I am absolutely loving getting to relive this story with you all. Some parts of it will be familiar, but some will be new!

Thank you to Fran S. Sunflower for Beta Reading!

Chapter Three: Bella

"Bella? Are you in here?"

I groaned from a pile of boxes in the living room. "Yeah, come in but be careful!" I called out. I heard shuffling around the front door, and I got up, brushing dust from my clothes. Ugh, I was gross.

I made my way across the living room as Alice came around the corner. She was dressed down today in a simple light purple blouse and jeans, but even then, she looked stunning. I waved at her, not wanting to get my grime all over her, but she reached for me, pulling me into a fierce hug that was so tight she managed to crack my back. I laughed and grunted.

"Oh my god, this place is still a mess!" Alice cried, yanking away from me. I looked at her and grimaced.

"Yeah, well," I huffed and shrugged my shoulders. "I have three boys who are no help whatsoever."

Alice scowled and moved away from me, putting her purse down on the sofa. "We have to get this sorted," she said, shaking her head. I looked at her in surprise.

"You want to help?" I asked, looking around the room. Alice stared at me.

"Yes, that's why I'm here, though I was hoping you'd be further along," she said, scowling. I smirked, shaking my head and reaching up to push my hair from my face.

"Okay, well, thank you. I'd love your help." I paused, looking at her. "But no heavy lifting, all right? I'm going to put boxes on the coffee table, and you can pick out items," I instructed. Alice rolled her eyes, her hands landing on her still flat stomach.

"I'll be fine, Bella. It's not like I'm eight months pregnant or something," she said, shaking her head. I smiled at her and nodded to the boxes.

"All right, well, you can start with that box of books," I said, motioning to the half-empty box. Alice nodded and made her way over to it. "How is the pregnancy going?" I asked. Alice grunted.

"This one is different," she said. I looked at her curiously. "I mean, the girls were both so easy and honestly, up until labor, practically painless. I've been throwing up left and right with this one, and even though I'm still in the first trimester, I'm starting to show."

I smirked at her. "Maybe it'll be twins."

Alice leveled me with a glare that would cower grown men. "Don't you put that out there, Bella. She didn't mean it, universe!" Alice shouted to the house. I snorted and shook my head.

"My mom's a twin," I told her. Alice looked at me.

"Yeah, well, my mom isn't, which means you are more likely to have multiples than I am." She grunted.

"I can't even imagine. One at a time was by far enough." I shook my head, and Alice nodded, pulling books out of the box. "I don't know; maybe your baby will just be massive. Do you remember the size of Luke when he was born?"

I shuddered at the memory as Alice winced. He'd truly been a massive baby, and it had taken me months to recover from delivering him.

Alice hummed. "I'm going full C-Section this time. I don't even want to think about delivering naturally ever again. Haley almost killed me, and she was a tiny little thing."

I smiled and moved to open a box next to her.

"How are the girls?" I asked her. Alice sighed.

"They're great. Cami is a little diva, and honestly, I love it," she said, her eyes twinkling. I laughed at her. "Haley is more and more like Jas every day. She's so quiet, and honestly, don't tell anyone, but she can sneak up on me so well. She's scared the shit out of me like five times this week alone."

I snorted. "Jas used to sneak up on our parents," I said, recalling that memory. "I tried, but I was all uncoordinated limbs." Much like my boys were now.

Alice laughed. "Yeah, well, it's terrifying. I can't do anything inappropriate because I never know when she'll just be there."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "What inappropriate things are you doing?"

Alice just winked at me, and we both laughed.

"How are you guys settling in?" she asked, her eyes sweeping the room. I shrugged.

"Okay, I guess. I mean, it's taking me some time to get the boys to unpack their stuff, and honestly, I only get through a few boxes at a time right now because I'm so distracted with work stuff," I said, glaring at my phone that was charging across the room.

"Did you get the notes on your manuscript?" she asked.

"Not yet. I was supposed to get them last week, but still nothing." I huffed. "Anyway, I spoke to Maria, and she's all over my ass to get another proposal together. 'Keep writing forward,' as she says," I grunted. Alice grinned.

"Well, for what it's worth, your last book was amazing." She gave me a wicked grin. "I'm fairly sure it's why I'm knocked up right now."

I barked out a laugh, a blush racing up my cheeks. "Oh, god, Alice, stop."

"Hey, I didn't tell Jas what I was reading; he just benefited from it. It would have freaked him out too much if I told him I'd been reading your book," she snickered. I blushed deeper.

"Yeah, well, I'm about to freak out about it too. I don't need to know about my brother's sex life." Alice laughed, and the sound was like tinkling bells.

