Thank you for your continued patience. Just a few more chapters to go. Thanks to Team Harpy.

Chapter 57

Bella

I feel the dead weight of an arm around my waist and my first non coherent thought was that Alice was being a little too cuddly this morning. I reach over to move it and pause on a pretty furry forearm.

My eyes shoot open and I turn my head just slightly to my left and there he is. My husband. Then coherency really comes when I shift and feel certain formally unused lady parts that were most definitely used last night and this morning.

I feel… calm, content. I expected to feel… I don't know… confused or remorseful. Like who forgives the man who married you so he could marry another woman who was blackmailing him? I guess…me.

He snores softly in my ear, his breath warmly brushing the nape of my neck. I missed this. This feeling of closeness, of oneness. Completion. I feel complete and for a feminist such as myself who doesnt need no stinkin' man to complete me… here I am.

"I can practically hear your brain running a mile a minute."

I jump a little then let out a laugh. "Well, you know me. I'm never still."

"Trying to change your mind?" His tone is light but I can feel the weight of his words.

"No." Simple, Honest. "I thought I would wake up this morning and think this was all a mistake but I just feel… happy."

I feel his grin against my ear, followed by a soft kiss. He shifts me so I'm staring up at him.

"I'm the happiest man on this planet right now. Possibly the whole solar system including Pluto." He grins and so do I. Then he leans down to kiss me and well, you know what happens after that.

It's several hours and some cold pasta in bed later that he makes a move to get up. I drag him back down.

"Come on, we've been in bed for over eighteen hours." He protests.

"Let's go for twenty four hours." I suggest.

"I have to go to the Big House and make an appearance and I don't figure you want to do that just yet. Also I don't have any clean clothes here. But I was thinking that we could have dinner at Mac's later. Just the two of us. A date. A public date."

"We've never really had that here in Tacoma, have we?"

"No, and that's my fault and I want to start making it up to you. So dinner? Mac's? Say… seven? I'll pick you up."

"No, wait. I have a meeting with a prospective venue at six so I'll meet you there?"

"Okay." He gets up, leans down and kisses me languidly. "It's a date."

He grabs his discarded clothes, putting them on and I hear him whistling all the way out of the cottage.

I flop back on the bed and decide to take a long bath to soothe some very overworked muscles. After that, I prep, polish and dress to kill in a short black number with a slight shimmer. Some heels though I loathe them, light makeup with a red lip and mussed up sex hair and I'm done.

The guy at the venue keeps looking at me and I almost wish I had put my wedding band on but I don't think I'm ready for that just yet. Finally, we reach a decision about a gig and I head over to Mac's a little after seven. Oh well, Edward has waited for months, what's few more minutes?

Edward

I enter Mac's and look around but no Bella. I check my watch and see it's about five til. Mac greets me when I approach the bar.

"Hey."

"Hey." I look around obviously. " I see my wife hasn't arrived yet."

"I guess not."

"We're meeting for dinner."

He doesn't react, just keeps wiping the bar.

"There's incredibly joyous significance to that statement in case you haven't noticed…" I hint.

"I guess I haven't." Awareness washed over his expression. "Wait a minute. I think I'm with you. That would be Bella."

"Yes, it would."

"And you're having dinner together."

"You're one hell of a private eye." I laugh.

"Congratulations." He smiles.

"I'll take some good wishes too."

"You've got 'em. This is great. I'm glad things are back on track."

"Getting there."

"Hi." Bella approaches, kind of shyful.

"My, my, my. Is this a vision or what?" I ask, rhetorically.

"A walking dream." Mac agrees. I'll let that slide though I narrow my eyes slightly.

"I thought I'd dress up seeing as this is a fairly special occasion."

"So I understand."

"Isn't it great? Cullen and I out to dinner like an honest to goodness couple? Sure beats the heck out of jumping out of a cake." She jokes.

"Well, I for one, will always cherish the memory of you popping out of that cake with that dress on."

"Let's not dwell on that, shall we?" I hasten to interrupt.

"Probably not a good idea." She agrees as we are escorted to our table. I pull her chair out and get her settled before I sit. " A bottle of your best champagne." I order.

Once we're alone she smiles at me. "You look as goofy as I feel."

"It is absolutely ridiculous to be this happy about going to dinner with someone." I agree.

"No, I mean it. The whole time I was getting ready I couldn't wipe the dopey grin off my face."

