Chapter Six

"Have a great day and a fantastic holiday." I smile at the little old lady in front of the counter, handing her coffee and cupcakes. She grins back at me and then turns to leave, after dropping a five into the tip jar.

Alice flips the sign to closed after the woman leaves and then locks the door. "So, are you bringing Edward with you when you go see Charlie?" Alice asks, turning on her pink flats and pulling her apron off, balling it up in her hands.

I shrug, continuing to wipe the counters down. "I don't know. He might have plans."

"Ask him." Is all Alice says and then she grabs the empty trays from where they were resting on a table and whisks them to the kitchen.

Shaking my head I finish closing. All our orders for the week are done, it's Saturday night and tomorrow we're closed. I have the day off tomorrow for the first time since before Thanksgiving and I'm going to visit Charlie tomorrow for dinner, since Alice and I are spending Christmas together at our place.

Back at the apartment, Alice heads straight for the kitchen to make herself some food. It's a little past nine, one of our earliest nights, and I head for the shower so that I can go over to Edward's tonight. It's one of the first nights we've both had off in a long time.

Snow is starting to fall outside by the time I get to Edward's apartment and I'm grateful to be in his warm apartment. There's a fresh pizza sitting on the counter just waiting for me and I don't hesitate to take a slice as soon as I strip out of my coat.

"Plate?" Edward asks, smiling, holding up a paper plate. I shake my head and jump up onto the counter, polishing off my first piece of pizza.

"This is the first thing I've eaten since noon." I say, grabbing another piece.

Edward leans against the counter across from me, on his third piece of pizza. "Does your boss not give you breaks?" He smirks. "What an ass."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, she can be a real bitch."

He laughs and then launches into a story about a handful of teens he busted earlier today for vandalizing and after he's done that story, he launches into another one about an elderly man who called the police because he thought that his house was haunted.

I watch him as he talks and cleans, amazed at how he's acting now compared to the last time that we saw each other. The last time he was miserable and sheltered, but tonight he's…happy. He's laughing and smiling and none of it seems forced.

After he's done cleaning up, he moves to stand in front of me, placing his hands on the counter on either side of my thighs.

"What are you doing?" I ask, unable to hide my smile. He leans in closer so that his lips are only a few centimeters away from mine. "I thought we were going to watch a movie."

He shrugs, his green eyes sparkling mischievously. "We can do that later."

And then he kisses me and butterflies take off in my stomach and my cheeks start to warm up. His hands move to my waist, his warm palms brushing the sliver of skin visible beneath my t-shirt. I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around the back of his neck. His lips travel down my neck, across my collarbone and back up my neck. My breathing his heavy and embarrassing.

He slips his hands under my thighs, lifting me up and walking across the room to drop me on the bed. I giggle as he crawls over my body to press his lips to mine again, silencing me.

Later that night, we're still lying in bed, our legs tangled up and my head is nestled against his shoulder. He's running his fingers up and down my arm, his touch feather light. "So, I was wondering…"

"Uh-oh." Edward chuckles.

Rolling my eyes, I continue. "Do you have any plans for Christmas? Family to go see?"

Sighing, Edward clasps my right hand with his left hand. "No. My dad is working. Doctor's don't get holidays off, apparently." He sounds bitter.

"Your dad's a doctor?" He nods. I'll pry about that later. "I was wondering…if you might want to come with me to Forks for the day? I usually visit him for Christmas dinner and I'm sure he'd be happy to meet you."

He's quiet for a bit, his thumb running across my knuckles. "Okay, I'll go."

I tilt my head back to look at him, smiling. "Really?" He nods and my smile grows and I know that I probably look ridiculous. "Thank you." He leans down to press a soft kiss to my lips.

"What will this dinner require? Do I need to bring food? How should I dress?" He's nervously rambling and I press my lips together to keep from smiling. His rambling is adorable.

Charlie had recently started dating Sue Clearwater and, thankfully, she was an amazing cook and was used to cooking for a lot of people – before her last husband died, she was always down in La Push at the Reservation cooking for the "inner circle" of people there, Jacob and his father were involved in it and Charlie and I were welcomed whenever.

I knew that she would be handling Christmas dinner, so I was confident that there would be plenty of food available. "No food. Oh, but dress in a three-piece suit. Charlie's extremely formal."

He looks worried, his green eyes widening. "Seriously?"

I laugh. "No, not seriously. Charlie hates being formal, I don't think I've ever seen him in a suit. I'm not sure he even has one." We both laugh.

The week of Christmas is super busy. The bakery is overloaded with holiday orders and we're spending the rest of the week finishing orders and having them delivered. Alice and I occasionally join Jacob on the deliveries, but most of the time we're in the kitchen.

I gave Edward a head's up about the busy week, just so that he didn't think I was blowing him off. He stopped by occasionally, with Jasper of course.

The two of them would stop by for coffee and cupcakes for their night shifts and Jasper would go hunt down Alice. Edward and I would stand to the side, away from the customers, spending a few minutes talking. "Do you have anything healthier than these?" He asks, holding up a vanilla cupcake with cookie dough frosting and then taking a bite.

"Are they bad?" I ask, stiffening. I glance over at the display case, that row almost completely gone for the day – a lot of people like those cupcakes. They were some of our bestsellers.

He smiles, shaking his head. "They're great. But I'm going to start gaining weight if I keep eating these."

Guilt ripped through my stomach. I was an idiot. I usually brought him leftover cupcakes whenever I went over and I didn't think too much of it…I forgot about how important it was for him to stay in shape. Goddammit. "I'm sorry." I apologize. After work, I was going to hunt down some healthy cupcake recipes…or some other dessert.

