorts. She looked like a mom, and there was no flirty air about her. I was happy to have someone, for once, that I could just talk to.

"Um, no," I joked back. "That was my brother, but he was only here helping me move. He left to go back home to his wife yesterday, so now it's just me. I'm in medical school, so the only parties going on here will be study parties, which usually don't prove to be all that much fun." I laughed, remembering the 'study parties' that I used to have, but also knowing that nothing like that would be happening again.

"Well that's nice," she said. "Lory, get out of their yard, honey," she yelled to the little girl that was chasing the dog across the next lawn. "Sorry, my daughter doesn't seem to get the whole boundaries thing. Plus, I'm not good with cleaning piles out of the neighbor's yard, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I can understand that," I said. "I mainly came over to introduce myself, but I wanted to ask about your dog, too. I have a three year old son and I promised to get him a dog once I got all settled in. I thought I'd pick your brain for a minute on that. Do you think the size dog you've got is okay for this place?" I asked.

"Oh, where's your son?" she said, looking around.

"He lives with his mother. It's complicated, but hopefully he'll be spending a lot of time here, and maybe, eventually, they'll move into the house with me. That's my plan, anyway."

"That's nice," she said, smiling at me. "Lory's dad is in the military. He's deployed to Iraq right now, but he's scheduled to be back in a few months. It's hard being a single parent."

I thought about what she was saying, and my thoughts drifted back to Bella, as they usually did. She hadn't done things completely on her own, since Renee and Phil were with her, but she had been a single mother to our son for four years. A little twang of anger over that flashed through me. It had been her choice to take on that role, not mine. If she'd stayed and told me she was pregnant, I could have gone through it all with her, and I could have been a part of E.C.'s life.

I quickly shook my head, trying to rid myself of those thoughts because I didn't want to resent her for anything. I was trying very hard to be understanding of her position and be grateful to her for what she'd done. I just wished things had been different.

"...and I think that makes a lot of difference," Missy said.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked. "My thoughts have been all over the place lately, I apologize."

"Oh no, honey, you're okay. I was just saying that we try to take Pepper out for walks as much as we can, because she used to go stir crazy in the house, and I think the walks make a lot of difference."

"That's understandable."

"Your house is a bit bigger than mine, so maybe that will help, but I think the backyards are about the same size." She was quiet as we watched her daughter throw a stick, and the dog chased after it. "So do you have any idea about what kind of dog you'd like to get?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know. I want something small, both for my house and yard, as well as for my son."

"Well, Pepper had puppies about six weeks ago. I'll be selling them in a couple of weeks, if you're interested in a puppy. She has one male and two females." I liked that idea, and asked if I could bring E.C. over later that afternoon to look at them. She told me they'd be home all day, and as I said goodbye and started back across the street, I saw Bella's car turn the corner and head toward my house. Standing in the driveway, I waited for them to stop, smiling as brightly as I could.

"Hey, you found it. Did you have any trouble with the gate code?" I asked, as Bella stepped out of the car.

"No, it was fine," she said, pausing to look at the houses around us, before her eyes finally landed on my house behind me. "Wow, Edward, this is really nice." I could sense something in her voice, and I was worried that maybe she was uncomfortable with the neighborhood or something.

"Yeah, my dad's friend picked it out. It's a little on the fancy side, but its okay. I mean, the whole gated community thing is good because that means it's safe, but the house itself wasn't too expensive. Not nearly as much as you would imagine. Aro, my dad's friend, is kind of a real estate genius or something." I moved toward the car's back door to get E.C. out, and once his feet hit the sidewalk, he was running for the front door.

"Momma, come on! You see my room, Momma," he called back, his little legs scurrying across the grass.

I looked to Bella. "Yeah, come on, Momma, let's go see his room," I said with a smirk, teasing Bella and feeling relieved as she let out a little snort and laugh. She locked up the car and we quickly followed our son into the house.

