Bella's POV

I'd just gotten back from having lunch with Edward, and I had to laugh at Angela's eagerness. I told her all the details of how we met, including how strong and warm his arms had felt, to our conversation as we ate lunch and walked back to the store. "So I gave him my number and got his, and he's painting the trim outside for me."

She squealed excitedly. "That's awesome. He's cute, Bells! Just think, he's your neighbor," she said in a teasing whisper. "His living room windows and bedroom windows are like—" she peeked out the window "—six feet from yours!"

I tried to calm her down. "Yes, Ang, I know. He's gorgeous." My voice softened. "He's sweet, nice, a musician...and by the way, did I mention he's gorgeous?"

We laughed together as we grabbed the rollers to continue with the second coat where Angela had left off. Sometime mid-afternoon, Angela called Ben to say we'd decided pizza would be best for dinner since we were both so tired and sore that we wouldn't be able to enjoy much else.

By five thirty, we had the entire apartment finished. We were exhausted and covered head to toe in paint, but it was done.

"Thanks for all the help, Ang. It would have taken me forever to do this by myself!"

"No problem, sweetie. Now let's get home, order some pizza, open a bottle of wine, and then each take a long, hot soak in the tub. I don't know about you, but my muscles are already feeling it," she said with a groan as she stretched.

She was right; I could already feel everything tightening up. A glass, or three, of wine and a hot bath would be heavenly right now. We made sure all the paint stuff was cleaned and set aside and then grabbed the changes of clothes we'd brought with us so we wouldn't get the car covered in any leftover wet paint. We changed quickly before leaving the apartment with our paint clothes in a bag, locking the door behind us. Once we got outside, I saw that a lot of the trim was done, but Edward and the painting stuff weren't in sight.

After we left, I called Edward's number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Edward. It's Bella. From this afternoon?" I didn't want to be forward and just assume that he would know who I was.

"Hey, Bella! I just was about to head out and finish. My assistant needed to go early today, so I had to come in and finish out the day. I just closed at five and was finishing up the day's paperwork before going back out. I take it you're gone already?"

"Yup, we just left. Angela was ready to get home and see Ben."

"Ah, right. The fiancé. Well, that's to be expected. Okay, well, enjoy your evening. I'll go finish up out there and then bring everything inside with me. Just call me when you get to the store, and I'll bring everything over to you. Sound good?"

"Perfect, thanks. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Oh, and Bella?"

"Yeah?"

He chuckled. "If I remember anything from a year ago, you're gonna be really sore tonight. You and Angela should both soak in a hot bath and take some Ibuprofen before bed, and that should help."

I smiled softly. "Thanks, Edward. Good idea. Talk to you tomorrow. Good night."

"Good night, Bella."

I hung up the phone and smiled.

"Well?" Angela asked, grinning.

I told her what Edward had said about the medicine and bath, my tummy fluttering as I remembered his sweet voice.

She laughed. "He sounds like a smart guy."

I rolled my eyes and laughed along with her.

We got home and ordered pizza, which arrived shortly after Ben. Angela barely let him in the door before telling him all about Edward's "heroic rescue" and the resulting lunch and offer to paint the trim.

"Well, maybe I should head over there tomorrow at lunch and talk to him. See what his intentions are," Ben said with a half-serious smirk on his face.

I shoved his shoulder. "I know I've known you for a damn long time, but what are you? My father? You will do no such thing!"

He laughed, moving away from me. "Well, maybe I won't. But your dad is coming up on Saturday, right? Maybe I'll tell him what a great job Edward did of painting the trim after you guys had lunch..."

He snickered, and this time, Angela poked him in the side. "Bella's an adult and doesn't need you, or her father, to screen who she chooses to see, Mr. Nosypants."

I gave her a high five, and then we continued to eat pizza and drink good wine, talking and laughing the whole time. I finally realized that my arms and shoulders were killing me. I stood up and got a couple of glasses of water and the bottle of Ibuprofen, handing one glass to Angela and setting the other down in front of me. After dumping out four tablets, I gave two to her and downed the other two with my water.

