A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you for continuing to read this story and for caring about these two.

I watched Bella's car disappear down my winding driveway. I didn't want her to leave, I was ecstatic we'd made up, so I wanted to talk more, to make double sure we were in a good place. At least I knew as soon as everyone left, I'd be following her down that driveway as quickly as I could.

Once back inside my house, I kicked off my boots and headed to my busy kitchen. Jacob, Vanessa, and Seth were all crowded around Jake's phone, laughing at some video playing on the screen. Emmett caught my eye immediately, and I was unable and unwilling to try and hide the grin on my face. He grinned back and walked towards the large double doors that opened onto the deck, jerking his head, gesturing for me to follow. I joined him, both of us gazing out to the trees on the horizon before I turned and shushed him when he asked where Bella was.

"You heard her; she left."

Emmett elbowed me. "I know, but you look like you've won the lottery and an Olympic gold medal on the same day, so I'm guessing something has changed since you chased her out of here fifteen minutes ago."

"Yeah, we talked." My hands were in my pockets as I didn't look at him; I deliberately wasn't giving him much to go on; maybe keeping this relationship a secret had become more of a habit than I realized.

"Annnnnnd…"

I sighed before whispering to my brother. "And we're back together." I tried to look annoyed at him, but I was too happy; I couldn't hide the grin on my face.

I expected Emmett to look happier for me than he did. He just nodded and smiled. "No surprise there." He mumbled before he caught my confused expression. "Ed, judging by the tension that follows you and Bella everywhere you go, it was only a matter of time."

"But you're not pleased?" I ask, surprising myself by how hurt I felt. I thought we had his support; if the only person I'd told about us thought our relationship was a bad idea, I'd be crushed.

He turned to me, looking first inside to check we weren't being overheard, then back at me with a serious gaze. "No, of course, I'm pleased for you." He clapped me on the back for emphasis before he continued. "But it's obvious that keeping this a secret hasn't been easy for you. Truth be told, I've been worried as hell about you." He shrugged, trying to downplay the seriousness of the way he'd felt for weeks. "Ed, you're watching your every word you say around your own son and your own parents. You couldn't be open about being happy, and when it all went wrong, there was no one but me to support you because they didn't know you were even in a relationship. You didn't leave the apartment for days; then, when you finally did, you ripped into that new kid for putting sugar in all the saltshakers. Dude, you totally blew up at him in the middle of the restaurant. You're bottling everything up, and if you're going back to this secret relationship…."

I nodded, interrupting him because he didn't need to carry on; I knew he was right. "I know, Em. I know. That's why Bella and I agreed that we're going to tell the kids."

"You are?" Emmett looked shocked as his eyes scoured my face, assessing me for the truth of my words.

"Yeah, in a couple of weeks, after Bella's birthday." His face fell a little, but I leaped in before he could say anything. "What? We can't tell them the day we get back together; we need time to settle back into being a couple before we face that."

Emmett's face softened. "I guess so." His body stiffened, and I looked over his shoulder to see Jake approaching. I put my usual mask in place, not missing the raised eyebrows and the I told you so look, I was getting from Emmett. Christ, I wouldn't miss this.

"All right, birthday boy?" I clapped Jacob on the back as he got closer. Damn, how did I have a kid that was now a fully grown married man?

"Thanks for organizing this, Dad; it's been great." Jacob gestured to the room still full of his family and looked genuinely pleased.

"I'm just glad you still want to see this old man on your birthday," I told him. "But I'm guessing you'll be off to meet your mates soon?" I could tell that's where Jacob was headed, and he looked relieved I'd brought it up first.

"Would you mind? Pete messaged about meeting up; Seth's gonna come too…"

"Of course not, go and see your friends." I offered him a genuine smile, partly because I was pleased he was so close with his cousin and Seth was going with them to see friends, and partly because my house was one step closer to being empty.

Emmett also got the hint. So, over the next fifteen minutes, everyone except my parents left. My mom was still busy buzzing around my kitchen, washing, and tidying like it was her own house.

"Honestly, Mom, I can manage it; you're a guest here."

She shushed me and continued to wipe down the counters as I turned to my dad for help. He just shrugged, so I accepted my mom's help and started to load the dishwasher, trying to speed up the cleaning and, therefore, their departure.

"Edward, dear, remember that birthday Jacob climbed up and sat on this very kitchen counter. He was trying to get a look at his cake. He fell and needed stitches on his forehead; how old was he then?"

"Of course, that was his fourth birthday. Time flies, huh?"

She nodded, looking off into the distance as she reminisced. "Well, he's married now; how did that happen?" She asked, resuming her wiping of the counter even though I was sure it was clean by now.

"He fell in love." My dad answered simply.

"Yes, well Vanessa is a lovely girl, and her mom too, that cake she brought with her was delicious."

I smiled, I knew my mom was deliberately bringing Bella into the conversation and the smirk on Dad's face confirmed this to me. "Yes, Mom, Jake's lucked out, no monster-in-law for him."

"Mmmm, well, Bella sure is…"

"Come on, Esme, let's leave Edward alone; it's been a busy day; I'm sure he wants some peace and quiet," my dad interrupted, prompting a grateful smile from me.

"But I wanted to ask him…"

"I know, but Edward will tell us anything he wants us to know." He was holding my mom by her shoulders, guiding her away from the kitchen where she could easily spend the next half an hour cleaning up. Dad caught my eyes and winked at me as I nodded my thanks to him.

"Do you want to take some cake home with you?" I asked, wrapping up two generous slices. If it all stayed here, I'd eat the lot!

"Okay, okay, I get the not-so-subtle hints!" My mom shrugged my dad's hands off her in a mock grumpy gesture before accepting the cake from me as she held my hands, not just the cake.

"Edward, you deserve happiness, you know that, don't you? Kate was so long ago, and while I don't doubt you've had…dalliances…"

My dad and I groaned simultaneously at my mom's continued efforts to discuss my love life.

"Men!" She grumbled good naturally. "Why can't I have a serious conversation with you?" She lamented.

"If Edward wants us to know anything about his…dalliances, he'll tell us," Dad reiterated as I wished I could say something to shut down this whole conversation. But I feared anything I said would only invite further questions.

"Thanks for coming; I know Jake appreciated it," I told them, ushering them out of the door with more goodbyes and waves until I could finally close the door and turn to my now empty house.

I didn't waste any time racing to Bella's, where I only had a chance to knock once before she opened her door almost immediately. As I went to step through, she grabbed my shoulders and pulled me inside. Her lips found mine just as I went to speak, meaning my mumbled hello turned into a kiss that didn't stop until I was inside, and we turned and leaned back against the door, closing it with a bang.

"Mmmm, hi!" I managed when we broke apart.

"Hi." Bella looked a little embarrassed at her enthusiastic greeting, but I was just glad nothing had changed between us in the time she'd had time to think further about our situation.

We parted long enough for me to remove my shoes and get settled on the couch next to Bella.

"Edward…" Bella sounded serious as she looked me in the eyes, her hands resting on my thighs as she turned to me. "There's something important I should have told you earlier."

My stomach lurched. All I wanted was for us to be a normal, regular couple with no more secrets or surprises. "Go on," I encouraged.

Bella's serious expression relaxed into a heart-warming smile. "I… I'm falling in love with you too."

A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time.

Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received, please be assured I very much appreciate them. Please continue to let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue.