A/N Sorry I haven't had the time to reply to your reviews, but I promise I read them all!

Chapter 24

Isabella Pov

~ August 16th, 2012 ~

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I hissed as a drop of hot sizzling oil landed on my hand and pulled back, throwing the pan a murderous glare. I was making breakfast, but apparently I was too distracted by daydreaming to actually pay attention to what I was doing.

Edward and I had been back from Europe for about two weeks now, and I sometimes still found myself zoning out as I remembered our time there. It had been the most amazing vacation I had ever been on, the glamorous Monte Carlo topping even beautiful old Prague.

In the fifteen days of our vacation, I had gotten to see some really incredible places like Saint-Mont-Michel and the ever famous City of light which had by far exceeded my expectations.

I had shopped at the most important fashion houses on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris and walked through the Louvre's great halls. I had ridden an elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower and tasted the most delicious desserts in luxurious French restaurants.

I had seen live cows in the small village of Salers and the ancient Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel. During our stay in Monte Carlo, I had been inside a casino for the first time in my life and actually won money. I rode a jet ski and swam in the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

I got a beautiful tan that I was very proud of.

Needless to say that the experience of it all was something I was never going to forget.

As I was grating cheese on top of the French toast, I heard Edward shuffle his way into the kitchen and turned my head to greet him with a smile. He was already dressed for work and wearing his reading glasses, that morning's copy of the Financial Times resting under his arm.

"Morning," I said cheerfully but quickly noticed that his eyebrows were knitted together in a deep frown. "What are you frowning about?

He sat at the kitchen table, tossing the newspaper on it carelessly. "I just remembered it's my mother's birthday today."

"Oh," I said, abandoning my task of grating cheese and turning around to face him as I wiped my hands on a towel. "So, are you going to call her?"

"I… have no idea," he replied, looking up at me. His expression was ambivalent, holding an uncertainty I hadn't seen in him in a long while. "I don't know what to do. Do you think I should call her?"

I sighed. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, it was obvious he still cared about his mother a lot. Knowing I was the reason for their estrangement made me feel quite guilty. Evil witch or not, she was still his family.

"I don't know, Edward," I murmured softly. "She's your mother so it's your decision. I don't want to tell you what to do."

He seemed to be contemplating my words for a minute as if he was actually considering calling her. Then he looked back at me and his expression shifted to one of annoyance as he shook his head. "What the hell am I doing? I need to remain firm on this. I won't call her."

"Edward…" I started to argue, not wanting him to have any regrets later on, but he cut me off by swiftly changing the subject.

"What are we having for breakfast? It smells good."

"French toast." I motioned to the plate lying idly on the counter.

Judging by the way he had quickly grabbed the paper and started browsing through it with exaggerated concentration, I could tell he didn't want to talk about Esme anymore.

"So, I was thinking about what we talked the other day, about me quitting my job…" I spoke up after a moment of silently watching him.

His eyes snapped up at me, his interest piqued. "And?" he prompted.

"And… I think you're right. I'm starting my Master's in a few weeks and I need to focus on my studies while I still have the time."

The corners of his mouth turned up. "Did you make your decision then?"

I nodded. I had given the idea a lot of thought the previous night during the hours when I couldn't sleep and had reached the conclusion that it was best for both me and the baby. I needed to save every ounce of energy I could; the last thing I wanted was for my self-induced exhaustion to take its toll on the baby's health. Studying for exams was demanding enough; I didn't need the added stress of a job.

"Yeah. I'm going to do it. I'm not exactly comfortable with you supporting me financially, but it has to be done. The baby exhausts me more than I ever thought he would as it is, and I really don't think I'm going to be able to handle both school and work while pregnant."

"You know that if we get married you're going to have to get used to me taking care of you," he said, staring at me sharply. "I understand your reticence, I really do, but you need to realize that I make more than enough money to support the three of us. Besides, when you've completed your studies, you can look for another job, this time as a journalist instead of a bookstore clerk."

"Yeah, I know that," I replied, although I was sure he really didn't understand. "But it's going to be weird having to spend money I haven't lifted a finger to deserve."

"These feminist preconceptions most modern women have can be quite annoying, you know that? What happened to the good old days when the man had to be the sole provider for his family? I don't want to sound sexist or anything, but I'm just pointing out that there was a time when women didn't mind being taken care of, they were actually expecting it. The more wealth a man had, the better he was seen as a suitor."

