DISCLAIMER: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight not me. I just love playing around with the characters we all know and love. :-)
Authors Notes:
***WOW, for chapter#1 just being a teaser I certainly got a lot more response then I was expecting. THANKS EVERYONE. :-)
***Special thanks to kselzor for the words of encouragement about the teacher information I included in the story. I was happy to know that what I've included is accurate so far. THANK-YOU. Also a big thanks to jansails for the information about nursing degrees and requirements. Man nurses go through a lot. LOL. More information is always helpful, so thanks. I did TONS OF RESEARCH for this story long before I wrote a single word. I took notes on all branches of specialties mentioned in the story... Legal (So much legal stuff, I'm so glad I never became a lawyer. HA), scholastic, and medical, etc... so I could get as accurate of info as possible. I'm sure I will make some mistakes regardless of my efforts but hopefully the story will be entertaining enough to ignore it. :-)
***Here's Chapter two and the first from Edward's point of view.
***I know the last chapter was short but this one is almost twice as long to make up for it.
***Let me know what everyone thinks of the story, the different POV's, and everything else.
***SUPER FAST UPDATE to the story with this chapter so show some love and comment. *Wink Wink*
***REVIEW, FOLLOW, FAVORITE
***Don't forget to try my other two stories. I'm super excited about finishing my Jasper fic so please give it a try as I'm sure most will love MY version of Jasper and an alternative orgin story for him.
CHAPTER #2: Age-Old Feeling
EPOV(Edward's Point of View)
"Tanya, I really don't need your excuses right now." I glanced over at the rear view mirror to see Lizzie. She was happily playing with her doll and wasn't paying any attention to me. Thank God. I hated arguing with Tanya in front of her. Of course all we did was fight, so it was difficult to keep it from our daughter, but I tried my best.
"It's not an excuse, it's my job." Christ if I had to hear about her fucking career over our child one more time I was going to really go off on her.
"And this is for our daughter. Not you, not me, HER." My voice was calm but only on the surface. It was my 'lawyer voice' as my brother called it. As usual talking to my ex-wife brought out the worst in me and put a lot of strain through every part of me. Was it possible to have an aneurysm and an ulcer simultaneously?
"It's a pointless meeting. There wont be any information I can't just get from you or the school later." Fuck. I wanted to scream right now but I would NOT put Lizzie through more of our Bull Shit. Lord knows she'd endured more then she should have ever had to the last year or so of her parents doomed relationship, and if I was to be honest, probably our whole marriage.
"We're at her school now. You and I WILL be discussing this later." We certainly would be. Every little thing she did to neglect our daughter was one more reason to despise the woman. It was a horrible feeling to have for the mother of my child but over the years I had lost so much respect for her. I hung up before I had to hear more excuses of how her job was more important than MY daughter. NOTHING and I do mean NOTHING was more important than my little girl.
"Daddy, are we at school?" Lizzie was practically jumping in the backseat which of course made me smile. If there was one thing about my daughter that I truly found magical it was how she could always make me smile. It didn't matter how stressful my day was or how pissed off I was, one little gesture, comment, or smile of hers could make it all go away.
"We're here Lizzie." I got out of my car and opened the back door to get her out of her booster seat. She had already undone the latch herself in her excitement and was sliding out the door as soon as I opened it.
I sighed as I kneed down in front of her. "Baby, I know you're excited but what have I told you about undoing your seat-belt before I tell you to?"
In a completely shameless way she launched her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek. "Sorry Daddy. Please don't be mad at me." I looked down at her pout that wouldn't fool anyone but rolled my eyes and accepted her not so sincere apology just the same. She had a power over me, there was no denying it.
Everyone knew my daughter was a Daddy's girl and on the surface that seemed like a wonderful thing for me, and it was. I was her favorite person in the world, over her mother, friends, even her spoiling grandparents. There was a clear downside though. A daddy's girl meant I was also the person that she knew how to play just right. The person who would do anything for her, big or small. Not that she was manipulative, because she wasn't. Lizzie was a sweetheart with a heart of gold, but that didn't mean she couldn't get anything from me, because she certainly could.
