Chapter 15

Hello everyone …

I am thrilled to have you back for another chapter of Broken Wings. Thanks for being a part of this journey. I hope you are enjoying the story.

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I'd like to thank my beta, Frannie Walsh, for doing this chapter in a moments notice. I actually forgot to submit it to her for editing until yesterday … Thankfully, she did it right away and returned it. Please come visit: It all started with Twilight on Facebook.

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Bella sighed as she navigated through the streets of Atlanta. She was so preoccupied by the man sitting next to her; she had trouble focusing on the traffic, slamming on the brakes to keep from rear-ending an SUV. Cussing under her breath, she inhaled deeply to calm her racing pulse. Her reaction to his presence must've been obvious because she heard him chuckle.

Searching for something to take her mind off Edward's effect on her, she landed on a topic they hadn't touched on in a while. Clearing her throat, she chanced a sidelong glance in his direction. "You should give Jasper a call … Alice will be there. It'd be a perfect chance for us to put our plan into action."

Edward's hand shot out to catch the dashboard as she hit the brake hard once again. "Are you sure we're going to make it to the park alive?"

As if her own ability to drive wasn't bad enough, a little Kia Forte chose that moment to cut her off, causing her to stomp on the brake again. Glowering over at him, Bella nodded, "One way or the other, we will make it to the park. If you don't want your sister playing matchmaker, you better find something to keep her distracted."

"Very true, 'cause we are just friends," Edward confirmed with a hint of sarcasm lacing his tone. However, he couldn't dispute her logic about Alice. Grabbing his phone, he hit the call button before lifting it to his ear. "Hey, man, you should meet us over in the park for a movie or two."

Bella only half-listened to the conversation in progress. Forcing herself to block out the sound of his voice, she concentrated on the rest of the drive toward Piedmont Park, proud of herself when she was only distracted one more time after that. There was just something about his raspy tone coaxing her attention back in his direction. Her next trial was denying the smile that demanded to be released when she spotted him staring back at her.

What was it about Edward Cullen that caused this feeling of being reborn? She was no longer the chump that married the first guy she dated. She wasn't the same woman that left Washington years later to escape James' influence and cheating ways. She wasn't the same person inside that had arrived here in Georgia a month ago.

This new revelation was eye-opening, and yes—she'd done a ton of growing in just a few short weeks … In large part, she'd done all these things on her own, and she was twice the woman she once was.

She couldn't dispute, however, the way this man's gaze affected her. He made her beam with a radiance she hadn't ever felt … like she was desirable … her, Bella Swan—a big fat nobody from Washington State. What made her so special to inspire the heat she'd spied from Edward Cullen on more than one occasion? While she couldn't pinpoint one thing she'd done to deserve such attention from him, she couldn't resist the flood of warmth that blossomed under the weight of those silver eyes.

So, when he looked at her as he was doing now—like she was the only woman that existed capable of capturing his attention—well, hell … she melted a little more inside. How the hell was she supposed to keep resisting the attraction between them when it encouraged a whole new person to bloom?

While she didn't voice any of this aloud, ignoring her internal speculations was unfathomable. There was simply no overlooking that glow in his gaze, or the way it made her want to smile like a stupid ass fool—because that was what the voice in the back of her head spouted. No matter how many times she'd witnessed that captivated gleam in his eye—there was a voice telling her how ridiculous she was being. Yet when his arm stretched out over the back of the seat, and his fingers feathered over her heavy tresses, Bella had to bite her lip hard to fight the smile that begged to spread across her face. "Friends play with their friend's hair?"

"On occasion," he mumbled back, pulling on a long piece of her chocolate mane. "You know … when you're in the sun, there are streaks of auburn highlights … It kind of shimmers … very pretty."

Of course, he chose to state this simple fact when she was pulling into a parking spot—thankfully, she guessed. Especially considering her perception was affected by this enlightenment, causing her to misjudge the space between the truck's front end and the pole she wound up tapping."Shit," was all she could come up with.

An almost natural chuckle left Edward's lips as he once again made a mad reach for the dash. With a wicked expression, he murmured, "Maybe I should drive home."

Bella threw the truck in park and buried her face in her hands, laughing at her own stupidity. How freaking embarrassing? This is what Edward did to her—took all of her rational and common sense. She had no comprehensive thought of anything but Edward freaking Cullen … Holy crap.

Mindful of the makeup she'd applied, she rubbed her temples. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" His expression spoke volumes. He knew exactly what she was talking about because the smile hovering on his lips grew wider, and those amazing teeth—what the hell? Yep—even his fucking teeth were perfect. How did one person have a right to look that damn good?

