A/N Special thanks to my PTB betas HEAR and Sirenastarot. And as always, I don't own Twilight.

Chapter Seventeen: Unexpected Surprises

BPOV

Sunlight shined through my bedroom window like a laser beam. I looked up at the gap in my curtains and followed the path of the sunbeam. It highlighted a thatch of messy bronze hair, part of a straight nose, and the corner of very kissable lips. I took this moment to commit the image of Edward to my memory. He looked so at peace, softy snoring with one arm thrown back behind his head and his other wrapped around me. I rested half on my stomach, half on his chest, nestled deep in my blankets, both of us as naked as the day we were born. It was a very pleasant feeling. I could wake up every day like this.

I stretched carefully, trying not to disturb Edward. I felt a few muscles twinge in protest. It made me laugh a bit to myself. I wasn't out of shape, but it had been some time since certain muscles had been used. I didn't regret it one bit. The pain made last night real and not just a dream.

Last night… last night was the best night of my life. I hadn't had a lot of experience to draw from, but what I did have paled in comparison to what transpired between Edward and I. In most aspects of my life, I was never very assertive or bold. However, Edward brought out a side of me that I had I never seen before. I was assertive and vocal and for the first time in my life, I enjoyed dirty talk.

I surprised myself when I woke up and decided to try waking Edward up in a most unusual way. Old Bella never would have been bold enough to initiate sex. Despite his playful aggressiveness, I had never felt so loved and treasured as I did last night. None of my other partners had ever been aggressive with me before like Edward was, but I had to admit, I liked it. A lot. I was very glad I didn't have neighbors that were close by.

When I saw Edward at the bar, I never would have thought this was where we would have ended up. After our talk in the kitchen last night, it felt like the natural progression of our relationship. I had epically failed part of the test that Tanya had forced upon us, but I had learned from my mistakes. I refused to let my stupid insecurities ruin what could be the best thing that ever happened to me. No matter what my insecurities told me, Edward had never given me reason not to trust him. Trust could beat any insecurity. Trust meant security.

I carefully slipped out of bed, threw on a robe, and gingerly walked into the kitchen. Thanksgiving was only two days away and I needed to see what I would need to buy at the store for the family dinner. It was our tradition that I would make Thanksgiving dinner for Charlie and me. Well, to be honest, if we wanted to eat anything at all, it was best that I made the meal because Charlie couldn't boil water without burning the house down. I enjoyed cooking immensely so it was never a hardship. I quickly came up with the menu then made a list of things I would need to buy before heading out to work for the afternoon.

I also needed to call Charlie about the addition to the dining table. My stomach twisted, imagining how awkward telling my dad who Edward really was and why we lied about his name back in August. I blushed and hoped my dad would understand.

I double checked my grocery list and went through my little book of coupons to see which ones I needed. I was in the middle of the P's, digging through a stack of Pillsbury coupons, when I felt two arms wrap around me from behind and a familiar scent waft across my face. Edward nuzzled my neck and planted a warm kiss on my neck.

"Morning, love," he said softly, his voice still sleepy.

"Morning," I replied, my voice full of love.

I turned in his arms and looked up into his sleep puffy face. I pecked his chin, his scruff tickling my lips. He smiled down at me and tucked a stray hair behind my ear.

"Whatcha doin?"

"Well I just finished my grocery list and I was checking to see what coupons I had to use before I go to the store. I need to start working on Thanksgiving dinner today before I go to work."

"Care for some company to the store?"

"Do you think there is any danger of you getting recognized since your interview was just on last night?"

Edward thought a moment. "I'm not sure, but I'll wear my Mariner's hat. We have to start dealing with this now, so we might as well start getting used to it. It will only be a matter of time before I'm spotted or they figure out who you are."

I nodded and my stomach tightened over the thought of being hounded by his fans or paparazzi.

"I can stay home if it this makes you uncomfortable, Bella," he said, seeing the unease on my face.

"No, you're right. I need to get used to stuff like that, so I might as well start today. Do you feel like whipping up breakfast while I pop in the shower?"

Edward ran a hand down my back as he slowly smiled. "I can join you in the shower and still make breakfast…." He offered suggestively.

I laughed and swatted him in the chest. "I'm sure you could, but we would never get out of the bathroom or get to the store before I have to be at the bar. I'll take a rain check on the shower."

