A/N Hope everyone had a great holiday. I can't tell you how sorry I am that I have been an update fail on all of my stories. Let's just say that I have a a very trying last few months. Wasn't sure if I had a job, sanity, or child care. Needless to say, any of you that are still sticking with me, you have no idea how much that means to me. I love you guys more than you will ever know. I haven't stopped any of my stories, and I hope, now that things are a little more settled that I'll be more consistent. Sorry.

Thanks to my beta, Breath-of-Twilight. She is the best Beta, hands down, and I love her dearly . She has literally done so much work on this, and my others stories, that I can't ever thank her enough. She knows how important to me she is, and without her, I'd be lost.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is a goddess and she owns all of the Twilight universe. I own the story line. Please do not steal what isn't yours. No copyright infringement intended.

7. Surprise

I stepped through the red velvet curtain to stand in front of our sold out crowd. The faces were hard to make out with all of the lights glaring in my face, but I could make out one man sitting in the front row that looked very familiar to me. I couldn't quite place where, but his face was definitely one I had seen before. I addressed the audience and could feel his eyes blazing into me. Where had I seen this man before? I finished the introduction and the show started. As I walked backstage, I could still feel his eyes boring into my back.

Rose was doing a wonderful job of getting the dancers on and off the stage seamlessly as the night progressed. The costumes looked beautiful, and you could see the pride that each dancer took in their appearance.

The first act went off without a hitch. During the intermission, Rose and I made ourselves available in the lobby for any questions that anyone may have. I was nervously looking for the man from the front row, but I didn't see him. I was also hoping that Edward might show up. He had been gone for a couple of days already, and I thought maybe, just maybe, he would be home in time and surprise me.

The warning bell that the second act would start in a few minutes sounded. Rose and I finished speaking with some of the children's parents, and as we turned to leave the lobby, he was standing where the crowd was dispersing.

"Rose, I'll be right back." Rose looked at me and then to the man in the lobby.

"Do you want me to wait for you?" I could tell she was curious and a little bit concerned, but I felt like everything would be alright.

"No, I'll be right there." I turned and walked toward him, and as I got closer, I knew that I had met him before...

"Hello, Bella. How are you this evening?" He was very tall, and what one would describe as dark and handsome. He had Edward's brilliant green eyes, and that's when it hit me. I had seen him before, but the last time I saw him was under very different circumstances. I could recall when I was so angry with him that I couldn't see straight. I couldn't fathom what he would be doing here without Edward. Especially since he had only met me once.

I took a deep breath and answered him, "Felix, I'm doing well, and yourself?"

"I am also well. Edward couldn't be here so he sent me in his place. I would have spoken with you before the show but I couldn't find you. I knew I would have another chance after the show. Looks like luck is in my favor though, and I managed to find you, and now, here we are." His smile was brilliant, and his teeth where pearl white. When I had first met him, I hadn't noticed that he was very handsome. Edward and Felix couldn't be more different, but on the same token, where their looks were concerned, they were definitely cut from the same cloth.

"Umm, well, right now I have to get backstage, but after the show do you want to meet me here? I mean, if you don't have any other things that you need to do while you're here." He looked at me with a smirk on his face, and I briefly wondered what he was up to.

"That sounds great, Bella. I'll be waiting right here. Maybe we could get something to eat."

"Okay, I'll see you after the show." I turned and went into the theatre.

I was so confused. Why would Edward send Felix here? Not that I didn't think that he would have a good reason, but it threw me, and I wondered what Felix had to gain being here. There had to be something in it for him. Just from my brief introduction to him I had gotten a strange vibe from him. It made me feel very uneasy and it seemed to me that there was no way he would agree to come here to this recital for someone that he knew nothing about. That was just my take on it. It wasn't like he was doing this out of the kindness of his heart, I could tell that much from his personality.

When I finally snuck behind the curtain before the house lights went out, Rose was waiting to ambush me.

"Who, may I ask, was that?" Her eyes were huge, and she looked a little like a deer in the headlights.

"That is Edward's brother, Felix. Don't you remember me telling you about him? He showed up unannounced and interrupted our first dinner together."

Her eyes bugged out of her head and she exploded, "That's right. I couldn't believe that there were two of them running around. He is gorgeous. You can totally tell they're brothers. Man, if I wasn't attached he'd be in trouble."

"Don't say that. You have a wonderful man. I don't think the same can be said for Felix. I'm just wondering what he's really doing here. He says that Edward asked him to come, but I can't really see Edward asking the brother I don't know very well at all to come to our show. It just seems suspicious."

Rose grabbed me and gave me a big hug. "Honey, it'll be okay. Edward will be home before you know it and Felix will be long gone. You have to keep one thing in mind, though; Felix will be around as long as you have Edward in your life."

