A/N: Beta'd by the one and only... Midnight Cougar.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters... I just make them do what I want... Please don't sue.
Summary: When Edward Cullen is hired to work on heartbroken writer Isabella Swan's house, will he end up fixing a lot more than just her house?
21.
Bella sighed and wondered if maybe she should have taken four of the pain-killers this morning; her head was still half-mad at her.
"Liam wanted to take Harper with him. Can you believe that? They're both my dogs, and he's the one who left. Harper will miss him, though."
Edward turned and looked at her. He had to resist the urge to reach out and pat her knee. "I'm sure she would have missed you more, though, if Liam had taken her."
"I think so," Bella said. "She's my girl, you know—us girls need to stick together."
Edward nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. He just wished he could take Bella's pain away—and wasn't that silly of him after knowing the girl for an hour?
"I'm sorry," Bella said suddenly, her voice tinged with sadness. "I'm horrible company, I know."
"Don't worry about it," Edward said kindly, and this time he did pat Bella's knee. "We've all been there."
Bella smiled at the contact. "Yeah?"
"Oh yeah," Edward confirmed. His eyes were firmly on the road as he pulled into the parking lot of the hardware store. "I was with someone for a little over a year. It ended pretty badly."
Bella turned to look at him as Edward parked the truck. "What happened?"
"She was married," Edward told her, then turned to Bella with a sheepish grin.