Chapter 52 – Elise

BPOV

Esme excused herself a few minutes before Charlie came home from his shift and I hugged her tightly before she went. I'd had such a nice time with her during the afternoon, we'd talked for hours and I'd learned a great deal about her family and Edward too. They were so loving, so generous with each other. It was a good feeling, knowing they wanted me to join them.

I was putting steak in to grill when Charlie came in. He asked if I'd gotten all my homework assignments done today and I'd admitted that I'd been a bit distracted but would get them done tonight. He chuckled, saying his deputy had seen us in the Aston, driving back from the meadow, out on the highway at lunchtime.

"Um, yeah. Edward wasn't feeling so good this morning, Esme let him stay home. But he came good around eleven so we went for a drive in the sun. You know? A bit of sun is good for the flu, right?" I tried so hard to keep a straight face but when Charlie started roaring with laughter I let it go and joined in.

"Yeah, I've heard some sun is good for the flu too Bell's. Lucky he's got you to look after him." He was laughing so hard he landed in his chair awkwardly and nearly slid off it.

"Ok, so we're busted. Sorry. I was bored, he offered to entertain me. Sue me." I pouted, laughing still.

"Is that what you're calling it these days? Entertainment? So, I wanted to ask you something, but I don't want it to be a big thing, ok?" He changed from playful to serious in the blink of an eye and I stilled at the counter, not knowing where this was going now.

"Sure. Not a big thing got it." I put the bag of vegetables into the microwave and pressed cook.

Charlie blew a deep breath out of his lips before he spoke, "So I've noticed the ring on your finger and now the locket round your neck. Anything you want to tell your old man?" He stumbled over the last couple of words he got them out so fast.

"Nothing to tell Dad, honest. They were gifts, from Edward obviously." I was blushing badly now, it was creeping up my face, ready to consume me whole.

"Obviously. I just wondered if they held any particular significance. Like what we talked about yesterday, you know? Boys don't often give girls rings for nothing, especially ones they wear on their left hand."

I thought about staying at the sink, keeping my back to him. But I thought that might make Charlie think I was hiding something or he would see it as something trivial. While I had the chance to explain myself to him I thought I should take it. So I poured the boiling water into our mugs and set his in front of him and I took mine and sat in the chair opposite.

"Dad, I love him. I know you know that already. But you should know that he loves me too. I told you he is very old fashioned, it meant a lot to him for me to wear this ring, it was his mothers – his birth mothers that is – it was her eternity band." I looked up after I'd finished speaking to see Charlie's reaction to all I'd said so far.

He seemed fairly calm, no red face, no reaching for his gun belt.

"What exactly does the ring mean though? Should I be booking a church or something? Pre natal care perhaps?" He winced as he said it and it made me sad to know he meant it.

"Neither. He wanted me to have the ring as a kind of declaration. Sort of like a pledge ring from the sixties I suppose." I hoped Charlie would see that for what it was.

"That's pretty impressive actually. I like it. He's a pretty serious boy isn't he? You're being careful though, right?" He grimaced and I knew what he meant.

"Yeah dad, we're careful." I laughed a little at that. If only he knew!

"Good. No dad wants to have this talk you know? But your mom insisted I ask. Blame her for that one. Right, now, the locket is the same I suppose? Just a gift?" He asked.

"Yep. It was his mother's too. It's got our initials engraved inside it. He gave it to me because with my cast on the ring couldn't be seen." I held the locket out for Charlie to see the engraving marks inside it, he whistled and smiled.

"It's nice. It suits you." I said thank you and went back to making our dinner. I figured if he had anything else to say or he wanted to ask me any more he would. I heard him swallow loudly and then say, "It's almost like you've been branded a Cullen now Bell's." I scrunched up my face when he said it. I didn't feel branded. I felt wanted. I decided to let it go, I couldn't explain it any further than I already had. I relaxed when he shook out the newspaper and sat quietly reading it while I finished off the steaks and got the vegetables out of the microwave. We ate in relative silence. We'd spoken more to each other in the last few days than we had my whole life. It felt good, to be on the same page. While I couldn't exactly be honest with him about some things, it felt good to tell him others.

I thought about the conversation I'd had with Esme earlier, she was very like Charlie in some respects. She parented like Charlie too. She just wanted her 'kids' to be happy. Sometimes she may not necessarily agree with their choices, but if the outcome was that they would be happy she would support them. I felt a certain amount of that from Charlie just now, a resignation of sorts. I'm sure he'd prefer me to not be with anyone, but if Edward was what made me happy he could be happy for me.

