EPOV

I'm somewhere between asleep and awake when Bella stirs.

She doesn't say anything but wiggles out of my arms and pads to the bathroom. I watch her naked form until it disappears behind the closed door. She doesn't catch me watching so I grab the pillow she was using and bury my face in it, reveling in her sweet scent.

When I hear the sink running, I close my eyes and pretend I'm still asleep when she returns.

Bella slides back into bed and sighs. I'm worried that she's regretting what happened, and I'm afraid that Marley will be the one to pay for what we've done.

My fears are momentarily put to rest when she whispers my name, and when I don't move, she lifts my arm and moves closer.

Her breath smells like toothpaste, and I fight the urge to shiver as it washes over my face.

"Edward?" she whispers. "Are you awake?"

I don't move, and she runs her thumb across my brow, over my bottom lip, and then she surprises me by plugging my nose until I have no choice but to "wake up".

I open my eyes to find her super close and smiling at me, and I know we're going to be okay.

She's beautiful with her hair all mussed up, lips still swollen and eyes hooded. I love that I'm the one that made her this way. I love how right it feels to have her in my bed, wrapped up in my arms.

I know I love her, but I'm not about to be the oldest cliche in the book and tell her right now. We're happy and also nude, and I don't want to ruin it because she might not feel the same way. This could be a one-time thing for her. She could just enjoy cuddling after sex. Even though it's been hours since I carried her up to my room and took her again, that time against the wall in my shower before taking her to bed where we passed out.

I didn't fall asleep right away, but she did, and I couldn't help but watch her. I saw her eyes close and watched her body relax. I held her tightly because if the night was all we had I wanted to take advantage of the time. I was almost afraid to close my eyes, worried that I'd wake up and this would all be just a dream.

"What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Nothin'" She rolls her pretty brown eyes and bites that bottom lip that I'm oh so familiar with now.

I'm about to kiss that lip when her stomach growls and she buries her face in my chest. I can feel the heat of her embarrassment on my skin.

"Hungry?" I chuckle.

"Ravenous." She mutters.

I tighten my hold on her. "Wanna go raid the fridge?"

"Not really."

"Pizza? You missed out on Mike's this week."

"Nah."

I huff playfully and nip her shoulder, making her squeal. "Is this how it's going to be now? I ask you where you want to eat and you reject everything I offer?"

Her smile is blinding, and her eyes shimmer with emotion.

"Doesn't that go with the territory?"

I quirk a brow. "Does it?"

"I don't know." Her stomach growls, and then mine does.

We both laugh and are reminded that we're still naked.

I press my lips against her temple. "Please tell me what you want to eat. Otherwise we're both going to starve."

She giggles. "Name a few more things."

I groan and name off all the places I know that deliver this far out, and she shoots them all down, one by one.

"You're killing me, cookie."

She grins. "I kind of like it when you call me that."

"Good because I kind of like calling you that."

"Edward." She whines. "Please feed me."

I lean up and check the time. "Do you want to go eat wings and drink beer with too much head?"

She looks up at me.

"Or you can get one of those fruity drinks with an umbrella."

"Can we go pick up Marley? I miss her so much."

"She misses you too but—" Her smile falls. "I think we need to talk before I bring her home."

"You're right."

"So … do you want to go to a dive bar and get a little tipsy?"

"Are you really taking me to a dive bar?"

I frown. "I mean … is this a date?"

Bella throws her head back and laughs. "It's whatever you want it to be. I happen to love beer with lots of head."

She slides out of bed but turns back. Hands on her bare hips. Gone is the woman ashamed of her scars, and in her place is a confident, sexy cookie.

My cookie.

"Can I still get an umbrella with my beer?"

I chuckle. "Sure. I'll make it happen. Go get dressed and meet me downstairs."

She salutes and struts out of the room like she owns the place.

I finally roll out of bed and try to find date appropriate clothes.

We're going to a bar for wings and beer so slacks and a nice shirt are out.

I'm standing in front of my closet in my boxers when Bella pokes her head around the door, scaring the living daylights out of me. "What's taking you so long?" she asks.