"Okay, you lovebirds. I'm gonna go take a quick shower to wash all the paint off and then soak in a hot bath before I crash. See you in the morning, Ang. Ben, I'm probably gonna sleep until after you go to work, so have a good day. Good night, you guys."

They said good night as they settled down in front of the TV to watch before going to bed.

I quickly showered off, washing my hair twice to get out all the paint that I'd somehow gotten onto my ponytail, and then ran the bath water, adding in some strawberry-scented bubbles. Once the water had cooled, I got out and toweled off, pulled on a T-shirt and panties before climbing into bed.

I grabbed my cell and—bravely or stupidly, I wasn't sure which—sent a text off to Edward.

The bath and ibuprofen helped, thanks! See you tomorrow.

I waited anxiously to see if he'd even respond. Three minutes later, my phone beeped.

I'm glad! Take some more meds in the morning if you're sore still! See you tomorrow.

I grinned and set the phone on my bedside table before falling asleep, wanting the next day to come faster than I knew it would.

~*~*~CIBD~*~*~

Edward's POV

When we got back from lunch and Bella thanked me with a kiss on my cheek, I watched her run up the stairs and inside the apartment before I walked the few feet to my door. Stepping inside, I was just in time to hold the door open for a customer, who was walking out with a bag of music books in her hand.

"Thank you! Come back again soon."

She smiled and murmured her thanks before walking on to her car.

I let the door close and made my way to the counter. "Everything going okay, Sasha?"

"It's been pretty steady. No problems. Couple of people asked about piano lessons, so I took their information and said you'd call them soon. You do remember that I need to leave early today for an appointment, right?"

"Great, thanks. Yes, at four, right? I'm gonna help the new owner of the bookstore by painting the trim around the door and window. Call me if you have a problem, but otherwise, I'll be back over here by three thirty so you have plenty of time."

"Thanks," she said, smiling at a customer that had just walked in.

I smiled at the man as I passed him and heard Sasha greet the man and ask if she could help him.

Walking back to Bella's, I saw that she'd set the painting stuff outside the door as promised. I made sure the ladder was sturdy before pouring some new paint into the tray and climbing up to start above the window, where she'd been painting before falling from the ladder.

I looked at my watch a while later and was surprised to see that it was time to put the paint stuff away for the afternoon. I gathered up all the supplies, poured the extra paint back in, and then carried it into my store, leaving the ladder and container of paint in the storage room in back. "Sasha, lemme run upstairs and clean these, and then I'll be back down to take over."

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. I closed the store at five and then started on paperwork. A movement outside caught my attention, and I watched as Bella and Angela, now in clean clothes, got into the car, talking and laughing. I smiled, thinking back to our lunch and how much I'd enjoyed it.

After they were gone, my cell phone rang. I didn't look at the caller ID, assuming it was one of my siblings. "Hello?"

"Hi, Edward. It's Bella. From this afternoon?" Her voice sounded unsure, as if I might not remember who Bella was.

"Hey, Bella! I just was about to head out and finish." I told her about having to come in and close since Sasha had left early. Right before we hung up, I gave her the advice that no one had given me when I'd spent a full day painting my first time.

"Thanks, Edward. Good idea. Talk to you tomorrow. Good night."

"Good night, Bella." I hung up the phone and smiled, hurrying to finish my paperwork so I'd have plenty of time to finish up the painting while it was still light outside.

Nearly two hours later, I'd done the second coat of the navy and finished the paint job just as the sky was beginning to lose a little light. I carried everything in, again leaving the paint and ladder in the storage room, and took the brush and tray up to my apartment. I washed them and set them to dry before calling for pizza.

Once it arrived, I hurried downstairs to the shop door to get it and then plopped down in front of the TV, watching some cheesy horror movie while I ate.

I was just getting ready for bed when my phone beeped, signaling I had a new message. I figured it was just Emmett, since he tended to text me random dirty jokes and stupid messages, but I smiled when I saw it was from Bella. I quickly texted her back so she would know I was thinking about her.

I'd been surprised earlier to get her phone call and was even more shocked to get her text. As I pulled on my boxers, I looked out my window into her currently empty one. I climbed into bed, setting my phone on the nightstand beside me. I knew my dreams tonight would be of the beautiful brunette that had completely captured my attention.