I could see the disappointment on his face but it quickly went away as he smiled at me again. "As long as you promise." His eyes twinkled. "Go hop in the shower. I'll have something tasty ready for you by the time you are done."

After my shower, we ate quickly but not hurriedly. Edward made a simple breakfast of over-easy eggs, turkey bacon, wheat toast, and coffee. Thank God the man knew his way around a coffee maker. I couldn't survive without at least one cup of coffee. Well, I could, but no one would want to find out what I was like without coffee. It wasn't pretty. Edward showered quickly as I cleaned up the breakfast dishes.

When he came into the kitchen with his hair still wet, I seriously contemplated pushing him back into my bedroom and having my way with him. He chuckled and raised an eyebrow as he watched the hungry expression on my face.

"You okay, love?"

I took a deep breath to try to shake off my lustful thoughts. "Yes, but you are far too good looking for your own good."

His smile widened into a smug smirk. "That's what all the ladies tell me."

I rolled my eyes. "Ass."

I gathered my things and started walking to the front door. "Come on, Mr. Cullen."

The drive to the store only took a few minutes. The parking lot was thankfully not crowded, which surprised me this close to Thanksgiving. Edward slipped on his Mariner's cap as he stepped out of my truck. He quickly clasped my hand in his and we entered the store.

We acted like a couple of goofy teenagers in the produce section, making lewd gestures with the cucumbers and eggplants. Several older women shot us dirty looks as they passed our cart. It just made us laugh harder. We had moved into the frozen foods section where we were deciding on what turkey to buy when I heard someone call my name.

"Bella? Hey, Bella!" It was a nasal, high-pitched woman's voice, one that I never enjoyed hearing. I never liked her when we were in school and my opinion of her had not improved as we grew into adulthood. I tried to avoid being here when I knew she was working.

I turned slowly as I tried to keep the distain from my voice. "Hi, Lauren."

Lauren Mathews, one of the most fake people I ever had the displeasure of knowing, sauntered up the aisle to where we were standing. Even in November, her skin was tanned and hair bleached blonde. I noticed her chest looked a lot bigger than the last time I saw her. Her breasts were practically bursting out of the polo shirt she was wearing as a part of the grocery store's employee uniform. Every button was undone and the fabric strained at the seams. It was nice to know she continued to support the local plastic surgeon, namely her much older husband. Now she had something plastic to match the nose she got a few years ago. Thankfully, Edward was still bent over in the freezer case digging through frozen turkeys.

"How are you? It's been so long since I've seen you. What brings you here?" Lauren asked with fake enthusiasm.

I rolled my eyes and bit back a sarcastic response. Why would a person be in a grocery store if not to buy groceries? I wondered if the peroxide had finally eroded what few brain cells she had.

"I'm fine, Lauren, thank you for asking. We are just picking up a few things for Thanksgiving dinner." I really hoped she would be on her way quickly.

Before Lauren could respond, Edward stood up with a frozen turkey in his hands. As he stood, his head brushed our grocery cart and knocked his hat off. His unruly bronze hair burst forth in all its glory. Lauren's eyes widened as her smile became predatory. She slid over to Edward, scooping up his hat in the process, making sure he would be able to get a good view of her posterior as she bent over. Edward looked over at me with an amused expression as he put the turkey in our cart. I rolled my eyes at Lauren's antics, thankful that Edward could see right through her.

Lauren handed Edward his hat while she dragged her other well-manicured hand down his chest. "Well, well, well… who do we have here?" she purred.

Edward gingerly took his hat from her hand, put it on his head, and removed her other hand from his chest. He took a step closer to me and wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Lauren, this is my boyfriend, Edward. Edward, this is an old classmate of mine, Lauren Matthews," I grudgingly introduced. Lauren continued to ogle Edward up and down, her smile not leaving her face. Lauren held her hand out and Edward shook it briefly before quickly letting go. She looked slightly disappointed but kept the smile on her face.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Edward." Lauren said. "You look familiar, although I thought I knew all the handsome men in town."

Edward shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Uh, thanks."

Lauren turned her fake niceness my way again. "So, Bella, how long have you two been together?"

"About three months."

"How sweet," Lauren replied, dripping with condensation. "Young love."

