13

Blood rushed to my cheeks as I realized he had been present during the entire lesson, hearing me talk about English literature.

He was sitting, smiling at me. I stood still, frozen as I watched him. I didn't move as he got up and walked towards me.

"Hello, Bella," he said casually. I looked him in the eyes, not capable of saying anything. I hardly believed he was really there in front of me.

"How are you?" he asked, eyeing me.

"I'm –" my voice sounded hoarse, so I coughed, "I'm fine. This new job is great," I said politely and slightly mechanically. My mind was in overdrive as I tried to think of what to say.

"Yes, I'm glad," he said sincerely.

"Edward," I started, sighing, "what are you doing here?"

"All my other assistants have been rubbish," he told me in an explanatory manner.

"Then why did you fire me? Just because of cut backs?" I said, cocking my eyebrow.

He laughed humorlessly, "No, not just because of cut backs. Actually, not because of cut backs at all," he admitted.

"Really?" I asked, feeling hurt.

"Really. But also not because I wanted to fire you," he told me.

"You didn't want to fire me?" I asked incredulously.

"No," he said plainly.

"Then why did you?"

"My father," he said gravely, "my boss."

"He told you to fire me?"

"Yes, unfortunately he did."

"Why did he do that? What did you tell him?"

"I didn't tell him anything, Bella. He had spoken to my colleagues," he said.

"Oh…"

"Yes, and because of them, he was convinced that you weren't the assistant I needed."

"Your colleagues also thought I wasn't suitable?" I asked, feeling my self-esteem lower immediately.

"I don't think that they said you were bad at your job, probably just that there might be people out there better qualified. Or they –," he started, but stopped talking suddenly and coughed.

"What?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Well, they might have seen the way that I – that I was behaving around you," he said softly, as a slight blush crept across his cheeks.

"How were you behaving?" I asked, not having realised before he had been treating me differently in any way.

"Perhaps a bit colder than was necessary, because I may have felt attracted to you," he said, making it sound a bit like a question as he avoided my eyes.

"So you fired me?" I said, though softer and less angry than before.

"Yes," he said, looking down. "Bella, believe me when I tell you that I didn't want to. I tried to go against him, but he's still my boss andmy father."

"I do believe you." I tried to clear my head as I was processing everything that he had said. "I suppose he also forbade you to tell me at the party that you were going to fire me," I said, thinking I understood it, until I saw his pained face. "Right?"

"Well… not completely. But I wanted you to enjoy the party. I'm really, truly sorry. Do you think you can forgive me?" he asked, looking at me with sad eyes.

I sighed, not sure what to say. I did want to forgive him, but my mind told me not to rush things.

"So I wasn't bad at my job?" I asked.

"No! Well… I didn't think so."

"But your father did," I stated, looking at the ground.

"Don't blame him, he just wants to do what is best for the company. He just thought there might be more suitable people out there," he tried to explain.

"So who should I blame? You? Or your colleagues?" I asked sarcastically.

"You can blame whoever you want to blame, I'm just asking you to forgive me," he told me, a pleading look in his eyes.

"I don't know, Edward," I said softly. After a few moments of silence, I said, "I have missed you."

He rubbed his face with his hands and looked around, pain in his eyes.

"At least think about. Please," he pleaded. I nodded. "Let's meet tomorrow," he said, eyeing me questioningly.

"Fine, where?"

"I'll come to your place."

I nodded and sighed, "I'll see you then." I watched him as he walked away.

"In the classroom?" Alice asked, smiling broadly.

"Yes," I muttered, still in shock from what had happened.

"That's so cute," Alice chuckled. I rolled my eyes and gave her an incredulous look.

"You cannot be serious," I said, laughing.

"Of course I can," she said plainly. "So he will be coming over tomorrow? How exciting! What are you going to say? Are you going to forgive him? Please do," Alice said.

"I really don't know yet. I mean, I will forgive him eventually, but if I forgive him now, he thinks he can do whatever he wants, because I'll just run straight back into his arms afterwards. He needs to know that what he did isn't just acceptable. But then again, he did it because his father told him to do it. God! It's just so confusing," I groaned.

"Just stay calm and hear what he has to say, and then do whatever feels natural. Don't over think it. If it feels right to forgive him, then forgive him," she said.

"I already know it will feel natural to forgive him, because there isn't anything I want more."

"Then listen to him, see if it sounds reasonable, and forgive him. You shouldn't stop yourself from being happy just to teach him a lesson. He already knows he did something incredibly stupid, he won't do it again. And he obviously feels something for you too, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered to come by at all," she told me.

"You really think so? I don't want to have my hopes shattered. He always seemed so distant, that I find it hard to believe he really likes me."

"Did he act distant in that classroom?" I shook my head. "Thought so. Perhaps he has changed, perhaps because of you. Give him a chance to prove it."

I sighed and nodded, "I will. Thank you."

I was sitting on my couch, my fingers tapping on the arm rest of the couch as I was looking forward, trying to control my nerves. I hadn't seen Edward in so long, that I wasn't sure how to behave around him. He had definitely changed; he was rather less distant and rude. I should've been glad about that, but it just made me weary. I knew him the way he used to be, not this new version of him. How should I act around him? How could I interpret his actions if I was used to the way he acted months ago? I was afraid I would make a fool of myself, but knew it was an irrational fear. I had done nothing wrong and I hadn't changed. So, if anything, he should adapt himself.

I jumped up as I heard his knock on the door. This would be the first time he would see my house, I thought wearily. It was a weird idea, since he still seemed a bit like the unreachable boss in my eyes. And now he would enter my house.

I stood up and slowly walked towards the door, trying to calm down. I opened the door and felt a knot in my stomach as I saw him standing before me. He smiled slightly, looking just as unsure as me, and I let him in.

