"There is no surprise more magical than the surprise of being loved.
It is God's finger on man's shoulder."
Charles Morgan

CHAPTER 9: IMPOSSIBLE LOVE

Since Edward wasn't going to bother with picking up his car until we were actually heading down to their family estate on Wednesday, Jasper drove us over to Edward's and Alice's parents home.

He was also going to be picking up their twins from 'Grandma and Grandpa's' place. I was excited to meet their children. I'd always really, really enjoyed being around kids. I remembered my unfulfilled dream of being a teacher and felt a little downhearted for a moment.

Luckily Edward didn't notice, since he and Jasper were excitedly going over cricket team rosters. Man, they love their cricket around here. I absently ran my fingers though the hair at the back of his neck. Boys and sports… I mused silently. Edward and my dad would get along famously, I was sure.

It only took fifteen minutes to drive over to the other side of Holland Park, to the Cullen's family home. It was the home that Carlisle had brought his new bride home to after they'd gotten married. The street name was even Cullen-ish sounding—Observatory Gardens.

It was a very large, row-house style home, with each being basically identical to the next. But these were no ordinary row houses. They looked four stories tall, with red brick and white stone facades surrounding the curved first-floor windows and front doors. The second floor windows were bay-window styled, with the third floor appearing less ornate. The very top floor had four small dormer windows, with curved roofs, reminding me of pictures I'd seen of French row houses. Very, very expensive French row houses… They were magnificent. We were only about ten minutes away from Kensington Gardens, which I was very excited about seeing.

Edward had promised that we would do some sight-seeing around London before we headed out to 'the country,' as he called it. I gave an involuntary smirk.

I was learning all kinds of new terms. Lift for elevator, boot for trunk, postbox for mail box… I suddenly remembered a quote that I had heard once in school, "Great Britain and America; two nations separated by a common language." I had to laugh at that now, especially since I was dating a 'Brit.'

Dating? That didn't seem nearly strong enough of a word to describe our relationship. Especially since on the flight over he'd practically proposed marriage. He hadn't said anything else about it and I certainly wasn't going to bring it up.

If he really wanted that, he would come to it again when he was ready. I was ready, I knew that. I think that was why I wasn't super nervous about meeting his parents. As illogical as it seemed, it just felt right to take this next step. It didn't hurt that he'd told me so much about them on the plane ride over that I felt like I already knew them a little bit too.

As we walked up to their front door, it opened and two small children shot out. They looked to be about four years old, both blond and happy. They looked only a year older than they had in the picture I had spied on Lizzie's wall.

They saw their father first, who had his arms open wide to catch them as they came down the steps towards him. Edward and I were hand-in-hand and Jasper turned with both of his little cherubs in his arms, one perched on each. They had grown quiet and were staring at me. The little girl, Susanna, I remembered, pointed at me and asked rather loudly "Who's dat, papa?"

Jasper had taken a hold of her hand to gently push it back down. "Now darlin', it's not nice to point..." Then I saw a beautiful, graceful lady come down the stairs. She looked like a movie star from an earlier time. She had her mother Lizzie's eyes and apparently Edward had inherited his eyes and hair from this dazzling woman.

It was shorter than mine but much thicker. She had full, happy looking lips—I thought of them that way because I couldn't imagine her ever having a frown on her face. When she spoke just a few seconds later I realized why she had so quickly settled into a life surrounded by music—her voice had a sweet melody to it that was simply delightful.

"Susanna, do not be rude to your uncle's guest." Susanna closed her tiny mouth and lifted the arm that Jasper wasn't holding and waved to me. "Hellooo, predy lady." She said very clearly.

I was immediately smitten. I let go of Edward's hand and went straight to Jasper. I could feel my face was completely aglow by this point. "Hi, sweetheart, you're the pretty one." I reached up to her tiny outstretched hand and gave it a little shake. As I let go, she smiled hugely at me, clapped her hands together and laughed.

Her brother, not liking being left out from this 'strange lady's' attention, began to pout. I knew I only had seconds to impress him before he started to cry.

I don't know what made me do it but I looked him the eyes and gave a little salute, lowering my voice a little. "Hello, kind sir, it is a pleasure to meet you." He clapped his hands and reached out to me, as if he wanted me to take him from Jasper.

Jasper was stunned. So were Edward and his mother. Remembering his name was Joseph, I took him in my arms and started telling him one of my favorite stories as we walked back to the Range Rover, so that Jasper could take them home for their afternoon nap.

As I helped Jasper get them settled in their car seats that he'd pulled from the back of the car, the children both seemed to realize at the same time that I wasn't going with them. They started to scrunch up their eyes a little, as if they were deciding whether or not to cry. I kissed the ends of my fingers and reached in to give them both finger-kisses on each of their tender cheeks. "I'll see you both later sweethearts." I smiled brightly at them. They both became quiet and smiled back at me.

