Incognito
Chapter Thirty-Three
Edward and Bella's evening started how they expected. The paparazzi became frenzied since they had only made one other public appearance together. The speculation of Bella's relationship with Rosalie made media worse, which the award-winning actress handled with ease and ate up the attention. She even pulled Bella into a few photos, air-kissing each cheek for the crowd. Rosalie's fans loved Bella; she was the answer to their prayers.
"She's my best friend." Rosalie laughed it up for the cameras. "I couldn't ask for a better one." She hugged Bella to her side, risking hair and makeup, much to the horror of Rosalie's stylist. "Edward stole her away from me, the bastard." She waved at Edward, who stood in a casual suit with no tie, smiling at the two of them.
Bella blew him a kiss, which he caught with a wink and a promise for more later. The press loved every second of their time on the red carpet. So much for not upstaging Rosalie, Bella thought, but thankfully, her friend didn't care. Their presence brought more attention to the film, especially when Bella gushed about it and Rosalie's performance after the movie. They had remained for the film since the stars of the film were obligated to stay.
They attended a small afterparty, enjoying a few drinks before Bella and Edward decided they needed to be alone. Ever since Bella blurted out that she was ready for a baby, Edward had wanted her all to himself. He hadn't been able to keep his hands off her all night.
They needed to talk to get their thoughts together. Discuss five-year plans and synch schedules since the timing was everything. Edward had no intention to start a family without a plan in place. Being there for the duration of her pregnancy was important to him.
He wasn't about to miss first kicks and ultrasounds, midnight cravings, or a heightened sexual appetite for a part of the pregnancy.
Bella's wandering lips made it impossible to concentrate once they sat in the back of the car his security team procured for them. Her lips trailed along his neck, and he was caught up in the heat of her skin next to his.
The simple cocktail dress she wore displayed most of her back, and every time he had led her somewhere all night felt like torture and heaven.
If he thought about her legs again, he'd lose it. So long and beautiful. He wasn't sure what it was about her, but her skin always had a warm glow. She didn't use a tanning bed or a lotion, appearing natural. He loved how smooth her skin felt under his wandering fingers.
"You've been touching me all night." Bella gasped for breath as fingers traced a pattern on her bare knee. "Teasing me, always keeping me on edge and thickening the desire inside me."
Edward had to keep it under control. He wasn't interested in a quick fuck in the back of a rented SUV. The ride wouldn't be long enough to get them off. He also couldn't help but wonder how many bare asses had sat in the exact position he was in at the moment.
"Not here, baby." A groan slipped from his lips. Her fingernails raked from the nape of his neck to the crown of his head. "Behave, please."
"Do I have to?" Her pout almost made him whimper in need, and her big brown eyes added to her plea.
"Sorry, can't help to think of how many naked asses and balls have sat on this seat?"
She scrunched her nose and looked around in disgust but climbed on Edward's lap anyway. The slight tremble in her body as he wrapped his arms around her enriched his blood. He couldn't help the need to stroke her naked back with the tips of his fingers. His touch drew out more little quakes.
The cock of her eyebrow silently stated she didn't appreciate him working her up some more.
"Sorry." Edward's answering smile conveyed he wasn't apologetic in the least. The need to thrust up against her, to curve his hands over her spectacular ass, was overwhelming.
"We're almost to the gate, sir." Edward's bodyguard's voice intruded from the speakers.
"See, I told you we couldn't in here."
Bella nodded, curling up against his chest. "I understand. The idea of you sitting where Ryan Reynold's naked ass did put some sword crossing scenarios in my head."
Edward chuckled and threatened to tickle her for that remark. "Pretty sure he has a butt double."
"No! Don't ruin Deadpool's juicy ass for me!" She playfully slapped at his chest and smiled up at him. "I love you."
He kissed the tip of her nose and pressed his forehead on hers. "I love you, too. It won't be long before you're my wife."
"And a mother to our children." Her smile only grew wider. "You want that with me, right?"
"Without a doubt, Bella."
A knock on the window prompted them to shelve the discussion once they were truly alone and exited the car. After confirming their schedule for the following week, Edward mentioned to Henry that he was interested in purchasing a vehicle instead of renting one since they lived in California.