Ever heard the expression 'momma bear'? Well I'm a 'Daddy bear'. When it comes to my daughter I'm a force to be reckoned with. If I find anything to be a threat, a problem, a violation, or a disrespect to her... there will be hell to pay. From the day she was born she had me wrapped around her little finger and everyone knew it, including me.
Even in my youth I had always been the serious type, focused and determined. When I wanted something I got it, big or small. No matter what it took I always got what I aimed for. For as long as I could remember I knew I wanted to not just be a good lawyer... I wanted to be the BEST lawyer. I wanted to instill fear in the courtroom and awed respect in the boardroom. I had gotten just that through no small amount of hard work and dedication to my career. Sounds ironic now given my harsh judgments to Tanya for an equal level of dedication to her own career, but in my defense I hadn't been a husband or a father when I focused on school and career. I had been just me with no other aspirations or responsibilities.
I had met Tanya when I had already started my career at the law firm I was still at. She was younger then me, I was 27 and she was 23, working as an intern. She had majored in business not law but the firm was a major step in the right direction for her goal of becoming a budget director. Controlling other people's money, such a fitting career for her. I rolled my eyes at that thought. She still worked at the same firm as me and I hated it but that's what I got for 'dipping my pen in company ink', as my brother put it. I was chief legal officer at the firm and therefore I worked with just about every other person there. The job was stressful to say the least and I had to keep up to date on all legal changes no matter how small. Regardless of the stress, I loved the responsibility required and how much I was needed. The better I did the more I made because aside from my salary I received bonuses depending on how well the firm did, therefore it was in my best interest for the firm to do VERY WELL.
Sadly I had to participate in a lot of corporate meetings in which Tanya was usually present as budgets were always a top focus. I hated seeing her and I wished there was one aspect of my life that was free of her. Since we worked together and had a child together though that seemed unlikely to ever come to pass.
To this very day I had no idea what really resulted in our relationship lasting as long as it did. Granted at first her career driven attitude wasn't as much of a problem as it was now, but still we never really clicked like a couple should. I think most of the appeal had been the fact that the relationship had been so EASY. There were no doubts and zero expectations. That sounds like a good thing but I eventually realized that it really wasn't. I grew to have expectations of her and truthfully I wanted her to have them of me. You SHOULD want things of your partner and they SHOULD want things from you. If there were no goals or aspirations what was the point of being together?
Sure we got along well in the beginning due to how easy it was and the fact that we worked in such similar fields meant we had a lot to talk about, but still I never knew what got us to the point of actual marriage, let alone a child. I hated to think that she had been the only one who actually WANTED the whole marriage thing but I know it was her that had pushed the issue. At the time I was a partner and on the fast track to making senior as well as the position of CLO. I realized only after our divorce how much MY CAREER had meant to her own, when she tried to keep my surname.
I was well known and not just at our own firm, and not just from my own successes. My whole family had been successful in a variety of fields, and as a result my name was recognizable. She had tried to keep it after our divorce finalized but I won that front. She tried to make the excuse that she wanted to share the same name with our child but I knew that was a fucking lie considering how much she threw MY name around to get favors and recognition. Cullen was my NAME, MY families name, and MY daughters name... like hell would it be used for her disgusting self promotion.
My family had never been a fan of my ex wife and when I told them of the imminent divorce they were worried about her going after my money. Financially she did very well for herself thanks to her own career, though it wasn't on any level close to my own. Regardless of her own independent wealth, none of us would put it past her to go after my money just because she could. I wasn't stupid though, and I was a lawyer... she was not. I had made her sign an iron clad prenuptial agreement when we were engaged. Given her field of finance, I was extra clear when it came to the separation of assets section of it. The section clearly stated that in the event of divorce our own assets would remain our own. Anything in my name was mine and anything in hers was hers. We had never had a joint checking account and the only thing we shared in name had been our condo which I happily let her have. I had never cared for the place anyway as it was cold and lifeless. I was happy to get a new place which Lizzie, my number one girl, had helped me pick out and we had free reign to decorate as we wanted.
