I expel a shaky breath as I try to make sense of what just happened.
This isn't going to work.
His parting words sound in my head repeatedly. I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach, hard.
I'm frozen in place.
He must know that wouldn't really go to the police; that I was just trying to dissuade Lauren from doing anything reckless. I just need to have Edward to know that, to believe that I would never, knowingly hurt him. If he still wants to walk away from me after that, then at least I will know that he did so knowing all the facts.
I grab my phone and hurriedly dial his number, then make a dash for the door.
I anxiously wait for him to answer, desperate to stop him before he gets too far. It goes to voicemail and I open the door.
"Edward, I …" I bowl right into him. He has his arms spread, hands braced against the doorframe. His head is bowed.
"This is as far as I got," he whispers hoarsely.
He raises his head, and our eyes meet.
"I'm sorry." He holds my gaze unwaveringly, and for some unfathomable reason, I'm overcome by emotion. I battle to hold back tears.
He pulls me to him, but I place my hand on his chest, preventing our coming together.
"You scared me. Don't walk out on me again." I meant to sound decisive, but my voice trembles. "Ever."
"I apologize for scaring you, but you can't ever repeat what I told you about that night. Not to Lauren, not to anyone. You need to understand that," he admits quietly.
I nod wordlessly. I drop my hand, and he wraps me in his arms.
.
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We remain in my office, and he suddenly says that he needs to take care of something important and that he'd be back shortly. I briefly wonder if he's gone after Lauren, but am wronged when he returns with dessert. The simple gesture seems like an act of contrition, a wordless apology for what happened earlier.
"This is the best chocolate ice-cream I've ever eaten," I moan in delight.
"It's gelato. I can't believe you don't know about the little hidden treasures that surround your office. This neighborhood has the most amazing places to eat." He says seductively as he slowly slides the spoon into his mouth. "So good."
We're camped out on the carpet, eating gelato and salted pretzels. We have yet to discuss the earlier events, and I decide that now's as good a time as any.
"I would never tell anyone, Edward."
"You'd think that I'd had enough experience with Lauren to know just how adept she is at pushing people beyond their limits. I'm a jackass, Bella." He keeps his eyes downcast, and chops at his gelato with his spoon.
"So, what do you think she'll do?"
"Lauren is quick to threaten, but they're generally empty. She's found out that I…" He pauses, "well let's just say she knows how I feel about you."
This admission makes me feel both elated and fearful, and now I'm the one looking down.
"You told her?"
"No…I didn't. James did."
My head snaps up.
"James?"
"It seems that he couldn't wait to contact Lauren to tell her about his run in with us in Miami. I'm sure he distorted the truth and made sure he added a good dose of bullshit."
I scoff in disgust. "No wonder."
"No wonder what?"
"She arrived unannounced, aggressively wanting to know whether I was having sex with you. And then insulted me by telling that I was easy to dupe and that I was typical of the women that you preyed on and destroyed; I'd be no different from her or Irina and that you'd end up cheating on me too. Then, when I wouldn't be drawn into her game, she told me to stay away from you and threatened to report me to the Board for misconduct."
"Damn her." he mumbles and scrubs a hand over his face. "Bella, I'm sorry, but when I heard the two of you arguing and you threatening to go to the police, I just lost it. I realize now that you were just trying to protect yourself. I don't blame you."
"Well, I'm not one hundred percent blameless, Edward. A huge part of me wants to see Lauren and James, get what they deserve. But I was wrong to let her get to me to the extent that I let her know that you had confided in me. I've breached your trust by revealing that information to her. I'm truly sorry for that."
"I thought we already established that I'm no longer your patient, so you didn't breach my trust."
"You're not, and I wasn't talking about the confidentiality between doctor and patient. I meant between friends."
He gazes at me intently. I can't decipher the emotions in those expressive eyes, there's too much to take in., so I choose to lighten the tension.
"So, you mentioned something about a park tomorrow?"
"Oh, right. I'm taking Josh to the park. I'd like you to join us, and don't worry about intruding. Josh has a monster crush on you." He winks at me salaciously as he dips a pretzel rod into his gelato.
