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LadySharkey1 rocks my world by being the most amazing, kick-ass beta I could ever imagine.

Chapter 3

Apparently I did need a plan

Clearing his throat, his eyes never met mine as he spoke the words that would shatter my all over again. "I met someone….someone important."

I sat there blinking like an idiot, as slowly my mind added two and two together.

What the… what?

A girlfriend?

Wow! Talk about an attack from the leftfield!

"Y-you have a g-girlfriend?" I finally managed to stammer, trying not to let on how much of a blow to my poor heart this little bit of news caused. Inwardly, though, I was fighting to keep it together as I could feel everything I'd ever hoped for over all these years—everything I'd worked towards—crumble to rubble.

"I know, right?" He chuckled, apparently mistaking my broken-heartedness for mere surprise. "It happened totally unexpectedly. I mean, I've known Angela for years—she lived in the same building as me during sophomore year—but I never expected anything like this to happen between the two of us until a couple of months ago when it just…happened, I guess."

"That's…" Unfortunate? A fucking disaster? "Great." I managed to squeak, my hand trembling like hell as I lifted my water glass to my lips. If he hadn't been able to pick up on my disappointment before, then surely he must have heard the sound of my heart shattering into a million pieces, right?

Well, apparently not because instead of sympathy or him shutting the fuck up out of pity with the poor woman who'd given birth to his child, he nodded with the blind enthusiasm of a man in love. "It was as much of a surprise to us as it is to you and it's why I haven't really told anyone out here about us. We wanted to be really sure…you know? But now? It's like…nothing I've ever felt before."

And just like that, shit got even worse.

Nothing he'd ever felt before?

Really?

Then what the hell was I?

Had I been just a passing crush gone terribly wrong in a long line of insignificant stupid women who'd fallen for his charm?

He told me I'd always have his heart, damn it!

"Wow," I managed to repeat; the three letter word just about summed it up. "Won't it…I mean…Isn't it going to be hard now that you're moving back home?"

Please say you'll dump her, or even the other way around, so I can be there for you—all loving and understanding—when you return to me. Then we—well, you, obviously—can fall in love again. Just as long as you're going to be moving back home a single man.

He nodded, though his nod wasn't so much a confirmation of my statement than a confession of some sort of guilt. "That's exactly why I wanted to talk to you tonight."

Again, a solid twenty seconds passed before I could reply. "You…you want my help?" What did I look like? The Dalai fucking Lama? Did he really expect me to drive the spike even further into my heart by helping him get laid?

"Not exactly," he spoke, momentarily putting my mind at rest. That was…until he went on. "I know that with me moving back, we're going to have to revise our schedule with Charlie and…"

I frowned as he let his voice trail off, his obvious nerves did not promise anything good. And what was he getting at anyway? "I guess so," I hedged. "I mean, you're going to be working a lot and have irregular hours at the hospital, right? We're going to have to think of some way to have you and Charlie spending time together without completely throwing her life into chaos."

He nodded. "We'll work something out. But…" He licked his lips, his hand running its trademark course through his hair as an added sign of his nervousness. "What I'm trying to say is that Angela's going to be around as well and I want…It's important to me that she and Charlie kind of get to know each other."

What? "You want to bring your girlfriend around our daughter?" I should have seen this coming. Still, knowing he wanted to bring that hussy around our girl somehow made me blind with an irrational anger so strong that it was a relief the waiter had already picked up all the knifes from our table. "Don't you think that's a bit premature? I mean, you just told me it's only been a few months."

"I know it may sound sudden," Edward defended himself, sensibly holding his hands up in surrender as I continued to glare at him. "And I know I'm kind of dropping a bomb on you but it's not like this is just an infatuation or something." He chuckled uncomfortably. "Angela and I have known each other for years, even if we've only been going out a short while, so it's not like I'm bringing just anyone around our girl."

"Oh." And just like that, my heart sank even further south.

"This is really serious, Bella," he went on, the look in his eyes empathizing his words. "And before it gets even more serious, I need her to establish a relationship with the most perfect little girl in my life. It's important to me that the two of them get along, you know?"

I sighed, burying my head in my hands. This. Can't. Be. Happening.

"You know Charlie like no one else does," Edward droned on in the meantime, apparently still oblivious to my distress. Jeez, could men really be that dense? "Do you have any ideas of how we can introduce the two of them without it getting too confusing for her?"

Okay.

That was way worse than helping him get laid. Was I supposed to stand by and offer up my daughter?

