AN: Sorry this is posted later in the day. I unexpectedly had a full work day that blind-sided me this morning. Thank you again to Fran for her beta-reading this chapter for me!

Chapter 22: Edward

Thursday, November 8

Malibu, California

13 Weeks

It was near midnight, and I was bone tired. Though I'd been filming a sitcom rather than an action movie, the days had been long and intense. I'd been out the door every morning by six, but most nights, I wasn't home until nearly eight. In order to film at night, we'd had a later call time today, which had meant breakfast with Bella. It was the last day of filming, and I'd had long days in the past, so I tried not to complain.

Bella had been there every night when I got home this week, and it had felt amazing, coming home to her. She would ask me about my day, tell me about hers, and we'd spend time just catching up. I knew this was the sort of space she talked about needing, and even though I missed her like crazy all day, she had been right about it. It made coming home and spending time with her all that more special and important.

I dropped the car keys upstairs, barely remembering to set the alarm as I trudged down to the bedroom. My feet hit the living room, and I yawned, crossing the way to continue downstairs to bed.

"Finally!" Bella's voice rang out through the dark, and I jumped, startled. I whipped around to see her stand from the sofa. Behind her, the moon glowed brightly in the sky, silhouetting her in the dark.

"Baby, what are you doing up?" I asked, shaking my head. I couldn't see her expression, but based on the way her arms were folded, I could only imagine. Was she pissed I was coming home so late? She knew I had a late call today.

Bella stepped toward me, and my mouth went dry when her body caught the moonlight. She was naked. Gloriously, wondrously naked. "Bella?" I asked, my voice cracking.

She shook out her hair, looking like a fucking goddess from antiquity.

"Fuck me."

I blinked, shaking my head. "Uh, what?"

Bella rolled her shoulders, stepping toward me. "Babe, I know you're probably tired, and you've had a long day, and I've fought this off as long as I fucking could, but I cannot sleep, and I'm so fucking horny thinking about you, and I need you to just fuck me so I can sleep."

I gaped at her, my tired brain trying to keep up with her speech.

She strode over in front of me, and my eyes flew down her body. She was magnificent.

"Am I dreaming?" I asked as Bella reached out to me. Her fingers hooked into my jeans, tugging the button open. She giggled.

"Is this what you dream about?" she purred, her lips tracing up my throat. My arms reacted slowly, winding around her naked torso and trailing up her silky skin before finally sinking into the hair at the base of her head.

"Baby, I'm always dreaming about you." She grinned and reached into my jeans, squeezing me through my boxers. "Fuck, Bella, I…" I couldn't find my sentence. I couldn't think straight. Her hot mouth was on my neck, and I blacked out for a second.

"Edward, I want to ride you, right here, on the floor in the middle of the living room." She growled.

I could barely respond. "Yes, God." I gasped.

Bella had my shirt off before I knew what was happening. She leaned up to me, licking my lips hungrily as her nails dug lightly into my back. "Fuck," I groaned, my knees buckling under me. I sank to the floor, and Bella was right there on top of me, lavishing my neck and chest with her tongue. I tried, I really did, to keep up with her, but I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that she was now a goddess.

The moonlight coming in was catching her breasts, and I reached up to them, mesmerized. She groaned, leaning into my touch as she arched her back. "Yes," she hissed, her nails lightly scratching down my chest. My muscles twitched under her touch, and she moved suddenly, ripping off my jeans. I looked down at her, past my throbbing dick, to see her eyes fixated on me. She was a jungle cat, and I was her prey.

"Fuck, Baby,"

She kissed her way up my thigh, her fingers trailing with her mouth. I leaned back; my breathing ragged. Bella took hold of my dick, squeezing lightly while her tongue took one long lick. I jerked. "Fuck." I was so turned on that I knew I wouldn't last with her down there. "Baby, I…I…" what the fuck was I trying to say. Bella took me in her mouth, sucking hard, and again I twitched. I groaned, and she released my dick, smiling.

"Oh, no, you're not getting away that easy," she purred, climbing back up my body. I watched her as she positioned herself over me. I reached out to grab her hips, desperate to hold on to her. She met my eye and smiled a wicked smile as she sank over me. I groaned, my eyes rolling back into my head.

"Fuckkk."

Bella grunted, rolling her hips above me. She set a fast pace, and I watched as her tits bounced magnificently. I reached up to them, sitting up enough to capture one in my mouth. She groaned, slamming down on me harder, and her hands wove into my hair.

