Many, many 'thank you' for all the support and kind words, guys! I love reading all your opinions.
Also, a big THANK YOU to Gabby for helping me improve my writing.
A knock on Edward's office door pulled him from his thoughts. He shook his head, trying to return to the present moment.
His sessions with Jasper in the past couple of months had messed with his head. He could tell that he was coming to peace with the accident and the lives that had perished that night, but Jasper insisted on Edward pondering on the things that made him grateful for living at the moment. It usually led to zoning out and thinking of his past, sometimes, comparing the new joys with the old joys. There was definitely a new him.
"Yes?" he called loudly, spinning his chair around to face the door.
Ben strolled inside with the newspaper of the day in hand.
Edward had already read it, and he'd hoped Ben would be the one to represent the company at the event held in Los Angeles in November.
"Have you seen this?" Ben threw the paper on Edward's desk. His eyes sparkled with excitement. "It's the third year in a row when we get nominated for the award of the Best Investment Company of the Year."
"I've already read the paper," Edward answer.
"Should we have Jane book us two rooms? It's on the third weekend of the month."
"I think I'll skip this year. We don't exactly have to be there, Ben."
"I want to go," Ben said seriously. "We both worked hard to achieve this."
"Very well, then you go."
"I can't persuade into you accompanying me?" Ben leaned forward, lifting a brow.
"I'm afraid not." Edward cringed. "Though, I might need a break when Alice finally decides on a date for the wedding."
Ben chuckled. "I thought it was set for this month."
"Half of the guest list is not able to attend a September wedding." Edward rolled his eyes. "She pushed it to the end of October, but knowing Alice, it might turn into a white wedding."
"You know that doesn't mean what you're hinting at?"
"Whatever. I'm just dreading her getting married in the winter. She'll want fake snow, or she'll probably move the venue to the mountains." Edward shuddered. He'd spent hours with Jasper, discussing ways how to placate Alice's crazy wishes. "At one point, she wanted flamingos," Edward said casually.
"No way!"
"So, pray for my sanity. Try me again at the end of October, I might change my mind about coming to LA."
"I'll reply to their invitation that one of us will be there for sure, but they shouldn't exclude the additional seat at the table."
Edward nodded. "You could always bring a plus one, so that seat wouldn't be empty."
Ben frowned. "What about you?"
"I'm not coming, remember?"
"Okay, okay." Ben leaned back in his chair.
Ben kept his eyes on his friend, and Edward braced himself for the inquisition. Edward had learned in the past couple of months to accept that his friends and family would randomly ask how he was doing, checking on him, and they didn't always mean it as an inquiry about his health. It was just another question, people that cared for him were designed to ask every now and then.
Edward held Ben's gaze, waiting for his questions.
"How are you?"
Edward had discovered that it was in the tone of the other person's voice. Ben wasn't merely checking on him, he was genuinely curios.
Edward had stopped answering with 'I'm fine', 'I'm well', 'I've been better', and any other sarcastic or untrue phrase under the sky. Jasper had taught him everyone expected that answer, and they rarely pressed, which it made Edward's usual answers safe. Jasper had dared him to answer truthfully.
"Besides being in the middle of a mental breakdown over a wedding that's not even mine?" he laughed uneasily. Ben chuckled along, but kept his wary eyes on Edward. "I think we should branch out to invest into the nightlife of Santa Barbara."
Ben had the desired reaction. His eyes widened, and his eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead. "That's completely random. What nightlife does our town have?"
"Some local bars deserve to be known better."
Ben narrowed his eyes. "Is this about Bella?"
"Maybe? Though, she doesn't know my intention," Edward admitted. He'd only been thinking about associating his company's name with Eclipse for a few short weeks.
Ben was the only other person to hear about his idea, after he'd confessed his desire one morning to Felix, on their way to the office. Felix had suggested a protection suit, because Bella was likely to break a bottle of vodka in his head. It didn't sound too far-fetched from what Edward expected her reaction to be.
"It would be more prudent to stick to the area we know, which is construction. There's a new hotel chain ready to enter the local market."
"Do you have details?" Edward asked, ignoring the fact that Ben had dismissed his idea to branch out their area.
"I could contact the manager and get details," Ben offered.
Edward nodded. His phone buzzed with an incoming text message.
I'm staying longer tonight. Could you take Harley for a walk? Pretty please?
Edward chuckled, typing back a reply. Sure. I'll even wait for you.
Bella had changed her work schedule, which meant she was usually home by seven or eight o'clock in the evening. She spent most nights at Edward's, but he didn't mind a sleepover at her place.
Edward had stayed true to his promise to Jasper, and he hadn't adventured to playtime with Bella. Though, he used their quiet evenings to teach her everything she had to know about the lifestyle. That way, the next time they did a scene, Bella would be ready and she'd know what to do. She was a quick learner, and Edward could tell she wanted to experience what he was telling her, but Jasper hadn't deemed him ready to adventure that way, yet.
"How's it going with Jasper?" Ben's question pulled Edward from his thoughts. He hadn't expected Ben to ask something like that. Edward had figured therapy was a taboo subject for most people.
"It helps," Edward answered truthfully. "I'm in a better place than when I decided to see him."
Ben nodded, clearing his throat. "I've been thinking of finding a therapist myself."
Edward smiled wryly. His original guilt resurfaced, as he acknowledged that he was the reason Ben was suffering. "I'm sorry."
