Chapter Twenty-Two: I Don't Believe It
Bella's POV
Edward came back in soon after Charlie left. He was carrying a tray full of food. The look on his face was surprising. Edward's face was twisted in concentration and his eyes were tight but there was the oddest grin there.
"I guess you were listening, huh?" I asked when he didn't speak. He came over, set the tray in my lap, and kissed me before sitting down.
"Yes, I was. Decided to tell Charlie the truth for once, did you?" he teased me, smiling crookedly.
"I figured he should know as much of the truth that is safe for him to know. I've done a lot of lying to him. I figure I owe him some honesty. How'd he take it?" It worried me how upset Charlie had seemed. Edward would know exactly what Charlie was thinking during my explanations. I bit my lip and waited for Edward to speak. He picked up the muffin that was on the tray and tore a piece off.
He offered it to me saying, "Please eat while I talk, love." I opened my mouth and let him feed me. Edward continued as I chewed, "Charlie was suspicious that you were lying to him before. He accepted your explanation for why you are here. He didn't want to hear about your female stuff so he was glad when you didn't push it. Extremely uncomfortable with that subject; it's why he changed the subject to me. He was ready to get irritated at me for being home and the others for lying to him. You were truthful enough to convince him. You gave him an opening to talk about another issue, our attachment for you." He paused to open a bottle of strawberry milk for me. I took that opportunity to ask about something.
"They let Charlie hear them talk about me, didn't they?" I was smiling slightly at what they had said about me. It was sweet. Edward was smiling too.
"Yeah, They did. Charlie wasn't happy about that. They decided to ease him into what's going on. He was upset that he was so out of the loop. I guess he didn't realize how close you are to us." He was smirking at the thought.
"Is he mad at me? Maybe we shouldn't tell him about our engagement just yet. Would that be worse?" I asked him. If Charlie was upset about the lack of information, would it be better to tell him the truth about my relationship with Edward or let him be blissfully ignorant for a while longer.
Edward chuckled and kissed my head. No, he isn't mad at you. Yet. He wants to wait and see how much you've kept from him before he overreacts." He stopped to hide his expression for a second.
"Yikes. I've kept so much from him. What exactly does he want to know? What am I supposed to say?" I was getting nervous about that talk. I had no idea what to say to him.
"That would depend on how much you want him to know. Charlie wants to know just how serious we are about each other." Edward abruptly stopped talking. I could tell by the look on his face that he was concentrating on someone's thoughts. It made me curious to know what was going on.
"What is it, Edward?" I put my hand on his cheek and tried to draw a response out of him.
"I don't believe it," he mumbled, still far away.
That irritated me a little. "What? Tell me what is going on!" I demanded.
He turned and smiled at me. "Charlie is going to do something neither of us will think he is capable of. You'll find out in a few minutes. Right now, the family wants to see you."
I nodded but couldn't stifle the curiosity or annoyance as the others came in.