After giving her the tour, and E.C. showing her where his new play-set was going to be installed in the backyard, Bella said that she needed to go. On her way over to my house, her manager had called and asked her to come in an hour early for work. She insisted that she felt bad about not being able to stay with E.C. and I longer, but I sensed a bit of relief on her part. I knew she wasn't completely comfortable with me, so it didn't surprise me when she hurried off to work.

Once I was on my own with my son, I began to feel overwhelmed. E.C. laughed and played with the few toys that were in his bedroom, but thoughts began to flash through my head of what else he might need. If he were going to be spending nights and weekends with me, like I hoped he would, I was going to have to get a lot more things for him. I went into the living room and turned the television onto a cartoon channel, then yelled for him to come and eat some doughnuts with me.

Sitting on the sofa with E.C., as he filled his mouth with 'spinko'd' doughnuts, we laughed at the odd little sponge and starfish on the television, and it made me happy. I ran my fingers through his hair, my heart melting a little more each time he looked up at me and pointed out something else in the show. I loved this little boy more than I ever thought possible, and I couldn't wait to tell him about the puppies across the street. I only hoped he'd have as much fun playing with them as I knew I'd have watching him.

Later in the afternoon, after E.C.'s sugar high had worn off, I thought I'd feed him a proper lunch. He insisted on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which had to have the crust cut off, and be sliced into four small triangles. He searched through my fridge and grabbed a bag of mini carrots, which Emmett had bought a few days before, and told me that he liked them and wanted a few with his sandwich. Then he sat at the dining table, munching away, and I decided that it was the perfect time to bring up the puppies from across the street.

"So, guess what I saw today?" I asked him, trying to inject excitement into my tone.

"What?"

"I saw a dog today, and you know what she has?" I waited until he looked up to my face, his eyes shining with curiosity. "She has some puppies. Would you like to go see some puppies today?"

He started to bounce in his seat, his small hands hitting the table top. "You see'd a puppy, Daddy? I wanna see. It's a big doggie, or is a tiny one?"

"Well, I saw the momma dog, but she was kinda small. I think the puppies will be pretty tiny."

"Is a tiny puppy gonna lick my face, Daddy?" he asked, a smile spreading across his lips.

"I'll bet it tries. You probably taste so good; it won't be able to stop!" I reached over and ruffled his hair with my hand as he giggled and squirmed in his chair. "Okay, you need to finish your lunch and then we can go see them. They live right across the street, so hurry up."

Apparently it was a bad idea to tell E.C. to hurry, because as I sat watching, he picked up the two sandwich triangles that were left on his plate, and shoved them into his mouth, filling it to beyond capacity. Watching him try to chew the bread was funny, until he started to choke.

I sat frozen for a few seconds until I realized what was happening, and then I jumped up and grabbed him, thankful for the first aid classes I had taken in college. I poked my finger into his mouth, knowing as I did it, that it wasn't the right thing to do. All that kept running through my head was to get the bread out of his mouth. I scooped it out, dropping it on the table, and he started to cough. Once I knew he was alright, I picked up his juice box and handed it to him so that he could take a drink.

"You scared me, buddy. Don't eat that fast again." My heart was racing as I held him in my arms. I lovingly pressed my lips to the top of his head and breathed deeply as I placed a kiss there, taking in the fruity scent of his shampoo. He was still for a moment as he took a few drinks of his juice, then he turned his head, trying to look up at me.

"Can we go sees the puppies now, Daddy?" he asked, his dark brown eyes looking at me with an enthusiastic glow in them.

"Okay, let's clean up the lunch stuff and then we'll go."

He helped me throw a few things into the trash, and then put the dishes in the sink. Once the kitchen was presentable, he ran into the living room and plopped down onto the floor next to the door. His shoes were soon in his hands and he was pulling them onto his feet. He had little leather sandals, and I wondered for a moment if they would be alright outside, or if he might get dirt in them, but then I figured if Bella had let him wear them, then they must be alright.

I made sure E.C. held my hand as we walked across the street. There wasn't a lot of traffic since it was a pretty quiet neighborhood, but I wanted him be cautious. I didn't want to run the risk of something happening to him if he darted out into the road. He chattered excitedly as we neared the house, but as soon as I knocked on the door, he closed his mouth and was silent.