"Anyway, my point is that I can't wait to read your next book."

I lifted another box of books and set it on the coffee table. We cracked it open and got to work unpacking it. "I'll get you an advanced copy as soon as possible," I told her, smirking. She clapped her hands, delighted.

"Okay, so now the real reason I've come over," she said, glancing around us in the room. We were alone, as far as I could tell. "When we talked the other night, you were practically glowing through the phone. What happened?"

I glanced at her, blushing lightly. Thankfully, I think the blush could be explained away by the exertion and her earlier comments.

"Bella Swan," Alice hissed, smacking my arm. I flinched and looked up at her in surprise.

"Ow, what was that?" I growled. Alice's sharp eyes were wide.

"You met a guy!"

I gaped at her. How did she know? How did she always know? "Alice, keep your voice down," I hissed. The boys were either upstairs in their rooms or somewhere outside, but I couldn't be sure where exactly. Although, it wasn't as if my boys could be stealthy. They were too loud and awkward still.

I looked back at Alice and let out a tight breath, picking up a couple more books and shoving them on the shelves. Alice sat and reached out to drag me down next to her, her eyes wide. "I did meet someone," I said slowly, folding my legs under me as I looked at her. She squealed, and I held out a hand to shush her. "Stop," I said, laughing. "It wasn't like that. Not really." I shook my head. "We met at Bumbershoot, and we had all the kids with us."

Alice frowned. "What does, all the kids mean?" she asked. I sighed and ran a hand over my ponytail.

"He's got three," I said quietly.

Alice's mouth dropped.

"Oh my god, six kids between the two of you?" she hissed. I nodded, leaning back on the sofa.

"Am I crazy to even consider this?" I asked her. Alice stared at me.

"Tell me more about him before I can make any judgment calls," she said firmly. I laughed and leaned my elbow on the back of the sofa, resting my forehead in my palm.

"Right, well, he's a doctor," I said slowly. Alice hissed, and I nodded, laughing. "I know, but don't interrupt. He's a doctor, he's got three girls about the same age as the boys, and he's," I stopped, shaking my head. "Alice, he's beautiful. I mean, Hollywood hunk in person." I shook my head, trying to get my breath as I imagined him. "He's sweet, and he's a dad, so I know he's good with kids, and am I crazy to consider this?"

Alice was wiggling in her seat, and I wondered if she needed to pee, or this was just her being excited. "Bella, everything you just told me are all checkmarks in the YES column," she said urgently. I laughed.

"Six kids, though, Alice. I mean, set that aside for a minute. I can't imagine my boys trying to learn to get along with one person, let alone four."

Alice frowned. "Your boys are tough," she said, shaking her head. "But they are also sweethearts. If this guy and his kids are as great as you think, the boys will be smitten in no time." She said confidently. I sighed, rubbing my forehead.

"I don't know; I mean, I feel like I shouldn't even be thinking of dating right now," I groaned. "Jason is still so angry, and I have to sort things out with him and,"

Alice stopped me by putting a hand on my arm.

"I know things are hard right now," she said softly. "Jason is an amazing kid, but he's going through a tough time. But maybe this is what he needs, more people in his life who care about him and support him. I mean, isn't that why you moved back up here?" she asked. I let out a long breath and nodded.

"It is, I'm just," I sighed. "I'm worried. He's my baby, and even though he hates me right now, I'm constantly worrying about him."

Alice smiled at me. "Bella, of course, you are. That doesn't change if you've got someone new in your life. You've been alone for so long, and I hate to say this, but part of it has been because you've used the boys as an excuse. You can't use them to avoid putting yourself back out there."

I groaned. I'd had absolute shit with men in the past, and I couldn't fathom a relationship that would go better. Alice smacked at my arm, and I flinched.

"Ow, what?" I demanded.

"Stop that," she snapped. "Look, I know Tyler did a number on you. He's a grade-A dick, and if it hadn't been for those amazing boys he brought into your life, I'd go down to Phoenix and castrate the bastard," she hissed. I stared at her in surprise. "But not every guy is going to be Tyler. I know you put a lot of faith in him, especially after James," she grunted his name, and I cringed. Alice hurried on. "But Bells, maybe it's time to take another leap of faith. I know those two guys hurt you, but look at the amazing boys you got out of them." She paused, then smirked. "And if it comes down to it, maybe this new guy is just a guy to take for a ride or two," she said, winking.

I snorted, then let out a long breath. "I don't know, Alice. I don't think he's the sort of guy I can just," I paused, looking around to make sure there were no eavesdroppers. "Take for a ride," I said, lowering my voice just in case someone was in the room. "He's quality, and that scares me."

