Chapter 5

BPOV

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are making our decent into the Chicago O'Hare International Airport. It is currently 78˚ outside with a slight breeze coming from the north today. The crew and I would like to ask that all passengers please put all trays away and to stay seated and not release your seat belts until the plane has come to a complete stop at the gate and the Captain has turned off the "fasten seat belt" sign. From all of the crew on board, we would like to thank you for choosing to fly with us today and wish you all the best for your next destination."

My eyes were shut tight as the plane tilted downwards to the earth. I hated flying. I had only flown three times in my life, and it never got any easier. The day before leaving for Chicago, I had visited the Forks Counseling Center at the hospital to see if Dr. Felix could prescribe me a mild sedative for my flight. I wasn't one for condoning drug use, but I didn't feel like causing a scene and knowing my luck, U.S. Marshals would need to escort me from the plane if I had a panic attack on board before the plane took off. Thirty minutes before take-off, I swallowed the Xanax I was prescribed and said a quick prayer that I would just pass out for most of the flight.

Thankfully I didn't wake up until it was time to land in Chicago.

Five hours ago, I was crying and hugging Charlie with a goodbye.

"Bells, honey, I'll miss you so much. Call me when you land, right away, so I know you are ok. You have to call me at least once a week too. I don't know what I will do without you home to fix me dinner every night." He was a bit chocked up with emotion.

"You did perfectly fine when I was living in Seattle for college." Not letting go of my hug.

He started to pull out of our embrace, "Well, you were close enough to visit every weekend, this isn't the same thing. Now, time to get. Call me when you land, don't forget."

"I won't dad, I love you. Send my love to Billy and Jake too!" I turned and walked over to the security checkpoint and waved back at Charlie after I made it through the metal detector. My heart broke when I noticed he was wiping something from his eye.

When the plane suddenly jerked as it hit the tarmac I opened my eyes and sighed in relief. I loosened my grip in the arm rest I had dug my finger nails into for the last fifteen minutes. As my plane taxied to the gate I pulled out a piece of paper I had scribbled on from my last phone call to Dr. Carlisle Cullen a week ago.

When my plane arrived I was supposed to exit and head towards my luggage carousel to get my bags and then call the number he gave me. It was the cell number for a family friend of Dr. Cullen named Jasper Hale. He was supposed to help me with my luggage and take me to my residence hall and he would pick me up and take me to the department dinner later that night.

As soon as I cleared the plane, I stopped off in the ladies room and splashed some cold water on my face, dried my hands and went on to collect my luggage. When I pulled my two large suitcases off the conveyor belt I struggled to move to the side where there were some empty seats. I set my luggage next to my chair and sat down to dial the number I scribbled on the paper.

"Hello, Jasper here." A soft masculine voice answered.

"Hi, um, this is Bella Swan. Dr. Cullen told me to call you when I landed. Do I have the right Jasper?"

"You sure do little darling. Where are you at? And how can I find you so I don't get in trouble by taking the wrong Bella." He had a bit of a southern drawl when he spoke.

Giggling with nervousness, "I'm sitting next carousel 4. I have long brown hair, a green shirt and a bright red backpack on top of my bags I'm sitting next to." I tried to be as detailed as I could, I wouldn't like being left here too much.

"Ah, I got cha in my sights." I looked around to find where he would be coming from when I saw a bright yellow sign that had B. SWAN written in sloppy writing. It was held buy a nice looking young man with blonde curly locks of hair, in a white t-shirt, jeans and wearing a pair of worn brown cowboy boots. I snorted to myself and got up to gather my belongings.

"You must be Jasper, I take it." I slung my backpack over my shoulders and stuck out my hand to shake his.

"Here at your service. Let me get your bags and just follow me." He winked as we traveled to the elevators to exit the terminal.

"Did you have a good flight?" We made our way up to the fourth level of the parking garage.

"It was ok; don't remember most of it thanks to Xanax." I snickered at my admission.

"Nervous flyer?" I nodded to answer. "That's a shame. At least you made it safely here. No more worries, right?"

"Right, hopefully." I smiled at him as he closed the truck of his car when my bags were loaded in.

As we pulled out of the parking structure, Jasper asked me if I was ready for the dinner tonight.

"Not really, I'm extremely nervous about it. I want to make a good impression with the departments, but it seems like it's happening so fast, I'm worried about making a fool of myself." It was oddly easy to talk to Jasper. Something about him made me comfortable.