"Hey!" Missy said to us as she opened the door. Her eyes traveled down to E.C. and her face lit up. "Oh my goodness, look at you. I can definitely tell who your daddy is," she said to E.C., bending down a little so that she could look at him closer. She smiled at E.C., and I was delighted when he smiled back. She had such a content and natural look on her face as she watched my son, and I could tell that she was completely at ease with children. I was a little jealous at how easy it seemed to be for her, but I knew that I was doing the best I could. It would just take a little time until things with E.C. were effortless for me.

"You got a puppy?" he blurted out.

"Why, yes I do," she said, laughing at E.C.'s exuberance before stepping aside and inviting us in. "They're in the backyard, right through here."

We followed her through the living room and out the back door. In the grassy yard, there was the little brown and white dog I had seen earlier in the day, and following behind her were three of the cutest little puppies I'd ever seen. They had fur sprouting everywhere and they looked as though they could pass for stuffed animals. They were so small, no more than four or five inches tall, and the high pitched yaps they called out to their mother sounded cute and playful.

As I looked closer at them, I noticed their little black button noses and their bright, sparkling brown eyes. E.C. squealed in delight and bounced up and down. "Can I see one, Daddy?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the tiny pack of dogs jumping through the grass.

"Sure, just be careful, they're still kinda small," Missy said.

"Okay!" E.C. yelled as he let go of my hand and ran full force into the yard. Pepper scampered away from him, but the puppies seemed to be excited about having a new person to play with. Within minutes, E.C. was rolling on the ground with puppies climbing all over him. I laughed as he giggled when the puppies licked his face or nipped at his shirt. He was having fun, but I knew I was probably enjoying it even more.

"So what kind of dogs are they? They're so little," I asked Missy as we stood watching the activities going on in the yard.

"They're Yorkshire Terriers, and their fur will lighten up as they get older. The dad has more black in him than Pepper does, but she was rather dark as a puppy, too. You never know, though. They shouldn't get any taller than Pepper, since the dad is a little smaller than her."

"Oh, do you have a male that you breed with? I mean, are they pure bred?" I asked, hoping to find out more while E.C. and the puppies entertained themselves.

"Yeah, we've used the same male for each of her three litters. It's better to breed with a smaller male, especially for little dogs. It usually makes the birthing process easier, as well as safer." The back door slid open and Missy's daughter, Lory, walked out into the yard. She watched E.C. as he ran through the grass, the puppies chasing after him. Pepper leisurely sprawled out near the fence, away from the action, and Lory looked quizzically at Missy.

"Who's that?" she asked, glancing over to me after looking at her mother.

"This is Edward from this morning, you remember him. He's our new neighbor, can you say hello?" Lory nodded at me as I gave a quick wave back to her. "That's Edward's son. He's thinking about taking one of our puppies. Wouldn't that be nice? They'd live right across the street, so you could play with them sometimes."

Lory watched E.C. as he ran, bending down to grab a chew toy and then holding it out for one of the puppies to grab on to. He laughed and flopped onto the ground, letting the tiny dogs catch up to him.

"E.C.?" I called to him. "Come here and meet Lory." He jumped up and ran toward us, smiling brightly at me.

"Daddy, you see'd dat doggie? He bited me, Daddy." He was a little out of breath as he wrapped his arms around my legs. "Can I has dat one dat licked me, Daddy? I like dat one."

I laughed at how excited he was and told him that we'd have to see. I introduced him to Lory, who quickly talked him into seeing her play house, and with that, they were gone—the puppies following them to the side of the yard. Missy offered me some lemonade, and we sat at a table on the porch and watched the kids play. She told me about several of the neighbors and who I should watch out for.

Apparently, there was a 'cougar' that lived on the corner and liked to garden in her bikini, as well as Martin, the older man that lived next door to Missy, who had fifteen grandchildren that visited every Wednesday afternoon, and most interesting was an elderly widow a few houses down who enjoyed baking cakes with any leftovers she had in her fridge. Visions of pineapple upside down meatloaf cakes, chicken stir fry apple fritter cakes, and mashed potato spaghetti jello salad cakes assaulted my mind, and I made a mental note to not accept food from any neighbors. Missy was nice and I enjoyed her company, especially since she didn't try to hit on me, and didn't seem to want anything more from me than a pleasant conversation.