"Yeah, Baby, like that," she grunted.

I swirled my tongue around her nipple, relishing the taste of her breasts. Though I'd had plenty of time to ogle them the last few weeks, I'd barely had any opportunity to go near them because I knew they were still hurting her. Whether they hurt her or not seemed to be irrelevant as she urged me further.

Her movements were becoming erratic, and I could tell she was close. Fuck, I'd been close the minute I saw her standing there naked.

I reached down to her clit, brushing it with my fingers as I lightly bit down on one of her nipples, making sure my lips covered my teeth. Bella faltered, and I gripped her hips, angling my own, so I hit that spot in her that made her unravel. Bella shattered around me, drawing me in so tight that I couldn't help but follow her.

I think I must have truly blacked out then, because when I came to, I was laying back on the floor, my chest sucking in deep breaths. Bella was flopped on top of me, her breath just as labored.

"Fuck," I groaned. Bella giggled and pressed a kiss to my chest. "How long were you waiting for me?" I asked.

Bella hummed. "A few hours. I swear, I tried to sleep, but I just, I couldn't." She glanced up at me, and I laughed, shaking my head.

"Never apologize for that sort of greeting," I said, chuckling. She grinned at me, and I reached down to wrap my hands around her face. "You looked, ethereal, waiting in the moonlight." She frowned, and I nodded encouragingly. "Seriously, Baby. I…" I sighed. I had no words.

Bella leaned down to kiss my chest before groaning and standing. We were both covered in sweat, and I was sure we'd left a ton of sweat on the floor, but right now, I didn't care.

"Come on, Babe. We've got a long day tomorrow. Let's go to bed."

…

Friday, November 9

Los Angeles, California

13 Weeks

"So, this is how celebrities travel," Bella said, eyeing the first-class lounge. I looked at her and smirked.

"I guess so," I looked around. No one was paying any attention to us, just the way I liked it. "It's easier, being in here. I'm not as recognized, or if I am, it's not as big of a deal."

Bella nodded, leaning back in the plush leather chair. We were waiting to board our first flight of the journey, a nonstop flight to Sydney. From there, we were connecting on a flight up to Cairns. It was going to be a long journey, but at least it would be comfortable.

Bella let out a long breath. "If I knew first class could be this plushy, I would have worked harder to afford this shit," she sighed. I snorted, and she smirked at me, her eyes closing.

"Wait till we're on the plane," I told her. She opened her eyes, looking at me. "It'll blow your mind."

She smiled up at me, her body shifting, so she was leaning her head against my shoulder. "Thank you for this," she said quietly. I reached down, kissing her.

"Trust me, it's my pleasure," I assured her. Bella let out a little breath and shut her eyes.

"I'm already tired." She mumbled. I smirked, and one of her eyes popped open, looking up at me. She smiled, kissing my shoulder. I'd woken up this morning with memories of last night feeling more like a dream than reality. Bella somehow continued to surprise me.

Above us, there was a soft announcement about our flight getting ready to board. I nudged her gently, and we stood, gathering our things. I slung a backpack over my shoulder while she picked up her purse. I slid my sunglasses on, making sure my hat was covering my hair. Bella slipped her sunglasses on as well, tangling her fingers with mine as we headed out of the lounge.

The thing I loved about airports was that people were so busy focusing on their own destinations, they rarely took time to check out who was around them. It was probably the closest to being anonymous as I could get.

Bella and I headed to the gate, offering up our boarding passes to the attendants. One attendant looked up at me in surprise when she saw my name, but training kicked in right away, and her features smoothed over as she offered us a nice flight.

Bella's jaw dropped as I led her to our seats.

The first-class section was sleek, private, and spacious. Our seats were at the front of the plane, with one against the window and one at the aisle. I led her to the private lounge chairs that were our seats, and Bella shook her head. "Are you kidding me?" she hissed. "This is not how we riff-raff fly," she huffed. I snorted as I put my bag overhead.

Bella set her purse down on the seat, inspecting the area. "Like, is all this space ours?" she asked. I hummed nodding. She shook her head.

"Do you want the window seat?" I asked. She looked at me and shook her head.

"No, you take it. I think people might gawk less, plus," she huffed, pointing at her stomach. "I'm going to be peeing a lot."