Alice reached out to me again, taking my hand in hers. "I know it does, Babes. But it sounds like he's the kind of quality that is worth working for."

I smiled helplessly at her. Alice smiled. "I know! Why don't we have a back-to-school bash at our place?" she asked. I stared at her.

"What?"

Alice was beaming. "I mean it! I'll invite some families from the school who I know have kids the boys would probably like. It'll be a blast."

I shook my head at her. "Alice, I can't let you throw us a party to set me up with a guy," I said, laughing. She waved her hand dismissively.

"Yes, you can, it'll be fun! Plus, this is more than just about you now. It's about your boys. Imagine how much easier school will be if they know a couple of people."

I stared at her. Her devious motives aside, I loved the idea of getting the boys that sort of socialization. I bit my lip and shook my head. "I can't ask you to do that." Alice looked like she was going to smack me, so I smiled. "But I guess I could host."

"Even better!" she said, clapping her hands. "You start hustling around your house. I'll plan your housewarming slash back to school bash while you work." She pulled her phone out of her purse and began typing away furiously while I laughed and stood up. I guess that was as good an incentive as any to get the house in shape.

"Okay, how does Saturday at three sound?" she asked, glancing at the yard. "Can you get that pool cleaned and in working order by Saturday?" she asked. I looked out at the yard. The house we were renting had come with a pool, much to the boys' delight but my horror. I'd never had to maintain a pool before, and I had absolutely no idea what to do.

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. Alice hummed, and I looked at her.

"I'll find someone to come out," she said, nodding and typing it down in her phone. "Okay, so let's say closer to one; that way, the kids can go swimming," she said, looking at me. I let out a breath and nodded. She grinned, focusing back on her phone. I got to work, shelving the books from the boxes on the sofa. By the time I was done with the books, there were only a couple boxes left in the living room, and Alice was on the phone with a pool maintenance company. She hummed on the phone, and I tuned her out as I worked on putting away the DVDs and various knickknacks I had packed away in my living room miscellaneous box. By the time Alice hung up, I'd finished the last box.

"All right, you've got a guy coming out tomorrow to look at the pool," she said, looking at her phone. "Two families have been invited, and I let Jas know to clear his schedule. I'll find a couple of other friends that will be low-key and see if they can come too. After that, all that's left is for you to call your mystery man and invite him."

I stared at her, amazed. "I think you missed your calling as an event planner," I said, smirking. Alice laughed.

"Perhaps, but I love my job," she sighed. I smiled at her. Alice taught first grade, which suited her well because she had the energy to keep up with kiddos just fine. When I found out Luke would be able to be in her class this year, I'd been beyond relieved. Alice would take care of my baby; I knew she would.

"Okay, I have to pee yet again," she said, rolling her eyes. I laughed and nodded. She looked at me as she stood. "Call him!" she said as she dashed across the room. I let out a long breath and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I could text Edward the info, but part of me really wanted to hear his voice again. I bit my lip a moment before sighing and highlighting his contact. I brought the phone to my ear, my heart hammering so loud, it was all I could hear.

"Bella?"

His voice was as smooth as caramel, and I let out a soft little sigh.

"Hey, Edward," I said, knowing I sounded sappy but utterly unable to rein it in. He shifted on the phone, and I frowned. "Is this a bad time?" I asked.

"Hm? No, I just, I'm heading to my office right now," He said softly. I bit my lip. "How are you?"

I smiled. "I'm all right," I said slowly. Fantastic Bella, waste his time and drag this out; it's not like he probably has a million things to do. I shook myself at my thoughts, frowning. "Hey, I wanted to call and invite you and your girls to a little pool party this weekend," I said quickly. I had a mental image of him in swim trunks, and my brain short-circuited a little bit. Oh boy. I turned my attention back, trying to focus on him and not my entirely distracting thoughts.

"A pool party?" he sounded surprised.

"Yeah, sort of a back-to-school slash housewarming thing. I thought it'd be fun to do something before school starts and, well, considering we don't know too many people," I said, trailing off. Edward chuckled.

"It sounds great. I'm sure the girls would love to do that. Let me talk to them, but I'm sure we're in."

I smiled. "Great, that's perfect."

Edward hummed. "Is there anything we can bring or do?" he asked. Did I imagine his voice getting huskier? Was it a million degrees in here all of a sudden? I bit my lip and cleared my throat.

"Oh, I don't know yet. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the details. I'll let you know in a day or so if I come up with anything," I said, nodding to myself. Edward chuckled softly, and I was shocked that the sound traveled right through me, tingling where it touched. Holy cow.

