AN: Thanks for all your kind reviews and to Eternally Edward's Girl and Chocaholic123 for their help untangling my words.

SM owns Twilight.


~o~o~0~ Adagio ~0~o~o~


Chapter 50

"Bella!" Alice waved from her seat in the darkened bar, her voice lifting over the rising waves of instruments being tuned on the stage.

She wound her way over to her friend whose face flickered with a rosy glow from the candle in the center of the table. "Hey, how've you been?"

The two girls embraced before Bella pulled out a chair next to her, turning it so it was facing the stage.

"Guess what? Jasper's asked me out on a date!" Alice tried to whisper, but her excitement carried her words through the busy bar.

"Does Riley know?" Bella searched the space for him, but couldn't see him anywhere.

"No, not yet, but I think he'll be okay. He's friends with Jazz and..." Her nose scrunched up while she thought about the implications.

Bella squeezed her arm reassuringly. "He'll be fine. Don't worry, and if he's not, I'll have a word with him," she joked making Alice laugh. Riley was a force to be reckoned with, but if anyone could handle him, it was Bella.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Rose. Her long blonde curls, tumbling around her shoulders, were pinned back from her face with an Art Deco diamanté clip that glinted in the low lights. "So glad you could make it." She pressed her lips to Bella's cheek, smirking as she rubbed away the crimson kiss she'd left. "I'm going to sing your song last because it's my favorite then I'll find you after the show. " She winked as she sashayed to the stage, drawing every pair of eyes to her sway.

"Your song?" Alice leaned in to speak, the volume of the bar increasing as the seats filled when lights dipped.

Bella played with the drinks mat on the table, twisting it around in her hand."I wrote a song for her. She called me and said she wanted me to come and hear her sing it."

Alice grabbed onto her arm with a squeal, "Oh my god, that's amazing. You should have said!"

She shrugged suddenly feeling nerves pricking under her skin. "I didn't want to make a big deal about it. I didn't even know if she'd like it."

"It's sounds like she does!" Alice clapped her hands together, but her eyes fixed on something over Bella's shoulder. Her smile made Bella turn around, and she saw the striking figure of Edward making his way over to them.

He bent down and brushed a kiss on her lips. Remaining close as he spoke, his breath dancing on her skin. "Hello, beautiful."

Her eyes closed in response to his words as she breathed him in. He smelled like winter snow and spice, cold and warm at the same time. "What are you doing here?"

Sliding his lips across into her hair, he kissed the edge of her ear, sending a shiver of pleasure across her skin. "Rose invited me. She told me you'd be here, but I wanted to surprise you."

Alice cleared her throat impatiently, and Bella felt Edward's smile pressed against her skin before he stood up straight. "Hi. You must be Alice."

She jumped up catching the edge of her table and sloshing the drink across its black surface. "Oops. Hi, Edward. I've heard so much about you, and I love your music. I play the cello in the orchestra and one of my favorite pieces was written by you," she babbled in one breath, "it's such a pleasure to finally meet you!"

He looked a little shell-shocked at her outburst but smiled and pulled up a chair next to Bella. He chatted to Alice about her music until she went to find Jasper, giving them some time alone.

When the bar darkened, lights flaring as Rose walked onto the stage, Edward couldn't tear his eyes from Bella. She was rolling her lip between her teeth so he leaned over and pulled it out, leaving his thumb pressing gently against her bottom lip. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and he dropped his arm, finding the bare skin of her knee, he rested his hand there.

"Did Rose tell you why she invited you?" The lip was back in and this time he kissed it out until she laughed and moved back out of his reach.

"No. She said she was performing, and told me you were coming. It was an offer I couldn't refuse." The deep twang of the double bass filled the room, the vibrations climbing on top of Bella, it's rhythm creating another heartbeat in her chest. "Why do you ask?"

His fingers beat a soft matching rhythm against the inside of her knee, his other hand wrapped around a cold bottle of beer a waitress had brought over to the table.

"No reason." Rose's low voice laced through the air, teasing and seductive. Every note wrapped around the last and tangled you in its melody until you were part of it and your body swayed along, following her lead. The rhythm from Edward's fingers played a string that ran from the sensitive skin of her knee up the inside of her leg, reverberating deep inside her.

Bella had never felt anything like it. Every touch, every note, and every word stacked on top of her until she felt like she was going burst. Then, Rose paused, the rasp of the snare and shiver of the cymbal still ringing in the air as she spoke to the crowd.

"This next song was written for me by a very talented musician who's sitting here tonight." All eyes searched around the crowd but Rose chuckled, a throaty sound, teasing. "I won't embarrass her, but watch this space, this little bird is going to fly."

Bella's heart hammered in her chest as the intro of her song poured into the room like molasses on a hot summers day. She couldn't help the smile on her face as she realized that Edward had turned to look at her, emotion shimmering in his eyes. She couldn't quite decipher it in the dark but it could have been surprise, it might have been admiration or wonder, but she hoped it was more.

"You wrote this?" His fingers danced over her knee and settled on the arm of the chair which he yanked closer, the movement jolting her.

She tucked her head against his neck, opening her lips and pressing her tongue to his skin that tasted like love. "Yes," she whispered. The word hung for a second before he captured it with his lips. Edward showed her how he felt as her music, wrapped in Rose's voice, surrounded them.

He showed her love.


~o~o~0~o~o~


AN: Thank you for reading xxx

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