I smiled, moving into the seat. Bella settled next to me, examining the seat details. A flight attendant appeared next to us, a tray of champagne in her hands. "Would you care for a preflight drink?" she asked. Bella shook her head.

"You wouldn't happen to have sparkling water, would you?" The flight attendant nodded.

"Sir?" she asked. I shook my head.

"I'll do the water as well."

She nodded, stepping away from us. Bella turned to me. "You don't have to abstain for me," she protested. I picked her hand up, kissing the back of it.

"I know, Baby. But the other night aside, I'm really not a big drinker."

Bella smirked. "Yeah, you were sort of a lightweight. What was that, three drinks, and you're out?"

I winced. "I think it might have been closer to five."

Bella laughed. "Whatever it was, it was child's play. It's good to know I could drink you under the table, if such an occasion were to arise."

I laughed, squeezing her hand.

"I suspect there are many things you could outdo me in."

Bella smiled knowingly. "Oh, you'd be surprised."

I watched her, curious, but when she offered up no further details, I settled back against my seat. The flight attendant brought our waters, setting them down between us before she moved on to tend to the people behind us. Bella let go of my hand to pick up her glass.

"This is already the most comfortable flight of my life, and we haven't even left the gate," she sighed. I smiled at her. "One time," she turned to me and giggled. "One time, I was flying to Morocco, and the plane was this rickety old thing. I mean, just a mess. It had to have been on its last legs. But anyway, I had this window seat and I was so jet-lagged because I was flying in from Japan, and I leaned my head against the window, and it fell out! We were in the air; over Russia, and I just about had a panic attack because airplane windows aren't supposed to just fall out. It took me about three minutes to calm down and realize the outer window was still there and functioning fine. I thought I was going to die." She snorted, and I laughed, shaking my head.

"That sounds terrifying," I said, shaking my head. Bella nodded.

"I mean, it's not the craziest travel experience I've had, but man, that was up there." She giggled to herself, and I couldn't help but smile. We were barely on our way, and already she was so alive. How could I have ever thought she could be happy with anything less than this life.

The thought sat heavily on my heart, and I let out a tight breath, wishing it away. I wanted to pretend Bella could be happy with me, as we'd been.

Bella looked at me and squeezed my hand gently. I looked up at her, curious. "I keep saying this, and I'll keep saying it, but I'm so grateful you're doing this with me. For me." She sighed, shaking her head. "It means so much to me to be able to share this with you."

I smiled at her. "It means a lot to me that you want to share it," I told her. She leaned over, kissing me sweetly.

Bella leaned back in her chair, letting out a soft breath as her eyes shut. I watched her for a moment, taking advantage of the chance to just stare at her. Across the aisle, movement caught my eye, and I looked up to see a woman staring at me, wide-eyed. I offered her a small smile before shifting my body so I could turn my face from her a bit. I didn't mind when people noticed me, but I would prefer it if they would avoid taking photos.

"I think I'm going to nap," Bell sighed, shifting in her seat. I looked at her and nodded.

"You do that. We'll be on our way soon enough."

…

I'd been on a lot of flights in my life. Usually, I put headphones on and tuned out, ignoring everyone next to me as I zoned out.

Bella slept the first few hours of our flight, and I spent that time listening to music and entertaining myself.

She only woke up when the flight attendant came around, taking our lunch orders, and even then, I felt like she probably wouldn't have woken if it weren't for the food.

"How long?" she asked, rubbing at her face.

"We've been in the air about two hours," I told her. Bella nodded, yawning.

"I have to pee so bad," she groaned. I chuckled and nodded as she unbuckled her seat belt, standing up to walk to the lavatory. I watched her go, again catching the eye of the woman across the aisle. She smiled anxiously at me, and I shot her a brief smile before turning my attention to my phone. Some people were easy to deter. Others, not so much.

I focused all my attention on my phone, even though I was literally doing nothing on it. I just didn't want to accidentally make eye contact with the woman again and mistakenly invite her over to talk.

Bella came back out from the bathroom, shaking her head. "Even the bathrooms are plushy," she said. I looked up at her and smirked.

She sat down, stretching her legs out in front of her, sighing. "The flight attendants are giggling about you," she said, leaning toward me. I laughed, looking at her.

"What?"

She nodded toward the front of the plane. "I heard them while I was waiting for the bathroom. Apparently, there are some attendants back in economy who are dying to catch a glimpse of you."

"No way am I the most interesting person on this plane," I said quietly. Bella hummed.