"Well, how can I say no to a ebony-haired, blue-eyed five-year old little boy who's smitten with me?" I bat my eyelashes playfully.
"What about saying yes to a thirty something, uh…what exactly would you call this color I'm sporting here?" He points to the beautiful coppery disarray atop of his skull.
"I would definitely call it Auburn."
"Auburn," He nods acceptingly.
"Deep auburn, with some golden highlights," I amend as I run my fingers through its feather softness.
"I've seemed to have gotten off track," he says, clearly enjoying my little scalp massage.
"You were asking me to join you and your nephew at the park tomorrow and I was accepting."
"Right." He replies and my smile broadens.
His phone beeps, signaling an incoming message. He quickly retrieves it and reads the message.
"Damn it, it's the hospital. I need to call them." He hops up and walks across the room for some privacy.
I gather the containers of half-eaten dessert. I can tell by his body language and the seriousness of his expression that he would most likely have to return to work.
He ends the call and sighs deeply, running a hand through his hair.
"Is everything all right?"
"No. I have to get back to the hospital. I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you."
"Oh, it's fine. Don't worry about it. I enjoyed what little time we did share, that and dessert."
He drops his cellphone and keys onto the sofa and makes it to me in two strides.
"Don't think for a second that I missed that 'friends' nonsense."
"I just meant ... "
He cups my face with both hands and stares deeply into my eyes, before bringing his lips to mine.
He tastes sweet and salty, and I greedily suck his tongue into my mouth. A groan emanates from deep from within his chest.
His kiss is sensual and gentle, yet it impacts me so powerfully that my legs are reduced to the consistency of Jello.
"I'll pick you up tomorrow at noon."
"Okay. Should I bring lunch?" I whisper, my eyes still closed.
"I've got it covered. I'll see you tomorrow." He pecks me on the lips one last time and leaves. I touch my fingers to my mouth, reveling in the lingering tingle.
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.
I take a deep breath and mentally count to twenty. When I feel in better control, I step out of the car and make my way to the front door.
I forgo the bell and knock peremptorily. She takes her sweet time answering the door. I know she's here, and she knows that it's me. This is just her, trying to exert control, as always.
I hated lying to Bella. The call I received was actually from Lauren. After hearing what Bella had to say and then having her contact me, I decided that I needed to act fast and stop Lauren in her tracks before she could do Bella's professional reputation harm.
She opens the door nonchalantly and looks as if she doesn't have a care in the world.
I brush past her. I wait until I hear her following, before I turn around to face her.
"I want you to leave Doctor Swan alone, Lauren."
She snorts and crosses her arms.
"Doctor Swan? Well, she's informed me ever so eloquently that we're all on a first name basis now, so cut the shit, Edward."
"I'm not joking, Lauren. You threatened her career. This time, you've gone too far with your threats. I'm telling you now, back off!"
"The hell I will! I introduced us to marriage counseling, I was trying and save our marriage. And you thank me by banging the doctor? So typical, Edward."
"I'm not banging anyone. Leave her alone. I'm warning you."
She cocks her head to the side and she smirks maliciously.
"Taking a little more time than usual, is it? She's not as easy a target as you hoped for?"
"I'll admit things were definitely a lot easier in the past." My eyes pass over her, enforcing my statement. You can see the anger rolling off her in waves.
"Ditto," she retorts. "Honestly, after what James told me, I'd believed you had already bedded her in Miami."
"Whatever he told you is a lie."
"Are you sure about that? What do you think he told me?" She taunts. You would think she'd know I'm too smart to play this game.
"I don't care what he's told you. Stay away from Doctor Swan; you're no longer her patient, I'm no longer her patient. Don't show up at her office spewing vitriol and stop threatening her career with some bullshit accusation. She has nothing to do with any of this. Just let it go."
"Wow!" she gasps in mock shock. "You didn't even fight this fiercely for Irina."
"Enough, Lauren! I'm not doing this with you. I'm so sick of the fucking games! You're like a spoiled brat who can't get her way. Your parents are the ones who have warped your mind into thinking you're entitled to anything you want, no matter what it costs anyone else; go and enact your shenanigans on them. You won't win with me. You forget I'm a master at it."
