***A/N ***

Hi Everyone! You will be happy to know I finally got a Beta. It only took me a month lol.

So, much love and thanks goes out to Sunflower Fran for helping me make this better!

I tried to address a few questions in this chapter.

-Why didn't Edward put Tanya in her place?

-why hasn't Edward told Bella what she said about Charlie the night of the attack?

Here is a little peek inside Edward's head.

Thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad everyone is enjoying it.

S. Meyer owns all things Twilight

Chapter 34- Getting to Know You, Getting To Know All About You

EPOV

I berated myself as I watched Bella walk down the hall to the restroom. I should have prepared her for the very real possibility she might not recognize Dolan. Seeing the disappointment on her face made me realize I should have had the foresight to see something like this coming.

I was just so hopeful after her breakthrough last night, that I may have gotten ahead of myself. If I was being honest, I was still reveling in the fact her first memory involved me. Well, it involved my coat anyway, and that had me excited enough to make the suggestion she look at the mugshots.

I fucked up.

I watched as she entered the ladies room, and then I turned and went back to my desk. When I sat, I opened the file and took out one of the photos. It was the one of me holding her in the street, and I remembered exactly what I was thinking at that moment - What would have happened to her if Emmett and I hadn't come along when we did?

I leaned back in my chair and clasped my hands behind my head, letting out a heavy sigh as I looked up at the ceiling. Yeah, I fucked up. I shouldn't have pushed her.

When I heard movement at the door, I sat forward quickly, preparing to apologize. But it wasn't Bella. It was Tanya. Fucking Tanya.

She looked at me as she leaned against the door frame, briefcase in hand and a smirk on her face.

"Well, he is alive." She said as she sauntered in. "I was beginning to wonder."

She walked into my office in a skirt so short, it literally eviscerated all the rules of appropriate workplace attire. Not that Tanya gave a fuck. She came around and sat on the edge of my desk and crossed her legs slowly while giving me her best sultry smile.

"Aren't you even going to say hello, Edward?"

I let out a sigh as I looked at her. "Hi, Tanya. How have you been?"

She crossed and uncrossed her legs in a practiced move I knew all too well.

"Oh, you know, kickin' ass and taking names. I just won the Atkins case, did you hear?"

"Yes, I did hear; congratulations," I said as I tried to figure out a way to get her out of my office before Bella returned. I knew how Tanya operated, and I didn't want Bella anywhere near her.

"Tanya, look, I'm in the middle of a meeting right now and -"

She looked around the room with wide, dramatic eyes. "What meeting, Edward? I don't see any meeting going on here."

I ran my hand through my hair as I answered. "She went to use the restroom. I really don't have time to talk right now, I -"

She cut me off again.

"That's fine, Edward; I won't keep you; I just wanted to let you know my offer for dinner still stands. I'm willing to overlook your lack of response to my last few text messages, because I know how busy you are. Since I was in the neighborhood, I thought I'd stop by and make it easier for you."

Fuck, she wasn't going to let this go. Even though I'd told her numerous times I wasn't interested, it looked like I was going to have to be more direct. The chances of us ever having the type of relationship we had before were about a million times less than zero.

It was a delicate balance, though. We still had to work together in certain situations, and I knew how ruthless she could be when crossed. She could make my life a living hell if I didn't handle it carefully.

I tried to be tactful yet firm. "Look, Tanya, this isn't going to happen. We've discussed this more than once. The last time we spoke, you even told me you were seeing someone else. I thought we were on the same page here."

She leaned forward and placed her hand on my arm. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, reminded once again how right Emmett had been. Do not shit where you eat, especially with someone like Tanya.

I opened my eyes and was getting ready to tell her once more she was barking up the wrong tree when I saw Bella standing in the doorway. I jumped out of the chair and crossed the room to her.

I saw the uncomfortable look on her face as her eyes traveled from me to Tanya, and I cursed internally, knowing I had no choice but to introduce them. When I did, true to form, Tanya didn't disappoint. She used her words to establish herself as the top dog in the room.

I wanted to wring her neck when she insulted Bella, and it took everything in me not to cut her down, but I knew the end result would be disastrous if I acted impulsively. I had created this mess, and I didn't want Bella to be on the receiving end of any more barbs.