I rolled my eyes at him petulantly. "We don't live in the nineteenth century anymore, Edward. The world has changed quite a lot since then in case you haven't noticed. Do I need to remind you that in those times women didn't even have the right to vote?"

"You're actually wrong," he said matter-of-factly. "Women suffrage in the US happened during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century."

I reigned in the urge to throw the towel I was holding at him. "Okay, smartass, the thing is, it's going to take me a while to get used to my new… financial situation."

He didn't seem to like my choice of words as the frown he had been sporting earlier returned to his face. "I'm going to need to add you to my personal bank account."

"Yeah, because soon I'm going to be jobless."

"Did you talk to Kate about it?"

"No, but I will today," I assured him. "I'm sure she won't mind, but I have to give her the heads up so she can look for someone to replace me."

He nodded in agreement before going back to reading the newspaper.

"Oh, and there was something else I wanted to discuss with you," I went on, a bit nervous about what I was going to ask of him.

"Well?" he urged when I remained silent, watching me intently over the thick rim of his glasses.

"I want to take a trip to Forks before the semester starts and I was wondering if you'd be willing to come with me," I said quickly, not wasting any time to add in a pleading voice, "I know you've already taken a lot of time off from work, but we wouldn't be staying more than a couple of days or so. We could go on a weekend."

I really had no desire to take that trip alone, so I was nervous about him refusing me because of his tight work schedule. But to my relief, he simply shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Sure, I don't see why not."

"Really?" I smiled, surprised that he had accepted so easily.

He returned my smile. "Yes, really."

Walking over to him, I leaned down and kissed him on the lips lovingly. "Thank you. You don't know what it means to me."

"I think I do know," he murmured softly, cupping my face and stroking my cheek with his thumb. "And you are most welcome."

There wasn't any doubt now; Edward was the most amazing and attentive boyfriend any woman could ever ask for. I could ask him to take me on a trip to the moon and back, and I was willing to bet he'd find a way to make it happen.

Kissing him one last time, I straightened up and went to fetch his breakfast. As I set his plate and steaming cup of coffee in front of him, he grabbed my left wrist, bringing it to his luscious lips.

"Thanks," he murmured appreciatively, peering up at me from under his reddish lashes and making me weak in the knees. "Your appointment is at three, right?"

"Yeah," I replied breathlessly, wishing neither of us had to leave for work. I could think of at least one interesting activity we could have done instead.

"You're sure you don't want me to come?"

"No, it's alright." I smiled, smoothing my hand over his carefully styled hair. I had a plan, and I needed to stick with it. "I know you're pretty swamped at the office."

"I could try to take the second half of the day off if you wanted me to. Maybe Victoria could reschedule my last two appointments…"

The mention of his assistant's name irritated me.

"I said it's okay," I said coldly, my mood taking a one hundred eighty degree turn. Pulling my hand back and crossing my arms over my prominent baby bump, I stared him down as the ugly green-eyed monster made an appearance.

"How's Victoria, by the way?" I sneered, well aware of the fact that I was being irrational in my jealousy of her.

Edward frowned, immediately understanding where I was heading with this. "She's fine. Let's not ta-"

"Still wearing those short dresses?" I cut him off abruptly, images of the beautiful redhead flashing in front of my eyes and igniting the quiet fire burning inside of me.

"What are you getting at?" he asked lowly, his question pretty much rhetorical. We both knew very well what I was getting at.

One of the downsides of being pregnant and gaining weight was the insecurity that came with every glance in the mirror. I knew Edward loved me; I could feel and see it in his every gesture. But that didn't mean I wasn't self-conscious about my body. I wanted him to still find me attractive, but to my complete dismay, I was gaining weight at an alarming rate.

Dr. Clark had assured me it was normal, but I found it hard to believe I was this large at only sixteen weeks. And I didn't mean large as in I had a big baby bump; I meant large as in fat. I was drowning in cellulite, and I wasn't even allowed to exercise to make it go away. The fact that I had started eating like there was no tomorrow didn't help either.

"I'm getting fat," I muttered, plopping down on a chair next to him. "And she's so pretty and slim and has legs a mile long."

