A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.
Edward:
The doorbell ringing made my jaw tense; damn, why was I so nervous to see Bella? I felt like I was sixteen again and dating for the first time. I raced down the stairs, pausing in the hallway mirror to try and fix my hair before I gave up on that idea. Nothing could fix that mess.
I swung my front door open, thrilled to see her standing on my doorstep. She had on a knitted, knee-length dress, coordinating brown tights and ankle boots. Damn, she looked amazing.
The wedding was only a week away, and we'd invited the kids over to my place to tell them about the surprise honeymoon we'd booked for them. It was now ten AM, and the kids weren't due until midday, so even though the logical side of my brain knew neither my son nor Bella's daughter would be lurking in the trees outside my house, I still scanned the premises and pulled Bella inside quickly.
"Hi," I greeted her, sounding out of breath. Damn, I really needed to up my game.
"Hi." She replied as I edged closer. I didn't want to pounce on her the second I saw her, but I wanted to kiss her so badly, to hold her hips and pull her closer, to stroke her soft hair and remember her smell.
We'd met up several times since the evening we got together. Some of those times, we managed to talk, but we may have spent some time naked as we got to know each other a lot better. As much as I wanted that to happen this time, I didn't think it would be a good idea to risk anything with the impending visit of our kids.
"I'm so glad you came early." I planted a kiss on Bella's lips as her arms wrapped around my shoulders, and she stretched upwards to meet my lips.
"Me too."
I lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around my waist, my hands finding her ass and supporting her there. I felt twenty years younger as I walked to the nearest wall, pinned her there, and kissed her like it was our first time all over again.
When we finally came up for air, I set her feet back on the floor, and she followed me into my kitchen.
"I never did give you that tour when you were here for the New Year."
"True, do we have time now?"
Five minutes later, we were walking hand in hand out my back door as I showed her the area surrounding my house. I was confident we wouldn't bump into anyone out here and certainly not anyone who would know, or care, about the situation we had going on with our kids and us.
As we walked, I pointed out the trail I took when I ran, and Bella said she'd like to come running with me sometime soon. It was such a change to have someone to do those things with, never having anyone to share this place with before. That thought made me appreciate having Bella by my side.
By the time we got back inside, we only had half an hour before Jake and Nessie were due, so Bella helped me fix lunch. We peeled potatoes, seasoned meat, and snuck a few kisses as we listened to calming jazz and cooked, acting like we'd done this a hundred times before. I was so relaxed next to her as we moved around the kitchen in harmony. I felt like a family, waiting for our kids to turn up, except our kids were getting married…to each other.
Jacob and Vanessa pulled up on time, for once, and it only took about five minutes for Jacob to stick his head in the fridge, asking what there was to eat.
I swatted him away and told him to wait for lunch. Vanessa and Bella were chatting wedding talk at the table, and I loved how her face lit up when she was with her daughter. Anyone could see the bond they had. That sobering thought made me suck in a deep breath and remember what we were both risking, given what she and I were doing behind her daughter's back.
I shook that thought from my mind as I started to serve the meatloaf and vegetables Bella and I prepared together. Bella sat next to me with the kids opposite, and I couldn't resist resting a hand on her thigh … under the table and out of view of the kids.
She jumped a little in surprise as she raised her eyebrows at me, grinned, and turned away quickly before our interaction could be noticed.
"Dad, this food is amazing, are you sure Uncle Emmett didn't make it?" Jake teased.
"No, Jacob. Bella, here is my witness; this was made by my own fair hands." At that comment, Bella looked down at my hands. I knew she found them attractive but couldn't exactly show that right now.
"Jacob, your dad's an amazing cook," Nessie spoke up in my defense. "No offense, Mom…" she went on with a sheepish look in Bella's direction, "…but I didn't exactly grow up with a family of such good cooks."
Bella scoffed. "You mean Grandad Charlie's fish fry washed down with a can of ginger beer wasn't appetizing?"
Vanessa laughed. 'God, Mom! Remember that fish fry? It was rank!"
I laughed, more at the face Vanessa was pulling than her words and heard Bella chuckling next to me.
When we'd finished dinner and cleared the table, Bella excused herself to the bathroom, and a few minutes later, I stood, telling the kids I needed to start the laundry, and I'd be back soon. Instead, I waited until Bella was out of the bathroom and pulled her around the corner into the laundry room.
She squealed, but I used my lips to silence her. She gave as good as she got, and soon she was sitting on the worktop, with me standing between her spread legs, my hands gripping her hips.
"Edward!" She playfully pushed me away, but her hands stayed on my chest, making me smile widely at her.
"I know, I know! I'll go back to the kids, I just…" I ran my hands through my hair "…I really like having you here. You and the kids, it feels right, you know?"
Bella nodded. "I agree, but I doubt the kids would think that way if they knew what we were doing." She flexed her fingers on my chest for added emphasis, and I nodded reluctantly.
"Okay, but when they leave ... you're all mine!"
