oOo

They sat down in a quiet corner of the National Café. Edward insisted on ordering the Classic Afternoon Tea.

"A little bit of everything," he said, and suddenly, grinned widely. It was like the sun coming out to greet you. "Wiv a little bit," he sang softly, "wiv a little bit, wiv a little bit of…" He stopped singing. "What is it, actually?"

By now, Bella was giggling helplessly. "Wiv a little bit of blooming luck," she finished the line from My Fair Lady for him.

"You have a nice voice," she said.

"No, I don't." he scratched his ear self-consciously. "I only ever sing in the shower."

"You know so much about art," she said, changing the subject. "Where did you study?"

"Saint Martins," he said, and she could tell he that he felt far more confident talking about his art. "I also spent a year in Paris. Quite the cliché, aren't I?"

"Did you study there?"

"Yeah, but… Mon francais est horrible."

"Mais non, ca sonne très bien."

"Oh, my God, don't tell me you speak French!" He dropped his forehead on polished wood of the table.

"I study Linguistics, remember? I love languages! I speak French, German and a bit Italian and Spanish. Oh, and some Dutch. Have you been there?"

"Germany? Italy? Spain? Or the Netherlands?" He was teasing her. He was so much more relaxed now, and utterly enchanting.

"All of them?" She made a funny face in return.

"France, yes. Germany, yes. Italy, yes. Spain, yes. The Netherlands, no."

"Quite the traveller, I see."

Their etagère with scones and sandwiches arrived, and both thanked the waitress. She seemed to recognize Edward, her eyes lingering for a moment too long, but he gave her a polite smile, and she left.

"Mostly for work. I did an exhibition at the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin last year."

"I've been to Berlin," Bella replied. "How did you like it?"

"Quite exciting, actually. It a very thriving place for young artists. I have a few friends there, who showed me around. It had been some time since my last stay."

"My ex-boyfriend was from Berlin," Bella said, not thinking. Somehow, mentioning her ex seemed wrong. She normally had no problem talking about him. They'd met in college, and he'd just been finishing his PhD in International Relations at the University of Westminster when they had decided to part after sixteen months together. It had been on very friendly terms and was almost two years ago. He had returned to Berlin last year, and they sent each other emails about once a month.

She swallowed, and crumbs seemed to stick in her throat, so she took a large gulp of tea.

Edward's expression was undecipherable. He took a thoughtful sip of tea, as well.

"And you visited him there?" he asked, his voice sounding too light.

"Um, yes. We spent Easter there. But, well, it's some time ago. We separated like two years ago."

"Oh. Okay."

"And Italy?" she asked.

"Italy? Oh, yes. Florence. I love Florence."

"I've never been there. My parents took my sister and me to the region of Liguria on holiday, but that's about all."

"You have a sister?" He smiled.

"Yes. She's three years younger than I am."

"Which would make her…" His fingertip rounded the rim of his cup.

"Are you trying to find out my age, Mr. Cullen?"

"Maybe." His smile was lop-sided.

"I'm twenty-four. You?"

She forced herself to look him straight in the eye.

Edward frowned unhappily.

"Really? Must I?"

"Yes, you must."

"I don't want to."

"I can Google you."

"Blech. I'm…"

He leaned across the table, gesturing for her to come near.

"I'm forty," he whispered.

"No!" she whispered back. She had already figured him somewhere between thirty-seven and forty-two.

His eyes were filled with uncertainty once again.

"Old, huh?"

"Nah." She smiled and crinkled her nose as she shook her head. "I've always liked older men."

And then, she blushed from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes.

oOo