I narrowed my eyes at her, having grown tired of her tone and attitude. "Well, we all couldn't have been so lucky to marry a plastic surgeon, Lauren. I'll have to make do with my lot in life." My voice was rife with sarcasm. Edward tried hard to hide his laughter.

"Oh, Bella, its okay," Lauren said, waving her hand dismissively, totally missing my sarcasm. "Even you would find someone eventually, someone who wasn't concerned about appearances."

Excuse me? I had to fight the urge to slap her right there in the middle of the store. My face flushed with anger and furious tears welled in my eyes. Edward felt the tension in my body and squeezed my side in commiseration. I glanced up at him, noticing that his jaw was stiff with anger. What was sad was that Lauren wasn't trying to be intentionally malicious with her comments. Her view of the world was so warped that she actually believed what she said was true.

"Excuse me, Lauren," Edward stated coldly with distain and dislike in his voice, "not everyone thinks fake boobs, nose jobs, and spray tans make women beautiful."

Lauren's face flushed from his words and the ice in his voice but he wasn't done yet.

"Bella is the most beautiful woman I have ever met. Her beauty is natural and comes not just from her physical appearance, which I find extremely appealing, but who she is underneath. No matter how much silicone your husband pumps into your body, you will never hold a candle to Bella."

I stared at Edward in awe; the tears that welled in my eyes a moment ago in anger were now spilling down my face in happiness. Lauren, on the other hand, backed up a few steps, her face pale and hands trembling.

"Well, I never!" she huffed.

"And you never will," I added, as Lauren turned away from us and quickly walked towards the front of the store.

I couldn't help but laugh over the whole situation. Edward rolled his eyes and looked at me incredulously.

"You went to school with that?"

"Unfortunately, yes. That little display was actually nice for Lauren. She was never that friendly during high school. The silicone must be seeping into her brain and making her friendlier."

"Wow." Edward chuckled.

"Yep." I shook my head and smiled up at Edward, kissing him gently on the lips. "Now let's finish our shopping."

We had only gone down the aisle a few feet before something about our exchange with Lauren came back to me.

"Hey, Edward?"

"Hey, Bella?" he mocked.

"How did you know she had a nose and boob job?"

Edward laughed loudly, startling a few customers further down the aisle. "I've seen all kinds of plastic surgery in Hollywood, and poorly done plastic surgery like hers is easy to identify. She may think she is all that here, but she would be woefully out of her element in Hollywood. The silicone barbies in LA would eat her alive."

I laughed and kept walking down the aisle.

Edward's face became contemplative as we scanned the bakery department for a decent loaf of brioche. "That's what is sad about Hollywood. People see how most of the women of Hollywood look and comment on how beautiful and perfect they are, but they don't see how much plastic and Botox it took to make those women that way. Beauty is not in perfection but it is in our imperfections. It is what makes each of us unique."

I turned to look at Edward in surprise and admiration. "Who knew Edward Cullen was a philosopher?" I quipped.

He gave me his trademark crooked smile and waggled his eyebrows at me. "I have my moments, Bella Swan," he commented.

I found the loaf that was destined for my Thanksgiving stuffing and gently put it in the basket. I looked over my list one final time to make sure I had everything.

"We have everything on my list. You ready to check-out, baby?" I asked Edward, as I began digging through my purse for my wallet.

"Sure thing, sweetheart." Edward turned the cart towards the front of the store and followed me towards the checkout. There was only one line open, but the cashier wasn't there. He started to unload our groceries onto the belt as I idly glanced at the new tabloid offerings at the checkout rack while we waited for the cashier to return. If memory served me right, new issues were released on Tuesdays.

"That didn't take long," I commented dryly, looking at a picture of Edward on the front page of one of the gossip rags with 'Who is Bella?' blazoned across the top. Several other magazines had similar headlines inquiring about Edward's mystery woman.

Edward glanced over and grimaced. "Someone had to have leaked a transcript of my interview for you to be mentioned in the headlines already. If the interview was live, they probably wouldn't have known your name early enough to make press time." He looked at the covers a bit more closely. "Figures. At least they could've used a better picture of me."

I snorted. Of all the things to notice about the articles, he was most concerned about his picture. "Vain much?"

