Chapter 39

Bella

"Rose, there`s still time if you want to change your mind," I say quietly while following my cousin around her apartment. She`s putting the finishing touches to her evening attire before the date with Emmett.

"Bella, you've been repeating these words all evening. If you don`t shush now, I will take Emmett someplace else where you won`t see us, understood?"

"You`re a woman on a mission. I can`t say I`m completely OK with what`s happening tonight, but I appreciate your help and I kind of understand your reasons for wanting to do it. You look stunning, by the way. I hope that if Emmett turns out great and this charade is over, he will still want to get to know me, as opposed to running off with you," I manage a chuckle.

"Sweetheart, stop moping around, find your smile, put it on your face, get your coat and drive over to the restaurant in twenty minutes. Oh, and remember, Emmett is fully convinced that he`s meeting you tonight, it`s you he cares about, not me. I`ve got to go," she squeezes me briefly and runs out the door.

I catch a glimpse of her as she walks to a cab and to be driven off.

I take some herbal drops to calm my nerves, then I walk around Rose`s living room in circles, and finally twenty minutes later I also get in the car.

The conflicting emotions are tormenting me, guilt and excitement aren`t a good combination. The drive to the venue is the longest and most nerve wrecking drive I`ve done in my entire life so far.

Finally I park in a narrow street across "Twilight" and immediately I see Rose already seated by the window, opposite… wow, a very handsome guy!

My heart thumps. So the secrecy is over, this is Emmett. My champagne and caviar man. He seems tall and muscly, a bit like Jake. I see short, dark hair. Are they laughing?

I watch the two people smile and talk animatedly, and the only thing that prevents me from entering the restaurant myself and ending this mad show immediately is the thought of Rose`s kindness to me and the effort that she has put into this.

My anxiety increases and my thoughts race. What is he like? Does he have a soothing voice like I imagined? Is his hair soft? Is his sense of humor in real life as quirky as it is in writing? What does he think of Rose? Can he sense that he`s being lied to?

After the appetizers I see my cousin leaving the table and walking to the back of the room. A minute later my phone buzzes and a text message pops up.

"All I can say is WOW! He has bright blue eyes and the most adorable dimples in his cheeks when he smiles : -) What a man!"

Blue eyes and dimples…

OK, so now she`s going to tell him that she isn`t me, isn`t she?