A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does.

Thanks to goldentemptress, BellaEdwardlover1991, and bugsmama07 for pre-reading this. :)

Thanks to MariahajilE for keeping me in line and fixing my brain spewings. :)

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Chapter Twenty-Five

Wednesday morning, I might have woken up a little earlier than normal. Heck, I might not have even slept much the night before. I certainly didn't want to acknowledge the fact that I'd fixed my hair, put on a bit of make-up, and spent extra minutes deciding on what clothes to wear. I was a sight, that was for sure, but I knew I'd see Edward. After the way I'd treated him on Easter, I wanted it to be perfect.

What I didn't count on was cranky children. Neither of my babies was too excited about waking up that morning, and certainly not about getting dressed and presentable. By the time we got out the door, we were running nearly ten minutes late and I wondered if Edward would even still be at the school. I hoped he wouldn't think I'd changed my mind or that I didn't want to see him. Pulling up to the school, I found a parking space a few spaces farther away than where I usually parked, and I carried Kenna as I held Collin's hand and walked toward the front gate.

"Mommy, there's Uncle Edward and Emily," Collin said, pointing toward the playground. I looked over, and my breath caught in my chest. My steps slowed ever so slightly so that I could watch him that much longer. He was smiling and laughing, listening to Emily as she giggled and gestured wildly. I was certain she was telling him a tale or joke of some sort, and I could see how much he loved it.

"Emily!" Collin yelled, catching her attention and then Edward's. The smile on his face when his eyes met mine seemed to freeze, then grow even brighter after a couple of seconds.

"Hi, Collin!" she said, running toward us. "Auntie Bella, I missed you! You too, Kenna," she called as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

I smiled down at her, patting her back with my free hand and then looked up to watch Edward move toward us. The way he walked, how his body moved, was captivating. His legs seemed to be a mile long, and each step he took looked so effortless. His hands were pushed into the front pockets of his jeans, and the cuffs of his sleeves were unbuttoned and rolled up on his forearms. Never in history had a gold watch on a man's wrist looked so sexy and appealing.

"Hey," he said quietly, his eyes firmly on me.

"Hi," I replied, smiling brighter than I had been before — if that was even possible.

The bell rang, and it broke up our special little moment as we told the kids to be good and to hurry to their classes. Once they were gone, Mckenna reached for Edward, moving her little fingers as she grabbed at him and tried to encourage him to hold her. He took her from my hip and smiled at her, softly touching the tip of her nose with his index finger. "How's my special girl?" he asked. The question made her squeal with delight, and I watched them as she soaked up all the attention she could from him. It made me happy, seeing them both so joyful and carefree. I didn't even pay any mind to the group of mothers I could see out of the corner of my eye. They were obviously watching us, hanging on every detail of our interaction, but I didn't care. For the first time in a long time, it didn't matter to me.

Edward walked us back to my car, not saying much to me other than asking polite and simple questions. I was fairly certain he still felt a little uneasy about everything and that he probably would until we'd talked and gotten it all out in the open. Friday night couldn't come fast enough for me.

"Well, I gotta get going. I've got a job in Port Angeles I've gotta check on today. The client's been throwing fits about every little detail for the past week, so I need to try and smooth some things out with him." Edward kissed Kenna on the cheek and then handed her back to me.

"Sounds like fun. Good luck with that," I said with a smile, remembering how many times Alec had said something similar to me before he went off to work.

"So, you're good with taking Emily tomorrow afternoon?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course. I'm looking forward to it."

He smiled. "Okay, good. She's excited, and she's planning on bringing her Easter egg money, so I hope that's all right."

"Yes," I laughed. "It's fine. I think we could all use a little ice cream tomorrow afternoon."

"Sounds like a plan. So, am I gonna see you tomorrow morning again?" he asked with a hopeful look on his face.

"Yes, I hope so."

"Good. I like this, seeing you first thing in the morning."

The way he looked at me had my heartbeat picking up a little. We were in a school parking lot at eight o'clock in the morning with my daughter in my arms and parents all around us… and yet, there was a bubble. Something separated us from everything else, gave us our own little world, and I liked it.

I really liked that he liked seeing me first thing in the morning.

"Bella," he softly said, "I gotta ask you something."

"What?"

His smile turned a bit shy and maybe a little devious. "Did you put make-up on this morning?" he asked, lifting his hand to my face and lightly rubbing the back of his fingers along my cheek.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I just... I wanted to look nice." My teeth bit into my lower lip and I suddenly felt a bit nervous, questioning whether or not I should have made such an obvious effort.

"You don't have to do that for me," he replied. "You're always the most gorgeous woman in the room, no matter what."

I might have swooned right there. In the middle of the elementary school parking lot, with gossipy mothers all around me, I might have turned into a puddle of goo. The way Edward was looking at me, with his hand skimming down my arm and his fingers passing over mine before he stepped away from me, just might have sent me over the edge, if it had not been for my three-year-old daughter.

