Chapter 2

"Morning," James greeted me before pressing a kiss to my lips. "You sleep okay?" He slid a cup of coffee toward me. Just like every morning, it was made perfectly. And today, instead of feeling endearing, it felt annoying.

I quickly shook off the feeling, refusing to let Edward get under my skin and ruin a good thing. It had been over two weeks since he'd banged on my door and shook up my world.

"Thanks." I took a quick sip, letting it warm me from the inside out. "Mm, I feel like I just tossed and turned all night."

He sat beside me at the breakfast bar. "Yeah, you seemed a little restless. You have for a few days now. Is something bothering you?"

I pulled my lip between my teeth, shaking my head. "Nope. Just a weird night, I guess, and work has been a little stressful." I downed the rest of my coffee before standing. I felt like the biggest ass for lying to him. But what was the point of blurting out "the man I've been in love with for a while showed up a few weeks ago and now I feel weird?" Especially when nothing was going to come from it. Maybe I wasn't happy yet, but I was way less sad than I had been a year ago. For now, that was good enough for me.

"Well…" His gaze met mine, and I had the feeling he knew I was lying. "I'm here if you need to talk, you know that."

I nodded. "I know."

"Any fun plans today?" And just like that, the subject was closed. I knew him. He most likely wouldn't bring it up again unless I did.

"I'm going to meet Angela at the gym, and then we're probably going to go to lunch."

He smiled at me, reaching out and grabbing my hand. His blue eyes were warm and shining. "Sounds good. I've got some plans for us for dinner though, okay?"

The amount of love in his eyes as he looked at me made my stomach twist in on itself.. "Yeah, okay." I returned his smile, leaning in and kissing him softly. "I'll be back in time."

I pushed out a deep breath as I walked into our bedroom to change before heading out. I would not let Edward ruin a good thing for me. He had no business coming here and spewing so much crap at me. He hadn't wanted me, and now, suddenly when I was finally moving on, he had feelings for me? It wasn't fair for him to play this game. He said he was going to fight for me. Well, he could try all he wanted; I wasn't going to let him win. I couldn't handle him breaking my heart again.

James was who I needed to be with. He was comfortable, he was safe.

—SB—

Angela was panting by the time we stepped off our treadmills.

"Girl, what the hell? I could hardly keep up with you."

I rolled my eyes at her dramatics. "Told you I was stressed and I planned to work it out. No one said you needed to keep up," I snapped.

"Whoa." She raised her hands, taking a step back.

I sighed heavily as we walked toward the locker room. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be a raging bitch."

"You weren't a raging bitch. Just…a little bitch. What's going on? Is everything okay between you and James? Ben told me James was telling him he's worried about you."

I snorted quietly. "Thanks, Ang. Everything is…fine with James. I'm going to hop in the shower."

"We're so not done here!" she yelled after me.

—SB—

Of course Angela wanted to go to Outlier for lunch.

I could only hope and pray that Edward wasn't working today. I still spoke to Esme from time to time, and she let me know that he'd recently started an apprenticeship at Pins And Needles as a tattoo artist.

The thought had made me smile, but simultaneously feel sick. I wished I would've been there to celebrate with him, but he'd made that decision for both of us.

But of course I never was very lucky, which meant I wasn't very surprised when we'd walked into the restaurant and I immediately caught sight of his bronze hair moving between tables.

"Hi! Welcome to Outlier, table for two?"

"Yes—"

"On the patio, please?" I interjected, almost sounding panicked. I pulled back a bit. "It's a nice day. Is that okay with you, Ang?"

"Um, sure." She eyed me carefully.

"Not a problem!" the hostess said as she led us to our table. "Jessica will be your server this afternoon."

Once we were seated, we sat there in silence, looking over our menus. And as soon as Jessica—our waitress—left after taking our orders, Angela cleared her throat. "So, are you ready to tell me what's going on?"

