Chapter 18;
Edward's POV;
I ignored the uncomfortable tightness around my tattoo as I slowly came back to consciousness. I groaned and sleepily reached for Bella so we could have our usual early morning make out session, only to find a cold spot when my hand met the ruffled sheets of her side of the bed. It took a minute for me to compute that Bella wasn't there; when my brain finally responded my eyes snapped open and my body jack-knifed upwards into a sitting position, my eyes scanning my bedroom.
Her hair bands were still scattered haphazardly along the bedside table, her clothes from yesterday still sat where she put them last night; in the hamper in my bedroom corner. I spotted a pair of converse partially under my bed and a pair of strappy heels shoved into the open wardrobe. I breathed out a sigh of relief as my irrational fears were chased away. She hadn't left me and Evie in the middle of the night.
So where the hell was she?
I gingerly stretched my arms over my head and turned my head so I could admire the names adorning my left arm. Bella hadn't brought up that I'd given Oliver my name on the tattoo and I decided to take it as a good sign rather than worry about it being a bad one.
He was my son. I would have to speak to Bella about making it official and the same for Evie. If we didn't work out, God forbid, I wouldn't stop her from seeing Evie; she was a big part of my little girl's life and Evie didn't need the confusion of suddenly losing a parent. It shouldn't be too hard for Bella to adopt Evie – Tanya signed her rights away after all. Probably shouldn't ask this early into our oddly serious, committed relationship though.
Or be thinking about this at the arse crack of dawn.
I tilted my head side to side, rolling my shoulders and groaning in relief after my neck cracked satisfyingly. I moved to get out of bed and find my girlfriend – that sounded way too juvenile, my partner – for at least a few kisses before the kids woke up when I heard whispers and quiet giggles outside the partially opened door. I shook my head as I listened to Bella and Evie, deciding to stay in bed and wait for them to do whatever they had planned.
It was 100% going to be something adorable; it was my birthday after all.
I heard a whispered countdown and hurried to lie back down and feign sleep. I had just perfected my slow, deep breaths when the countdown finished and Evie burst into the room loudly, darting to my side of the bed immediately. I made a big show of groaning loudly as if my sleep had been disturbed while trying to hide the persistent smile on my face.
I felt my daughter scramble up onto the bed and nestle in next to me, her little hands prodding gently at my face and shaking my shoulders.
"Daddy! Daddy it's time to wake up! It's your birthday!"
I groaned theatrically before rolling onto my back and scooping Evie up into my arms, holding her above me while she squealed with delight.
"Happy Birthday Daddy!" I brought her down to rest against my chest and blew a raspberry on her cheek.
"Thank you, Princess." I tightened my arms around her little body and looked over her shoulder to look at Bella. She had made her way over to the bed and was sat cross-legged next to me, close enough for her knee to brush my side. Oliver was sitting in the cradle of her legs, giggling and clapping his pudgy hands.
I scooted Evie onto one side of my chest and stretched my other arm out in invitation. Bella smiled but didn't snuggle into my side; instead she pressed a kiss onto my lips and moved away with a rueful look on her face.
"You need to get up, we made you a birthday breakfast, didn't we Evie?" my daughter nodded excitedly with a wide grin on her cute little face and I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.
"Well in that case, what are we waiting for?" I got up from the bed with Evie in my arms and tossed her in the air gently before putting her down and holding my hands out for my son. Bella passed him over and I cuddled him into my chest.
"Good morning Ace. How's my little one this morning?" Oliver gurgled at me loudly, his arms waving wildly and I listened intently as we walked downstairs and into the kitchen, my heart thumping loudly every time he got close to saying 'dada'.
I nodded my head and replied, "I can't believe it either Ollie, the injustice is unbelievable." Bella just shook her head in amusement and snorted at me.
I pressed a kiss to his head and put him into his highchair, watching as Bella put a bowlful of pancake pieces in front of him before he could whine his annoyance. He eagerly dug in, his fingers squashing the pancake before he shoved the pieces into his mouth and chewed it with his 4 teeth. I chuckled at his adorableness and snapped a picture with my phone quickly.
"Daddy, look at your pancakes! Mummy made them look like hearts because we love you and we made lots and lots because that's how much we love you!" I felt tears prick my eyes and the back of my throat ached.
"Thank you so much Princess, I love them. Not as much as I love you, your brother and your Mummy though." Evie beamed at me before digging into her own pancakes, syrup getting all over her face. Christ, she had it in her hair. I chuckled and looked at Bella as I ate a pancake, my smile stretching impossibly wider when she came and sat across my lap.