An hour later, I knew I needed to get E.C. ready to go home, so I asked Missy when the puppies would be available. She told me it would be a couple of weeks, but then we could have which ever one we wanted. E.C. had picked out the smaller of the two females, which Missy said had a really good temperament. E.C. and I were both excited about getting the puppy. We spent the rest of our time together that day discussing names for the little dog, as well as tricks that we could teach it to do. Missy had volunteered to help me puppy-proof my house, and I was hopeful that things with the dog would work out well.

I drove E.C. home and was a little sad that Bella wasn't there. Renee assured me that she was just working late in preparation for classes starting the next day. E.C. told Renee and Phil all about the puppies, and Renee seemed excited that E.C. would finally get the dog he'd been dreaming of, and that it didn't have to live at her house.

We talked a little about the week ahead and what our schedules would be. She told me that Bella had registered E.C. for a preschool on campus, so that he would be close to her while she was in class and at work. Renee gave me a paper with Bella's class schedule on it, so that I would know where she was during what parts of the day. I wrote mine down for Renee, and we decided that I would take E.C. on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, as well as every other weekend. After giving me the preschool information, and assuring me that Bella would put down my name as an authorized person to pick up E.C., I wished my son goodnight and then hugged him before heading home.

The next morning came quickly and I was anxious to get back into the swing of things at school. I knew that my classes would be a lot of work, and that I would spend a great deal of time on the labs for them, but I was looking forward to it. I was also excited for Tuesday because I would get to see E.C. again. My Monday classes were lectures, and I felt so insignificant walking into the large auditorium where the first class was held. After taking a seat, I looked around at the other students, enthralled by the many different kinds of people in the class. The professor seemed a bit dry and I hoped that the class wouldn't be too boring, especially since it was held so early on a Monday.

After stopping by the campus book store to pick up the required books for my two classes that morning, I thought I'd swing by the coffee shop and see if Bella was working. She wasn't there, but Jacob was, and I quickly hurried away before he had a chance to see me. I didn't need to get into a confrontation with him, or for him to tell Bella that I was snooping around.

Tuesday after I got out of my lab, I went to the preschool to pick up E.C. It was just after lunch time, and after signing a couple of forms and showing my identification, they allowed me to go to his classroom and get him. As soon as his eyes met mine, he was running across the room toward me, his arms thrown out to the sides and a huge smile on his face. I scooped him up and hugged him tightly to me. He had just started to tell me all about his day, when his teacher approached us.

"Hi, I'm Miss Stacy. You must be E.C.'s father." She held out her hand and I quickly shook it.

"Yeah, I'm Edward. It's nice to meet you."

She smiled a kind, yet somewhat flirty smile at me. "Well, E.C. is all ready to go, you just need to sign him out on this book here," she said as she led me to a waist high bookshelf that had a binder lying on top of it. "Each day when you bring him in or drop him off, you'll need to sign and date this, as well as enter the time."

"Oh, I don't think I'll be dropping him off, his mother will probably do that. I'll just be picking up." I smiled at her, hoping to save myself from having to hear the whole first day presentation I was sure she'd already given fifty times that day. E.C. was getting antsy and clearly ready to go, as he pulled on my pant leg and leaned toward the door.

"Oh, okay. I explained this all to your wife this morning, I just thought that you might need to know, too."

"His mother and I aren't married, she's not my wife," I quickly said, then paused to think about how much I wished that weren't the case. I dreamed of one day referring to Bella as my wife and hoped that it would happen sooner rather than later.

Miss Stacy smiled brightly at me. "That's good to know."

I smiled back, making sure not to spend any more time than necessary looking at her, since I could tell by her glances that she was checking me out. "Does he have stuff to take home? Like a lunch box or backpack or anything?" I asked, unsure about what E.C. had brought with him.

