A/N

Hi everyone. Thanks for coming back. I'm just doing this one for fun, so skip over all the mistakes as I am doing it without a net.

S. Meyer owns all things, Twilight

Chapter 3

BPOV

Hustling down the hallway, I pass Bree's new office and wave quickly. Having no time to stop and chat, I give her an apologetic look and mouth, "sorry!" as I rush to catch the elevator. She's on the phone and shoos me on with a wave of her hand and a smile. I make it to the lift in the nick of time and hop on before the large silver doors close behind me with a soft "whoosh."

"Smooth, Swan."

I glance at Newton. He's standing in the front of the car and not even attempting to look like he tried to hold it.

"Thanks for the help," I huff.

"What floor?" he asks with a smirk.

Giving him the side eye, I reach down to adjust my high heel, which almost came off trying to take me down during my mad dash.

"One."

Mike's one of those guys that always does the bare minimum but somehow still manages to keep his job. He's what my dad likes to call a slacker. Planting my foot on the floor, I straighten my skirt and pull out my phone to continue the text message conversation I'm having with Edward.

"How about Sushi?"I offer.

"Had it last night with the boys. What about the Italian place on 5th?"

"I'm staying away from carbs. No pasta."

"Seriously?" Two eyeroll emojis follow.

"Seriously. By New Year's, I couldn't button my pants. I need to stop the madness."

I punctuate the end of the text with a pasta emoji, a glass of wine, and a sick green face.

When he doesn't immediately respond, I panic a little. Maybe I shouldn't be talking to him about my muffin top. But we've gone to lunch almost every day over the last two weeks, and while sometimes we go as a group, other times it's just us, and I've become more relaxed around him. I like to think we're no longer merely coworkers and have graduated to friends.

Three little bubbles form as he types a reply, and I glance at Newton, who quickly looks away when I catch him watching me.

Looking back down, I see Edward's response.

"Do you like pasta?"

God, more than sex most days.

I try to come up with a witty reply but decide just to be honest.

"Yes."

Bubbles again as I wait. We're almost to my floor.

"Then eat the fucking pasta, Bella. Life is short. Trust me, I know about these things."

The elevator comes to a halt, and the doors ping open. Squeezing past Mike, I step out into the reception area near the entrance of the building and immediately see Edward. He's leaning casually against the wall looking at his phone. The sunlight streaming through the large glass windows creates prisms on his navy-blue suit, and the color pops even more against the greenery of the potted Ficus next to him. He's studying the screen intently and raises a hand to run it through his hair. It's a gesture I've come to know well and one I don't think he's even aware of, let alone how often he does it.

He looks up suddenly, and green eyes meet mine.

"Hey," he says, and there's something about his voice. It's soft, almost husky, and sends a tingle through my body, reminding me I'm alive.

"Hi." My smile is so large that it hurts my face.

The hand goes through the hair again, and he pushes himself away from the wall before speaking.

"Um, I thought we could try that new Thai place a few blocks away. Rose was raving about it last week. They have an entire low-carb menu."

Without a word, I link my arm through his and pull him toward the revolving doors. He comes willingly enough, but when I look up, he regards me with a puzzled expression.

I tow him along before stepping into the glass enclosure. Placing my hands on the brass bar, I look at him over my shoulder and give it a push to propel myself forward.

"We're getting the fucking pasta."

A smile replaces the look of puzzlement, and he steps quickly into the compartment behind mine.

"Lead the way. I'm starving."

~!~

"I like the second revision better," I say as I lean over the table and point to a section of the draft Edward has spread out between us.

"Here, where you give the tagline. If you put it at the end, I think it has more punch."

We've just finished lunch and are going over the Anderson pitch. The presentation is still a few weeks away, and we have much more work to do, but it's coming along nicely. I'm feeling confident we can land this.

"That, combined with the latest graphic Carmen worked up? It's pure gold, Edward. Pure. Gold."

I sit back in my chair and smile at the server as she clears my empty plate.