I left the dishes for Charlie to do, again. He said he didn't mind, my cast made it impossible anyway. I excused myself and went up to finish what was left of my homework. I knew we were going to buy a car tomorrow, the weather was supposed to be horrendous, only Edward could be excited about bad weather! I also had an appointment to have my hand re x-rayed and checked over by Carlisle at the hospital, so I knew I wouldn't have much time to finish the assignments tomorrow, they'd have to be done now.

I also had something I wanted to research on the internet before Edward arrived.

EPOV

Jasper and I flew off into the forest to hunt after the meeting. I had glutted myself on a small family of caribou while Jasper had gone a little further away to find a bobcat or two.

Normally I would have followed him, preferring the larger carnivores that stuck to the higher ground and the mountains further to the north and east, but I wanted to be close to home in case something happened. I wasn't interested in the hunt per se, I merely wanted to drink. I wasn't fussy from what.

If Bella's reception last night was any indication of what I might be greeted with tonight I wanted not to be thirsty tonight.

I shuddered at the memory of her under me. The way she'd writhed. I could recall with perfect clarity every sound she'd made while I pleasured her. I should have been ashamed of myself. I hadn't asked permission to touch her the way I had and she'd not given it, I'd simply done it. There had been no recriminations and I was fairly sure she'd loved it, but still. I would have to remember to go back to asking her before I did things. It was a good way to distract myself from her blood too.

I was sitting at the base of a tree thinking about this when Jasper returned from his chase.

"Whoa, dude, intense." He laughed as he plopped down beside me.

"Yeah. It was, is." I laughed along.

"Good for you. Are you off over there now then?" He asked and I nodded.

"Well then, I'll just sit here and soak up some of what you've got going on." He nudged me in the ribs and I groaned.

"That's sad Jaz, just sad." I nudged him back, knowing he was about to run home to my sister and use whatever he took from me.

"Never look a gift vampire in the teeth Ed." He roared with laughter at his own very bad joke.

"I haven't gotten around to it Carlisle. It's too soon." I was angry now. I didn't want to be pushed on this.

"It is very soon, I agree. But if we ignore it and do something she doesn't want, or god forbid do nothing at all, you won't thank me afterward." He was angry too, he was thinking about how stubborn and foolish I was being, which only enraged me further.

"I won't have her changed Carlisle, not by you, not by anyone." I spat.

"This is not your decision to make Edward. If she comes to me and says she would rather be changed than die I'll do it, with or without your consent." He stormed, teeth flashing and eyes wide with his fury.

Carlisle and I had not fought like this since I was a mere decade old. I'd wanted to forgo my thirst and be what I was supposed to be and of course he'd fought me the whole way, only letting me go off and make my own way when I threatened to never return if he didn't let me go at least for a while.

I didn't want to fight with him now, either, but saw no choice.

"Knowing how I feel about it you'd still do it?" I roared into his shocked face. I was inches away from him now, we were both crouched defensively and ready to spring.

"Yes of course Edward. She is my daughter as much as you are my son. You bought her to us, you couldn't expect me to just let her die." He snarled, equally as coiled to spring as I was.

"What loyalty do you owe me Carlisle? I've stood by your side for near on a hundred years and yet you'd betray me so easily? What treachery is this?" I was so angry now venom was dripping from my teeth and spraying out the corners of my mouth and onto my shirt and his.

I swung around as Alice and Emmett entered the room. "Stay out of it!" I bellowed, making the door shudder and the glass in the window tremble.

"Carlisle?" Emmett asked.

"Go, leave us." He waved his hand at them both and they looked from me to him and back again before nodding and leaving the room, closing the door behind them.

"This is not treachery Edward, despite what you think you know. This is my loyalty to you, this is what I'm willing to do for you, son. For you." His voice was quieter but his body language had not changed. He remained in his crouch, his hands fisted at his sides, his eyes darting across the room assessing his options if I lunged at him.

"For me?" I shrieked in pain. "For me? You'd kill her and then say it was for me? You're a surgeon for fucks sake, you are charged to save lives and yet you'd kill the only woman I've ever loved? Just like that? You'd snuff out the life in her eyes without a thought for what it would do to me?" I was stalking towards him now, closing the small gap between us steadily. He never took his eyes off mine as I walked towards him. He backed up and put his hands out in supplication as I came closer. He closed his lips over his teeth and lowered his arms to his side. He straightened out of his crouch and nodded.

