A/N: I'm back. Sorry for the lack of delays, but life happens right? Plus, while I was spending time with the family, I got another idea for a story, so I've already started a new one. I'll probably post a few chapters in the next few days, but I hate to work on two stories at once, so the updates on the new story may be few and far between until I've finished this one. Anywhoo, I hope everyone had an awesome Easter and enjoys the new chapters. Reviews are better than everything!

Edward POV

"Edward, are you ready?" asked the smooth voice of some random redhead perched behind the reception desk in my publisher's corporate office in New York City. I was on day eight of my twelve day visit, and I couldn't wait to get home. It had been a whirlwind of meetings, interviews and photo shoots, none of which were able to hold my attention or draw me from my thoughts of Bella. I turned back to the redhead and nodded my head casually as she led me down a hallway towards yet another awkward meeting. Today's topic was the cities to visit for my upcoming book tour and all the things that would be involved. When Olivia mentioned this trip to me originally, I jumped at the chance to get away from Chicago and everything that reminded me of Bella. I thought getting away for a few days would help, but it just made me miss her more. After my first day in New York, I settled into my hotel room and immediately thought of Bella. This must have been what is was like when Bella visited a few months ago, I told myself as I was shuffled from meetings and appointments, never once enjoying the city.

"Edward, are you okay with this?" asked Olivia as I shook my head in confusion. I hadn't been listening and she knew it. I looked back at her with a slight glare and she repeated her question.

"They want to start right after Labor Day and it will last for about three weeks. You'll get to L.A., San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas and then back here to New York for a few more days, before finally ending in Chicago."

"Yeah, that sounds great. I get a few more months to let all this stuff sink in," I said casually. I had been nervous throughout each day in New York. I wasn't overly keen on answering questions about my book and my inspiration, especially since we weren't together technically. The photo shoots were more awkward though because I wished Bella was behind the camera and I didn't feel comfortable having my picture taken, even if it was for the back of my soon to be published novel. When our meeting finally ended, Olivia took me out to dinner with Lyndsey, the PR Rep who would be helping me while I was out on the book tour. It was the first time I was having dinner outside of my hotel since I had arrived in New York, and I immediately regretted it even though it was a good business decision.

We ended up going to some extremely fancy restaurant and were seated immediately because Lyndsey apparently knew someone who knew someone who called ahead and got us a reservation, even though they usually have to wait days to get a decent seat here. Dinner conversation was casual, but always about the publishing industry. I was easily bored and tried to crack a couple of jokes, but Olivia was her usual 'business as always' persona. I missed my easy conversations with Bella about stupid reality TV shows or movies that she hated because they featured Hugh Jackman.

"Sorry about her," said Lyndsey when Olivia left the table for a moment to answer a private call. I just shrugged my shoulders and brushed it off. I was used to Olivia's personality, or lack thereof. "She's a little too much sometimes, don't you think?"

"Sometimes? I don't think she has ever smiled in the six months I've known her," I remarked casually.

"Well, not everyone in the company is so focused. She's a great rep, but she has no personality to speak of," joked Lyndsey as I offered a slight smile. Olivia would be back soon and so would the uncomfortable conversation. "So, I wanted to know if you wanted to go to dinner tomorrow? No business talk whatsoever," she asked genuinely and I was extremely surprised. My first instinct was that Lyndsey hadn't read my book, otherwise she would know I was emotionally unavailable.

"That's a nice offer, but I'll have to decline. I've got someone special waiting for me back in Chicago."

"I thought Olivia told me that you guys had broken up," asked Lyndsey slightly confused.

"There was a slight miscommunication, but I don't consider us broken up. She was the inspiration for the book, as well as the person I dedicated it to." I wasn't going to lie to her; she really had no chance in hell of convincing me to even go out to dinner with her, that wasn't work related. Lyndsey was a fairly attractive woman with shoulder length blonde hair, but she looked like she was more high maintenance than Rosalie, and I didn't think that was even a possibility until I visited New York. "Things are just confusing for us right now."

