Hi everyone! I'm back :)

As always thank you to my pre-reader purpleC305 and Ninkita, my beta extraordinaire.

And a big "hvala" to everyone reading this!

Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

EPOV

The water ripples as I swim my fifth lap along the buoys that mark a restricted area. Swimming soothes me and clears my head. It's exactly what I need right now because a certain girl made sure I had no real sleep last night and I got up before sunrise.

To be honest, I didn't much mind the lack of sleep since it was Izi who starred in my short but sweet dream. What I hated though, was that I woke up just when it was getting to the good stuff.

The dream started with me carrying her weak and sleeping form home and tucking her in. Instead of sleeping the drunken night off, like she was supposed to, she was suddenly wide awake and all over me. The moment she had me on my back and with both legs on either side of my hips - her eyes were intent on mine and her warm center firmly on my already hard dick - I was wide awake myself and royally pissed that it stopped there. I could have fucking cried, it felt so real and I really wanted to know what she had planned to do to me. I was frustrated to no end and before I knew it I had my hand wrapped around my cock and Izi's face on my mind. You'd have thought I was thirteen and not twenty-seven with how fast I finished.

Jesus, I really need to stop thinking about the way Izi has not only invaded my dreams but also my life. The funny thing is, I can't stop thinking about her. How someone you never met - you never even knew existed - can, in the blink of an eye, mean so much to you, puzzles me.

Sure, I've always appreciated a nice looking girl with soft eyes and a genuine smile - who doesn't? - but it never went beyond that. At least not at first sight. But with Izi there is something much more than mere appreciation. Her eyes tell me she's open, genuine and at the same time takes no shit from anyone. Her body screams soft and pliant and begs to be worshipped. And worship I would, if she let me.

I wonder if she'll come to the beach today. Considering Roza's here and according to Emmett they're pretty much inseparable, I really hope so. If she even feels well enough to join us, that is. I'm a little bit jealous of my brother. He gets to talk with his girl whenever he wants, while I am hoping to just catch a glimpse of my beauty, if nothing else.

"Want some company?" Jasper's voice interrupts my thoughts, my rhythm and thankfully my self-pity, too. I stop and turn to my best friend. "Sure," I tell him and we resume breaking through the water together.

After a few more laps spent occupied by our own thoughts, we stop at a rock protruding from the water where the string of buoys is tied on. The sun's yellow glow is reflecting on the water, making it look like there are diamonds floating on the surface. My mind wanders once again to Izi, hoping she's ok and that I'll be seeing her soon too.

"You alright?" Jasper asks after I haven't said anything for quite a while.

"Sure," I reply, looking out at the horizon because I know Jasper's going to be able to read me and I'm not sure if I'm ready for any confessions.

"You seem different somehow," he states and I can hear a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Different? What do you mean? I'm the same as always." Yeah, like you believe it yourself, liar.

"What I mean is, you've always been a quiet person but you never hesitated to talk about what's bothering you." I finally look at him and open my mouth to contradict what he's just said when he holds up a hand to stop me. "Before you try to convince me that there's nothing to tell, let me remind you that I've known you for almost a decade. And besides, you were swimming laps and if that doesn't give away your mood, I don't know what does."

He's got me there. Like Jasper said, we've known each other for a long time and there really is no one better suited to talk to than him.

"I don't even know where to start," I tell him honestly. "When I saw her yesterday for the first time, it was like... I don't know how to describe it."

"Like nothing before her existed? She's all you're thinking about?" Jasper guesses.

"Exactly that," I confess. There's no need to deny it, especially if it's the truth. "I know we never talked about it, mostly because it wasn't my business but was it like that with you and Alice?"

"Pretty much," Jasper admits with a soft smile, undoubtedly thinking of my sister. "Do you remember when I came to your house for the first time?" I nod. Jasper had just moved to our neighborhood and we clicked immediately. "Alice was sitting on the couch, yelling profanities your mom wouldn't have approved of at some poor character on the TV, like he was able to hear her." He chuckles and shakes his head, like he just remembered something else. "Anyway, I knew right then and there that I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I went home that day and that was the first time I've had a rough time falling asleep in a long while."

"So it's normal that I already have these intense feelings for her? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes, exactly that."

"Ok, but the thing with you and Alice is different."

Why am I trying to sabotage myself?

"What is different about it? I don't get it," Jasper asks, confused.