He rolled his eyes as he placed my treasured loaf of brioche on the belt. "I'm fairly consistent fodder for the tabloids, so there really isn't a point in getting upset about the articles. Most of them are grossly inaccurate and it's pointless to try to correct all of them. So, if I'm going to be gossiped about, they could at least use a good picture of me. This will only be the tip of the iceberg once they find out who you really are."

"Hey, should we buy one?" I asked, giggling.

"And draw even more attention to ourselves? Sure, why not?" Edward retorted sarcastically.

"Oh my God!" Lauren's nasal exclamation caused both of us to spin around towards the sound of her voice. By our dumb luck, she was our cashier and had just returned with her cash drawer for the register.

Lauren quickly slid her drawer into the register and waved her hands in front of her face in excitement. "I know why you looked familiar to me!" she squealed at Edward, having completely forgotten about his earlier snub of her attentions.

She ran over to the tabloid display and grabbed several copies of the magazine we were just talking about and held one up to his face. "You aren't just some random Edward, but the Edward Cullen! Oh my God! I think I'm going to faint!" Lauren's face flushed as she fanned herself with the magazines.

"And you're the Bella that they're referring to?" she asked incredulously. I merely looked at her. I wasn't in the mood to humor her.

Lauren looked back to Edward and held the magazine out to him. "Will you sign this?" Lauren begged, her manicured hands clawing at the newsprint.

I wanted to puke. I couldn't believe how Lauren was behaving. Edward looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"Just ring up our groceries, Lauren," I said in exasperation, tapping my foot impatiently.

Lauren ignored me, completely focused on Edward. "Oh Eddie, I loved you in Eclipse," she gushed. "I can't believe I'm actually talking to a movie star! And I can't believe that I know who his mystery girlfriend is! My friends are not going to believe this!" She was still trying to push a copy of the gossip magazine in front of Edward as she dug around for a pen.

My anxiety skyrocketed. Lauren knowing who I was in relation to Edward was just asking for attention from the paparazzi. She would not be able to keep her mouth shut. Well, we knew this would happen eventually, that I'd be discovered. I had hoped that we'd have more time to ourselves before that happened. I guess I'll have to let Jessica off the hook.

"Please? Will you please sign this?" she begged, as she finally found a pen and brandished it like a sword.

"I will as soon as we have paid for our groceries," Edward said quietly, as he looked at me nervously.

"Oh!" Lauren happily exclaimed as she remembered what she was actually there to do. She made quick work of scanning our groceries and bagging them up. I walked to the card reader with my debit card in hand when Edward pulled out his own debit card.

"Edward, I can pay for this," I complained. I loved the fact he always wanted to help out, but I was fully capable for paying for my groceries myself.

"I know, love, but I want to. After all, I'll be eating some of this so I should help pay for it."

I rolled my eyes. "We can discuss this later. Just let me pay for this so we can get out of here."

Edward thankfully did not argue with me. I knew he was going to try to find some way to help at some point between now and Thanksgiving. I'd have to check my purse for any odd wads of cash stuffed in there later and find some way of returning them to his wallet without him noticing.

Just as we were walking away with our cart of groceries, Lauren cleared her throat and came prancing over to Edward with the magazine and pen in hand.

"You promised," she pouted, batting her eyelashes at Edward. I choked back a laugh at how ridiculous she looked. Lauren glared at me. I fought the urge to flick her off.

Edward pulled his hat closer down over his forehead in exasperation as he took the proffered pen in his other hand. He quickly scribbled his signature across the front of the magazine cover and tossed the pen back to Lauren. Before she could say anything else to him, he turned and walked away, pushing the cart as he went.

I shot an evil look at Lauren as we left. She knew where my father and I lived, and I did not want any uninvited visitors. I did not put it past Lauren to stop by under the guise that she was in the area just to try to see Edward again and draw more attention on herself or to call some media outlet and share her news with them. I hoped my look would deter Lauren from going through with any of those ideas.

The drive home was just as quiet as our ride there was, however this time Edward appeared deep in thought. He quietly helped me carry the groceries in and put them away. We had to do some creative organizing to find a spot for the turkey in the fridge. I doubted we would be able to fit anything else in there even if we tried.