"So, how did everything get so confusing?" she questioned sweetly. I really didn't feel like opening myself up to this stranger, so I gave her the abridged version.

"Let's just say that she saw something and drew the wrong conclusion. She won't talk to me to let me explain the truth, so we're currently at a stalemate. When I get home, we're in a wedding together, so I'm sure I'll be able to corner her and get her to see my side of things," I said, sounding remarkably hopeful for someone who hadn't talked to his girlfriend in over two weeks.

"What happens if she turns you down?"

"Then, I spend more time trying to find ways to win her and her trust back. She means too much for me to do nothing about it and just give up," I said confidently. If there was one thing in this world that was certain of, it was that Bella and I were meant to be together.

"Good luck Edward. This girl would have to be clinically insane to break up with you," laughed Lyndsey as Olivia came back to the table and we finished our dinner peacefully. Shortly after we left the restaurant, I decided to walk the few blocks back to my hotel and I checked my cell phone. There was a text message from Alice.

E, Bella pulled her head out of her ass, you should call her – A

I stopped dead in my tracks and wondered what the hell that really meant. I dialed Alice's number as fast as I could, eager to find out what the hell she was talking about.

"That was quick," laughed Alice as she answered the phone. "How's New York treating my twin brother?"

"New York is boring, and I got hit on by my PR Rep about 40 minutes ago. I'm counting down the seconds until my flight home, but enough of that crap. What the hell was with your text message?" I asked excitedly. The text from Alice was the most news I had heard about Bella in days, so I was desperate for an reply.

"She came and talked to me at work today and wanted to know when you got home."

"What did you tell her?" I shrieked impatiently as I quickened my pace and started to practically run back to the comfort of my over-sized hotel suite.

"I said you would be home on Friday, just in time for Emmett's bachelor party." Which was true. My flight got in to O'Hare around four in the afternoon and I had to be at Emmett's place at seven for his bachelor party, which he kept insisting to me would be awesome. I had my doubts because he had explained that a bunch of his college buddies were coming and they were doing some sort of pub crawl.

"And then what happened?"

"She told me that she had a lot of time to think about things, including her failed relationship with Seth, which she discussed with him at length, and that she wanted to sit down and talk with you. She kept insisting that she didn't want to do it over the phone though, because I tried to get her to call you and she refused. She's a stubborn little thing ain't she?" laughed Alice again as she continued to try to explain some of their conversation.

"She met with Seth?" I asked, sounding a little bit too shocked for my own good. Things hadn't ended well between her and Seth, and I was suddenly scared for her well being when Alice told me.

"Don't worry. He's been in rehab since the day after you found him in Bella's hallway. Apparently he's doing well, but Bella insisted to me that she wasn't interested in rekindling her romance with him, so that's a good sign right?" That was a very good sign in my opinion.

"Should I really call her? She sounds like she would rather talk face and face, and even though I am desperate to hear her voice, I don't want to move too quickly for her," I admitted reluctantly. I wasn't ready to talk to her if I thought it would make anything worse between us, and Alice understood my unwillingness.

"Okay, then text her. At least let her know that you are thinking about her," suggested Alice shortly before we finished our conversation. She was right; I should just send her a quick text. It was impersonal, but she would know that I still cared and wanted to talk to her when I got home too. I spent almost an hour scribbling notes on a pad in my hotel room before I came up with something simple. I was completely overanalyzing the message before I sent it.

Bella – I miss you. Edward.

Almost immediately I got a response back from her, and my heart began to soar.

I miss you too.

Yet another good sign for Edward, I told myself. Since the line of communication was open between us, I decided to text her back and keep it that way.

How have you been?

I went to the mini bar and poured myself a stiff shot of whiskey, while I waited for her to text me back. Maybe she turned her phone off and wasn't really ready to talk to me at length, even if it was via text message.

I've been better, but I can't wait to talk to you. Can we make plans to meet when you get back?

I was starting to hate texting because I just wanted to hear her voice.

Can I call you, I promise no relationship talk?

