Apologies for the delay. Reasons are plenty but what matters is it's here now.
Thanks a million for your reviews. I haven't replied to many. See above for reasons but I love them very much so. And thank you MC for betaing.
Enjoy.
Chapter 33: Together
The next several months felt like they flew by with Edward and me wrapped up in our own little blissful existence together; getting to know one another better, getting closer. Before I knew it, it was December and I was flying with Edward to New York for the Premiere of Strange Days and for him to do some interviews he had scheduled. Oddly enough, one of the interviews he had set up was for The Late Show.
I sat there, next to Edward, still not used to being in first class—even with all the flying we'd done in the last few months—thinking how amazing the last six months had been since I'd met him, with what had happened and changed, and how great things had been since I moved to LA to be with him.
Siobhan did end up hiring me at the teaching agency. She had laughed at my enthusiasm with the news, since all she was offering was to have me on their "on-call" list for substituting or filling in when they were in a pinch on set. She'd told me all it would entail for now was a few, sporadic, short-notice hours, explaining I would be at the bottom of the list to be called, as if reminding me my exuberance was too much for what she was offering. She said since I didn't have much experience it was lucky for me I'd been recommended so highly or she wouldn't have been able to offer even this. But I was thrilled and determined to prove I was a great teacher. Not only did it mean I had my foot in the door and it would help give me experience I lacked and needed, it meant I was going to actually have a job in teaching. Besides, I didn't have any problem starting from the bottom and working my way up, earning each step on my own and working towards filling the gaps and soft-spots in my resume. In fact, in some way, I almost preferred it; there was something to be said about the satisfaction of earning something outright.
I quickly shared the news with Rosalie and Jake, and Edward, who surprised me with a new car in congratulations.
Seriously, who did that sort of thing?
I'd tried to decline the gift but he made very good points that were hard to argue with regardless of my rebuttals. He'd said he was going to need his car for a number of press interviews that would soon be starting up, and the guys from Rules of Caius were due to be in the city to work with him on his songs for the next album and insisted that if I got called in to work, I was going to need my own car to get around in. I made him think I was caving when I conceded he had a point, but I followed it up with telling him I would just go pick up my Honda from Forks, a vehicle I already owned outright and worked just fine. I thought I'd had him at that, but Edward didn't fight fair. He knew when it came to him my willpower vanished and before I knew what was happening, he persuaded me to at least take it for a test drive and I found myself accepting the little Audi Coupe.
Damn him and that adorably conquering, boyish smile of his.
Siobhan had been right though, the hours weren't much—and had yet to prove Edward's argument valid about the car he'd bought me. I very much enjoyed my job, even when I found that not all the child actors were as fabulous as Seth, or that dealing with their hard-to-take parents would be such a large part of the job. It wasn't long, though, and Siobhan was able to begin getting me onto the substitution list at some of the private schools many of the child actors attended when they weren't filming, so my hours were increasing. Siobhan told me it was because I was proving I was every bit as good as she was told I was from my references. It was a compliment that had me floating on a high and boosted my confidence immensely… I had come a long way, and was proud of myself because I'd gotten this promotion of sorts on my own merit.
In between my sparse days teaching, Edward's interviews and his days in the music studio—which was pretty fun for me to get to see—we spent a lot of time in the air. Mostly, it was flying back and forth from LA to Washington to visit our families, but there were several promotional commitments Edward had agreed to for Strange Days that allowed me to see several cities, including Chicago, where Edward took the opportunity to show me the house he lived in during his early childhood.
"Edward?" I asked as we sat in the warmth of the idling car. The street was lined with dried, snow-dusted leaves that fluttered along the curbs in front of the cheerful light yellow house on a grey November morning.
"Yes?" he asked, looking away from the comparatively modest, but pristine, home of his youth and over to me.
"I was wondering, with such very famous kids, how does your dad find himself able to practice medicine outside of Hollywood?" I asked a question I'd been meaning to for some time.
"How do you mean?"
"I mean, I'd think every female in all of Washington would be clogging up the hospital he works in, rendering him unable to work."
"Funny thing, that," Edward said, running his hands through his hair. "He's completely disowned his children at work and denies any relation to us at all."
I burst out in a loud laugh, surprised by his retort and the petulance in which he said it as if he was hurt by the fact—though I could tell he was lying. I was grateful I hadn't just taken a sip of my coffee I had been bringing up to my lips.
"Don't laugh," he said looking wounded and sounding serious. "It's terrible really that he would deny even knowing his own children. My mother too," he continued, shaking his head in disgust. "Even she denies us. She decided to start going by Platt, her maiden name, at work, just to stop the questions."
I'd become overcome with giggles and couldn't stop.
"What?" He asked, sounding offended. "How would you like it if your father denied claim to you at his place of work? Or your mother? It's quite the travesty, Bella, and nothing to laugh about," he continued, playing on my laughter, and then, unable to hold it back any longer, he broke out laughing too.
I wiped tears from my eyes from laughing so hard.
"No," Edward continued, smiling, tipping his head back onto the car's headrest, when our laughter began to fade, "it's a necessity really that they both claim no relation at their respective work, if asked." He looked over at me. "Obviously you can understand why. Of course, if you do enough digging you could figure it out, and occasionally the hospital gets bothered, but for the most part their denial of their offspring seems to have evaded most issues."