"I don't have any doubt you will do just fine. Although we just met twenty minutes ago, I can see you'll be ok. And if you need any saving, I volunteer my services to get you out of there." He shot me a look from his eyes to show me he was sincere and I let out a loud snort that he chuckled at.

We talked a bit during the drive to my campus residence. He had moved to the Chicago area about a month ago. He was working with an architecture firm in Dallas and he put in for a transfer to the Chicago office soon after visiting his sister back in May. He was still getting settled into his apartment and his sister was of no help to him because she had gone in to full bridezilla mode since her engagement to Dr. Cullen's eldest son. I talked about my life Forks and how I used to work at the hospital's counseling center for the last few months before I got was awarded the Fellowship. When he asked why I decided to go back to school and get my Master's, I didn't mind sharing with him.

"Well, I had devoted a lot of myself to help Jake work towards his dream. I realize now how silly I was, but after we decided to break off our engagement, I decided to get out there and finally do something I wanted."

"Good for you darling'." His southern phrases where cracking me up. I could see myself being good friends with Jasper. Hopefully being the two new kids in town, we could help each other out as we both got into the swing of things here.

The smile I was wearing during the car ride fell into a large open mouth gape as we turned onto the University of Chicago campus. It was beautiful though it didn't look like a place of academia, but more as a cathedral or a castle. "Wow." I breathed.

"Yeah, I love the architecture of the campus, its exquisite. I find myself driving past here lately just to look at the genius of the design. I hope to one day work on a project with structures like these, but everything is so modern now-a-days, where's the challenge?"

He parked in front of one of the buildings and I saw that we were outside a residence hall. I stepped out of the car and put my backpack back on as Jasper went around to the back to retrieve my bags. When he locked up his car, we headed in to the lobby of the building.

Sitting behind the front desk was a woman with strawberry blonde hair looking at a computer screen and filling her nails. As we approached, she looked at us with annoyance as if we had disturbed her in the middle of something important.

I tried my best to be polite. "Hello? My name is Isabella Swan."

"''Bout freaking time." She mumbled but both Jasper and I heard her and shrugged when we looked at each other. "You need to fill this out and sign at the bottom. It's the terms and conditions of the Resident Advisor position. When you complete it I'll get your keys and tell you where to go." She shoved a piece of paper and a pen across the counter.

I quickly filled out the paperwork as Jasper looked around the lobby patiently waiting.

"Here you go, all done." I slip the paper back to the girl.

"This is your room key. You also get a front and back door key in case of emergencies. When you attend the RA meeting on Monday, Marcus the hall director will give you the office and activities closet keys." She roughly placed a set of keys in my outstretched hands. "Now to get to you room you need to take the elevator to the third floor take a right and on the left side you will be in room 325. Be thankful to have your own bathroom is all I have to say. Anyways, I'm leaving in half hour for the day. If you need anything after that, you are out of luck." She sat back down in her chair to stare at the computer again.

"Um, one quick thing, what's your name?" I asked to know who to avoid now.

"Tanya Denali."

"Thanks Tanya, I'll… see you around." I shot as best of a smile I could muster to her as I heard a soft chuckled trying to be covered up from Jasper. Tanya just looked at the both of us with daggers in her eyes.

When Jasper and I reached the third floor we found my room and he set my bags on top of my bed. I did a quick look around. It was small, but that was to be expected. However it was still larger than my little room at Charlie's. I did have my own bathroom, which I did appreciate. I wasn't one to be ok with walking the hallway in just a towel and flip flops. There was also my very own mini fridge which was another perk.

"Is there anything else you need before I take off and let you get some things settled?" Jasper had his car keys in his hands.

"No thanks, I'm good. Thank you again for your help today Jasper." I stuck out my hand again to him to shake.

He pushed my hand away and took me into a hug; it felt as if we had been friends forever. "Any time darling, and please, since I know we'll be good friends, you can call me Jazz."

"Ok, Jazz, what time should I expect you to pick me up for the shindig tonight?" I couldn't help laughing.

"Well, I will probably swing by around 4:45pm since drinks start at 5pm and Esme is a stickler for punctuality. Or so I've learned from my short visits I've spent with her. So I will see you then, and don't forget to wear your dancing shoes." He nodded and then turned to leave the room.

