Bella's POV

I woke up feeling disoriented, but well-rested. Looking around, I saw that I was home and somehow had gotten out of my shoes and jeans, leaving me in the T-shirt, bra, panties, and socks I'd worn to Seattle the day before. Poor Ang! I'd fallen asleep, and she'd had to drive back with me asleep beside her and no one to keep her company. I looked at the clock and realized it was early enough that Ben was probably still home and hadn't eaten yet, so I threw on a pair of shorts and padded quietly into the kitchen.

The house was dark and quiet, but I knew he'd have to be up soon for work, so I started the coffee and then began the process of making Belgian waffles with blueberry syrup. The syrup wasn't homemade, but the waffles I made from scratch. It really wasn't a hard process—in fact, I found it very relaxing to cook—and they tasted so much better than anything I could buy.

Twenty minutes later, Ben and Angela followed their sniffing noses into the kitchen, and I greeted them each with their choice of coffee.

"Black for you," I said to Ben, handing him his cup, "and milk with a splash of coffee for you."

Angela tried giving me the evil eye, but when she yawned right in the middle of it, the effect was completely ruined.

"Mmm, smells great, Bella. Waffles?"

Angela perked up when Ben mentioned waffles, the word connecting her brain to the scent she'd smelled on her way in.

"Yeah, I wanted to say thank you both for getting me and all my new things home safe and sound. Ben, I vaguely remember waking up as you were carrying me inside, but you calmed me down, and I must have fallen right back to sleep. I'm guessing it was you, Angela, who changed my clothes, and not your fiancé."

He smirked, earning a bop on the shoulder from Angela for teasing me.

"Of course it was me," she said, grinning. "No way am I gonna chance him getting his uh...privates pulled off if you wake up to find a man disrobing you without your consent! I need him in one piece for the ceremony and honeymoon." At that, she turned toward me and waggled her eyebrows suggestively, and I burst out laughing when Ben's face became as red as a tomato.

We ate and talked until Ben looked at his watch. He quickly stood up and took his plate to the sink. "You guys have fun today cleaning and painting. Be home for dinner, and I'll grill some steak and chicken and make baked potatoes. Sound good?" He picked up his keys and coat, patting his pockets to make sure he had everything before coming back to the table.

"Sounds great, sweetie," Angela said before he leaned down to kiss her goodbye.

"Yummy, grilled chicken. Thanks, Ben!" I said, the thought making my stomach growl, even though I was already full from breakfast.

He smiled and kissed the top of my head, patting my shoulder as he headed toward the door. "No problem, Bells. See you both later!"

Ang and I finished eating and then unloaded the dishwasher together before adding back in the rinsed dishes from breakfast.

After a quick clean up of the kitchen, I said, "Okay, I need a shower before we go over, even though I know we'll be getting dirty and sweaty. So give me half an hour, and I'll be ready to go."

She nodded, settling down into a chair in the living room with a book. "I, uh, had a shower this morning when we woke up." When she blushed, I laughed, knowing she and Ben had showered together. "I'm just wearing this old pair of jeans and the T-shirt that I've worn to paint in before, so make sure to wear something you don't mind ending up getting like this!" She turned the shirt enough that I could see splotches of paint in various colors.

"Don't worry. I've got just the thing," I said, chuckling. I quickly headed to my room to strip out of the shorts and yesterday's clothes.

I turned on the radio to one of my favorite classical stations and got into the shower, letting the hot water and music from Bach and Beethoven relax all the sore muscles due to yesterday's shopping marathon. When "Clair de Lune" came on, I sank to my knees, letting the water flow over my head and down my back. I felt the music wash over me, and I was suddenly reminded of why I was doing this. I realized that instead of wallowing about it, I needed to embrace it and let it give me courage and strength.

With a newfound purpose, I finished my shower and got dressed, quickly blew my hair dry, and pulled it into a messy ponytail. Then I pulled on my favorite baseball cap that said "Bite Me" on the front. It was faded and old from being worn so much, but I hadn't thrown it out yet, even though I'd bought a new one. One of my dad's old T-shirts—I'd found it in my clean laundry after the last time I visited, and I hadn't given it back—a holey pair of jeans, and an old pair of sneakers completed the outfit.

I turned off the radio, grabbed my keys, and left my room, walking quietly into the living room when I heard Angela on the phone.

"Sure, honey. I can do that. See you then." She hung up the phone and grinned.