She was right. I needed to get used to the fact that if I wanted Edward in some way, shape, or form I was going to have to deal with Felix, too. I had to think of this differently. Maybe he wasn't so bad. Edward had said that they didn't always get along, but maybe things weren't too bad between them.

He was waiting in the lobby when the show was over. The night had been perfect except towards the end when the anxiety that Felix was still there set in. I had so many questions for him, but at the same time, I was terrified of him. Rose reassured me that everything would be fine and that she was just a phone call away if I needed her.

The walk up the stairs to the lobby was the longest walk of my life. Dread crept over me as I reached for the door that led into the lobby. He was dressed in a gray three piece suit and was so handsome. Edward and Felix had the same face, but because Felix was a little bit older his features were more defined. The dread eased when I looked into his eyes. I had lost myself in eyes that looked just like that before.

"Bella, hello, are you okay?" He looked at me confused, and then I realized that I was staring at him.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Anyway what would you like to do?" I hesitated for only a second, but I could tell that he had caught on.

"I was thinking if you weren't too tired that maybe you would like to get dinner. I'm not very familiar with this area, but I thought that maybe there was some place nice that I could take you to celebrate." I was shocked. He wanted to take me to dinner to celebrate?

"Umm, dinner would be okay. Do you want to come with me, or do you have a ride?"

"I have Edward's car. I could follow you if you would like or we could drop off one of our cars and go somewhere together."

The question caught me off guard. He was being too nice to me. He didn't even know me.

"Okay then, you can just follow me to the restaurant." He followed me out of the lobby, and I locked the theatre doors.

The short drive to the restaurant did not give me enough time to get my nerves under control. Felix made me very nervous. I pulled into the parking lot, and before I could reach for the door handle, Felix had my door open.

We walked silently into the restaurant. The hostess greeted us and took us to a booth in the back of the restaurant. She must have assumed that we were a couple. Felix waited for me to sit down and then took his seat, and it was something just like Edward would do. This whole thing was becoming a little too surreal for me, and I just wanted him to get to what he came for. It couldn't have been for anyone else's benefit but Felix's, could it? That thought made me feel a little sick inside. We both picked up our menus and the silence lingered between us.

We had only been looking at the menu for a few minutes before our waitress came to take our order. Once she had written down what we wanted, she turned and left. Felix was staring at me, and I was doing everything that I could in order to avoid eye contact with him.

"The show was very good." He sounded surprised.

"Thank you. They've worked really hard, and it'll all be over tomorrow." One word could sum up the feeling that thought brought, relief.

"You only have performances for one weekend? I would have thought two weekends, at least."

"We thought about it, but in the end, Rose and I decided that two weekends was more effort than either of us could take on. The shows draw large crowds every year, and we think that a sold out crowd better serves our dancers confidence than a house only half full, but that's just our theory." It felt strange giving him an explanation.

"Well, I think that's a very well thought out decision." The waitress brought me an iced tea and Felix a glass of red wine. He sipped at his wine and peered over the rim of his glass at me.

"So, you mentioned that Edward sent you?" I wanted to believe him, but I doubted it was true.

"Well, he more or less mentioned it. He didn't specifically ask me to come, but I thought it would be nice to come in his place since he was not able to attend." He smiled a brilliant smile, and his perfect, white teeth seemed to glow in the dim light of the restaurant.

Before I could ask any more questions, the waitress brought our food. We ate in silence. Only a few times did I look up from my meal, and each time I found Felix looking deep in thought.

I was picking at the food on my plate, a habit of mine when I was nervous. I really wasn't that hungry anyway. Felix seemed to notice my nearly full plate of food right as he was taking his last bite.

"Is everything okay with your food?" His sudden question snapped me back to reality.

"Oh…yes, of course, I just tend to not have much of an appetite after a very stressful day like today. Everything tastes just fine." Everything just felt a bit weird sitting across from Felix. He was trying to be nice to me but with an ulterior motive hidden behind that carefully placed smile.

"I have something that I want to talk to you about." And there it was. The words that no one wants to hear because it can only mean one thing, bad news. My hands inadvertently started to fidget with my napkin. "I also came here to tell you about Edward. There are some things that I think you should know before you get any more involved with my brother." He could see the confusion spread across my face and paused briefly, apparently deciding something internally and then continued.

"I think you should know that you are not the only one. There are others. This is not the first time that he has been involved with more than one woman." The air had been sucked from the room. He could not have dealt a truer blow if he had physically punched me.

I couldn't see. Tears started to flood my eyes. How could this be happening? Was what Felix said true? I didn't want to hear anything more. I stood up, and without saying anything else, I turned and left the restaurant. I could vaguely hear someone speaking but I couldn't make out the words they were saying.

Before I realized what I was doing, I was parked in my driveway with no idea how I'd gotten there. It couldn't be true. He wouldn't do that to me. I knew I didn't know that much about him, but could I have been so blind to think that he could want me and only me? I started to feel physically ill.