Bella laughed out loud. "He's afraid of who fucked in the back of that car."
Henry, a man in his mid-forties and as big as a mountain, grimaced. "I'm not at liberty to discuss who, but let's just say, we clean our vehicles after each use."
"See you Tuesday, Henry. Thanks again." Edward needed to get Bella inside before he lost his mind. Her little heels dangled in his right hand while she pulled up her dress a bit to loosen a garter belt. She only had a few drinks, right?
"Sorry, I'm too uncomfortable. I'm going inside, babe." She walked to the door, keyed in the code, and waved to Henry before disappearing out of sight.
Edward returned his attention to Henry. "Everything in place for next month?"
"Yes, I've worked with Alice and Liv to coordinate the plan. Everyone you've invited has already confirmed they're attending. Some made their arrangements, the rest we arranged flights, and we've booked two floors at the hotel."
"She may kill me for this surprise."
"Well, you have a few weeks to cancel and get some of your money back," Henry offered before jumping into the car and taking off.
Edward took a moment and wondered if it was better to surprise her or make plans together. He'd play it by ear and see what she thought about a destination wedding and go from there.
.
.
.
Bella sat up to stretch, resting her back against the headboard to get her bearings. The night before was a blur of so many things and activities.
Edward had come in after talking with Henry about the not-so-secret secret.
The man had surprised her once. A last-minute barbeque with most of the cast of the Avengers probably hadn't been easy, but a wedding proved more difficult.
His constant disappearing to talk on the phone, the way he closed his laptop if she got close, and the final nail on the coffin, her father awkwardly calling to see if they could come down to meet Edward face-to-face.
She wasn't the type to jump to conclusions, yet something was going on. It didn't take her long to figure it out. Alice had a lot of insight into what she wanted for the wedding while getting ready for the night before. Scarily accurate, everything she mentioned were things she and Edward discussed after he asked her to marry him.
He also rejected two projects because their timing would start before the end of the year. Bella knew he would want some time together before he left to work. They had a lot to talk about, but she wouldn't ruin his surprise. It took a lot of the pressure off her shoulders, and he loved to do things for her.
A hum and soft groan brought Bella out of her thoughts and into ones from hours earlier. She felt sated when the sun rose, falling into a dreamless sleep beside Edward. Seeing him look soft and sweet in his sleep made her feel dizzy with desire. She also felt an abundance of comfort and warmth. As if his presence brought her peace and happiness, or simply the ability to recognize it better.
Her fingers raked softly in his hair, loving the little satisfied purr-like noise he made as he wrapped one heavy arm across her hips. With ease, he pulled her closer and nibbled on her thigh for a moment, nuzzling it the next. A contented sigh filtered through as he eased back into sleep.
"We're going to get married soon," she whispered after several minutes. "After that, you're stuck with me. We're going to have a baby or two, preferably not at the same time."
"Twins." His mumble was soft with sleepiness, a small smile on his lips.
"You wish." She tried to laugh but couldn't help imagining it, and then she remembered one of her former roommates giving birth in their living room. The screams still haunted her. "One at a time. I need to research if there are twins in your family." She started to shudder but shrugged in the end. Whatever happened, they'd deal with it together.
She felt Edward nuzzle her thigh again, his teeth nipping at her. "No twins in the family, I promise." She sighed in relief. "Triplets, however."
Edward laughed as Bella squeaked in surprise and cursed in Spanish, then French. "I'm joking, love."
"That is not something you should joke about, triplets! Have you seen what a pregnant woman looks like pregnant with three babies? I have a high pain tolerance, I'll give you that. What I don't have, is patience if I'm uncomfortable. Let that serve as a warning now."
"Does that mean I can take care of you without arguments?"
Bella sniffed. She was independent and often reminded Edward she could handle an oil change or make lunch. Edward's love language was doing little things to show he cared. He had nothing to prove, but he enjoyed taking care of her.
"You'll get no arguments from me about my needs while carrying one of our babies."
