Despite Bella's lapse in memory, we end up pulling into my parents' driveway only a few minutes after one o'clock. It's actually my fault we're those five or so minutes late, because I insisted on 'helping' Bella get dressed. And by helping, I mean I dragged her, freshly showered and still dripping wet, onto my lap so I could kiss the shit out of her. She let me pick out her undies, too, which I've since realised was an evil genius move on her part. I'm now going to sit through lunch with my parents with the image of the lacy thing that barely covers half her arse in my head.

Before I can push open the front door, Bella grabs my hand. 'Katie. And Riley. Your dad is…' She frowns in concentration. 'Carlisle. And your mum is…' She shakes her head in frustration. 'It's gone already.'

'Esme.'

'Esme. Okay. Esme, Esme, Esme.'

I wrap my arms around her and kiss her gently. 'If you forget, you can just call them Mr. and Mrs. Cullen. Dad will like it, because he's a weirdo, and Mum will immediately tell you to call her Esme because Mrs. Cullen is her mother-in-law.'

'Okay.' Bella nods. 'Cullen. That I can remember.'

'Yeah? Because you've been doodling your future married name in the back of your diary?'

Bella looks at me, her eyes wide. 'Did you snoop through my journals while I was in the shower? Oh, my God. Edward, that is so rude! They're supposed to be private.'

I stare at her for a moment, until I catch the twitch of her lips. She's fucking with me.

Chuckling, I shove open the front door and lead her inside. I toe off my shoes and Bella copies me, stepping out of her sandals. She grins up at me as I take her hand and head towards the kitchen, following the scent of roasting lamb and vegetables.

My mother is leaning over the counter, studying a cookbook. I wink at Bella and hold a finger to my lips. She scrunches her nose at me in reply.

While we wait for Mum to notice us, I take in the state of the kitchen. I can smell the pungent, herbaceous aroma of rosemary, and immediately spy the pile of sprigs by the chopping board. A stack of dirty bowls balances in the sink, waiting to go into the dishwasher, which is blinking to say it's finished. There's also a very depleted bottle of gin beside an empty glass rimmed with lipstick prints. I've gotta talk to Katie about it, but it seems like Mum is drinking a lot more than she used to. It could just be that I'm only usually here around meal times so I'm not getting the full picture, but my gut tells me there's more to it than that.

Mum moves to the pantry, takes out a container of flour, then startles, her free hand coming to press against her chest.

'You're going to give me a heart attack one day,' she scolds. She sets the flour on the bench and comes around to greet Bella, a bright smile blooming on her lips. 'Hello, darling. You must be Bella. It's so lovely to meet you.' Mum gives Bella a kiss on the cheek and a brief hug.

'Hi, Mrs. Cullen,' Bella says. 'It's really nice to meet you.'

'Please call me Esme,' Mum says. Catching Bella's eye, I mouth the next words behind my mother's back: 'Mrs. Cullen is my mother-in-law.'

Bella's eyes shine with laughter as Mum steps back. 'It's really nice to meet you, Esme.' I can almost see her repeating the name in her head.

'Hi, Esme,' I say. I'll play the little shit if it will help Bella out.

Mum looks heavenward before she looks back at Bella. 'Are you sure you know what you're doing, hanging around with this one?' My mother gives me a quick kiss before stage whispering, 'Punching above your weight, aren't you? She's far too pretty to be with a blockhead like you.'

I roll my eyes as Bella giggles. Mum is going out of her way to make Bella feel welcome, which I appreciate, but I also know Mum only gets theatrical and silly when she's tipsy. So that definitely wasn't her first gin. I scrub my fingers through my hair. Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe Mum is just trying to manage her nerves. It can't be easy having both her children bring home the people they're seeing, knowing it will be a miracle if we can get through lunch without Dad saying something grossly offensive.

'I heard someone say blockhead and I knew Ned had to be here.' My sister appears behind Bella. Riley trails in behind her, flashing me a small smile.

'Mum's right,' Katie says to Bella. She kisses her cheek and grins warmly at her. 'You are a stunner. Way too pretty for Ned.'

Bella looks amused as she looks from Katie to me. Her eyebrows lift and her lips twitch and I know it's because of the nickname.

'So, hi. I'm Katie,' my sister says. 'My brother has clearly forgotten his manners. Probably because he's too busy staring at you.'

I'm going to get a headache from all the eye-rolling I'm doing. I don't even care, though, because watching my sister introduce Bella to Riley while my mum fusses around the kitchen is doing something big inside my chest.

'Ri, this is Ned,' Katie says. 'My bébé brother. Sadly for him, I got the brains and the looks.'

I flip Katie off and kiss Riley on the cheek. 'Edward,' I say. 'But Ned is fine if you really must.'

Riley chuckles. 'I'll stick to Edward,' they tell me. Their voice is low and soft. That kind of deep, rich timbre you could listen to for literal hours. 'It's nice to finally meet you.'

'You, too,' I say. 'How's the fan dancing going?'

Riley smirks, and I would bet a lot of money that they're picturing my sister's less-than-graceful moves. 'It's great. We have a lot of fun.'

Bella looks up. 'Fan dancing?'

It's the perfect thing to say, because within moments, Katie and Riley are seated either side of her at the breakfast table, phones out as they show her photos and videos from their burlesque classes. I definitely hear my sister mention taking Bella along to class with them. Bella shrugs and says she'll think about it. 'I'm not very coordinated,' she says.

'Neither am I,' Riley says, their voice gentle. 'And neither is Katie.' They wink at Bella over the rim of their glasses.

Katie just laughs and shrugs. 'Hey, we're both getting better.'

'That we are.' Riley reaches behind Bella and squeezes Katie's shoulder. The look they share is so tender I have to look away.

I open the dishwasher and start unpacking the clean dishes. Mum pats my shoulder in thanks and returns her attention to the dessert she's making. As I sort the clean cutlery into the drawer, I listen to Bella laugh with my sister and her partner, and my chest is once again running out of room for all the feelings I'm struggling to contain.