All Things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer; I just like to play with her characters.

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HUGE thanks to my beta and pre-readers – twimom817, EdwardsMyObsession1971 and GillianAubrey. Without these ladies, this wouldn't be worth reading.

Learning to Live

Chapter Twenty Six

Bella

The last thing I remembered was laying my head on Edward's chest and telling him that I was comfortable – and I was.

I woke up and Edward and I were lying side by side on the sofa. Edward's arms were wrapped tightly around me as I was sandwiched between him and the back of the sofa. Edward was still sleeping, his dark lashes fanned across his cheeks. He looked like an angel and made my heart hurt he was so beautiful. I wanted to love him and I wanted to be worthy of his love in return.

"Hey," Edward said in a soft, gravelly voice.

"Hey," I replied, kissing him softly.

"Did you have a nice nap?"

"Yeah … really nice. Sorry, Edward, I didn't mean to pass out on you like that. You were so warm and comfortable."

"It's okay, Bella. I was happy to be here with you in my arms."

I sighed and snuggled into him once again.

"As much as I'd like to lay with you here all day, beautiful, I really should go work for a couple of hours."

I wanted to pout, but I knew I was already being greedy with his time.

"Bella … if you want me to come by when I'm done, I will."

"You will?"

Edward nodded.

"Okay. Can I make you dinner?"

"Absolutely. How about I bring back some wine?"

"'Kay."

Edward unfolded himself and rose from the sofa. He held out his hand and pulled me up into his arms.

"You could always come with me, you know. I'm sure my mom would love to see you."

I kind of liked the idea. Getting out of the house even for a little while sounded like heaven.

"That sounds great, Edward, but I should probably clean up after breakfast."

"Don't let a few dishes scare you off, beautiful. Come on, we'll clean up together then we'll go."

Esme was pleasantly surprised when I walked into her home with Edward's hand gently clasped in mine.

"Bella! How good it is to see you, sweetheart. How are you?"

"I'm well, Esme. Thank you. How are you? Did you have a nice Christmas?"

Esme was about to answer when Edward interrupted.

"Sorry, ladies, but I should probably get to work."

Edward kissed Esme on the cheek before kissing my lips softly.

Esme smiled and told Edward he could find his dad in his office.

"You two seem pretty happy," Esme grinned.

"We're trying."

"That's great, sweetheart. Bella, I don't mean to be nosy, but have you ever thought about seeing someone to help you with your grief?"

"Honestly, no. I mean, I haven't given the idea any serious thought. I think that's because until recently, it's been too painful. But since I've told both you and Edward about Jared and my parents, maybe it's time that I think seriously about it."

"I think it may do you some good now, sweetheart."

I nodded and no more was said on the subject.

Esme ushered me into the kitchen where she made a quick tray of snacks and offered me something to drink. We chatted about Christmas and I admitted that I lied to her. Esme was far too gracious about it, telling me that she understood, but wanted me to be honest with her in the future. I promised her that I would and the conversation moved on to the photo shoot and about the visit from Garrett. I explained about the upset earlier that morning and Esme sighed.

"Oh, sweetheart. I'm so glad that you were so calm about it all. It could have gone very bad very quickly. I love my son, but he shouldn't have gone in there with his guns a blazin' so to speak."

"It could have, but when he told me that he made dinner for me, I felt terrible. He looked heartbroken, Esme. I just told myself that I did that, I put that look on his face and I needed to fix it."

"He cares about you, sweetheart. His feelings for you – I think – are different than the feelings he had for Leah, and I don't think he knows what to do with them."

"What do you mean?"

"Edward is more intense with you. He's sweet and gentle, but he looks like he'd jump in front of a bullet for you. He's always been my romantic child … I suppose that's my fault, but he never showed that side of himself with Leah and now he'd finding that he can be that way with you."

"He should be able to be himself."

Esme nodded and looked over at the clock. Several hours had passed by and we had yet to hear from the men.

"I'd love it if you two stayed for dinner," Esme smiled sweetly.

"That would be really nice, Esme. You don't think it would upset Edward, do you?"

"No, but you can go ask him, sweetheart."