The will to lift my arm and drag myself from the car wasn't there. I wanted it to work because I truly enjoyed being with him. I hadn't known him that long, but every time that I was with him, I felt like I had known him forever. On some level, I knew I couldn't expect him to be everything that I needed. Riley left and Edward had stepped right in and filled a different need for me. I had actually felt like Edward could possible fill every need I had, someday. I needed to change. I needed to be the one that fixed my situation and not rely on a man to fill my emotional needs. What had I done by trusting in him, and Riley, as well, for that matter? I just felt duped by yet another man. It wouldn't happen again.

I managed to muster up enough energy and went into the house. Jakey was eagerly waiting for his dinner. I turned off my cell phone and the ringer to my land line phone. I wasn't in the mood to speak with anyone, and I really needed to just be by myself.

I dragged myself upstairs to take a shower, but the water did nothing to help. I couldn't get past how I was feeling inside. I wasn't just hurt, I was utterly disappointed. I thought things were going to be different than they were with Riley. I had done the worst possible thing. I had hoped, and now, I was hopeless.

I crawled into bed and lay there completely numb. How could he do this to me? Why did he do this to me? I heard a car pull in the driveway next door. Pain shot through my chest. I wanted it to be a lie. Tears started to pour from my eyes. I hadn't even cried this hard when Riley left. The car engine cut off and silence filled the air.

Saturday morning was cloudy and gray, much like my mood. I didn't want to get out of bed. My head felt swollen, ready to explode. The light sounds of the rain dropping on the roof were soothing to my soul.

I needed to get up. I had too much to do to just lie in bed all day.

I turned the ringers back on my phones and threw on my running clothes. I didn't have to be at the theatre until noon, so I had the morning to run off my mood. I stuck my ear buds in and headed out the door. I couldn't help but glance at his driveway, only to see that his car was parked in its usual spot. The same pain stabbed at my chest. I looked away knowing that if I stared for much longer, I wouldn't want to leave. I turned and headed for the nearest trail.

I ran for several hours before turning back to head home. I only had an hour and a half before I needed to leave the house. The rain had stopped but my clothes were still soaked through. As I neared home, I could feel panic raising my blood pressure. I couldn't see Edward, yet, and I certainly didn't want to run into Felix again either.

As I came through the trees, it looked as if the coast was clear. I had just made it to the side door of my house when a voice sounded right behind me.

"Bella, how are you doing?" It was Felix. There was pity in his tone.

"Fine thanks," I turned to head into the house, and he grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. I tried to push away from him but he wouldn't let me go. His eyes seemed to blaze into mine, and I started to panic.

"Please Felix, let me go. I can't do this right now. I don't want to talk. Just, please, leave me alone." He still held tight to my arm and didn't say anything. Before I had a chance to react his mouth came down hard onto mine. He grabbed the back of my head so that I couldn't turn my face from his. I could feel his tongue trying to invade my mouth, but I kept my lips pressed tightly together. Without giving it a second thought, I brought my knee up hard into his groin. He dropped like a rock, clutching at his groin. I took the opportunity to run into the house and lock the door. When I looked behind me out the window to see if he was following me, I saw that he was writhing on the ground with his eyes shut.

A movement from Edward's house caught my eye. Edward flew through his front door towards Felix and the look on his face was menacing. Felix had just started to pick himself off of the ground, only to look up and see Edward's fist come crashing down onto his face. Felix dropped to the ground and appeared to be out cold. I could hear Edward speaking to Felix's unconscious form on the ground.

"Why do you always have to interfere? You have no idea what you may have cost me. This was my last chance, and now I may have lost everything. I have been working for this for so many years and you may have just taken that away from me."

What was he talking about? What was his last chance, and what did Felix do? I didn't have time to figure out was going on, but I knew that at some point, I would have to speak to Edward, but now was not the time. I looked at the clock and saw that I only had a half an hour left before I left I needed to leave. I could not go to the show looking like a drowned rat.

I felt sick inside thinking of Felix's lips on mine. I hoped that I didn't have to endure his being in the neighborhood for much longer. Edward was a different story because I felt like there were so many unresolved things between us. For all that I knew he wasn't even aware of Felix's and my conversation. He had seen Felix kiss me, that much was obvious, but it left me confused. I wanted answers to questions that I was afraid to ask, especially the question about the other women. Could that actually be true? For my sake, I hoped that Felix was a liar. That would be so much easier to deal with. Edward's reaction certainly made me think that that was the case. Maybe I had just misunderstood the things that he was saying to his unconscious brother.

I left the house with minutes to spare. As I was backing out of my driveway, I glanced back at Edward's house. He was standing at the corner of his porch staring at me. He face was drawn, and I could see pain in his eyes. I had to turn away before I stopped my car to run to comfort him.