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"Bella!"
The small woman hugged Bella closely upon their arrival.
"Alice, sweetie, it's so good to see you!" Bella smiled and grabbed Edward's hand once she was out of Alice's embrace. "Meet Edward."
They shook hands while Bella introduced them properly. They shed their coats and followed Alice down the hall and into the dining room. It wasn't a large room, but warm and welcoming. Five people were at the table, one of them a dark blond guy who got up to kiss Bella's cheeks.
"Hi," he said,. "I'm Jasper."
"Edward. Thank you for the invitation."
The doorbell rang again and Alice went to get it while Jasper poured glasses of champagneande introduced him to the other guests while Bella exchanged hugs and kisses with everyone.
The man with dark curls and a beard was Jared, and the pale girl with enormous glasses next to him was his girlfriend, Kim. Peter was the one with a round, smiling face, and his wife Charlotte looked extremely pregnant.
Bella gave him a sweet smile once they'd sat down, as if saying, don't worry.
Next to arrive were a couple named Victor and James, and the party was complete. Conversation was light and humorous, and while they were having an excellent asparagus cream soup, Edward realized that he was having a nice time. Not that he deemed himself incapable of having a nice time. It was just that he wasn't really used to being with people. Except Bella. And before her, he'd really mostly been by himself, excepting the Sunday teas with his family.
He looked at her, and she was smiling. A rosy glow covered her cheeks, making her look even younger and joyful. Edward smiled back and gave her hand a small squeeze.
"Bella told us about your exhibition next month, Edward," Alice said. "That sounds exciting!"
"It is," he replied, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Especially everything that surrounds it. My agent is driving me nuts about it."
"It's going to be big?" the redhead, Victor, asked.
"At the Saatchie Gallery," Bella responded for him.
"Aren't they just about selling the stuff?"
Edward looked at James, Victor's boyfriend, who had said it. The vibes coming from him had been anything but friendly all this time.
"Yes," he said. "Anything wrong with that?"
"I always believed that an artist works primarily for his art."
"You mean to be truly an artist you have to be starving?" Edward retorted.
"Well, that's just silly," Alice interrupted. "A lot of it depends on luck, too, doesn't it?"
"I guess so," Edward said. "I'd be a painter no matter if I made money with it."
He saw that Victor had another bitchy remark on his lips, but luckily, Jasper chose that moment to appear with the main course – a roast venison with potatoes, and grilled egg plant for Bella. The food was amazing, and once the conversation centred on other topics, he relaxed and enjoyed his dinner, the lovely Barolo, and the company of friendly people – excepting Victor.
It was long past midnight when they said their goodbyes. Alice kissed his cheeks and declared that they needed to meet again soon, and Jasper smiled as they shook hands.
"Glad we finally met," he said. "Take care of our girl."
His words made Edward's heart feel warm and fluffy, and he pulled Bella in his arms once they were in a cab driving them to Maida Vale.
Taking care of her, making sure she was happy, was all he ever wanted.
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