Richard Steele unto Mary Scurlock (Two weeks before their wedding)

'Madam,

It is the hardest thing in the world to be in love and yet attend to business. As for me all who speak to me find me out, and I must lock myself up or other people will do it for me.

A gentleman asked me this morning, 'What news from Lisbon?' and I answered, 'She is exquisitely handsome.' Another desired to know when I had last been at Hampton Court. I replied, 'It will be on Tuesday come se'nniht.' Pr'ythee, allow me at least to kiss your hand before that day, that my mind may be in some composure. O love!

A thousand torments dwell about me!

Yet who would live to live without thee?

Methinks I could write a volume to you; but all the language on earth would fail in saying how much and with what disinterested passion I am ever yours-

Rich. Steele'

A Day with Rome

Streams of light rolled in over the balcony ledge. Opening my eyes that next morning, I felt like I was floating on air. For once in my life I was happy, more than happy; ecstatic!

In my mind I kept thinking that I will wake up from this dream any minute and it will all be whisked away from under my feet, but it never happened. My whole perspective on life had changed! A truly life changing experience. I was too young for a mid-life crisis, but if this was it, then bring on the rest!

This wasn't like the 'life-changing experiences' I had gone through watch 'Eat, Pray, Love', this was real. It was a good film and really changed my perspective on life, plus, Julia Roberts is a great actress!

This was real, I had never been happy like this since I was a kid dreaming of being a princess. I wasn't even this happy on my wedding day...

Could this have been triggered by Edward? Or was it just my love for Italy? Whatever it was, they should bottle it and sell it! I'm sure this would get the kids of drugs!

I got up from the bed feeling like sleep beauty. 'Wow, I really have gone crazy. Just bring in the birds and deer to help me dress!' I smiled at the thought.

I approached the balcony, looking at my phone time. '9. That would be the longest I have ever slept in, in a long time.' Again, the atmosphere was beautiful. I sighed. If I could just leave everything behind, I would stay here.

Edward was meant to be arriving at 11 to pick me up. I had two hours.

My phone started buzzing in my hand. Jake.

'Hi Jake.'

'Hey Bells. How's the trip going?'

'Amazing! I love it here. You would love it too. I've never known such an amazing place, just so amazing!'

'So, amazing huh?' He laughed. Which I responded by laughing along with him. 'You're starting to sound like Alice, Bells.'

'I hope not!' I giggled.

He chuckled. 'I miss you, Bells.'

'I've only been away for a day, how are you going to cope for three weeks?'

'I will. I'm glad you are enjoying yourself.'

'Yeah, I really am. I'm going site-seeing today.' I contemplated whether or not to tell Jake I was going with Edward or not, finally deciding to keep quiet about that part.

'Wow, have fun, Bells.'

'Thanks Jake. Love you.'

'Love you too, Bella. Bye.'

'Bye.'

Maybe it was wrong to not tell him about Edward, but I didn't want him to freak out. It wasn't like anything was going to happen anyway. He did say 'just as friends'. So what was the problem?

Maybe it was the fact that a tiny part of me wanted to have a little more with this gorgeous Adonis reincarnate. Or perhaps I was just so swept up in the Romance of Italy that I wanted to have a part of that for myself. This must have been the most I had thought about these things in a long time. Usually I would just push them down and never revisit them again. I wanted our marriage to be happy; I wanted to have some thrill, a little romance.

I was pulled out of that thought when my phone buzzed again. Alice?

'Alice?'

'Hi Bella! I heard you are in Italy! That must be amazing! Have you met any guys there? Are they cute?'

'Calm down, Alice!' I laughed; I must have sounded like to her to Jake. 'Yes, I am in Italy and yes, it is truly amazing. I'm enjoying it a lot and I've only been here a day. I visited Trevi fountain last night and yes, I did meet a guy there. He was an Adonis! But I'm married, Ali.'

'I know, Bella, but you deserve this.'

'But Jake doesn't.'

'Suit yourself. Are you and Jake still going through this everlasting rough patch?'

'Yes, it's not going to end, Alice. I just can't bring myself to tell Jake the truth.'

'I say go for this Adonis guy. There will be no harm done if Jake doesn't find out and he won't because who would possibly tell?'

'It's not exactly that easy, Alice. I have worldwide fans; the woman at the front desk is a fan.'

'Yes, but I'm sure if she's that big a fan she would never tell on her favourite author, would she?'

'Maybe, but still, Alice.'

'Think about it, Bella. You owe it to yourself to, at least, think about it.'

'Okay, I will. I'm seeing him today, so I will see how that goes first.'

