Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

This story has been adopted. The original was written and discontinued by Amiiix3. I was graciously given permission to continue the story as I saw fit. Thank you Amiiix3 for your trust.

"Sorry…," Edward mumbled against my lips, pulling away slightly.

I felt disappointed when his fingers left my skin and he turned his body so I slid off his side. "No, that's not it—" I attempted to explain, realizing he thought I was gasping in surprise, or disgust, or shock, instead of in pleasure.

"I know." He quieted me with his lips, a quick peck which I instantly deepened. His gentlemanliness was becoming increasingly annoying as he pulled away again, before I could get carried away.

"Nevertheless," he continued, apparently still able to form coherent sentences. "I don't want us to get carried away." I smirked at him and leaned close until our lips were centimeters apart; his eyes fluttered closed, his head tilting forward expectantly. I licked his lower lip slowly, savoring the sensational flavor, then pulled away and slipped off him to sit by his side.

He opened his eyes slowly and blinked confusedly for a moment. His glance finally shifted my way and he frowned, puzzled. My grin widened despite my attempts at holding it in. I gave up and shot him a gleaming smile.

"I love playing games with you."

He rolled his eyes, groaning as he sat up. "And I hate it." Then he brightened. "Let's play another game!"

I raised an eyebrow. "What kind of game?"

"The kind where we go back home and pretend we did not just experience the hottest moment of our cold, hard lives."

"It sounds like a boring game."

"You can think of it as a Role Playing Game," Edward suggested, shrugging. I instantly tilted my head and let a thin curtain of hair fall between us, trying to make it look nonchalant, while hiding my guilty expression.

My thoughts immediately soared to a dark fantasy of mine, one I was sure I had before I had even met Edward, but now the faceless man suddenly bore Edward's remarkable features. Edward was sitting before me in a flash, lifting my chin up and forcing me to look into his piercing eyes. "You're hiding something." He smirked, as I attempted to pull away before I blurt out the exact fantasy and mortified myself for the rest of my existence.

I huffed. "And so are you."

"Who?"

"You."

"When?"

"This morning."

"What?"

I laughed. "What is this, an interrogation?"

"Why?" Edward grinned.

"Where? How? Whodunit?" I shot.

Edward chuckled and leaned his back against a tree trunk with a contented sigh. "I read Agatha Christie back when she published her first book."

"Agatha Christie?" I felt somewhat silly asking. No doubt she was a well known author. I hated admitting I had given up reading after I had been changed. Although the idea of a bloodthirsty vampire walking into a book store and asking for a novel was laughable indeed, apparently Edward had done it.

"She also goes by Mary Westmacott, but none of those are published under that name yet– they're romances."

I smirked at him. "You read romance novels?"

"No!" Edward objected defensively. "She's an amazing mystery novel author. You know, crime fiction, detective mysteries, whodunit?"

"Oh…." I felt sillier by the moment.

"But," Edward continued softly, his hand resting lightly on my knee, "she's not particularly famous and I wouldn't expect anyone to be able to recognize her right away, if at all." I knew he was only saying it to make me feel better, but it helped nonetheless. I smiled at him warmly and leaned over to kiss him lightly in the juncture between his neck and his jaw.

"Time to go!" I exclaimed, pulling away before he could kiss me back.

He groaned and muttered something that sounded a lot like 'tease'. I only beamed at him and then pranced out of the shadow of the trees and made my way quickly across the plain of snow, glancing back just once to make sure he was still there. He caught my eye and gave me a breathtaking smile, his trademark crooked grin, and I felt something unfamiliar course through me that was both exciting and frightening.

By the time we arrived back at the house, everyone was there. I paused in the foyer and adjusted my clothing. My brand new skirt was sopping wet and the tights Irina had given me were beyond use. I slipped them off and balled them up in my hand.

"May I take your coat?" The smooth, velvety whisper in my ear made me jump.

I glared at Edward. "If you don't kill me first, then yes, you may take my coat."

"Good thing you're already dead then." And coming from his lips, the normally gruesome remark only made my stomach twinkle the same way his eyes were. I slipped off my coat and handed it to him.

"You might want to put a shirt on," he suggested, his voice light, but his eyes tight. He kept them resolutely on my face and again I marveled at his ability to be in complete control. Most men– or vampires– would make some sort of lewd remark and try to ravish me… or something of the sort.

I stared at the ground embarrassedly and hoped my long hair would cover… certain areas that needed covering.

"Yes, well, I'll go take a shower. I feel sort of disgusting. I haven't washed in forever."

"Good luck."

I laughed a little too loudly. "Good luck?" I rolled my eyes. "Tell the others I'll be down in just a moment."

Edward saluted, issuing another fountain of giggles from me. I stepped away from him and turned to head up the stairs regretfully. Any moment away from Edward seemed like a moment wasted. What was better than speaking to him about Agatha Christie, whether I knew of her or not? Just hearing his beautiful voice, looking into his gorgeous eyes, and seeing myself reflected in them… it was more than enough to make me want to run back downstairs and throw myself at him.