I knew my best course of action would be to usher Tanya out as quickly as possible. If she detected even a hint of my feelings toward Bella, it would end very badly, of that I was certain.

Feelings? What feelings?

I stopped short when that thought crossed my mind. Did I have feelings for Bella?

While it was true I felt protective and even a bit possessive of her; that was just because of what happened that night, wasn't it? I witnessed first hand what she went through, and I wanted to help her.

At least that's what I kept telling myself. But the more time I spent with her, the harder it was to convince myself of that. I may not have had a clear understanding of the total scope of my feelings for her, but one thing I did know...they definitely weren't professional. I hadn't ever experienced anything like this before, not even with Kate, and I wasn't sure what to do with it.

All I knew for sure was I didn't want Tanya to know about any connection I had with Bella, innocent or otherwise, because she would only weaponize it. No, I would deal with Tanya later, once and for all.

I ignored her parting comment about dinner and breathed a sigh of relief when she finally walked out.

When I turned back to Bella, she wouldn't look at me. Her fingers were hurriedly buttoning her coat, and she mentioned catching the train.

Fuck. I had to fix this.

I asked her to have dinner with me, hoping I could use the opportunity to apologize for how I had turned this day into a colossal fucking mess.

I watched her face as she debated, fearing she would turn me down. When she agreed, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

We rode the elevator to the parking garage, and I looked down at her as we descended. She kept her eyes glued to the numbers above the doors, her body rigid.

When we reached the garage, and the doors opened, I held my arm out for her to exit first, and then led her to my car, which was a few rows back.

We still hadn't spoken since we left my office, and as I opened the passenger door, I touched her on the arm.

"Bella, look at me. Please."

She bit her lower lip and wouldn't immediately comply with my request, but after a few seconds, slowly raised her eyes to mine.

I stared down into her face and hated the uncertainty I saw there. I ran my hand through my hair, and before I knew what I was doing, the word vomit ensued.

"I totally fucked up. I totally fucked up this entire day and I'm sorry. I should have prepared you better and let you know there was a good chance you wouldn't recognize Dolan or Victoria. I shouldn't have pushed you. I was just so excited when you recognized the buttons last night ... and then, Tanya."

I squeezed my eyes shut and ran my hand through my hair again. "Bella, I'm sorry. She was entirely out of line. Please, don't let all the mistakes I made today, discourage you or -"

I must have looked and sounded like I was losing my shit because she reached out and placed her palm on my chest. I opened my eyes.

"Edward, stop. It's okay. Let's just go to dinner, all right?"

She wasn't smiling, but at least the look of despair was gone.

I furrowed my brows, knowing I did a shitty job of trying to make things right, but nodded my head and shut the door when she got in the car. I cursed at myself as I came around to the driver's side, knowing I most likely made things worse. If that were even possible.

I drove us to an English pub I often frequented, and when we arrived, the hostess seated us at a quiet booth in the back.

Bella shrugged out of her coat and asked the waitress for a glass of water, and then immediately picked up the menu, her eyes glued to it like it held the secrets of the universe.

I sighed mentally and ordered a beer, knowing she was avoiding me.

I took the opportunity to peer at her delicate features without her detection, and couldn't help but notice how far she'd come since the attack. Not that I hadn't already been aware.

When I arrived at dinner on Sunday night and saw her sitting with Alice and Jasper, I was speechless and had to quickly recover before saying hello. I always knew she was beautiful, but as I took her in that night, admiring her blue sweater, and soft smile, I knew she was so much more than that.

My eyes traveled over her as she kept her gaze buried in the menu. Her face had lost the gaunt look it had at the hospital, and had been replaced with a softness ... a glow. Her hair shone under the warm pub lights and hung down her back in loose waves, and I watched as she pushed some of it behind her ear while she perused the specials.

It wasn't just the physical differences, though. In the short time I had known her, I'd come to realize she was just as impressive on the inside. She had a quiet strength about her. A determination. As I continued to watch her, I tried to put my finger on exactly what it was that made her look so different. She looked like … I stopped and thought for a moment. She looked like what?

And then I knew.

And I smiled.

She looked like my Post Office girl again.

I waited patiently, as she continued to scan the menu. She read it front, back, and sideways, until she had no other choice but to set it aside and look at me.