As I walked back to the front door, I was sure I saw Esme suddenly letting go of Edward's arm as she saw me heading back to them. I caught Edward's reply to whatever she'd said to him. "She's the most amazing woman I have ever or will ever meet." He was looking at me with an almost wistful expression on his face.

When I reached him and we'd started heading through the front door, we all turned to wave goodbye to Esme's angelic grandchildren and Jasper.

I felt him take my hand, caressing it lovingly, as he bent over and whispered breathily into my left ear. "You are so, so amazing. I really, really hope you want children…" I thought I heard his voice catch with his next words. "Because I definitely want you to be the mother of my children."

I got goose bumps all over my arms as he said this. It was said so compassionately that I had no way of responding. He hadn't given me time to since he'd already swept me into his childhood home and was introducing me to his mother and father.

Edward's arm was draped around my shoulders, tightly holding the top of my right arm and imperceptibly pressing me into his side. He was so… Proud. There really was no other word to describe how he sounded as he introduced me first to his mother and then his father.

His father appeared young, with a smooth, light complexion and almost white-blond hair. He had a regal smile and ice blue eyes. His eyes seemed to see everything… I started to feel a tiny bit nervous but they were both so gracious and such genuinely warm, loving individuals, that the feeling just simply evaporated.

As we had passed into their home, I took note of my surroundings. There was an ornate staircase to my right, with an enormous round, glass table in the open area just beyond the foyer, with one of the largest Chinese urns I had ever seen sitting on it, overflowing with what appeared to be a giant shower of wildflowers. To our left was a single step down into an open and plush looking front living room, with a huge stone fireplace dominating the space.

The mantel held dozens and dozens of photographs; of trips they'd taken as a family, of their children, their grandchildren… I also noticed that there was an empty spot, and I wondered what those frames had contained. Edward sheepishly told me later that right after he'd told his parents about their breakup, his mother had apparently quickly removed any pictures they had of himself and Lauren. Esme was apparently quite thrilled to do it, too, which just made me feel even more enamored with his mom.

There was an enormous gilded mirror directly above the mantel that was so high I couldn't see my reflection in it, but I could see the upper part of the staircase and several spectacular examples of impressionist paintings that were hanging on the wall there.

They asked about my trip, how I was feeling, if I thought it was too cold… I answered them with enthusiasm. I had enjoyed the trip and was very excited to be there. I also told them that the cold felt practically the same to me as it had in San Francisco. I mentioned that I thought London fog was overrated and couldn't possibly beat the Bay Area's since I hadn't even seen any yet. They both laughed in Edward's melodic tone. It was mesmerizing to listen to all of them talk and laugh together.

As we had been standing there talking in their front living room, I noticed that there was a second part to the room. There were two wide, carpeted steps going up that were framed with two white columns on each side. It possibly at one time had been a formal dining room but now it was lined with white wooden bookshelves. Musical instruments peaked out from some of the shelves, lots of sheet music neatly stacked on others, with hundreds of leather bound books in between.

But what sat in the middle of this space started to make me feel a little out of my league with Edward.

It was truly a grand piano. It was a Steinway Concert Grand and it was simply stunning. The shiniest black lacquer I'd ever seen on any piece of furniture. The pedals were a rich brass and the keys shone in the light from the large front window behind me. I must have been staring for longer than appropriate, because I suddenly realized that Edward and his parents had stopped talking.

His mother came over to me to take my arm lightly. "My dear, do you play?"

I shyly looked into her eyes, deep green like Edward's. "No, Mrs. Cullen, I wish I did though. It's absolutely stunning."

She smiled at me, with a knowing twinkle in her eyes. "Sweetheart, please call me Esme." She turned to Edward still holding my arm. "My dear, haven't you played for her yet? I know Mother has a wonderful piano in the library... You two were there together for weeks and weeks, and you never played for her?" She chided him.

I saw him roll his eyes slightly. "Mother. I haven't played in quite a long time and I didn't want to embarrass myself."

I felt her stiffen slightly next to me. She actually narrowed her eyes at him. "Edward Anthony Cullen, you must play for Bella. It would be rude not to after seeing how she must love the piano." She was right, the piano was my favorite classical instrument.

I looked over at Carlisle to see if I could decipher what he thought of their exchange. I hadn't realized that he'd been gazing at me while Edward and his mother had bantered.

He smiled warmly at me while he spoke. "Esme, why don't you play? I haven't heard you play in so long…"

She quickly dismissed the idea. "Pfft, no! Besides, I have to go prepare lunch for us all." She sighed appreciatively. "Why don't you come and help me, my love."

As she left the room with Carlisle, she looked back over her shoulder at Edward. "Play for her." She'd said it as a friendly command.