'Okay. Well, have fun, Bella. Whatever you do, just don't make a choice that you will regret.'

'Thank you, Alice. Bye.'

'Bye.'

What a morning!

I heard a knock at the penthouse door. Luckily, I had just finished getting ready. I went to open it and there stood Edward, looking down the corridor. His gaze turned to me and he gasped.

'Wow, you look beautiful, Bella.'

I blushed, looking down. 'Thanks.' Returning my gaze to him, I responded, 'Not too shabby, yourself.'

He smiled a crooked grin that I recalled from last night. 'Shall we go then?'

'Yes, lets.' I grabbed my purse and room key, closing the door behind me.

Today was going to be a good day.

We took a walk next to the river Tiber and got to know each other a little better.

'So, tell me about Forks, Bella. I only stayed in Chicago till I was 7, so I didn't see much out of the state.'

'Well, where do I start? There isn't much to say apart from its wet and cold all the time. It's in Washington State. There are loads of trees and everyone knows each other.'

'Fair enough. Tell me about your life there, you've told me basics, but tell me about how you met Jake and what you like about it?'

'I guess I like it because it's peaceful and that is vital when writing. I can write for hours, even if it's not my book that I'm writing. The woodland there is good too, I like walking and there are some interesting places in Forks to walk. And as for Jake and I meeting, well, as I said, we were childhood friends and always stayed that way. Our dad's were best friends from high school too, they go fishing together and have barbeques, that kind of stuff and me and Jake always played together as kids, he would take me down to La Push beach and we would sit for hours and talk about things. He always protected me no matter what. We've never fought in our whole life together.' I paused for a moment reminiscing, smiling when I came across an old memory. 'I remember one time, in primary school; some older kids were picking on me, because of my dad being the town sheriff. Jake came up and smacked him across the face. He was expelled for a week, but they never bothered either of us again.'

'He sounds like a great guy.'

'He is, but...'

'But a personality is nothing without the love.'

I looked at him. It was like he had taken the words straight out of my mouth.

'Come on, let's go in.' we had reached the colosseum; I was desperate to see this place. We paid our tickets, after a negotiation that I would pay now, but he would take me out for a dinner treat that night, paying all expenses. It was magnificent. A brilliant piece of architecture. To have gone through so many years and still be standing, that was fantastic.

Edward and I stood, admiring the view. I turned to him and found him looking at me.

He smiled and looked out again. 'It's pretty fantastic, isn't it?'

I looked at the structure again. 'Yes, it really is.'

'Right, you ready to go see some more sites.'

I turned to him, smiling. 'Sure.'

We walked down a few streets just talking. 'Right, you've seen the Trevi, what else would you like to see?'

'Vatican City would be nice to see.'

'Perfect, I've never been there, so it would be nice to see. Anywhere else?'

'Anywhere you can suggest?'

'Not really, I say just walking round the streets, different cafes and restaurants. All that is good enough.' He smiled.

'Well then, let's do Vatican City and then just take a walk, maybe get some lunch.'

'Sounds like a plan.'

Vatican City was just as I had expected it. There was a dress code, so it was a good thing Edward wore jeans and had a hoodie with him and I had a skirt covering my knees and a t-shirt.

'Do you want to go on the tour? It takes you through the museum, the gardens, St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.'

'That would be great, but remember I'm paying.'

'That's added champagne to tonight's meal then.' He laughed.

I rolled my eyes and laughed too.

We went to have lunch just outside the Vatican before the tour started. 'So, Edward, tell me a bit more about you?'

'Well, I was adopted when I was a few weeks old by Aro and Sulpicia. We lived in Chicago till I was 8 then moved here. Sulpicia died when the twins were born, I was 13. The twins are now 15, Jane loves your books, and by love, I mean LOVE! She is a big fan. I've lived here pretty much all of my life. This is my home. I've never been close to marriage. My life is perfect here. Though, it gets quite lonely sometimes, like when you see that.' He nodded his head towards a couple. Their fingers entangled across the table, looking into each other's eyes, sharing small kisses every now and then. 'Sometimes I wish I had that, it would be nice to have someone to do that with.'

'Be loved up.'

'Yeah, do you and Jake do that kind of thing?'

'Not quite, it's not quite as, what's the word?'

'Loved up?'

'Yes, we kiss, but they are like pecks. We cuddle on the sofa and every now and then he will kiss my hair or my neck or my ear. But that's it.'

'If you don't mind me asking, sex life?'

'About once a month. We just get so busy and well we never seen to bother with it, it takes time and it's not such a thrill, to be completely honest with you.'

