Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter Twelve

Edward kissed me.

But more importantly, he saved my shirt. Okay, that obviously wasn't more important. And just to let you know- I couldn't care less about the stinkin' shirt. I'm sure you figured that out; you aren't a fool.

But I apparently was a fool because after the kiss, the buttoning of the shirt, and the adjustment of his...area, I had a hard time looking at him. Which kind of sucked because I enjoyed looking at him.

We didn't speak while moving the furniture. We just sort of worked together, in silence.

Moving the armoire out of the way was a task, because of the odd shape, but luckily no one was hurt. The credenza was a little easier since it wasn't as tall as the armoire; regardless, it was still a big ole piece of wood. And yes, that still made my inner perv laugh.

The bakers rack was halfway out of the storage unit when Edward set his side down and rubbed his eye.

I expressed my confusion with a what the hell are you doing glare because I was still holding my side of the bakers rack.

"I need to ask you something," Edward said clearly.

I let go of the furniture and muttered, "Go for it."

Maybe he was going to claim he regretted kissing me. Maybe he was going to suggest we no longer be friends. Maybe he-

"You thought I was gay."

My first reaction wasn't to laugh, I swear. But that didn't stop it from happening. "That's...not a question."

"Why did you think I was gay?"

"You thought I was lesbian the first time we met," I pointed out.

"That was a joke. I was joking with you."

"Alright." I shrugged and lifted my side of the bakers rack. "Are we going to finish moving this, or...what?"

"You didn't answer me."

I laughed, because I didn't actually think he was gay. The thought never entered my head before he somehow kept his eyes away from my shirtless body. Oh, and the credenza talk. Definitely the knowledge of what a credenza was had me suspicious.

"If you must know, I don't think you are gay."

Edward thought for a moment. "Well, obviously not anymore."

"Eddie!" A tiny brunette girl ran over, grabbing hold of Edward's leg. "My Eddie!"

Holy fuck, the dude had a kid.

"Uncle Eddie!" she giggled, staring up at him, and I visibly relaxed.

Edward, or rather Uncle Eddie, reached down and picked the little girl up into his arms. "Emmy, what on earth are you doing here?"

"Emma! Never run away from me again, do you hear me?" A petite brunette ran over as she struggled to carry a giant silk plant. Catching her breath she said, "My goodness, this child is going to kill me."

"No I'm not, momma!"

"To what do I owe this pleasure, ladies?" Edward asked politely enough.

"Well, I was coming by to drop off this hideous silk ficus Mom just insisted we use in the newest model. But no. God, just...no," the woman said as she set down the ficus.

The little girl whispered to Edward, "Momma doesn't like the fake tree."

Edward brought his face close to the little girl and muttered, "I can see why."

And I died. I motherfucking died because it was the sweetest thing I had ever seen in my entire existence.

"Oh, Bella." He smiled, ignoring the little girl pulling on his ear and said, "This is my sister Alice."

Alice reached out her hand, some sort of recognition appearing across her face. "Bella. Nice to meet you. I'm Alice. I keep this guy out of trouble."

"Who are you, Bella?" Emma suddenly asked.

Before I could respond, Edward intercepted and said, "Bella is my new friend. And this here is Emma, the most troublesome little thing ever to walk the planet. It's a good thing she's cute."

I tried to avoid Alice's stare as I said, "You are very cute, Emma. How old are you?"

"I'm..." she held up four, then three, then four fingers. "I'm four!"

"Good job!" Alice applauded. "Little Miss Emma just had a birthday last month. And what does Uncle Eddie do?" Alice looked on with a smirk, while Edward groaned. "He decides it'd be fun to rent one of those Bounce Houses, right?" I nodded, perplexed, and she just...kept talking. "Can you imagine three and four year olds going crazy in one of those things? And then of course, after all the children went home, the real children - Edward and our brother Emmett - decide to have a wrestling match, nearly deflating the thing!"

"Alice. I'm sure Bella doesn't want to her about this..." And I swore Edward was blushing as he said that.

"Uncle Emmett always beats Uncle Eddie," Emma revealed, causing Alice to burst out in laughter.

"Emmy!" Edward scolded. "You're supposed to be on my side, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot."

"And what happens when you forget, huh?" Edward formed a devilish grin before tickling the poor child, torturous giggles escaping her mouth.

"Momma! Make him stop!"

"Edward. Give me back my child," Alice frowned and reached out to grab Emma. "Well, not trying to interrupt you two or anything. I should get her home. It's past her n-a-p time, and we both know how she gets without one."

"Yeah, we were just finishing up," Edward said quickly. "Going to move this couch into the truck then head back to Bella's.

"Good luck with that. Bella, it was very nice meeting you. Enjoy the couch," she winked before walking off.

"Bye pretty Bella!" Emma waved goodbye.

"She thinks you're pretty," Edward laughed, poking my side.

So are you, I wanted to say. So are you.

A/N: Uncle Eddie? Oh yeah, I just went there. Thaaaanks for reading.