Chapter 13;
I don't own Twilight.
A/N; I made a little boo-boo with Oliver's birthday which I've changed in the first chapter. Just so everyone is clear, Bella and Edwards birthdays are the same as they are in the Twilight universe and Oliver's birthday is 8th November.
Lots and lots of family fluff in this chapter!
Bella's POV;
I put Oliver in the crib next to Evie and stifled a chuckle when she promptly wrapped an arm around him. They simultaneously slid their thumbs into their mouths and started snoring softly around the digit. I brushed Evie's hair back and gently re-tied the hasty ponytail I'd put it in this morning after the babies shared bath.
As I watched their chests rising and falling, my heart clenched when I thought about Evie calling me 'Mummy' last night. I think my love for her and my secret longing for her to be my little girl had spilled out somehow and she had caught on. Edward hadn't been mad, he'd actually looked really happy.
Edward had been treating me and looking at me differently the past couple of weeks. It had started off with a few hugs in the beginning and lingering smiles and stares but now… he kissed my forehead and cupped my cheek. And last night, the three of us in bed together with Oliver laying in his bassinet… it was like we were a little family. Maybe… maybe Evie asked both Edward and I to sleep next to her because she had needed reassurance and comfort from her parents last night.
I let out a deep, calming breath and decided to go and get the talk with Edward over with when I felt a presence behind me. I tensed when Edward's arms slid around my waist but when he pulled me backwards to him I'm embarrassed to admit that I melted into his arms. The feel of his muscular arms holding me mixed with his scent and his lips pressing against the crown of my head did me in.
"Let's go and have that talk." I merely nodded and allowed him to pull me from the nursery by my hand and be lead to his bedroom. The sheets were still rumpled from last night and this morning. My heart clenched with the desire for the way I felt last night when his arm was wrapped around Evie & I and Evie was pressed against my chest. I couldn't wait till Oliver got a little older so all four of us could have late night cuddles.
If Edward hadn't cut me out by then.
I ignored the sharp pain in my chest that my thought caused as Edward sat on the edge of the bed and gently pulled me to the space next to him. I sat down and turned to face him, one leg coming up and tucking under me while the other dangled down. My hands shook with nerves that deepened when I saw the intense look in his eyes.
Oh God what was he going to say?
"I have a lot that I want to say and I'm asking you to let me finish completely before you say anything. Can you do that for me?" I nodded mutely, afraid that if I opened my mouth my anguish would pour out and I would sob uncontrollably. He sucked in a deep breath and looked into my eyes, his teeth worrying his lower lip. I closed my eyes in frustration.
It should be illegal to look that damn sexy.
"I've known you and Oliver for almost 2 months now. And it's been the best time of my life." My eyes snapped open in surprise and widened at the sincerity on Edwards face. What the hell was going on?
"I used to worry about Evie. She's such an intelligent little girl and she knew her home life wasn't the norm. I felt like a failure. Evie's mother Tanya, well… you know that she left us. She didn't want Evie, and told me exactly how much of a mistake she felt she had made by making her before she slammed her way out of this house." I felt my hackles rise and tried to control my anger.
My baby was not a mistake! That bitch! I'd find her and tear her limb from limb.
"And then you and Oliver came into our lives. It was different for me, I don't really have many female friends and I don't introduce women that I'm attracted to Evie. Evie usually has no time for strangers. And yet we meet you, gorgeous, kind Bella and her equally gorgeous son and she falls in love with you instantly.
The first time I laid eyes on you I was… it was like the breath had been knocked from me. I felt like I was drowning in your expressive eyes and when you smiled at me? When you smiled I felt like I couldn't breathe. And then Oliver gurgled and I heard a sound that I loved as much as Evie's giggle."
My mouth was hanging open as Edward spoke, my heart thumping erratically against my ribcage.
What was he saying?
I wanted to ask but I'd promised to wait for him to finish before I said anything and so I gave him an encouraging nod and smile instead.
"I tried to shut you both out of my heart because I was scared to trust you but you and Ollie wiggled in there anyway." He let out a chuckle and I giggled with him, gasping when he grasped my hands between his.
"These past weeks, building a bond with you and Ollie, it's been amazing. But I need to speak to you about something that could risk our friendship." I nodded and looked away from those beautiful green eyes, trying to centre myself and prepare for heartbreak. He released my hands and I felt his fingers beneath my chin, gently urging me to look up.
I slowly raised my head and my eyes widened in shock at the look on his face. He looked… terrified. I leaned forward, noting the colour draining from his face and the shaking of his hands with rising panic.