Part of me wondered if my desire to have kept everything separate in our relationship was because deep down I knew we were doomed or if I was just naturally cynical of a relationship lasting long term. Blame it on my career either way, as I was very careful and thank God I had been, so like my name, my assets were safe from her. She was back to being an unknown Denali and Cullen stayed where it belonged, with MY family.
"Daddy, will my teacher like me?" I laughed as I held Lizzie close and walked past the receptionist who had given me my visitor badge.
"She'll love you baby." She frowned at me and I kissed it away. "You're the cutest, sweetest, most perfect little girl in the world. How could she not?" She hugged me tightly and I hugged her back just as tight. This little girl was my whole world and I couldn't believe she was starting Kindergarten in just a couple weeks. I couldn't help gripping her a little tighter at the thought of her growing up and further away from me.
My brother said the moment I saw her the 'ever-permanent stick' had fallen out of my ass. He had of course chosen the moment I was holding Lizzie for the first time to tell me that so I was to enthralled with her to beat the ever living hell out of him for saying such a thing. He had taken my lack of retaliation as confirmation that he was right... I of course kicked his ass later for using that language around my daughter and he stopped mentioning it... around her at least.
My mother had said I was always meant to be a father and that Lizzie had completed me as a person. I liked to believe that was true as she meant everything to me. I had been so hesitant about becoming a father, worried I wouldn't be very good at it but my concerns had dissipated the moment I saw her little face in that delivery room. My father had congratulated me on her and had made jokes about how much having a daughter would age me, just like having a daughter aged him. He always said having Alice was equal to the stress of having three Emmett's. I shuddered to think if that was true.
I loved my brother and sister equally but from a neutral point of view I would have to say Emmett was the pain in the ass child. He was the one that got arrested at parties, petty offenses of course, but it still said a lot. He was also the one that had a pregnancy scare at the age of just 16 years old. In general he was the child that was caught doing just about every possibly wrong, cliché thing for a teenager to do. On the surface he was indeed the problem child but now that I was a dad myself, to a daughter, I saw things slightly different. I was the oldest of three children, and the youngest, and only girl, was Alice. She was the baby of the family and she knew it. Like Lizzie she was also a daddy's girl, and could get anything she wanted from our father.
My father, Carlisle, had always wanted a daughter and he finally got it with his 'mid-life baby'. She hadn't been planned as my father was 40 when they had her, but she was beyond welcomed, especially since she was a girl. She was a very well behaved child and worshiped our father immensely but that didn't stop her from wearing short dresses and dating at the much to young age of 15. Lizzie would be waiting till she was 18, period. There really was no point in her dating at all as no boy was good enough for her, but I knew that wasn't realistic. She would settle for someone far to inferior for her and I would have to deal with it.
I glanced down at the sheet I'd been sent for the conference confirmation. According to the sheet the teacher's name was Isabella Swan. I matched that to the plaque next to the door so I knew we were in the right spot. Since the door was closed I checked my watch. I had strategically requested the last appointment of the day so that I wouldn't be rushed. I wanted to go over everything the class had to offer and since I was unfamiliar with this school, I wanted to know about everything else as well. I just hoped I didn't have to deal with a teacher who cared more about leaving for the day then discussing my daughter's future. That certainly wouldn't go over well with me if it was the case.
I was a little early but as I opened the door to peak in I saw that only the teacher was in the room. She had her back to us and was sorting through some files on her desk, clearly she hadn't heard me open the door.
"Hello?" I spoke softly so I wouldn't startle her as she seemed focused on whatever she was doing. She stood and I couldn't help but notice her form. She was quite small and was wearing a long, light blue sun dress with a subtle floral pattern and flat sandals. Her hair was chocolate brown with soft waves and it was actually very long, going down to almost the small of her back. I couldn't help but find her to be quite adorable. Before even seeing her face she looked sweet.