I waited a few moments, practically begging god to let the words yes pop up across my screen, but instead my phone rang, and it was Bella. I felt just as happy as I did the first time she actually agreed to a date with me.

"Hi," I answered nervously. It felt like it had been years since I had heard her voice, and listening to her speak made the trip to New York almost seem worthwhile. Almost.

"Hey. So, when are you free when you get back to town?" she inquired bluntly.

"You should ask Rosalie," I laughed as I suddenly remembered everything wedding related that I had to do the moment I got home. "I get in on Friday afternoon, but then I head to Emmett's for the bachelor party. You probably have the bachelorette to go to right?"

"Shit. Yeah,I do. I think the party starts at like eight or something. Rosalie wants to do Karaoke, so we're going back to that bar we went to a few months ago," she laughed happily. Oh how I adored that laugh. Bella probably didn't realize it, but she gave me a little too much information regarding the bachelorette party. Rosalie had specifically said we weren't supposed to share the details. Thanks Bella!

"Well, unless we can meet at like four in the morning, after the parties, we probably won't see each other until the wedding," I said sorrowfully. I needed to see her before the wedding. I wouldn't be able to stand up for Emmett, with her directly across from me, without saying something to her first. I would be a complete basket case.

"Damn, well I guess we can talk after the ceremony. We have to go get a bunch of photos done, but I'm sure we can manage a few minutes to talk," she suggested. I, of course, was formulating another plan of attack. One which involved convincing the guys to go and bust up the bachelorette party so that I could steal Bella away for a little while and talk to her privately.

"Okay. I can wait until then I suppose," I lied. Since I had Bella on the phone, I didn't want her to go anywhere, so I started talking about how crappy New York had been for me, and she recounted her own horror stories of the two months she had spent here. I decided to test the waters a little bit and let her know that Lyndsey had asked me out.

"What did you say?" she asked sounding curious, yet slightly jealous.

"I told her that I was taken, and that even though we were going through a rough patch, but I had faith it would work out."

"Was she pretty?" she asked after a short silence.

"No where near as pretty as you," I said with a big smile on my face. "Did you get the boxes?"

"Yeah, I think Alice and Rosalie hate Edith Piaf now. They were over last night to discuss some last minute wedding details and I played the album the entire time. Thank you by the way. It was an awesome gift."

"Did you read the book?" I inquired curiously. She hadn't mentioned it or the inscription yet, but the not knowing was killing me.

"I started to, but then Rosalie had a floral emergency and I really haven't had much of a chance yet actually. Between work and the wedding, I've been up to my eyeballs in stuff and when I get home, I usually just pass out. I read the dedication though but I think we should discuss it when we talk in person. No relationship talk, remember?" laughed Bella as I took another sip of my whiskey. It wasn't the answer I was looking for, but she didn't tell me to go to hell, so I was going to think of it as a small victory.

It was almost midnight when we finished our conversation. It was only eleven at night for her, but I had a seven o'clock breakfast meeting and another excruciating photo shoot, so we agreed to say goodnight. "I'll see you in a few days, right?" I asked again, making sure I wasn't dreaming.

"Yeah, I'll see you at the altar. I'll be the one beside the one wearing white," she joked and we finally hung up. I lay in my bed for a while just staring at the ceiling with a big smile on my face. I had my plan to manage a conversation with her on Friday night, now I just needed to find a way to implement it. I wasn't sure if Emmett or any of his old college and football buddies would be okay with skipping the pub crawl we had planned to go do Karaoke, but I had to at least try. When I finally fell asleep, I dreamt happy and romantic dreams of Bella and I. She accepted my apology for not doing anything wrong, and she apologized for not coming into the bakery, and for causing all the trouble that we had. She told me she didn't want to be with anyone else ever again, and I confessed my undying love to her and whisked her off to Paris and married her under the Eiffel Tower. When I was awoken only four hours later to the annoying buzzing of the alarm clock, I was pissed that my dream had to end. At least I would be back in Chicago soon, I reminded myself as I dragged myself out to bed to head to yet another boring and tedious meeting.