Edward huffed, throwing me an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me right now? I thought I made it pretty clear when I told you I wasn't interested in her. Are you really that insecure?"

"I gained six pounds in the past week alone," I said, my voice turning whiney. "At the rate I'm going, I'll be the size of China by the time I give birth. And I can't seem to stop eating. I eat like all the time now. You don't even want to know how much I weigh, although I'm sure it's pretty obvious that I'm fat."

He shook his head, pulling his chair closer to mine. "Yeah, I'll admit you gained a few extra pounds, but you're not under any circumstances fat. You look as beautiful as ever."

I gave him a dubious look. "You're not just saying that?"

"Of course I'm not just saying that," he assured me, leaning over and placing his hands on my waist. "You're always going to be beautiful to me no matter what." He captured my lips with his in a soft kiss before adding playfully, "Besides, you're so much softer in all the right places."

"You mean I'm flabby?" I replied dryly. "And I thought you liked me fit."

He let out a long breath, getting annoyed with my attitude. "You're not flabby, so please don't put words in my mouth. I do like you fit, but I like you pregnant even more."

He glanced down at his lap and back up, his expression suddenly softening. "Can't you see that I can't get enough of you? That I crave you more and more every day? But that's not even the point. You should know by now that our relationship doesn't come down to mere physical attraction anymore. In fact, it never did. I always loved you for who you are as a person, not your body."

His words made me tear up, and I quickly wiped my eyes with the back of my hand before offering him a watery smile. "I just wish I was allowed to exercise like before. I haven't been to the gym in forever."

"You could take aqua natal classes," he suggested, wiping a few more tears with his thumbs. Over the past couple of months, he had gotten used to my mood swings, so my crying fits didn't alarm him anymore. "I read somewhere that it's a great way to exercise, relax and socialize with other pregnant women."

"That's actually a great idea," I said with a quiet sniffle, perking up at the idea. "I can't believe I never thought of that. I'll have to talk to Dr. Clark about it today."

He smiled indulgently, and I rose from my chair, climbing into his lap and wrapping my arms around his neck. "You spoil me so," I whispered, toying with the short hair at the nape of his neck. "I love you."

"I love you, too, and I love to spoil you," he replied, placing small pecks across my jaw.

"You're going to be such a great dad."

"You think?"

"I'm positive. Our baby is so lucky to have you as a father."

He sighed wistfully. "I can't wait to see him, to hold him in my arms, to feed him…" he trailed off for a moment then added with a soft chuckle. "I'll even change his diapers."

"You know you will, whether you want to or not," I said in my best no nonsense voice, but I was grinning widely.

"Are you going to make me?" he said playfully, his hands creeping their way under my pajama top and rubbing at the naked skin of my back.

"Yeah," I said distractedly, arching towards him and loving the feel of his touches.

"How?" he challenged, his eyelids getting heavy as his large palms moved up front to cup my breasts, and I had to keep my eyes from rolling to the back of my head. I was so easily aroused these days.

"I'll find a way," I said, swallowing thickly, wanting nothing more than to drag him back to the bedroom. "You're going to be late for work."

"I know," he said indifferently, continuing to massage my breasts. His thumbs circled my taut nipples, and I bit my lip from moaning out loud.

All of a sudden, he pulled my chest flush to his and shoved his tongue into my mouth, giving me a toe-curling kiss. This time, I let out the moan I had been trying to suppress, and he grabbed hold of my hips, starting to grind me up and down on him with purpose.

I was more than tempted to let him have his way with me right then and there, but I knew we couldn't. He had an early meeting with a new client, and I had to be at work in about forty minutes to open up the bookstore.

"You didn't even touch your breakfast," I protested between our heated kisses.

"I know that, too."

He went on, assaulting my lips and neck and every inch of skin he could find, and I had to end this before it went too far. "Okay, we need to stop or we'll never leave the house today," I breathed, pushing against his chest.

Reluctantly, he let go but didn't seem too happy about it. He glanced at the French toast then at the wall clock before lifting me from his lap and waving me off. "Go sit as far away from me as you can or I won't be held responsible for my actions."

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It was about a quarter to noon that same day when I got an unexpected call from Alice. Slowly getting up from the sofa in the reading area, I left Kate to the book she had been reading as I made my way behind the sales counter and sat down.