"Are you okay Edward?" I whispered, aware that I was breaking my promise but needing reassurance from him. My hand raised and cupped his cheek, my thumb brushing his cheekbone. His hand reached up and mimicked mine, but his thumb brushed along my lower lip rather than my cheekbone, causing me to let out a gasp as pleasure zapped along my skin, radiating from his touch.
"I will be." He whispered before tilting my head up a little and pressing his lips to mine. My eyes fluttered closed and I clutched Edward to me, my hands wrapping in his hair and my lips moving softly against his. My heart sung as one of his arms wrapped around my waist and the other wrapped in my loose tresses.
I moaned against his mouth and ran my tongue along the seam of his lips, seeking entrance. He obliged me and our tongues tangled together, fighting for dominance. He withdrew a little so that he could draw my bottom lip into his mouth, causing me to release another moan into his mouth. Part of me wanted more but I knew that I wasn't ready for that.
I didn't even know what Edward wanted from me. My heart sank and I withdrew from him, putting a little space between us as a sickening thought occurred to me. What if he wanted to be friends that occasionally slept together?
I couldn't do that to myself. Not when I knew that I loved him. Edward kissed my cheek and withdrew, putting more space between us with regret colouring his features. Oh God. If he said 'sorry' I'd be sick.
"I'm so sorry Bella." I closed my eyes on my tears as a wave of nausea hit me. "I shouldn't have done that until I'd told you what I wanted to tell you. Damn it I'm making a mess of this." I opened my eyes in surprise at the frustration colouring his tone. He ran his hands through his already messy hair and sighed loudly.
"What did you want to tell me?" I whispered my fear of what he would say seeping into my tone. He took a deep breath and looked directly into my eyes.
"I…" He made a small choking sound that made me look at him in alarm. What in the world had him so worked up?
He took a deep breath and started again. "I'm in love with you Bella. I love you and Oliver and Evie. I want to be Olivers Daddy. I want us to be a family." My eyebrows were lost in my hairline as my mouth dropped open. I closed it and opened it again, hoping to form words but once again my mouth just hung open.
"Oh God I'm so sorry. I got ahead of myself didn't I? Oh Bella just forget I said anything. I'm sorry." He looked down at his hands miserably. A slow smile spread across my face.
Edward was in love with me.
I lunged at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him fiercely. He reacted with equal ferocity, and our lips moved in synchrony until I pulled back a few minutes later, my chest heaving due to my breathlessness. My swollen lips turned up into a wide smile and I pressed a chaste kiss against his lips.
"I love you too Edward." His eyes searched mine for a few minutes before they closed and he drew me into a bone-breaking hug, his face buried in my neck.
We sat together in silence for a while, clutching each other like a lifeline before the stirring of Evie and Oliver roused us.
"Bella?"
"Hmm?" I looked up and met the gaze of Edward, smiling widely and pressing my hand against his chest where I could feel his heart beating.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" He looked a little bashful and I couldn't help but chuckle at how juvenile he sounded while my heart soared. He wanted to be with me? Honestly?
I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and whispered directly into his ear;
"Yes."
His hold on me tightened and he let out a sigh of relief before letting me go slowly and moving towards the nursery.
"Daddy!" Evie shouted when she saw him. I gasped as I saw Oliver sitting up next to her in the cot and both Edward and I hurried over to be ready to catch him. "Mummy!"
I froze as Evie addressed me, my face breaking out into a wide smile. I reached for her and cuddled her close, a few tears of joy escaping my eyes. I looked over to Edward who was holding Oliver and was sporting a watery smile too. I inhaled her strawberry scent and sighed in contentment.
"What should we do today Evie?" I asked her, my face still buried in her hair.
"Let's go to the park Mummy."
"Anything for you baby girl."
.
.
An hour later we were walking to the park, Evie in her pram and Oliver in a carrier against Edwards's chest, snacks, spare clothes and nappies packed into a bulging baby bag. The air was brisk for April and we'd wrapped the babies up, reasoning that they could always take off layers.
Evie was wearing the Disney converse I'd bought her with a pair of frilly white socks, a pair of blue jeans, and her thick navy jacket over an indigo jumper. Oliver was wearing a pair of baby jeans, a stripy blue t-shirt, a dark blue jumper, his thick black jacket and thick white socks.
As soon as we reached the park Evie was squirming to get out of her pram, eager to go and play.