Edward snorted and looked up at her, his mouth dangerously close to the warmth between her thighs. "I'm going to spoil you."
She would've rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile instead. Her hands cupped his face to look into dark green eyes, seeing nothing but the love he had for her. For the future, he could see and desire.
"So, what or who gave me away?" Edward had a cheeky grin on his face as her eyes widened. "You stopped asking what I was working on weeks ago. That's not in your nature. You always want to know what's up. Mostly out of curiosity, but also so paps won't ambush you."
"You're too distracting when your face is that close to my …"
Edward cocked a brow and finished for her. "Your pussy?"
She pushed his head away, laughing when he pulled her from a sitting position and under him. Breathless and beautiful, she looked happy. "It was a combination of things."
"It will disappoint some people that we couldn't even pull this off." Including him, but he was glad. Keeping things from her proved harder than he expected.
"Who says we have to tell anyone that I know?"
"It's in less than two months, and that's a long time to pretend to hide what you know." Edward knew she could hold out, but everyone else was questionable. "We're also supposed to meet my family in Washington in two weeks, a last-minute trip I planned to spring on you."
"Well, that saves my dad a trip here." She explained he had called last week to plan to come down to meet Edward.
"He doesn't still carry a gun, right?" Edward looked worried for a few moments but shook it off. "Never mind, he said he'd be the number one suspect if my body showed up with a bullet wound
Bella groaned and shook her head. "We should stop talking about my dad while I'm naked under you."
Edward made a face as he rolled off her. "That killed my mood, thanks."
She laughed as she rose to her feet. "Shame, considering I was about to brush my teeth and have a shower." She didn't bother to pull out clothes from her drawer and headed straight for the gorgeous bathroom. Looking over her shoulder, she added a little more bounce to her walk.
Edward's eyes snapped to her ass, jumping out of bed. "Did I say killed the mood?"
She giggled and ran into the bathroom, but Edward closed in on her and threw her over his shoulder. He placed her on the cold counter of the sink, giving her a toothbrush, and they cleaned up as the water in the shower heated. They made plans for the day, making time to discuss the wedding schedule and how it lined up with her work. Edward only had a few more months off, but he also had meetings set up with producers and directors, his agent, and various other things until he left for filming.
They made their way into the shower, each with so much on their minds, so many things to do. Bella had an idea, but she had to run it by him first.
"Seth is getting more and more familiar with managing my business without me, taking on all the right projects, delegating tasks, and even hiring new artists. Would you mind if I went with you while you filmed in Ireland?"
Edward exhaled sharply and then looked at her with a goofy look on his face. A cross of relief, happiness, and just plain gratitude. "I was going to beg you to come with me after we got married."
He muffled her laughter by pulling her against his chest, water cascading over them. The temperature of Bella's showers had taken some getting used to at hotter than Hades. The first time he yelped when he climbed inside after getting home from a meeting. She compromised to a more tolerable level soon after.
"It wouldn't have taken that much to convince me."
He smiled at her confession. "Good to know. Now, let's talk about the elephant in the room." The tips of her fingers teased his cock, which twitched in response. "Not that elephant."
Bella tried to hide her laughter, shaking her head. "Babies?"
Edward nodded and tried to remain serious. "You know I want babies as much as you seem to."
She looked up, drops of water on the tips of her long lashes. He couldn't get over how beautiful she was to him. "I think we're on the same page, two children, close together in age."
It was so easy to picture, and he almost got lost in thought. "Despite that, I want to have you all to myself for a while."
"A year or two before we try?" Her brow furrowed, but soon it smoothed out as she nodded. "It will take about that long to figure out what we both want to do. I'm trying to figure out a possible business expansion. You've been questioning if you still want to be in front of the camera."
"Directing is hard to get into despite being an actor." Some actors and actresses who turned directors when they transitioned weren't taken seriously. "I don't want my directing debut to be something I also star in."
"Makes sense." She tipped toed as she washed his hair, asking him to dip down a little more. Edward crouched, putting his eyes level with her slender neck. The marks he left there stood in sharp contrast to her skin.
Fuck, he whispered under his breath. He wanted her again, even though he had her several times in the last day and a half.
