Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. That being said, please be nice and don't copy or translate without permission. Thank you.
Love to my pre-readers, iadorepugs and Cullen_Crazy01 - especially CC, who helped me work my way through awkward portions of this chapter. Can't wait to see you next weekend for Remember Me, girlie!!
Chapter 6
For the first time in my life, I didn't have school or a job taking up daytime hours. I had to admit that, at first, having all that time to myself was kind of fun. I slept late, indulged in lunches out and coffee dates with friends, and even once, much to Sarah's horror, volunteered at the school. But after the novelty of the situation wore off, weekdays at home quickly became torture.
I had always worked, even when the kids were babies. While my BA in English Literature gathered dust, my minor in accounting served Black's Garage well as I managed the day-to-day aspects and handled all the paperwork that made it run smoothly. But the garage was no longer my responsibility – yet another area of my life ceded to Renesmee with the divorce. She stepped into my role there so seamlessly that I wondered if my contribution had been unique after all, although I had to remind myself that I was the one that had hired and trained her almost two years ago.
While most women I knew dreamed of staying home full time, I was bored. My house was clean and organized – an upside to dividing fifteen years of household contents in the divorce. I was too restless to read, too jittery to begin a new hobby. Even though I didn't need the income between the alimony, child support and property settlement, I started to look for a job. I perused the want ads, finding nothing that appealed to me as a career choice. I had options – Angela's husband Ben offered me a position as the office manager of his accounting and investment firm. As much as I appreciated the offer, I had no desire to be a desk jockey, tied into someone else's schedule and doing someone else's work. I guess I was spoiled. After years of working at the family business, I wasn't interested in answering to someone else for a living.
There was one thing that did spark my interest, that ghost of an idea resurrected by my conversation at Maria's. Interest, however, may not have been a strong enough word. Boredom was replaced by my drive to learn as much as I could about the bookselling business. I spent days at the library researching Washington rules and regulations, and long evenings online absorbing as much information as possible.
After too many days dwelling on the possibilities, I was grateful for the distraction of my planned lunch with Angela. I decided to dress up a little, and was wearing a new charcoal colored wool skirt with a soft black sweater and my black knee boots as I set out for our favorite restaurant, La Bella Italia.
I had met Angela Weber my very first day at Forks High my junior year. We shared several classes, and she was my lab partner in biology. We were both shy, but her genuineness and kindness drew me in. In high school, Jacob and I had double dated with Angela and Ben Cheney. When we graduated, Angela, Ben and I headed off to the University of Washington, and it seemed logical for Angela and me to be roommates. That arrangement ended after the fall semester of sophomore year, when I got pregnant with Sarah. I turned into a commuter student the same week that I became Mrs. Black.
Although Angela had traded her geek-chic glasses and carefree ponytail of our high school days for contacts and a sleek shoulder-length bob, it was still easy to pick out her familiar face in the crowded restaurant. When she saw me enter, she stood and waved me over to the table.
"Bella, you look great!" Angela exclaimed, leaning down to give me a warm hug. We settled into our seats. "How are you doing?"
Angela and I never had any pretenses between us.
"I'm good, Angela." She arched an eyebrow at me. "No, really. Things are good. We made it through the first two weekends. I made it through the first two weekends."
Just then the waiter came over to take our orders. When he left, Angela picked right up again. "So, how did you make it through the first weekend they were with Jake?"
"Actually, I went out that Friday night," I confessed with a grin, knowing she would be shocked.
Her reaction didn't disappoint. "Bella Black went out? Out of the house, with other adults kind of out?" I nodded, and she narrowed her eyes playfully. "This may very well be one of the signs of the apocalypse. I'd better call my dad," she teased. Reverend Weber had married Jacob and me. "So, tell me everything. Who convinced you to go out? Where did you go? What did you do?"
"Rosalie kidnapped me and took me to Maria's," I told her. Angela had introduced me to Rosalie. Ben and Rose crossed paths professionally quite often – Rosalie had even hired Ben to do the business valuation on Black's Garage for the divorce. "Did you know they have a bar with live music there?" I asked.
Angela nodded. Okay, apparently I was the only socially retarded adult in Port Angeles.
"I met her husband and some of their friends. We had a few drinks, ate some dinner, and listened to the band." Unbidden, the thought of Edward's crooked smile came to mind, and I felt a tingle of warmth.
The waiter delivered our meals, and the conversation turned to our children. I asked Angela how she was adjusting to having both kids in school now.
"It's so weird, Bella, to have all this time on my hands. I just don't know what to do with myself," she confessed.
