Bella hung up her cell phone, setting it on the nightstand and turning to face Rose. "Edward says they won't be back as soon as they thought."

"I just got a text from Emmett saying he'd call me later." Rose looked at her phone one more time before setting it next to Bella's. "I suppose that's what it's about."

They stood in one of the many guest bedrooms after Rose stripped the floral wallpaper. Their next plan was to paint the walls before bringing in the new furnishings Bella bought online.

"I knew he'd start finding reasons to stay away." Bella sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing the small of her back. "I need a break."

"I told you I'd do it all, and you could just sit down and supervise."

Bella scanned the scraps of paper she'd gathered and stuffed in a trash bag. Physical work still tired her out more quickly than usual. "I know."

At her tone, Rose focused on Bella. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yes." She nodded, knowing Rose wasn't referring to paint colors. "But I don't think it'll do anything to fill this hole inside me."

Sitting next to Bella, Rose said, "No, it won't."

"Nothing will. I've got an empty compartment, you know?" Rubbing her chest, she thought about the part of her heart which still held out hope for Edward to return her feelings.

"Yes, I do. The love compartment."

"I've got Quinn. I've got you and Angela. I talk to Leah and Jake regularly, though I haven't seen them. But I don't speak to my parents, and my husband doesn't even like me."

Rose made a disapproving sound. "I don't think he dislikes you, but how much do you know about each other? You were together for such a short time. Do you know anything about his personality?"

"He likes strawberry milkshakes and classical music." Though she'd known that since high school. "He has a quick temper, but he's great under pressure."

"That's something." Rose tilted her head back and forth. "Have you told him about yourself? What's your biggest dream?"

After taking a big breath, Bella confessed something she'd never told anyone. "Once upon a time, my greatest wish was to own a bookstore. To sit among the smell of paper and ink, to read to children at story hour, to offer tea and coffee. I thought it would be so much fun to have something that was all mine, but I knew it couldn't happen. My throat closes at the idea of speaking to strangers, which made me great at stocking books at the library, but not as good at helping customers. Not to mention, I don't know the first thing about running a business."

"So why not start now? You don't have to own a bookstore to learn about running a business."

"I don't have a degree."

"Get one."

"That's not . . ." But Bella trailed off. Why couldn't she go to school online? "Maybe."

"My opinion—and you can tell me to shut the fuck up if you want—is that Edward doesn't know you enough to like you. You're either painfully quiet when he's around or you push his buttons so he'll acknowledge you."

Bella felt her face flush at the blunt truth. "I didn't like the way he treated me when he found out I was pregnant. From zero contact to ordering me around was a lot to take in."

"I didn't say there was anything wrong with standing up to him. Please, Bella, for the love of all that's holy, don't ever let him walk on you again. You're not a doormat." Rose was vehement about that.

"I've spent my life being exactly that. It's hard to change overnight."

"So do it gradually, in whatever way makes you feel comfortable. But the way to deal with these men is to meet them at their level. Emmett told me we couldn't date because I wasn't meek enough for 'Family life.' He expected someone like his Aunt Esme or, God forbid, Alice. When I didn't cave, he realized he loved me the way I am and that I'm more important to him than the image he projects. I make an effort in front of the other men because I respect him, but I tell him exactly how I feel when we're alone."

Thinking about it, Bella decided she could try that. "I understand respecting Edward in front of his men, and I know I didn't show very much of it at first. He was so thoughtless with his words, and he hurt me. He left me to deal with Carlisle alone, and that fear hit me hard. But when he found me, I was so angry over the whole situation. I couldn't let him walk all over me the way he tried to do. I wanted to have him in Quinn's life, not have him run mine."

"That takes guts, Bella, and I admire you for that. Keep that attitude with you when you deal with the Cullens. If they don't treat you with respect, they get the same in return. Take Alice, for example. If she'd been nice, I would have been, too. Instead, she introduced me by my full name when I'd asked her not to, and she lectured us."

"That, and the unnecessary way she told me about Edward and Victoria."

Rose rolled her eyes. "That bitch wishes."

Several seconds of silence passed before Bella admitted, "I wonder constantly if he has a mistress."

"I really hope not." Rose sighed. "I would cut his balls off for you so you don't have to get blood on your hands."

Bella laughed. "Still, I can't figure out how I'm supposed to go my whole life without having sex."

"Okay, in all honesty, why don't you just ask your husband? After you're healed from giving birth and all."

Snorting into a laugh, Bella managed to say, "Yeah, right."

Rose got up and began pacing the room. "He wanted you badly enough in Forks to pursue you, remember?"

"Feels like a lifetime ago," Bella mumbled.

Stopping mid-stride, Rose pointed at Bella. "Seduce him. Wear something pretty. I don't know. Whatever makes you feel sexy."

Bella watched Rose walk to the door and turn back before responding. "The only time in my life that I felt sexy was when Edward and I were together. He had a way about him that made me feel like I was the only woman in the world. Now I fear we've lost that to such a degree that we can't ever get it back. I don't think I can separate sex from my emotions, Rose."

Again, Rose stopped in front of Bella. "You love him, don't you?"

"Even after everything, yes." She willed away the tears that pricked at her eyes.

Rose sank into a squat and rested her hand on Bella's knee. "Oh, honey."

