Carlisle

Bella hadn't talked to anyone else for the rest of the night, but by the time morning came, she seemed to be in a much better mood. She was still heartbroken, but was much better at hiding it and talked in short conversations.

The kids left early for school to study for a test that they had within the first periods of the morning. I was reading a book on the couch in the living room when someone knocked on the door.

"Jacob." I said flatly after opening the door.

"Is Bella here?"

"No."

"Are you sure? I want to end on good terms."

"Go home, Jacob." I said coldly. It wasn't like me to be like this. I was always as nice and understanding as I could be, but right now, I was majorly angry with the boy who broke my daughter's heart.

He nodded and turned around, phasing before disappearing into the trees. I was going to call Bella, but I decided it would be best if she didn't know that he came by. I was silently hoping she would come to like Edward.

I had a short shift at the hospital that finished half an hour before the school day did. I showered when I got home and continued my book on the couch until they got home.


"Dad, this is Emmett, Alice, Edward and Esme." Rosalie introduced them all.

Emmett and Edward shook my hand. Alice waved with a smile and Esme just smiled.

Edward laughed quietly and looked at Esme. "Shut up." She whispered.

"Please, come in." I stepped backwards and motioned towards the living room.

They walked in and my children followed behind. We all sat down and shared stories. We all said how and when we were changed, what age we were stuck as, how our covens formed and experiences we had in the past.

Esme was not what I was expecting. She was beautiful, amazingly beautiful. Her eyes, although topaz, like everyone else in the room, seemed to shine brighter and were more alluring than I had ever seen. Her smile was contagious. Her laughter made me feel an unusual type of happiness. Is this what love felt like? I never loved Rosalie and Jasper's biological mother. I had been forced into marrying her, and she was a terrible woman. Even Rosalie and Jasper didn't like her, something you rarely saw in children.

Throughout the evening, I would look up and see Esme staring at me. She would look away immediately, but I knew she was. Every so often our eyes would meet at the same time and lock in place; neither of us seemed to be able to look away. Rosalie was sitting beside Emmett making conversation, and I could tell he fancied her by the way he looked at her. Jasper and Alice were talking to each other more than the others, but I wasn't sure how that was really going. Bella and Edward, being the only two who didn't have someone that they took a liking too ended up talking. Bella cracked a few smiles and laughed a lot, which was nice after her dreadful day yesterday.

Esme and I made conversation, and occasionally joined in with everyone else's. She was watching Emmett and Rosalie. "Do you approve of this? She is your daughter." Esme asked me.

"Emmett seems like a respectful man. I'm happy if Rose is happy." I said, smiling at Esme.

"Good, because I have a feeling that they're hitting it off well…" she laughed.

"Alice and Jasper don't look too bad either."

"Alice saw him coming. She already knew that she liked him." Esme looked up into my eyes. "Well, she saw us coming and her meeting him…" she smiled.

"Edward and Bella don't seem too interested in each other."

"Edward has always been one to push girls away. However, I have never seen him act this way with someone before, so maybe he is feeling more than he is letting on. Bella is a beautiful girl." Esme complimented.

"She is. Her boyfriend broke it off with her just last night. I'm still a bit angry that he broke her but he was a wolf, so I was also very happy about it. She didn't talk last night afterwards, but she seems fine now. I don't think she loved him. Jasper never sensed love between them, so it was probably just a crush." I explained.

"Ah, so she's not going to fall for Edward any time soon then." She laughed lightly.

"I think you'll find she heals a lot quicker than expected. She has never been one to feel sad for a long period of time. A few days and she will be back to herself."

Esme and I talked more about random topics that came to mind. Every so often Edward would turn to us and look at us both for a second before returning to Bella. She seemed happier tonight then she ever had when with Jacob. It was in her eyes, real happiness.

"Well… we should go. Carlisle has work in the morning and we all have homework." Edward said. "It was nice meeting you." He said to me before saying his goodbyes to my children.

Once Edward, Emmett and Alice walked away from the house, Esme turned to me. My children had since returned to the living room, Rosalie beaming with joy.

"Thank you for inviting us tonight, we had a great time." She said with a small smile.

"Feel free to come by anytime." I smiled. I was tempted to ask her out sometime, giving in to the constant feeling in my gut, but I decided against it for now.

She stood for a second before turning and walking away, catching up to her children.

I walked back into the living room.

"You like him!" Rosalie spoke excitedly to Bella.

"Well, I got to know him and he is really great." She admitted.

"Well, you got over Jacob quick…" Jasper joked.

"Yeah, well I decided that if he broke it off, then it couldn't have meant that much to him, so there is no use dwelling on it." She smiled. I was tempted again to tell her about his visit, but resisted. She was in a good mood and I didn't want to ruin it. I decided to forget about the whole thing.

"Was that a kiss I saw you plant of Emmett's cheek?" Bella asked Rosalie.

"As a matter of fact, it was! He isn't like anyone I have ever met before, I can admit that. There is just something about him that just reels me in." she was smiling, her mind elsewhere.

"And Alice?" Bella asked Jasper.

"Would it be weird if we all just met our potential soul mates?" All from the same coven? Is that legal?" He asked.

"Yes, because none of them are biologically related. I think there is a good chance that that family and this one were meant to collide." Rosalie said.

I sat down beside Bella. "You like Esme, don't you?" she asked.

"No comment on that." I smirked.

"I sensed a little more than a liking. Is love at first site really possible?" Jasper smiled at me.

"We're vampires, at this point, anything is possible…" Rosalie laughed.

"More than a liking? Should we start calling her mum?" Bella laughed.

I shook my head and laughed too.

"Why didn't you ask her out on a date?" Rosalie asked.

"We live in Forks…where would I take her? We don't eat."

"You could take her to Seattle. The fall festival is on this weekend…" she raised her eyebrows. "Come on, we're girls. We know that girls love that stuff. You can take her shopping and let her buy some really expensive stuff." She laughed. "Plus, the festival is really beautiful."

"I have paperwork to do. Bye…" I smirked at my children and walked upstairs.

"Fall festival in Seattle Saturday night?" I texted Esme, regretting it as soon as I pressed send.

"Sounds great." She replied. Relief spread throughout my body.

"Pick you up at 4?"

"Perfect."

It was settled. I was going to take Esme Platt to the Seattle fall festival on Saturday night at 4pm.