What was wrong with me? I hadn't even spoken to the woman yet. She turned around slowly to face us and I got to rest my eyes on her for the first time. Jesus, she was beautiful. The very first thing I noticed was her eyes. They were amazingly large and were a warm brown color that just made her more beautiful. Her long wavy hair seemed to frame her big eyes perfectly making it incredibly hard to look away from her, though it also made her look very young. How old was she anyway? She had to be in her mid twenties to be a teacher at a school like this, but she looked younger. Hell, she looked like she could pull off being 18.
For a moment we just starred at each-other and it seemed we realized it at the same time as she quickly lowered her face, but not before I saw a distinct blush tint her cheeks. It was a soft pink color that just touched her upper cheeks and nose, but the color change was certainly there. The inner egotist in me couldn't help but love that I'd had that effect on her with only a look. Yes I had an ego about her attention, but I couldn't help it. It was flattering for someone that young and beautiful to find me attractive.
"Hello, please come in." She recovered quickly as she looked back up at us, though this time her focus rested on Lizzie. She went down to her knees and held her hand out for Lizzie's. "You must be Elizabeth. I love your dress and the color matches your beautiful eyes." She was doing nothing to curb my ego as Lizzie and I shared our emerald green eyes. She may have gotten her blonde hair from her mothers side of the family, but her eyes were all Cullen.
"This is my little Lizzie." I spoke proudly as Lizzie hugged my leg while smiling proudly back at me.
"Hi." Lizzie stepped forward and shook her teachers hand, enlisting a wide smile from Ms. Swan. Yes it was MS. Swan, not Mrs. Not only did it say it on the plaque but I had strategically checked her left hand. Again I couldn't help myself, I may be much older then her but that didn't mean I was blind. Speaking of age, I seriously couldn't get past how young she looked. God I felt old all the sudden, not that it stopped me noticing her form again as she stood up... very slowly. My eyes took the opportunity to peruse her body intently as she straightened back up. Was she doing that on purpose? This time her eyes rested on me before smiling cutely with that subtle pinking of her face. She extended her hand and I took it while flashing her a small smile of my own.
"Edward Cullen. You must be Ms. Isabella Swan." I accented her single status noticeably, just to see what she would do and she didn't disappoint. She flushed a bit darker and bit her lip discreetly, but managed to keep her eyes on me as she gave a small nod.
"It's nice to meet you both." She pulled away from me and I would have been disappointed except that her focus again went to Lizzie. She took her hand softly and led her to a small child sized table. She sat with her for a moment while she showed Lizzie a place-mat that already had Lizzie's name on it. That immediately had Lizzie excited as she was so eager to start school. Ms. Swan gave her a big box of crayons and some paper and asked Lizzie to draw anything she wanted. Well that would certainly keep Lizzie occupied, as she loved to draw. Sure enough she nodded eagerly and got right to work laying out all her favorite colors before she started on her next masterpiece.
Ms. Swan then stood up and gestured for me to join her at the big people desk. Thank God for that, I was to old to sit in those tiny chairs. Her eyes kept flashing to Lizzie behind me as she pulled out a variety of forms. I had to admit I loved her focus on my child. Eventually that focus landed on me and she gave another warm welcoming smile which I happily returned. "You have a sweet little girl, Mr. Cullen."
"Thank-you. Please, call me Edward." She nodded and there was that damn blush again. Seriously this girl was testing my self restraint. I had always had a thing for the gentle sweet type of woman and found the innocent type of mannerisms to be very charming. This preference further raised the big question of what the hell I had seen in Tanya, but I digress. This girl was about as sweet, warm, innocent, and beautiful as the 'girl next door' look could get, and I was growing increasingly entranced by her. All of this was with having barely exchanged any words with her. I felt a little ridiculous about my attraction for her but for God's sake even her profession was sexy, a kindergarten teacher. Was there anything hotter?
"You can call me Bella." ...and her name means beautiful... of course it does. Why wouldn't it?
"Bella, then." I was aware that I may have purred her name a little and of course she blushed further, the pink officially red now, before clearing her throat. I hadn't really done much flirting since my divorce and I was happy to know I hadn't forgotten how to do it.
"Edward, did you have any initial questions for me?" I seriously wondered for a moment if 'May I have your number?' counted as an initial question. She almost whispered my name as she asked and if I didn't find her enthralling before that certainly did me in. Was anyone actually that innocently adorable?