"Okay, two questions. What did Ben forget today, and two, why the hell are you grinning at me like that?" I tried to look at as much of myself as I could to see what had her grinning like a fool.

She laughed. "His lunch. So I'm just gonna run and pick up a burger and take it to him at one. I'm grinning because you look cute. Relaxed, happy, and absolutely ready to paint. Ready to go?"

I smiled my thanks and agreement and nodded. "Do you know where my jacket is?"

"Oh! It's still in the truck. The keys for it are on the table. You go grab it and then meet me at the car. I'm gonna unpack Ben's lunch so it'll still be good tomorrow, and then I'll meet you out there. Mind if I drive your car this afternoon, or should we take mine?"

I shrugged. "We can take mine. I know you've been wanting to drive it since I got it."

"Good, 'cause Ben loaded everything we'd need today into your trunk and back seat, so I'd hate to have to switch everything!" She laughed. "Okay, let's go! I'm itching to get inside and start painting."

A few minutes later, we were talking about what to do first as we pulled up and parked in front of the store. I felt a thrill run through me when I realized, again, that it was all mine.

"Let's do this," I said, almost jumping out the car.

Angela laughed. "Just a bit excited, aren't you?"

"I am! I decided it was time to stop worrying and thinking about all the negative things and just relax, enjoy it, and remember all the good things right now. So...yes, very excited!"

She met me around at the trunk and gave me a hug. "That's a great attitude, Bells. Now, what do you want me to carry in?"

I handed her a bucket of paint and the keys to unlock the door. "Could you please find something to prop the door open so we can carry everything in without having to open the door every time? Just set the paint off to the side."

"Sure." She left me to grab two containers of paint and follow behind her.

We walked up the stairs to the apartment door, rather than going through the store.

She used her paint to hold open the door. I added one of mine to make sure it stayed and then set the other off to the side out of our way.

Seven trips later, we had all the paint and cleaning supplies unloaded into the living room. We shut the door and then collapsed on the floor, sweating and breathing hard.

"Do those windows open?" Ang asked.

I nodded as I stood back up to open them, letting in some air, and then quickly dropped to the floor beside her. We sat for a few minutes, letting the cool breeze sweep over us. It was only nine in the morning, so it didn't take long for us to cool down.

"Okay, there isn't any painting to do downstairs, aside from the trim outside, so all I wanna do is a bit of cleaning. It's not too bad, but I do wanna dust everything. I decided just now, though, that since I wanna inventory all the books before I open, I might as well wait and do the cleaning down there when I do that. I know we're bound to track stuff in when we're going in and out Saturday anyway, so there's no real point in doing much cleaning now. So I say we just start cleaning and painting up here. Sound good?"

Ang nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Where do you wanna start? Biggest room or smallest?"

I thought for a second. "Let's start in here and then do the bedroom. If the bathroom and kitchen don't get painted before Saturday, it isn't too big of an issue."

"Works for me. Here ya go," she said.

She grabbed a tarp and tossed one to me, and we quickly covered the pretty wood floor and went up the baseboards, using the painter's tape to hold them in place.

"This room is the light silvery gray, except for that wall, which is the dark navy, right?" Angela was standing over the jugs of paint, sorting them into groups.

"Yeah, that's what I decided. I wanted the navy behind the bookshelf." I took one jug of the gray and a tray from her and then poured the paint in as she came over with the rollers.

"Ooh, Bella! This is so pretty! I think we'll need a second coat, but it's so soft looking. Know what I mean?"

I nodded, already picturing the room finished and filled with furniture. We continued talking as we painted, and it only took us thirty minutes to finish the first coat.

"You wanna start on the navy wall while I rinse the rollers and tray?" Angela asked as she poured the extra paint from the tray back into the container.

"Sure. Here's my roller. I'll grab the other one and then go ahead and start while you rinse. When you finish, if you wanna start in the bedroom with the light green, that would be good. I should be able to do this wall pretty quickly by myself since it's a lot smaller than the others total."

"Got it," she said, moving to the kitchen.

By eleven o'clock, I'd finished the navy accent wall and we'd finished the first coat of green in the bedroom.

"How ya doin'? Feeling okay to keep going?" I smiled, hoping she'd agree, because I really wanted to get it all done today and it would be much easier with the two of us.