"Cullen, we gotta go." Jasper reappears from the kitchen, smiling and a little flushed. Edward sighs and then bends down to press a quick kiss to my cheek.

I wave goodbye to Jasper and can't help my grin as Edward leaves – I love him in his uniform. Rosalie's standing at the counter, smirking at me.

I flip her off.

We close the bakery on the twenty-third, taking that day to plan the cupcake menu for January and the start of February. We do inventory of everything we need, go through all equipment that we need. Rosalie, Alice, and I discuss some of the staff members and go through evaluations.

On Christmas Eve, Rosalie and Emmett join Alice and I at our apartment for a friends' Christmas dinner. Alice and I cook, along with some help from Emmett, while Rosalie takes care of making the drinks. Jasper and Edward show up a little later, after their shift is done. Jasper heads straight for Alice, handing her a small gift wrapped in red and green plaid wrapping paper. Edward wraps an arm around my waist and kissing the top of my head.

The apartment isn't that big to begin with, and with all six of us, it seems a little more crowded. But it's warm and Rosalie is rearranging some of the Christmas tree decorations while the rest of us are spread around.

I leave Alice and Emmett in the kitchen to argue over the food, while I sit in the living with everyone else.

Edward sits down next to me and hands me a small box wrapped in shiny silver wrapping paper and tied with a red bow. I give him a sidelong glance and he just leans back against the couch, smirking. "You didn't have to get me a present." I tell him, feeling sort of guilty for not getting him something. I hadn't had time.

There's a simple black box under the wrapping paper and nestled inside the box is a simple silver chair with a small emerald diamond hanging from it.

"Edward…it's beautiful. Thank you."

Rosalie leans over to inspect it and apparently, it passes her standards' test because she nods to me. I roll my eyes at her. Turning, I give Edward and quick peck on his lips and he grabs my free hand, squeezing it.

After dinner, Edward helps clean up while I get my clothes for tomorrow. I pack an overnight bag and then we leave, after our goodbyes to everyone else.

The following day, we get up and start to get ready around ten in the morning. It was going to take, if we were lucky, two hours to get to Charlie's house. I had given Charlie a head's up about Edward coming and he didn't seem too enthusiastic – mainly because I didn't really tell him that I was dating somebody, but he promised me he would be on his best behavior.

I dress in a pair of jeans and a black blouse, clipping Edward's present around my neck and straightening it. The emerald was almost as green as his eyes.

"You look beautiful." Edward says, appearing behind me, and wrapping his arms around my waist. I smile, resting my arms over his and leaning my head back against his chest.

"Thank you very much." He presses a kiss to my neck and I turn around in his arms and look up at him. "And you look very handsome." He's wearing a navy-blue sweater and dark jeans and he's starting to grow out a beard, but it's mainly stubbly. He's still cute. "Ready to go?" I ask, giving him a warm smile.

We make it to Charlie's in an hour and fifteen minutes, somehow beating the busy holiday traffic. Edward walks over to my side to open my door and then takes my hand once I'm out of the car.

Charlie opens the door and grins, pulling me into a hug. It's a little awkward because Edward is still gripping my hand and Charlie notices. He looks Edward up and down, his smile slowly disappearing. "You must be Edwin…"

"Ed-ward, Dad." I sigh.

Edward drops my hand to reach it out for a handshake. "It's nice to meet you, Chief Swan."

Thankfully Charlie takes Edward's hand and then invites us inside, shutting the door behind us. Sue is in the kitchen and she makes her way over to me, wrapping me in an embrace. "Merry Christmas, Bella!"

"Thank you, Sue, and you too." I look at the food covering the small kitchen table. "The food looks amazing."

We follow Charlie into the living room and sit down on the old sofa while Charlie takes his recliner. "So, Edward…" Charlie huffs as he leans back. "What do you do for a living?"

Edward leans back, resting his right ankle on top of his left knee. "I'm actually working at the Seattle Police Department."

Charlie's eyebrows shoot up in surprise and then he narrows his eyes at me. "Bella never told me that." I blush guiltily. "How long have you been working there?"

"Since I graduated high school – I went straight into the academy." Charlie's demeanor changes and suddenly he has no problem talking to Edward, his earlier stiffness gone. He leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he talks to Edward. They discuss everything – the academy, some of the mutual officers they know and then they get into baseball and I officially zone out.

Jacob and his father show up a little while later, followed by Sue's kids – Seth and Leah. We all sit around, in the small living room, chatting. Seth is still in high school while Leah is in her last year of college at the University of Washington.

We exchange presents – I got Charlie a new fishing pole and tackle box and he mumbled his thanks, his face flushing.

Dinner is eaten around five and Charlie and Edward continue to chat over mutual colleagues. Jacob and I chat about some of the upcoming deliveries and his opinions on some of the new delivery workers I hired. Leah and Seth are helping Sue clean up after dinner and then she's passing out some of the cookies and other treats she's made.

Jacob and his father are the first to leave, shortly followed by Seth, Leah, and Sue. Charlie walks Edward and I to the door and gives me a tight hug. "You know, I'm hurt that you never told me about your boyfriend being a cop. I wouldn't have to worry about you all that much." He smiles as he pulls away.

I laugh, shaking my head. "Don't worry, Charlie. I'll watch over her." Edward promises, extending his hand for a handshake.

Charlie takes it, still smiling. "I have no doubt that you will. And you're going to have to invite me to the office, let me see some of the guys."

"Will do, Charlie."

I hug Charlie once more and promise to stop by more often and then Edward takes my hand as we head towards the car, snow starting to blanket the ground.