Edward stood at my kitchen sink, still thoughtful. He hadn't spoken much at all since we had gotten home. The atmosphere around him wasn't tense, but I could feel that something was bothering him. I let him stew for a few minutes more as I got ready for work. He was standing in the same spot as before when I reappeared. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"What's wrong, Edward?" I asked, laying the side of my face into his back and inhaling his scent.

I felt him breathe deeply as he rested his hands on top of mine.

"Just worried, love."

"About what?"

He took another breath before responding. "I don't doubt for a second that Lauren is on the phone with somebody excitedly telling them who she saw at the store and who my mysterious girlfriend really is. Once word gets to the media, they will swarm around here likes bees to honey. I wouldn't worry so much about it if you had adequate security measures in place, but you don't, so there is nothing to stop the paparazzi from getting too close and completely invading your privacy."

"Oh," was all I could say, too startled by his thoughts. It was one thing for me to think them, but Edward stating them just made the reality of what Lauren knew that much more real. I figured Lauren would tell her friends about Edward, but I hoped she wouldn't go to the media, at least not yet. Hell, she was such a gossip that her friends may not even believe her story about Edward and me, but all it would take was one person to believe her and call TMZ or some other celebrity stalking company. I could realistically see Lauren being the one to make the call. She would love to have that fifteen minutes of fame for being the one to reveal Edward's big secret.

I groaned as various scenarios involving Lauren, her gossipy friends, and the paparazzi chasing Edward and I went through my head. I stopped myself before it got out of control. I wasn't going to allow Lauren to make my life difficult. I would be prepared and ready for whatever was coming.

"What do I need to do?"

Edward responded quickly. He must've already had a list in his head. "At a minimum, you should have a high fence around the property with a gated entrance connected to a security system. I'd also like it if you had a bodyguard, but for now, the security system and fence should be enough."

I did not like the idea of having a bodyguard. The idea of having someone follow me around all day made my skin crawl. I didn't know how Edward put up with it, but I was agreeable to his other two recommendations. I knew I could get a security system put in quickly, but I wasn't sure about a fence in November during the week of a holiday.

"I should be able to get someone out here tomorrow to install a security system, but I will probably have to wait on getting a fence installed. How high should the fence be? Since I don't have a lot of neighbors in this part of town, I don't think there would be any height limits but I would need to check with the city. Thankfully, I already have a building permit so at least I don't have to mess with that."

Edward frowned and started to pace. "A proper security fence should be at least eight feet tall. You need something here sooner than later. Since I'll be here while you are working, I will have a security system installed today and do everything I can to get the fence put in too."

I could hear the dollar signs ching as I mentally watched my bank account dwindle at the thought of getting this all done today. Getting it done so quickly always meant paying a premium.

"Just find out how much first before you order anything. I will need to know how much to pull from the bank." I shuddered at how much my savings was going to bleed for this.

Edward shook his head emphatically. "Don't worry about the cost. You wouldn't need any of this if it weren't for me. I brought this invasion of your privacy into your life, so let me at least pay for the necessary measures to keep you safe."

I wanted to argue further but he had dug his heels in and would not budge, no matter how much I begged and pleaded.

"Fine, if you must."

Edward beamed like I had just given him the greatest gift ever. I had never seen a man so happy to spend obscene amounts of money before. "Thank you, Bella." He wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. "I want to be able to keep you safe and this way I can. The set up I have back in my place in LA works pretty well, so I'll just have to see if I can replicate that here."

"But didn't you tell me that you rent your place in LA?"

"Yes, I do, but I still have had to deal with having property security measures in place due to the media and paparazzi. My landlord and I worked out an agreement. He didn't seem to mind when it raised his property value, and his other non-celebrity tenants liked the extra security."

"Oh, well that worked out good then," I said dumbly, not sure what else to say.

Edward leaned down and kissed me tenderly, still quite pleased that I was willing to let him pay for something. I loved the feel of his soft lips on mine, even if it was just for a moment. His hands ran up and down my back soothingly.

I regretfully pulled away, my body aching to re-establish contact with his. "Off to work I go. Come up to the bar later if you have time."

Edward nodded and kissed me chastely as I gathered my things to leave.

"Love you," he murmured into my hair.

"Love you."

I would never get tired of hearing him say that.