I hope there wouldn't be any dancing, or I'd break an ankle. I closed the door after he left and turned to look at my room. I felt a soft buzz from my cell phone that was in my coat pocket and saw Charlie was calling.

"Hi dad, sorry I didn't call you sooner, I didn't want to miss my ride."

"That's ok Bella, I'm just glad you made it safely. Was the flight ok?"

"Yeah, I wasn't awake for most of it, which was a good thing." I heard him hum with agreement since he was aware of my flying anxiety more so than anyone else.

"I'm in my new room now. It's a little bigger than my room at home, but still not a lap of luxury. At least I have my own bathroom."

"Well, that's good honey. I know you have to get your room set up before going to that dinner you told me about, so I'll just let you go. Give me a call on Monday after your first day of meetings." I heard the faint sound of ESPN announcers in the background.

"Ok Ch-… Dad. I will. Love you."

"Back at you kiddo." The phone line was then dead. Sports central must have something interesting on.

An hour later I had my bed made, my computer was set up, my books lined the shelves on the walls and my small amount of clothes I had brought with me were put away in the drawers. It was almost one in the afternoon and I decided I would go out and get some lunch and some grocery and supplies for my room. I picked up my purse and locked my door.

When I reached the Lobby, sure enough Tanya was gone and the lights were off behind the counter. There was another person in the lobby and they were struggling to get a tack from the top of a bulletin board to hang a flyer.

I went over to offer some help. When I got closer the petite female heard my approach and turned to look at me. She was a cute pixie of a woman. Her black hair was cut short and sticking up in a million different directions and she was just barely five feet tall.

"Hi, do you need some help" I asked.

Her teeth were a brilliant white when she smiled back at me, "Thank you, and yes. I guess I should have worn heels today." Her laugh was musical like tinker bell.

She handed me a flyer and I took a tack from the top and pinned the flyer in a free space on the board. I read the information on the paper as I stepped back. It was advertising an opportunity for students to participate in a research study.

"So, you part of a research team at the University too?" I looked at her.

"Yes, I signed on last semester to help one of my favorite professors with his work. I'll only be working the preliminary testing, but I think it will be quite interesting and fun. Are you working on some research too?" She bounced as she spoke and if she was a bouncy ball.

"Yes, I'm working on a study involving hypnosis." The small woman let out a squeal and bounced with more enthusiasm. I raised an eyebrow to her.

"With Dr. Cullen, right? Neuropsychology?"

Of course it should have been obvious who I would be working with; there weren't a lot of other people involved in hypnosis studies. "Yes, part of the fellowship I was awarded has me involved with his work."

"Oh my God, you're Isabella Swan! Hi I'm Alice Brandon; Dr. Cullen's work is the research I'm involved in too. Oh this is great. I've been so excited to finally meet you." Forgoing a professional handshake she rushed and took me into a hug.

"Small world then, isn't it. An please, call me Bella"

"It sure is a small one, Bella. So what are you up to? I was told that you were arriving today, you have a good flight? Are you unpacked yet? You excited about the department dinner tonight? What are you going to wear?" she asked so many questions my head was spinning.

"Well, my flight was ok, slept through most of it, good thing because flying makes me nervous." She nodded. "I have my room pretty much set up. They got me as a RA on the third floor here, it's pretty nice. I don't have much planned for the rest of the day. Was just going to try and pick up a few supplies and groceries." I didn't want to talk about the dinner, because thinking about it made my stomach do flip flops.

"That's good. If you want, I was going to pick up some food myself; I could give you a ride."

"Oh you don't have to do that, I'll be fine." I argued.

"Don't be silly, I would love to. Anyways, it would give me time to hear about what you are wearing tonight." She winked because she most have noticed I was avoiding any talk of dinner.

"Ok, thank you." She hooked her arm around mine and pulled me out side to a yellow porche that was parked in front.

"Hop in and buckle up!" She started the car and revved the engine. "So, what did you bring to wear tonight?"

I never liked dressing up. Even for prom I wore my converse over high heels so I wouldn't be completely formal. "I brought a nice floral top and a matching skirt."

"No, no, no. You aren't wearing that tonight." Suddenly she turned the car in the opposite direction we had been going. "I will not let my new friend wear a simple top and skirt set."

"Really, it's fine. I'm sure it will be ok for the night." I was dreading where she was taking me and sure enough my greatest fear was realized when we pulled up to an expensive looking dress boutique.