"Thanks for the recommendation. You were spot on about the Penne."

She places the utensils on the plate and picks up the dish.

"I'm glad. It's pretty popular."

When she's left the table, I pull out my lip balm but halt mid-swipe when I look up and see Edward's eyes on me.

"What? What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?"

A smile tugs at his lips.

"No. Your face is fine."

"Then what's the matter? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Edward gathers the papers between us and puts them in the folder on the seat next to him. When all is in order, he looks back up at me.

"I just want to apologize for what I said earlier."

"What did you say?"

"About the pasta."

"Huh? What about the pasta?"

"I shouldn't have bullied you into eating something you didn't want to eat."
I laugh.

"Edward, did you see my plate? I probably would have licked it clean if you weren't sitting here. You didn't twist my arm about the pasta."

Becoming serious, I look into his eyes.

"And you were right. Life's too short not to enjoy the things we love."

"Who am I to tell anyone how to live?" he asks, and now the hand is back, but this time it's not just running through his hair; it's tugging on it. "Or what to eat."

I consider him for a moment.

"You're someone who's witnessed first-hand how fragile life is," I say, and my voice is soft. "And that it can be taken away from us at any moment. I think that qualifies you to make a suggestion here and there."

He lowers his hand, and I give him a wink.

"I'll just run a few more miles on the treadmill tomorrow. No biggie."

Edward is about to reply when his phone rings. He glances at the flashing screen before picking it up.

"Sorry, I've got to take this."

"Sure, sure." I wave him off with my hand. "Go, take it."

He stands and moves to an alcove away from the table for more privacy. The server returns, and I hand her my credit card before glancing at Edward from the corner of my eye. His brow is furrowed, and I can see his lips moving but can't hear what he's saying over the din of the restaurant chatter. After a few more minutes, he returns and quickly shrugs into his coat.

"I'm sorry, Bella, I have to go. Rose's car broke down."

"Is she okay?"

Hand. Hair.

"It's my fault."

"What? How is it your fault? Did you steal the carburetor or something?"

"She's needed a new one since Riley died. We've just been putting band-aids on it. I was supposed to go to the dealership with her last weekend, but that's when we had the emergency pitch session with Volturi, and it didn't happen. She was on her way to take Henry to his art class, and now they're stranded on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck. I'm going to go and give her mine so she can get Henry to class, and I'll wait for the tow. I'll take the train back or something. I'll figure it out."

He's buttoning his coat, and I can practically feel the guilt rolling off him.

"Edward."

He looks up.

"What?"

"I'll follow you. I'll wait with you for the tow truck, and once it's situated, I'll drive you back to the office or drop you at home ... whatever you need."

"Bella, no, really, it's fine; I'll just -"

"Edward."

He stops talking.

"You told me to order the fucking pasta, and I did - because you were right. And now, I'm telling you, I'm following you to rescue your fucking sister-in-law and the two minions. Because I'm right. Okay?"

His face is pinched, and he nods.

"Fine. Let's go."

I put on my coat, and he touches me on the sleeve when I lean down to grab my purse.

"And thank you."

Straightening, I turn toward him with a smile.

"You're welcome. Now let's do some rescuing."

~!~

Pulling out of the parking garage, I follow Edward's shiny silver Volvo as it merges into downtown traffic. One gentleman gives me a dirty look and lays on, his horn when I refuse to let him cut in front of me, but I don't care. I've got the coordinates plugged into my phone so if I lose him for some reason, I'll be okay, but I still try to stay close.

Edwards's eyes peer back at me from his rearview mirror periodically, and I pretend not to notice. He doesn't need to know how possessive I am of his bumper. Leaving the city limits, we drive for another twenty minutes until we hit the upscale Western Springs area. The winding road is lined with majestic white pine trees, their branches spindly and bare as they reach for the sky. I can see a car in the distance, the red BMW standing in stark contrast to the barren landscape surrounding it. Edward pulls up behind Rose, and I slide in behind the Volvo.