"You and your family with names," I marveled.
"How do you mean?"
"You going by Anthony. Alice's real name is Mary Alice. Your mother goes by her maiden name. You pretend to be someone else publicly," I ticked off, laughing.
"What about Em?" Edward pointed out.
"The only honest one in the group," I teased.
"Including you."
"What do you mean, 'including me'?" I asked affronted.
"I mean you're not one to talk, Isabella," he pointed out.
I opened my mouth to argue that a nickname wasn't the same, but really, how different was that to someone who went by their middle name like Edward and Alice did? So instead I made a face at him.
"It just shows you fit into the family perfectly," Edward laughed endearingly at my inability to dispute his point, sat up and put the car in gear and pulled it from the curb, leaving me in stunned silence from the thrill in my chest that came from him saying things like that. It was true that Edward's family made me feel like I fit into it, but the thought of being an actual part of it was an idea I liked far too much for my own good.
My family in regards to Edward, however, was not nearly so welcoming of him. That first time back home with Edward to see my family had proven how resistant they were to let Edward fit into a part of theirs.
While I knew their uncomfortable and embarrassing behavior was really just their way of showing they cared about me, I just wished they would have shown they cared by supporting me and giving Edward the benefit of doubt on what had happened in Atlanta. And I knew they were still reluctant to believe Edward had my best intensions at heart; taking me to LA with him to live, throwing me into the Hollywood limelight with the Tanya drama, so everyone was stilted toward Edward. The worst were Jake and my dad who were arctic cold; obviously still not convinced that he hadn't cheated on me.
My mom, Jess and Leah all seemed to warm up to him after a few minutes in Edward's company—Jess leading the way of de-thawing. But that was mostly because she was unable to be anything less than gushing longer than thirty seconds in Edward's company—and quickly found reasons to be near him all night.
Well, technically Riley truly lead the way in warmth towards Edward since he ran—in his awkward, toddling run—up to him the moment he saw him walk through the door. He demanded Edward pick him "Uppy!" and excitedly offered his fistful of Cheerios to share. But Riley wasn't privy to the whole Atlanta debacle, so in his world, nothing had changed from the last time he'd seen Edward where they'd bonded over his favorite cereal.
As far as the "aware" members of my family, though, they quickly shed their stiffness to Edward because it was obvious just watching us how deeply he cared for me—pointed out to me more than once by my female family members—and that chased away doubt of what he'd said happened in Atlanta.
That was the same thing Rose had told me during our shopping trip with Alice in LA, anyway. I'd told her I was nervous about going home the following weekend, knowing they didn't completely believe him about Tanya. She'd assured me it'd been obvious to her almost immediately when she and Emmett met us for dinner. The way Edward looked at me proved to her there was no question of there being anyone else, adding it wasn't just the eyefuck we still constantly gave one another—which made me blush profusely given Alice was with us. She'd said that anyone watching the two of us together would be hard-pressed to think otherwise.
Rose had proved right when it came to the female members of my family, but what really irritated me was that Jake and Dad—and Mike, though his behavior had been closer to sulking—continued to be incorrigibly rude to him in a way that was completely uncalled for no matter how resistant they were to believing Edward was faithful to me. It wasn't long until I'd had quite enough of their behavior and finally told the pair of them to knock it off because the way they were acting didn't exactly make me want to come back anytime soon. In turn, they glared at me angrily like sullen boys for playing the not visiting card. It was a lowball play, but so was their behavior. I told them that I didn't want to stay away, but I wasn't going to come home if this was what was going to greet us. Adding that while I knew that they were showing me they cared about me and were trying to be protective, in their own way, enough was enough; Edward wasn't James. I'd gotten past that, and it was time they had too.
That got them to settle down, and by the end of the visit, it seemed as if they were trying to make an effort to not hate him. Even if it was just to appease me, I liked seeing it and hoped that eventually they could try to get to know him and find out for themselves that he was a really great guy. I knew that would take time, though, now that I was coming to realize just how much both of them blamed themselves with what had happened with James. With Jake it was not speaking up to me about his suspicions, with Dad it was for not having any, thinking he didn't like the guy simply because no one would ever be good enough for his little girl.
It was also during that first trip back to Washington that Edward drove me a few miles outside of Forks and showed me why, when he'd met me, he had been so shocked to find out that I was from this area.
When he turned off the highway onto a path that was so obscure, I hadn't noticed until he started to turn onto it, it had me wondering how many times I'd driven by throughout the years without ever realizing there was a driveway there. The smooth dirt path wound back into the woods, the trees canopying over us like a living tunnel and reminded me vaguely of his parents' driveway. And then, after several lazy twists down the very long drive, the trees finally gave way, opening up into a large meadow-like lawn, overgrown from lack of inhabitation, decorated with about a half-dozen large shade trees. At the end of the meadow, behind where the path looped around, was a huge, old white farmhouse and a couple outbuildings set further back. It was then that Edward told me that shortly before his trip to New York where he'd met me, he had bought this place and the hundred acres of land surrounding it.
I had just stared dumbfounded out the windshield of the car.
He continued to explain, likely due to my lack of reply, that he'd bought it, primarily for the privacy, especially since it was surrounded by state parkland forest, which meant no future neighbors. He said he'd planned to use it predominantly as a place for him, Dem and Felix to work together on his songs in privacy. The logistics of setting up studio time with him wanting his song writing to remain anonymous was becoming trickier each time they got together, since both him and Rules of Caius' were becoming increasingly more successful. He'd hoped this would be a good solution and would enable more flexibility too.