It was a feeling I was suddenly all too familiar with myself. "What would you do, if you could do anything?" I asked her, echoing Edward's words to me Friday night.
Angela shrugged her shoulders. "I don't really know. I hate the idea of an office job – I want something a little more flexible, a little more personal. Ben and I talked about me opening a business, but I don't have that much time, either."
"What kind of business?" I asked her. How curious that, despite our different circumstances, we were having the same debate in our lives.
"This is going to sound crazy, but I've been thinking about a coffee and pastry shop. I'd love to do something with the local growers and suppliers, give the Starbucks here in town some hometown competition," she answered.
Okay, this is too much of a coincidence, I thought to myself – what were the odds? "Did you ever think of combining it with another business?" I asked casually.
"What kind of other business?" she questioned, her expression interested.
"Something like a bookstore?" I asked her.
Her eyes lit up. "A bookstore and coffee café?" I nodded. "I like the idea a lot. Do you know someone who's thinking about opening a bookstore?" I nodded again. "Who?"
I cleared my throat and looked down at the table. "Actually, I am. I... I've been researching it, and I might even have some property in mind."
The silence was deafening. When I gathered the courage to look up, Angela was staring at me with a huge smile on her face.
"Where? When? How soon can we get in?" she demanded.
"Well, there's an old storefront on the corner of Lincoln and Second, and Rosalie's husband mentioned…"
"Bella, that's a perfect location, right in the middle of everything! When did you go see it? How much is it per month? How long before we can get in there? Oh my God, we've got so much to plan, so many things we need to take care of. I need to call Ben and we need…"
I cut her off, laughing. "Angela! I haven't even seen the place yet." Well, not inside, but the exterior certainly had piqued my interest over the weekend. "And I don't know the first thing about running a bookstore."
Angela frowned and waved off my statement, unconcerned. "Bella, it suits you perfectly. Imagine, you'd finally be using your literature degree, and with all the experience you have running the garage, it should be a piece of cake. You need to call now and get an appointment to see the property." I opened my mouth to protest, and she waved me off again. "Now, Bella."
She pulled out her blackberry and within two minutes her phone was pressed to my ear, Angela having shoved it at me after searching for CWC's number. "Ask for Jasper," she told me.
"Good afternoon, CWC, Incorporated. How may I direct your call?" A pleasant female voice spoke.
"Uh, Jasper…Whitlock?" I asked.
"May I tell Mr. Whitlock who is calling?" she asked.
"Yeah, this is… umm… Bella Black. I wanted to speak with him about…"
"I'll transfer the call," she interrupted smoothly.
Within seconds, Jasper picked up. "Bella, it's a pleasure to hear from you," he said, and I detected a touch of a Southern accent I had not noticed before. "Are you ready to see that bookstore property?"
"Uh, yeah, I think I might be ready. I don't know when someone may be available, but…"
"I could meet you there in about forty-five minutes," he suggested.
"This afternoon?" I asked, my voice squeaking a bit. Angela giggled, and I shot her a dirty look. "I…um… well, I think I could be there by then."
"All right, Bella. I'll see you shortly. You know how to get there, right?" Jasper asked.
I nodded, and then blushed when I remembered he couldn't see me. "Yes, I know where the building is. I guess I'll see you then." I was a little stunned when I pressed the "end" button and handed the phone back to Angela. "I'm meeting him in forty-five minutes," I said faintly.
Angela squealed loudly, drawing the attention of others in the restaurant, then looked at her watch and pouted. "Shoot! I've got to be home to get the kids off the bus. Call me tonight and tell me about it – promise!"
~*~*~*~
Jasper was late. I checked my watch, then checked my cell phone again, but I had no missed calls. I scrolled through my recent calls, and realized that I didn't have the number for CWC – we had used Angela's phone to call. I scrolled through my contacts, looking for Rosalie's phone number, when I heard someone call my name from across the street.
As I turned around, I was suddenly grateful that I had dressed up for my lunch with Angela. Edward Cullen stood at the crosswalk, his arm raised over his head as he waved for my attention. I waved back feebly, feeling the damned tell-tale blush rise in my cheeks.
Holy crow! If I had thought him attractive in his worn jeans and snug tee-shirt, he was absolutely lethal when dressed up. He wore charcoal pinstriped slacks with a matching jacket, a soft silver shirt with a slight sheen to it, and a charcoal and green tie that brought out the color in his eyes. His cheeks were flushed as he jogged across the intersection toward me, that devastatingly sexy crooked grin of his making my heart race as he ran his long fingers through his thoroughly mussed hair. "Bella," he greeted me huskily, his breath coming a little fast from his exertion.