Jasper had told him repeatedly that as meaningless as he considering the words 'I'm sorry', other people appreciated it. In such situations, it was everything some people needed to hear, even.
"Eric encouraged me to find someone, because it's not healthy the way I've been dealing with this," Ben added in a small voice. "While you locked yourself away, I invested my whole attention into work."
"In my opinion, you handled it better," Edward muttered. He was uncomfortable discussing Angela with her brother.
"Edward, I didn't…I haven't been able to…" Ben took a shuddering breath. "I didn't cry. Not once."
Edward was ready to say that he'd cried for both of them, but he knew it was the wrong thing to say. He couldn't even begin to imagine how Ben must feel, all that grief bottled up inside, unable to let out the anguish over losing his sister.
"Do you want to talk to Jasper?" Edward offered.
Ben shook his head. "Eric found me someone, actually. You could ask Jasper if he's heard of Maria Valez."
"I think she's been his mentor for a while, if I don't mistaken the name. I'll ask, though."
"Thanks, man." Ben stood up, not looking as confident as when he'd stepped into the office.
"Hey," Edward said, when Ben turned to walk to the door. "I'm here if you want to talk. I know how you feel."
Ben nodded slowly, looking over his shoulder at his friend. "I appreciate it. Same goes for you."
Edward sighed loudly when the door shut behind Ben. He decided to call it a day, even though, there were at least two more hours until the end of work day.
Felix met him at the elevator, a curious look on his face.
"To Bella's," Edward told him. "You can leave me there, then go home."
"Tanya wanted to know if you'll be home this weekend," Felix said, as they got in the car. "You know, to cook and…"
"Probably, yeah. I'll let you know."
That upcoming Saturday, Edward had to face family dinner after postponing it for several weekends. Bella had escaped family dinner after Emmett and Rosalie's wedding by working at the pub. Edward's mother hadn't been thrilled to find out where his new girlfriend worked, but like Edward had told her, it wasn't her job or her business how Bella earned her money. After that, Edward hadn't even attempted to ask her to accompany him, but now, he was ready to bring her to family dinner.
It was Bella, who had suggested that it was time she met his family properly.
"If we survive dinner at my parents', we'll be home on Saturday night," Edward added, amused.
Felix met his eyes through the rearview mirror, a smile on his face. "That means you won't need my services?"
"We'll take Bella's car."
Felix nodded. "Okay. Then we'll see you tomorrow night."
In front of Bella's apartment building, Edward fished out the keys Bella had given him not that long ago. Harley rubbed his head against Edward's knees, tail swishing left and right. The dog had learned that greeting him that way earned him a treat, unlike his usual greeting with jumping on Edward.
After fastening the leash to his collar, Edward made sure he had some poop bags and some treats in his pocket, before they ambled for the evening walk. Harley always obeyed him when he was in control of the leash. The times he and Bella had walked the dog, and Bella had been the one holding the leash, Harley kept pulling and plainly ignoring her commands. Edward began to understand what Bella had told him from the beginning, Harley was the Alpha, and he refused to listen to her. Edward planned on changing that.
It was late evening when they returned to Bella's studio.
Edward remembered locking the door twice, so when the door opened as he twisted the key in the lock, it made him enter the studio cautiously. He kept Harley at his heel, looking around, worried.
It could have been Bella back on time, despite her text message from earlier, but something told Edward, it wasn't Bella in her place.
Harley tensed at his side, turning his head toward the kitchen.
Edward closed the door softly, walking carefully toward the kitchen. In one of the mismatched chairs sat a man, Edward had never seen before, but judging by his features, similar to Bella's, he was her brother.
James stood up, staring at Edward's appearance, startled. "You must be the boyfriend," he said in greeting, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
Edward rolled his eyes, unfastening Harley's leash. He pointed him to his food and water, before folding his arms across his chest, glaring at the man in front of him.
Edward had imagined many times a confrontation with Bella's brother, ready to give him a piece of his mind about the way he'd treated her. Judging by the man's appearance, he wasn't as happy as Bella had pictured him.
James had the same brown eyes as Bella, but they seemed devoid of life, his shoulder-length hair was several shades lighter than Bella's and caught in a ponytail at the back of his head, his cheekbones were sunken in and his skin had an unhealthy white pallor.
Edward chose to match the man's sarcasm. "You must be the wandering brother."
Awareness crossed the man's face. "I see Izzy told you about me."
It took Edward a moment to figure out who Izzy was. He'd never thought of that nickname for Bella. "How did you get in here?"
"Maybe I should be the one asking that?" James raised a brow. "I do own this place. Of course, I have a spare key."
Edward clenched his jaw. "I'm the boyfriend. Of course, I have a spare key," he retorted.
If James didn't explain his presence back in Bella's life after so many years, Edward was ready to throw him out.
Harley, done with his dinner, finally went to sniff at the guest. Edward was surprised he hadn't greeted James as soon as he'd been off leash. Hunger had probably won the battle, though.
James petted Harley's head, keeping his eyes on Edward. "I don't know what Izzy told you about me, but let's start over. I'm James Swan. You're Edward Cullen."
Edward swallowed his snide retort, surprised James knew him. Of course, James was older than Bella, he was closer to Edward in age, of course, he'd know him. In all honesty, everyone on the South-West Coast knew him.
"Bella has told me enough to know that you have no right to waltz back into her life like this," Edward answered.
*slinks away* Should I tell you to give James the benefit of the doubt? I'll explain his behavior in the future chapters. Until then, let the theories flow. =)