As I made the short trip into town, I called my dad to tell him about our additional guest for Thanksgiving dinner. He would probably yell at me for talking on a cell phone while driving, citing all the accidents that occured when drivers were distracted.

The dispatcher at the police station picked up on the second ring. "Vermilion Police Department, how can I help you?"

I thought I recognized the woman's voice but I wasn't sure. Charlie had told me that they just hired a new dispatcher a month ago.

"Chief Swan, please," I prompted politely. I heard the dispatcher hesitate. The chief of police normally did not get direct calls. "It's his daughter, Bella," I said quickly.

"Oh, of course, I'm sorry, Ms. Swan. I'm still getting used to everything here," the woman said, flustered. "I'll send you right through."

"Thank you, and please call me Bella."

"Alright, Bella, one moment please."

I barely listened to the public service announcement that was playing while I was on hold. Thankfully I was saved from listening to it in it's entirety by my father as he picked up the phone.

"Bella! How are you doing, sweetheart?" My father's gravely voice never failed to make me feel better. Despite having grown up primarily with my mother, I was a daddy's girl.

After my parents divorce, I spent a few weeks every summer with my father. Even in that short time together, we had grown close. We were able to enjoy each other's company without filling it with incessant chatter. While I never grew to love baseball as my father did, I had many pleasant memories of spending time with him in the living room of his house as he watched the Indians game while I read a book. It was quite unlike the time I spent with my mother who hated silences and would talk nonstop, no matter what was going on.

"I'm good, Dad, thank you. Anything exciting going on at the station today?" I held the phone to my ear with my shoulder as I used both hands to turn into the parking lot of the Midnight Sun.

"Not really. Vermilion is usually pretty quiet. We'll get some domestics later in the week. Holidays always bring out the best in people."

Ah, my father introduced the prefect segue to what I wanted to talk about. "I'm glad you mentioned the holidays, Dad, because that was the reason I called."

"Oh?" he prompted.

"First, can you see if any of the guys want to pick up some hours working security on Friday? I need some extra help Friday night at the bar. We are having some live music and the musician is a little more well-known than others we've had, and I'm expecting a crowd."

"Sure, Bella. I'll post a notice as soon as we get off the phone. I'm sure Tyler or Embry would probably jump at the chance for extra money. They've been asking for off-duty work."

"And the second part of what I wanted to talk to you about is Thanksgiving." I blushed as I got out of the truck and walked towards the entrance of the bar. My dad wasn't even here for me to see the look on his face but I could only imagine him with an eyebrow raised. "I invited someone to dinner with us. I hope you don't mind. It's been just the two of us for so long…"

"Uh… err…" My father mumbled. He never mumbles.

"Dad? Is that okay?" I was starting to panic now. "If you don't want to have anyone else over, I guess I can tell him to go home to his folks but-"

"Him?" Protective Father Figure showed himself at the mention of a member of the opposite sex and myself.

Now it was my turn to mumble. "Um, yeah. Do you remember Anthony, the guy that saved me from Mike Sullivan when he attacked me a few months ago?"

Angela smiled and looked at me curiously as I walked by the bar while I talked to Charlie. I smiled back and tried not to look as flustered as I felt. I quickly closed my office door and sat down at the desk.

"Yes," Charlie replied. "What was his last name again?"

Shit! "Um.. .Masen, Masen is his last name." I felt like crap for lying to him but we would tell him the truth on Thursday. "So, are you okay with him coming?"

Charlie appeared to regain his previous nervous mumbling. "Er, yeah... that should be fine…. Um…. Bells?"

My father's behavior was so out of the ordinary. It sounded like he was embarrassed. Nothing embarrassed my father, the chief of police, who had seen or heard just about everything possible.

"Yeah, Dad? What is it?"

I fidgeted with a pen on my desk as my computer powered up.

"Um, I guess we are going to have a bigger Thanksgiving than either of us anticipated."

"How so?" I was thoroughly confused now.

"I invited someone too," my father said softly. "Her name is Sue."

"Oh really?" I asked excitedly. My father had been alone for so long. I was ecstatic that he had a girlfriend.

My father picked up on my enthusiasm and was a little more forthcoming. "Yeah, and she's bringing her daughter along too. I think her daughter is about your age, maybe a year or two younger."

"That's great, Dad! I can't wait to meet them. How long have you been seeing Sue?"