"Because Izi lives here and I live in Seattle." Ah, yes, that's why. "Let's say something develops between us. How is that supposed to work? It's not like we can just jump on a plane to see each other whenever we feel like it." I stop my rant, frustrated with the mere truth that lies behind my statement.

"Love will always find a way, Edward," Jasper says and with a wink and clap on my back he swims away, leaving me looking at his retreating form, perplexed.

Love? Is he crazy? It's impossible to think that I could already love her. Infatuation or desire maybe. But love? Jasper's out of his mind, that's for sure.

And I'll be gone in four weeks anyway, there's no point in starting something with her that has no future? Like I said to Jasper, I live in the States and her home is here. My chest constricts and my heartbeat quickens at the thought of not seeing Izi anymore after my time here comes to an end. I rub the spot where it hurts to solely breathe.

But I also realize that I can't just not feel. I can't pretend that it's ok to feign ignorance when all I want is to see her, to be with her.

Consequences be damned, I will think about what to do when the time comes for me to leave and until then I'm not going to be a slave to hurt and denial. I'll just let destiny do its job.

That is, if Izi's even on the same page. I know she is attracted to me. She made it clear last night. Granted, she was drunk, but doesn't it say "drunk says what sober thinks"? I smile when I remember the way she clung to me as the words of wanting to kiss me left her delectable mouth.

I get out of the water with a stupidly satisfied grin on my face. I'm so entirely lost in my thoughts that I don't notice my sister coming my way. "Good luck, Edward," she says and passes without stopping, leaving me confused. Why would I need luck?

My breath hitches when I see who's sitting in my spot.

"Hi," I say, still perplexed seeing her sitting here.

"Oh, sorry," Izi apologizes, motioning to my towel. "Alice said it was ok." I get myself together quickly because I don't want to seem rude and unwelcoming and besides the idea of her sitting on my towel - touching something of mine - is thrilling. Good Lord, I seriously need help, I groan inwardly when I realize what I was just thinking about. She is about to leave the spot when I stop her by shaking my head.

"No, don't get up," I tell her with a grin, hoping I can pursue her to stay. "I bet there's enough room for two." I hope to God my attempt at flirting works because Izi doesn't strike me as the type of girl who falls for something like that.

Her eyes go wide but she immediately - and dare I say greedily - scoots over a bit, so I can join her. I bend my legs and put my arms on my knees. "Hey," I greet her again, my smile still in place. My hands itch to touch her so I bury them between my knees to prevent them from coming too close to her. I don't want to scare her away.

"How are you feeling, Izi? Are you ok?" My tone has changed from playful to concerned.

Izi blushes and quickly covers her face. "Oh God, I'm so mortified."

"Hey, don't be. It's ok," I try to make her feel better and my hands twitch again to touch her, to at least lay a soothing hand on her shoulder.

"It's not, if you don't remember anything," she corrects me with an apologetic smile. "Roza told me you were with me. At least tell me if I did something embarrassing." Her big brown eyes look pleadingly at me. There's no way I'm telling her anything she said last night. That will stay my little secret.

"Nope, nothing embarrassing to tell our grandkids." I've decided to throw in a joke to make her feel better, but I immediately startle at my words. Grandkids? Really? For a second Izi looks surprised but then she grins, all her embarrassment forgotten, and bumps my shoulder with hers. "You're funny, Edward." I shrug nonchalantly but at the same time I'm relieved she didn't take my words seriously. "No, Edward, really, you can tell me if I did something stupid."

Well, I wouldn't say calling me beautiful or wanting to kiss me is stupid but I would never tell her that these were her words. She's embarrassed enough as it is. Instead I go with the less embarrassing happenings. She might still be mortified but it's better than telling her everything. "You might have said some things in Croatian after I found you alone." Izi gasps but I continue quickly so she doesn't ask me anything about that. "You were already pretty much three sheets to the wind so I led you away from the crowd to catch some fresh air. Then you threw up."

"Jesus, Edward. Don't tell me I threw up on you," Izi says almost pleadingly.

"No, don't worry. I'm sure there is evidence somewhere in the sand that that didn't happen." I can't stop myself from laughing at her desperate look to finally make an end to her neverending embarrassment.

"Stop joking about it," she asks of me and slaps me on the arm.

"Ouch!" I rub the spot where she's hit me in mock hurt, which makes her finally laugh.

