A/N:

Here we go, lovelies, chapter two.

First of all let me say how truly overwhelmed I am by the response to chapter one. Amazing!

Thank you to CSG, edaddict3254, shouldbecleaning and Pa Trizia 88 for sharing/rec'ing my story.

To anyone who decided to take this journey with me... Hvala!

This story would be unreadable if it weren't for my lovely friend and pre-reader purpleC305 and Ninkita, my beta extraordinaire. Danke!

Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

EPOV

I had to get away from them before I said something I knew I'd regret later.

What is it about Izi? One second she irritates me and the next I want to kiss her until she's begging for air.

The moment I saw her for the first time I was done. She has everything I look for in a girl; long brown hair and big expressive brown eyes. And don't get me started on her body. It's freaking spectacular.

Even when Izi opens her big mouth, she's attractive. She's opinionated and loud and, God help me, if that isn't a turn on.

I admit that it was my fault she reacted the way she did this afternoon. It wasn't my intention to interrupt Emmett and Roza, and be so impatient and demanding. I was aware that my brother was having a moment with the girl, and I would have let them be, if it wasn't for my sister, Alice, and her fiancé, Jasper.

We had promised to pick them up at the airport and we were already late. That's why I was so rude. Certainly, I could've gone about it differently and explained my edginess but sometimes my brain doesn't cooperate with my tongue, which leads to the point of saying rude things. I'm not proud of it and add to the fact that I liked what I saw when I looked at Izi, it got ten times worse.

All the way to the airport I had to listen to Emmett gushing about Roza. I didn't really mind because Emmett has never been the type to really talk about his girlfriends, hence my disregard for his exuberance about this particular girl. Roza's beautiful, sure but she has nothing on my girl. Ha! Listen to me - my girl. Really funny, Edward.

What was funny though was when Izi thought I didn't understand her when she cursed me out in Croatian.

We aren't accidentally in Croatia. This hasn't been a 'let's choose our next vacation spot by putting a finger on the map with our eyes closed' decision. We have roots here dating back generations.

My mom, Esme, is the only child of Anthony "Ante" Bilich who immigrated to the States in the sixties. Anthony had a brother, Niko, who died ten years after Anthony went overseas. Niko was never married and had no children of his own.

By that time, Anthony was already married to Marija, had Esme and ran a successful seafood restaurant in San Pedro, California.

When Niko died, Anthony became the sole owner of their childhood home. He had only been back a handful of times to his hometown since he moved away. His parents' and brother's funeral included.

Anthony never toyed with the thought of moving back one day, seeing as he had created a good and respectable life in the New World for himself and his family, but selling the house wasn't an option either. He couldn't bring himself to do it. Too many memories of his parents and brother kept him from it. Also, he had hoped that his daughter would find more time and motivation to visit her ancestors' country every once in a while. In the meantime, he leased the house to families in need of a roof over their head.

My mom went to college in Seattle where she met Carlisle Cullen, a med student and her future husband. They had planned to spend their honeymoon in Croatia but sadly, they didn't get to make the trip since Croatia was in the midst of a war for independence.

I was born in the same year their godson Emmett McCarty Cullen, who was my age, lost his parents in a car accident and came to live with us. Two years later, our sister Alice joined us.

We were eight and six when the first trip to Croatia finally took place.

We stayed at a hotel because the house my grandfather had transferred to my mom's name wasn't really suited for living at the time. The last renters had moved out more than fifteen years prior and the house needed a thorough renovation.

My mom thought more and more about selling the house since she and dad didn't visit often and she didn't really have ties to the place, even though it was her dad's birthplace.

Yet, by our second visit (we kids were already in our early teens), mom decided not to sell but to renovate the typical Dalmatian stone house sometime in the future. My parents started thinking long term, imagining enjoying their retirement in this village, away from the big city crowd.

"Edward, did you hear me?" my sister Alice brings me back from my musings.

"I'm sorry, sis. What did you say?"

Alice rolls her eyes at me. "I said, I'm so glad we came here again. This country is so beautiful."

I nod in agreement. Croatia is breathtaking. We haven't been farther than Zadar, a beautiful city by the Adriatic Sea with an over three thousand year old history. It's located about forty-five minutes from my grandfather's home. I remember our parents taking us there one evening for an early dinner and afterwards we sat at the waterfront and enjoyed the famous Zadar sunset. According to the legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock, Zadar has the most beautiful sunset in the world, more beautiful than the one in Key West in Florida. I've never been to Key West, but I agree with the rest. It's stunning.

The noises of people singing and laughing brings me back from my memories. I look around, bored and kind of listless, when I spot someone familiar not far from where I am. Izi's standing at the bar and talking to a large guy who could give Emmett a run for his money.

She seems to be nicely buzzed judging by the way she's laughing uninhibitedly and touching Lou Ferrigno's biceps with a flirty grin on her face. I frown at the two, ready to go over there and…

And do what exactly, you moron?

I shake my head at the direction my thoughts were about to go. Unfounded jealousy doesn't suit me and I have to remind myself that she's not mine.

I'm still spying on Izi and that muscle pack when my sister asks where Emmett is.

"He's at the other end of the bar with the girl he met today," I answer, pointing in said direction.

"We're going over there. Are you coming with us?" Jasper asks with a curious look on his face. His eyes wander to where Izi's standing, then back to me again. He's full on grinning when he realizes why I'm so distracted. I only roll my eyes at him.

"Nah. You guys go, I'll catch up later." I turn back to watching my beauty, who is alone now. Where did Biceps go? The asshole just left her alone?

