Chapter 5

EPOV

I step out of the shower, grabbing the towel from the counter and wrapping it around myself.

We're all getting ready to go to my sister's house for dinner, and HE'S going to be there. I'm a little skeptical of James, but I don't want to tell Bella what she can and cannot do. She's my wife, I love her more than anything, but I would rather die than try and control her like that piece of shit did years ago. Instead, I'm going to have to keep my eye out for her, make sure James isn't crossing any lines and things of that nature.

I understand that Bella wants to know people that were so important to her father. I guess she thinks that there's a little piece of him in everyone who knew and loved him, and I can understand her need to be near that. Even if I don't trust the asshole…

I walk to the closet, grabbing a nice button up and some slacks, and walking to the bed, quickly tossing them in the middle. I grab boxers from the drawer and drop the towel, pulling the boxers quickly up my legs. I walk over to the bed and slip on the rest of my clothes, squirt some colonge on me, and make my way to the living room to check if Bella and Lila are ready.

I see my girls sitting on the couch, watching Beauty and the Beast on the TV.

"Are we almost ready?" I ask, and kiss each of their heads from behind the couch. Bella brings her head back and nods at me. They both get up from the couch and Lila runs up to the TV and shuts it off.

Bella walks over to me and wraps her arms around me.

"Thank you" she says, and I don't need to ask her why. She's thanking me for going, knowing that it's what she wants to do. But I would do it anyway, because I love her, and I can deal with being around someone I don't necessarily like, for her.

"Let's go, baby" I say, and scoop up our daughter in my arms, and make my way to the door, grabbing the keys and locking the door behind me.

Once we get to Alice's, we notice a truck outside that doesn't belong to any of us, so it must be his.

Bella takes off her seatbelt and gets out of the car, opens the back door and gets Lila out. We all walk up to the front door, and knock.

Alice answers fast

"Hi! He's here already" she says, with a smile and moves from the door. I grab Bella's hand as she moves to walk in and give it a gentle squeeze. Her eyes meet mine, and she smiles, before walking into the house, hand in hand with me.

"Hi guys" Bella says, walking into the living room where everyone is seated at, talking. Emmett and Rose wave Hi to us, and Lila runs over to them, giving them both hugs. James is seated at the armchair closest to us, and when Lila passes him, she waves. He smiles and waves back, and she continues on to the play room.

Bella takes a seat on the sofa, close to James and she greets him. He stands up and walks over to her, planting a kiss on her cheek, and I immediately turn red, and want to cut his lips off. She looks over to me, pleading with her eyes for me not to flip out on him, so I try my best to calm down.

James walks over to me, and holds his hand out for me, which I grab and give him a tight handshake.

"Nice to see you again, Edward" he says.

"You too, James" I say, looking him up and down. We release hands and he walks back to his chair and begins a conversation with Bella. Within seconds she's tilting her head back and laughing at something he said, and I have to excuse myself.

I walk to the play room and spot Jasper reading to Blake and Lila. He looks up at me and nods, and finishes the book, hands it to Lila and she flips through the pages, showing Blake the pictures.

"What's going on, man?" he says

"I don't know if I can do this. I can't stand that fucking guy"

"You don't know him, man. Give him a chance, and then if you still don't like him, then you can see what you can do about it" I nod my head, and Jasper and I walk out to join the others in the living room.

Alice calls from the kitchen and tells us to all take our seats, and we walk to the table. I sit next to Bella, with Lila on her other side. James sits across from us.

"So, what do you do for a living, James?" I ask, taking a sip of water and then placing the glass back on the table, waiting to hear his answer.

"I'm a mechanic. I just moved back from Georgia not too long ago, so I'm not currently working."

"Oh that's great. It's always nice to know a mechanic" Bella says, smiling over at me.

"So are you looking for wok over here?" Jasper asks, winking over at me.