"Bella, I'm going to tell you that since we are going to be good friends, it's best to not argue with me, especially in instances of involving clothing. So get your butt out of the car in the shop missy." She tried being stern and pointed her finger to the store for me to enter.

"Please don't put me in anything too outrageous. And no death heels. I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb or die as I fall from trying to step through the front door." She rolled her eyes and pushed me through the door.

Everything in the store was so delicate and feminine. I was going to look ridiculous tonight. Alice starting running through the store like a mad woman on a mission. Picking up dresses and running over to me and holding them against my form. She said she was trying to find something that went with my skin tone. After a while she had the sales clerk bring her picks to a dressing room for me to try on and shoved me into a room.

"Ok, I want you to try those on and then show me when you're dressed."

I sighed in frustration. I hated to shop, and I felt as if Alice was about ready to stick bamboo shoots under my nails to have me continue.

"If you don't do it yourself, I have no problems dressing you." She called.

Giving in, I took off my clothes I had been in today and tried on dress after dress. Alice wasn't happy with a majority of what I tried. The pile of clothes to try on was finally reaching the end.

The last dress for the day was a small strapless satin navy blue cocktail dress. It had an empire waistline and was snug against my hips and thighs, giving the appearance that my stick shaped body actually had some curves. The top of the dress supported my small chest and pressed it together giving the illusion I was a size larger than I truly was. I looked at myself in the mirror I thought the dress was very nice, but I felt naked exposing so much skin. When I stepped out to show Alice, her jaw dropped and she exclaimed, "That's the dress!"

"I don't know. It's a really nice, but I feel so naked showing all this skin." I pointed to my bare shoulders and arms.

"Easily remedied." Alice slipped out of the dressing room and came back in a blink of an eye, tossing some fabric at me and also carrying a pair of matching heels. "Put this over your shoulders and I think you wear a size 7, so slip these on as well." She had a smug grin

I unraveled the shawl Alice gave me. It was the same navy blue of the dress I wore. When I covered my shoulders with it, I noticed intricate patterns embroidered though out it and accented with tiny crystals. I was afraid to put on the shoes. Heels and I did not have a good history. I had tried on a pair at a shoe store in Forks when I was twelve and I swore I would never wear another pair when I fell wearing them and broke my nose. I would at least try these on to appease Alice. When I slipped my feet into them I was surprised at how comfortable they were. Since the heels were platforms, they were a lot easier to walk in. I had to admit, Alice was a miracle worker with clothing. She nodded and smiled at the final product.

"Alice, this whole outfit is so beautiful, but I can't get it. I know I don't have enough money to pay for it." I blushed. I could barely afford a nice dress from JC Penny with the amount I had in my checking account at the moment.

"Hmm. Well, since I know we'll be the best of friends eventually, how about you let me pay for the outfit, and we'll say it was an early Christmas gift." She stood behind me, smoothing out the dress so it appeared to have been sewn on me.

"That's way too generous, I couldn't accept that…"

"Hush, remember what I said, it's best to not argue with me. Besides, you look fantastic. Well worth the investment." She winked.

We got back to my place around 3:30 and Alice helped me carry my bags of groceries to my room. While we were food shopping, Alice informed me she would be doing my hair and make-up tonight as well. I decided that I should give in to Alice since she was defiantly tough to say no to.

"Well, Bella. Get your cute ass in the shower. I'll go drop off my groceries at my place and I'll be back and we will begin the beautification process." I rolled my eyes and headed into my bathroom.

I washed my hair and conditioned it as Alice told me to do and I shaved my legs. When I dried off from my shower, I lotioned my legs and arms per Alice's instructions again. I dressed myself in my only strapless bra and a thong that matched, since it would be best to not have any panty lines with the form hugging dress. When I covered myself with a robe, I heard a rap at my door, alerting me to Alice's return.

She sat me down in my desk chair and started to work my unmanageable hair. I was used to always putting it back in a sloppy ponytail, and I was sure Alice wouldn't have much luck controlling it.

After blow drying my hair straight, she started sectioning pieces and pinning them up in my head. She made quick work when I started to hear the sound of hair spray. I wanted to look in a mirror but Alice refused saying I would be able to check it out once she completed my make-up.

