Still working hard to hit complete, thank you for sticking with me on these. Chater 42 will be the epilogue, so the end is coming. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: All characters and plot ideas are the property of their respective owners, no copyright infringement is intended. The original plot and characters are my own.
Chapter 36
I was excited for the charity ball, it would not only be a lovely night, but it would show Rosalie there was life after high school. I was pleased she had agreed to switch schools, and tonight she would be meeting Eleazar's youngest son, Emmett, who would be in her school next year.
Bella had booked a spa day for her and Rose, so I was going to pack up Jas and Alice and then bring them over to Esme's house. Alice was a little put out that she didn't get to wear a princess dress, but I reminded her she would be soon enough at the wedding. Once they were set up with a movie, I headed home to shower and shave so I could begin to get ready.
Bella got in the shower not long after I did, giving me a quick kiss before heading back out to the salon. I headed out with the kids after that, dropping them at Esme's and then returned home to change deciding to wait for them downstairs once I was ready.
When they came down, they both took my breath away. Rosalie was in a purple dress with some jeweled embellishment that fanned out in both directions from her waist, her hair braided and wound into a knot. Her makeup was age appropriate, and she seemed like she was excited for tonight.
Bella on the other hand was in a black lace dress with a nude underlay that hugged her curves. Her hair was only half up, allowing me the chance to play with it if I wanted. She was stunning, and I felt damn lucky I got to walk into the ballroom with both of them.
"Wow, Dad, you clean up good," Rosalie teased me.
"Well, I have to, considering the two beauties I'm escorting tonight."
"Charmer," Bella said with a laugh.
"Only for you," I whispered before kissing her.
"Ugh, can we at least leave the house before you make Bella reapply her lipstick," Rosalie groaned. Bella slipped her a tube of lipstick, making a comment about her needing it after dinner, and I motioned for us to head to the waiting car.
The ride to the Roosevelt Hotel was pleasant, and we arrived to find the party already in full swing. The Katherine Sands Foundation Charity Ball was a big deal every year, so that wasn't terribly surprising.
"Edward, I'm so glad you're here. There are plenty of people who want to speak with you," Eleazar said as we entered the ballroom, pulling me in for a hug.
"This is supposed to be a party, not work," I remarked, not wanting to spend half the night away from Bella and Rose.
"When the firm helps to sponsor the event, a little schmoozing must be done. They certainly didn't donate that much for the food." Eleazar laughed.
"May I introduce you to my fiancée, Bella, and my eldest daughter, Rosalie." I motioned to my girls, hoping it would keep him from monopolizing my time.
"Of course, Bella, it is wonderful to meet you, though I've seen you from afar when you visit the office. And Rosalie, I promise, my three sons are here somewhere. My youngest, Emmett, will be your classmate next year."
"I look forward to meeting him, Sir," Rosalie said.
We left Eleazar to greet his next group of guests and entered the cocktail hour. The only thing being carried around on trays were champagne flutes, so I headed for the bar to get a pair of non-alcoholic drinks for Rose and Bella.
I made it to the bar, but there was a crowd, so it took a little while to get the drinks and return, and by the time I had, Bella was alone. "Did Rosalie ditch us already?"
"After a little showdown with that troll from your office-" Bella said and I cut her off.
"What?" I whispered harshly.
"Don't worry. Eleazar's sons were close and after Rosalie fired off her retort and Heidi geared up to make a scene, one of the older ones pulled Heidi out of the room and Emmett took Rose to mingle with the younger crowd."
"Was she okay?" I asked, not wanting her to have another setback.
"I think she'll be fine. Heidi is vapid and shallow and the barb was aimed more at me than her."
"Edward, Bella," Eleazar said as he approached, "Larry just told me what happened and I want to assure you both that not only has Heidi been removed from the party but, after such a drunken display at tonight's event, she will no longer be an employee at my firm."
"Did she do something more than what she started here?" Bella inquired.
"Plenty, but I do not wish to get into it. Is Rosalie okay?" Eleazar asked, clearly concerned.
"I'm sure she will be, your son protected her and then brought her over to where his siblings were before the whole thing started," Bella reassured him.
"Good, I would hate for tonight to be anything but enjoyable for you all," Eleazar said before being called away.
"I hate that woman," I told Bella.
"You'll never have to see her again, so don't worry about it," Bella told me. Since Rosalie was occupied and looked happy, I took the chance to bring Bella around to meet some of my colleagues, since most of them were invited to the wedding.
When it was time for dinner, Bella and I were both looking for Rose, but when I decided to see if she had made it to the table on her own I led Bella there in time to see Emmett escorting my daughter to her seat.
"See, I've been to enough of these things to know how they set up the tables," I heard Emmett tell her before addressing us. "Mr. Cullen, it is nice to meet you. And Ms. Swan, it is a pleasure to meet you as well."
"You can call me Bella, Emmett, and thank you for stepping in earlier," Bella said.
"Well, after that woman hit on Patrick in front of his fiancée, and then eyed me and Larry, the only Sands man she hadn't hit on was my dad, and that's because Mama C would have killed her."
"Mi corazón, who am I killing now? You make me sound like Arya Stark with her list," a woman I recognized from pictures as Carmen Sands, asked her son.
"That crazy, soon to be former Clearwater employee that was causing trouble earlier. And you're exactly like Arya, because if someone messes with you or your people, you will end them."