"Sure! Give me your roller and then grab the tray and pour back in the extra paint. We can clean them and let them dry while we use the first set to do the kitchen. We should have enough time to paint the first coat of yellow in there and the first coat of blue in the bathroom before I have to run some lunch to Ben."

We did some juggling with the painting stuff and then headed into the kitchen. Once the rollers and tray had been washed and set out to dry, Angela started with the yellow while I quickly cleaned the sink, counters, and the inside and outside of the cabinets before joining her in painting.

"Wow, that's bright!"

I laughed. "I know, but remember, the paint guy at Lowe's assured me that it would dry a bit darker, especially after a second coat."

"I hope so," she said with a laugh. "It's one thing to have a sunny yellow kitchen. It's another to feel like a lemon threw up all over it!" She giggled and then squealed as I pretended to fling paint at her.

We laughed and joked our way through the kitchen, rinsed out the rollers and tray, and then grabbed two brushes and the beautiful light blue I'd chosen for the bathroom.

"Okay, you take the wall by the sink, and I'll clean the tub and toilet. Then I'll start the wall by them, and we'll meet at the corner. We have about thirty minutes until you need to leave, but this is a small room, so that should be plenty of time."

I tossed her a roll of tape, and we each taped off the toilet, sink, and window, and then I poured out some paint, and we got to work. A few minutes later, I happened to look in the mirror and giggled at what I saw. I had splotches of five different colors of paint on my face, hat, and in my ponytail, and when I started looking down my front, I realized my clothes and arms hadn't fared any better. Angela turned to see why I was giggling.

All it took was me pointing at the mirror and then pointing at her to make her realize she looked as silly as I did. We had a hard time finishing the bathroom because we kept looking at each other and laughing.

Finally, at a few minutes before one, we were rinsing off the brushes and tray. The entire apartment had its first coat of paint, and when Angela got back from lunch with Ben, we could start the second coats and be completely finished by the time he came home from work. It was a good thing Ben had volunteered to cook tonight, since I doubted either of us would have the energy.

"Okay, scoot! Go enjoy lunch with Ben. I'll probably head to the coffee shop down the street and grab something to eat and drink before you get back."

"Thanks, Bells. See you in a bit." She grabbed the keys to my car, leaving me the key to the store, and headed downstairs.

~*~CIBD~*~

I thought about going down to the coffee shop, but had another idea instead. I grabbed the store key, a brush, and the paint I'd bought for the trim outside, and then I walked downstairs through the store. The paint was the same navy as the accent wall in the living room—except made for outdoor use—because I thought it would go well with the burgundy of the new awning and the paint I'd gotten for the store name on the window.

Once downstairs, I grabbed the ladder from the back room and then went out front to begin painting the trim around the door and window.

Deciding to start at the top of the window and work my way down, I climbed up the ladder and taped off the glass so I didn't have to do any cleaning after. Once it was taped, I climbed down, poured a bit of paint into the tray, grabbed my brush, and made my way up the ladder again.

I'd only been painting for about five minutes when a bird swooped by me, squawked in my ear, and scared the shit out of me. I dropped my brush, and in my rush to try to keep the tray from falling and spilling paint everywhere, my foot slipped. I threw my hands out, scrambling to catch myself, but I couldn't get a hold on the ladder. It started to wobble, and I felt myself beginning to fall backward. I screamed and grabbed the back of my head, just waiting to feel the hard concrete of the sidewalk break my fall—and most probably break me in the process.

Instead, I felt myself enveloped in a pair of strong arms just before I hit the ground. They pulled me up and into a warm, muscular chest. Without caring at this particular moment who my rescuer was, I buried my face in his neck and began to sob.

"Bella?" His deep voice sounded worried. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you when I caught you? Was I too late and you hit your head before I pulled you up? Please, Bella, calm down for a minute and talk to me!"

I sniffled and took a few calming breaths before whispering, "I'm okay. I'm not hurt—just a late reaction to being absolutely scared to death." My voice was muffled, buried in the crook of his neck. Wait...his? Oh my God! Who was the man who has his arms wrapped around me, holding me, and whose neck I had sobbed into? More importantly, how did he know my name?

I tried to scramble down and out of the stranger's arms.

"Hold on, please. Let me make sure you didn't hurt or break anything as you slipped and tried to grab onto the ladder. If you're injured, I don't want you to hurt yourself further."

I relaxed enough for him to check my fingers, hands, and ankles. "I'm fine, really. I was just reacting to being scared, not because I was hurting. Please, put me down now."