"Thank you for taking care of me," she says in a more serious tone and squeezes my hand.

"Anytime." It takes my brain a millisecond to register that I've just, without a second thought, turned my hand over and threaded my fingers through hers. Izi inhales sharply, her eyes widen and I hope to God she doesn't pull away because I really need to touch her.

She lifts a questioning eyebrow but makes no attempt at pulling away. I shrug as if this is the next logical step and keep our hands on my knee, thrilled that I can finally touch her like I wanted to for what seems like ages.

"So, tell me, who is Izi and what does she do in her free time when she's not… adventurous?" I ask grinning, hoping to keep hearing her voice. She shoots me an annoyed look at my jab accompanied with an eye roll.

"Not that you deserve to know, smart ass," she starts and narrows her eyes at me playfully. "but you're cute so I'll tell you." She winks and grins at the stupid look on my face. I'm surprised since she just called me cute. She recently called me beautiful too, but I refrain from opening this can of worms.

"I'm Izabela Labudović, but everyone calls me Izi. I'm a twenty-three year old hairdresser who works from home. My parents' home actually, where I still live." She pauses briefly and pensively before she continues. "It's not what I want to do forever, though."

"Yeah? What do you want to do instead?" I ask her, glad she's willing to share part of her life with me.

"I want to open my own bed and breakfast because I've always loved to entertain and spoil people. Ask my parents, they would agree with me." You can spoil me anytime, beautiful, I think to myself, imagining her professional and skilled hands massaging my scalp. I almost groan at the thought of a potential upgrade from massaging my scalp to her hands wandering to other places. Thankfully, her sweet voice brings me back from my daydreaming before I embarrass myself in front of her. "And like I said, I still live at home. It's cheaper since I take care of people's hair without having to pay taxes," she whispers sheepishly. "I'll need all the money to start the business," she adds, almost as an excuse for tricking the state, so to speak. "I know it won't happen tomorrow or even in a year but still, it's something I've been dreaming about doing for a while."

"A bed and breakfast?" I ask, impressed. "That sounds like quite a challenge. Do you have a location or house in mind?" Her whole face lights up at my question. God, she's blinding and extraordinarily beautiful when she's happy.

"Yes!" She exclaims enthusiastically and squeezes my hand, her touch shooting a current of elation and happiness through my body. "There is an old house that caught my interest," she tells me excitedly. "It's not that big, two bedrooms, three at the most, I'd guess, and it looks really, really nice. Well at least from the outside because I've never been inside. And the location is perfect. Quite remote but pretty close to the beach."

Her enthusiasm is addicting so I continue asking her questions just to hear her talk animatedly about the house and her potential plans for it. "Yeah? Describe the house to me. What does it look like?"

She dives right in at my encouragement. "It's an old stone house, typical for this area, with green shutters, you know?" I nod and smile at her eagerness to share it with me. "The thing is the house has been empty for a long time and I don't know if it's for sale or even who the owners are. I know that one of the owners died a long time ago and the other one moved away to the US long before that."

It's not possible, is it? My smile vanishes and Izi catches on to it. "Is everything ok, Edward?"

"Um… yeah, sure, I'm fine," I lie. I try to school my features before I continue with my questions. "And you really don't know anything… about the owner?"

"Nothing, except that one of them was a guy named Niko Bilić."

Holy shit! She's talking about my mom's house. I realize that I have a problem now. If I tell her it's my mom's house and that she has no intention of selling it, Izi's dream - no matter how unrealizable she thinks the dream is - to buy it and convert it into a BnB gets crushed. I'd hate to see the light in her eyes go out after she's gushed about it for the last ten minutes. And the fact that she'll find out my mom's Croatian and that I possibly understand the language? It might not shock her or be important now seeing as she believes she hasn't said anything embarrassing last night. But what if she remembers one day?

I have to come clean even if it means the end of something that hasn't even begun yet.

I start to play nervously with her fingers while thinking about how to start the conversation. "Izi, I…"

I don't get the chance to say anything more because my dear sister interrupts us. "Hey, guys! What about that dinner?"

Someone had to interrupt, right? ;)

Labudović, Labud = Swan. This last name is present in Croatia but not in the part where Izi lives. I just had to incorporate this last name so our Bella is still a Swan ;)

See you next chapter!

Hvala i voli vas

LunaBev