"What are you going to get?" I asked

She looked down again, her finger on her chin, as if she were deciding between a few different dishes. "I think I'm going to get the fish tacos."

"Yeah, they're really good here. Do you want something else to drink?"

She shook her head. "No, water is fine, thanks."

I hated the awkwardness between us. I wanted things to go back to the way they were before. Back when she gave me her easy and comfortable smiles.

We placed our orders and I watched as she looked around the room.

"This is a nice place. Do you come here a lot?"

"Um, yeah. Emmett and I found this place a few years ago. They play the English Premier League games so we started coming after work. The owner's pretty cool, and they have great beer on tap."

She looked around at the Arsenal and other League jerseys on the wall, and then brought her eyes back to me. I took a few sips of my beer while looking at her over my glass.

"Bella, I know you were disappointed today when you looked at the mug shots. I shouldn't have pushed you to do that. I'm sorry if I got your hopes up."

Her eyes flicked down to the table and then back up to me.

"It's not your fault Edward. I was just as excited as you were last night. I was the one who asked to come down to the station today. You didn't push me to do anything I didn't want to do, so stop apologizing. Yes, I was disappointed, but like you said, maybe something will come to me later. I remembered your coat, and that's a good start, right?"

I nodded my head. "Yes, it is."

I kept my gaze on her and cleared my throat.

"Bella, there is something I need to apologize to you for, and that's Tanya; I'm -"

She cut me off.

"Edward, you don't need to apologize for someone else's behavior. Honestly, her remarks say more about her than they do about me anyway. Don't worry about it. I don't want to cause problems between you two."

The waitress delivered our food and I stared at Bella as she bit into her taco.

… Cause problems between Tanya and me? Who did she think Tanya was to me?

I froze. A memory blindsiding me.

It was something Alice once told me. We were all at Emmett and Rose's house for dinner and drinks one night, and were pretty loaded. And I'll never forget this ... Alice said women had a sixth sense when it came to this kind of thing.

She told me she could tell if a man and a woman were secretly fucking just by spending two minutes in the same room with them. I always thought it was just a weird Alice thing. She was always getting gut feelings, but she said, no, that wasn't it. She said all women had this ability.

I swallowed, hard, and felt a little sick to my stomach. Bella knew I fucked Tanya. Or if she didn't, she had a very strong suspicion.

I hated that she knew. I already regretted getting involved with Tanya, and now, that feeling was compounded even more because Bella was aware of it.

I watched as she continued to eat her tacos and looked down at my own plate, suddenly losing my appetite.

I downed the rest of my beer and signaled to the waitress for another. I needed to change the subject.

"So, um, I've been meaning to ask you. Esme tells me you're a writer?"

Bella was sucking the last of her water from the straw between her lips, and her eyes went a little wide.

She set down the glass and scoffed. "No, I'm not a writer; I'm an editor. I work for a small publishing company back in Washington."

"Do you like it?"

"I do like it." She said. "I've worked there for about five years. The people are nice, and I have a great boss. I'm just taking a little bit of a break right now."

Esme said she thought Bella was here looking for a new job, but not wanting to pry, she didn't ask her too many questions.

"Huh. I could have sworn she said you were a writer."

"Maybe she got confused. I told her I thought about it after college and almost moved to New York at one point to pursue it, but ended up on the editing side instead."

"Why didn't you go to New York?"

"I, um, wanted to stay close to my family, particularly my dad."

"Your dad is Charlie, right?"

She looked a little uncomfortable and tried to catch the waitress's attention for more water. When a new glass was set down in front of her, she took a few long pulls from the straw while I waited for her to answer.

"Yes, he is. My parents divorced when I was little and my dad never remarried. I always kind of looked out for him and didn't want to move too far away."

I thought back to what she said to me the night of the attack. "I think Charlie's alive." and wondered why she said it. Was it shock? If she looked after him, it might make sense. Maybe he was sick or had died?

"Esme mentioned he's a cop?"

She nodded her head. "Yes, the Chief of Police in my hometown."

I decided to push a little more. "Do you remember when you gave your statement, I told you you mentioned him that night?"

She nodded her head again and looked off to the side.

I kept going.

"You said, 'I think Charlie's alive'.''

Her head whipped over to me, a look of surprise on her face.

"That's what I said?"