"Yeah, the lunch boxes are kept in the fridge, which is in the kitchen right through those doors, and then E.C. has a little cubby for his backpack, coat, and any art projects he's made. They're right over here."

She showed me where to get E.C.'s things, and soon we were off. "You wanna stop by the grocery store on the way?" I asked E.C. who was happily talking to himself in the back seat. "I need to pick up a few things."

As we perused the aisles at the store, I grabbed several frozen dinners and a few boxed meals, as well as cereal and other easy things to eat. E.C. was happy about the cereal that I'd let him pick out, and he couldn't wait to get back to my house so that he could open it and find the toy that was inside the box.

We spent the afternoon eating, watching TV, and playing at the park just down the street from my house. It was a lot of fun, and before I knew it, it was time to take E.C. home. As we pulled up to Bella's house, there was an unfamiliar car parked along the street. I parked behind it, turning the headlights off after seeing two people sitting in the unknown vehicle. I stepped out and went to the back door so that I could get E.C., and was surprised to see Bella step out of the other car. Her eyes met mine, and there was an odd expression on her face. I couldn't quite place it, but she looked worried about something.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow, Bells!" called a deep voice from the car, and as I looked up, I was able to catch the reflection of Jacob's face in the side mirror. He had given her a ride home, and would be picking her up the next day. Something started to boil within me, and I fought hard to keep my composure as Bella approached. She quickly waved to the other car, but kept walking toward me.

"Hi," she said, pushing a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Hey," I calmly replied, hoping to hide the anger that was quickly growing in my chest.

"How did it go today?" Her voice was sweet and soft, not at all sounding like she was hiding something, but more like she was tired and worn out.

"It was fine." I was rather short in my response to her, but before she could question me further, E.C. was running toward her with his art paper from preschool. He very excitedly told her about his class and the new friends he'd made, and he tugged at her hand, pulling her toward the house.

"Hey, Bella," I called out to her. I watched as she held up a finger to me and then whispered something to E.C. He turned around and waved to me, yelling, "Bye, Daddy!" before running into the house.

"Sorry about that. So, how did it really go?" she asked. I handed E.C.'s backpack and lunch box over to her and then couldn't stop myself from blurting out what I most needed to know.

"Are you dating that guy?" Her mouth dropped open, and she was clearly at a loss for words. She blinked several times, and looked as though she wanted to say something, but then didn't actually say it. My fury was growing at a rapid rate, and I wanted to lash out at her. "It's a simple question. Either you are, or you aren't. What is it?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest as I squared my shoulders and waited for her to say something.

"Edward, it isn't like that with Jacob. I told you this before—we're just friends. That's it."

I cleared my throat. "Well, that's not what he said."

"You talked to him? When?" she asked, as her brow furrowed.

"Last week, when I got E.C. the cookies. Tell me the truth here, Bella. I need to know what I'm up against." I wanted to grab her and kiss her, make her understand just how much I wanted her, but part of me was still angry and jealous. She got into a car with this man and let him take her places, but she would barely even speak to me. I needed to know what was going on between them, and from the look on her face, it wasn't something she wanted to talk to me about.

"Edward, I'm being honest, we're just friends. He gave me a ride home because my mom borrowed my car today. Her's is in the shop, so she's using mine for work. It's no big deal, I promise." Her eyes began to flash with a hint of annoyance, but she stepped closer to me, reaching out and placing her soft and warm hand on my arm. Her big brown eyes were looking up into mine, and the urge to kiss her was growing at a rate that rivaled the anger from a few moments before.

"Okay, if you say so." I nodded, realizing that I needed to get away before I did something wrong. I wanted to hold her, to kiss her and tell her that I believed her, but I was sure that I'd somehow screw it all up if I did. I was trying to take things slowly and rebuilt her trust in me, so I stepped away from her. "E.C. had a good time at preschool, and he's probably hungry for dinner, but we had some cereal this afternoon."

Bella smiled a seemingly forced smile, rocking back on her heels. "Alright, that sounds good." She let out a small sigh. "So, I'll see you Thursday evening, then?" she asked, glancing up at me.