"Not particularly... Bella. Did you have any for me?" Again I accented her name just to get a rise from her. She was trying to fight it but the clearing of her throat told me it was working.
"I see that Elizabeth scored very well in preschool." She smiled proudly and I thought it was adorable how she could already be proud of a child she had just met.
"Lizzie is a very bright girl, though she struggles a bit with her handwriting." Bella nodded and again her eyes went to Lizzie. She stood up and I watched as she went over to Lizzie and pulled out another sheet of paper and asked Lizzie to write a couple letters. Lizzie complied easily and Bella took note of everything she did. She gently corrected how Lizzie held the pencil and when she continued to struggle Bella came back to her desk and pulled out a couple extra thick pencils and brought them over to Lizzie, who took the pencils happily but still seemed to struggle with how to rest her hand as she wrote. To my surprise Bella pointed to a series of bright colored scrunchy type bracelets on her own wrist and Lizzie picked one, the green one of course. Bella took it off and placed it in the palm of Lizzie's hand and wrapped her fingers around it before placing her hand back to the paper. I watched mesmerized as Lizzie slowly started writing her name while holding both the pencil, properly in her forefingers, and the scrunchy in her unused fingers. I noticed how much better her handwriting was in just one try. Bella gave her a little hug then got up and returned to the desk with me.
"Young children often struggle because of how small their hands are." She smiled at me while I starred back in amazement. Lizzie was so sensitive about her handwriting and hated calling attention to it. I blamed myself for that. She got her inner perfectionist from me, and she wanted to do her best at everything, and she typically wanted to do it alone, again just like me. Despite this character flaw, just like that, Lizzie had listened to Bella and had tried actively to do what Bella asked.
Bella pulled out a couple more of the large pencils and took off a few of her bracelets before handing them to me. "Here. You can have these to work on her handwriting. They help a lot, I promise." She smiled so genuinely and I honestly couldn't take my eyes off this woman as I reached for the simple items.
"Wow, I'm impressed you recognized the problem so fast." She blushed and brushed her hair behind her ears.
"I have a background in literary coaching and I learned from the best at my last school, Ms. Cope. She was absolutely magical in helping students with their handwriting. She was the school librarian but taught the students that needed a lot of extra help." Of course Bella had a background as a librarian. Just when I though I couldn't find her more attractive, she proved me so very wrong.
"Well it seemed she passed that magic to you, Bella." I smiled kindly, not even trying to flirt this time, but Bella flushed just the same at the compliment.
"Thank-you." A little to quickly she diverted our conversation to school related topics. I smirked at her blatant discomfort but paid attention to everything she said. First she went over the lunch schedule as well as the variety of extra-curricular programs the school offered. I was a bit surprised by how many there were. Who would have thought there was cooking for grade K?
"Ms. Swan?" I had been so enthralled watching Bella go over everything that I hadn't noticed Lizzie come up to Bella with a piece of paper.
"Yes Lizzie?" Bella bent down just as Lizzie held up her drawing of a forest. "Oh, did you draw that for me?" Lizzie nodded and Bella took it happily, giving Lizzie a big smile before leaning down to hug her as well, which Lizzie returned. Of course being a teacher, Bella asked Lizzie to tell her how many trees there were and they counted them together. Lizzie counted them perfectly and Bella gave her a playful fist bump before standing up and hanging the picture on the wall behind her desk, after having Lizzie sign her name of course. "I love it Lizzie, Thank-you sweetheart." Lizzie flashed me a proud smile and I smiled back at her before my eyes returned to watching this woman who somehow had already worked her way into my daughters heart. "I bet your daddy is jealous of that beautiful forest you drew me. How about you draw him one too? Make his trees pink though." I narrowed my eyes playfully and Bella tried to hide her smirk.
"Trees aren't pink." Lizzie spoke with confidence through her confusion.
"Thank-you baby." I spoke approvingly of Lizzie's disagreement. I would of course be obliged to put any drawing of hers in my office, but I would prefer not to put up anything that questioned my masculinity.