She plucked my eyebrows and lined my eyes, blotted my lips with tissues and swept blush on my cheeks. It was close to 4:30 when she said she was finished and held up a mirror to my face.

"Holy Crap! Why are you not a professional stylist, Alice?" I didn't even recognize myself. Smoky eyes and somehow she made my eyelashes look two times thicker. My hair was in an up-do with some soft curls that trailed down the back of my head.

"Hurry up and change in to your dress, your ride will be here soon." Alice shoved my dress to me and motioned to hurry up.

I slipped the dress over my head as gently as possible to not ruin her handy work. Alice zipped me in and started smoothing it out against my skin again. She draped the shawl over my shoulders and I stepped into my heels, saying a prayer to not fall on my face. Alice sprayed some kind of perfume on my neck and stepped back to admire her work.

"Perfect. I will bet you twenty bucks that any member of the department that is male and single will approve." I grimaced at her and she just laughed.

It was almost time for Jasper to pick me up so Alice walked me outside. I gave her a quick hug and thanked her again.

"It's no problem, and don't be nervous tonight. I put my number in your cell phone while you were dressing, so call me tomorrow and tell me how it went."

I waved as she sped out of the parking lot just as I saw Jazz pull up.

He rolled down the window and called out to me as I approached the sedan. "Well, Howdy… Aren't you something purtty?" He let out a joking cat-call whistle.

I was blushing as I slid in the passenger seat, "Thanks." I was hoping that I wasn't overdressed for the evening when I looked over to Jazz and saw he was wearing a nice dark suit and a satin tie. That was a relief.

"Did you get your room all set up this afternoon?" He signaled to turn on the main road.

"Yeah, I made a new friend when I went to pick up some groceries and she helped me pickup some food and supplies when I went out after you dropped me off. She even helped me to get ready tonight. Well, she forced me to get ready tonight at least."

I saw him look over at me, "She must be a great new friend, and you do look lovely. Tell her job well done when you see her."

"Yeah, maybe I can introduce you to Alice some time. Have my two new Chicago friends meet." He laughed and said it sounded like a plan.

We were almost on the outskirts of the city as the sun started to set. Jazz signaled his car to turn left a final time and I noticed we were driving down a private drive to someone's home. In the distance I saw an enormous house sitting on top of a small hill. As we drove closer, I was able to take in how massive this home, no, this estate was.

"Is this Dr. Cullen's place?" I was craning my neck to the side as we found a spot in the front to park amongst the other cars that were already there.

"Sure is." He smiled at me reassuringly. "Quite a monster of a home." And it was.

The estate looked like it was right out of a Jane Austin novel. It was three stories high, made of light stone with large windows on each level that would probably brighten the entire structure. Ivy scaled the front and the pillars near the entryway of the house. Dozens of rose bushes surrounded the property and the fragrance of the buds was intoxicating.

Jasper opened my car door for me since I was still sitting in shock staring at the most beautiful building I had ever seen in my life. He offered his arm and escorted me across the property to the front door. We followed a group of people that were walking through the entrance and I took a deep breath and released it to calm my nerves.

If the exterior of the estate was beautiful, it had nothing on the décor inside. There were numbers of painting and sculptures as we entered the foyer. I was looking at the works of art so intently I accidentally tripped a little when I forgot jazz was holding on to my arm still.

"You ok there, girly?" He whispered checking that I had regained my balance.

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm just a klutz and I wasn't looking where I was going."

We continued our walk through the house into a large area that was set for entertaining. I looked around at the other people in attendance and was grateful that Alice had bought me my outfit. If I had worn my simple top and skirt I would have been more out of place then I would have thought.

Jazz tugged on my arm to tell me to continue walking and he directed me to a couple standing in the corner of the room next to a fireplace that I could stand fully erect in. There was a tall older gentleman in a black suit with a white collared dress shirt and a powder blue silk tie. He had light blonde hair that was combed back and his blue eyes matched his tie. Standing to his right was a smaller petite woman with caramel hair that was swept back from her face in the style of Greta Garbo. She wore a deep purple knee length dress with a square neckline and an embroidered jacked that had three quarter length sleeves. On her left ring finger she wore a large diamond.

"Dr. Cullen, Esme." He nodded to each of them when he addressed their name, "I'd like to introduce you to Isabella Swan, your Cullen Fellowship recipient." He let go of my arm and pushed my back so I would move closer to them.