"No, probably not. But I'm sure you're the hottest."

I barked out a laugh, and people around us turned to look in our direction. Bella grinned at me as I ducked further into my seat. "I'm trying not to draw attention to myself," I said, shaking my head.

Bella snorted. "Trust me, Babe, you are not successful."

I rolled my eyes, and Bella pulled her legs up on the chair, folding them underneath her. "Okay, so what do you richy-rich types do on long flights?"

I chuckled. "I usually tune out to music; it's easier than trying to fend off conversations." I looked at her. "What do you usually do?"

Bella grinned. "Talk to strangers."

I laughed again. How could we be so fundamentally different and yet be so drawn to each other?

"Good luck getting anyone up here to talk to you," I said quietly. "Most people want their space, that's why they're paying extra for it."

Bella's eyes narrowed. "Okay, fine; challenge accepted." She turned, her eyes gazing out across first-class, looking for someone to talk to. I wanted to reach out to her, to stop her, but she made eye contact with the girl across the aisle and smiled. The girl blinked, surprised, but then smiled back, her eyes flashing to me.

"Hi, I'm Bella," Bella said, leaning across the aisle toward her. The girl sat up straighter, shaking out her blond hair.

"Oh, I uh, hi. I'm Lauren."

Bella smiled at her. "It's nice to meet you, Lauren. What brings you to Australia?"

Lauren shifted, her eyes darting to me every few seconds. "Oh, uh, well. My sister is getting married."

Bella smiled. "Oh, nice. Have you been to Australia before?"

My mind tuned Bella and Lauren out as I considered the chance that we were heading to the same wedding. What if we were? I mean, Jess's wedding wasn't for a couple of weeks yet, but still. How awkward would that be?

Bella spoke to Lauren until the flight attendants brought us food. When the tray landed in front of her, Bella leaned back in her own chair, smiling down at the food. "This is not normal airplane food," she said, shaking her head. I shrugged. "This actually looks good," she murmured.

"What do you think the chances are that we're headed to the same wedding?" I asked Bella quietly. She looked up at me, blinking.

"Huh?" I nodded to Lauren subtly. Bella followed my gaze and turned back to me. "Oh, come on, Edward; it's Australia in the summer, and right now, tons of weddings are happening."

I shrugged. "Maybe, but," I paused, shaking my head. Bella frowned at me.

"What is it?"

I sighed. How the hell did I say this without sounding like an arrogant ass? "She won't stop checking me out, and I am a little worried she's going to come and try to talk to me if you get up again."

Bella laughed at me. "Babe, duh." She said, shaking her head as I frowned at her. "You're probably her celebrity crush. How often do you cross paths with one of those? Of course, she's staring at you." Bella snickered, shaking her head. I huffed.

"Trust me, some fans are persistent, and some are flat out crazy. I think she might be somewhere between them."

Bella laughed at me again, reaching up to bring me down for a kiss. "You're insane, and I love it," she sighed against me. "If she gets all crazy, I'll block for you. Don't you worry."

I laughed, shaking my head. "I don't mean to say I can't handle it on my own," I said backtracking. Bella just hummed.

"Nu-uh. Nope. I'm officially your bodyguard. You can call Jane and fire whatever protection team you'd planned for us." She snickered.

I rolled my eyes at her, and she giggled. "Laugh all you want, you'll see. I'm right." I said quietly.

Bella reached over, kissing my shoulder before she turned to her food. I glanced past her to Lauren, trying not to look obvious. Lauren's eyes were on me, and she smiled when our gazes met. I turned back to my food, quickly taking a bite and shoving it in my mouth.

After we ate, Bella and I figured out how to lower the center console between us so that she could stretch out into my side. She leaned against my chest, wrapping an arm around my waist, and I wound my arm around her side. Even though it was still early evening in LA, I was tired. We set up the reclining chairs, and Bella put up her partition to block people in the aisle from looking at us. When we were reclined, Bella snuggled in deeper to my side and sighed.

"This is seriously the only way to fly," she murmured. I nodded, kissing the top of her head.

"It certainly is," I said, holding her closer to me. We both fell asleep before we decided on what sort of movie to watch.

…

Saturday, November 10

Cairns, Australia

14 Weeks

I was so fucking tired.