"And may I say, you did a spectacular job with the getting ready portion of our evening." I compliment and am pleased to see a blush cross her cheeks. "You look like poetry."

"Thanks."

"If you only knew the power contained in the simple act of you crossing the room to be with me."

"You want to know what's scary?"

"Nothing." I hasten to say.

"No, not only am I beginning to trust this… us. I'm starting to count on it too."

"That's good."

"Well maybe you should tell me one more time how everything is going to be hunky dory."

"With us?"

"Yeah."

I take her hand and look in her eyes.

"Everything is going to all hunky dory."

She straightens up. "In two weeks, you go back to Cullen, Inc. Then what?"

"I don't know what the future holds but I do know it won't be anything like it was before. I promised you that you would be my first priority and I meant it."

She looks sceptical but nods then digs into the champagne when it arrives and then of course, her food. We avoid all business talk and just chat lightly about music and other common interests that we have as an 'honest to goodness' couple. Not what she and Masen had in common but what Edward and Bella have in common.

We are interrupted by an open mouthed Alice who unceremoniously crashes into a chair at the table.

"Does this mean what it looks like it means?" Her eyes are darting back and forth like she's watching a tennis match on speed.

Bella and I share a look and a smile.

The shriek that comes out of that girl's mouth startles everyone at Mac's including us.

"Can you take it down a notch or twelve?" I ask.

"No." She glares at me. "I have been waiting and waiting on this and you have both made me so happy."

"Well, that's what's important, now isn't it? Exactly why we did it." My sarcasm isn't missed and both of them look at me, amused.

Jasper walks over to greet and congratulate us, turning our twosome into a foursome. Jasper tries to drag Alice away but we are fine with celebrating with those we have tortured all these months.

We spend the next two weeks rocking and rolling- both on stage and off. We're happy, blissful even and I'm thrilled things are going as well as they are.

I tell my family in the midst of all this and they are thrilled that Bella and I are giving it another go. They can be cold but they do like her. Most even adore her even if they are confused by my choice in someone so opposite of us. She hasn't been to the house yet and I'm not pushing her on the issue. They have given her enough grief to last a lifetime.

Rose just raises an eyebrow at me silently telling me she's watching me as she hugs Bella and congratulates her.

February 13th is the date that has been looming ever since my leave of absence and she's especially clingy that morning as I get ready for my first day back at the office. Her kiss goodbye is almost desperate and I assure her I will see her later that night and I'll bring the wine if she supplies the pasta.

I walk into the office and I feel different. Out of place though nothing in my office is. It's the same as when I left it as Grandfather prefers his office to mine. My assistant rushes in to greet me with a smile, an Espresso and a stack of files that are almost too much for her to handle. They land on my desk with a thud though the coffee is handled much more delicately.

I muddle through the day thankful I don't have any meetings. I find myself looking out the window often or at my brand new picture of Bella and I from our wedding that holds a prominent spot on my desk. I took it from the bedside table. It was laying face down and had a layer of dust on it so I snatched it, wiped it off and put it in my briefcase.

I pick it up and trace her face with it thinking back to that day wishing I could do it all over again. I look at my remaining files then back at the picture and pick up the phone.

I have an idea. After all, tomorrow is Valentine's Day.

I'm late getting home that night and I see a little of the light dim in her eyes almost as if they are saying, 'here we go again'. She shakes it off and we have a great night together just chilling at the cottage. I lie awake long after she has fallen asleep. My brain can't shut off but I finally slip off to sleep a couple of hours before I have to get up.

There's a staff meeting today so I dress in my most expensive power suit. I wish my Mrs a Happy Valentine's Day and tell her we will celebrate when I get off and I assure her I will be early tonight. Her smile helps me as I drag through my morning.

It's two o'clock and I am standing at the head of the conference table with Grandfather to my right. I look down at the notes I had my assistant type up and back up at everyone who is expectantly waiting on me to start. Grandfather clears his throat in annoyance. I look at him, back at the notes, at all the people. Rinse and repeat and suddenly I know what I have to do.