"Yep, I'll bring him home." I watched her for a moment as she fiddled with the shoulder strap on E.C.'s backpack. I didn't want to leave with her upset, so I quickly added something more. "You know, if you ever need a ride, you can always ask me. I'd be happy to take you anywhere you need to go, and I already have the booster seat for E.C.," I said, gesturing toward the backseat of the car.

"Edward, it's totally out of your way to have to come here and pick us up," Bella said. "I'd feel horrible having to make you drive all that extra way." Her teeth pushed down into her lower lip, and she shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

"I don't mind, Bella. Just know that it's an option any time, okay?" With that, I smiled and said good night, waiting until she was safely inside the house, and then hurrying away before I could chase after her. Even after her reassuring words, I still had an uneasy feeling about what was really going on between her and Jacob, and I was determined to find out the truth, one way or another.

The rest of the week flew by and after spending another amazing afternoon with E.C. on Thursday, I really felt like I was starting to get the hang of the whole fatherhood thing. I was anxious for my first weekend with him, and I wondered what kinds of things we could do together when we had two whole days to ourselves.

Friday afternoon I had a meeting on campus with one of my professors. He wanted to meet with each of his students individually and go over requirements for the class, so I hesitantly scheduled an appointment for a day that I knew I wouldn't have E.C. I had no idea how long the professor would be, and I didn't want to run the risk of being late to pick up my son.

Once the meeting was over, I decided to go and see if Bella was working. I knew she had a class early on Friday mornings, but I didn't know if she was scheduled to work afterward or not. Approaching the coffee shop, I saw Jacob standing outside the building in the little patio dining area. He was leaning with his left shoulder against the wall, and I could see the legs and feet of someone next to him. For a moment I was glad that he was outside because that meant if Bella was working inside, then I could probably get to her without having to talk to Jacob. I knew Bella wouldn't appreciate us fighting in public over her, and if the last conversation I'd had with Jacob was any indicator, that's exactly where our relationship was heading.

As I got nearer to the shop, I saw Jacob's stance shift, and when he did, I caught a quick glimpse of the person standing next to him. It was Bella. My step faltered as I saw her laughing at him, placing her hand on his arm or shoulder. She remained hidden from my view, for the most part, because her small body was behind his larger one. Her laugh floated through the air, and I gritted my teeth as I continued on through the coffee shop door.

I entered and was greeted by a familiar face—Steph, the barista I had met the last time I stopped by.

"Hi!" she said, a little enthusiastically. "What can I get you today?"

I put on my best smile and walked up to the counter. "Hi, last time I was here I had coffee, so I wondered if you have anything else to drink? I'm kind of in the mood for something fruity, maybe?"

She began to fidget a bit, her hands tapping on the counter top, while looking straight at me. "Um, yeah, we have some smoothies, if you like that kinda thing." She lifted one hand and started to play with the necklace that hung around her neck. It was a heart shaped pendant with a little red stone off to one side.

"Yeah, I think that sounds good. What flavors you got?" I relaxed a little, leaning over and placing my forearms on the counter. I heard her breath hitch and I chided myself for flirting with the girl, but I was upset and this was the only thing keeping me from confronting Bella and Jacob outside. My heart was beating faster and my breath was picking up from thoughts of my Bella with another guy. I knew I needed the distraction that Steph was offering, but I did feel a little wrong for leading her on.

"We have strawberry, and-"

"Strawberry's fine. I like strawberry."

"Okay," she said with a giggle, then turned to make my smoothie. I watched her closely, the whole while thinking about Bella standing by Jacob. What could he have said to make her laugh that way? Why would she touch him like she had? Was her mom's car really broken down, or did Bella just use it an excuse for riding home with Jacob? So many questions were running through my head, and I was getting more and more upset over the answers that my mind was forming. I wanted to believe her and trust her, but there was so much doubt there, and I just couldn't get past it.

Steph came back to the counter with the cup and passed it to me. "It's on the house. I'm Steph, by the way."