"They are in fairy land." Bella spoke matter-of-factly and Lizzie seemed to agree as she immediately went back to her desk and pulled out an awful lot of shades of pink. I sighed heavily as I shot Bella a playful glare. She pretended not to notice as she pulled out more files. Her smile dropped as soon as she got to a certain grouping, and I noticed it was custody papers. I would recognize them anywhere, as I wrote them myself.
"Um, I noticed you and Lizzie's mom have a very specific custody agreement." I nodded easily. I wasn't ashamed of it in any way. Though it was a little awkward to discuss this with the woman I'd been ogling and flirting with since entering her classroom.
"Yes, I know it's more common to switch off weeks between parents, but I couldn't stand for that. The idea of not seeing my daughter for a week at a time was... unacceptable, so instead we switch off days." I didn't know what I expected as a reaction but Bella gave me a smile, obviously finding something pleasant in what I said.
"I understand. I don't think I could go that long without seeing my child either." Hmm, a chance to get some personal info from Bella.
"Are you a mom?" She blushed red at that question though I had no idea why.
"Ummm, no. Not yet." That sounded ominous. Was she pregnant? She didn't look it, but she could be early on. Her thoughts seemed to go in the same direction as mine did because her face went redder and her eyes widened. "Umm, no. I'm not a mom, and I'm single so no prospects... yet." Her own words were making her eyes widen further and her blush deepen and it was beyond amusing to watch. It took a lot of self-control to keep the small smile on my face as I watched her trip over her own words, when what I really wanted to do was laugh.
"That's really good to know." Damn that was bold even by my standards. I was never one to mince words but even I laid ground work on a woman I was interested in, before diving right in. At least I usually did. Apparently I wasn't really holding back with Bella though. I was wondering if her skin was ever going to lose the red at this point, not that I minded. It was both cute and sexy as hell. Who would have thought that was even possible?
"Ummmm. So you and Lizzie's mom have a slightly unusual custody schedule, did you want to clarify it a bit?" I smiled as Bella seemed to struggle to get back on track.
"Yes. One week I have Lizzie for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The following week I only have her for Tuesday and Thursday. We can alter days upon mutual agreement but for the most part our schedule stays fairly rigid. It's not perfect but it's better then not seeing Lizzie for a whole week." It was a little convoluted but it worked for me. Tanya hated it but I wouldn't go seven days without Lizzie. No way in Hell.
"You have primary custody of Lizzie?" I nodded in agreement.
"Somewhat." Custody is such a complicated thing to explain. "We have joint, but I do have a bit more physical custody of our daughter than Tanya. I generally have final say with regards to changes in Lizzie's physical custodianship." Sadly that wasn't always the case though.
"Most parents with primary custody have their children for much more than you do. It's nice that you and her mom were able to work things out so well so she can spend time with you both." Bella smiled and I tried to as well, though I doubt it came off as more than a grimace. If only Bella knew. More often then not, Tanya lacked in the parental department and I had gotten primary physical care because if Tanya had fought me in the least, the other option was sole custody and I didn't want to take Lizzie's mom from her. She may be flawed, very very flawed, but Lizzie still loved her.
Luckily Bella dropped the subject and I was grateful. I hated discussing Tanya, especially about how disappointing she was as a mother. "Did you want to sign Lizzie up for any of the extra-curricular classes? I have all the pamphlets but the classes fill up fast so I recommend you sign up quickly."
"Baby, come here for a minute." Lizzie came over to me and I pulled her to my lap. I showed her some of the classes she can take and unsurprisingly she immediately stated that she wanted to take the art class.
"That's my class." Bella seemed thrilled that Lizzie chose that one and I had to admit that the idea of seeing Bella more did make the class more appealing. "It will be on Tuesday's starting the second week of school."
Lizzie squirmed her way away from me quickly, determined to finish her drawing, leaving me with a bit more time with Bella. I hadn't checked my watch, as I certainly didn't want Bella to think I was in a rush, but I knew that we had to have been here for at least a half-hour at this point.
"So will it be just you and her mother picking her up from school?" I internally groaned. Just when our conversation had steered away from Tanya...
