Hello gang! It's winter in Finland! We've had about four inches of snow in two days, so basically it's winter wonderland in here.

Thanks for the reviews; you made me crack up after what had been a terrible day. Some of you seemed disappointed that Bella wasn't incredibly excited about Edward in the shower. But Bella doesn't even know she likes him yet, so it's gonna take a while longer still. I hope this chapter can appease your kinky little minds, even a little… Lol

Here's the second Paris chapter, dedicated to my darling Groundhog, who was disappointed from the lack of shower action in chapter six. She gave me the idea for this one. So, dear Groundhog, this is for you, be happy!

Chapter 7 – Paris 2

EPOV

"Bella, wake up", I called to the still-very-asleep Bella, who was currently lying on her stomach, cuddling the pillow. The only reply I got was an almost inaudible grunt. Well, at least it showed me she had awoken. I decided to try again.

"Bella, it's almost Louvre time." This and me stealing her covers certainly did the job. With the speed of light, she curled into a ball to brace herself for the colder air now that she didn't have her covers anymore.

"Edward—", she paused then and then asked me: "What's your middle name?"

I was puzzled. I was expecting a snappy retort and possibly a smack on the back of my head. "Anthony. Why?"

"Okay." Bella pulled in a deep breath. "Edward Anthony Cullen! How dare you wake me up like that? I could have gone into cardiac arrest because of your impolite habits! Don't you ever let me catch you doing that again!"

I actually backed a few steps, shocked as I was. Then Bella pulled her lips into a sneaky grin.

"That was for waking me up in an extremely unpleasant way."

She started laughing at my reaction to her screeching and it wasn't soon after that I was laughing with her. She truly was something else.

"Anyway…I thought you might want to take that shower you didn't have time for last night." I said, wanting to get us back on schedule. Bella noticed her attire then and smiled sheepishly.

"I guess I fell asleep. Ugh, I just hate sleeping in jeans, it's so uncomfortable."

I smirked, wanting to tease her. "I apologise for not knowing. Otherwise I would have removed them to make you at ease."

A faint blush rose onto Bella's cheeks after my comment. "I'd better take that shower now, so we can get going."

She quickly grabbed a towel and her overnight toiletry bag before heading to the bathroom. After a few minutes I heard the water starting to drop against the marble tiles. I started listening the uneven splashed, caused whenever Bella would move. All too soon I noticed that my thoughts had moved from the sounds of the water to the thing causing them.

"Stop it Edward, you just met her", I said to myself. It was not a good idea to imagine someone naked in the shower when you were going to spend the day with that person. Alone.

I decided it was too risky for me to stay in the room. Since I didn't want to go eat breakfast alone, I left the room to get a brochure of Louvre, so that we wouldn't be hopelessly lost in the grand palace. I practically ran out of the room, eager to get something else on my mind.

When I came back, Bella was nowhere to be seen, still in the bathroom I assumed. But at least not showering. I sighed deeply and went to my bed to wait for her. I was fiddling with the brochure in my hands when it suddenly slipped out of my hands and under the bed. Normally I would have left it under there, but since I had time on my hands…I rose from the bed and then proceeded to lay flat on my stomach behind the bed. I was just about to reach the brochure when a tentative voice stopped my movements.

"Edward?" Bella called from a small slit she had opened in the doorway.

I didn't dare answer. It was a bit embarrassing to emerge from under the bed like a five-year-old. So I lay still, almost without breathing.

"Oh good, he's still gone." Bella said to herself and opened the door wide. She strode right past my bed and to her backpack. She bent down and started to rummage through the contents. I gasped silently.

Bella was wearing only a towel. A very small towel that barely covered the essentials, not that I minded. At all.

I gaped at her open mouthed with wide eyes. Her hair that cascaded down her back and shoulders in damp waves. Her long, smooth legs that the towel seemed to enhance. The tiny torso that was hidden by the towel.

There was now way to get out of the situation without me totally embarrassing her. Besides, I was in no condition to stand up right now.

At that moment Bella stood up and started back towards the bathroom with a brush in her hand. When she reached my bed, the towel she had been holding up with one hand slipped away from her grip and pooled on the floor, not even a foot away from me. I fiercely bit my lip, biting back a groan. Was she trying to kill me? Lying on my stomach was already incredibly uncomfortable and she had to drop her towel right in front of me?

"Dang it." Bella muttered, oblivious to my discomfort and even me being in the room, for that matter.