We'd landed in Sydney fine, and after zipping through customs, we'd headed directly to our connecting flight to Cairns. The plane had been smaller, and an additional three hours on a plane had been brutal. I'd mostly handled it okay, but it turned out that Bella was now prone to travel sickness.

A few hours before we landed in Sydney, Bella started throwing up. Since she'd never been sick traveling before, we assumed this was due to the Pip. We'd managed to land, and she was able to catch her breath a bit but getting back onto another flight had been difficult for her.

When we had finally landed in Cairns, Bella had been close to tears with relief.

I had a car waiting for us at the Cairns' airport, and after ensuring our luggage was collected, we were off to our hotel.

We finally pulled in around midnight.

When we made it up to our room, Bella immediately ran to the bathroom. I went to follow her, but she came back out a minute later, shaking her head.

"Fuck this," she groaned. She crossed the room to her carry on, unzipping it to find her toiletry bag.

"I'm sorry, baby," I said, shaking my head. She groaned.

"I've never been so sick before." She found her toiletry bag and went back to the bathroom to brush her teeth. I sighed, unsure of what I could do for her.

I glanced around the suite. It was large, beautiful, and spacious. There was a balcony outside the living room we had entered into, and double doors that led to the bedroom. I moved to the phone by one of the sofas, calling down to reception. "Good evening, sir, how can I help you?"

I rubbed my neck. "I know it's late, and your kitchens are probably closed, but is there any way to send up some ginger beer and crackers?"

"Let me see what I can do, sir," he said after a slight pause. I let out a breath.

"Thank you." I hung up, turning my attention to the bathroom. Bella came out, looking exhausted.

"I didn't know travel could feel like this," she sighed.

I frowned. "Why don't you take a bath and try to relax a bit before we go to bed?" I suggested. Bella rubbed her stomach, nodding.

"That's not a bad idea. I'll do that." She moved back into the bathroom, and I rubbed my face. I was exhausted, but as long as she was up and sick, there was no way I would sleep.

I moved to our bags, deciding the least I could do was pull out some pajamas for her when she was out of the bath.

About twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

Once opened, one of the concierge members was standing in the hallway, a plastic bag in his hands. "Sir, I'm sorry, we didn't have the items in stock, but we were able to run across the way to the shop." He offered me the bag, and I blinked.

"Oh, wow, thank you. Here," I pulled out my wallet, pulling out some cash.

"No, sir, it's our pleasure," he said, shaking his head. I pressed a hundred dollars into his hand.

"Please, you don't know what this means to me. Thank you."

The man smiled.

"It's our pleasure, sir. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you."

I nodded, thanking him again before shutting the door.

I moved to the kitchen, fishing out a glass and plate for the ginger beer and crackers. I got them arranged before heading to the bathroom.

Bella was curled up in the tub, her eyes shut. "Hey, Baby," I said gently. She opened her eyes, looking at me tiredly. "I called down to the concierge; they went and picked this up for you."

I offered her the plate and drink. Her eyes widened as she sat up in the tub.

"Thank you," she breathed, grabbing a cracker. I sat next to her in the bathroom, holding the plate up. "Fuck, I had no idea I could get this sick." she said, shaking her head. I offered her the glass, and she took a sip. "Mm, that's good." She handed it back to me and picked up another cracker. "Apparently, some women feel like this for like nine months straight. I can't even imagine." She shook her head, and I shuddered at the thought. It would be miserable to see Bella like that for so long.

"Is the bath helping at all?" I asked.

She sighed.

"Yeah, so are these," she pointed to the crackers. "Thank you."

I nodded. "I only wish I could do more," I told her.

She huffed.

"Well, since you can't take my place and be the one who carries the Pip, this is good enough," she said, shoving another cracker in her mouth. I smiled, and she sighed, leaning back. "I think I feel stable enough to sleep," she said, pulling the stopper from the tub. I nodded, standing and putting the dish on the counter. I grabbed a towel, offering it to her as she rose out of the water. She looked like a goddess, and I tried not to get distracted when she very clearly was not in the mood.

I wrapped the towel around her, kissing her gently as she stepped out of the tub. She sighed, leaning against my chest.

"Come on, Baby," I said softly. "Let's go to sleep."

…

Sunday, November 11

Cairns, Australia

14 Weeks

Despite having gone to bed close to one in the morning, I woke early, sometime around seven. I had little to no idea what time it was back in LA, but I was sure jet lag was a big contributing factor to my early morning.