"That sounds great; I can't wait." Was he purring? It felt like I was panting. Oh my god, what were we talking about?

"Yeah, it'll be fun," I agreed.

"I'm glad you called, Bella," he said, his voice sounding the tiniest bit raspy. I froze, intrigued by this new tone. I definitely didn't imagine this one.

"Yeah?" I asked, unable to help my smile. He hummed again, and I clenched my thighs together.

"Yeah, I've been trying to pluck up the courage to call you myself. I'm afraid I'm a little rusty when it comes to talking to beautiful women," he said smoothly. I let out a heavy breath. Out of practice, my behind.

"I don't know; you sound pretty smooth to me," I murmured. He chuckled, and I groaned a little.

"Bella? Are you all right?" I was making too much noise, and now he knew just how turned on hearing his voice made me. I cleared my throat, scrambling for a cover.

"Um, yeah," I said, my voice cracking a little bit. "I uh, I should uh, probably let you go," I said, shaking my head even as the words left my mouth. "I will text you our address and the rest of the details."

Edward hummed again, and I bit my lip to stop from groaning. "All right, that sounds good. I'll talk to my girls when I get home and let you know what they say."

I nodded, feeling flushed. "Okay, sounds good." I shut my eyes, trying to get my bearings.

"Thank you for calling Bella." His voice was so soft; I felt it slip right into my chest. I let out a little sigh.

"It was good to talk to you, Edward. I hope we see you this weekend."

"You will. Goodbye, Bella."

I murmured my goodbye before hanging up. I was flushed all over, and that had been from a pretty innocuous phone call. What the hell was wrong with me?

Alice came out of the bathroom, frowning to herself. "I am going to have to pee again in about twenty minutes, I can just tell." She said, shaking her head. I laughed, remembering that part of pregnancy well. "What's wrong? You're flushed." She came over to me with a frown.

"It's nothing. I'm going to get water," I said, getting up and running to the kitchen. I splashed some water on my face in the sink then poured myself a glass. I downed it before refilling it and grabbing a glass for Alice. I brought them both back into the living room, where Alice was settled on the sofa again.

"Thanks." she sipped it as I settled my glass on the table. "So, what was that?"

I let out a long breath and shook my head, settling next to her. "I uh, just called Edward to invite them over."

Alice's eyebrows went up. "His name is Edward?" she asked. I nodded. "Kind of an old-fashioned name," she said. I rolled my eyes.

"Trust me, everything else about him is young and delicious," I grunted. Alice giggled.

"What did he say?"

I smiled at her. "He's going to talk to his kids, but it sounds like they will be there this weekend."

Alice beamed at me. "I'm so proud of you, Bella!" She said, reaching out to tap my hand. I frowned.

"For having a party?" I asked. Alice laughed and shook her head.

"No, for putting yourself out there and actually trying with this guy. Maybe it leads nowhere, but maybe it'll go somewhere! Either way, enjoy the ride," she said with a wink.

"Honestly," I said, dropping my voice. "He looks like he'd be a hell of a ride."

Alice shrieked with her laughter, and I laughed with her, both of us collapsing against the sofa.

"Mama?" I looked up to see Luke standing at the back door, covered in mud.

"Baby, stay there," I ordered, standing and pushing my glass further onto the coffee table before I made my way to the door. "Luke, how did you get so dirty?" I asked. He held out his little palm where there were a handful of worms.

"Look what I found!" he said happily. I shook my head. Worms weren't too bad.

"Baby, remember when we talked about where worms live," I asked, stepping out of the house onto the patio. He looked up at me.

"In the dirt!" he said proudly. I nodded. "That's where I found them!"

I shook my head, smiling at him. "I know, but I think it might be time to take them back home. I don't think they like being outside too much," I said, noting them wriggling in his palms. He nodded, looking down at them.

"Okay, Mama. I'll take them home."

He ran off the deck and into the yard. I could see a small section of the flower beds the landlords put in tugged out and spread across the grass. I winced and shook my head.

I brushed off my hands and came back into the living room. "He's filthy."

"If this is a boy, I'm never going to let him outside into the dirt," she laughed.

I snorted a laugh. Knowing the pair of them, Alice and Jasper would have kids who never wanted to play in the mud anyway.

"Are you hungry?" I asked Alice. "I have to get Luke cleaned up at some point, but then I can make some lunch," I offered. Alice nodded.

"Sure. But let me make it. I'm going to be bedridden soon enough, and I want to do things while I can," she said, standing. I smiled at her as she made her way to the kitchen. I turned back outside. Luke was lying in the grass, face down, while he examined the dirt.