I lifted my head and realized I was staring into the most beautiful green eyes I'd ever seen. He had amazing lips, although they were currently set in a frown, and his hair, a gorgeous bronze color, looked like he'd just rolled out of bed, whether from sleeping or sex, I couldn't guess. Then I remembered that this stranger still had me in his arms and knew my name, and no matter how stunning he was to look at, he could very well be a stalker or a monster. I began to struggle again to get down.

He gently set me on my feet, taking a step back.

My voice was still shaking as I said, "Thank you very much for catching me. That could've been very bad. I'm sorry, but have we met? I don't know your name, but you seem to know mine...?"

"Oh! I'm so sorry." He chuckled, the tips of his ears turning pink. "My name's Edward Cullen. I own Masen Music next door. I've seen you a few times, first with the realtor, then by yourself when you let yourself in the first time with keys, and then again today. Since the sign says Bella's Books, I just assumed you were the new owner and your name was Bella. I apologize for scaring you. I'm glad you're okay. I was on my way back to my store with coffee when I saw the bird fly by. You and the ladder started to wobble, and...well, instinct just took over, and I dropped everything and ran. I didn't want you to fall all the way to the ground and really hurt yourself."

He was babbling adorably, but finally seemed to realize it, as his ears turned even more red.

"Anyway, uh, welcome to the neighborhood. I live above my store, so if you ever have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to ask." He nodded once and then turned to go back to his store.

I quickly realized I'd embarrassed him. "No, Edward, wait. Please."

~*~*~CIBD~*~*~

Edward's POV

At her please, I stopped and slowly turned around.

"I'm sorry I overreacted. You didn't do anything out of line. I was still shaken up from the fall and the rescue, and hearing my name from a stranger gave me a bit of a shock. I hadn't even thought about it being in the window!"

She laughed, and I relaxed a bit.

"Now, I believe I owe you a cup of coffee since you did drop yours to rescue me. Do you have time to go with me to the coffee shop and get another, or do you need to get back? Honestly, I could probably go for sitting down for a bit with some hot chocolate or something to help calm my nerves after that almost disaster. I'd love the company and the chance to thank you properly."

I glanced at my watch. "I do have time, yes. My assistant, Sasha, is great at the job, so she can handle it for a few more minutes on her own."

Bella poured the paint from the tray—which had thankfully stayed where it was—back into the container, laid the brush on top, and folded up the ladder, setting everything inside. Then she locked the door, and we walked quietly down to the coffee shop.

When we got inside, she said, "What would you like? If you grab us a table, I'll get our stuff and then come sit down. I'm getting a sandwich since I haven't had lunch, so if you'd like something to eat, just tell me."

"Black coffee, please," I said. "Also, I can pay for my own."

"No, I insist. If it weren't for me and my clumsiness, you wouldn't have dropped it."

I chuckled. "Okay, but I insist on paying for my food since you didn't make me drop any of that."

She smiled and agreed. I handed her a five dollar bill and said I would take whatever she was getting for myself, food-wise. When she smirked, I knew she could make me regret saying that, but I had a feeling she wouldn't.

She spoke to the cashier, paid, and then got the ticket before heading over to the booth I'd chosen.

We sat quietly, a little awkwardness to the silence, but nothing too bad, until our number was called. She stood up to go get it, but I quickly took the ticket from her fingers and gently pushed her back into my seat.

"I'll get it," I said, smirking playfully. "After all, I don't want our lunch flying through the air and landing on some poor, unsuspecting soul when you trip and fall." I danced away quickly before the hand she'd pulled back to smack me with even came close to hitting me.

While I was walking back with our food, I saw her friend from before walk in. I got to the table just as she spoke.

"Hey, Bella! Decided to take a break and eat lunch?"

Bella nodded, looking suddenly shy and a little nervous. "Umm, Ang, this is Edward, uh, Cullen. He owns the music store next to the bookstore. We met earlier, and I accidentally made him drop his coffee, so I offered to buy him a new one." She was adorable when she was ruffled. "We're both hungry, so we decided to eat a quick bite, too. Edward, this is my best friend and fellow painter, if you couldn't tell by our matching hair and outfits, Angela Webber. Ang, you wanna join us?"

She opened her eyes wide and looked toward the door, as if hoping her friend would say no—or maybe that was wishful thinking on my part. I wanted to get to know her friend, but more than that, I wanted to get to know Bella herself.