"Yes. I would." He whispered. I was about to lunge when he continued, "I'd do it despite that, because I know what it would do to you if I didn't."

My anger abated so swiftly as the words left his lips that I fell to the floor exhausted. He was by my side in a hundredth of a second. He wound his arms around me and held me while I sobbed the dry tears of the dammed.

"I don't want this for her Carlisle." I cried against my fathers' chest.

"Nobody does. It may never come to it. I hope to god it never does. But if she's not changed you'll lose her one day regardless." He said and I nodded.

"I'm so sorry." Was all I could say to him.

"I know." He whispered.

BPOV

It was so frustrating!

I was allowed to drive a car, have a pet, work and pay blood taxes. I could buy a house and have a baby, but according to every single website I went to I couldn't do this before I turned 18. Charlie would never sign a consent form so that was that.

I closed the page and shut the lid of my laptop. Damn!

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and I opened it angrily. What now?

~I see you. If you're serious I can help. ? A xx ~

I sucked in a breath. Wow! She was good, very good. Was I serious though? Did a tiny little piece of me sigh in relief as I read the pages that said I couldn't do it without parental permission?

I replied before I lost my nerve.

~Dead serious. If you can help I'm all ears. B xx~

I bit my lip while I waited for her reply. If she could pull this off I'd do it, I'd go through with it without hesitation. I wanted this. Esme had given me the idea, vaguely, this afternoon as we'd talked.

She had said how lovey it was that I was tied to Edward so closely already. That I wore his ring and his locket and how sweet it was that he so desperately wanted everyone around us to know that we belonged to each other. Charlie had said the same, almost, without the gushing parts of course.

I was so accident prone and so unlucky that I'd lose the locket and probably the ring – the finger too if my luck held true to form – and Edward would be so hurt. The more I thought about it the more I convinced myself that I could show Edward that I was his forever. Permanently.

"It's a brilliant idea Bella." I jumped off the edge of my bed, scared out of my tree, as Alice climbed in through my open window.

"Shit Alice, stop doing that!" I cried.

"Sorry." She didn't look it. "Like I said, it's a brilliant idea. I can make it happen if you're sure?" She eyed me skeptically.

"I'm sure. Charlie will never sign the consent form Alice, I'm under age."

"Pish, details. Give it to me?" She held out her hand and I pulled the lilac page out of my jeans pocket and put it in her hand. She tipped her head to the side and held the paper away from her face then bought it up close, then away again. "Where?" she asked.

I pointed and she nodded.

"Friday after school. I'll make the arrangements. I made a deal with Edward that I'd ask Charlie for you to stay over this weekend but only on the condition that you and I got Friday night to ourselves. This will fit perfectly into that. You sure you're sure?"

"Definitely. Thanks Alice." I smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, best sister in the whole world, I know, I've heard it all before." She clapped her tiny hands together and handed me the page back. "Right, I better go, Edward and Carlisle were having words when I left so I don't think he'll have heard our chat just now, but just in case he did I'll tell him you've decided what car to buy but it's a secret. Go with that if he questions you, ok?"

"What do you mean they were having words?" My stomach clenched tightly.

"The usual thing. Arguing. Nothing to worry about, they don't usually hurt each other, it just gets loud and then they say sorry and then they hunt together." She shrugged.

"But what about?"

"He'll tell you himself, I've seen that. So, I'm off. Must run. He's almost here. See you tomorrow. Enjoy the new car, take a sweater and leave the heater off." She laughed as she popped out of the window and fell to the ground below. I had no idea what she meant. Why would I leave the heater off? What heater?

Edward's smiling face came through the window five minutes later. I'd only had time to brush my teeth and slip into my sweats and holey bed shirt before he had arrived.

"My my, aren't we popular this evening?" He grinned.

"She just stopped by to discuss my choice of car, that's all." It wasn't a lie so I had no idea why I was blushing.

"Hmm. Why don't I believe that? Could it be your gorgeous blush?" He ran his cool finger across my by now bright red cheek. "Or could it be because she was reciting the Star Spangled Banner in Mandarin to keep me out of her head just now as she ran past me?" He was laughing quietly and I shrugged.