I smiled at him, closing the screen before heading into the kitchen with Alice. She made some sandwiches while I finished unpacking the room. Now that I had someone to talk to while I unpacked, the process moved much faster and was surprisingly enjoyable.

By the time Alice left, I had the majority of the downstairs unpacked, with the exception of a few boxes here and there. I had no idea how the boy's rooms were going, but I would tackle that another day.

I got Luke out of his muddy clothes before he could traipse inside and brought him immediately upstairs for a bath. Thankfully, he didn't mind baths so long as there were bubbles and toys for him to occupy his time.

When he was clean and I had the doors to the outside locked, I started dinner. I'd barely seen Simon or Jason around today, which wasn't unusual. They both kept to themselves and stayed in their rooms as much as possible these days.

They both managed to come downstairs for dinner, though Jason did so rather unwillingly, and we were able to eat our first meal as a family around our dining table in our new home.

"So, boys," I said, looking up from my lasagna. Luke was already covered in sauce and cheese, and I knew he'd need another bath before bed. "Aunt Alice and I were talking earlier, and we thought it'd be fun to throw a little pool party on Saturday," I said, looking at them. Luke and Simon immediately nodded their heads. "It'll be a housewarming slash back to school thing. We can invite Auntie Alice and Uncle Jasper and their girls, and Auntie Alice has friends she's going to bring." I paused, biting my lip. "And I invited Edward and his girls over too."

Jason rolled his eyes so hard it looked like he might have strained them. Simon nodded, not looking overly excited or anxious at the prospect, so I considered that a good sign. Only Luke was really enthusiastic. "Clara is coming over?" he asked. I laughed and nodded. "Can I show her my dinosaurs?"

I smiled and reached out, petting his hair and moving out of his eyes. "Sure, Baby."

Luke beamed and then shoved a bite of lasagna into his face, missing his mouth almost completely. Gobs of stringy cheese fell into his lap. I swear the kid needed a drop cloth under him.

"Can we invite Grandma and Grandpa too?" Simon asked. I looked at him and smiled.

"That's a great idea. I'll call them after dinner," I said, nodding.

The boys continued shoveling food into their mouths. I looked at Jason. It broke my heart that I couldn't get through to him these days. When he was little, he and I had done everything together. It was us against the world, and he had absolutely adored me. I knew things had changed when I got with Tyler, but it had seemed like a good thing at first. Even having Simon hadn't changed the bond between Jason and me.

I couldn't figure out what had set him off, and it killed me to know my son was hurting, but I was unable to help him.

After dinner, Luke and Simon packed up the leftovers while Jason did the dishes. I had the urge to let him be, and leave him alone like I usually did, but I just couldn't bring myself to. I missed my sweet boy.

When the two little ones left to go back upstairs, I came into the kitchen, picking up a dishcloth to dry the dishes Jason was hand washing. He looked up at me in surprise, and I offered him a small smile.

He looked back at the dishes in the sink. "So," I said slowly. "Is there anything you wanted to do before school starts?" I asked him. He grunted. "I was thinking today that maybe we could get you enrolled in some driver's ed classes? That way, when October comes around, you can get your permit," I said, watching his face. He'd wanted to drive for years now, and I knew it was something he was still excited about.

He just nodded, not meeting my gaze. I frowned. "And then I thought after we do that, we can go look at Ferraris, you know, so you can drive around in style."

He finally looked up at me, his bright blue eyes meeting mine in surprise. I smirked at him, and he huffed. "Sweetheart, talk to me, please," I said quietly.

Jason froze, the sponge in his hand getting squeezed a little too tightly before he shook his head. He rinsed the final plate and handed it to me.

He unplugged the sink, letting the water drain before he walked away. I heard him stomp up the stairs, and I sighed, letting my head fall back. It was going to be time for tough love soon. I couldn't help him if he wouldn't let anyone in.

I finished drying the dishes and putting them away before I made my way upstairs, making sure the downstairs was locked up with all the lights off. I stopped upstairs, checking to listen in the hall. There was a low thrum of music coming from Jason's room, and the lights were on under the cracks of all the doors. I shook my head, heading into my room. I grabbed my phone and flopped back on my bed. I smiled when I saw a text from Edward.

Edward:

It was great talking to you earlier, Bella.

The girls and I are in this weekend.

Can't wait to see you.

My heart fluttered a little as I read and reread the text. Trying to pursue whatever this might be between Edward and me still felt terrifying, but Alice was right. I deserved to see what there might be between us. I couldn't keep putting off my own life forever.

As I said before, this story is mostly fluff. I'm excited to get the opportunity to write these dynamics as an adult with a slightly better sense of character development than I did when I was a teenager!

See you all next time!