"When I bought it, it was more for the land than the house. Actually, I was going to just tear it down, but when my mom saw the place, she said she would have disowned me if I would have done such a thing to this 'wonderful old home'," Edward said letting out a nervous laugh, babbling with my silence lengthening.
I wanted to say something, to ease his discomfort, to voice my opinion of the sheer beauty of the place I never knew existed so close to where I'd lived my entire life, but I couldn't find the words.
"I've already converted the garage into a studio. The house is quite rundown but functional, which served well enough as a place to crash, which was all I wanted, but Mom convinced me to redo the house. Apparently, immediately after I showed it to her, she started on designs for the renovations for the entire place," Edward let out a nervous laugh and then paused.
Silence filled the car again; chirping of birds and rustling of wind in the trees filled the car with their soft sounds and casted serene, dancing shadows in their wake.
"And now, I've started to think maybe, we'd like to live here…eventually…especially if we decide to start a family."
My head snapped over to look at him, my eyes wide and heart pounding, aching with hope and joy; a feeling that seemed to be hardwired in my head with Edward mentioning long-term future plans with me.
"Only if you want, of course," he added quickly, his eyes squinting slightly, unsure about my thoughts as I still hadn't breathed a word.
"Are you kidding?" I breathed incredulously. This serene, dreamlike place someday my home?
"No," he replied hesitantly.
I looked back to the old house with cracked white paint, nestled in a meadow surrounded by woods, like it belonged there, like it was happy to be there, and I felt myself wanting very much to belong there too.
"I know the house isn't much to look at but—"
I shook my head vehemently, and cut him off. "The house is—." I swallowed trying to find the words. "I love it. I would love to live here. I would love all of that," I breathed, looking at Edward and then back at the house. I did love it. It had a certain unquantifiable charm to it. I loved the large porch, the homey feel the structure emanated, I loved that it wasn't grand or lavish and most of all, I loved that it wasn't perfect.
Edward began to chuckle. "Don't get too carried away, love, you haven't seen the inside. I wasn't kidding when I said it's in poor shape."
I shook my head. "It doesn't matter," I told him.
Because it didn't. It didn't matter at all because it would be our home.
Then, an image struck me, unbidden. It was one of Edward and me, sitting on that big front porch curled up next to one another, relaxing on a lazy summer afternoon, Edward with a guitar in his lap, playing to me, while we watched a couple of beautiful little green-eyed, bronze haired kids play in the meadow-like yard.
I sucked in an unsteady breath; unprepared. It hadn't been the image that caused my reaction so much as how severely my entire being ached for it and how intense the feeling of joy it emanated. Never before the day Edward had first held my nephew, Riley, had I felt any desire towards having any kids of my own, and now the desire to do just that had tugged at me again.
Hard.
I tried to shake it off as Edward reached for the car's door handle asking me if I wanted to look inside. He then chuckled, saying something about testing me about my claim that it didn't matter how bad of shape the house was in.
As we made our way up to the house, he explained that he'd let his mom have free reign over the restoration and remodeling since he hadn't cared much one way or the other how it looked. He laughed indulgently as he told me about her exuberance over the project and that she already finished a few rooms insisting she wanted him to be able to be comfortable if he was at the place. But then he added that after I had agreed to move in with him, he'd asked her to not proceed with making any further changes because he wanted me to have a say in everything else that was done.
"After all, it is your place now too," he added, holding open the front door for me, flashing me a shy smile that warmed me from the inside out. I smiled back at him before stepping into the house, fighting back the surge of want that was coursing through me because as much as I wanted to, I couldn't just have sex with him every hour of the day.
I found that Edward was right, the house did need work, but it wasn't uninhabitable—discounting all the construction mess. The existing structure was beautiful and charming, and I felt grateful for Esme's interjection on demolishing it. She'd been right; a place like this should not be destroyed. As we walked through the rooms, I found that Esme had pinned up design proposals on the walls for me to review, many rooms already prepped for the planned changes. The detail of each design was amazing. Not only were Esme's artistic abilities incredible, but there were even samples of fabric, tile, flooring, rugs and paint, even photographs of things like mirrors, fireplaces and furniture already selected to sit inside each room.
When we stood in what was to be the master bedroom, I ran my fingers along a snippet of thick, silky fabric that Esme had picked out for its curtains and turned to look out the window overlooking the backyard. The view was incredible—from up there I could see that just past the edge of the wood line was a creek running along it.
This was all so wonderful and beautiful… surreal and overwhelming.
Edward, sensing my tension, pulled my back against his chest and wrapped his arms around me. Then he assured me that nothing needed to be decided on at that moment and kissed the crown of my head.
"I'm really not one to be asking design input on, Edward," I replied, "and I haven't seen a single thing your mother has put up that is anything shy of beautiful." It was true, and to my delight I saw she had used the house's existing style, framing her designs in complement to it, rather than trying to make it something it wasn't, and making it so much better than it ever had been, incorporating fresh ideas and current influences. It was all so much more than I could have ever dreamed up or put together. "She can do whatever she wants to the house as far as I'm concerned. These designs are incredible."