Bella was still passed out when I got up, so I slipped out of the room quietly, heading for the private gym reserved for penthouse guests. I did a light workout, keeping to the modified schedule Alec had laid out for me before I'd left LA.

When I was done, I headed back down to our room. I called down to catering to order us some breakfast before heading to the shower.

By the time I came out, there was a tray of food in the living room, and Bella was just starting to stir. She turned on the bed; her brow creased slightly. I crawled onto the bed; the towel still wrapped around my waist.

"Hey, Baby," I said gently. Bella frowned, her big eyes blinking open slowly.

"You smell good," she mumbled, her eyes closing again. I smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Breakfast is in the living room."

Bella hummed; her eyes still closed. I smiled and climbed off the bed to get dressed.

I turned to our bags, digging through to find some clothes for the day. It was still early, but already it was hot outside.

I dropped the towel as I pulled out some boxers, and behind me, Bella whistled. I turned to look at her, smirking. She was flopped over on the bed, watching me with one eye open. She grinned at me as I laughed.

"What time is it?" she asked, yawning. I glanced at the clock. "Almost eight-thirty," I said, looking back at her. She groaned and rubbed her face.

"I'm getting old, or I seriously underestimated the Pip," she said, rubbing her eyes. I glanced at her. She dropped her hands from her face, staring up at the ceiling. I moved to her side, kneeling on the bed by her hip.

"Hey," I said gently. She looked at me, and I could see something in her eyes that looked like sadness. "There is no rush, not here, okay? We'll take our time; we'll do things at our own pace. I know you have all sorts of ideas and activities planned, but Baby, I'm happy just to be here with you. Anything else is just a bonus, okay?"

She let out a long breath and nodded slowly. I smiled, leaning down to kiss her.

She groaned.

"No, stop, you smell so good, and I feel gross," she whined. I laughed, pulling away from her. She sat up, resting her weight on her elbows behind her and sighed. "Okay, I'm going to shower properly, and then let's revisit that thought," she said, waving toward me. I laughed and rose, pulling on my shirt. Bella slipped out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. I heard the water turn on, and I turned my attention back to the living room.

I'd barely remembered to plug my phone in last night as we got in. I moved to it now, grabbing it off the charger and sitting at the table to check my messages. I had a few texts from my Mom and from Jane. There was one from Emmett in New York, and to my surprise, one from Tanya as well.

I opened the text from Tanya, curious.

…

Hey Edward. Bella will kill me if she knows I'm talking to you about this, but I knew she wouldn't bring it up. While you guys are traveling, try pointing things out you could do with your Pip one day. I want her to start reframing travel in her head to include writing for parents and families. She's stubborn, so she's ignoring me when I talk about it, but I know it's going to be good for her. Have fun and take care of my girl.

…

I smiled at my phone. Tanya was always one step ahead, looking out for Bella. I texted her back, telling her I'd see what I could do.

I took a few minutes to check the rest of my messages and emails, and by the time I was done, Bella was out of the shower and dressed. She came over to the table, sniffing around the plates. I'd ordered a little bit of everything, unsure if her stomach would still be upset.

"It smells good," she said.

I smiled at her.

"Dig in," I told her.

She grabbed a plate, scooping fruit on to it before poking around the other dishes.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" I asked. Bella looked up at me.

"Well, when I was planning, I knew we'd be tired coming in, so today I had us down for site-seeing around Cairns. Tomorrow, we're heading out to the reef, but today is mostly about relaxing."

I nodded, leaning back in my chair. "That sounds great."

She nodded in agreement; her face distracted as she uncovered the sausages. She grabbed two, licking her lips. "Now that the Pip and I are on better terms, meat is our friend again," she sighed, picking up a sausage and biting into it. I laughed.

"I'm glad."

Bella hummed. "This is so good," she moaned. "Are you going to eat?"

I nodded, leaning forward. "Yeah, I just wanted you to get what you wanted first."

Bella motioned to the table. "Eat, Babe—or I'll eat all of it."

I laughed again and put together my plate. Just beside us, beyond the gossamer curtains, the sea glittered as the perfect summer day dawned. I looked out at it, finally realizing that I was actually on vacation with Bella. We'd be able to do whatever we wanted; there were no work obligations to interrupt us. I smiled at the thought, looking across the table at her. She was chewing a banana, her head bopping around as she wiggled happily in her chair. I smiled.

Never could I ask for anything more than this time with her, right now.