"Oh, no, thanks. I'm stuffed. Ben and I just finished lunch. I thought I'd get started painting the second coat in the living room while you eat. Just give me the keys so I can get in, and then I'll be on my way!"

Bella smiled, took her keys from her pocket, and looked at her watch. "I'll be back around two thirty, okay Ang?"

"That's fine. Don't rush it. We'll have plenty of time to finish today." She smiled. "Nice to meet you, Edward. I'm sure I'll see you again. See you in a while, Bells. Don't worry, you don't have a curfew, and I won't be like your parents and spy through the curtains when he brings you back, in case he wants to kiss you!" Leaning down, she murmured quietly to Bella, and even though I tried not to listen, I heard her whisper, "And trust me, I'll be begging you to spill all the details." Then she turned and walked out, obviously pleased when Bella groaned.

Bella hid her face with her hands.

I reached over and pulled them away. "Please, don't hide your face. The blush just makes you even prettier than you already are."

She got even more pink.

"Plus, it matches all the paint perfectly!"

That lightened the mood considerably, and we both laughed.

Finally, she took a deep breath, one last giggle squeaking out before she asked, "Okay, I'm hungry. I got two club sandwiches—one with mustard, one with mayo. I wasn't sure which you'd prefer."

"The mustard, definitely, unless you want it."

"Oh, no, I actually prefer the mayo, so that works out perfectly." She took her sandwich and drink before pushing the tray my way. "So, how long have you had Masen Music? Where did the Masen come from?"

I added two sugars to my coffee and stirred it as I answered. "I bought it a year ago. Well, just over a year, right after I graduated from college and realized there was nothing at the moment that I wanted to do with my music degree. I teach some private piano lessons in the evenings sometimes and occasionally will go to Seattle and play at some of the clubs and bars. Masen was my birth parents' name. My full name is Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, but I tend to just go by Edward Cullen. Masen Music sounded better than Cullen Music, though, so that's why I used that." I took a bite of my sandwich and drink of my coffee and then asked, "So what's your story, Bella?"

"Short version, for now at least—"

I grinned to myself that there might be more with her later.

"—I graduated not too long ago with a major in English Literature and decided I didn't wanna teach. It's been my dream since I was a little girl to own a bookstore, because I love to read and love to help others enjoy it, too. Angela and her boyfriend, now fiancé, moved here shortly after graduation, and I'd been going through some things, so they offered to let me come stay with them until I was ready to get back up on my feet."

She told me about finding the bookstore, and I smiled sympathetically when she explained about Angela and Ben springing their engagement and impending move the same day she signed the papers for the store.

"So buying the store when I did and being able to live above it was a saving grace, to be honest." She looked at her watch. "Oh crap! I need to go. We really need to finish getting the apartment painted today so it's sure to be completely dry before we move in the furniture on Saturday morning. I don't want Angela to have to do all the second coats by herself, so I really need to run. I'm sorry to rush out!"

"No worries, Bella. But do me a favor, please! Let me paint the trim for you while you're painting upstairs. I won't be able to stop worrying about you falling off the ladder again. I don't have any lessons tonight, so I can do a quick first coat now, and then after I close this evening, I'll run over and do a second coat. If you're already gone, I'll leave the paint and stuff in my shop, and you can get it the next time you're around."

She thought about it for a minute and then sighed. "All right, but only if you let me promise to repay you by making dinner for you sometime after I get moved in."

Hell yes. "Deal." I grinned. Throwing a small tip down on the table, I picked up her drink and handed it to her before grabbing my coffee. "Let's get outta here. I'm sure Angela is dying for more information. I know my sister would be." I rolled my eyes and grinned again as she laughed.

We quickly walked back to the stores, and she called Angela to come let her in. Then she took my cell phone and called her own phone, saving her number in my phone before handing it back to me and saving mine on hers. "I'll run down and leave the paint just outside the door for you for when you're ready. Call me when you're finished, and if I'm still here, I'll let you in to bring it all inside. Otherwise, I'll see you tomorrow. And umm, Edward..." She leaned up and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks again for saving me."

I smiled. "It was my pleasure. Thanks for the coffee. Enjoy your painting."

She laughed and then waved as she ran up the stairs.

I waited until she'd opened the door to the apartment and closed it behind her before turning back to my store, a big smile plastered across my face.