"She does get a bit overzealous when she gets excited about a project," Edward had mused, reaching out, touching the fabric samples proposed for the room himself. "But I want it to be what you want."
"If that's what you're worried about, Edward, what she has planned is better than anything I could ever come up with. She can go ahead with whatever she wants," I said shaking my head.
A beat of silence slipped by as we looked out the window down at the view before us and I let my thoughts wander.
"Edward?" I asked feeling my body stiffen and my eyes with a sweep of nerves that wracked through my body, realizing I'd spoken out loud, prompted by the thought that had bubbled to the top.
"Yes?"
I took a shaky breath.
"You know how out in the car you mentioned about eventually having a family?" I could hear my voice shake as I continued to stare out the window, but I couldn't see it any longer, my vision had gone blurry; unfocused.
A beat of silence.
"Yes," Edward asked apprehensively, most likely thinking my nerves meant I was going to tell him something he didn't want to hear.
I took another breath and tried to continue, but my words caught in my throat and I swallowed hard trying to dislodge them.
I felt Edward's body stiffen as he continued to hold me against his chest. When he spoke, his voice sounded so sad. "So it's true what your brother had said about you not ever wanting—"
"No," I interrupted, finding my voice. "Well, it was true. It's not anymore—"
"Bella, I don't want you to tell me you want something just because you know it's what I want," Edward protested softly, sounding heartbroken and I found myself glad I couldn't see his expression even though he was because he was wrong with his assumption.
"I'm not," I disagreed firmly and I turned to look into his beautiful green eyes, placing my hands on his chest. "I'm not saying this for your sake. It's true that I never before in my life thought I'd ever honestly say this, but I want to have a family—one with you anyway. I didn't think I wanted kids, but with you, I do. …Very much so," I added breathing a laugh of disbelief of how much I wanted kids with this man I was lucky enough to call mine. "And I can't think of any better place for us to have them than here."
I watched as it sunk in with Edward that I was being completely truthful and quite serious. Then a breathtaking smile slowly spread across Edward's face and he kissed me soundly.
"Really?" he asked, as if needing the confirmation for his head to accept t.
"Really," I smiled up at him.
"Maybe I'll tell my mom to hold off on the other bedrooms up here then," he smiled shyly with the suggestion despite the confession I'd just relayed to him. It was adorable how vulnerable he seemed with the mention of a family and I loved him all the more because he wanted one. And it made me unbelievably happy that I could honestly tell him it was something I truly wanted too.
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea, so long as your mom helps decorate them later. I won't be any more useful in that department than the rest of the place," I laughed. "I have nothing to contribute for input."
"I'm sure we wouldn't have to do much to convince her to do it," Edward chuckled.
But then a thought crossed my mind of one input I did have.
"Actually I do have one request for the house," I added quietly, biting my lip.
"And what's that?" Edward chuckled again, kissing me lightly as he settled his hands on my hips.
"Can the bathroom that's planned to go in here, have a shower like the one you have in LA?" I blushed, unsure why.
Edward laughed loudly and lifted a hand, tipping my chin up until my face was square with his again. "The shower we have in LA, love," he'd corrected. "And yes, you can have anything you want."
"Then, can I pay for it?" I bit my lip again.
"You want to pay for the shower?" Edward asked incredulously like he thought I'd lost my mind.
I'd nodded, seriously. "I obviously can't really contribute in paying for the rest of the house—at least not yet—and the only thing I really want is that shower, so I want to pay for it."
"I told you, Bella," Edward had admonished, "I don't want you to think of it that way. I consider my money is just as much yours now too. I have more than I ever could need."
Edward released my lip I was chewing on nervously.
"But I didn't earn your money," I argued softly.
"Sure you have," Edward wagged his eyebrows and winked.
I rolled my eyes suppressing a laugh at his playful argument.
"Please?" I breathed.
"Fine," Edward chuckled, shaking his head, conceding. "You can have anything you want, love," he added kissing my forehead, making me grin ridiculously with my small victory.
Our next trip was a couple weeks later when we came back to Washington for my birthday. After we spent the day with my family, Edward drove us to the house, opting to stay there for the night, utilizing the finished bedroom, bathroom and now completed kitchen, since Esme was given the go-ahead to continue her remodeling—besides, I loved it there. I couldn't wait until we lived there for any degree of permanence and it wasn't just because it was within easy distance of my family, because I honestly didn't think I would love the place any less if it had been located half a world away from everyone besides Edward.
Edward parked the rental car in front of the porch and I started to head to the house, but he redirected me, telling me he had a surprise for me out back—a birthday present. Curious, I followed him to one of the out buildings wondering what kind of present could possibly be out there. As he led me in through the door, a knot formed in my stomach, worried he had bought me another outrageous vehicle, like the Audi he'd just given to me. But then he turned on the light.
My breath hitched. I couldn't believe what I saw. There before me stood… my truck.
"I'm having it restored, but there wasn't any way to have it finished in time for your birthday and I didn't want to wait to show you," he explained, his eyes tightening, unsure, scrutinizing my reaction to the gift. "Your dad and Jake offered to take it in next week when the restoration place in Seattle is able to start working on it."
The shocked look on my face had Edward backpedaling.
