Chapter Twenty-Five: Nothing I Wouldn't Do

Bella's POV

"We're not going to some club are we?" I asked Alice as she helped me pick out an outfit. It'd been a month and a half since the accident and Alice insisted we do a girls night to celebrate getting my cast off.

She rolled her eyes. "No, Bella. It's going to be very mellow."

"Okay," I laughed. She left the room so I could get dressed. I was still a bit sore but the doctor said that was normal. After I finished getting dressed I grabbed my purse and went to find Alice.

"Beautiful," She smiled as she grabbed the keys. We were meeting Angela and a few friends from work at the place Alice found. I couldn't help but laugh when we pulled up to a piano bar we always talked about going to but never got around to it.

"I figured this was a good place," She shrugged when I looked at her. "It has music and alcohol but isn't going to be a crowded club full of twenty-one years olds."

I smiled. "It's perfect. Thanks for doing this."

"You deserve a little fun after being cooped up for so long."

"I just haven't been in the going out mood."

"I understand," She assured as we walked into the bar. Angela already had a big table for us and the pianist was playing a song I didn't recognize. But, Alice was right. This place had a good atmosphere but it wasn't crazy or bright or loud.

When the rest of our group arrived, we ordered some appetizers and drinks. The guy playing the piano was playing a good mix of songs we all knew and then some new songs to enjoy as well.

An hour into the night, I spotted Jake walking into the bar with a few buddies. It was a colleagues birthday and Brady was spending the night with my mom since he didn't know I had these plans when he ran everything by me.

Mom didn't mind though. She loved having Brady over for sleepovers.

I waved and they found a table nearby.

"Don't you think it's weird he's here? I mean he's your ex-husband." A co-worker, Tia, asked as she sipped on her drink.

I shrugged. "Jake and I have a son together. It's way easier to be friendly than to be fighting all the time."

"I could never be friends with my ex," Maria mused. I hadn't really warmed up to her, but she overheard Angela and I talking about tonight and we felt guilty for not inviting her. We didn't think she'd say yes since everyone else with us was older and almost everyone was married.

"You're still a child," Angela laughed which Maria did not appreciate.

I stood up. "I'm going to say hi."

I walked over to Jake's table and a few of the guys with him almost started drooling. "Hi, Bella," Jake smiled. "Ignore them. They've already had a few drinks."

"And you?" I joked.

"I'm DD tonight," He said pointing to his can of Coke.

I leaned in close. "Aren't all of these guys in a relationship?" I asked. The last I heard everyone Jake was friends with at work had girlfriends which made it hard for him to do things with them since they all wanted to do double dates.

"Yes," He rolled his eyes and then scanned the bar. "All of them except him," He pointed and I turned around to see who he was talking about. "He's single."

"So you guys are best friends?"

"Nice," He laughed as he shoved me.

"Water," Someone said as he came to stand next to me and put a bunch of cups of water on the table. I looked up at the guy and instantly found him attractive. He was tall and skinny with light brown eyes. His hair was a shaggy brown and he had a crooked smile.

"Hi," He smiled when he noticed me there. "I'm Riley."

"Bella," I said.

"B-Bella?" He looked at Jake. "This is your ex-wife?" Jake nodded. Riley turned back to me. "You are way prettier than Jake described."

"You tell people I'm ugly?" I asked Jake.

"All the time," He answered.

"But, thanks," I smiled at Riley.

"Are you with us now?"

"No, I just wanted to say hi," I told him. "I'm going back to my group now. It was nice to meet you, Riley."

I walked back to my table and I could tell he was staring at me when I walked away. I wasn't interested in dating anybody yet but it felt good to know boys still thought I was pretty. When I got back to my group, they were all staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Who was that?" Maria asked.

"Someone Jake works with."

"He's very cute," Tia observed. I nodded but didn't want to verbally agree with her. "Is he single?"

"Yeah." I really didn't want to talk about this with them but I could tell they were going to make it a thing.

"Should we get another round of drinks?" Alice asked. The girls were distracted when I looked back at Jake's table. Riley was still looking in my direction and I couldn't help but blush.

An hour later, our group was starting to get pretty tipsy. It had been a long time since I'd drank this much so it felt good to just let loose and have fun with the girls. I'd been in such a funk since the breakup and this was the first Saturday night in a long time that I wasn't wishing I was with Edward.