"I've applied. But right now, I'm just waiting to get a call back, and I'm spending my time either taking care of my dad, or trying to restore this old mustang I got."

"What year?" I ask quickly, my mouth spilling before my mind can get it to shut up.

"'66. It's almost done. I've been working on it for years, it's just needs a few more things done"

"Edward loves vintage mustang's" Bella says. I look over at her ready to glare, but the look on her face is so happy, my face softens.

"Is that right? Maybe I can show it to you, let you take it for a spin when it's done" he says, cutting into his steak.

"Sounds good, James" I say, and give him a sincere smile.

We all continue to eat, and talk. We learn a lot about James, and I find that he's not that bad. He was working in Georgia, when he got a call that his father had suffered a heart attack, and came rushing back to Washington, to take care of his father.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Is he doing okay?" Bella asks

"Well, everyday is different. Some days he's miserable, and doesn't even want to get out of bed, and other days he;s fine. He keeps telling me I can leave, but I have to take care of him, ya know?" everyone nods their heads and watch as he looks like he's holding back tears.

After a couple of minutes, he gets up from the table, thanks Alice for the meal, and says he has to leave.

"I have to make sure my dad didn't order a pizza or anything like that" he says, smiling.

We all get up and see him out. He exchanges numbers with everyone, and promises to call to hang out again.

Once he's out of the door, in his car, Bella comes up behind me, wrapping her arms around me.

"See? Was that so bad?" she asks

I turn around and face her, pulling her face up to mine and kissing her swiftly.

"No. he's Ok" she smiles, and we shut the door, going back to join everyone in the living room.

*****

JPOV

I get into the truck and start it, and shift to reverse, quickly backing out of the driveway and turning towards Kate's house.

Tonight went perfect, I don't think it could have gone any better. They all believed my story, and the fact that I made it seem like I was here to care for my father gave me major sympathy votes. Jake had told me that Edward had talked about his love for vintage mustangs once, so I used that as a way to get him to warm up to me. Everyone loved me, and made me promise to call to hang out again, which I fully intend on doing.

I make my way down the dark forest roads, and before too long, I'm pulling into Kate's house. I shut the car off, and make my way inside, only to come face to face with an angry Kate.

"What the fuck, James? You use my car all the time, you dress up and leave me here… where are you going? Do you have some other bitch? Are you just using me for what I give you?" she says, face glowing red with her anger.

"Kate…" I say, bringing my arms up and walking towards her. "I just have some old friends I've been in contact with since I got out. I'm sorry, I didn't know it would upset you so much…" I grab her hand and pull her towards me, stroking her back with my other hand.

She smiles, and tells me she's sorry for overreacting, and I lean forward, and kiss her lips. Her arms wrap glide behind my back, and she pulls me close to her. Before things can go any further, the ringing from my pocket stops us. Kate rolls her eyes, and walks away as I pull my cell phone out and answer it, knowing it's Jacob.

"What's going on, Man?" I ask as soon as it clicks over to him.

"Nothing. How was it?"

"Good…" I say

"Just good? What the fuck James, you're supposed to be giving me details. Do you know where she lives?"

"No. I've just been to his sister's house."

"Good," he says, the smirk evident in his voice. "Maybe I can use that too… give me the address. Is it the same house they lived in before?" he says, and I can hear a shuffling of paper.

"You know what Jacob…. I don't think I want to do this anymore.." I say

"WHAT??? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU SAYING, JAMES?" he screams through the phone.

"I'm not going to do this. You feel that you're going to get out of there, and come and take her, but I'll be damned if that happens. Bella doesn't belong to you, she never has, and if I have my way, she'll be mine…. Thank you for giving me the chance to meet her though…"I say, and then press end on the phone, ending his yelling.

I tuck the phone in my pocket and mentally give myself a pat on the back. It's only a matter of time before I can make her mine, and now that Jacob is out of the way, I only have one more obstacle to overcome.

Edward Masen

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