Chapter 20 Falling In
After much discussion, Bella and Edward decided to keep their decision to themselves. Bella was certain that Jasper would have a shit fit. Whatever Alice's reaction was, it was bound to be over the top.
"Will you tell Carmen?" Bella sat on Edward's lap while he twirled a lock of hair around his finger. He watched her weighing up the pros and cons.
"Yes," she said at last. "She's my therapist – it's not something that I can, or should, keep from her." She pretended to shiver. "I'm shitting myself, though. I feel like a teenager, getting caught with a boy in my bedroom."
"Would you like me to go to that session with you?" Edward offered.
"No, thank you for offering, but I'll be fine." Bella put her head back on his chest.
"Edward?"
"Yeah?"
"I want you to know that, married or not, you have my heart. I love you and nothing is going to change how I feel: not Carmen, not Alice or Jasper and not booze."
"I love you too, sweetheart." He kissed her hair. "I guess this makes us engaged. It should feel weird, but it doesn't. It feels perfect."
"What are we going to do today?" Bella's voice was muffled by his shirt.
"I don't have any specific plans. I need to spend some time with Alice. Is there anything you want to do?"
"No, not really. I just feel like a sybarite sitting around doing nothing."
"Would you like to read lines with me? Also, I'd like to make dinner for Jasper to make up for being a self absorbed git."
"That sounds good," she laughed. "Let's make it formal, get some brownie points from Alice."
"Talking of Alice... we have a bet of a hundred dollars riding on your reaction."
"Reaction to what?" She sat up to look at him properly.
"Alice has me on the dinner and premiere circuit to suck up to Oscar decision makers. Uh..." he ran his hand through his hair. "She insists I have a date." Edward felt like a schmuck discussing a date with his fiancée.
"And did you find one?" Bella voice sounded... unsteady.
"No! That's what we're arguing about. She handed me a list of women as long as my bloody arm and told me to choose one. I refused point blank, so she upped the ante by saying she'd ask you to choose." Edward was getting annoyed just thinking about it, and to make matters worse, Bella didn't sound happy at all. His jaw dropped when she burst into peals of laughter.
"I'm sorry, babe," she gasped between laughs. "It's just really that Edward Cullen, Hollywood's darling, can't get a date."
"That's what Alice said," said Edward despondently.
"Tell you what." Bella had an evil gleam in her eye. "Let's find someone not on the list, I'll approve, Ali will be happy once she gets over handing over a hundred dollars, and all will be well in your world."
"You are an evil monster sometimes, love." He grinned at her. "Deal." His face fell. "But I still have the original problem – I don't have anyone to ask."
"Oh, come one, babe. You must have someone you can ask. You must have met thousands of people in your life – surely one of them will be suitable." She began counting on her fingers, "High School sweethearts, college friends, sisters of college friends, grocery store check out girls..."
"Tanya!" he interrupted. "Emmett's sister. She'll be perfect. I don't know how her partner Irina will feel about it though."
"Give her a call. Fuck, I hope this works. Ali's reaction will be priceless." Bella jumped up to get his mobile. "Here, call now." She sat back in his lap. "This is a call I have to hear."
Edward paged through his contacts, grinning, and pressed dial.
"Hey, Tanya. How you doing?" There was a pause while she answered.
"I'm good too." He stopped, obviously interrupted.
"Yeah, life has been a bit of a shit storm lately. Thank you, by the way, for the name of the PI in London. I'll owe you for the rest of my life for that." He kept his tone light, checking for Bella's reaction. She just smiled and nodded.
"Listen, T, I have a favour to ask. It's a biggie." He turned the mobile so that both he and Bella could hear her.
"Let me hear it." Tanya sounded cautious. "It will be legal, right?"
"Of course!" Edward was offended.
"Well, spit it out then."
"I need a date, T. Please would you be my date for a bunch of dinners and premiere appearances I've got coming up?"
"That doesn't sound too bad, I mean gorgeous clothes, good food. I reckon I could force myself to do it." Tanya's voice had a smile in it.