She reached for the towel, thankfully not kneeling down to grab it, saving me from exposure. And her as well. Then she proceeded to the bathroom and closed shut the door.

I let out the breath I had been holding and rolled away from under the bed. I knew Bella was coming out again, dressed this time, in a few minutes, and I couldn't be there when she did. Or I had to enter the room again, at least. I stood and up and took deep breaths, willing myself to calm down.

Then I went to the door, opening it as quietly as I could. I waited a few minutes in the hallway, earning a few odd glances from the other guests heading to breakfast. When I thought Bella might be decent, I opened the door, stepped in and banged it shut with a force I had seen only Emmett inflict on poor doors. Bella was already out of the shower, clad in a khaki coloured, flowy summer skirt and a blue tank top.

"Hey Edward, where were you?"

"I just went to get a brochure on Louvre. I figured we don't want to get lost."

She chuckled. "True. Are you ready for breakfast? We could leave straight after, if we take all our stuff with us now."

I nodded. "That sounds like a plan to me."

I grabbed my messenger bag from the bed. Bella also took her purse and a light long-sleeved shirt in case it got cold. Then we left to begin our day.

BPOV

On our way to Louvre, Edward and I continued the round of questioning we had started on our way to Calais. All though it was pretty early in the morning – for me at least – the streets were full of French people heading to work, old ladies gossiping away, while buying groceries, tourists having coffee in the many cafés. The city looked friendlier somehow, not as busy as it had done yesterday. When Edward and I walked past, some would lift their heads up and smile. There was of course no question of their motivation to do so: I was walking next to Edward after all.

The first thing we saw on arriving was the impressive entrance of the Louvre palace, the glass pyramid and a swarm of tourists already eagerly waiting for nine o'clock. I groaned.

"Look at them! We're never going to get in."

Edward contemplated for a moment and then winked at me. "Not necessarily. Come on, we'll be nonchalant about it."

He pulled my closer to the tourist jam by the arm. When we got closer, he slowed down and took the brochure from his messenger bag. He opened it up and started examining it, sometimes commenting on a picture of a painting.

"Yes, the Mona Lisa would be great to see, right Bella?" and so on.

I was baffled by his doing. Not until after a few minutes, when we were suddenly several feet closer to the door, did I understand why he was suddenly so engrossed in the tiny Louvre overview in his hands. By nine o'clock Edward had gracefully manoeuvred us so that we were nearly the first ones in line – and without even upsetting anyone.

When the doors were opened, he took my hand and quickly pulled me to buy tickets.

"Do we want to go on a guided tour? There's one starting now."

"No, I think we can manage on our own. I have years of experience in finding my way in confusing malls, trying to keep up with Alice. So I think we're good."

Edward smiled and offered his arm to me. "Well then, shall we begin, milady?"

I giggled at his antiques, but took the offered arm anyway. We walked in the large halls for hours, but it seemed like such a short time. The Egyptian exhibition, Ancient Greek and Rome, Renaissance…We looked at the sculptures and even watched a film about classical music in the large auditorium.

The part I expected the most was the most mind-blowing. When we walked to the room where Mona Lisa hung, we immediately met about half of the tourists that were waiting outside Louvre a few hours ago. They were all gathered around one portion of the room, unusually quiet. Some people standing at the back were reaching to their tiptoes to see even something, with no luck.

"Should we raise an alarm? Or do you have an idea on how we're going to even get a glimpse of Mona Lisa?" I turned to Edward, hoping he would have another killer idea. The one we used this morning was not likely to work again, especially with everyone so focused.

Edward shrugged. "Seems like we're here for the long run. Unless they move on their own, we haven't got much of a chance."

It turned out we didn't have to wait too long. The guide in lead stopped his endless droning about Leonardo DaVinci and Mona Lisa and led his group to ogle at a de Goya in the next hall. That left only a few people with us.

The Mona Lisa was truly amazing. It was actually not as impressively large as some of the other paintings or as stunning when first looking at it. The painting hung on the wall, looking really small and insignificant. Until you really started looking, that is. When I looked her in the eye, I couldn't look away. Her eyes followed me everywhere. Even when we were walking away from the painting and to another hall, her eyes seemed to follow, and it made me shudder, somehow.

"What was the best part, for you?" Edward asked me when we finally reached the outside world again. It was already late afternoon, almost five o'clock. We were walking through the Tuileries garden in search for a place to eat.