I turn and head toward the door.
"I can think of one time that you weren't the master." Her barb stops me in my tracks.
"That night we had sex, at your party."
"You mean the night you drugged me." I whip around to face her.
Her nostrils flare, and her chest heaves.
"You were all over me, before I put the pills in your drink." She grits out between clenched teeth.
"I was drunk!" I mock. "I would've fucked a blow-up doll!"
"You're a liar. You wanted me."
"If that were true, Lauren," I step close, our noses would touch if I leaned in, "if I wanted you so badly, then why did you feel the need to drug me, huh?"
"Shut up." Her lips start to quiver.
"Let's face it, the only way you could have my cock was to force me." I whisper close to her ear.
"I said shut up!" She pushes me away.
"One thing Irina didn't ever have to, and Bella never has to worry about doing." I shake my head at her, smiling smugly.
"Oh, Doctor Swan will worry. When she's sitting her holier-than-thou ass up on the stand before the Medical Review Board, she'll be sorry she ever heard the name Masen." She points at me, and I grab her wrist.
'You'll say nothing. Have you got that? Not a word."
"And if I do?"
I feel the hand holding her wrist tremor as I fight to contain my anger. "You'll have a hell of a lot more to lose. I'll go to the police myself and tell them everything."
"You idiot, who'll believe you? It's been eight fucking years, and you'll never let anyone know about what happened anyway. You're too arrogant to let people see you in any light other than the dominant male. It'll crush you."
"Even if I can't get charges laid against you, I'll make sure that your reputation in this city is destroyed, that your family's reputation is destroyed. How do you think dear old 'Mommy and Daddy' will cope with the shame and humiliation, Lauren? Just imagine the talk that would ensue amongst their fucking uppity rich friends about their precious little daughter. Do you want to take that risk? Do you really want to test me? I think you fail to understand just how serious I am about this."
Her confidence waivers and I can see that she's worried. She won't take the risk and push to see whether I'm serious or not. I release her wrist and step back. But I can't resist having the final and definitive say in this matter.
"In case you decide to resurrect your threat. Think again." I hold up my phone. She stares at me in mute confusion and I hit the play button. We listen to a replay of most of our conversation; I'd turned it on as soon as she mentioned my losing control to her. She's incriminating herself in the worst possible way.
I stop the recording abruptly, turn and calmly walk out of the door.
.
.
.
"He's really something else." We watch as Josh endlessly climbs the ladder then skims down the slide.
"He certainly is." He smiles proudly and turns to give him a 'thumbs up' sign when Josh calls out for his uncle to watch him. He's done this about ten times in succession without any sign of his enthusiasm or patience waning. His love for his nephew radiates in his expression every time he looks at or speaks of him.
"He looks a lot like his mother."
"Uncwle Edward, I'm gwoing on the swings!"
"Okay, buddy! Just stay where I can see you!"
He turns to me and frowns slightly. "You know my sister?"
"No," I laugh. "I remember seeing her the night of Josh's birthday party. I mean, I assumed that it was his mother and father who were helping him blow out the candle?"
"Yeah it was. Alice and Jasper, and Josh resembles them both; her dark hair, his blue eyes, but my smile." He emulates the smile for me.
"Oh, and of course your smile. Forgive me," I tease.
We walk over to join Josh at the swings.
It's a beautiful day and Edward wasn't kidding when he said that he had lunch covered. We settle at one of the picnic tables with the basket he packed. He pulls out wrapped sandwiches, fruit and drinks. Josh quickly grabs a sandwich, unwraps it and raises both arms triumphantly in the air.
"Yaaaay!"
I look at him in confusion and turn to Edward for an explanation.
"What is it?"
"It's the Spidey lunch," they say in unison.
"Ohhh…" I try to imitate his excitement. "Spiderman?"
"Yup! Do you wike Spwiderman, Bella?"
"I sure do. He's the best."
"Do you want a sandwich too? Uncwle Edward makes it the bwest!"