I saw the way she was looking at me, and guilt started to gnaw at me. She seemed like such a nice girl, and I didn't want to do this to her. "No, you have to let me pay for it, I wouldn't feel right otherwise."

"Oh, well, it's okay. You can just take it." The happiness that I'd seen in her face a few minutes before seemed to vanish, and her gaze dropped down to the register, which she started picking at with her fingernail.

"Thank you, Steph. That's really nice of you. I'm Edward. Um, can I ask you a question?" I said, then cautiously proceeded as she looked back to me and nodded happily. "Do you know much about Bella, the girl that works here with you?"

"Bella?" she asked, seeming surprised by my words.

"Yeah."

"Well, she's nice. Why? What do you want to know?" I could tell she was curious about my inquisition, so I tried to word things politely.

"Well, do you know her son?" She nodded, then her eyes grew wider. "I'm his dad. I was just wondering about Bella and Jacob. Do you know if they're dating or something?"

"Oh, no," she laughed. "Nothing like that, though you'd think so by the way he talks about her. I mean, she's like his dream girl or something, and he's got all these plans for their future and stuff. Plus, he spends so much time with her and E.C., it's kind of pathetic. But then again, she does talk to him a lot, so maybe they just don't want it to get out, or something. We're not really supposed to date co-workers, so..."

"Hmm, okay thanks. You sure you don't want me to pay for this?" I said, picking up my drink and standing back up.

"No, it's okay. Hey, you want a cookie or something? I just made the sugar cookies, and they have M&M's on them, see?" She pointed to the display case, and I couldn't stop myself.

"I do like candy, so I suppose one won't hurt," I said, smiley sheepishly. Ever since I was a child, I'd had a weakness for candy, and seeing the little colorful orbs peeking out of the cookies caused me to salivate. They looked delicious, and actually distracted me for a few moments. She giggled at my words and picked up a couple of cookies, putting them in a bag for me.

"Your necklace is pretty, is that from your boyfriend?" I asked, making small talk with her and hoping to show that I wasn't just some information seeking creep who was stalking her fellow employee.

"Oh, yeah, but we broke up a few months ago. Now I can date whoever I want." Her smile was bright again, and as she handed the bag to me, I could tell she was hoping I'd ask her out, but I didn't.

"Well, that's good to know. Thanks for this, I'll see ya," I said with a wink before turning around toward the door. Bella and Jacob stood frozen in the doorway. Bella's mouth hung open, and she was clearly not happy about the scene she'd just walked in on. Jacob, on the other hand, was grinning like a fool and clearly overjoyed that it looked, and most likely sounded, like I was hitting on Steph.

My anger from earlier started to flare up again, especially with the way Jacob was trying to seem so superior to me as he stood behind Bella, his smirk growing by the second. Her eyes were searching mine, and frantically flashing between Steph and I—a dozen different questions clear on her face. Just as I was about to say something, she closed her mouth, pursing her lips.

"I can't believe you," she said in a low whisper.

"What? I came in to see you, but you weren't here. Oh that's right, you were standing outside laughing with the guy you aren't dating, right?"

"Edward, this is my work. You can't do this here."

"Do what? Get a smoothie and cookies?" I was angry. She was implying that I was doing something I clearly hadn't meant to do, and I didn't appreciate it.

"No," she growled, stepping closer to me. "You can't come in here hitting on the people I work with. That's not right, Edward. You know what I told you is true, so stop this."

"No, sweetheart, what I know is that you keep saying the same things over and over again, but your words and your actions don't match up. I'm sick and tired of this, Bella. All I want is the truth, and for the last four years that seems to be the one thing you have a hard time giving me." Her eyes began to fill with tears, but I pressed on. "Do you think I like coming here and seeing you all cozy with some other guy? The same guy that drives you places and spends time with our son? Because I don't."

Her eyes narrowed just a tad, and her brow furrowed as I watched her hold back the tears that were threatening to slide down her cheeks. She swallowed roughly before speaking again, her words wrapped in obvious fury over the things I'd said. "So what, you transform right back into a man whore, is that it? Picking up on any girl desperate enough to have you?" She was right in my face and I could tell she was just as upset at I was.