"It won't cause shit with Irina, will it?" asked Edward anxiously.
"Why would it bother her? Last time I looked, you were a man, a very loudly heterosexual man. Besides, she'll love the clothes too."
"T, thanks, I owe you big time for this."
"I should ask you if it will cause shit with Bella if I go with you." Tanya didn't sound concerned: she sounded amused.
Bella took the phone from him. "Tanya? It's Bella." she looked a bit uncomfortable.
"Oh, hey, Bella. Nice to finally talk to you. Welcome to LA." She paused. "Were you listening to the conversation?"
"Uh... yeah, sorry. It was just too good an opportunity to miss, witnessing Cullen asking someone out on a date."
Edward rolled his eyes.
Tanya burst out laughing. "You and I are going to get on just fine. So you're okay with me being your man's date?"
"Rather you than some skanky B lister. Of course, knowing you won't be remotely interested in groping my man helps too." Bella was openly laughing at him, making him want to go hide somewhere nice and dark.
"Tanya, hang on a sec." She held her hand over the phone. "Let's score some more brownie points with Ali and ask her to dress Tanya."
Edward nodded. "Tell her I'll pick up the bills for anything she needs." He winced. "Maybe we don't tell Alice that bit."
Edward watched Bella, thinking how beautiful she looked. Her entire face was lit with mischief. It was so easy to love her.
"Earth to Edward."
Bella's voice snapped him out of his reverie.
Tanya says to tell you super, she'll make sure you regret it, and she'll see you soon." Bella's evil grin was back. "Now let's go set up Ali."
The discussion with Alice went exactly as predicted – smug that Bella had no problem with Edward having a date, and then pissed off that it wasn't someone off her list. He and Bella howled with laughter when Alice reluctantly handed over the hundred dollars.
"That, sir, is mine." Bella neatly plucked it out of Edward's hand. "I was, after all, the mastermind behind our diabolical plan."
"You bastards!" Alice was not impressed. "You set me up!"
"Aw, Ali, don't be too pissed at me," Edward stroked her arm. "You got what you wanted, after all."
Alice was having none of it. "Both of you are on my shit list now, until further notice."
"Ali, if I told you that I know something you'll love, something that would put me on your Christmas card list forever, would you believe me?" Bella's tone was wheedling. Edward just hoped that he'd get some of the credit – the thought of permanent residence on Alice's shit list was a bit scary, to be honest.
"I," Bella jerked her thumb, "have arranged for you to dress Tanya. You get full and unrestricted to..." she paused dramatically, "the BLACK Amex."
Alice's jaw dropped. "Please, please tell me you're not teasing me." She pinched herself. "Ow, dammit. So I'm not dreaming?"
"No, Agent Mine, you're not dreaming. To prove it," he picked up his wallet, "here it is. Please be gentle with her – she's still a virgin." He handed her the card, trying not to laugh at the rapture on Alice's face.
"Edward," she cradled the damn card. "I'll show her such a good time that she'll never want to go back to you, as nice as it is for her to rest against your arse in your back pocket."
"So are we forgiven?" Edward asked nervously.
"Completely and forever." She stopped, "Well, at least until next time."
"And if I tell you Bella and I are going to cook a formal dinner for Jasper tonight?" Edward couldn't help smirking.
"Oh, alright, you're approaching forever." Alice beamed. "May I do the table settings?"
Edward glanced at Bella, who shrugged.
"Knock yourself out, Agent Mine."
"Guys, you're in spitting distance of forever." Alice was still beaming. "Now off you go. I have a wardrobe to plan."
Bella and Edward sat at the kitchen counter going through a menu for the evening. Unfortunately, Bella wouldn't agree with the menu he wanted to do.
"But, Bella, I make the best cheese soufflé in LA." He was getting huffy. "Why are you being so stubborn?"
Because, Edward, with this menu you'll barely be at the table. Please choose something else."