"We have a very select list of people allowed to pick Lizzie up but I will be picking her up personally everyday that I have her. I take a late lunch to have the time work out." Bella smiled at that and wrote down what I'd said.
"Do you take her to day care or... somewhere else?" I knew this information wasn't relevant to the school in anyway, meaning Bella was trying to get personal information of her own about me. I smiled and kept my eyes on her, keeping us in a somewhat heated gaze for a few moments. I strategically didn't answer right away, waiting for that blush to appear. When it did, I spoke up.
"If I have to go back to work, I usually take her to my parents. My mother is mostly retired and Lizzie loves spending time with her grandma."
"Aww, that's sweet. A close family means so much to a child." Bella blushed at her own words and I chuckled lightly. She really was cute.
"I have a very large and involved family so when my mother can't watch her there's my father, my sister, my brother, my aunt and uncle, Rosalie..." I kept my eyes on Bella when I threw out Rose's name. It was shameless on my part but I wanted to see how she would react to another woman in my life.
"That's such a pretty name. Is Rosalie your girlfriend?" There it was, a small but noticeable twinge of jealousy that I was hoping for.
"No, she's my sister in law. She owns a custom auto shop and takes Lizzie when she's not to busy." Bella nodded and averted her face to the papers we'd already gone over.
"That's nice that your family can do that."
"How about your family. Are all of you close?"
"It's just my mom and dad but they live kind-of far away so I don't get to see them as much I'd like." She blushed further at the information she'd given me and I had to fight laughing at her. It was adorable how shy she was.
"Daddy, I'm hungry." I smiled at Lizzie as she came up to me with her completed PINK forest. I took it while shooting Bella an annoyed glare. She giggled slightly and it just attracted me to her more. Why did she have to be so irresistibly cute?
"Okay baby. Pizza or hamburgers?" I stood up to grab her and she laughed when I tickled her sides.
"Hamburgers." I swear I had the weirdest 5 year old. How many kids wanted burgers over pizza?
"Wow it's much later then I thought. I'm sorry I kept you both so long." Bella stood up and started fiddling nervously with her desk and papers again. I found it funny that she blamed herself when I was the one who had kept our conversation going so long. I put Lizzie down and told her to clean up her papers.
When I turned back to Bella, she was still fidgeting and fighting her blush. I stepped around her desk so that we were the closest we'd been all night. She glanced up at me and I couldn't resist giving her my best smile. She fought her own smile and flush even further, failing miserably on both counts, while brushing her hair behind her ears again. God how I wanted to do that for her. I reached for her hand and had to resist the urge to kiss it. What the hell was wrong with me? She was just so incredibly alluring when she blushed that I wanted to do anything to make her do it even more. Despite my desire I opted for simply shaking her hand instead.
"It was a pleasure to meet you Bella. I'm sure I will see you again very soon." She nodded while keeping that smile in place. I released her grudgingly and Lizzie and I headed for the door. I glanced back into the room and Bella was still watching us with that same smile. I winked then turned back around without waiting to see her reaction.
"Let's go get some food, baby girl." I smiled at Lizzie as she ran towards the front door eager for dinner.
END NOTES:
-What does everyone think of Edward?
-Anyone else find the devoted "Daddy Bear" Edward hot?... Just saying. (Excuse me while I fan myself)
-What will Edward think when he does learn Bella's age? I'm not telling you exactly how old she is yet, but it's quite young. Ha Ha
-PLEASE REVIEW
-Before anyone questions the accuracy of his custody situation with the switching off days rather then weeks or weekends, please know that I actually know people that do this. It is 100% possible to customize your custody agreement like this, as strange as it sounds. It works well for the story anyway and since it's fiction I can do odd things all I want. LOL, jk. This type of custody agreement has downsides as the child will lack structure and that will come into play in later chapters. This story is all about growth, change, love, drama, and essential life (Live and Learn). LOL.
-I also like this custody agreement for the same reason Edward does. I wouldn't want to be apart from my kids for a whole week. I would be a wreck and with how much of a control freak he is, he wouldn't do well either. LOL