Esme told me where I could find Carlisle's office, and sent me to inquire about our dinner plans. I knocked on the door after confirming I had the right one – I could hear Edward and Carlisle chatting.

"Come in," Carlisle's soft voice carried into the hall.

I cracked the door open and peered in.

"Bella, hello, sweetheart. Come on in. Edward and I are nearly finished here."

"Oh, I don't mean to interrupt, but Esme invited us to stay for dinner, and I wanted to make sure it was okay with Edward."

Carlisle excused himself, leaving Edward and I to ourselves.

"Come here, beautiful," Edward beckoned as soon as Carlisle had left the room.

Edward pulled me onto his lap and into his arms.

"Are you okay? Sorry this is taking longer than I anticipated."

"I'm fine. I love your mom, you know that, and please don't apologize for doing your job."

Edward pressed his lips gently to mine.

"So my mom wants us to stay for dinner?"

"Mmm," I hummed against the skin of his neck.

"I'm okay with that if you're okay with it."

"It's fine. I can make you dinner another night."

"It's a date," Edward grinned.

"It takes so little to make you happy."

"I'm pretty easy to please, beautiful."

I brushed my lips against his, and Edward's grasp on my hips tightened. We broke apart a little out of breath.

"I better let you get back to work."

"Yeah … you're very distracting when you're on my lap."

"Glad I could distract you even if only for a few minutes."

"You're a welcome distraction, beautiful."

Carlisle stepped back into the room and I jumped up from Edward's lap as he chuckled.

"Don't leave on my account, Bella."

"No, I should go help Esme with dinner."

I kissed the top of Edward's head and slipped out of the room.

The men still weren't finished by the time Esme called them for dinner. Edward's hair looked like he had run his fingers through it several times.

"That's it for tonight, guys. You can hit the books again tomorrow."

"We're nearly done, my love," Carlisle smiled, holding out Esme's chair for her.

"We may as well let them finish, Bella. They'll never rest otherwise."

Edward reached over to me under the table and squeezed my hand.

Dinner with his parents was enjoyable – great wine, great conversation and excellent company. I realized it had been a while since I'd been at the Cullen's for a casual dinner.

After dinner, Esme and I carried our wine to the living room while the men finished up. Before I knew it, my eyes were getting heavy and I must have dozed off when I felt the sofa dip next to me.

"Edward … she's exhausted. Take the poor girl home, sweetheart."

Edward's hand gently caressed the side of my face.

"Hey," I smiled.

"Ready to head home?"

I nodded with a yawn.

Edward helped me out of his truck and walked me to my back door. He waited patiently as I fumbled with my keys.

"Can I help?"

I sighed and handed him my keys.

He opened the door quickly and flicked on the light.

"Thanks for going with me, although I'm sorry it took so long."

"You're welcome," I yawned. "I had a good time."

"How are you so tired after your nap?" Edward chuckled.

"The wine," I giggled.

"Silly, beautiful girl."

I hummed and wrapped my arms around him. I didn't want to leave his warmth as I lay my head on his chest.

"Can you stay?"

"I wish I could, baby. Jasper and I are going to Aspen to hit the slopes tomorrow."

"Ahh … so that's why you had to finish tonight."

Edward nodded sheepishly.

"You better get going then."

"I'm sorry, beautiful. First dinner, and now I'm bailing out on you."

"It's okay, Edward. I'm glad you're spending the day with Jazz. Maybe I can get more of Em and Rose's pictures done."

"Okay. I'll let you get to bed, beautiful. Sweet dreams."

Edward pressed a kiss to my forehead before turning and walking out the door, closing it quietly behind him.

I hated to see him go, but I knew it was much too soon.

I rushed to see his taillights disappear down the drive. Realizing that I was acting like a love-sick girl, I trudged up the stairs and got ready for bed.

A/N: So a little bit of a transitional chapter - but these two are getting closer, which is GOOD! The bad news is that we are getting closer to the end. =( Only three more regular chapters left and then the two epilogues.

Thanks for reading and all the great reviews!

Busy week this week ... Happy Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers in the US! Don't go too crazy Black Friday shopping ;)

See you next week!