"Hush," she gently chastised him, "please excuse Emmett, he just binged watched all of Game of Thrones since he's finally old enough according to Eleazar."
"No problem, Carmen, after he stepped in to literally shield my daughter from Heidi, he gets a little leeway with me," I told her.
"Edward, I'm so glad I can finally meet you. And this must be your Bella. Eleazar speaks of you so much, I feel like I already know you. And we got your 'Save the Date' bookmark; the entire family is excited to celebrate you both."
"Well, we're just thrilled you're all planning to attend. It'll give Rose another chance to see Emmett before school in the fall," Bella said.
"I'm sure they'll be good friends by the time homecoming rolls around."
We enjoyed a wonderful meal, especially by the standards of these types of events. I had seen Garrett earlier, but when he popped up as soon as the music started trying to get Bella to dance with him, I got territorial, all in good fun, that is.
"I'm just making sure she has a reliable dance partner so you can take a turn with your daughter," Garrett responded.
"Dance with Rose, I'll save the next one for you," Bella said, taking Garrett's hand as he led her onto the floor.
I escorted Rose to the dance floor, hoping to use the private moment to check on her. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when Heidi decided to show just how much of an insufferable bitch she can be."
"It's fine, Dad, I think it would have only been worse if you'd been there. The boys kept her from doing anything too bad, and once we got over to the rest of their group, it was easy to forget about her."
"Emmett seems like a nice young man," I broached the subject, just to see what her response would be.
"He is, he asked for my number, but I didn't give it to him yet," Rose admitted.
"I don't see a problem with it. You just make sure you set the pace of whatever comes next. Seeing how attentive he was, and how well I know his father, I don't think that will be a problem with him."
The song came to an end, and I offered to walk Rose to the table, but she told me to go find Bella. I cut in whispering, "The nice thing about this, is it is perfect practice for our wedding."
I held her close through several songs, thinking about going to dance with Rosalie again until I saw her dancing with Emmett. She seemed so happy, I'd give her this time with a young man that could show her how she should be treated.
When it was time to go, the three of us thanked the Sands, a round of hugs being shared before I left the girls to use the restroom while I called for the car.
Once Rosalie was safely in bed that night, I took my time making love to Bella. Loving her like that was always special, but after all the references to our wedding tonight and seeing her dressed to the nines, I couldn't get enough of her.
Monday morning was not something I was looking forward to, anticipating a final scene with Heidi, but Eleazar had made sure she couldn't do anything. Well before she would have arrived, he had someone pack up her office and revoked her building access, leaving her belongings with the security desk in the lobby to stop her before she could ever attempt to make it to our floor.
With that headache over, life continued to move on. Bella was deep in wedding planning, and on top of that, she was finally beginning to show, telling me she'd begun to feel the baby move. I knew it was a matter of time before I'd be able to feel it, so I just told her to enjoy the moment and had my own private time with our child as I whispered to him or her every night.
Two Thursdays after the charity event, Garrett and I were on our way to a late lunch meeting across town when I saw Rosalie come running into the lobby as we were exiting the elevators.
Jogging to her, I caught her by the forearms, "Rosie, what's wrong?"
"James saw Bella, Alice, and I in the park and flipped out, thinking that Alice is his," Rose explained.
"Where are they now?"
"Still at Bryant Park, Bella told me to go home, but I don't want her dealing with that jerk alone," Rosalie pleaded.
Garrett clasped my shoulder before telling me he had the meeting and that was all the encouragement I needed. I let Rosalie lead me to where she'd left them, and sure enough the bastard was still going on. Thankfully, there were two officers there as well. One of them was talking to Bella, but I cut him off as soon as I got close enough.
"What is going on here?"
"Sir, if you could just stand aside," the officer said as I shook my head.
"No, I will not step aside. When this piece of trash is standing here cursing at my fiancée and children, accusing her of keeping my daughter from him, I'm going to get in the middle of this."
"Sir, do you have any proof of this?" the officer asked.
"Besides her birth certificate, which I have at home, here's a picture of my family in the hospital nearly four years ago." I opened Facebook on my phone and showed a picture of the five of us in the hospital the day Alice was born, as well as several others over the years.
Seeing that I was obviously telling the truth the officer shook his head and turned to James. "Sir, it seems you are mistaken, so we suggest you move along and leave these people alone."
Realizing he wasn't doing himself any favors, James stalked off, but I turned my attention to my fiancée. "Bella, are you okay?"
"Can you take me home?" she asked, visably shaken.
"Absolutely," I told her.
I walked them home and then got Rosalie to her appointment and waited until it was over. I knew the chance of James finding us was slim, but I couldn't bear to leave Rose alone, seeing how she reacted to James.
She came out, seeming a little lighter, and I was hoping to find out how her session had gone.
Once we were in the car, I decided to try and ask her, what surprised me more, was her answer.
"James was Bella's worst ex. She told me the story and it kind of blows me away that she was ever in that situation. But seeing her today with him … she was strong and stood up to him. It makes me think that if James went from a sought after model to the man with nothing, yelling at his ex over a child he wouldn't even really want. I don't know, maybe Royce and I will end up the same way. It gave me a little hope."
Taking her hand, I said, "I think you will go great places, and Royce will rely on connections he hasn't earned. I hope it isn't a confrontation, but time will not be kind to him."
Parking at the house, we both walked in to see Lottie and Bella sitting close as they looked over a sketch book. Bella was smiling and nodding, so I knew whatever Lottie was showing her had eased her mind.