"I know that this year has been crazy or rather it seems I went crazy." A few people laugh. "This company has been everything I have ever wanted for so long. Since I entered college, running this company has been my goal. I not only met my goal but I surpassed it. I have taken Cullen, Inc places we could only have imagined five years ago. I was thrilled, happy. I have been privileged all my life; in my personal life, my education and my career. But one week before Christmas last year, I hopped on a stage trying to prove a beautiful woman wrong and I found myself…" I bite the inside of my cheek refusing to look to my right. "I found myself. My true self. In Kindergarten I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said a rock star. Almost thirty years later, I can now safely say that hasn't changed. It has been an honor to work with all of you." I finally look to my right and meet his incredulous, open mouthed stare. "Grandfather, it has been an honor to learn from you and I am thankful for the opportunity but I'm not happy anymore. I thought I was. I convinced myself I was but I just spent the last six weeks discovering what happiness truly is and I'm not willing to go back. So, I am resigning effective immediately."

He bolts up and I take his hand and firmly shake it, ignoring the fury on his face. "I know you're mad but I love her more than I love this and you should love me more than you love this." I whisper to him before grabbing my briefcase and exiting the room. I pack what little personal things I have in this office and am on my way home within half an hour.

Home. With Bella. I smile. I also turn off my phone because it's already blowing up.

She's surprised when I get home, looking at the clock in bafflement.

"Making up for yesterday?" She asks before trying to look behind me where my hands full of things for her are hidden.

I bring out my left hand with a flourish and reveal a dozen roses. She squeals as she grabs them and brings them to her nose with a big smile. She bites her lip as she studies my right hand still hovering behind my back. I pull it out and hand her a box. "Happy Valentine's Day." I say simply. She takes the box and the flowers and places them on the table as she waits for me to take my suit jacket off and settle in next to her.

"Open it."

She opens the brown FedEx box and another pink box is revealed. She looks at me suspiciously but I'm all green-eyed innocence. She carefully takes it out and looks at the name embossed on the side of the box- Eileen's.

"How did you…" She whispers.

'I remember one night you told me that one of your favorite memories was Christmas Eve when you would all have a slice of Eileen's cheesecake before bed. So I called them up."

"It's my favorite cheesecake." She keeps staring dumbfoundedly at the box. I get up and go grab a couple of forks, two plates and a knife. "Open it." I encourage."

She does and gingerly pulls out the dessert. I take the knife and cut her a slice, bigger than the one I cut for myself. She dives in and moans when the first bite hits her taste buds.

"Oh my Gawd. I haven't had one of these since Nonna brought one home when she came back from visiting her sister. That was years ago."

She eagerly takes another bite but frowns.

"What's wrong?"

"There's somethin' in it." She gingerly picks up a piece of foil.

"That's disgusting." I reach to take it from her. "What is it? We might have a lawsuit."

She shoots me a look and starts to unwrap it. The look of dumbfounded confusion when the ring hits her palm is exactly what I was hoping for. Awareness comes soon and she looks from me to it.

"Did you do this?"

I nod.

"Are these real sapphires and diamonds?"

Now it's my turn to shoot her a look.

"Of course it's real." She mumbles to herself.

I get off the couch and kneel in front of her, taking the ring from her gently.

"The first time I did this, I didn't do it right. Obviously. But the one thing I knew then and that I know now is that I want to be with you. Forever. I want to do it right this time. With no secrets, no lies and with no Cullen, Inc, in the way."

"What?"

"I quit my job today."

"But… but… what about your family? And you love your job. I know I'm not always graceful about it but I… why?"

"I am never more alive than when I am with you and when I am up on that stage. As far as my family goes, they can get on board or not. I don't care. I just want you. And if you're worried about money, don't. I have my trust fund which we could live off for the rest of our lives."

"Your money was never something I was interested in. I grew up poor, remember? I just need a lot of love and pasta and I'm good."

"Well, I can't cook for shit so you supply the pasta and I'll supply the love and we'll make it work. On the road touring. We could really make the band something. So what do you say?"

"To which part? There's so much."

"All of it. Bella Marie Swan Cullen, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Again?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

She laughs and reaches for my face to kiss me. "How could a girl say no to that proposal?"

I slip the ring on her finger noticing how the ring matches her adorned nails. "Perfect."

Her face falls. "Almost."

"What else could be wrong?"

She sighs. "I really wish you were bulletproof."

"What? Why?"

"Cause we have to go face my parents."

Fuck... I'd rather face Grandfather today than Renee and Charlie Swan ever again.

Playlist:

I Choose You- Sara Bareillles

Marry Me- Jason Derulo

Wonder how that is gonna go?