"Mommy, why are you looking so funny?" Mckenna said. "Your eyes are all silly, Mommy."

Edward's smile grew and his laugh rumbled from his chest, and I forced my eyes closed as I shook my head back and forth.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Bella," he whispered, and then I felt him lean toward Mckenna and me. "Bye, Miss Kenna," he said. I opened my eyes just in time to see him lightly kiss her cheek.

"Bye, Unca Edward," she said, patting her hands on his cheeks and twisting in my arms to watch him as he pulled away from us.

He walked back to his car, and I kept my gaze focused solely on him. Before he got in, he turned and looked at us, waving and smiling one last time, and then he was gone.

"Mommy, can I has some pancakes today?" Kenna asked and I grinned, nodding my head and moving to put her into her car seat. She babbled all the way home and I heard every word, even though my mind was still back in that parking lot, thinking about the way Edward moved. The way his shirt pulled across his shoulders. The way his jeans sat on his hips. The way the sunlight sparkled on his hair. The way his eyes lit up when he got closer to me.

The way he was everything I'd been needing and wanting and hoping for. The way he just seemed to fit with me. The way I felt when he was near.

It was good. It was all very, very good.

I was anxious for the week to pass but nervous, too. Thursday afternoon was good. It felt right having Emily back in my home with me and my children. She just fit with us. I couldn't explain it, and I was certain I would sound like a loon if I tried to, but it worked for us. She was excited to get ice cream on our way home from school, and she asked if we could drop some off to her daddy while he was working. The office wasn't too far out of the way, and I knew he would be there that afternoon, so I didn't see any harm in it.

Things were busy, as usual, when we got there. It had been a few weeks since I'd last stopped by, but it already felt different than it had when Alec had been there. Emily carried the dish of ice cream while I kept hold of Collin and Mckenna. She had insisted that Edward loved hot fudge on his ice cream, and that's what we'd bought for him. He was surprised and happy to see us, and Emily's smile beamed when she saw how thrilled he was about what she'd chosen for him.

I could tell he was in the middle of a project, so we didn't stay too long. After letting him know that I'd have dinner ready when he picked up Emily, we hurried back out to the car so we could let him get back to work.

He seemed a little more relaxed that evening, and after dinner, he and I sat on the sofa while the kids were lying on the floor playing a video game.

"You okay? You seem a little quiet tonight," he said.

I let out a sigh. "I'm okay. Just nervous for tomorrow. I haven't ever done anything like this before. I worry that she's gonna tell me what a mess I am," I said with a laugh.

"She won't," he assured me with a smile. "Just be honest with her. That's the best you can do. It'll all work out. I promise."

"I hope so."

We were quiet for a few minutes, neither of us wanting to talk about anything too heavy since we knew we didn't have a lot of time. That would come the next night, and we knew it. When the kids finished their game, Edward told Emily that it was time for them to head home and they gathered her things together. Mckenna and I followed them to the door while Collin was in his bedroom getting his pajamas ready so he could take a bath before bed.

"Hey, um, my mom and dad offered to come over tomorrow night, if we wanted," he softly said.

Seeing the question in his eyes, I wondered why they would have made that type of comment to him. "Why? I thought it was gonna be us and the kids tomorrow."

He smiled and let out a little huff. "It is. Um, mom just thought maybe you and I would like some time to talk alone. You know, they could occupy the kids and give us some uninterrupted time together."

"They did, huh? How did they know we might need time to talk?" I asked, wondering just how many people knew about what we were doing.

"Well, she said she saw you the other morning, and then I kind of told her what was going on between us."

"You what?" I asked, not sure if I was shocked or angry or excited. There were so many emotions running through me in that moment, I couldn't decide on just one.

"She's not blind, Bella. She sees stuff. Plus, Emily talks. And between you and me, I think she knows."

I looked down at Emily who was standing next to Mckenna, whispering and giggling. She looked up at me, and with a smirk that rivaled her father's, she smiled. She was a smart kid. Maybe I'd underestimated her.

"Who else knows?" I decided to ask since I was curious.

"Not many. Emmett and Rose, Maggie, and my parents. That's it. I swear. Why? How many did you tell?"

"Well, it doesn't matter."

He smiled brightly and shook his head.

"Fine. My parents and Jasper and Alice know."

"Thank you," he said, leaning forward to place a light kiss on my cheek. "I'm glad you told someone. Otherwise, I might have been a lot more worried about tomorrow."

His comment made me laugh, and I promised him that I'd see him the next evening. He was picking Emily up from school, so unless there was an emergency, I wouldn't see him until we got to his house for dinner. It was hard watching him leave, just like it always was, and my heart ached for both him and Emily. But I knew as I watched them drive away that it was only going to get harder and harder the closer he and I got.

Great. The growing dependency on Edward and Emily was just one more thing to add to my list of therapy discussion topics. But I'd gladly discuss it, if it meant I could have them both and make it good for all of us.

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