"Will you push me on the swings Mummy?" I closed my eyes and relished being called that by Evie. I don't think I would ever get over how amazing it felt to be called her Mummy.
I unclipped her and we walked hand in hand to the playground on the park, Edward following with the pram and Oliver. While I pushed Evie on the baby swings Edward unclipped Oliver from the carrier and settled him on his lap, pulling out a fire engine from the baby bag and offering it to Oliver.
Evie and I had been playing on the park for half an hour when Edward called for me, sounding slightly panicked. I scooped Evie into my arms and walked quickly over to where he sat with Oliver, holding him gingerly while he wailed.
"What's wrong Edward?" I called as we got closer.
"We've had a blowout." Edward and I grimaced. God I hated those.
"ETA to the closest bathroom?" I asked as I strapped Evie quickly into her pram and passed her a sippy cup of apple juice.
"2 minutes." Edward told me while he tried to figure out how to hold Oliver without covering himself in shit.
"Okay, okay little man. Daddy's going to get you cleaned up soon." My heart stuttered as Edward referred to himself as Olivers 'Daddy' but when he looked to me for reassurance I smiled widely. We started walking towards the café we'd gone to the first time we met. Edward handed me his wallet and told me his coffee order before heading straight for the bathroom with a wiggling Oliver and the baby bag. I left the pram at a booth and walked to the counter with Evie on my hip.
"Hello, how can I help you?" The server smiled, her persona warm and inviting.
"Can I get a cup of black coffee with milk on the side, a large hot chocolate and a small hot chocolate both with cream marshmallows and chocolate shavings please?" I smiled back and fumbled with Edwards wallet, looking for a £10 note.
"May I have a cookie Mummy?" Evie asked me, causing the server behind to 'aww' with her hand over her heart. I almost smirked at her. Evie constantly had people fawning over her – just like her Daddy.
"I think that can be arranged. Can I get a chocolate chip cookie and two blueberry muffins please?" I said while pressing a quick kiss to Evie's cheek. We waited by the counter for a few minutes before another, younger woman came and dropped off the tray. She turned her nose up at me rudely, dumping the plate with the cookie and muffins on the tray unceremoniously. I ignored her and turned to Evie, lowering her to her feet gently before crouching down so that I could speak to her.
"I need you to walk next to Mummy now Evie. When we're walking over to the table I'm going to be carrying a tray full of hot drinks and we need to be careful okay?"
"Yes Mummy." She said solemnly causing me to smile at her. She's too cute.
As I started trying to carry the tray, trying to ignore the amusement of the snotty girl when Edward came out of the bathroom and walked over, holding a clean, gurgling Oliver sans his jacket and jumper.
"Daddy!" Evie called, causing the older server to let out another coo which in turn caused me to roll my eyes in good-natured amusement.
Edward came over and passed Oliver over to me. I cradled him against my chest while Edward lifted the tray with our drinks and snacks on it. Oliver nuzzled against my breast and my milk started to let down as we walked to our table, Evie's hand in mine and Edward stood next to me.
Edward and I sat at opposite ends of the booth with Evie sat between us. Edward was unclipping the carrier from his chest while pouring a little milk into his coffee and Evie's hot chocolate. He then unzipped her jacket and lifted her jumper over head gently, folding them neatly before putting them into the pram with Oliver's jacket and jumper.
"Will you pass me the blanket out of the bag? Your son's hungry." Edward smiled at me before fishing the blanket out and passing it over to me. I covered myself while I unclipped my bra and lifted my top, offering my nipple to Oliver who latched on greedily.
I winced as he suckled a little harder than usual before he got his latch properly and picking up my cooling hot chocolate. The marshmallows, cream and chocolate shavings had melted into a chocolate-gooey layer that had me moaning in pleasure.
Edward looked a little bemused and raised his eyebrow at me, causing me to flush deep red. I took another sip of my drink before checking on Oliver. He was suckling slower than before and his eyes were drooping shut. I pulled my top down a little more so that I could move the blanket and tucked it around Oliver instead, who was slowly falling asleep.
Edward strapped the carrier back across his chest before coming to sit next to me and stroked Olivers cheek. Evie climbed onto Edward's lap and it was like we were in our own little family bubble. I relaxed into the booth and felt Edward wrap an arm around my shoulder, pulling me in to rest my head against his shoulder. Everything was perfect in my bubble, I had a loving boyfriend and two gorgeous children.