Eventually they settled on Vichyssoise soup, a starter of Smoked Salmon pate with dill cream and farmhouse bread and Lamb crown roast with baby potatoes.
Dessert was a problem.
"I make a mean zabaglione – how does that strike you?" Edward tucked a strand of hair behind Bella's ear. "What?" he panicked, alarmed by the expression on her face.
"You twit. List the ingredients, why don't you?" Bella was more matter of fact than angry.
He ran the ingredients through his mind, and winced when he reached the Marsala wine. "Oh, fuck. Shit. Sorry." He was furious with himself for making such a basic mistake.
"Hey, don't get upset, babe. This is all new to you," she took his hands in her own. "It will take you a while. Give yourself a break."
"I still feel like an insensitive git." He stood up to put his arms around her.
"Shall I prove to you that you're anything but insensitive? In fact, I'm fairly sure that I can show you just how sensitive you are." Her voice dropped, becoming seductive, making his dick twitch.
She slipped her hand down the front of his jeans, running her fingers along the top of his boxers. His body reacted to her touch, and he gasped when her hand slid lower, taking him in her hand. She gently caressed him, running her hand up and down his length, slowly increasing her grip and the pace.
Edward felt his head fall back, all sensation going directly to his dick. He could hear his breath coming in gasps, stuttering to a stop when she abruptly stopped.
He looked down at her, his hips automatically flexing to continue. She just looked at him and put her fingers to her lips. He doubted he'd be able to. Without warning her, he scooped her up off the chair. "Why don't you 'come' have a Jacuzzi with me, love? I don't think you've been in there yet?"
She grinned up at him, just jerking her head in a 'let's go'move.
He removed the cover and turned it on, turning up the temperature.
"There are towels in the guest bathroom. Get some for us?"
He looked up when Bella came back, becoming almost painfully hard. She was wrapped in a towel, her clothes in one hand.
"Fuck, Bella, you're hot. Give me a second." He dashed into the bathroom, stripped off and was back so fast Bella giggled.
"Come here, you tease." He stepped in, sinking down so that he was on the bottom seat. She followed him, straddling him.
"Uh uh. We'll get bust like that." He lifted her up and turned her around so that she was leaning back on his chest. Holding her hips, he slid straight into her, hissing at the feel of her around him. The bubbling water created a little white noise that covered their panting. He could feel his orgasm building, wanting to thrust deeper, holding her hips as still and tight as he could.
"Edward?" he froze mid stroke.
"We're outside, Ali, in the Jacuzzi." Edward was thankful that Bella responded – he very much doubted he could speak. Bella leaned back casually, resting her head against his shoulder. What Alice wouldn't see is that she was clenched around him, so that he could barely move, refusing to let him slip out of her.
"Oh, bugger. I wanted you to sign some press stuff." She came around the corner holding a pile of paper. "No mind, you can do it later. That looks nice." She looked at the Jacuzzi, then walked back into the house.
"Shall we continue, Mr Cullen?" Bella licked the edge of his jaw.
He didn't reply, just grasped her hips again, thrusting into her. He slid a hand between her thighs, flicking her clit. He grinned when she startled, then pushed down hard. He continued rolling his fingers over her clit as he felt her come, stretching out her orgasm. Her head fell back onto his chest, her own chest heaving.
"We should have another couple of minutes," he whispered as he lifted her up to face him, feeling smug when she whimpered, and slid her down onto him, holding her hips. She braced herself on either side of his head, holding herself steady as he thrust up. She tried to keep still, but her hips kept bucking, trying to match his rhythm, sighing with frustration that he held her hips too tightly for her to move.
"Do you want to come again, love?" He slid a finger over her clit to tease her.
She nodded, breathing hard.
"How badly?"
"Make me come, Edward, make me come so hard I forget my own name." Her voice was gravelly.
"Come with me, Bella. Can you feel me, can you feel how hard I am, how hard you make me? I'm in so deep, I can feel you all down my length." His strokes faltered at the surge of feeling through his body and he rubbed her clit harder so that they could come together.