"Oh, don't even act like you don't know what I'm talking about," Bella chuckled with a shake of her head. She breathed a sigh of relief when a tap on her window intruded on what was happening in the cab of her truck. Despite how roomy the seat was, space seemed to shrink in his presence. The man should come with a warning label … seriously.

The knock on her window forced her attention away. Seeing Alice's bright smile was more than a welcome intrusion. With a little more effort than Bella would've liked, she greeted the woman, and pushed the door open. Without a backward glance, she hopped free from her seat.

"I see you brought a straggler," Alice acknowledged with a beaming welcome toward her brother. "It's good to see you getting out and about."

"Who can say no to vampires and werewolves?" Edward collected the blankets and pillows from the bed of the truck. "Especially when they sparkle."

They turned to head down a path leading into the park when Jasper wove in between a row of parked cars. Immediately, his attention went to Alice, and a lopsided grin pulled at his lips. "Hey … I heard you might be here. Mind if I buy you a soda?"

"Jasper," Alice started with a warning in her tone,

Before she could continue, Edward caught her attention with raised brows. Just one hard look in her direction was all it took to make her jaw snap shut. With a firm press of her lips, she gave a curt nod; her voice clipped as she said, "Sure … But you're buying me a box of Goobers too."

"Whatever you say." Jasper ducked under a low hanging branch to follow Alice as she started down the trail. The poor guy had to nearly jog to keep up with her brisk gait, but in his defense, he didn't seem put off at all.

"Well, that didn't seem as hard as I'd imagined," Edward explained, leading the way into the park. They came to a spot twenty feet from the big screen. Together they spread the blanket out across the lawn and arranged the pillows in the center. Once everything was set up, he turned to Bella. "Wanna go find that concession stand?"

Concession stand? She wanted to tackle his fine butt right here in the middle of these blankets and keep him there for the duration of the movie. She wanted to feel the hard press of his body against hers again, smell that cologne he wore, bury her nose in his pecs. Briefly, she let herself remember her fingers curled in his at the pool party or the bumping of his knee against hers. Instantly, recognition coursed through her at the memories of his touch. How long would it be until she didn't relive those too brief encounters? Did she want to erase the way he made her feel? Absolutely not …

"Yeah, Alice and Jasper headed that way," Bella gestured in the direction of the trail they'd taken. Briefly, Edward hesitated, waiting for Bella to reach his side. Side by side, Bella tried to ignore the swing of Edward's arm, wanting to take hold of those dangling fingers. "So, you've never told me what kind of work you do."

Edward nibbled at his bottom lip and shrugged. "Nothing really that interesting … Work at a garage fixing different types of bikes. Wind up smelling like grease and oil half the time and gas the other half."

Why did the thought of him all greasy and grimy sound just as sexy? She could envision him now with ripped jeans and a dirty white T-shirt. His hair would be a wild mess, smudges of oil on his cheek … maybe his pants slipping down over his butt—perhaps wrenching on a bike without the fucking T-shirt.

These were so not friendly images. Even now, her gaze kept roaming to his ass as he stepped a few paces ahead of her. It was completely his fault. If he hadn't pulled her up against him on numerous occasions, she would've never experienced the thrill of his touch … never known how the press of his chest would feel against her back. A well of frustration swelled in her chest, but with great force, she shoved it away. "Is it something you enjoy doing, or … Are you thinking of trying your hand at something new?"

"I'm good at it—pays the bills." Edward didn't really feel like getting into all the reasons he couldn't exactly have the employment of his choosing. Of course, if he could be anything in the world he wanted to, he had absolutely no clue as to what it would be. When the cold metal of those cuffs touched his skin years ago, he'd given up thinking about that stuff. One look at his background would end any hope of a better future. "Don't really need much more than that …"

They continued to make small talk as they walked to and from the concession stand. With popcorn, Sour Patch Kids, and soda, they landed in the middle of the blanket. Edward laid across the comforter, propping himself up with a hand under his cheek. Bella sat cross-legged a foot away, pulling a pillow up in the center of her lap. Nibbling a piece of popcorn, she glanced around at faces passing by. "Wonder where Jasper and Alice went … think our plans are working?"

Edward wasn't sure if their plan was working—but his sure as hell was. Currently, Bella was all his, and that was the only thing he gave a shit about. If Alice decided to pursue things with Jasper, that was on her.

Edward dangled a piece of popcorn in front of Bella's mouth. When she didn't open to receive the morsel, he nudged her bottom lip with the treat, leaving a smear of butter on her petal pink skin. "Open wide, Bella."