"Work is—"

"Bullshit. I work with you at work, everything there is fine. It's boring, even. You can tell James that work is stressful, but not me."

"Ang," I whined. "I don't want to talk about me. Let's talk about you and Ben and all the kinky bedroom things you do."

"Sex talk later, real talk now. What's going on?"

I glanced toward the door that led into the restaurant, catching Edward staring intently at me for a moment before he headed off. Not long after, Jessica came by, dropping off our plates.

"Who was that?"

"Are you going senial, Ang? That was our waitress."

"Don't bullshit me, Bella. You now I'm talking about the guy who was staring at you"

I shrugged, but I knew my damn blush would give me away. "A waiter? How would I know who he is?"

"Bella!" Angela all but shouted. "Come on."

I loved Angela. I trusted her. She was one of my best friends, but she had been James' friend first. There could be some sort of loyalty to James over me.

"I was friends with him a long time ago. I wanted more. He didn't."

"I feel like there's more to this story you're not telling me. Look, if you're worried I'll run back to James and tell him everything—I won't. Ben is his best friend. You're mine. You come first."

Glancing around, making sure no one was within earshot, I started, and it all spilled out. "Two years ago, I told Edward—the waiter—that I was in love with him. He said he didn't want a relationship, and, well, our friendship fizzled away after that. I haven't spoken to him in…almost two years now. He was here last month, working, when we all came to celebrate our engagement. After that, he showed up on my doorstep, proclaiming that he wasn't ready then but that he is now. He said he was going to fight for me."

Angela sat there, her eyes wide, mouth agape. "That's…wow."

"Yup, wow."

"So, what are you going to do?"

I scoffed. "What am I going to do? Absolutely nothing. He's too late. I'm with James and I'm content. He doesn't get to just decide he's ready and try to ruin the one good thing I have going."

She nodded, pursing her lips. "Okay."

We continued to eat in silence, but there was a lingering tension between us. I hated admitting it to myself, but it was obvious I still harbored feelings for Edward. And with those feelings came an intense guilt that ate me up inside. James was caring, sweet, and ridiculously handsome. He was everything most women would want—including myself. But there was something missing between us, something I'd hoped we'd find in time. I'd thought I could be happy with James, that my love for him would come after we'd been together for years and faced challenges together in life. Now I wasn't so sure if I could ever love him or anyone else who wasn't Edward. Why did my heart have to be so fucking stupid?

Jessica came, clearing our empty plates away, before returning with a slice of chocolate cheesecake that she placed in front of me.

I looked up at her, confusion written on my face. "Um, I didn't order this."

She smiled brightly, glancing over her shoulder. I watched as Edward walked past the door once again. "It's on the house."

Angela let out a low whistle, a smirk forming on her lips. "You're in trouble, Swan, he knows your vices."

I glared at her. "Shut up," I mumbled, stabbing the cheesecake with my fork. "Help me finish this, and then I have to get home. James has some secret evening planned for us."

—SB—

I let out a sigh of relief as I walked into the house and realized I was alone. I dropped onto the couch, pulling out my phone to mindlessly scroll through Facebook. I needed at least five minutes just to process the entire afternoon. I was just zoning out when a text message popped up on my screen from an unknown number.

"They've got some good cheesecake, huh?"

I rolled my eyes, instantly knowing who it was. "Leave me alone, Edward."

"You looked really beautiful today. All tousled like you'd just been freshly fucked. But I'm assuming it was just a great gym session."

I gasped as I read his words and the front door clicked open.I dropped my phone as James walked in, a bouquet of daisies in his hand.

"Hey, honey." He smiled, walking over and kissing me on the lips. "I know you've been a little tense, so I got you these." He handed me the flowers. "And I set up a couple's massage for us, along with dinner and a private movie showing afterwards. Sound good?"

"That sounds…" I swallowed around the lump in my throat. How was it possible that I didn't love this man? "It sounds really great. Thank you," I whispered.

Remember, everything isn't always as it seems. Let me know what you think!