"I'm coming, sweetheart. Come with me." He tried to slow down, to give her time, but the sensations running through him pulled him over the edge, making him come in heavy jerks.
He tried to catch his breath. "Shit. Sorry, sweetheart. I couldn't hold on. Come here." He sat her on the seat and pulled her legs over his legs, spreading her wide. He slid a finger into her opening, then another, curling them to find that spot. His thumb stroked her clit, gently at first then faster and faster. She came hard around his fingers, her hips bucking, whispering his name.
"That's my girl. Feel good?" Bella nodded vaguely, still panting.
"Still know your name?"
She just smiled.
"Hmm... that didn't work out quite how I intended. I'm going to have to try again." He burst out laughing when her eyes went wide and she looked down at his dick. "He's ready, but maybe your girly parts need a rest?" He was a bit disappointed when she nodded.
They jumped out as fast as they could, grabbing towels and clothes and running for the guest bathroom. Bella closed and locked the door.
"I believe you said you were going to try again?" She kissed him and stepped away to lean over the vanity. She looked over her shoulder at him. "Best you keep your word, Edward, or you'll have to be punished."
His thoughts blurred for a second, imagining being punished by Bella. He shook his head to look at the beautiful arse in front of him. He slid a foot between hers, pushing them apart slightly. He looked up to see she was watching in the mirror. Her pupils were dilated with lust that rushed straight to his dick and he pushed straight into her. She felt so tight around him as she rocked back to meet his thrusts. He lost himself in the feeling of her, the sensation of the pull on his dick. She began to squirm, trying to find extra friction. He slid a finger over her swollen clit, feeling her entire body jerk. He slid it back across, waiting slightly between strokes, feeling her body become tighter and tighter.
"Tell me what you want, Bella. Shall I stop?" He paused stroking.
She whimpered and shook her head.
"I want," she was panting, barely able to speak, "I want to feel you on my clit, Edward. I want to feel your dick slam into me."
He resumed stroking, picking up the pace and thrusting hard. Her body abruptly shivered then went rigid. He felt her orgasm down his length, milking him, making him come.
Bella's legs gave in, Edward catching her before she hit the floor. He slid to the floor anyway, his own legs shaking, with Bella cradled to his chest. She put her head against his chest. He felt her lips curve in a smile.
"What's funny?" He kissed her hair.
"I'm going to have bruises on my hips."
"Mine."
"Neanderthal"
"Am I still a Neanderthal if only you and I know they're there?" He teased.
"Hmm...I'll have to think about that one." She pretended to ponder. "Given that I won't be able to wear a costume for a while, I'm afraid the answer is probably going to stay 'yes'." She stood up. "Come on, lover boy. Your agent's going to want you, and we need to get dinner ready."
Alice seemed to be immersed in wardrobes and house moving, not noticing their extended absence.
"You know, I can't wait till it's just you and I. I feel daft sneaking around in my own house." Edward pulled Bella into his arms.
"You do realise that you will be in charge of food, don't you?" She sidestepped the question. "You're the Gordon Ramsay of this family." She frowned, "Well, without the unfortunate coke habit. One addict in a family is enough."
Edward beamed. "Family. I like the sound of that. Come on, love, let's get this dinner on the move." He kissed her and picked her up to sit on the counter. He stepped away, looked at her and went back to take her off the counter and put her on a stool.
"What was that all about?" Bella raised an eyebrow. "I feel like a Barbie doll."
"Just remembering our discussion about kitchen counters and the like." He grinned. "Too tempting."
They worked together making dinner, chatting amiably about nothing in particular. It was peaceful and soothing. Of course, it was interrupted by Alice.
"Edward, I still need you to sign the stuff for the press kits," she looked at Edward, up to his neck in ingredients. "Okay, maybe later."