What was next? Charlie wanting to call that two-faced whore that stole my man, 'Mommy'?

"I don't know…" I muttered, knowing I was supposed to be a grown up here as well as a responsible, rational parent. Acting like a woman scorned was only going to have me ending up hurting the one person I wanted to protect above everyone else. "We've never done anything like this before."

"That's why I'm coming to you." Edward nodded, leaning his tall frame a little closer. With his eyes so serious and his face so open and honest as he asked for my help, he looked so beautiful…it just wasn't fair. None of this was fair and I was half expecting to wake up from some terrible nightmare…but I wouldn't. Instead he just went on. "I want us to work together in this, all three of us. You've always been my best friend, Bella, which is why we've been able to make this work no matter how crazy things have been at times." He smiled the smile of a man who had no idea of the hurt his words caused as he grabbed my hand. "I know we will make this work just like I know you and Angela will become great friends."

Don't hold your breath, buddy! I swallowed, trying to get rid of the bitterness in my mouth before I opened it and the words tumbled out. "I'm happy for you, Edward. You're right. We'll work this out."

I just hope we don't have to include Angela for very long.

Our drive back to Forks was awkward as hell; Edward was off in his own little happy world of new love, while I was still stewing in my anger and disappointed over the date that had turned into an unparalleled disaster.

And I guess it wasn't even a date to begin with.

It wasn't until I'd gotten home and saw Esme—who'd brought Charlie home to sleep in her own bed—and watched Edward go back to their home that the real panic started to set in.

What was I going to do?

Part of me wanted to lock the door behind me and keep it chained and barricaded for as long as needed to keep Edward and his hussy at bay.

I slid down a wall as my body curled around itself in protection as I quietly wept in the hallway. I'd always know there was a risk he'd move on before I was ready to rekindle our relationship, but the reality of it just sucked.

It was too much.

I allowed myself fifteen minutes to cry, and then managed to pull myself together again. Wiping the tears away, I climbed the stairs towards the apartment, my hand clenched around the banister so tightly that the pain it caused managed to slightly dull the ache I felt elsewhere by the time I made it to the top.

I knew, deep down inside, that this was all my fault. If only I hadn't pushed him away all those years ago we might still be together.

None of this would have happened.

But what was I supposed to do with this new information? Stand by and watch him build his life with her or put up one hell of a fight to drive that bitch away?

Looking at my little girl sleeping so peacefully in her own bed, I knew I already knew my answer.

I was a mom first. Charlie's happiness was all that really mattered to me and if that meant burying my heart someplace where I could ignore it and pretend nothing about our situation was shitty at all, I had to do it. Charlie loved her dad and she deserved to spend more time with him without me around. When we broke up, Edward and I had made a promise to each other that no matter what happened, we'd never let Charlie get caught up in our problems or make her feel guilty about spending time with either one of us.

Well, I supposed it was the time to test the strength of that promise.

I had to make this work for Charlie's sake and for the sake of my own sanity. But as I lay awake that night and the panic started to turn into fear, it was starting to get harder and harder to see the right way through this infested swamp of squashed hopes.

What if I played my part of the dutiful co-parent and Charlie would grow to like Angela more than she liked me?

What if she wanted to live at Edward's?

The thought of that alone—my baby girl not being safely tucked up in her little bed at night or not coming running down the stairs in the mornings to eat her fresh chocolate croissant with me at the big table in the bakery—made me have to jump out of my bed, my legs barely developing enough speed to make it to the toilet in time.

No. I wasn't going to lose my daughter.

It wouldn't happen.

He wouldn't let it happen.

Or would he?

After all…he'd once promised me he'd never love another girl than me. What was his promise that we were in this together—the two of us and Charlie—really worth?

I guessed that was another promise that was going to be tested.

I got up at five-thirty in the morning, having already seen the three and four on the clock as I lay awake twisting, turning, and imagining one horrible scenario after the next. I had to get going anyway since it was going to be a busy day in the bakery with two birthday cakes and a varied array of sweet and savory pastries for a hospital function in addition to the usual stuff we sold in the bakery.

Scratching my head as I lazily made it down the stairs, I began to consider the idea of really hiring an extra member of staff instead of merely talking about it. It would give me more time and flexibility with Charlie as well as keep me from getting burned out. I'd have the check it with Rose, who kept the books for me, but my business was doing well enough that we could afford an extra person. So what was I waiting for?