"Are you kidding me? I want two sandwiches!" I hold up two fingers, and his big blue eyes widen in excitement. He passes two wrapped sandwiches over to me and eagerly waits for me to open them. He's practically bouncing.
"What's on them?" I lean over and whisper inconspicuously to Edward.
"Ham and cheese, pickles a little mustard, with crumbled chips." He shrugs and opens a sandwich for himself.
I frown. "But you don't know how to cook."
"Technically it's not cooking, and I saw that face you made. Don't knock it till you try it, baby."
I eye both him and the sandwich skeptically. Josh is still watching and waiting for me to take a bite. I indulge them both and take a large bite.
"This is actually quite tasty," I mumble with my mouth full.
"I told you, Bella! It's the bwest!"
I'm stuffed from the Spidey lunch, and we're all pretty much tuckered out and ready to go after a fun-filled afternoon.
We head back to the car, and Josh stops abruptly at the sight of a family of passing ducks.
"I wanna feed the ducks! Uncwle Edward, can I? Pwease?" He pulls on Edward's arm relentlessly.
"I thought you were tired and ready to go home to your mommy and daddy?"
"Pwease?"
"Okay, okay, but just for a few minutes and don't walk off. You know our rule, buddy."
"I know. I know! I need food for the ducks!"
Edward opens the picnic basket and takes a piece of bread from one of the leftover sandwiches and hands it to Josh. He takes off, running.
"Josh, the rule."
"I know, Uncwle Edward, rewax. I won't go fwar!"
"Rewax." Edward mocks, quietly. "He tells me to relax. Does he not understand that his mother will kill me if anything happens to him?"
"Castrate you first and then kill you, I believe. He's feeding the ducks, he's fine." We watch as Josh carefully feeds ducks without frightening them. "Look at him. He's a natural."
"He is, just like me." He nudges my arm playfully. So… did you have fun?"
"I did. It takes me back to my childhood when my dad and I used to go to the park," I smile up at him and straighten his sunglasses that are hooked on the front of his shirt.
"Not much romance, though."
"Was there supposed to be?" I narrow my eyes at him.
"Well…I mean Josh is here and…" He looks over to check on him.
"I'm kidding, Edward. I knew what I was up for today, and I've really enjoyed myself."
"Yes, but still. I feel like I should do better." He steps closer.
"So, you've mentioned before." I keep teasing.
Josh looks enthralled as he follows the little army of ducks as they move toward us now.
"I'm serious, Bella. I've told you, and I've promised myself that the next time, I will not stop myself."
"I know," I whisper.
He's so heart stoppingly sincere as he intently gazes at me. I can tell he wants to kiss me, but this is not the right time or place. He traces the shell of my ear and gently tucks a stray strand of hair behind it.
"Tonight," he murmurs seductively.
"Tonight?" I repeat with a shuddering breath.
"My place tonight," He promises with a smile, catching my hand. We both turn sharply as a car approaches.
Everything that happens next appears to play out in slow motion. The car moves slowly at first and then revs loudly as it picks up speed.
"Edward, look out! Oh my God!" I scream, but the sound is drowned out by the noise of brakes slamming followed by that of skidding tires.
"Edward, Edward!" I rush over to him, his body is curled on the ground, and he's not moving. The car stops briefly and then speeds off.
"Edward! Hey," I touch him gingerly, not knowing how badly he's been hurt. He groans and rolls to his side.
"Josh," he mutters, and my eyes dart around frantically. They come to rest on Josh, pinned beneath Edward. I cover my mouth with my hands and I gasp.
I didn't see exactly what happened. I didn't hear anything except for my own scream and the screech of the tires. But it's apparent that Edward jumped in front of the car to shield Josh.
He crawls into a crouched position, and coughs, holding his stomach. He catches a glimpse of Josh, who's lying motionless and bleeding.
"Oh my God." I whisper in shock.
"Josh…Josh!" Edward coughs and nearly chokes, still clutching at his stomach. He crawls over to Josh.
"Josh, buddy. Wake up. Come on."
"Edward! He's bleeding from his head."
He examines him while shouting at me.
"Call 9-1-1!"