Izi turns around and motions for the bartender, by lifting her empty glass, to pour her another one. I know she's more than a little buzzed when she tries to step on the rod under the bar and slips, barely keeping balance. She gets herself together, giggling and shaking her head at her own clumsiness. Although I'm not amused about her current state I still smile at seeing her being entertained about herself. My smile quickly falls when I see her leaning over the bar, which causes the dress to ride up and barely cover her ass, but also gives the bartender a great view down her cleavage. Like I feared it would happen, she's got the attention of not only the bartender but also a guy who's leering at her a few feet away.

Creepy guy obviously thinks it's a good idea to slowly approach Izi so I show him how bad his decision is and walk over to her myself. When I'm close to where she's standing I shoot the guy a 'I fucking dare you' look. He falters in his steps when he sees my face. Thankfully, he gets the hint and turns around, probably on the prowl for another conquest.

I plant myself behind Izi, just to make sure no one's coming too close. "How about you cover yourself up a bit? No need to flash..." I know it's the wrong thing to say and I regret the caveman act immediately when Izi turns around, her eyes narrowed and her gaze threatening.

"Excuse me? Kako se usuđuješ? (How dare you?)" she says angrily and puts her hands on her hips. "Go tell your girlfriend what to do." Instead of looking menacing like she probably intended to, she starts to sway and almost loses balance. I catch her just in time with my hands on her waist. Her hands land on my chest, gripping my t-shirt tightly.

"Oops," she says and giggles, her annoyance with me already forgotten. Izi lifts her head and her eyes widen for a moment. Just when I wonder what's going on in her mind she smiles at me lazily and her eyes are in a half-lidded state. "Edvaaard," she drags my name out in that cute accent of hers and starts to giggle again. She tries hard not to fall and I'm pissed again, mostly with Muscle Guy for leaving her all by herself.

"What the fuck are you doing? How much did you have to drink?" I don't mean to swear but I'm still too angry and too concerned about her well being to be cordial.

She lets go of me with a huff. "What?" she asks, irritated and takes the drink the bartender just brought her. The glass barely touches her lips when I snatch it from her.

"Hey!" Izi protests, her now empty hand mid-air. "Give… give it back!"

"I think you've had enough," I tell her and put the glass back on the bar with a thud.

"Što ti misliš tko si ti?" (Who do you think you are?) she asks, scowling. I want to give her a sarcastic answer but refrain from it because now's not the time to explain to her that my mom is Croatian and that I actually understand what she's saying. Spending every minute of my summer vacation with my grandfather at his restaurant as a kid led to perfecting my Croatian skills.

A smirk appears on her beautiful face, like she just had the best idea ever. She steps closer to me, her big brown eyes staring into mine. "Priznajem zgodan si, ali Bože dragi takav si kreten," (I admit, you're handsome but dear God you're such a jerk) she lets me know without excuses. I wonder if she'd tell me this if she were sober or even if she knew I understand every word she's saying. "Znaš što je najgore?" (You know what's the worst?) she continues and cups my cheek. I inhale sharply at the unexpected contact. "Kad san te prvi put vidila," (the first time I saw you) she breathes, "maštala san o tome da te poljubin." (I fantasized about kissing you)

She catches me off guard with her statement and I have to pretend to be clueless about her words, but at the same time I want to scream "me too!" It takes every ounce of my already weakened willpower to act ignorant and not make her (and my) fantasy come true.

"Ali tebe uopće nije briga za mnom," (but you don't even care about me) she pouts and drops her hand to her side. I want to take it and place it back on my cheek, convincing her how wrong she is.

I have to get it together before I do something I shouldn't do. Like kissing her. She's clearly in a state where she most likely won't remember anything come morning. And I want her to remember, when I kiss her for the first time.

"I have no idea what you're saying, Izi, but I do think it's time for you to go home." I don't care how much she's protesting, I put my arm around her waist to steady her while I'm guiding her through the crowd. Considering the state she's in, I walk slowly, making sure she doesn't trip until we're outside the hut-like bar where she can get some fresh air. Izi suddenly stops, which makes me halt too.

"What now?" I say irritatedly. She's right, I'm a jerk.

"Where's your girlfriend?" She crosses her arms and of course, sways a little bit. She's waiting for me to answer her while I'm more concentrated on her inability to stand upright without risking falling face-first into the sand. The people that are coming and going are quasi jostling her and making it almost impossible for her to stand still.

"What girlfriend are you talking about? I don't have a girlfriend," I inform her while my hands shoot out every time she moves.

Izi shakes her head and grumbles something unintelligible. "Alice. I mean Alice," she adds to her grumbling, in a tone that indicates I should know who she's talking about.

For the first time since I've met her I laugh out loud.

"What's so funny?" she asks petulantly.

"You." I point at her, still amused by the absurdity of her statement.

Izi huffs and she looks so damn cute doing that. "I don't see what's so funny about my question."

"It's funny because Alice is my sister." I grin, my annoyance with her long gone.

"Oh." Izi looks down at the sand beneath her sandal clad feet, taking in my words.

She finally looks up at me. "So she's not..." she starts speaking and motions to me.

"My girlfriend?" Izi nods, her face serious. "No. I don't have a girlfriend." I let her know, even though I doubt she'll remember it come morning. Or anything else that's been said tonight.

"That's… that's good." I lift a questioning eyebrow at her. "I mean, it's good she's not your girlfriend since she's your sister. That would be just gross," she quickly explains and wrinkles her nose. I stand corrected; this is the fucking cutest I've ever seen her being.

Suddenly, she puts a hand over her mouth and her face pales. "I don't feel so good." I'm at her side immediately and put an arm around her.

"Are you sick? Do you have to throw up?"

She barely nods before she bends over and soils the pristine sand.

Yep, that just happened. LOL I guess we've all been there at one point, right? No? ;)

Thank you for reading and please, let me know what you think.

Hvala i voli vas,

LunaBev