"Um, awhile," he admitted. "Shortly after the whole Mike Sullivan incident."

I was floored. My father had managed to keep his relationship a secret for over two months? I was impressed. "Wow, Dad! I'm really happy for you. This is just so awesome. Thanksgiving this year is going to be very exciting!"

"Yes," Charlie agreed, "I think it will be."

We said our goodbyes as I got settled in my office. I was so incredibly happy for Charlie. He deserved some happiness. Thankfully, I had bought enough food for the additions, although that would mean hardly any leftovers.

Angela broke through my thoughts as she knocked on my office door, shortly before she opened it. "Hey, Bella."

"Hi, Ang," I replied, as I pulled up some of the files on the computer.

"So, how'd it go last night?" she asked.

Well, she certainly didn't beat around the bush.

Angela wiggled her eyebrows at me suggestively. I blushed which made Angela burst out into giggles.

"Well, I'm glad you two made up."

I tried to ignore the innuendo that Angela was suggesting as I spoke. "Yeah, we were finally able to get a lot of things out in the open. Things are good."

Angela peered at me before her gaze turned naughty, "How good, Bella?"

"Angela!" I loudly whispered, shocked. She hardly ever talked like that.

"Just teasing, Bella. I really didn't expect you to answer and I honestly really don't want to know."

"Oh thank God, otherwise I'd have to ask about you and Jacob."

That seemed to shut her up. I chuckled as I opened up the financial reports from the last quarter.

"Anyway, did you know my dad has a girlfriend?" I asked Angela.

Angela's face broke into a huge smile. "No, I didn't. That's great. Charlie is a good man."

"That he is. I'm very happy for him. I get to meet her and her daughter for Thanksgiving."

"Speaking for Thanksgiving, are we still closing early tomorrow night and closed on Thursday?" Angela asked, then spoke with up with another question. "Oh, is Edward going to dinner with you?"

"Yep, we are sticking with the same schedule we had last year. Edward will be joining us for dinner at Charlie's where I will introduce him with his real name. I am hoping that my Dad will be so shocked that he forgets where he keeps his service pistol and his shotgun."

Angela's jaw dropped, but she didn't say anything.

"Then on Friday, Edward will be performing a small show here at the bar. It's not going to be publicized, just whomever comes. I've already arranged for some extra security from the police department to help manage the crowds."

"Does Jessica know?"

I laughed. "Oh, she most certainly does! She is the reason why Edward is even doing the concert. He felt bad about what happened this summer and wanted to make up for it."

"That's nice of him."

"Yeah, I thought it was pretty cool. We will get a nice chunk of business from it too. Oh, we need to brainstorm about what to do with the media and paparazzi. I have a feeling it's going to get very crazy around here very soon."

"Oh really? What happened?" Angela asked worriedly.

"Well, after the interview last night, the tabloids are already out looking to figure out who I am. Edward and I didn't help that any by going to the grocery store earlier and being spotted by Lauren Matthews."

"Oh shit!"

I rarely ever heard Angela swear. I just stared at her for a moment in shock. "Yeah, and you know what a gossip she is. I am going to assume she's already called a few people. I don't want the staff to be distracted by anybody coming in asking questions, nor do I want my life upended any more than it already has been."

Angela pulled up a chair and we tossed ideas back and forth on how best to combat the inevitable media storm that was heading our way. We decided to draw up a non-disclosure affidavit for each employee to sign which was essentially a gag order on speaking about Edward and my relationship with him to anyone. We would also be hooking up our phones to an answering machine. The answering machine could wait until later when I could get to the story. The NDA needed to be done today. I printed up enough copies for everyone while Angela slipped out of my office to gather everyone for an impromptu meeting.

A/N Thank you for reading! Please review! I post teasers in review replies (if you don't want a teaser, just let me know. I also post a second teaser in the thread on Twilighted. Come join us in the thread for BFTO: www (dot) twilighted (dot) net/forum/viewtopic (dot) php?f=44&t=9524

I have also signed up for the Fics for Nashville contest to help out the victims of the flooding. If there is something in particular you'd like me to write, drop me a line. I'm open to whatever. :D If you want information on Fics for Nashville, go here: einfach-mich (dot) livejournal (dot) com/67615 (dot) html