"I'm on my way out to the new house to take measurements. I might stop to look for some furniture, since we won't have beds to sleep in until our container arrives. Can you believe that I wasn't able to make the shipping company to deliver on Saturday? Apparently it still needs to clear Customs." She shook her head at the many evils that are Customs. "See you at dinner, chickens. The table's done."
Edward groaned as the door closed behind her. "Now? She decides to leave now after we've already had to sneak around like horny teenagers?"
"I'm more interested in how she's managing to organise a wardrobe for Tanya, relocate a house to another country, look after you AND set the damn table. I swear that woman has more arms than Lakshmi." Bella shook her head.
"Who's Lakshmi?" asked Edward.
"She's a Hindu deity, usually portrayed with at least four arms."
"Ahh. Very appropriate. Does She hold a black Amex in one of her many hands?"
Bella snorted.
"Did we ever decide what we would do for dessert? I think we got distracted." Bella grinned at Edward, who smiled back seraphically.
"Even allusions to sex with you makes me horny, Bella. I can see I'm going to be doing a lot of jerking off in the shower while you're gone." He pouted, then frowned in concern when she didn't laugh. "What's wrong, love?"
"Nothing," she wiped a tear away. "I'm just going to miss you so much."
"Me too, love, me too." He put a hand on her cheek. "As you said, it will be done, and we can get on with our forever."
"I think I'll make chocolate mousse for dinner." He tried to distract her. "I'll make extra – it makes the most amazing body paint."
Bella smiled weakly. "Excuse me a minute, babe. There's something I have to do."
"Okay." Edward blinked, confused, as she left the kitchen. He heard her go to the playroom and then talk on her mobile.
The mousse was made and in the fridge setting by the time Bella came back to the kitchen with a huge smile on her face.
"Guess who I was talking to?" She looked like she wanted to jump and down a la Alice.
"Brad Pitt?"
"Like I'd want him when I have you," she scoffed.
"Angelina Jolie?"
"As much as I'd like to jump her bones, no." She grinned. "I might get her number though, for when we have the five kids you want."
"You'd like to jump Angelina Jolie's bones?" Edward's jaw dropped. "Now that is hot."
"Come on, guess again," She waved her hand impatiently.
"Bella, I have absolutely no idea who you were talking to."
"Carmen." Bella's face looked set to split with the size of her grin. "You know Alice and Jasper are moving on Saturday, right?" she began.
"As if I'm likely to forget," Edward interjected.
"Well, you know how there won't even be furniture until the container arrives?"
"Bella, I'm dying of old age while you tell this story." He shook his head. "Get on with it already."
"I spoke to Carmen to get her opinion of your readiness to deal with a recovering alcoholic, and she thinks you'll be fine provided you go to Families of Alcoholics support meetings. She doesn't approve of the very cautious approach we've been taking with my recovery. She feels it's not realistic and will make the shock of returning to normal life bigger. She thinks it'll be fine for metostayherewithyou." She couldn't contain the bounces anymore.
Edward stared at her, trying to make sense of her words. He thought he'd understood, but was too afraid to assume in case he was wrong.
"Edward? Did you hear me?" Bella's face was caught between a beam and a frown.
"You're..." he whispered. "You can stay?"
She nodded frantically.
"Forever?"
She nodded again.
Edward swept her into his arms, swinging her round till they were both dizzy. They both had tears on their cheeks when he put down. He tried to collect his thoughts, but everything was smothered by one realisation: Bella was staying, living with him, forever. Today, this second, was the start of forever.
The initial buzz wore off a little, enough for them to discuss the implications it had on her time in rehab. There was a list of To Do's to finalise before Monday, including transport to and from the clinic. Bella didn't want to push her luck with unrestricted access to a vehicle.
Possibly most important of all was formulating a game plan if something did go wrong, if Bella did drink. They decided to get Jasper's feedback on that one.
"Love, what do you think Jasper's going to say?" They were cuddled up on the sofa in the play room.
"That's a tricky one. He's probably going to be seriously unimpressed. He'll say what he thinks is best." Bella nibbled on a lock of hair. "Ultimately, though, he'll give the advice we ask him for."