"Yeah?" I answered, folding my legs underneath me and leaning back into the comfortable chair as my free hand went to rest on my stomach.

"Hey, stranger," she greeted cheerfully, and I was glad to hear her voice.

"Hi, Alice. How have you been?"

"Good, good. And you?"

"The same."

"I haven't had the chance to see you since you came back from France, so I was thinking maybe we could get together for lunch. Do you think you can spare me an hour of your time?"

"Yeah, sure," I said, knowing I had to leave earlier for my appointment anyway.

I had announced to Kate that I intended to quit my job, and to my utter surprise she'd said she already had someone to take my place. That's how we decided that starting with the following week, I was going to be replaced by her best friend's son, Eric, who was just about to start his first year of college and needed a new job.

"Where do you want to meet?"

"Let's say Café Des Architectes at half past noon. I love that place."

I could still very vividly remember the one and only time I had been to Café Des Architectes, the evening I met Jasper and Alice. Not only was it very sophisticated and high class, but it was also expensive. Way too expensive.

Fortunately, I still had my last two pay checks in the bank, so money wasn't going to be a problem. Since moving in with Edward, he never let me pay for anything, so every penny I had earned in the past couple of months was sitting in my bank account waiting to be spent. For the first time in my life, I could actually go to an expensive restaurant and not worry about the bill.

I got there ten minutes late and found Alice waiting for me at a table in the corner. Next to her on a black leather chair sat Jessica, whose blonde hair had grown so much it was reaching the middle of her back. She saw me walk towards them and jumped to her feet, running over to give me a hug.

"Bella, hi!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing my cheek.

I pulled back to take her in and noticed how tall she had gotten in just a few months since I hadn't seen her. She was only fourteen, but it was clear as day that she was going to inherit her father's impressive height and her mother's slender shape.

She was wearing a white dress that accentuated her blossoming cleavage and long shapely legs, and I had to keep my mouth from hanging open. A small pimple carefully covered by foundation adorned the corner of her upper lip, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. She looked less like a little girl and more like a teenager who was going to give her parents hell with her smart mouth and volcanic personality.

Her ice blue eyes sparkled with joy as they ranked over me, finally settling on my stomach.

"You're wearing make-up," I blurted out, causing her to chuckle sheepishly.

"Uh… yeah; just a bit of foundation and mascara."

I glanced at Alice who was smiling amusedly then back at her. "Jess, what are you doing here?"

"Aunt Ali has the day off and she picked me up from my dance lessons. She asked if I wanted to see you and I said yes." She shrugged, placing her hand on my belly. "Wow, you're really showing."

"Well, I'm four months pregnant," I replied, still amazed that I was talking to the same little girl I had met a year prior.

She beamed at me. "I'm so happy for you and Uncle Eddie. He's going to be an awesome dad."

"Are you two ever going to sit down?" Alice spoke, motioning to the empty seats. "I don't like craning my head to look up at you."

Jessica rolled her eyes, but retook her seat, and I occupied the chair beside her. They had already ordered their drinks, and as soon as my butt touched the cushiony chair, a waiter materialized out of thin air with my menu. I asked for a glass of orange juice, and since we were all there, we also placed our food orders.

"Does Rosalie know she's here?" I asked Alice as the waiter departed.

At my question, her eyebrows arched in surprise. "She actually does."

"And she's okay with it?"

Jessica sighed from beside me. "My mom knows you're not a bad person, Bella, and that you make Uncle Eddie happy. She's just… difficult sometimes."

Difficult wasn't the word I would have used to describe Rosalie, but I didn't want to say anything bad about her in front of her daughter.

"Edward told me it's Esme's birthday today," I said, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.

Alice groaned softly, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "She's having a dinner party that neither one of us is allowed to miss."

"I was thinking of faking menstrual cramps." Jessica grinned knowingly, leaning back into her chair. "Dad always falls for that excuse. I bet he'll let me stay home."

"Lucky you," Alice muttered, narrowing her eyes at her. "I can't fake my way out of it."

"How is she?" I inquired, not even needing to clarify who I was referring to.

"Pretty much the same," she said vaguely, watching as the waiter placed my glass of orange juice in front of me.