"Edward," I said, my own voice a little breathy. I felt warmth stain my cheeks. "What are you doing here?"
"Jasper got called out to a construction site just as he was leaving, so I volunteered to meet you here and show you the property. I hope you don't mind?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.
I felt my heart stutter. Mind? Why in the world would I mind?
"I figured as long as I had the keys with me, you wouldn't," Edward answered my thought.
Wait, did I say that out loud?
A full-fledged grin broke out across his face. "Yes, you did. Actually, both times, Bella."
I palmed my face with my hand, hiding my embarrassed gaze from his, I was glad he had only been privy to those last thoughts, and not the other, more private thoughts I had been having since meeting him. "Well, thank you, Edward. I appreciate your help," I said, my voice stiff and formal as I tried to hide my embarrassment. His grin faltered, and I silently cursed myself for my unfriendly tone of voice. I smiled up at him, trying to lighten the mood. "Really, I'm glad that you volunteered."
His smile brightened a little, but didn't quite reach his eyes. "Well then, shall we?" he asked, gesturing toward the blackened windows and doorway. I watched as he fit the key in the door, a look of intense concentration on his face as he jiggled the lock one way, then another. I felt a wave of heat go through me as his brows knitted together, so similar to how he had looked on stage, and felt a spark of desire to have that intensity focused on me. "Voila!" he exclaimed, tugging the door open and ushering me inside.
It was cold, and very dark – the coverings on the windows and the door did their job well. I could see debris on the floor for a moment before the door swung shut, plummeting us into almost complete darkness. I stopped, not wanting to trip over anything, and inhaled sharply when Edward ran into me. He reached out to steady me, his fingers flexing as they grasped my hips, and I had a sudden flash in my mind of the same contact in a different situation.
Edward, taking me from behind as he bent me over the desk in an office, my breasts pressed against the smooth wood. His head was thrown back, that look of intense concentration on his face as he grasped my hips, his long, beautiful fingers molding the flesh there as he slowly slid into me...
"Bella?" he whispered throatily, his lips near my ear, causing a violent shudder to run up my spine as I was jerked from the vision back to reality. "Stay here. Let me find the light switch." I almost cried out when he removed his hands and stepped away, my body feeling the loss acutely.
As my eyes attuned to the darkness, I could make out his shadow as he moved cautiously along the wall. I heard a thud, followed by a muffled curse as his foot caught something on the floor. It was a good thing with my clumsiness that I was staying put. "Found it!" he called, flipping a switch and bathing the room in light.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness, but when they did, I gasped aloud. The space was dirty, and messy, and filled with debris…and absolutely perfect. The hardwood floors stretched on and on from the front windows to the back wall. There was no structure to the space at all, save for columns placed at presumably strategic intervals. It was a huge blank canvas, and I could immediately visualize bookshelves lined up like soldiers, low chairs and tables placed with careful randomness throughout.
To the left was the perfect spot for the café, and I could almost smell the aroma of the fresh coffee and pastries. The windows, once freed of their cloaking, would allow the sunshine to stream in. I pictured a bank of comfortable chairs near the front where people could read, work on their computers, and meet with friends for coffee and fellowship. There was a wide alcove near the rear door that would make a perfect children's section.
I carefully picked my way through the debris on the floor, mostly stacks of wood and some tarp-covered piles I wanted to peek beneath. My boots left footprints in dust covering the hardwood as I walked the space slowly. After my second circuit around the room, I saw Edward studying me, and I smiled self-consciously.
"What?" I asked.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" he replied, his lazy half-grin appearing. "I don't know why it's stayed empty for so long."
"What was it before?" I questioned.
"Well, According to Emmett, it's been a furniture store, and before that a dance studio." He walked around the space, following my dusty footprints on the floor. "But I like the idea of a bookstore. Rows of shelves lined up with the columns," he said, pointing to the pillars I had pictured anchoring the shelves.
"Conversation couches and tables sprinkled here, and here, and there." Again, gesturing to exactly where I had pictured them, placed strategically between support beams.
"The counter up front, with the café off to the side," his arm sweeping in the direction I had imagined just moments ago. "We could bank outlets with surge protectors so your clientele could work on their computers there."
Finally walking toward the alcove where there was a door leading to the back. "And maybe a specialized area back here, for kids or something."
I was stunned. "Was I thinking out loud again?" I asked.