I stay in my vehicle and watch as he gets out and turns his collar against the cold. My eyes are trained on the red car, and I can see three blonde heads. Two belong to the minions, and the third belongs to Mrs. Riley Cullen. The door is pushed open, and a pair of long legs appears. Rose plants her feet on the cold macadam and rises from the driver's seat like a thousand-watt bulb, illuminating everything around her.

The picture in Edwards's office doesn't do her justice. Jesus, she could be a runway model.

They talk for a few minutes, and Rose's eyes flicker toward me more than once. Something about her posture and the set of her jaw tells me she's not happy I'm here. She says something to Edward, and he turns his head to look back at me before his gloved hand beckons.

Shit. He wants me to come over.

Grabbing my hat from the passenger seat, I place it firmly on my head and open the door.

"Here we go," I mutter.

My heels click on the frozen ground, and Rose follows my approach with her eyes, scanning my form from my shoes to my hat. When I'm standing before them, Edward places his hand on the small of my back.

"Rose, this is Bella from my office."

I put a smile on my face and extend my hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Rose. I'm sorry about your car."

She gives me a lingering look from under hooded eyes before reaching out to shake my hand. It's brief, and she drops it quickly before turning to the car.

"The heat's still working, thank goodness, so at least we didn't freeze to death, but I'm not getting this thing fixed, Edward. It's going to the car graveyard or wherever these things go to die."

Edward nods at her before turning his attention to the two curious faces pressed against the window looking out at us. The window rolls down, and Edward smiles at the boys.

"Hey, Unc- " Henry says.

"Hey, H," Edward replies with a smile.

"You guys, okay? There's nothing to worry about. Your mom's going to take my car so you can get to art class."

Henry looks between Edward and me before speaking.

"We're fine, Unc. It's mom who's freaking out. She's losing her shit."

"Henry!" Rose yells, but I can tell she's trying not to laugh.

"Enough with the 'shit' talk, okay? We've talked about that."

George giggles next to his brother, and Edward leans his head into the window.

"Hey, G. You, okay?"

"I'm fine, Uncle Ed. This is fun! Who's the lady?"

Edward turns back to me, and I give the boys a small wave.

"This is my friend Bella. We work together."

"Hi, Bella," they chime.

"Hi, guys."

They're fucking adorable, and Amy was right; I see a resemblance to Edward too. He and Riley must have looked a lot alike.

Rose is all business.

"Okay, boys. Grab your stuff and go jump in Uncle Edward's car. I'll be over in a minute, and we'll get going."

They hop out of the car, and I watch as Henry helps George button his coat.

"Thanks, Henry," George says before smiling up at his brother like he's just hung the moon.

They approach Edward and hug his legs in a vice grip. He reaches down, picks them up in both of his arms, and covers their faces in quick kisses before placing them back on the ground.

"Go on. Get in the car where it's warm. Mom will be right over."

Henry takes George's hand, and they walk to the car. Before climbing in, they give us a wave, and George calls out, "See you tonight, Uncle Ed!"

Edward smiles and waves. "See you tonight, guys!"

Rose turns to Edward.

"We'll be back by dinner. I was going to make that lemon chicken you like."

Edward nods.

"Yeah. Um, yeah. Thanks."

Rose turns toward me but doesn't say anything. Instead, she opens the car door and retrieves her belongings before giving the key to Edward.

"I don't know how long they'll be. They said it could be anywhere from one to three hours. Do you have to get back to work?"

Edward shakes his head.

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it, Rose. Go, take Henry to class. We'll go to the dealership tomorrow."

She tightens the belt of her coat with a hard tug. Her lips are set in a firm line.

"It was nice to meet you," she says offhandedly in my direction.

"You, too," I reply.

Walking past Edward, she leans into him before giving me a final glance. The howling wind lifts her words into an almost nonsensical melody, but I'm almost positive she says, "Be careful there." And then she's in the Volvo and buckling her seatbelt. She turns to address the boys in the backseat, and then they're driving past like a silver bullet, leaving us standing on the side of the road.