I sighed. I would have to control that particular feeling. Edward and I were made for each other, I decided as I pulled my last shirt from my bag and a skirt before heading for the bathroom.

I stared at myself in the mirror for a moment, wondering what Edward saw when he looked at me. Did he see the plump, red lips; the shimmering topaz eyes, growing darker around the edges as the day progressed; the tumble of glossy mahogany hair despite the day and nights spent in the wild?

Or did he see something else entirely, as I saw in him? Sure, I noticed the gorgeous features; the angular and manly jawline; the fantastic set of muscles; the spectacular eyes, always smoldering at me.

But I also saw the boy he was before, at least as far as I knew. I saw the young boy who vowed he would always be there to take care of his mother while his father was out on business. The boy who lived with a coven of people but was so alone; the boy who could never sleep and lay in bed reading mystery novels to pass the time.

I thought of Edward through my entire shower, barely noticing that the water was freezing– it didn't matter to me either way. I shampooed my hair, sad to wash off Edward's scent. There was a knock on the door of my bedroom; I could hear it all the way from the bathroom. I realized I had been so lost in my fantasies, I had taken a much longer time in the restroom than I needed.

I rinsed myself off, dried my hair quickly, slipped into my skirt, buttoned my blouse with ease, and rushed to the door before half a minute had gone by.

"Yes?" I asked breathlessly as I opened the door– breathless in the figurative sense, if there was one. I was somewhat disappointed to see Irina on the other side, instead of Edward, who I had been expecting. She noticed my fallen expression before I could fake a smile. I was happy to see her, but she could not compare to my bronze-haired Romeo.

Irina rolled her eyes as she stepped into the room, a smirk playing on her lips. "Expecting your prince charming?" My eyes widened when I realized she knew about Edward and I. I bit my lip and swept my eyes over her face cautiously. "Don't worry, I won't tell." She rolled her eyes again, still smiling.

I kept myself from sighing with relief. "So, Kate told you?" I was already thinking of ways to harm Kate.

Irina pouted. "You don't think I'm smart enough to figure it out myself?"

"No, I—"

"I mean first, Tanya hasn't been home all day, and I would expect her to be here attempting to seduce Edward," I flinched, "and you smell like him. Or at least you did, but you've washed away the evidence, so that obviously wouldn't hold up in a court of law."

I felt my eyes widen. "A court of what?"

"Law." Irina's laugh was like a loud chorus of bells. "And I was joking. There's no need to be so uptight." She nudged me with her shoulder. "Oh! And-"

"There's more?" I groaned.

"And it's hard not to see it in the way he looks at you." I cocked my head, my stomach knotting at the hopeful thoughts running through my head.

"How does he look at me?"

Irina held up her hands defensively. "Oh no, no, no… I'm not getting into this gushy stuff here. That's Kate's place of expertise, not mine. I'm just here to brag about the fact that I am an extremely observant person."

I was beginning to realize how blunt Irina was. I certainly hoped I would never find myself on her bad side. I felt like she could do a great deal of ego damaging.

I sighed, feeling suddenly mentally exhausted. "I couldn't make it to the market today," I explained in answer to Irina's look of confusion.

She smiled. "Is that all?"

I felt unexpectedly angry. "It's enough, isn't it? What– did you want me to do more? Should I have killed him– would that have made you happy?" I hissed in one breath. As soon as the words left my mouth, I clamped it shut.

Irina was staring at me with raised eyebrows, looking expectant. "Are you done yet, or would you like to go on a full rant." I shook my head. She waited a moment, then continued. "It doesn't surprise me that you didn't make it all the way through— and don't say that you disappointed anyone, because no one expected you to."

It was as though she could read my mind. "And I thought Edward was the mindreader," I said aloud and in wonder.

Irina laughed. "Well, you know… I try. I was fairly observant as a human, and you're just an easy person to read." I frowned, unsure whether it was good or bad. "Be happy, Bella. Edward might be able to guess what you're thinking, but he certainly can't hear it." And with those final words, Irina pranced out of my room, leaving nothing to show she had ever been there except my confusion. A minute later, I stepped into the living room to see it half-full.

"Where did everyone go?" I asked Esme as I took a seat beside her. I longed to sit by Edward, but who knew how long I would be able to control myself around him, and we were still playing the not-dating-but-really-are-game, as far as I knew.

"Tanya went hunting, and Irina and Kate are most likely giggling about something upstairs. They act like such teenage girls, though they're well over 200." Esme laughed.

I smiled, secretly agreeing, and gazed about the room. Carlisle and Eleazar sat on the long sofa, discussing something that sounded a lot like boring politics. Carmen looked like she was interrogating Edward, and for one moment he glanced over her shoulder and shot me a desperate look. I laughed. Esme smiled when she heard me laughing and I saw her staring in Edward's direction with a faraway look in her eye.