Jessica shook her head at her aunt's answer, her fingers playing with her napkin. "To be honest with you, grandma kind of scares me. I dread Saturday dinners at her house. Dad says she's going to get better, but I don't know about that. She seems to be getting worse to me."

"Hey, how about we stop talking about Esme?" Alice gave her a pointed look before turning to me with a smile. "Bella, tell us how France was."

I returned her smile. "It was amazing, although Monte Carlo was downright breathtaking. That place is the stuff dreams are made off."

"Did Edward take you to the casino?"

"Yeah, I actually won six hundred Euros playing roulette," I said proudly.

"Oh, I love playing the roulette. The last time I went to Monte Carlo was almost four years ago when Tanya was still healthy. They were trying to work through their marriage so Jasper suggested all six of us take a trip to Europe. It was actually a great trip. I remember drunk Emmett stumbling over a lounge chair and falling into the hotel's pool and taking a poor unsuspecting waiter with him."

I chuckled, glancing over at Jessica. "Should you be telling that in front of his daughter?"

Jessica rolled her eyes, waving me off. "I don't care."

"See? She doesn't care," Alice brushed it off, propping her elbows on the table and leaning towards me. "So, tell us about the baby. How does it feel being pregnant?"

"It feels okay so far. I hate the puking and morning sickness, but aside from that and a bit of fatigue, I haven't experienced any other major symptoms," I confessed, reigning in the urge to complain about my weight.

"I can't even begin to imagine what it's like having a little person inside of you," she said dreamily, her eyes glued to my belly.

"I still can't believe it's happening to me; I'm actually going to be a mother in just over five months. To tell you the truth, I kind of love being pregnant. It was scary in the beginning, but now I can't wait until he's born."

"He?" they inquired in unison, Jessica's eyes becoming the size of saucers.

"Yeah, Edward and I decided we're going to pretend it's a he until we can find out the sex. Although I'm secretly hoping it's a girl," I said, rubbing my stomach lovingly. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm going to love this baby no matter its sex, but I'm kind of wishing for a little girl."

Alice nodded in understanding. "What future-to-be mother doesn't dream of a little girl? Besides, boys don't like shopping. Girls on the other hand…" she trailed off smirking, "well, let's just say that if I ever have a daughter, I'm going to make her my new shopping partner. Between the two of us, Jasper's going to go broke in a matter of months."

We all laughed at that, and Jessica turned to look at me curiously. "Are you and Uncle Eddie going to get married now?"

"We're going to wait until the baby is born to decide if we want to get married or not. I mean, we do want to get married, but I think it's better if we wait a little longer. Now would definitely not be the right time to plan a wedding, don't you agree?"

She didn't seem to care that much about my answer because I didn't even get to finish my sentence before she blurted out in a squeaky voice, "Uncle Jasper proposed last night."

My head whipped around so quickly, I thought I was going to break my neck. "What?" I gasped, staring at Alice open-mouthed.

"Yeah." She bit on her lip, holding up her left hand where a gorgeous asscher-cut diamond ring rested. The large center stone was sparkling strongly in the sunlight coming from the large windows facing her, while the other smaller diamonds set on the double band completed the look, making it one of the most beautiful engagement rings I had ever seen.

"Oh my God, why didn't you tell me earlier?" I said excitedly, taking her hand in mine to give the ring a better look. "I didn't even notice it. It's gorgeous. Congratulations!"

She smiled, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "Thanks. Jasper has great taste in jewelry and he knows me so well. It's exactly what I would have chosen for myself."

"It's not as big as my mom's but I think yours is prettier," Jessica commented, and Alice chuckled.

"Rose's ring has a ten carat diamond. Mine's only four. But yeah, I agree, mine's much prettier."

Their conversation about engagement rings made me wonder about Edward's pick for me if he were to propose. Would he choose a regular solitaire ring or one of those emerald-cut ones with rocks so big you went blind by just glancing their way? If I was being honest with myself, I didn't even know what I liked, so I guessed that whichever style he deemed fit to adorn my finger was going to be fine by me.

But my train of thought was carrying me too far into the uncertain future, so I had to pull myself back into the present.

"Did you set a date yet?" I asked, reaching for my glass and taking a sip of orange juice.

"Not really, but I want to get married in the summer, so probably sometime next summer."