"I don't know." I was silent for a moment. "It's so hard to tell. As a whole, I liked the Ancient Greek exhibition. But Mona Lisa struck me the most…What about you?"

"Hmm…I must say I enjoyed the film extremely. But I have no complaints on the art side either."

"I figured you might like it. You seem more of a musical person to me." I commented his answer. I had noticed earlier that he had a habit of humming to himself whenever he thought no one was paying attention. "But still I thought you kept your cool really well. Not everyone can spend half a day in a museum if they're not even slightly interested. Hey, how about that café over there?" I pointed at an astonishingly empty café.

We walked in and ordered filled baguettes and a few bottles of spring water to go – the air outside was just too nice to stay inside. Besides, we had already spent the whole day hiding from the sunlight. Like vampires, as Edward so nicely put it.

Back in the park, we found a nice un-pooped section of grass near a charming fountain and well-trimmed floral plantations. We settled ourselves on the grass, leaning on a thick tree trunk and started to eat.

"Do you think Alice and Jasper will mind us eating without them?" Edward asked me at one point.

"Nah. They like some alone time as well. That's why they drove me to your place last night." I said winking. "I'd be surprised if they hadn't gone out eating already."

Edward settled for my answer. "What did you mean earlier, when you said you had me pegged as a musical person?"

I shrugged. "Oh, nothing really. I guess it was wrong of me to assume. I just hear you humming a piece of melody every now and then, and though that you had an interest in music. Why, do you?"

Edward blushed slightly. "You heard me?"

I put my hand on his knee, trying to comfort him. "Hey it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Besides, you know tons of embarrassing things about me. Like falling down stairs and then on the boat…"

Edward snorted then, but quickly turned it into a cough. I wondered his reaction. I heard him mumble something like 'if you only knew', but I couldn't be sure.

After we were done eating, we fell silent for a while, talking very rarely, sometimes commenting on the day and so on. I leaned my head against the tree bark and closed my eyes. One moment it was silent, and then I heard a small voice nearby: Edward was humming a soothing melody again. I didn't dare look at him, and accidentally make him stop. It was really calm and so relaxing to just stay there after a few days of intense exploring. I could rarely do something like this with anyone. Alice was too eager to talk, which almost never consciously bothered me. But still, it was practically impossible with her. Jasper and I, on the other hand, rarely spent time just the two of us. And with Charlie, it was never this effortless.

Edward and I stayed in the same spot until the sun had almost set. When it was time to head back to the hostel, he rose from the spot and helped me up. We walked back in the same effortless silence. When we reached the hostel, I went to his room briefly to gather my stuff and then headed towards my room.

"Thank you for today Isabella. I had a good time being a nerd in a museum." Edward smirked in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

"Isabella? My my, aren't we serious today."

"I think today's activity calls for some sophistication."

"Well than, thank you Edward Anthony, for accompanying me to the museum. I shall see you tomorrow." I gave it my best 'adult' voice, while desperately trying not to laugh.

Edward chuckled at my tone. "Yes we shall. Good night."

I smiled and then walked to my room. It was still empty; Alice and Jasper must have gone out. I quickly got ready for bed, being totally exhausted from all the walking around. When I pulled the covers back, I gasped in surprise. There, lying on my pillow was a new, leather-bound copy of Pride and Prejudice. Holding my breath, I took the book in my hands carefully. I stroked the golden letters on the spine and then flipped open the first page. In an elegant, almost calligraphy-type handwriting was a dedication.

To Bella,

As far as property goes,

I think one's favourite book is a must have when strolling around Europe.

Let this remind you of the summer ahead.

Edward

I smiled, tears brimming my eyes. I blinked them away not wanting to cry because there was no reason to. Why should I cry over such a nice thing? To me, just the fact that Edward had listened and taken notice when I told that Alice had left my book home was so touching, so nice that it totally made my day. I sat on the bed, completely stunned and flipped through the pages. Of course, Edward would know exactly how it felt like when you couldn't have your favourite thing around. He was the only person I knew that had it in him to do such a nice thing to someone he had only known for a few days.

I settled on the bed and searched the part where Mr. Bingley proposes to Jane. Just exited to have Pride and Prejudice in my reach again, I read on, not even checking the time. Every once in a while my thoughts would go back to Edward and I couldn't help it when a smile tugged my lips upwards. And, as a matter of fact, I didn't even want to keep the smile away.

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