I lowered my voice and bent down so that I was eye level with her. "Hmmm, you didn't seem so desperate a couple of weeks ago when you pulled me into the back seat of my car and…" My eyebrows rose as I reminded her, with my expression, exactly what we'd done in the back of my car. With Jacob standing so close behind her, I wanted nothing more than to tell him that Bella had practically shoved my dick down her throat, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked him not knowing. It would drive him crazy with uncertainty, as well as make him think a lot more had happened between us.

Her eyes popped open and I could almost hear the steam whistling out of her ears. She took a deep, shuddering breath, before letting it out in a gasp. Her eyes darted frantically around the room, most likely trying to see who might have heard what I'd just said to her. Jacob's hands balled into fists as he bounced from one foot to the other, clearly upset by what I'd just said. I wished that he would try to hit me, or that he'd do something to provoke me, because with the mood I was in, one more little push would most likely have me blowing up at someone. Even though I was angry with Bella, I didn't want to hurt her, and I would have really preferred to take my aggravation out on someone else. A few punches from Jacob might land me in the hospital, I wasn't stupid enough to think I'd walk away unscathed, but in the moment, it felt like it might be worth it. I wanted to feel something from Bella, other than indifference, but things were going downhill fast, and I needed to get a hold of the situation.

Her voice was no louder than a whisper, and her lips shook as she spat her words out at me. "Get out of here, and don't come back. It's one thing if you want to go find some poor little slut to take home, but how dare you do it where you know I'll see you!"

"Fine, I'll keep that in mind." I pushed past her, turning around and calling out to Steph. "Thanks again, Steph. See ya!" I waved as I made my way out the door. The only sounds I heard were rushed footsteps and the swinging of the door that led to the back room of the coffee shop.

Bella had yet to tell me the truth about things, and if she thought I was going to stand idly by while she accused me of lying to her, she had another thing coming.

o~*~o~*~o~*~o

A/N: Oh goodness…when will these two learn to TALK and not ASSUME? Their lack of communication skills do lend well to angst, though. :D Gotta love that!

Okay, the challenge. For every 10 people that review & tell me what you think, I will pick one person at random from that 10 and they will get the next chapter a day early. You gotta have a ff dot net account, or else I can't write you back. And make sure you check your inbox there. If you do get picked, I'll message you there so that I can get your email address. :)

Also! I'll send a teaser for the next chapter to everyone that reviews. I'm trying an experiment…we'll see how it goes. :D

How about some rec's? Okay!

The Shimmering Veil by maddux – This story is killing me! I love it! The emotion in this is wonderful, and it makes me cry. She smiled sadly, wiping away a tear. There's no way he could find out the truth about her. Her father had protected and sheltered her for far too long. He would never sign her life away to a prince who's only out to further his kingdom. Would he?

http:/www().()fanfiction().()net/s/6058690/1/

True Love Way by TeamBella23 – This story owns me right now. I drop everything every day when it updates. I love it… :) Moving trucks and sunglasses. Rollerblades and first loves. M&M's for smiles and notes across lawns. "Sometimes I'm just sad." and "I fucking love you hard." A boy and a girl. Feathers and heart shaped potatoes.

http:/www().()fanfiction().()net/s/6428102/1/

And something complete…

Unthinkable by TotallyObsessed82 – This story made me cry, scream, laugh, swoon, and want to strangle someone. And then I cried again. It's beautiful. How can a woman go on after learning that the love of her life has committed one of the ultimate wrongs. Bella will have to find out for herself after she learns who Edward truly is. Will she love him after she knows the truth?

http:/www().()fanfiction().()net/s/6002781/1/Unthinkable

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I wrote a Christmas o/s for Southern Fan Fiction Review. It's called Camouflage Christmas, and it's posted here and features a dog tag wearing Armyward. It's kinda hot… :) And I'm posting another o/s I did a couple months back for the Fandom for Preemies charity event. It's called I Like It, and it's a little bit of dance floor smut. It's fun…

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Leave me some love and you'll get a teaser…just saying… :D