"Don't feel sorry for me. I chose to move here."

"For Quinn?"

Shaking her head, she said, "For Edward. He deserves to have his son in his life. And yes, for Quinn, because he deserves to know his father."

"And what about you?"

"I've never thought about myself. I've always put others first."

Straightening, Rose looked down at Bella. "Like I said before, find what makes you happy and do it. If decorating this house makes you happy, do it. But then there's got to be something after that. Quinn needs to see you happy and fulfilled in life and needs you to set a good example. Plus, I want you to be happy. You're my friend."

"Thanks, Rose." Maybe she could go to college. The only thing stopping her before was money, and Edward had plenty of it. It was hers, too, even though the idea of spending it made her feel awkward.

"I also think that if you see yourself as his equal, Edward will see you that way, too. I know Alice made a big deal about how the wives are meant to be in the background, not seen or heard, but you don't have to do that. You can show him you're strong and smart and that you can help him run his shit."

There were times when Rose intimidated the hell out of Bella, and this was one of those times. She wanted her to get involved in the mafia? "I don't know the first thing about what he does, except that it's dangerous."

"Take shooting lessons. Wear a power suit. Whatever it takes to make you feel confident and kick ass."

"I think a lobotomy is the only way to make that happen."

After clapping her hands together and making Bella jump, Rose pulled her to her feet. "Listen, you have to stop talking down about yourself. You're better than that."

"O-okay."

"Not because I'm telling you to and you want to make everyone happy, either. I'm serious. Work on it for your mental health."

"Um, yeah. Okay." Bella was happy to hear Quinn rustling around through the baby monitor.

"Oh, let me get him!" Rose begged.

"Sure. He loves his Aunt Rose."

Bella sank back onto the bed when Rose left the room. She admired Rose greatly and knew there was truth in what she said, but she didn't know how to go about gaining confidence. How was she expected to wow Edward and seduce him? How could she even consider asking him to let her help run his business? The idea made her heart beat painfully in her throat. Over the sounds of Rose talking to Quinn, she rubbed her temple and tried to envision wearing something enticing and waltzing into the dining room demanding that Edward pay attention to her.

When she moved in, Edward offered to let her sleep in his room with him. In his bed, together. She figured he expected them to pick up where they left off, but she'd been too angry with him to even consider it. Thinking back on it with some perspective, she realized he'd offered her a spot beside him all along. The hurt she felt from his insistence that she drop her plans and move in with him because of some manly ownership of the baby clouded the rest of her thoughts. They'd also fought a lot in the past few months and she knew it wasn't all Edward's fault. The recent harmony might last if they both worked on it.

Quinn was about two weeks old, which meant Bella had another month before her doctor would clear her to engage in sexual activity. Before her conversation with Rose, she assumed it would be a meaningless appointment other than to say she was ready to go back to yearly exams. There was no need to discuss birth control or to think she would have a willing husband ready to get into bed with her. But what if he was desperate for sex and swept her off her feet the way he did the first time? If that was all he wanted without affection behind it, could she allow herself that pleasure without making herself miserable in the end?

It didn't seem likely. She wasn't in the right frame of mind for anything that drastic yet. The first thing she would do was research online colleges. There were plenty of choices, and it was something she would be proud of doing. Then, she would take it a step at a time.

Rose came into the room carrying Quinn up against her shoulder. "I think he's hungry. I changed him."

Bella looked at the clock on her phone. "Yeah, it's time."

She moved into a chair covered in plastic sheeting and settled Quinn at her breast. Rose watched her for a minute before moving on to the work they'd been doing. "I just had a thought."

"Oh?" Bella smiled at Quinn, hoping he'd smile back.

"Your boobs are always out these days."

Bringing her head up, she frowned at Rose's back. "What has that got to do with anything?"

"Other than the fact that they're great to look at?"

Glancing down at her suckling baby, she then looked back up at Rose. "Are you the one who needs a lobotomy?"

With an exasperated sigh, Rose turned back around. "I'm saying, they're out for others to see. Like Edward. Your husband."

"I don't whip them out like a girl looking for beads at Mardis Gras."

"Well, no shit, but you could when he's in the room. I mean subtly, like you are now, but more flesh."

"You have a screw loose." Bella rolled her eyes and watched Quinn make a fist before resting it on her pale skin. Okay, so they were bigger now that she was breastfeeding, but they also leaked all the time. "I have to wear breast pads to keep milk from soaking through my clothes. How am I supposed to make that sexy?"

"It was just a suggestion. Isn't there a time when that will go away?"

"Maybe." But she'd fed Quinn plenty of times in front of Edward, and she'd never thought he was staring at her chest. "Wait, there are times when he sits near me and watches, but I thought he was looking at his son."

"Maybe he was." Rose scraped a random piece of wallpaper off the window frame. "Or maybe he was thinking, gee, I miss those tits being in my mouth."

"Rose!"

She laughed. "Don't be a prude."

"I am not a prude." Except she knew she was.

"My point is simply that you can let the opportunity present itself. You have to take charge of your life, and that includes your husband. Communicate with him, and don't be afraid to let him lust after you."

"I don't see how I'll be anything but exhausted for another year or so." Sighing, she picked Quinn up and rested him against her shoulder to burp him. "But I'll give it some thought."

Edward is home in the next chapter!