I stuck out my arm to shake their hands, "It's an honor to meet you Dr. Cullen, and please call me Bella."

Dr. Cullen return my handshake with a soft smile, "Bella, it is such a pleasure to finally meet you in person, and please feel free to address me as Carlisle tonight, we'll use formalities once the university is in session." I giggled. "This is my wife Esme, and she's the one who's responsible for tonight." He gestured to the woman at his right.

"It's very lovely to meet you Bella." Esme shook my hand with both of her hands and the endearing smile she sent to me calmed all the butterflies in my stomach. "Please, help yourself to a drink and feel free to mingle. We can meet up a little later once I'm done with greeting our other guests. I hope that you will enjoy yourself tonight." I nodded and followed Jazz to the bar that was on the other side of the room.

"They are really nice." I told Jazz after I ordered a gin and tonic. I figured I wouldn't get too hammered before dinner. It would be terrible if I ended dancing on table tops by the end of the night.

"Yeah, I don't think I've met any couple in my life as sweet and kind as the Cullen's. You'd probably expect them to be snooty and selfish with being as well off as they are, but they donate a lot of their time and their wealth back to charities and to the community. No one is as selfless as they are." Jasper was very proud to brag about his soon to be in-laws.

I sipped my drink as I waited for Jazz to get himself a bottle of beer. We walked around the room and some of the other guests asked me questions about who I was and about my experience in the counseling center and life in Forks. I felt like I was interviewing for a job after forty five minutes of mingling. At six, Esme came over to check and see how I was doing.

"Are you having a nice time my dear?" she took a sip from her champagne flute.

Swallowing a sip of my second drink, "um, yes, you have a beautiful home Mrs. Cullen. Thank you for allowing me to come tonight."

"No formalities tonight, dear, call me Esme. I'm happy that you could come. If you like, I would be more than happy to give you a quick tour of the place in a little bit. I just need to let the kitchen staff know to send out the h'orderves and then we can set off."

"I'd like that, thank you." I finished my drink and handed it to one of the servers that offered to take my empty glass from me.

"Jazz, dear, you already are familiar with the place, but you are more than welcome to join us." Jasper agreed to tag along.

After Esme slipped away to I was sure was the kitchen, Jazz told me that we should move to the hallway to meet her quickly.

"Why? What's going on?" I was surprised and unsure of why he was basically shoving me out of the room.

"Well, unless you want to be trapped listening to my sister and her fiancé drone on about how the met for the next hour, we need to go and find Esme for that tour." He was looking back through the room at a statuesque blonde woman in a red halter dress standing next to a towering linebacker of a man who had dark curly hair and dimples.

"Ok, lead the way out Obi Wan." I picked up my pace to match his gate out of the room.

When we reached the hallway, Esme was smoothing her dress and she walked over to us. And glanced into the other room as she closed the distance.

"Ah, I see Jasper rescued from my son and Rose, which was very thoughtful of him." She gave a Jazz a soft pat on the shoulder. "Well, shall we begin the tour?"

"Please, lead the way." I was so excited to see what the rest of the estate was like.

Esme said it was best to start from the top and work to the ground floor, so we climbed the stairs to the third level. Esme showed us around the public rooms. On the top floor there was the music room where a grand piano sat in the middle and several instruments decorated the walls. There was also a nursery where she had kept all the toys her sons had accumulated over the years, refusing to give them up because they all had a special memory.

On the second level there was a library that would have rivaled the Forks public library. The wood of the book shelves were dark, and the smell of the aging books made me think of home.

I ran my fingers over the bindings of the books and resisted taking them off the shelf one by one to read. When I saw an edition of Pride and Prejudice I sighed remembering I had left my copy back in Forks.

"If you like, you are more than welcome to borrow a book, if it perks your interest, dear." Esme's hand rubbed my shoulder because I was sure she saw some tears brimming in my eyes.

"Would it be alright is I borrow this?" I started to pull the book off the shelf.

"Certainly, and keep it as long as you want. When you finish with it, just come by and visit with me and then you can pick out another one." She pressed the book to me as I hugged it to my chest.

"Thank you." I wanted to give her a hug. There was a lot of Esme Cullen that reminded me of how my own mother was. Kind, gentle and she seemed to really care about me even though we had just met. Before I almost gave in to the urge, a portrait that was hanging between two book shelves distracted me.