My arms slid around her waist and I rested my head on her shoulder, sighing contently. I scooped up another forkful of pancake, my hand carrying it close to Bella's open mouth before snagging it for myself, chuckling at her mock pout and Evie's pealing laughter at the display.
"Naughty Daddy, we have to share!" Evie waggled her finger at me and I fought my urge to laugh while she was telling me off. She always got mad when I did that.
I picked up a pancake between the forefingers and thumbs of both hands while remaining wrapped around my love, pulling gently to tear the pancake in half perfectly.
"Take half of my heart." I smiled cheekily up at Bella, who rolled her eyes at my cheesiness while fishing the pancake out of my hand and taking a bite of it.
"Mmm delicious." She leaned down and captured my lips in a chaste, sweet kiss, her lips upturned into a smile. "Your children are finished eating Edward, let me get up." She whispered against my lips before straightening up, chuckling a little as my arms tightened around her briefly before loosening, allowing her to get up from my lap and gather a now sticky Oliver into her arms.
"Come to Daddy little man, let's get you cleaned up while the girls go and do gross girly stuff." I smiled as Oliver giggled at my words and Evie protested loudly, demanding that Bella tell me off. I received a mock glare as I dampened a paper towel and wiped the remnants of pancake from Olivers face, handing him a damp paper towel to keep him occupied as I cleaned him up.
We went through our normal routine of getting ready, Bella and I taking turns occupying the children so that we could get showered and dressed before packing the baby bag and getting ready to go to my parent's house.
"Evie do you remember the rules?" I knelt down so that we could make eye contact as she nodded at me solemnly. "What are they?"
"Stay by you and Mummy for the whole walk. No talking to strangers. I walk on the bit away from the cars. No running. No picking up things off the floor." She counted the rules on her fingers as she said them, her face scrunched up in concentration as she tried to make sure that she remembered each one.
She looked adorable, her little body dressed in a light pink summer dress and her feet encased in flowery sandals. Bella braided her hair into a French braid with little faux flowers woven in 'like Tangled Daddy' and I smothered her in sunscreen before planting her on the sofa with instructions to read her book and not move while I got her brother ready.
Oliver was sat in his play pen, a teething ring sat in front of him as he played with his blocks. I reached in and grabbed him, checking his jean shorts for any mess and pulling the waistband at the back so that I could make sure his nappy was empty. Bella had styled his curly brown hair into the cutest comb over and wrestled him into a cute baby blue polo, leaving his little feet bare.
I debated the pros and cons of the pram vs the baby carrier before shrugging and strapping the baby carrier over my light green button down shirt, securing Oliver into it facing outwards and passing him his fire engine to occupy him. I tucked my phone into the back pocket of my shorts, slid my converse on and called to Bella.
She met me at the front door, the baby bag slung over her shoulder and her hand held out for Evie to take. I let everyone out before locking the door behind us, grasping Bella's free hand and strolling down to my parent's house in the early afternoon sunshine.
I let Bella walk a pace or two in front of me so that I could admire her, the sway of her hips and the flow of her hair. She'd tied her hair up into a high ponytail and was wearing a white tank top, a pair of jean shorts that showcased long shapely legs and black ankle boots. A slim, multi-coloured, woven anklet rested around her right ankle and moved up and down her leg a little with every step she took.
I lengthened my stride for a few steps so that I'd be flush against her side again and let go of her hand in favour of wrapping an arm around her shoulder and drawing her closer to me. She turned her head and smiled at me, pressing a quick kiss to my lips before turning back to Evie and using her newly free hand to fuss with Evie's braid while we waited to cross a busy street.
When we made it to my parent's house 10 minutes later my Mum was waiting for us outside, smiling brightly and looking beautiful in a long patterned maxi dress. She gathered all of us into her arms for hugs, squeezing Oliver between me and her rather than taking him out of the carrier.
"Come on in, Birthday Boy!"
I smiled and hugged my Dad, rolling my eyes at the various coloured balloons that were dotted around the room as Evie began to play with them, tossing them in the air and batting them all over the room.
We ate a light lunch with the rest of the family, laughing and talking over sparkling lemonade and cold beers on the patio. Evie ran around the garden barefoot, her abandoned sandals by the back door. She attempted cartwheels and rolled around in the soft grass, giggling to herself. Soon she would be able to play with her younger brother, and the thought made my grin impossibly wider.