"Bella," Riley said as he tapped my shoulder. I turned around and smiled at him.

"Hi, Riley!" I giggled. I was probably a little bit more than tipsy at this point.

"You wanna dance?" He asked. I looked over and there were a handful of couples on the small dance floor. The song ended and a song I didn't recognize began to play.

I shook my head. "Not right now. Thanks, Riley," I turned away from him and hoped he wouldn't ask again. When he walked away, all my friends stared at me. "What?"

"Why didn't you dance with him?" Tia asked.

"I didn't want to."

"And why not?" Maria demanded to know. The kid really needed to learn her place.

I shrugged. "I just didn't want to."

"Let's go get some drinks," Alice suggested, pulling me away from the table before I had a chance to remind her I had a full drink. When we got the bar she turned to me and quirked an eyebrow.

"What?" I groaned.

"One dance isn't going to kill you."

"I don't want to dance with him."

She sighed. "It's been six months, Bella."

"I know exactly how long it's been," I snapped.

"Give him a chance," She urged. "You might be surprised." I turned to look at the table he was sitting at. He was laughing and clearly having a good time. He looked up and smiled at me.

He had a very nice smile.

"I guess it wouldn't be the worst thing," I sighed.

"You don't need to marry the guy," She laughed. I handed her my drink and made my way over to his table. I tapped his shoulder to get his attention and he smiled at me again.

"Still wanna dance?" I asked boldly and Jake smirked at me. I wanted to tell him to shut up but didn't want to ruin the moment so I ignored him.

"Of course," He agreed as he stood up and lead me onto the dancefloor. The melody was something familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. "My niece loves this song."

"What is it?"

"What Makes You Beautiful," He laughed. "She listens to that boy group constantly."

"How old is she?"

He smiled. "She'll be nine in July."

"Good age," I said. "My son is going to be eleven in August."

"Preteen years," He laughed. "You ready for that."

"I don't know...I hope so," I said. "He'd love this place."

"Jake told me he's gotten very good at piano."

"Yeah," I glanced over at the door and my mouth dropped. Emmett and Kate walked in, looking amazing, and I quickly turned around so they wouldn't see me. I didn't understand why I wanted to be hidden, Edward and I were not together anymore. There was no reason for me to hide this.

But I suddenly felt like I was doing something very wrong.

"He's great at the piano," I told him as I focused. "He's also great at basketball and baseball."

"You guys must be busy."

I nodded. "His schedule is crazy. We're lucky his basketball is in the fall right now. He's eventually going to have to pick."

"I played baseball in high school and college."

"Where'd you play?"

"Notre Dame," He blushed.

"That's very impressive," I told him. "Are you from Indiana?"

"Born and raised."

"Do you miss it?"

"Bella?" A booming voice came from the other side of the dancefloor. I closed my eyes and looked past Riley and saw Emmett and Kate standing a few people away. He started walking towards me but it looked like Kate wanted to leave me alone, which I was grateful for.

"Hi, Emmet."

"How're you feeling?" He asked. "You look great."

"Thank you," I really liked Emmett but I just wanted him to go away. I was really enjoying my time with Riley and would have liked to continue to dance with him.

Without my ex-boyfriends brother breathing down my neck.

"Edward's doing well too," He told me. "All the bruising is healed."

I nodded. "It has been six weeks, Emmett. I would hope the bruising is healed."

"Bruising?" Ruley asked.

"Edward and Bella were in a car wreck last month," He smirked. "Edward is Bella's ex-boyfriend and my older brother."

Riley's eyes got bigger.

"Emmett, leave her alone," Kate urged.

"Bella and Edward were very much in love and he's been in therapy for months so it's only a matter of time before they get back together."

"Emmett!" Kate screeched. "Let's go."

"He should know the facts."

"This is none of our business," Kate hissed as she grabbed his hand. "I'm so sorry, Bella." She pulled him away back to their table.

I stood there awkwardly with Riley and was really angry at Emmett for sticking his nose where it didn't belong. I wasn't sure what to say but I knew if I just kept standing there he would leave and find another girl to dance with. I looked over at my table and Jake's table and they were all staring at us.

Emmett's voice did carry.

"Riley, I'm sorry," I said.

He turned to me and smiled. "It's okay. I knew about you ex."