I smirked, starting the mixer as I added the ingredients I'd already measured out the previous day. If I was going to take someone on, it would definitely have to be someone from outside of town. Forks was reasonably starved for anyone that had a true talent for pastry, so bringing someone in would be best. I made a mental note to call Marcus, my mentor at the Port Angeles culinary college, to ask if he had anyone in mind to help me out permanently.

By the time Charlie came running down the stairs, her eyes shining with carefree happiness, I'd composed myself enough to act as if nothing had happened as we sat down to eat breakfast. I even managed to smile as she told me about the things her day would bring and the play date she had lined up with Alastair Brown, a kid who'd recently moved into our neighborhood and shared her fondness for the great outdoors.

"We're going to look for water bugs in the stream behind his house," she announced, already excited by the prospect of all sorts of creepy crawlers that could be found.

"Just be careful, okay," I warned her, knowing how reckless she could sometimes get when she was on the chase. "And I want a grownup with you at all times. No going off into the woods or near the stream on your own, okay?"

"Fine!" she huffed, sending me a death glare as she stuffed the last of her fresh ham and cheese croissant into her mouth. "You're picking me up before dinner, right?"

I nodded. "I'll call Mrs. Brown to set up a time." And to warn her again of the little hurricane that's going to tear through her backward, I mentally added. "Now, go brush your teeth and pack your bag so I can walk you to school."

As I watched her stomp off again, I quickly finished a few things and set up for when I would be back before walking my kid to school; the fresh air made me feel better as we walked the short distance to Forks Elementary while she droned on about bugs and other little creatures I'd never stopped to look at until my daughter developed an uncanny fascination for all things creepy.

She really was a uniquely different girl and one I was so proud of, even if she'd turn my hair grey before its time. You couldn't get her in a dress to save her life and dolls and other girly playthings had never interested her but give her a good, smelly rock pool and a pair of rubber boots and she was one happy kid. No matter how clean and fresh I'd have her when I delivered her to school every day, she'd come back caked in mud and with her hair in a complete state of anarchy on top of her head, often decorated with leaves and branches of whatever shrubbery she'd explored that day.

She was a true child of Forks; my little nymph of the forest.

My miracle.

By the time I made it back, Rose was already bustling around in the shop, arranging the little cakes and pastries I'd made before onto trays and serving the first few customers their breakfast. I smiled at her as I went into the back after exchanging a few quick words with the people I knew, which just about meant everyone in the shop.

It made me feel proud knowing the people in town were eating my food and enjoyed it enough to keep coming back. It meant I'd made something of myself when everyone told me I'd fail—or at least expected me to. In the two years since I'd taken over the shop, business had slowly grown from just the local people to the ones outside town; the reputation of my skills grew as more people got to sample it.

It was time to take the next step and grow, both because it was my wish and to stave off the competition of the shop that had just opened its doors in Port Angeles. A shop run by my arch enemy and former classmate, Mike Newton, who'd made it pretty clear that he was out to ruin me.

Like I needed more drama in my life.

"Oh, shit."

I looked up from my mixer, looking into Rose's big, compassionate eyes. "It went badly, didn't it?"

I sighed, scraping some more vanilla into the mixture as I watched the tiny brown flakes disappear into the mixture. "He's found someone else."

"Asshole!" Rose plopped a bit of chocolate, laid out to be turned into a ganache, into her mouth. "So who's the skank I need to cut?"

"Stand down, Rose," I chuckled bitterly. "He's happy. What can I do?"

"Fight, for starters," she scolded me. "Man! If you needed a plan before, now you really need one."

"I don't." I sighed defeated, shutting down the mixer. "I don't want to grow bitter and resent him from moving on when I was too cowardly to pursue him in the first place…I don't want to drag my daughter into a fight."

"Then don't." Rose's eyes breathed fire as she rounded on me. "There are plenty of ways to make the jackass regret ever putting his dick into another woman without dragging Charlie into it." She paused. "And you know that already, Isabella Swan. The only question is whether or not you're prepared to battle."

"I don't know," I whispered, my throat constricted as the first of my tears started to fall.

"Then make up your damn mind," she snapped, "because if you're going to just sit here and let shit happen, sooner or later he's going to end up marrying that bitch and slipping beyond your reach. Do you want that?"

For the first time in hours, my fight returned; the prospect of losing him forever—and maybe even my daughter into the bargain—making me angry beyond belief. "No."

"Good," Rose nodded, pulling her little notepad from her apron. "Then let's get to business."

Thoughts?