"Do you know that Edward walked me down the aisle at my wedding?" she said suddenly.

I was surprised. "Really?"

She nodded, her eyes glittering, lost in another world. "Yes. Carlisle and I were married less than a year after I was changed. We'd known each other from when we were human."

"Really?" This time I was even more surprised. "How did you manage to do that?"

"It was fate, really. I believe everyone has a perfect match, someone they're just meant to be with. And for Carlisle and I, it was so destined." She smiled at me endearingly.

"I fell out of a tree when I was sixteen and broke my leg. Carlisle worked at the hospital and that was when I first fell in love. I barely knew him then– in fact, I only spoke to him for the first time then, and goodness was I a terribly rebellious child, and so blunt." She shook her head, chuckling softly. Her mood darkened the slightest bit as she continued. "I was married off to a terrible man. I can hardly say his name, so I won't, but he abused me. When I found out I was with child, I ran off. The baby… the baby died…"

Her expression grew somber and she was quiet for a long, long time. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and leaned into her, hoping it was a soothing gesture– the human motions were hard to get used to.

I saw Carlisle glance over. He had eyes for no one but his wife. They exchanged a meaningful look, and the way he looked at her made my soul ache– if I still had one– for someone to look at me that way.

Esme recovered after a moment. She gave me a wavering smile. "I jumped off a cliff."

"Oh, goodness gracious!" I exclaimed in utter shock, unsure of how to react to this. She, though, was very at ease. "Don't be worried, darling. It was a natural thing… well, it brought me happiness at the end. As fate would have it, Carlisle was the doctor working at the hospital where I was brought. He recognized me and since I was beyond saving, he changed me."

I was silent for a long time, mulling over what Esme had just told me. It was a beautiful story, probably beating every love story I had ever read as a young girl, or imagined. I smiled at her warmly, feeling my heart swell at her joy. "It sounds like a very happy ending," I said truthfully, just as a shadow fell across us.

Esme smiled at me widely before leaning forward and giving me a peck on the cheek. "Well, I'll let you get back to your Edward." She stood up and floated to Carlisle and together they made their way upstairs. Carmen moved to sit beside Eleazar and they cuddled together on the couch. Even after hundreds of years together, they were still as in love as ever. It was moving.

Gradually, as I looked up into Edward's glimmering golden eyes, Esme's words came back to me: 'Well, I'll let you get back to your Edward.' Your Edward. If only, if only… I thought wishfully, slowly realizing how much I wished it were true.

"If only what?" Edward asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

My eyes nearly fell out of my head. "Did I say that out loud?" He nodded. I cursed.

Carmen peeked at me from under Eleazar's arm. "Is something wrong, dear?"

I bit my lip, embarrassed that they had heard me saying such unladylike things. "Oh, nothing, nothing at all…" I turned to Edward. "Let's go outside, good friend."

He attempted to suppress a smile. "All right, old chap."

We made our way out into the starry night. The wind blew softly, caressing my skin smoothly. Crickets chirped off in the distance and I heard an owl hoot every now and then. The sounds of nature were so relaxing. We padded across the mucky snow, my shoes turning to portable puddles. I wondered why I wore them anyways.

"I love it here," Edward said suddenly, stretching his arm out to point at something. I ran into it. He laughed and dropped his fingers to my shoulder. They trickled down my arm like water and then slipped into my own. He lifted our joined hands, pointing in the direction of a large, flat-topped boulder sitting near the edge of the house, under the shadow of the jutting roof.

"It's lovely," I said in awe. And it was. The large white rock reflected the moonlight, shining as white as snow, though it had no snow on it. It shimmered as we moved closer, and at first I thought it was the glow of the moon or the wetness of melted snow; instead, it was tiny, powdery pieces of rock, or diamond, or some small solid substance embedded into every bit of the rock, that glimmered when light hit it. "Gorgeous."

"It's not particularly secretive, being so close to the house, but it's a perfect place to watch the stars," Edward explained.

"I think it's perfect." I smiled softly, my eyes still on the glittering pieces of rock that reminded me so much of Edward. The rock was at least four feet high, but we jumped it easily. Edward lay down flat on his back and pat the space beside him, scooting to make room.

I folded myself next to him, still sitting up so that I could watch him. He caught me staring after a moment and a smile pulled up the corners of his florid lips. He took my hand and tugged me until I was pressed against his side.

"So, what did you mean when you said 'If only,'?"

"Nothing!" I was such a terrible liar.

Edward chuckled. "I'll tell you what I was thinking about this morning if you tell me what you were talking about."

"You'll tell me why you were grinning like a crazed man?"

"If you tell me your secret." I mulled it over. I was immensely curious about what Edward had to say, but what I would say would change everything. Maybe change is good.

"Okay," I decided.