"You did?"

"Jake told me," He told me. "He wanted to set us up back around Christmas but then he came back a few days later and told me you weren't ready. Said you'd been through a breakup."

"Oh."

He smiled. "Everyone has a past, Bella. I'd like to sit down and continue talking...away from our friends. But only if you want to."

"Sure," I agreed.

I was surprised by how well I connected with Riley. We sat at that table until Alice came to tell me we needed to leave because Maria had too much to drink. I wanted to stay but I didn't know him well enough to just stay without a way home that didn't include a cab.

I did give him my number and the next day he called to ask me out on a real date.

I was hesitant to say yes and promised to call him back. Once I hung up, I immediately called Alice. She encouraged me to go on the date because there was no time like the present to get back on the horse.

And she was right. I had been hoping Edward would figure things out and come talk to me but that hope was starting to dim. He'd been in therapy for months and he hadn't even tried to talk to me. The only time I saw him was to deal with our kids and then the car accident. He and Caroline stayed with Brady and me for a few days but then they left and life went back to normal.

I hadn't talked to him much since the accident and I couldn't wait around forever.

And Riley was here. And he was sweet and smart and very funny. We got along and it was fun to flirt and be flirted with again. He made me feel beautiful and seen.

I wanted to go on a date with him.

Jasper and Alice were happy to take Brady for the evening since Jake had a business dinner and mom was gone with Phil again. Alice came over to help me get ready for the date before she took Brady with her.

I didn't tell Brady about the date because I couldn't risk him getting attached again. I knew that it was too early to be thinking about that but I just wanted him to be kept in the dark about where I was going.

He was ten. He didn't need to know everything that happened in my life.

The two of them had only been gone for a few minutes when the doorbell rang. I took one last look in the mirror and went to answer the door. When I opened the door I couldn't help but smile. Riley looked amazing in his charcoal grey pants, light blue button-up, and a bouquet of purple flowers.

"Hi," He smiled as he handed me the flowers. I invited him inside so I could quickly put them in a vase and it felt very strange to have another man in my house. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," I blushed. "You look pretty good yourself."

"I try very hard," He laughed. "Shall we?"

"Yes," I took his hand when he offered it to me and let him pull me towards his car. Riley was a big planner and had asked me where I would want to go on a date. I told him what my favorite restaurant and requested to go back to the piano bar.

We just had such a good time there the other night and I wanted to continue that.

After a delicious Italian dinner, we made our way back to the piano bar. It wasn't nearly as crowded on a Friday night so we found a table easily. We ordered drinks and continued our conversation from dinner.

"So, two weeks in Europe sounds amazing," I smiled as the waitress handed us our drinks.

"My family is big on traveling," He told me. "Dad traveled a lot for work so when my sister and I were off in the summer, be brought us with him whenever he could."

"Did your mom work?"

"She was a school nurse so it worked out perfectly."

Ladies and gentlemen," The pianist announced. "We have a very special guest here tonight. I usually don't share my piano but when this guy told me what he wanted to do...I had to let him play. Please enjoy our special guest!"

I found it odd that he didn't say the new person's name before he started playing.

"I would love to go to Europe. We just can't afford it yet."

"Hi," I stiffened at the familiar voice. "There's someone that I love very much in this room. This girl and I aren't together anymore because I was a fool who didn't know how to talk to her. I didn't know what the right words were."

"Oh my god," I whispered.

"What?" Riley asked.

"So, I wrote this song to show her how much I love her."

"Oh my god," I repeated as he started playing the piano.

"I've been alone so many nights now. And I've been waitin' for the stars to fall. I keep holdin' out for what I don't know. To be with you, just to be with you

I turned around with tears in my eyes to look at him. He looked incredible up there as he played the piano. That was always my favorite thing. I loved hearing him play and I fell in love with him, even more, when he sang to me.

"Maybe you're somewhere thinkin' about me too. To be with you, there's nothing I wouldn't do. And I can't imagine two worlds spinnin' apart. Come together eventually..."

"Bella?" Riley asked.

I turned to him and felt absolutely horrible. "That's Edward."

"Your...ex?" I nodded. "This song is for you?"

"Yeah," I said as a tear streamed down my cheek. I didn't want to hurt him but I couldn't deny the fact that I was madly in love with Edward. "I'm so sorry, Riley."