"I have no idea why she wanted you out of her head." I said.

"I'll get it out of her, bet on it." He said with an evil grin. I would bet against him this one time.

"Alice told me you were arguing with Carlisle when she left. Are you ok?" I asked trying to distract him.

"Nothing to worry about. Business." He said matter of factly.

"I'll get it out of you, bet on it." I said, mirroring his evil grin from earlier.

"Oh dear Miss Swan, that is a devilish grin you have there. If I didn't know better I'd say you were trying your hand at distraction this evening?" He took my hand in his and bought my wrist to his nose and inhaled deeply. 'Delicious' he murmured as usual.

"Is it working?" I winked.

"Definitely." He drew me to him and I let him kiss my worries away.

EPOV

Bella wrapped herself around me and I let her pull me onto the bed beside her. She was so warm and soft. Her lips tasted of her toothpaste and her skin smelled of soap. I needed to lose myself in her scent, the feel of her, I just needed to be near her.

I'd let her distract me deliberately. I couldn't put voice to the words I needed to say so I'd used her to distract myself. She'd let me kiss her and touch her and now I felt empty and guilty. I think she'd sensed my reluctance to go any further than kissing tonight. I couldn't bring myself to ask her to just hold me, so instead I'd held her and kissed her hair until she fell asleep in my arms.

I lay beside her and watched her sleep peacefully.

At midnight I whispered in her ear that I had to meet with my sisters outside and that I would return momentarily.

Rose and Alice had met me in the cover of the trees and told me the same thing Jasper had told me the night before. Nobody came out of the Rez and nobody went in. They had just left Carlisle and Esme at the invisible line and were now heading home to collect the boys, and then hunt. I thanked them both and noted, again, that Alice was reciting the atomic principals surrounding the super collider at CERN. She was definitely up to something and it included Bella.

Now I sat in the rocker running conversations from today through my mind trying to work out what they were up to. I couldn't find anything that lead to anything sinister, nothing at all of note really. Alice had spent the day at school and I had been with Bella almost the whole time up until I'd joined Alice at the school myself. So there had been no chance for them to get together and cook anything up then. Alice had been with us at the Rez all afternoon and in the house with us up until she left to come and see Bella earlier. So whatever they were messing with had come about at the last minute tonight.

I looked around the room for clues. Nothing was out of place really. Bella's laptop stood on the desk where it had since she had bought it home. Her cell phone was closed and on top of it. Her wallet and house keys lay beside her book bag on the floor next to the bed. Her novels were perched precariously in a pile beside her bed stand, the Hardy volume on the top.

The clothes hamper was full but nothing was out of place. The crystal vase that had held my flower arrangement had been cleaned and now stood on the dresser along with a photo of Bella and I from the dance. I recognized my own staircase at the house and knew that Esme had given this to Bella. It had been taken on Esme's camera before we left for the dance.

The wad of paperwork Mr Davis had given to Bella at the bank lay on the dresser as well as several lilac pages that I recognized as my notes. I wouldn't have left them lying around, especially the documents from the bank. I winced when I thought of what Charlie's reaction would be to the figures on those documents. I'd ask her to store them elsewhere in the morning.

Nothing in the room gave me any clue as to what she was up to. I would just have to wait. I did not like having to wait for anything.

BPOV

Not for one second had I believed that Edward and Carlisle had argued about business. I'd dropped it quickly though, it was obvious Edward was not in the mood for questions. I could guess what the problem had been. Carlisle had mentioned that he and Edward had come to blows before, usually over the topic of me changing should the need arise. I was ready to have the discussion, Edward was not.

I had no intention of leaving the words unspoken before Sunday, I couldn't risk that. If anything happened to me during the fight I wanted him to know that I wanted to be with him for all eternity. If something happened to him I wanted him to know that I'd follow soon after. A world where Edward did not exist was not a world I wanted to live in.

We'd go today to pick out a car, I'd get my cast changed and then we'd talk. I'd insist we go somewhere quiet and talk about it. If he denied me I'd tell him I needed to talk to Carlisle instead. He'd get my meaning, I was sure of it. Either he discussed it with me or I went with my own instincts and told Carlisle my decision without first discussing it with Edward. It was his choice. I'd not let him distract me this time.

"I don't know Edward, it's a bit flashy don't you think?" I said, tilting my head to look at it side on.