'Wow, I know they say the sex life dies after you get married, but once a month and you two are only young, you don't have kids. That's not right surely?'

'Well, Jake can't have kids and I didn't bother bringing up adoption, seeing as I don't believe its right to bring a child into a loveless marriage.'

'You should do something about it though. You can't live your whole life unhappy.'

'I'm not unhappy, per say. I'm content, I don't see any point and I don't want to hurt him.'

'Bella, listen to me carefully. I know we have only just met and well I have no right to tell you how to sort your marriage, but either you need to do something to bring the spark back, or you need to change the situation; you will die inside if you don't. It's not nice, I've seen it happen. You owe it to yourself and to him to change the way this is working out.'

'I know; I just can't bring myself to do it.'

'Then I will find a way of helping you, if you want my help that is?'

'It would be nice for you to help, but I need to do this myself.'

'Okay, Bella, but I'm here for you.'

'Thank you, I appreciate it.' I felt closer to him than I ever had during this trip. He placed his hands on mine and began to gently rub circles on my fingers. He smiled at me, but it wasn't like the smiles he had given me before, his eyes didn't light up. He was worried or scared. Nervous even. 'Are you okay?'

'Yeah, I just feel...no, don't worry about it.' He looked down at our hands.

'Tell me? Please?'

'Bella, I think I'm falling for you. I've never said that to a girl I only just met. In fact, I've never said that to anyone. You don't have to say anything; I just had to get it off my chest. Last night, when I left you at the hotel, since then I haven't been able to get you out of my mind. You're beautiful, Bella. Inside and out. I don't expect anything from you, you are married and I completely understand that, I just needed to tell you, if by some impossible chance, you like me back.'

'I do though. For the first time, since I was 8, I have woken up genuinely happy. I have never felt like this in my entire life. When I threw those coins into the Trevi, I didn't expect it would work that quickly. Heck! I didn't expect it to work at all. And there you were. Here you are! Things like this don't happen in real life, they happen in my books. They happen with my characters, not me. I'm just a normal 26 year old writer from Forks, Washington. I'm not a heroine and yet, here I am and here you are and by some miracle we sit here, with me pouring my heart and you not running away when I say this. Gosh, I'm such a fool.'

'No, you're not. You have, in that minute, made me the happiest guy alive.' He smiled, this time his eyes did light up. I returned the smile.

After finishing our lunch, we took the tour. My favourite part was the Sistine chapel. It was beautiful. I was amazed to think that one man did all that. It was a masterpiece.

He was taking me to dinner at Sapori Del Lord Byron, which was the restaurant in the hotel I was staying in. There was sensual music playing. It was a lovely restaurant and the food looked great.

After we had ordered, Edward asked me an important question.

'What do we do now, about us I mean? It's not like we can a final decision yet.'

'Well, I have 3 weeks here, so we get to know each other more. We don't have to decide right now and no, we can't make a final decision yet. At the moment, we have spent a day together, touch hands and a few longing looks. Who knew love at first sight could seem so ridiculous.'

He laughed. 'Yeah, I know what you mean. We have known each other a day and already we are declaring feelings. We haven't even kissed yet.'

I laughed. 'It seems ridiculous, but feels right.'

He smiled at me and then took my hands in his. I looked into his eyes.

Our little moment was broken by a man with champagne.

The food was great; we both had the pappardella pasta with arugula, shrimp, saffron, and fresh orange. It was delicious.

After that, we took another walk back to the Trevi. We sat on the ledge admiring the fountain.

I shivered from the slight chill that breezed through the street. Edward put his hoodie around me and then his arm, hugging me close to his body. He was very warm and I felt so comfortable in that moment. After a few minutes, I pulled away gently and turned to him, looking into his curious eyes. Looking down, I stayed silent for a moment.

'Bella?'

I looked back up at him, his eyes were masked. 'Yes?'

'Would you mind if I kissed you?'

His question took me by surprise and I gasped, lightly. 'Uh...no, no, I wouldn't mind at all.' I was mentally hitting myself for that line, till his lips captured mine. It was a light kiss, but his lips stayed there a while. I began to kiss him back, closing my eyes and slowly bringing my hands up to his neck, moving closer to him. His arms snaked around my waist, pulling me closer to him and the kiss began to deepen. His lips pressed a little hard to mine; I opened my mouth a tad. He took that to his advantage, parting his mouth slightly too. Our lips captured each other. It was the most romantic kiss I had ever had, in my whole life. I began to feel light-headed and pulled away, my hands still on his neck. We both sat there, looking into each other's eyes, panting heavily. Both our eyes were filled with lust and love.

That was it. From that moment I couldn't go back. It was done.