"I'd called Jacob and asked him what you'd want for your birthday since you kept telling me 'nothing'. He said you used to have this truck and—," Edward cut off. "Oh shit, he was fucking with me wasn't he? I should have known, because I know he doesn't believe what really happened in Atlanta. He—"
I'd managed to shake my head as I stared at the dented fender that told me it wasn't just a truck like the one I used to have, it was actually my truck. My hand flew up, covering my mouth. It was the dent I'd gotten junior year of high school when a classmate slid on the ice in the school parking lot and collided with my truck only a second after I'd stepped past the point of impact, heading into class that morning.
My truck! It was really my truck!
"How did you—?" I began to ask, my hand sliding down to my chest, but I couldn't finish the rest of the question; I was in too much shock. I reached out to touch the faded red hood, just to make sure it was real.
Edward eyed me warily. "Jacob," he'd explained. "When I asked him if he had any ideas on what to get you, he told me about this truck you used to have. He offered to track down the current owner for me."
Jake had known.
Of course Jacob had known. He knew how much I had loved that truck. Of course he'd seen through my dismissal of trading it for the old Honda I never cared for. And telling Edward about it, helping him with getting me something he knew I'd love was Jake's obscure way of telling me he was trying. For me, he was trying to get past his doubts about Atlanta and was at least beginning to believe Edward wasn't lying.
I would have to call him…to thank him.
I threw my arms around Edward, squeezing him tightly.
"Thank you," I breathed, my words thick with feeling from the threatening tears, and then I pulled myself up on my tip-toes and kissed him enthusiastically. "I love it, Edward. Thank you."
"You're welcome," he chuckled in relief, holding me against him tightly. "I'm glad you like it."
"This is the best birthday present ever," I swore.
"Well maybe after it's restored," Edward amended. "Then it will be perfect."
"Nope, just the way it is," I grinned. "Do you have the keys?" I asked excitedly.
"Right here," Edward said releasing me with one arm and pulling them from his pocket.
I grabbed the keys from his hand like an excited child and climbed into the driver seat. Edward pulled open the garage door and then settled in on the passenger side of the truck. He made a face when I turned the key and it sputtered loudly to life as I revved the engine to keep it idling. And then he laughed taking in my glowing smile that was so wide it hurt my face. When I pulled out of the shed I vowed immediately to sell the hateful old Honda parked at my parents' place to the first person who looked at it.
It wasn't long after that trip to Forks though that Edward's schedule began to fill up with press junkets and other promotional things—mostly in LA—for the release of Strange Days which kept him quite busy and made the time fly by.
And now, it was already December and Edward and I were on this plane, flying to New York City and, right after, to London for the Premieres of Strange Days. It was odd how it felt like time had flown by so quickly, but yet it had seemed like forever ago that all this had started—so much had happened in so little time.
"You alright, love?" Edward asked squeezing my hand, pulling me from my reverie.
"I'm great," I assured him. "I'm just thinking about the last few months," I smiled and earned one in return.
"Well, I hope they're good thoughts," Edward teased, smirking and drawing up the hand he was holding, pressing his lips to the back of it and then began playing with my fingers. Though his tone was light, I could sense a light undertone of seriousness with his comment, as if he was uncertain.
"Eh," I said, faking indifference. "They're alright," I said hoping I pulled off sounding disappointed.
"You're a wretched liar, love," Edward laughed and poked at my side making me jump and laugh loudly.
"I learned from the best," I giggled and pulled Edward in for a deep kiss he eagerly returned, not caring if we had the whole cabin watching.
XXXXX
"Please welcome our first guest, Anthony Cullen!" Aro announced.
The crowd erupted in cheers and clapping that I could hear from the greenroom—that actually had scarcely a snip of green anywhere—back stage of The Late Show, even with the buzz of the hand-full of other people in the room chatting.
I'd found that the back stage wasn't nearly as exciting as I would have thought it would be. Just beyond the few rooms and long, pale and undecorated hallway behind the set, there was no glamor about it. There were light sets, scaffolds, pipes, cords and exposed beams, the floors were concrete and the "guts" of the walls were uncovered; it felt more like a manufacturing building than the set of a long-running, successful late-night talk show.
From the worn black, L-shaped couch, I watched the television screen on the wall displaying what was being taped and sipped a cup of bad, but hot, coffee to warm me up from the cold room. I was also still trying to shake off the creepy way Aro had looked at me when he introduced himself just before the show.
My body shuddered. I still didn't know what it was about him that gave me the heebie-jeebies, but he did. Up close he was even worse than watching him from the seats of the audience like I had six months before.
I pulled myself from that thought and brought my attention back to the screen. I giggled hearing the cheers and screams of the audience continue, through both TV's speakers and walls, as I watched Edward appear from behind the partition wearing a muted green t-shirt and washed-out jeans that hung perfectly on his hips. I smiled to myself, remembering back to June watching him come out from behind it and my silent, but embarrassingly strong, reaction to him. I marveled in wonder at just how much more attracted to him I was now with discovering the real him than I was then when he was just Anthony Cullen to me.
And now he wasn't that person at all, he was Edward and he was mine—a fact finally cemented in me in a way I could no longer question or deny.
I smiled widely, looking at him from the screen admiring his jaw porn and the only sexy Adam's apple in existence.
Holy hell he's sexy. I marveled. And he's all mine. I added in wonder, feeling my chest filled so full of love and happiness I wasn't sure how my body was able to contain it.