"That's the whole point Isabella." He pouted.

"Nope, its not for me." I tugged his hand and we moved down the row of cars until we stood before a bright yellow thing. "What's this one called?" I asked.

"This is the new Ferrari Enzo. It's a limited edition. Very nice. Safe too. Low to the ground so it would shift pretty well. I test drove this one last summer. Very nice." His eyes glazed over as he spoke.

"Nah. It's a boys car." I felt him stiffen beside me but I tugged his hand again and we moved further down the line. "This one?" I pointed to the bright yellow monstrosity.

"No, that's the Lamborghini Gallardo. There is no way on this earth that you'll ever drive one of those. Nine were sold in the first month of release, eight of those have caught fire with their drivers still in them. Move along." He said through his clenched jaw.

We walked the few paces between the rows and came to stand in front of a dark blue car with a huge white stripe painted down the centre of its hood. It looked like a kids toy, the kind that little boys were bought in the supermarket if they had behaved while their mothers shopped. I giggled as I asked what it was called.

"Ford GT40. You'd have to wait a year to get one of these. Waiting list a mile long, limited edition, only comes in this blue or red." He said matter of factly.

"It's not for me. It looks like a Hot Wheels car." I laughed.

"I guess it does." He laughed too.

I heard him sigh audibly when we came to a black Mustang. Even I knew what this car was. This was Eleanor. Nicholas Cage coveted this car in the movie Gone in 60 Seconds. It seemed Edward had been doing a bit of coveting himself. "She's lovely, but not for me Edward." I giggled.

"Hmm mm." Was all he muttered as I dragged him away and on to the next one.

This one had real potential. I'd seen this one before, on the telly of course. A black Lotus Elise with all the trimmings. Very nice. It was a sleek, snub-nosed little thing with a huge cut out panel in the door. The hood soared outwards over the wheels. It was gorgeous. If asked I'd say it was curvaceous, like Rosalie. It was only a little two seater but it was glorious. I walked around it, from front to back, running my hand along the streamlined curves. At the back there was a scoop that sat up above the trunk, making it look like the backside on a well-rounded woman. I giggled a little when I thought about that. It was a glossy black with chrome rims and low profile tyres. You could see the bright red brake discs through the cut outs in the rims. There was nothing about this car that I didn't like.

That was until I opened the door to take a look inside and the price tag flapped in front of my face from where it was wedged into the doorframe.

"Holy shit Edward. This car costs more than my fathers house!" the words came out of my mouth far too loudly and I blushed when I saw that there was now a badly dressed salesman standing in front of the car with him.

Edward grimaced at me and turned back to the salesman. I closed the door and patted the hood as I walked back to join Edward in front of the car. Edward reached down and held my hand as he listened to the salesman.

I was looking around the lot at the other cars there. They were all very shiny, despite the cloud cover and the light sprinkling of rain that had started falling.

We weren't the only people in the lot, there was a couple standing in front of Eleanor. He had the same glazed look on his face as Edward had before and I couldn't suppress my giggle. Edward squeezed my hand and I turned my attention back to him and the dealer.

Edward pulled me round in front of him slightly and introduced me to the man, Andrew. I shook his hand and got ready for his sales pitch. I hated all this. I wanted my rotten old truck back.

"Would you like to wait here, I'll collect the keys and you can take her for a test drive." He nodded at Edward and went off to the office.

"What are we test driving Edward?" I asked.

"The Lotus of course." He turned back towards the black one I had just left and he nodded towards it.

"Oh please, be serious Edward. That car costs more than my whole college tuition, even if I went to Princeton the car would still cost more!" I scoffed.

He scowled at me and produced a small piece of paper from his jeans pocket. He handed it to me and motioned for me to read it. It said, "I love you and I want this for you. What's mine is yours now. You agreed to this, you never mentioned anything about the cost or the type of car. This was our deal. Don't make me beg, please. I will though, loudly." I looked up into his smiling eyes and realized he was serious. If I put up a fight he would beg me, probably in front of everyone in the lot, to please let him do this for me. I'd been played, again.

I folded the piece of paper in half again and held it against his stone chest, I leaned in and he bent his head so that I could whisper into his ear.

"I'd love you more if you fought fair." I waited until he took the paper from me before I backed away and chanced a look into his eyes.

He smirked at me and said, "You love me despite my not playing fair. Admit it." He cocked his head to one side and threw me my favourite lopsided grin.