I nodded at her. "Yes, right before you passed out."

She took another sip of water. "I don't know why I would have said that. My dad, um, my dad's just not around right now."

That's the same thing she said when I asked her about Charlie during her statement at the hospital, and I wasn't sure what to make of it. Whatever it was, it was obvious she wasn't comfortable talking about him, so I changed the subject.

"So, how long will you be staying?"

I waited for her to respond, only then realizing how much I wanted to know the answer to that question. I wanted to know more about why she was here and how long she would stay.

"Probably a couple more months. I'm uh, working on something here for a little bit longer."

I thought I saw a flicker of emotion in her eyes. Sadness? Regret? I wasn't sure, but I definitely didn't like hearing her say she wouldn't be staying much longer.

I really wanted to know more. More about why she came to Chicago and what she was doing here. Did it have something to do with her dad? My mind raced with different scenarios, and I wanted to just blurt them out, but I knew I couldn't when it was obvious she wasn't offering up any more information. I decided to tread on more neutral ground.

"So tell me about your friends, Angela and Jake? Have you known them long?"

Her face lit up when I asked about her friends and I smiled at her across the table, glad to see the look of sadness gone. She told me about Angela and how far back they went. She lived in California with her husband, and the way Bella talked about her, made me glad she had someone like that in her life.

It turned out her relationship with Jake was more of the brotherly variety, and I tried not to think about why I felt relieved hearing that. It sounded like they were very close, and he was a good friend to her. But I wasn't naive. I read his text messages and listened to his voicemails. That man definitely felt more for her than brotherly love. I wondered if she was even aware of it.

Asking about her friends seemed to be the ice breaker that was needed to relieve some of the earlier awkwardness between us, and for the next hour, we talked animatedly about friends, college experiences, and work.

I already knew she was smart, and beautiful, and strong, but as I sat and listened to her and she gave me a peek into her life, I realized just how truly incredible she was.

She was finishing a story about the last time she went to California to visit Angela. They got front row tickets to see Jimmy Kimmel, and he asked Bella a question during the break.

"Oh my God." She said, "I was like a deer in headlights. My only brush with fame." She laughed.

"I'm such a dork."

I sat across from her, a huge grin on my face, my head resting on the palm of my hand, as I listened, and pictured it in my mind. I was so relaxed, enjoying our back and forth exchange, that before I knew what I was doing, I blurted out ...

"Well, I'm a dork too, so we're perfect for each other."

I saw her face get red, but I couldn't regret saying it. She was perfect.

The waitress came over and placed the check on the table. I pulled out my wallet, and over Bella's protests, put my card in the folder.

"This one's on me," I said. "Let's just call it a peace offering."

"Thank you." She said softly as she put her wallet back in her bag.

"And thank you for inviting me to dinner. I'm glad I came."

I smiled at her broadly as I stood up and helped her put on her coat.

"I'm glad you came too."

I shrugged into my own coat and felt a pang of disappointment, knowing our evening was coming to an end. I could have continued our conversation all night.

Suddenly I had an idea.

As we walked out of the pub, I looked over at her.

"Um, I have something I need to take to Esme, but it's at my house. Would it be okay if we stop there first before I take you home?"

It was true. We had a book drive at the precinct, and I kept telling Esme I would bring them over to her for the store. I just kept forgetting. There were a few boxes I had been storing in my spare room the last few months.

She looked up at me, startled, as if my question had jolted her out of her thoughts.

"Oh. Yes. Yes, that's fine."

"Great," I said as I led her to the car and helped her inside.

Before I shut the door, I looked down at her.

"Thanks again for agreeing to come with me tonight, Bella."

She looked up at me shyly. "Thank you for asking, Edward."

I shut the door and jogged around to the driver's side, a broad smile on my face. Maybe I had managed to salvage the day after all.

***A/N***

I hope all who celebrate Thanksgiving will have a very happy one this week! I am looking forward to getting together with everyone since last year was so dismal :(

My trip to visit my friend in California and seeing Jimmy Kimmel was a blast! I was literally in the front row, and he asked me where I was from. It was cool.

Now that I have a Beta and am not just posting as soon as I get the chapters written, my update schedule will most likely be once a week.

Thanks again for all the encouragement. All the feedback helps make me better.