"And Alice?" Edward gently pulled the lock of hair out of her mouth.
"Again, tricky." Her brow furrowed. "I think she'll be happy for us. As opinionated as our Alice is, she's not a professional and doesn't try to make judgements on something she's not equipped for."
"I think I'm going to make an appointment to see Carmen myself," Edward looked at her. "Do you think it would be helpful?"
"It can't hurt. Remember though, Jasper specialises in addiction therapy. He can probably give you all the info you need." She stretched up to kiss him. "Do you mind if I have a snooze before dinner?"
"Go for it. I've got a couple of things to do and I'll join you." Edward stood up, pulling her to her feet. "I'll see you upstairs in a bit." He slid his hands under her hair, tilting her head back. He kissed her gently. "Thank you, Isabella."
She smiled. "I love you."
"I love you too." His heart turned over at the joy and love in her smile.
He walked quickly to the office to boot up his laptop. He'd promised her a charm for the moving in I Do, and it was now due. He knew exactly what he wanted, would commission it if he had to. He wanted a figure eight, the symbol of infinity.
Feeling like a seasoned hand, he logged on to the Cartier website. Nothing. His browser picked up BVLGARI, so he had a look at that too. Still nothing. He waited impatiently for Tiffany's website to load and sucked in his breath at the beautiful rings on their home page. Eternity Ring. He immediately loved the idea. So what if it was supposed to commemorate however many years of marriage? He'd give her another one then too. He loved the idea of getting her a ring that symbolised, for them, the start of forever.
Smiling to himself, he pulled out his wallet to place the order. Fuck. Alice has my card. He picked up his mobile and called her to get the details. Alice was so preoccupied with the house that he didn't face a barrage of questions. Sighing with relief, he hung up and placed the order.
Now the charm. And there it was, also from Tiffany's – a beautiful loop of diamonds. Feeling a bit smug that he managed to successfully navigate the jewellery sea, he placed the order for that too. Shutting down his laptop, he wandered upstairs with a big grin on his face.
"Alice, the table looks lovely. Thanks for doing it for us." Bella gave her a quick hug.
"You're welcome, Belly," She grinned, "and Client Mine."
"Bella?" Edward called from kitchen.
"Yeah? Coming, babe." She wandered through. "What can I do for you?"
"You can remind me again that Jasper isn't going to hang my balls off his rear view mirror when we tell him." Edward was starting to panic, belatedly remembering how protective of Bella Jasper was. "Stop laughing! It's me he'll kill, not you." He now sounded aggrieved.
"He'll be fine, Edward," she tried to stop her giggles. "He's not going to overreact. Surely you know him well enough by now to know he's always calm?"
"Bella, you didn't see him in London when you were missing!" Edward regretted the words the moment they left his tongue when she went white. "Oh, shit, fuck, bugger. Sorry, love. That was beyond insensitive."
"It's okay." She shook her head. "I've been avoiding thinking about it, so I got a bit of a shock. No need to apologise for the truth." She put her hand on his cheek. "Edward, relax. It will be fine."
She took a deep breath and changed the subject. "I'll be waiter tonight since you did all the cooking."
"That'll leave me alone in there with him!" Edward wailed.
"You sound like Alice. Just relax." She patted his cheek. "I'll tell them dinner's ready."
The table really did look lovely, if somewhat over the top. Alice had covered the table with a deep crimson shot silk table cloth crossed by a gold damask table runner with matching placemats. Each place setting looked like a little archipelago with rows of cutlery, anchored in place by glasses above the knives. A beautifully folded napkin rested in the middle of each setting. In the middle of the table were two ice buckets with a bottle in each.
Jasper poured soft drinks into the wine goblets.
"Hey, Appletizer! I thought I was the only one in the whole damn country who knows about this stuff. Where'd you get it?"
"We get creative with decent tasting alternatives to alcohol. There isn't much out there that's non-alcoholic that you'd want to serve at a dinner party."