I nodded, trying not to think too much about the fact that an outdoor summer wedding had been my dream since ninth grade. "Does Esme know? I bet she's happy."

"We haven't told her yet, but we plan on making the announcement tonight over dinner."

"So, how did he propose? He just popped the question or…"

"Well," she began, her smile widening, "last night was our nine year anniversary."

"Wow," I breathed incredulously, "You guys have been together that long?"

"Yeah. Anyway, we went to see a movie then had dinner at a nice restaurant before heading to his place. He was really agitated the entire evening, but I just assumed it was work stress. By the time we made it home, he was so nervous he was trembling. Panicked, I asked him what's wrong and he just fell to his knee in front on me right in the middle of the foyer. You can imagine my utter shock at seeing him pull out a blue jewelry box from his jeans' pocket."

"I wish I was there to see Uncle Jasper all sweaty and shaky with nerves kneeling before you," Jessica laughed, looking at me with twinkling eyes.

Alice shook her head, but she was still smiling. "He scared the bejesus out of me. I thought something was really wrong."

"Mom told me that when my dad proposed to her he couldn't even get the words out. His face was beat red and he kept stuttering and stuff."

"Your dad proposed to your mom when they were still in high school," Alice pointed out.

"How long have they been married?" I was curious.

"Since their first year of college," Jessica answered.

I turned to Alice. "And Esme agreed to her son getting married so young?"

"I guess." She shrugged. "I wouldn't know because Jasper and I weren't together back then."

Just then Jessica's iPhone began to ring, and she picked it up from the table, frowning when she saw the caller id.

"Speaking of my dad…" she muttered, bringing it to her ear. "Yeah?" She listened to what Emmett had to say before speaking. "I'm with Aunt Ali and Bella… Uh huh… But why? I'm going to be seeing her tonight anyway... Fine… Yeah, Dad…" Then her voice lowered to a whisper as she blushed furiously. "I haven't called you daddy in months… Fine... I said fine… Bye."

"What did he want?" Alice wanted to know.

"He told me to call grandma and wish her a happy birthday," she said, making a face as she shoved the phone into her yellow puffer backpack. "I don't want to."

"You can call her later," Alice comforted, giving her a sympathetic look. "You don't have to do it right now."

Jessica sighed, slumping back into her seat, and I stole a quick glance at my watch. "I have about an hour left before my doctor's appointment at three."

"For the baby?" Jessica asked, suddenly getting excited.

"Mmhmm," I hummed affirmatively. "I haven't told Edward yet because I want to surprise him, but Dr. Clark said that we're going to see if we can find out the sex today. I'm going to undergo a 3D ultrasound."

Alice clasped her hands in front of her. "We'll go with you. I want to be there when you find out. Besides, who knows, pretty soon Jasper and I might decide to have a baby, too."

~~ 0 ~~

Later that evening as I relaxed by taking a warm bubbly bath, I was still feeling the effects of the news. The early 3D ultrasound had revealed that we were going to have a baby boy, and Dr. Clark was more than ninety per cent confident of its accuracy. Now all I had to do was let Edward know that he had partially won the bet. I knew he should have been there with me when I found out, but I just wanted to see his face when I gave him the news so unexpectedly. He was going to be over-the-moon happy.

As for me, I was floating on cloud nine while still trying to grasp the fact that I was going to be the mother of a beautiful baby boy. I had cried when Dr. Clark uttered the words, but not because I was disappointed that I wasn't going to have a daughter but because I was so incredibly euphoric. My emotions were still very much all over the place, and it took all I had in me not to call Edward and tell him over the phone. He was going to be home soon, and even though I couldn't drink, I already had a bottle of champagne waiting in the freezer. Tonight was for celebrating.

However, what made this specific day so strange was the fact that there were three reasons to celebrate in the Cullen family, but only two of them were seen as such. It made me wonder what it would have been like if Esme and I got along. We would have probably been at her house right now, giving everyone the news, and she would have been happy for us. But it seemed that destiny had something else in store for us; something that not only no one expected but was also going to change everything.

When I was done with my hot bath, I wrapped a long towel around me and headed straight for the bed, plopping down on it and waiting for the water to stop sweating from my body so I could dry off and get dressed. I had planned on wearing some sexy lingerie for Edward to round off the surprise nicely, but just minutes after collapsing into the cool sheets, I heard the front door open. Trying to get dressed now was useless, so I simply lay where I was, waiting for him to make an appearance.