She laughed. "No argument from me." She leaned forward for another kiss before I stood back, and she hopped down. She straightened her dress and ran a thumb over my lips, wiping off any lipstick she left there.
"You go first," I told her, not quite believing the way I was sneaking around my own home.
She nodded, squeezed my hand, and left. I used my time to start the laundry, and when I returned, Bella was sitting at the table, listening to Nessie talk about their choice of song for their first dance.
"Ed Sheeran? Really?" I teased as I picked up on their conversation and took my chance to rib my son. Bella smiled at me as I sat, such a genuine and loving smile that I had to check Jake hadn't seen. It felt amazing to have someone look at me that way.
"It's a perfect choice!" Bella grinned, elbowing me as she managed to make a pun using the song title.
I groaned at her lame joke before I turned to Jacob. "You're missing the chance to have a classic song played at your wedding."
"Such as? What would you have as your first dance, Dad?"
I instinctively looked at Bella before realizing my mistake and turning away and shrugging.
"I'm not about to get married, Jake, you are."
"Obviously!" Jacob rolled his eyes, but he didn't drop the subject. "Go on, old man, you can't critique our choice without having one of your own."
"Okay,' I agreed with a nod. I wrung my hands together as I thought. "A first dance would be something personal to the couple, but if you're putting me on the spot…Amazed by Lonestar."
"Who?"
I laughed. "Boy, I did some things right with you, many things I like to think, but I guess I didn't give you a very good musical background."
Jacob fished his phone out of his pocket, and within a few seconds, the song I had named was playing aloud for us all to hear.
Again I turned to Bella, my hands finding hers under the table. She squeezed my fingers as she spoke. "I love this song too."
"Ugh! No!" Nessie was shaking her head and swiping Jake's phone from his hands. "It's so mushy."
"Yeah, I didn't think you'd pick such a mushy song, Dad. You must be turning romantic in your old age. Speaking of which…" Jacob suddenly looked serious as he leaned forward. "Dad, you look so happy and relaxed lately, what's changed?"
I faked confusion and shrugged my shoulders as I felt Bella clench my hand tighter. "Nothing. Maybe it's you who's now 'mushy,'" I asked as Jacob shook his head. "Although …" I continued, desperate not to give Jake a chance to answer. "I might be about to get a little mushy now because Bella and I have something to tell you, both of you, it's the reason we invited you over today."
I looked at Bella and raised my eyebrows in a silent question. She nodded, and we turned to the kids.
For a second, I imagined telling them about our relationship. Nessie, I'm falling for your mom. Jake, I've met someone amazing. She makes me so happy I can't think straight when I'm around her. I want you to be happy for me. I'm sorry she's going to be your mother in law but…
I shook my head and glanced sideways at Bella. She trusted me, and I couldn't do that without her consent. She was looking at me with wide beautiful eyes, waiting for me to continue, so I turned back to Jake and Nessie.
"So…" I started, clapping my hands together and grinning. "We know you want to pay for this wedding yourselves…" I held my hands up as Jacob opened his mouth to speak. "We know it's important to you, and we respect that, but we have a surprise for you."
Jacob and Vanessa looked at each other, puzzled before turning back to us. I dropped my hand to Bella's thigh again, and this time her hand found mine, and she squeezed my fingers.
"We've booked a honeymoon for you. A gift from us to you."
The kids were silent, immediately turning to each other before they looked back at us.
"What…how…when…you don't have to…" They were both full of questions, and stunned statements and I heard Bella chuckle next to me.
"To Hawaii!" She added, glee in her voice, as Nessie squealed and stood up so fast her chair almost fell backward onto the wood floor.
"Mom! Really?" She rounded the table and pulled Bella into a hug, laughing as she did so.
"You two didn't have to do that!" She was now approaching me with open arms and a wide, amazing grin on her face, so much like her mom's. She threw her arms around me and settled her cheek on my shoulder as she hugged me tightly.
"Dad…wow!" Jacob approached me and squeezed my shoulder on his way to hug Bella.
When we all parted and sat back down, Bella and I explained the timing and details of the holiday. The kids were thrilled and accepted our gift with love and gratitude, and a continuing look of surprise on their faces.
I was a little concerned Jacob would think we'd overstepped, but he seemed to appreciate we only wanted the best for them. "Dad, you've already done so much for us. I know it was you who arranged the limo for the bachelorette party."
I heard Bella's soft gasp next to me, but I just squeezed her thigh under the table and kept looking at Jacob.
"That was you?" Vanessa asked as I turned to her and nodded.
"I wanted you to have a special night." I felt a bit silly admitting that now, but the way Vanessa and Bella were looking at me made me think they certainly liked the gesture.
"Thank you, that was so thoughtful," Vanessa told me.
"You're very welcome." I stood to clear away the now empty glasses in front of all of us.
"Dad leave the glasses. There was something I wanted to tell you as well." The seriousness in Jake's voice made the smile fall from my face as I wondered what on earth Jacob had to say.
A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time.
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