He looked around and I offered him a seat. As we sat down, we were both silent for a few moments.

"You said your assistants were rubbish," I reminded him. "How many have you had?"

He chuckled and seemed relieved that I chose to talk about this subject first.

"Oh, I can't even imagine how many. Most of them were only there for about a week, but some stayed a little longer." I nodded and smiled, remembering the conversation I had had with Madison.

"And at the moment?"

"I have just had a few interviews last week, and I'll have to decide which one will get the job tomorrow," he explained.

"If I were you, I would try to hang on to those assistants a little longer. If you go on like this, there won't be any good assistants left," I said, chuckling.

"Yes, you're right. It's just that none of them are ever as good as I had hoped they would be."

"You can't expect them to be perfect, no one is." He sighed and nodded, giving in.

"All right, I'll do my best to hang on to the next one," he promised, smiling.

"Edward," I started, deciding to get to the real issue, "I have thought about what you said yesterday." He looked up with a nervous expression. "I'm really sorry if I overreacted yesterday –"

"You didn't, you had every right to say what you did," he quickly interrupted me. I smiled gratefully.

"And I think you should know that if I ever held a grudge against you, that is completely over. I understand that you couldn't have gone against your father. And even if you could, you shouldn't have. He does have a good point, I wasn't that good for the job. I was surprised you even hired me to start with. So I am grateful that you gave me the chance to work at your company and in the end you – or your father – did what was best," I finished.

"Thank you for understanding," he told me. I nodded and smiled.

I stood up to let him out, still feeling empty for some reason. As if I had expected more to happen.

He got up and followed me to the door.

"Goodbye, Edward," I told him, not sure when I would see him again. I opened the door and he walked through it. I was about to close the door, when he suddenly turned around face and kissed me. At first I was so startled, I couldn't react. But I quickly recovered from the shock and returned the kiss.

It was a sensation I had never felt before. I hadn't realised a kiss could be this magical, feel so right. We broke apart and stood in the doorway, grinning stupidly at each other.

"Would you like to go to dinner with me sometime?" he asked, sheepishly. I chuckled and nodded.

"I'll call you," he said, after which he turned around and walked away.

I leaned against the doorpost and watched him as he got into his car. I couldn't wipe the grin off my face as I felt truly happy for the first time in months.

Later that afternoon, Rosalie and Alice came to my house after I had called them to tell them the news.

"Finally!" Rosalie exclaimed. "You know, I thought this would happen from the moment you got hired." I raised my eyebrows questioningly, but she nodded with a serious expression, so I decided to believe her.

"Bella, I have a surprise for you," Alice said a few hours later with a secretive smile. Rosalie started beaming as if she suddenly remembered what Alice was talking about.

"Are you going to show her tonight?" she asked, sounding very excited. Alice nodded and started grinning too. I eyed them wearily.

"What's going on?"

"You'll see! Let's go," Alice said, getting up and putting on her coat.

"Where is this surprise?" I asked, extremely confused.

"It's at my apartment," Alice explained. I racked my brain trying to understand what it could be.

"All right… Should I be afraid?" I asked, chuckling.

"No, no. But let's go, I really want to see her face when she sees it," Rosalie said, still grinning.

"Hmm, so it's an object?" I asked. Alice threw Rosalie a mock angry expression.

"You're going to give it away!" Alice said, feigning desperation.

We got into Alice's car and made our way over to her apartment, Rosalie and Alice both unable to control their excitement. I was still wondering what they were on about, but had literally no idea.

As soon as we entered her apartment, Alice and Rosalie ran into Alice's bedroom and told me to wait in the living room.

After a few moments, in which I was getting more curious every second as I heard Alice and Rosalie talk in hushed voices, Alice told me to come in.

As I walked into her bedroom, I immediately saw what the surprise was and gasped loudly. The wedding dress I had seen when we were shopping for Rosalie – the one that I loved so much – was lying on Alice's bed.

"No way!" I exclaimed, rushing towards it. "Did you buy this? For me?"

"Yes," Alice said, smiling smugly. "Rosalie and I agreed that if you ever got a boyfriend and that it might be something serious, we would show and give this to you. As a sort of encouragement to marry him and to let us arrange the wedding. What do you think?"

"So you think that Edward is serious?" I asked them.

"Yes!" Rosalie said, smiling incredulously. "Don't you?"

"Well, I suppose so. But to already have a wedding dress is a bit radical, don't you think?" I asked, imagining what Edward would think if he saw this in my closet. But as I realised how sweet it was that they had done this, I quickly added, "But it's absolutely gorgeous. And if I ever get married, I will definitely wear this dress. And I will let you arrange the wedding," I promised them.

"I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything, but I really think that Edward might be the one you'll marry," Alice said.

I repeated my worry that Edward might see it in my closet and they laughed loudly as they imagined it.

"Yes, that would be quite awkward. Men in general aren't that keen on settling down that quickly, so that would definitely scare him away," Rosalie said.

"In that case, I'll just keep it in my closet until the actual wedding," Alice said. "But first, you need to try it on!"

"What? You can't be serious! I can't try on a wedding dress when I have been together with my boyfriend for one day!"

"We just want to see how it looks on you," Alice said, pouting. I sighed, giving up, knowing I couldn't resist her puppy-dog eyes.

I went into the bathroom and put on the dress. As I came out, Alice and Rosalie gasped and smiled emotionally.

I looked in the mirror and felt tears in my eyes as I saw myself in a wedding dress for the first time. Well, the second time if you count the bed linen that I had wrapped around myself when I was seven.

I closed my eyes for a long moment, taking a deep breath.

AN: What do you think? Please review.