"Mmmm, I like what I'm seeing," he said, his voice appreciative, and I opened my eyes to see him stand in the doorway. He was pulling at the tight knot on his tie, his intense gaze trailing over me hungrily.

"Hi." I smiled, my heart starting to beat frantically and my stomach churning nervously.

"Hi," he murmured, tossing his tie on the back of an armchair as he made his way over to me. "You look very… wet."

I chuckled. "That's because I am very wet."

He smirked, stopping in front of me and starting to unbutton his shirt. "I think we should do something about it."

"You can towel me off," I said innocently.

"I had something else in mind," he replied, letting the shirt fall on the floor as he climbed on top of me, propping himself on his elbows to sustain his weight.

He leaned down to kiss me gently, and I wrapped my arms around his back, holding him to me. He headed south to nuzzle my barely covered breasts, and his action was both loving and arousing.

"Mmmm," I hummed, feeling his hardness press between my parted legs. "Someone's happy to see me."

"He's very happy to see you. I am too."

"How was work?" I asked, making small talk before the big announcement.

"Tiring. But I feel much more reinvigorated now that I'm home." He smiled, pressing harder against me. "Can't you tell?"

"Oh, I can tell alright," I said breathlessly, running my fingers through his hair. "Did you find out that Jasper and Alice got engaged?"

"Yes, he called me this morning."

"They make such a nice couple."

"We make a much nicer couple," he joked, looking down at me with twinkling eyes. "When are we going to get engaged?"

"Well, you haven't proposed yet," I retorted, thinking about the bet he'd won and what I owed him.

His expression suddenly became serious. "Do you want me to?"

"I do," I said sincerely. "Next year."

"Next year it is," he said, obviously relieved that I hadn't flat out refused him. "Now, where were we?" "Ah, yes…" he went down towards my breasts, taking a nipple between his lips and suckling noisily.

"Oh, God," I moaned, sensing how the lust between us was escalating dangerously. I had something important to tell him, but what he was currently doing was really distracting.

"Name's Edward, baby," he answered, reaching to his pants' front and starting to fumble with the zipper. He got them undone quickly and pushed them past his hips along with his black boxer briefs, all the while his mouth never leaving my skin.

The sight of his erection springing free made it hard for me to think, and I panted, spreading my legs wider. "Shut up, your cockiness is ruining the moment," I said, urging him to get started already.

"You like my cockiness," he said, rubbing against my folds to get me ready for him, and I pushed my hips forward, searching for more friction.

Talk could wait. Right now I needed him so badly I felt like I was about to implode if he didn't get on with the program already.

His phone began vibrating against my calf insistently, and I groaned at the interruption. "Turn it off. Now."

Breathing heavily, he jumped to his feet, his boxer briefs and pants hanging around his hips, and shoved his hand into one of the front pockets, looking for the offending object. When he found it, he glanced down at the display and frowned.

"It's Jasper," he announced, and I let out another suffering groan, knowing he was going to take the call.

"Yeah?" he spoke into the receiver, starting to pull his underwear back up.

His erection disappeared behind the dark material, and I sighed, turning onto my side and propping my head on my elbow as I watched him. As he listened to what Jasper had to say on the other side of the line, his face went from its healthy pink color to white in a matter of seconds. He looked like he was about to be sick, and I sat up quickly, the towel falling from my body completely.

Something was really wrong.

"I'm on my way," he finally croaked before hanging up and looking around dumbfounded for a moment. Then he leaned down and pulled his pants up before grabbing his shirt from the floor and throwing it on in a haste.

"Edward, what's wrong?" I asked, standing up and feeling as if an invisible hand was strangling me. "What happened?"

He shook his head, not even meeting my eyes as he continued to button his shirt furiously. "It's my mother. She tried to kill herself."

I didn't even have time to process his words before he was heading out of the bedroom. Seconds later, the front door slammed behind him, and I just stood in the middle of the room, staring after him blankly.

A/N Well, well… Esme's back in full force it seems.

And yeah, that engagement ring was for Alice not for Bella… teasers can be deceiving :D

Oh, and Bella's not fat, she's just paranoid.

Thanks for reading!

~ Andreea