"Harrumph." I muttered as Andrew came out of the office dangling a set of keys in my direction.

I took the keys and listened as he instructed me how to drive it. It had the same little flappy paddles behind the steering wheel that the Aston did so I was not nervous about those. The pedals were tiny in this though, very close together. I'd have to be careful with those.

We headed out of the lot gingerly. I was careful to only tap lightly on the gas as we hit the highway.

EPOV

She was a vision as she drove out of the lot. Her cheeks were flushed and no matter how loudly she'd protested I knew this was the car for her.

I'd seen the way she'd run her hands over it, the glimmer in her eye as she studied its curves. She'd loved it the minute she'd laid eyes on it.

It was tiny though, low to the ground and I had to fold myself practically in half to get into it. It was comfortable once I'd gotten in though. The leather was quality and the instrument panel was both elegant and well set out. This was a pretty safe car all round. I'd have it speed limited for now though. No need to tempt fate.

She hadn't even asked what this car was called, I doubted it mattered to her right now. She was being cautious but I could see the needle climbing up to 100mph and knew she didn't realize it herself yet. This type of car did this to you, made you want to unleash its power on the open road.

"What do you think love?" I asked her as she sped down the centre lane.

"It feels fantastic. So smooth. I can't even feel the bumps in the road." She was beaming.

"You might want to take it back down to double digits for a bit love. If you take the next exit it curves around and you can come back on in the other direction." I pointed to the sign at the side of the bend.

I saw her look down at the speedometer and she gasped. 112mph without thinking about it. Fabulous feeling, I knew it well.

"Oops. Daughter of the Chief of Police gets arrested for doubling the speed limit in a test drive, I can see the headline now." She giggled as she took the exit at a more reasonable pace.

"Indeed. So you like it then? Is this the car for you?" I asked, knowing what the answer was going to be before she said anything.

"Oh yes please. I love it. I want this one." she laughed as we headed back up the on ramp and back into the central lane of the highway. I watched her expertly press the paddles to change the gears and she steadily climbed back over the 100mph mark within seconds, a huge grin on her face as she watched the needle move.

"Rosalie will be your champion if you bought this car." I chuckled at the thought of Rose and Bella talking cars. Unlikely allies those two.

"I like it a lot. How long for delivery?" She asked, chewing her lip.

"Ask him when we get back." I was looking forward to the next part. I didn't want to buy this car for her, I wanted her to buy it for herself. She didn't know that of course, but she soon would.

"Ok. Are you sure about this car Edward? It's so expensive. I can just as easily replace the truck with another truck." She looked at me with sad eyes. I knew she wanted this car, she was just embarrassed about the cost.

"Do I need to show you the note again Isabella?" I threatened.

She shook her head and parked the car back into its spot in the row. She drew in a long, slow breath as she saw Andrew coming up the row towards us. She took the keys out of the ignition, squared her shoulders and got out of the car. I followed at a respectful distance. I had already told Andrew that Bella was shopping for a car, not me, and that if he wanted a sale he'd deal directly with her.

He met her at the front of the car and she tipped the keys back into his palm.

"What did you think of her?" He asked.

"Fantastic. What sort of wait time am I looking at if I want one?" She asked gingerly.

"That depends on what you want done to it. As she is you could take her today." He could smell a sale now and he licked his lips.

"I want everything you've got. All the safety features it can handle. I want the soft-top version, not the rigid chassis like this one. I want power steering fitted, the manual steering is too rigid for me, I've got little hands see? I want silver wheels, the chrome looks dirty. You'll have to have the fuel tank cap sprayed to match, its gaudy as it is. Should you be taking this down Andrew?" She waited for him to pull out a notepad and a pen, he scribbled furiously as she went on, "It will need to be treated too, it will be going into the forest now and then, don't want dents in her. I'll take the ceramic brakes as well, I know they cost about fifteen grand but he's paying." She nodded to where I was standing with my mouth gaping open. She smiled sweetly at me and then she held out her hand to Andrew. "Do we have a deal? Can you make all that happen in 10 days Andrew or do I need to go to the dealer in Seattle?" She said it so sweetly I thought he was going to hug her.

He shook her hand, "You have a deal. Colour?" He asked, obviously as shocked as I was.

"Black of course." She said as she walked to me and put her hand in mine. "Black is seriously hot."