Alice interrupted, "I mean, who wants to sit down to a formal meal with a glass of Coke?"
Jasper carried on serenely. "There's an outlet here in LA that's importing it. The range is extending too, to non-alcoholic 'adult' drinks."
"Bella? We need to stock up, love." Bella walked into the room carrying soup plates up her arms.
"Please, sirs and madam, take your seats." Bella hammed it up a bit, grinning at them.
"Your soup today is Vichyssoise." She placed each plate in front of them with a little flourish before sliding into her own seat.
The conversation was mostly around Jasper's first day of work and Alice's house. Alice was in her element, talking nineteen to the dozen about drapes and swags. At that stage, Edward stopped trying to follow and just nodded where it seemed appropriate.
Bella cleared their plates and cutlery, coming back with starters.
"Edward, this is really good, you weren't kidding that you're a good cook. Where'd you learn?" Jasper was demolishing his smoked salmon paté in short order.
"Helping my mum in the kitchen. She was a Michelin three star chef."
"Your mother was Esmé Cullen?" Alice asked.
"Yeah."
"That's amazing. My mum had one of her books." She looked sheepish. "I've no idea which one – my cooking's terrible, so I avoid that sort of thing." She cocked her head, looking at him. "I'm trying to remember the photo on the back of the book to see similarities. She had hazel eyes, too, didn't she?"
"Yeah. Rose and I both look a lot like her, although the height is from my dad. I have a photo of them in the play room."
"Edward, that's the first time I've heard you talk about your mum," Bella commented quietly.
"I don't talk about either of my parents much. It was self protection at first – in this town, people will use anything for leverage, and then it became habit, I suppose." Edward leaned back in his chair. "She was an amazing mum."
There was a slight silence around the table, giving Edward a little space.
"Mains is on the way, people." Bella jumped up to do the clearing thing again.
Edward watched Bella walk into the room carrying the Crown roast. Perhaps it was because they'd been discussing her, but he was struck by how many similarities Bella and his mum shared. They were both petite, neither clearing 5' 3". They were both passionate about those they loved, and both bubbled with life and happiness. The thought didn't make him melancholy at all; rather, it reinforced the feeling of rightness he and Bella shared.
The contemplative mood stayed with him while he carved and served the roast. He smiled to himself, thinking that if he wanted to choose a marriage as a role model for his own, he could do a lot worse than his parents'. He caught Bella's eye, smiling at her and mouthing 'I love you'. His heart leaped when she blew him a kiss.
"Jasper, Edward and I have something to discuss with you." Bella's voice yanked him out of his reverie. Oh fuck.
Jasper looked at Bella, then Edward.
"I had a long talk to Carmen today," Bella clutched Edward's hand. Hmm – not as sanguine as she claimed. Bella continued. "and she supports my decision to not move out with you and Alice. I'm staying here with Edward."
Edward watched Jasper, trying to read his expression.
"I know." Jasper laughed at their expressions. "Close your mouths, guys. As Alice says, 'flies, remember'."
"Carmen and I also had a long talk today, Bells. She told me about the discussion she'd had with you and wanted me to know why she supports you in this decision." He paused. "I'm not one hundred percent happy about it, but I understand her reasoning. She does have a point – it won't help you to wrap your recovery in cotton wool." He grimaced. "That's Professional Jasper speaking. Friend Jasper is shitting himself."
"Jasper, Bella and I plan to ask your advice on how to handle a relapse or emergency." Edward glanced at Bella. "I will take... no... we will take every single precaution we can to keep her safe."
"I know you will, Edward. Believe me, I'd put up a much bigger fight if I wasn't convinced of that."
Alice looked around the table expectantly. "So, am I allowed to congratulate you yet?"
It broke the tension and they began to laugh, an odd combination of nerves, joy, fear and love.
AN: I had to slip in the bit about Appletizer. I have no idea if you can get it in the States, but if you can, try it. Appletizer, Grapetizer and Peartizer.
I don't have a beta, guys, so please review?