"How did you get ready so fast?"

Her eyes roll, and she approaches me looking like a walking wet dream.

Dressed in torn jeans, a well worn band tee, a pair of dirty Chucks, and her hair piled high on top of her head, she's sexy without even trying.

She bites her lip to hide a smile. "Edward, are you fretting over what you're going to wear?"

The tips of my ears redden, and I nod.

She waves her hand up and down her body. "I'm wearing this."

"You're beautiful."

She stalks over and starts rifling through my closet until she decides on my favorite pair of jeans and blue tee shirt.

"We're going for wings and beer not a candlelight dinner, Edward."

She sits on the bed, waiting while I get dressed, and then all but bounces down the stairs. It isn't until she finds her purse under the coffee table that I realize she hasn't said a word about her migraine.

"How's the head?" I ask when she meets me at the door.

Bella's face screws up in confusion, and then lights up. "It's fine."

It's official. Vicky is getting a raise.

~MM~

It's strange being on a sort of first date with someone I've already been intimate with. We've spent so much time together that it's not awkward or anything. Bella sits next to me at a high top, and together, we demolish too many orders of wings. She got her umbrella in her beer but stops our waitress and asks for a glass of water, deciding that we should probably have our serious discussion before we drink anymore. It's a good idea, so I flag down our waitress again and ask for a Coke, and we settle, facing each other.

"So …" She trails off, and I clear my throat.

"I think we need to figure out what we both want." I know I want her. I want her and Marley. I want the opportunity to try to be a real family, but I know that things happen and people can change, and the last thing I want is for her to feel trapped.

"Before you answer I want you to know there is no pressure here. You will always be a part of Marley's life. No matter what you say."

She sips her drink and swallows thickly. "I appreciate that. I really do."

My heart sinks and is just about to break when Bella reaches over and covers my hand with hers, squeezing my fingers until I look up.

"I wasn't lying when I told you I want you, Edward. You and Marley."

My face practically splits in half—that's how big my smile is.

"In a perfect world, I'd uproot my entire life to be with you right now but—"

"But?"

"Edward, you know irrationality could potentially hurt us. All of us. You, me, and most importantly, Marley, and it would kill me to lose either of you. We can't do anything rash. It's for the best that we take our time and make sure this is going to work."

"I understand," I tell her. "But I want you. I want us. I want Wednesday night pizza and movie nights with you and our daughter. I want to explore this, and I want to find out just how amazing all these things could be."

Bella's eyes glisten with unshed tears.

"I'm not asking you to leave your life in Seattle. I'm asking for time. Let me prove to you that we can have it all."

She worries her lip and looks around. "Maybe we should continue this at home."

I'm probably making more out of her saying "at home" instead of "the house" than I should, but I agree and pay our tab.

The drive back to the house is quiet, uncomfortably so.

I'm so glad I didn't blurt out that I love her earlier because I know that would've been jumping the gun. I know how I feel, but I don't want to scare her, and declaring my feelings would definitely send her packing.

One of us has to be the rational one, and right now, Bella is the only one thinking clearly. I'm okay with keeping my feelings to myself for now.

"We need to think about how we're going to move forward," she says when I take a seat across from her at the kitchen island. "Before we bring Marley into this, we need to come up with a plan."

"We should keep this between the two of us for now."

"Exactly,"

"When we both feel ready, we'll sit her down and make sure she understands what's going on."

"Agreed. Until we're both comfortable to share with her, we should set some boundaries. She's far too observant, so nothing can happen unless she's at school or in bed." She thrums her fingers on the granite. "Your bed."

I want to argue with her, but I know she's right.

If we all of a sudden put Marley back in her room, she would definitely realize that something was up.

"Okay." I hold my hand out, and she laughs as we shake on it, but I don't let her go. "Marley isn't here tonight," I state.

She gives me a toothy grin. "She isn't."

I tug on her fingers. "Wanna have a sleepover?"

Her giggles echo through the house when I throw her over my shoulder and carry her up to my room. I tell myself that one day it'll be our room. When we're ready.

I've always been a patient man.