"Oh my God are you breastfeeding in here?!" I jumped out of my skin, jostling Oliver and causing him to cry a little as he lost his latch and woke fully from his drowsy state. I guided my nipple back into his mouth and rubbed his belly a little as Evie pressed a sweet little kiss to his forehead.
The warmth at my side disappeared and I turned my head to see that Edward had stood up and sat Evie in the booth where he'd been sat before. Evie came and cuddled up to my side, stroking Oliver's cheek lightly with one hand and clutching my t-shirt with the other.
"Excuse me?" He was speaking to the snooty girl from earlier and I felt a little sorry for her when I felt the anger radiating from Edward. She smiled appreciatively at him and sidled closer to him, causing me to narrow my eyes at her.
"Yes sir?" She practically purred and I had to fight with my body to get up and rip her hair out. Who the hell was she speaking to like that?!
Evie thankfully remained completely oblivious and cuddled even closer, resting her head against the breast that wasn't nursing Oliver. I ran the fingers of my free hand through her hair and tried to relax. I had no idea where my territorial behaviour was coming from.
"What's your name?" She simpered, tossed her hair over her shoulder and thrust her chest at Edward, showing off her name tag that read 'Jessica'. That was conveniently pinned directly across her left breast.
Bitch.
"So Jessica," he started, her smile widening and her eyelashes fluttering as he addressed her by her first name, "what exactly is your issue with my son getting his dinner?" She faltered, her smile slipping off her face as Edward turned and smiled lovingly at me while I grinned openly, my spirits soaring as Edward defended us.
"Can I speak to your manager?" Her mouth opened and closed a few times and Edward shrugged and smiled at her. "Don't worry, I'll show myself to the counter and ask there. Excuse me." He left her stood next to the booth, stuttering in shock while I smirked in satisfaction.
"She's a mean lady Mummy." Evie lifted her head from my chest to raise her eyebrow at Jessica, who stomped off towards the counter after Edward.
"I know baby girl, but don't worry, Daddy is sorting it." She nodded and lowered her head back to her spot on my chest. Edward strode back to our booth accompanied by the lovely lady who served me earlier.
"Hello lovie, my name is Julia Cope. I'm so sorry about Jessica giving you trouble about breastfeeding dear. I own the café and I don't see what the problem with your little one getting his dinner!" I smiled at her and offered her a seat at the booth, which she accepted with thanks.
Oliver yawned widely, causing him to release my nipple. I blushed at the fact that my nipple was exposed but Edward didn't make it awkward. He reached over and lifted Oliver from my arms, rocking him to sleep while I righted my bra and t-shirt. Oliver drifted off in Edwards arms and snuggled into his chest, his thumb in his mouth.
"Oh look at him with his Daddy! That has to be one of the sweetest things I've ever seen!" Edward grinned over at her and cuddled Oliver closer, kissing his forehead gently.
"Thank you Mrs Cope." I murmured, smiling at her while I pulled Evie's jumper on gently before re-tying her ponytail high on her head. She merely grinned back and sipped a cup of tea that was brought over by Jessica. Mrs Cope looked sternly at Jessica who turned to Edward, a smile on her face.
"I'm sorry about before sir." I fought the urge to scoff at the 'contrite' way she was arching her back and shoving her breasts in the direction of Edward. I hid a chuckle by pretending to drink the last dregs of my drink when Edward didn't even look up from gently manoeuvring Oliver into his jumper and jacket.
She flounced off once more with our empty cups at the instruction of Mrs Cope. Edward strapped Oliver against his chest with Oliver facing him. Oliver snuggled closer and pressed his cheek against Edwards chest, sighing deeply before drifting back off to sleep.
"Thank you for your support on the breastfeeding matter Mrs Cope." Edward smiled at her warmly, causing her to flush a little. I rolled my eyes and strapped Evie into her pram, laughing quietly at how my boyfriend seemed to attract the entire female population, regardless of age.
I waved a final time to Mrs Cope before walking out of the café, breathing in the crisp cool air. Edward came up beside me and grasped my hand, kissing my knuckles gently.
"Let's go home." He whispered in my ear before kissing my cheek and walking beside me, our joined hands on one of the pram handles. After only having Alice and eventually Oliver for over a year it was nice to have someone else who loved me.
It was nice to have an expanding family.
I just kinda ran with the whole love and family thing, hope it's not too much! This chapter takes place on 16th April 2016. A special thank-you to everyone who has left me reviews! They make me so happy and give me confidence in my story. I'm just glad that people are enjoying this story as it means a lot to me.
Read review and enjoy guys!