"Go," He smiled. "He's clearly in love with you. I'm good."

"You're a really...really good guy," I stood up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. I hated embarrassing him like this but something about the song spoke to me. He was pouring his heart out and even though we probably had a long road ahead of us, I didn't want to be apart anymore. I realized that if he was ready then I wanted to be with him.

I only wanted to be with him.

And he seemed ready if he was willing to write me a song and sing it in front of a bunch of strangers.

I walked towards Edward as he continued to sing to me. He looked up and saw me walking towards him and his voice got shaky.

"But this journey, it was worth the fight. To be with you, just to be...holding you for the very first time, never letting go. What I wouldn't give to feel that way..."

I sat down on the piano bench with him and rested my head on his shoulder.

"And when you're standin' here in front of me, that's when I know that God does exist. 'Cause He will have answered every single prayer. To be with you, just to be with you."

He played the final note and the crowd erupted into cheer.

"I hope that's her!" And older lady on the dancefloor shouted and he smiled at her. I scanned the crowd for Riley but he'd already left. I felt like a terrible person but as I looked back at Edward, I knew this was what was right.

He was the love of my life.

"I love you, Bella," He told me. "I love you so much and you were never some consolation prize. You're the best thing that's happened to me since Caroline was born."

"I love you too."

"I'm so sorry for making you feel like I didn't care or that I was settling for you. If we got married it would never be because I couldn't find anyone better," He told me. "I could never find anyone better. I love you."

"Edward."

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me," I cried. He cupped my face in his hands and pulled me close. There was an electricity in the kiss and I saw sparks when he kissed me.

The crowd began to clap again and I remembered we were in a very public place.

We stood up and went behind the curtain so we could have some privacy.

"How'd you know I would be here?" I asked as we sat together.

He blushed. "Alice told Kate who told Emmett who told me."

"What a grapevine," I laughed.

"I hope you aren't upset."

I pushed his hair off his forehead. "You didn't need to make a big gesture to get me back, you know. You could have just come and talked to me."

"You were dating again...I didn't know if just talking would work."

"It was one date, Edward," I kissed his cheek. "I wasn't exactly dating."

He smiled. "I didn't write that song because you were going on a date," He said. "I started writing it after the accident."

"You've been writing it for over a month?"

"I wanted it to be perfect," He whispered. "I would have come talk to you a lot earlier after the accident but I've always been better at music than with words."

"It was perfect," I assured him as I kissed him.

It felt so right to be kissing him again.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Did he kiss you?"

I laughed. "No. We didn't exactly get to the end of our date."

"Oh," He nodded and I could tell he was trying to play it cool. "Good. No one ever needs to kiss you again."

"No one?"

He pulled out a small velvet box and got down on one knee. "I'm the only one allowed to kiss my future wife."

"Edward," I breathed deeply.

"I love you, Bella and I want to be with you for the rest of my life," He said. "That has never been more clear to me."

"Oh..."

"Bella...will you marry me?"

"You're proposing?"

"I am."

"Right now?"

He smiled. "Right now."

I looked at the ring. It was a beautiful gold band with a single diamond in the middle with six little diamonds next to it. It looked vintage and like he'd put a lot of thought into this decision to ask me to marry him.

Then I looked at him. I looked into his beautiful, green eyes and saw a future with him. I saw my entire life flash before my eyes and I saw the two of us, sitting on a porch swing together surrounded by our grandchildren.

"Yes," I cried. "I would love to marry you."

"Really?" He asked as he took the ring out of the box and slid it on my finger. "We're getting married?"

"We're getting married," I smiled as he stood up to kiss me.

I was kissing my fiance.

"I love you so much," He hugged me tightly.

"It's beautiful," I smiled.

"It was my grandmother's," He smiled. "She was married to my grandfather for sixty-three years."

"Sixty-three?"

"She passed away right before sixty-four and he died a month later," He told me. "The doctors said it was old age but we knew it was from a broken heart."

"So it's good luck?" I asked.

"I think so."

"Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"We're getting married!" I squealed and jumped into his arms.

Author's Note: Obviously, Edward didn't actually write that song. It's To Be With You by David Archuletta. I just wanted it to seem like he wrote a song but I don't know anything about music or songwriting so I couldn't come up with one on my own :)