"If you wanted to start a directorial project, you should have the idea ready to shop around. Especially if you want to have at least one film done before we start our family."
Edward couldn't help the heat that rose to his face. He rarely felt intimidated about someone seeing his work anymore, but it was different when it was all him. "I have a screenplay that I wrote about a year ago. Would you mind looking at it?"
Bella smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, his hair rinsed and clean. "I'll be honored."
"You might hate it."
She shrugged. "Maybe, but I'll be honest with you."
"That's all I ask for." He pushed her against the tiled wall behind her.
"Is that all you want?"
"Yes." He pressed his lips to hers. "I might need convincing for anything else. Someone wore me out."
She slid down the wall and grasped his hips. "I'll do my best to convince you."
He groaned. It took little to get him riled up, but with his fiancée on her knees, warm and wet, he lost any chance of delaying something they both wanted.
"You convinced me," he mumbled at the first stroke of her tongue. The slight vibration of her laughter radiated through his cock.
Edward's groan could be heard from downstairs, where Alice waited with a wedding portfolio and a hungover Emmett and Rosalie.
"I think they forgot we were coming for breakfast." Alice smiled at Emmett, slamming her binder on the table. "I told you not to overdo it last night."
"Give us a break," Rosalie moaned. "We had a good time. How are you so chipper this morning?"
"I didn't drink, remember?" Alice placed a hand on her stomach and smiled.
Jasper came out of the kitchen, spatula in hand. "If we're about to pull off the surprise wedding, we need all hands on deck."
"Can't believe they don't know that we know Bella knows." Emmett shook his head, following Jasper into the kitchen to help. Rosalie was damn good at pasta dishes, but Emmett cooked a mean breakfast. Some greasy food would help his pounding head.
"They seriously think we wouldn't figure it out," Alice stated, grabbing some juice from the fridge. Thankful that her morning sickness took a vacation that morning, she was looking forward to Jasper's chocolate chip pancakes.
"What better way to say we know they know than to surprise them both?" Rosalie rubbed her hands together and threw her head back to cackle like the evil friend she was.
"Holy fuck, babe!" Emmett fluttered around her, kissing her hard. "You're hot as a villain."
They had confirmed their devious plan with Edward and Bella's family and finished cooking breakfast when the couple made it downstairs with stupid grins on their faces. Bella had a slight limp. It only made Edward dote on her, but his smile turned cocky.
"Lucky bastards," Emmett grumbled from his chair. His plate piled high with food his trainer would make him regret eating. "I want to wake up to domestic bliss, too."
Rosalie's fork froze midway to her mouth. "You haven't asked me to move in."
Emmett's shock lasted only a second or two. "You haven't asked me, either."
"I have a real estate agent that's amazing to work with," Alice chimed in.
Bella and Edward volleyed between Emmett and Rosalie's intense staring contest, the couple communicating without words.
"Let me have their number, Ali," Emmett stated, not breaking the stare to smile.
Rosalie simply nodded.
Edward and Bella exhaled and bumped shoulders, her head resting on his arm as they talked about simple things. Surrounded by friends, living in a new home, rocketing into a future she had never dreamed of having, but wouldn't want any other way.
So many things were changing.
AN: Thanks to kyla713 for helping clean up the chapter. It was a bit of a filler chapter, but it needed to be done this way. Did anyone catch the Friends reference? Not going to make a million excuses other than LIFE and just losing my mojo. I'm doing what I can when I can. That said, the next chapter will be the last full chapter, followed by one or two epilogues. Will I do a sequel? That's still up in the air right now. I think I want to finish another WIP or two before I start on a sequel.
Not sure if you've heard, but there's a podcast on Spotify called The Big Hit Show. It's an entire season dedicated to all things Twilight, the good, the bad, and the ugly. That includes fanfiction, and they interviewed yours truly and I think I'm featured in the fourth episode aptly named Fade to Black. You can find me on Twitter under ericastwilight and you can find my Facebook group under Ericastwilight Fanfiction, too. I have a TikTok but have posted nothing yet but plan to rectify that soon. Thanks for everything and off to write some more today!