In the painting there were two little boys, one taller than the other, dressed in 18th century clothing. They had long curly locks with round rosy cheeks, walking and playing along a path near a forest.

"Esme, what is the name of this painting?" now standing in front of the object if my question.

"Ah, that is the Portrait Of The Sons Of Constantia And Richard Foster by Henri Pierre Danloux. It was an anniversary gift from Edward, my youngest son. He said it reminded him of Emmett and himself when they were younger."

"It's very lovely."

"Yes, well he always had excellent taste with art." She sighed and then looked at her wrist to the small watch she wore. "Oh dear, look at the time, we really should get back to the others, I need to announce dinner. We'll finish the tour after desert, if you don't mind waiting." Taking Jasper's arm, Esme rushed us out of the library and down the stairs to where the other guests were.

Carlisle tapped his glass of champagne as I entered the room. "Pardon the interruption everyone, but my wife has just informed me that dinner is going to be served in the dining room. So if you will, please follow us."

There was a murmur from the crowd as our hosts lead us through the hallway to the back of the estate where we arrived at a dining area that could have been considered to be used as a ballroom. Instead of a long table, there were several round ones that filled the room with name place cards assigning people to their seats. Thankfully the Cullen's had me next to Jasper so I wouldn't be by myself. Jazz pulled out my chair for me and I tripped into my seat as I attempted to sit. A quick flush of embarrassment, and Jazz pushed my chair closer in.

When it appeared that everyone was seated, there was a sound of chiming bells that I believed to be the door bell. I looked around to see if I was just hearing this, or if it came from a clock somewhere.

"Ah, that's gotta be Edward. Carlisle said he wouldn't be in until after drinks and when dinner started." Jazz told me.

I suddenly became very nervous. I knew I was going to meet Dr. Edward Cullen tonight and had been hoping that I wouldn't make an ass of myself in front of the man who was basically my boss and had my future academic career in his hands. I had been distracted by the tour Esme offered that I forgot he would be here.

When I looked over to the entrance of the dining room we all came through I saw a couple walk in hand in hand. They were cute together and young man with brown hair and a female who looked lovely in the forest green dress she wore. "Edward Cullen's wife is quite lovely." I whispered to Jazz as they married couple walked past us.

"Oh, um, that's not Edward, Bella. I have no clue who those people are, but Ed is the guy in the blue suit over there." Jazz pointed to the doors of the room that the kitchen staff was closing. Standing in the corner, apparently trying to find his seat by looking over the tables was the most gorgeous man, no I take that back, god, I had ever seen in my life.

He was lean, yet I could tell he had muscle definition from the way his suit fit him. His unusually bronze hair was sticking up in several directions a couple of pieces in his eyes. He was fairly pale, as though he stayed indoors more then spending his time in the sun. When it looked as if he found his seating assignment, he started walking in the direction of the table I was seated at, but he never looked up from the floor, as if he was deep in thought.

Just when I thought he would stop at my table he turned his direction to continue walking to the other side of the room, probably to sit next to his family. Before I would be completely out of his visual perception he lifted his gaze and our eyes met for only just a fleeting second.

It was at that moment a spark of electricity went through me. Those eyes. Dr. Edward Cullen had vibrant green eyes that left me in need to gasp for air. I would be spending the next three years of my life staring into the eyes that made me tingle from head to toe. I couldn't focus at all except on the man in the blue suit. I was so oblivious to everything else around that I didn't realize that a member of the kitchen staff was standing behind me try to offer a dinner roll.

"Miss? Excuse me Miss? Would you care for a roll?" The tiny woman held the bread basket in front of my face now, blocking my view of Edward. I yelped and ended up knocking over some of my silverware to the floor.

Jasper started laughing at the show I put on. "You ok there Bella, girl? You a little tipsy? Do you need some water?" He tried picking up some of silverware that fell next to him and handed them to the wait staff so they could replace them with clean ones.

"I'm fine. Just a major klutz remember. Something you'll find out being my friend sooner or later." I tried to laugh back, but it came out with a more nervous tone than I wanted.

After the rush of embarrassment started to subside from my face and my heart started to return to a normal pace, I looked over to the direction Edward had walked over to just in time to catch him taking a seat next to his father and looking rather flustered.

I turned back and stared at my dinner plate internally counting the minutes to when I could leave for the night and hoping that I could avoid meeting Edward Cullen for as long as possible.