I watched as Edward ran his hand through his hair out of nervous habit as he walked up to Aro, uncomfortable by the attention. I bit my lip, wanting him, loving him for being so unaffected by his success.
"Anthony! Welcome back! Good to see you again, my friend!" Aro greeted, shaking Anthony's hand and they both sat down. "How are you doing?"
"I'm great," Edward smiled widely, still riding the high I was on, not yet fully locked into his Anthony persona.
"You look it!" Aro laughed and a few audience members voiced and applauded their agreement.
I giggled. Yes he does.
"Thank you," Edward laughed and I could see him settle himself and begin to settle into his interview mode.
"I just heard you had some big news," Aro prompted. "It seems to be the only thing anyone is talking about these past couple days!"
My chest tightened with nerves, why exactly I didn't know.
Edward laughed and nodded, scratching the far side of his jaw with his thumb.
Mmm…
"Yeah, I do actually. I just got engaged," he beamed and I beamed right back at him on the television screen.
"Charles!" I exclaimed, grinning happily to see the familiar driver again as he held the car door open for us, immediately forgetting about the paparazzi's camera flashes and questions they were prompting Edward with.
"Miss Bella," he nodded and gave me his signature crinkly smile. "It's good to see you again."
For some strange reason, I had the oddest urge to give him a hug, but instead I just smiled at him and squeezed his arm as I climbed into the car.
"Should I be worried about you two?" Edward asked as he settled in beside me.
I laughed, rolling my eyes and shoved his shoulder teasingly and leaned in to him. Edward chuckled, putting his arm around me. I rested my head on his shoulder, smelling his comforting honey and sunshine smell I was now well familiar with but still couldn't get enough of.
It was the best smell in the world.
We arrived at the same hotel Edward had stayed at in June when I'd met him, pulling into the cavernous parking area, greeted by a man in a suit with a black folder when we stepped out of the car who had Edward sign some paperwork within it and handed him two cardkeys—one of which he passed to me, the other he slipped into his wallet. Then the man added a note about the kitchen being stocked and something else that was in the room for him as he'd requested, thanked "Anthony" and gestured for him to proceed ahead of him into the lavish waiting area before us, where a uniformed man was waiting with our luggage to take us up to the room. I wondered fleetingly if anyone had ever actually sat on the furniture in that room when there was someone always waiting to bring people to where they needed to go.
The uniformed man followed us in the elevator with our luggage and we headed up.
Once we reached the room and Edward closed the door behind the exorbitantly tipped hotel employee, he wrapped his arms around me from behind. I leaned back into him in welcome.
"I hope you don't mind we're not staying somewhere different," he murmured dipping his head, kissing the curve of my neck. "I couldn't help myself and asked Irena to book the same room."
I hummed in contentment, tipping my head up so I could press my lips to his.
"Actually, I'm glad you did," I admitted. "I was just enjoying the on slot of memories that greeted me with being here again."
"Hmm, yes, at the time I was kicking myself when I'd offered it, but agreeing to bring you up here to play for you was the best thing I ever did."
"Play for me again?" I pleaded, turning around to face him.
Edward breathed an incredulous laugh. "You hear me play all the time at home, love. I'm rather shocked you're not thoroughly sick of hearing me play."
"Never! Please?"
"You can have anything you want, Bella."
I laughed at the memory of him telling me those very words the last time I was here. Edward shed his jacket and disappeared into the bedroom for a moment, as I pulled my jacket off too and laid it on the back of the couch. Edward reappeared, picking up his guitar case along the way and grabbed my hand, leading me to the raised floor the piano sat on across the room.
"Was there something in particular you wanted to hear?" he asked, his eyes full of amusement with the replay of the conversation we'd had the first time here.
"Something you wrote," I said holding back a grin.
"Something I wrote…" Edward echoed in a whisper as if considering, suddenly looking nervous. "Well, there is something new I've been working on. Something new…" he said shifting his eyes to his guitar, his offer hanging in the air for a beat.
"Have I heard it?" I prompted, genuinely curious if he was serious or if he was pretending it was that first night all over again.
Edward shook his head and swallowed.
Why did he seem so nervous? Did he think I'd not like the song? I had yet to dislike anything he'd written, and many times they had completely opposite sounds from one to the next.
Or was he just anticipating what was going to come with him playing a new song for me? A thrill shot through me. Maybe I was misinterpreting his hope that playing for me would result in something like the first time as nerves.
Hmm. I bit my lip in anticipation. Now besides being curious to hear the song, I was eager for the aftermath.
Edward pulled out the piano bench, sat on it the wrong way and pulled out his guitar. He reached out for my hand and gently pulled me over to sit down next to him. Then he plucked at the strings, adjusting the tune until it was right and then brushed his fingers across them all.
The sound was beautiful.
Edward looked up from the guitar and over at me, as if in debate on whether he was going to play it for me or not for a beat. But then he turned, situating the guitar and began plucking out a tune.
He was right. I hadn't heard it. It was beautifully melodic and soft.
When did Edward write this song? How had I not heard it if it was new? How had I not heard everything he'd written at this point?
Then Edward's voice, velvety and rich, joined in.
I sat there, staring at him, equally in rapture and shock. It was a very simple but gorgeous song. The words were simple, honest and heartfelt it had me grinning and caused tears to well up in my eyes at the same time and spill silently down my smiling cheeks. I knew immediately it was about me…us…and our story. It was, by far, not the first song he'd written about me or us, but something about it just hit me harder than the others. Maybe it was being here again, maybe it was me, finally confidently accepting the reality of the fact that Edward was all mine. I didn't know.