Edward's gaze met mine. "No – why?"
"It's like you pulled that right out of my head. That was exactly what I was picturing as I walked through, right down to the placement of the bookshelves and counter for the café."
He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess the place just lends itself to that floor plan?" he suggested. He pointed to the door. "Would you like to see the storage and office space as well?"
I nodded, following behind and stopping in the doorway as he once again searched for a light switch. There was a large area that I could easily picture filled with boxes and inventory waiting to go out on the shelves. To the right, near the wall of what I was already thinking of as the children's alcove, was another door, which Edward opened to show an office with file cabinets, a couple of chairs, and a large wooden desk. He stepped through the doorway and crossed the small room, leaning against the desk. "So, Bella, what do you think? Do you want it?"
Unbidden, the mental image of him bending me over the desk as he filled me from behind sprang forth once again, and I felt a hot blush burn my cheeks. Oh, God, yes I want it! my brain and body cried. I wondered if it was possible to spontaneously combust from fantasies alone. Unaware of the carnal turn of my thoughts, Edward raised an eyebrow at the vivid color that stained my cheeks.
"Yeah," I croaked. "It's… great. Very, um, appealing," My voice was breathy again, and the color refused to fade from my cheeks.
Edward ran his fingers through his hair and swallowed convulsively, straightening up from the desk and looking down toward the toe of his shoes. "We should make some plans together then," he said, then paused, his cheeks reddening. "I mean, I can work you up… I mean, work up plans for the space, if you are interested."
Oh, I'm interested for sure, I thought, mortified when the words slipped out… again! "I mean, I'm quite interested in your vision of the space, and how that would translate as to time and cost." Damn the formal tone again – I needed to get a grip on my hormones!
The formality seemed to help Edward regain his bearings. The high color in his cheeks faded, and he met my gaze once again. "Well, Jasper's the business manager of CWC and would be the best one to discuss those details with, but I can certainly give you some kind of rough idea of the renovation cost and time table. Do you have time this afternoon to come back to CWC with me? I can show you a few ideas, and we could discuss options." The familiar crooked grin was back, and my pulse spiked once again.
I glanced down at my watch, surprised to find that the afternoon ad passed so swiftly. "Actually, I have a basketball game to attend – my son is starting at forward tonight." I was surprised by the twinge of regret I felt at not being able to spend more time with him this afternoon.
Edward reached into his jacked and pulled out a business card and pen. He flipped the card over and scrawled something on the back, then held it out to me. My fingers brushed his as I accepted the card. It had his office information, and on the back he had printed his cell phone number in elegant penmanship.
"I'll start working on the floor plans tonight, based on our discussions," he said, leading the way out of the office and storage room, careful to close the door behind him. Stepping into the main space, I felt my excitement build once again as I envisioned all that could be done here. He looked around, then smiled at me. "I really think this is going to be perfect, Bella. Do you want to set a time to review the plans, and meet with Jasper to discuss all your options?" Edward asked.
I nodded enthusiastically, then mentally reviewed the steps I would need to take before such a meeting. "Um, what about Friday afternoon?" I asked.
He checked his schedule. "I'm free after 3:00 p.m., and I can check with Jasper. May I call you to confirm the time?"
"Of course," I said, thrilling at the idea of him calling, even for a business purpose.
Edward stared at me expectantly. "What?" I asked.
"Your number?" he teased, waving his phone at me.
"Oh, right," I said, blushing. I rattled off the number, which he programmed into his telephone.
I waited by the door as he turned off the lights, blinking in the late afternoon sunlight as my eyes adjusted to being outdoors again. I took a deep breath, enjoying the crispness of the late fall air after the dustiness of the building. "May I walk you to your car?" he asked.
"Oh, I'm actually right there," I said, pointing to my Jeep parked three spaces from the corner, suddenly disappointed that I had been able to find such a prime parking space.
"All right. Call me any time, if you have any questions or ideas you'd like to share. I'll be in contact about Friday." Edward held his hand out to me, and much like the first time we met, we grasped each other's fingers for longer than necessary for a purely business handshake. "I'll talk to you soon."
"Thanks again for taking Jasper's place this afternoon," I said softly as I reluctantly released his hand.
"My pleasure, Bella."
Thanks so much to all of you who have read, reviewed and favorited this story. I really appreciate the support, and I love hearing that what I'm writing touches you in some way. If something made you smile, giggle, or sigh with frustration, please consider sending me a comment to let me know. I make it a point to respond to every review - I'd love to hear from you!
Thanks so much for reading!!