"Do friends feed each other popcorn?" Bella wanted to know with amusement twinkling in her eye. The most adorable smile she'd ever witness flashed across his face. Unable to resist that glow of desire in his eyes, she finally took the popcorn between her teeth, her lips touching his fingertips as she munched the snack.

"They do, and you want to know something else?" Edward asked, unable to cap the delight he felt. How long had it been since he'd openly flirted with anyone? Tapping her knee, he whispered, "Sometimes—they even feed them, Sour Patch Kids."

"Oh, really?" Licking the butter from her bottom lip, she attempted to turn her attention back to the screen, yet failed as his fingers slipped over the pack, crinkling the paper with suggestion. With undeniable interest, Bella watched as he opened it and sorted through them.

"What kind do you like?"

Closing her eyes, she stuck out her tongue. "Surprise me."

Oh, Edward wanted to surprise her all right, but it wasn't a fucking candy he wanted to put on that cherry red tongue. As he studied the appendage she displayed, he could feel the growing urge to suck it into his own mouth and taste her salty essence. A zap of awareness tightened his gut, and it took all his willpower to return his attention to the candy. Pulling a blueberry one from the pack, he let the coarse sugar touch her tongue, enjoying the expression of bliss on her delicate features.

What would she do if he just gave into this intense desire to kiss her? He knew they were only supposed to be friends. Edward now knew about her husband. Did it take away from this gnawing in his gut? Hell fucking no …

They both turned their attention to the big screen as the noise around them died, and the sound of the movie filled the park. With Edward's focus divided between the movie and the woman sitting next to him, he barely noticed when Jasper and Alice sat on the edge of the blanket. He did happen to notice when they came to rest on the comforter; there was a lot less space separating them.

When Bella laid down on her belly and propped her chin on the pillow, he wiggled the short distance next to her. He left only an inch between them, liking the way her arm brushed against his every time she drew a deep breath. Chancing a look in her direction, Edward noticed her attention was completely focused on the story unfolding before them.

Edward watched the images flicker in her green eyes. The captivation in those emeralds was mesmerizing in a way he'd never guessed. He was so engrossed in just—just looking at her, he didn't notice when her gaze tipped in his direction, her chin pillowed on her folded arms. "You should be watching the movie … it's pretty good if you get past all the girly stuff."

Chuckling, he shrugged, "The whole movie is girly stuff … plus, you're a lot better to look at than the images on the screen. I can watch Twilight any time; I only have a limited time with you."

The husky quality edging his tone as he spoke, caused Bella to go mushy inside. How was she supposed to keep this platonic with him staring at her like that? Then the sound of his voice inspired a quiver to race down her spine, settling in a very unfriendly place—well, maybe that wasn't exactly true … currently, her body wanted to be more than friendly. And if she wasn't mistaken, the distance between them closed until his side was pressed against hers, making comprehension impossible.

When Edward gave her a nudge with his elbow, she jerked to attention as he indicated where Alice and Jasper sat. From this angle, it appeared as if they were actually holding hands. Excitement dashed through her, and Bella's gaze darted to Edward to find him grinning from ear to ear.

Bella leaned in to whisper to Edward, yet he turned to look at her unexpectedly, bringing their lips centimeters apart. He was so freaking close, she could feel his breath on her mouth, and as a well of emotion overcame her, Bella became immobile. She couldn't have pulled away if wild horses were tied to her toes. She was immensely proud of herself when she maintained the short distance—because all she wanted to do was lean into and taste the breath teasing her senses.

He was going to drive her right out of her head. Trying to break the spell tangling her in its web, she mumbled, "Friends do—don't … they don't …"

"Don't what?" Edward couldn't look away. There seemed to be this invisible force holding him in place, threatening to consume him. Tracing her delicate mouth, he whispered, "Damn, Bella …"

His skin was tight and prickly. Would he be forever damned to hell if he just gave into this insanity and kissed her? Would he ruin the friendship they created and insisted on maintaining? He was sorely tempted to find out. Throwing caution to the wind, he started to close the gap separating them when someone stumbled across his legs and dumped an entire, thirty-two-ounce Coke across their blanket. Startled by the unexpected sugary shower, Edward jumped to his feet with a curse, completely ruining the moment.

Edward might have continued his rant, yet one look at Bella quelled the urge as she rose and grabbed his hand. The annoyance he'd been feeling for being interrupted faded as he stared down at her. How the fuck could he be mad when she was smiling up at him like that? —it was impossible.

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