Bella leaned over to me and tugged Oliver out of my arms, pressing a kiss to his forehead before handing him off to my Dad, who went and sat with him in the grass, keeping an eye on him as he crawled around. I chuckled as my Dad lunged forwards so stop Oliver from shoving a handful of grass, his chino and white t-shirt covered in grass stains.
I felt Bella wrap her hand around mine and looked over to her, not being able to resist pulling her in for a quick kiss, ignoring the presence of my family. She humoured me, allowing me to draw her close before pulling back and tugging on my hand, urging me to stand.
"Have fun, we'll drop the kids off tomorrow!" I furrowed my brow, turning to my Mum to ask her what the hell she was talking about when Bella started pulling me toward the door, calling a thank you back to my parents.
"Where are we going?" I asked her, getting only a smirking wink in return. I rolled my eyes with a smile, shaking my head fondly at the woman I had fallen in love with and allowed her to pull me to the street where a taxi was waiting.
She pushed me inside, placed her tote bag on my lap and slid in after me, nodding at the female driver and settling into her seat while refusing to tell me where we were going. The ride was a fairly short one, only about 10 minutes. When we reached wherever we were going, Bella lunged forward before I could and paid the driver, before hopping out of her seat and waiting for me to follow suit.
I pouted at her and climbed out of the car, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer till she was practically flush against my chest. She wrapped her arm around my neck and pulled me down for a quick kiss before pulling away and grasping my hand again, leading me down a fairly busy street to a smaller, more quiet one.
"Oh my God, this is the part where you kill me and hide my body, isn't it?" I whispered theatrically, chuckling when Bella rolled her eyes and kept walking.
"If I was going to kill you, I'd wait till everything was in my name you dope."
I laughed outright, only stopping when we came to a halt towards the end of the quiet street. In front of us was a sweet little restaurant, with the most delicious smells wafting from it. It was pretty, covered in vines, with wrought iron furniture on its tiny patio for outside dining.
I followed Bella into the restaurant and walked up to the hostess table, waiting to be seated. Instead, Bella gave the name – my heart thumped loudly when she said Cullen and not Swan – and we were left waiting at the table while the hostess sauntered off.
I raised a quizzical eyebrow that Bella smirked at, turning back to the table and collecting a basket from the hostess with a smile and a 'thank you' before leading me back outside and walking back up the small street.
I took the basket from her, looked up and recognised the street, a smile spreading across my face as Bella lead me through the park that I first saw her in.
"Bella, what are we doing here?" She just turned and smiled before walking past the playground, her hand wrapped around mine.
We walked toward the grassy area on the other side of the park, where Bella stopped and pulled a soft blanket from her bag, laying it on the grass before settling herself comfortably on it. She glanced up at me and patted the blanket next to her, smiling up at me shyly.
I settled next to her, the basket between us and raised a quizzical eyebrow. She ignored me and began unpacking the food from the basket, the scent of warm bread and rich tomato sauce rising from the basket. A bottle of wine, two glasses, two plates and knives and forks followed and I watched her as she dished out pasta and garlic bread on each plate and poured two glasses of wine.
She passed me my plate and began to eat, her legs stretched out in front of her and crossed at the ankles, her boots kicked off and lying haphazardly at the bottom of the blanket. I scooted closer to her and pressed a kiss to her temple, murmuring a 'thank you' before digging into my own plate, groaning as the incredible taste exploded across my tongue.
We sat and ate quietly for a while before people started walking over to the grass and sitting themselves down too, couples and families and groups of friends. Bella packed up our plates and asked me to wait on the blanket, disappearing for five minutes and returning with popcorn. She settled herself down in my lap and offered me some of the treat, which I accepted with one hand while wrapping the other around her waist.
By now the sun was starting to set and my heart swelled with emotion for the woman nestled in my arms. I loved her so much. I was going to ask her. Fuck waiting for the right moment, this was it. I was going to ask her to officially move in with me. I was going to ask if I could adopt Oliver.
I turned to her and started to open my mouth but was stopped when she placed her finger over my lips.
"Shh, the movie is about to start." She whispered and I turned my head to follow her line of sight, smiling when I saw the beginning of a movie projected onto the wall of an old building across from the park. I pressed a kiss to her lips and leaned back a little, moving Bella so that she was sat between my legs and leaning against my chest. I stole another handful of popcorn as the singing started, cramming it into my mouth and then leaning back onto my hands.
I would ask her later.
If you guys don't read my other story, just letting you know that I'm 14 weeks pregnant and so excited!
As always read review and enjoy!
This chapter takes place on 20th June 2016. It might just be these pregnancy hormones but I feel a lemon coming on ;) stay tuned!