I only made it to the end of the first chorus—Edward had just begun to play a few notes transitioning between it and the next verse—when my mouth was on his. Edward quickly surrendered the guitar, trading it for me, pulling me to his lap, holding me tightly as I straddled him. I held his face in my hands, wishing I was wearing a dress instead of jeans that effectively blocked me from him.
For the first time in my life—that I could think of—I was desperately wishing I was wearing a dress.
"I'm sorry," I breathed, pulling back abruptly, my actions catching up with me. I'd interrupted his song and wanted to hear the rest.
"Never for that," Edward breathed, shaking his head, his green eyes full of want as they looked at me, before he quickly pulled me in for another fervent kiss.
I giggled, smiling against his lips. God, he could kiss…
"I take it you like the new tune," Edward concluded, between kisses.
I nodded, my hands on the sides of his neck, my fingers twined in the soft hair at the nape.
"So it's obvious that it was about you and me, then?" he laughed, softly kissing my cheek.
"Not at all," I smiled teasingly, sitting back, calming myself, Edward's hands settled at my hips, his thumbs under my shirt rubbing against my bare hipbones, holding the sides of my waist.
Then he reached up and dragged the back of his hand down my flushed cheek and the expression on his face changed.
"You know, I've been thinking about this for a while; trying to figure out how to do it," he whispered, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. "But nothing I came up with felt like it was exactly right."
I looked at him, lost. Was he talking about playing me the song he wrote about us? It wasn't the first one. Why did this one worry him about me hearing it?
"At first I wondered if it was because I wanted it to be absolutely perfect for you, but it all felt…" he sighed and looked up at me with the sweetest expression on his gorgeous face, "I don't know, forced. Nothing I came up with felt like it was something that fit you and me. I know why now. This," he said putting his palm against my cheek and I reflexively leaned into it, his eyes blazing with intensity for something I wasn't quite clear on yet, but I let him continue his thoughts, interested in what it was he was getting at, "is you and me; easy, natural, unrehearsed… perfect. We're not traditional or planned out at all," he breathed a laugh, "and I love that about you…us."
I smiled, my chest warming with his words, feeling they were right on. He was exactly right…we were naturally meant for each other.
"In the moment is best," he added, nodding to himself.
I looked at him curiously again, in the beat that passed before he spoke again, feeling suddenly uneasy, but I wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because I was lost about where he was going with his sentiments.
"Isabella Marie Swan, I love you," he simpered and I couldn't help but grin back at him using my full name.
"I love you too Edward Anthony Cullen," I replied grinning.
"I love you more than I ever thought it was possible for a person to love another," he continued causing me to flush at his words, "and something tells me now is exactly the right time to make sure you know I can't imagine my life without you and I don't want to ever have to. I want, more than anything, to spend the rest of my life with you, to have everything with you."
My eyes grew wide, finally catching up to him. My heart thrummed in triple-time.
"Will you marry me?"
The crowd applauded and cheered as Aro congratulated Edward.
A beat later I realized the room had gone quiet. My stomach flipped and cheeks flamed, feeling all eyes in the room move to me. I glanced at the others in the room and saw their eyes on the ridiculously large ring that now sat on my left hand and it immediately felt heavier.
They must not have heard Edward's official confirmation he announced earlier today to the press in response to the speculation. Otherwise, the reminder of Edward voicing the news now had sent their eyes searching with the opportunity for an up close view.
I tried to ignore the eyes on me and turned my attention back to the screen, and my gorgeous, smiling fiancé.
"Isabella, right?" Aro confirmed and my cheeks felt like they were on fire from being the topic of conversation.
"Yes," Edward's eyes lit up with humor.
Isabella. I grinned.
When the press had finally discovered who I was after Edward and I first met, they uncovered my full name, not my preferred, so I was always referenced as Isabella in any article. Edward went with it, and always publically referred to me as Isabella. He was right; I did fit in with his family when it came to the whole name thing.
I giggled realizing we were both someone else to the world than what we really were. To them we were Anthony and Isabella, but in reality, we were simply, Edward and Bella.
"She came here with you tonight," Aro prompted, knowing very well I had since he'd met me.
Edward nodded, smiling. "Yes, she is traveling with me while I promote Strange Days."
"Is she out here?" Aro asked looking out to the audience, hopeful.
"No, she's watching from backstage," Edward corrected, gesturing back behind him.
"Oh," Aro said looking a bit deflated. "Well, I did have the pleasure of meeting her before the show. She is a very sweet woman, and I must say Anthony, she is absolutely stunning!" he gushed.
"I have to say I quite agree," Edward laughed.
"I'm sure you do," Aro laughed jovially and the crowed joined in. "How did the two of you meet?"
"We met here in New York, actually."
"She's from the Seattle area though, right?" Aro confirmed.
"Yeah, she is." Edward nodded.
"So how did that happen?" Aro asked baffled. "You're in LA, aren't you?"
Edward nodded in affirmation.
"And she's from Washington…" Aro continued, trailing off for Edward to fill in the blanks.
"She was here in New York on vacation with her best friend at the same time I was here promoting my last movie," Edward said. He paused and laughed adding, "You know, she was actually in the audience the last time I was on the show."
I let out a short laugh and covered my mouth, earning a few curious glances from everyone else in the room. I couldn't believe he'd admitted that fact.
"No!" Aro laughed in disbelief. "Really?"
Edward nodded, running his hand through his hair and pulled on it. "We hadn't met yet, of course, but yeah, she was," he laughed.
"That's incredible. Where did you two meet then?"
My eyes went wide and for a very brief, but terrifying, moment, I worried he was going to admit my choking and inadvertent blowjob comment.
"We crossed paths another night at a concert," Edward said simply.
"And, the rest is history," Aro concluded looking as if he thoroughly enjoyed happy endings such as this.
Edward's smile was bright and showed how happy he was about that fact as he agreed.
I took a relieved breath, chastising myself. I knew Edward would never have told him that exchange we had where I embarrassed the hell out of myself, no matter how cute he thought it was and lovingly teased me about from time-to-time.
"Do you have a date set?"
"No," Edward replied and laughed. "Not yet."
I giggled. He was such a terrible liar.
XXXXX
"Aren't you just the sweetest thing?" a thickly sarcastic voice rang in my ear as I waited for Edward and my drinks from the bartender. I'd excused myself from Edward's conversation he was having with Emmett, who'd come to the Premiere of Strange Days.
I looked to my left and found none other than Tanya Denali standing next to me, swaying slightly, looking rather drunk and a bit disheveled. Her boobs were practically hanging out of the sparkly white dress she was donning—not that it was much less of a threat earlier—making her look trashy.
I had cringed when I'd seen her arrive at the after party. Apparently she was currently dating one of Edward's cast mates from the movie and I had wondered if it wasn't really just a ploy to get close to Edward. I had hoped she had left since I'd not seen her for a while and I'd managed to escape running into her.
Apparently I wasn't that lucky.
"You know what?" she asked and then continued without waiting for a reply. "I think you honestly believe that you two are going to last forever," she sneered condescendingly, her words slurring slightly. "Please," she scoffed. "Don't let that rock he put on your finger fool you. Tony's never going to stay interested in some simple little average nothing like you…Isabella."
Wait. What? Tony?
"I would have thought you would have realized that when Tony and me were together in Atlanta, after you'd gone home," she pointed out. "Or doesn't it bother you that he's still fucking me?"
"Oh, really?" I derided, laughing to myself at the thought as the bartender set my drinks in front of me and I threw some money into the tip bowl.
Tanya had to sell her shit somewhere else because I knew better now.
"Don't you ever wonder where he is when he's not with you…when he says he's working? The nights he's not sleeping beside you? Off somewhere else without you?" she asked insinuatingly.
Edward and I hadn't spent a night apart since he got back from Atlanta and were together nearly all the time. Tanya was playing on an assumed insecurity with a card she thought was an Ace, but what she didn't realize was it was really the Joker. Six months prior her words would have jarred me. Now, it was laughable.
"Well it's only fair you know; when he's not with you, he's with me," she continued with a slurring air of self-riotousness.
I stared at her ridiculous statement. Was she serious? How deluded could she be? I held back my laughter, not wanting to let myself laugh in her face just yet. I was still calculating what the best reaction would be and wanted to hear what else she had to say first.
"You're adorable, really," she kept on, "but you're out of your depth here sweetie. You need to go back to that little rink-a-dink town you came from, find some nobody to marry and pop out a dozen kids. Leave Tony to me."
I took a deep breath, wanting to think of something to say that would knock her back to reality. And then inspiration hit me.
"Yeah…" I trailed off, as if her words seemed to click things together for me, thinking about lonely nights that didn't exist. I knew that what she'd done to Edward wasn't any better than what James had done to me. Edward would willingly touch her again about as quickly as I would James. "You know what?" I asked grabbing a cocktail napkin and pen from the bar top. "Here," I said as I scribbled down a phone number. Then I turned to Tanya and held it out in offering.
"What?" she scoffed in a seething tone, seeing the phone number on the napkin, refusing to touch it. "You think my giving you a desperately needed wakeup call, means that you and me are going to be BFFs or something?" Tanya made a disgusted sound. "Please."
Tanya rolled her eyes pompously and downed the contents of her martini before loudly and very rudely demanding another to the bartender.
"Oh!" I said as I turned the face of the napkin to me, as if reading it and realizing that I'd only written the phone number. "No. Wait. Hold on."
I set it on the bar and added "James" over the number, set the pen down and handed it to Tanya trying hard not to smirk. Looking away from the bartender to the napkin I held in front of her face, she took it from my hand this time, yanking it from my fingers hatefully, flashing me a glare as she did. She angrily flipped it so she could see what I wrote, obviously annoyed and read what I'd added.
"What the fuck is this?" she demanded disdainfully.
"You should call him," I insisted not having to fake my sincerity. "I really think the two of you would be perfect for one another."
Tanya made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat and glared at me contemptuously as if she couldn't believe I had the audacity to think I would know someone worth her time.
"I figure since you're both so good at it…that you could just fuck over each other," I sneered, "and leave Tony and me the hell alone."
And then I picked up my drinks, turned on my heel and headed back to Edward, to the man who I knew would always be mine and I always his…without a single doubt.
Our Bella has come far, don't you think? :)
Just one chapter to go...
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Thanks for reading,
TJE