Esme appeared to me to be a graceful and elegant version of Lizzie, there was no doubt. I wondered if Carlisle hadn't suggested she play knowing that she wouldn't, needing to start lunch for us all, just so that Edward would be more likely to play for me if we were alone.

He took my hand and led me over to the piano, indicating I should sit next to him on the bench. I felt a little thrill go through me as he sat down next to me on my right side, straightened his back, and began to run his fingers over the keys.

He turned his head slightly in my direction, looking down at me through his eyelashes. "Don't expect too much. I haven't played in a good long while." He smirked then and began to play while still gazing at my face.

After just a few seconds, he turned his head back to face forward and started to play in earnest. "Have you heard this before?" I thought that I recognized it but I wasn't sure. "It's a piano sonata by Alexander Scriabin, 'Fantasy'." He informed me.

His playing changed and morphed into something else, something other. After a minute or two of stunned silence on my part, I realized I actually recognized what he was playing. "That's what I was humming to you after we started walking back to Lizzie's from the cemetery." I whispered.

He looked askance at me again for a few seconds. When he turned his head back, his voice was deeper than usual. "Yes. I thought you'd recognize it."

I felt my eyes go wide and I touched his arm with my fingertips. He finished the piece and turned on the bench to face me. "Did you like it? I made some small modifications."

"Small modifications…" A noticed that my voice had gotten rather small. It was Clair De Lune by Claude Debussy. He was absolutely a genius on the piano, there was no other way to describe it. "Edward, you're some kind of classical pianist genius, aren't you!"

He interpreted the look on my face as dismay. Really, it was almost terror that I felt right at that moment, of the gulf that, to me, had suddenly popped into existence between us.

He reached for my hands and got up from the bench. He towed me towards the sofa and pulled me onto his lap after he'd sat down. I felt pretty apprehensive about this move on his part, since I didn't want to embarrass either of us in front of his parents. Apparently, he wasn't concerned about them finding us in such an intimate position. I hoped he was right to assume that they wouldn't be coming back into the living room for a while...

He leaned his head deep into my hair. "My darling, beautiful and unnecessarily insecure girl…" With his right hand draped over my knees, he took his left hand and pushed my hair away from the side of my face that was closest to him. "You do things to me, deep in my soul, that I can't even put words to… Just by breathing."

I turned and looked into his eyes, hesitatingly touching his lips with my fingers. "Thank you. That was so beautiful, what you played. I'm sorry… I just feel… A little… Unsure of myself right now. But what you just told me…" I felt a tear slide down my cheek and he leaned in and kissed the tear off of my face.

"Yes, my love?" He was smiling encouragingly at me.

"As long as you continue to tell me things like that, I think I'll be o.k. You're so… Sincere, Edward." I kissed the end of his nose.

"Well. I don't think I've ever been called that before by a beautiful woman." He wrapped both his arms around me giving me a tight squeeze. He became thoughtful. "You know, I meant what I said when Jasper left with my niece and nephew, too." He'd said the last part with a reverent tone to his voice.

The conversation had suddenly taken a swift turn and I wasn't sure how to respond. I'd been astonished at how he'd reacted to me when we'd arrived at his parents and I'd interacted with his niece and nephew. I started with how I'd felt at the time.

"Edward, I have to be honest, I didn't really understand why you reacted to me that way. I love kids but… Honestly, who doesn't?" I really was perplexed by not only his reaction to me but his mother's as well.

He moved one of his hands back to my face, gently running his fingers down my cheek, to my chin and back up, moving around to the back of my neck. He braided some of my hair through his fingers. "No, not everyone loves kids. But more importantly, not everyone is good with children. You are." His eyes moved around my face, as if he was looking for something. "You really don't realize it, do you? How truly amazing you are?"

I felt my eyebrows come together of their accord. "But, they were little cherubs, they're just so adorable. Who wouldn't love…"

He tenderly stopped my rambling. "You were just commenting on my reaction to you but they have never reacted to anyone like that before." He shook his head. "I've always wanted children but I couldn't even find someone to love me let alone want to have children with me. You're going to be a fantastic mother and you actually love me." His eyes grew soft and as he gazed into mine, there was a spark of electricity similar to the one that we'd experienced between us on the plane.

He leaned forward and hesitated, not sure if he should kiss me, afraid that it might intensify the electrical current too much, as if that were a bad thing.

I leaned my face towards his, hesitated over his lips and reached my face up slightly to brush my lips along his forehead. "Of course I love you, what's not to love? And I do love children, very much." I gave a long sigh and he looked concerned as to where our conversation was about to lead. "But…"

I looked away from him sheepishly and suddenly felt the previous gulf that I'd imagined had popped into existence between us simply vanish. I leaned back from him slightly so he could see me clearly, with a look of mock concern on my face. He suddenly tensed, unsure of what I was about to say.

"Exactly how many children do you want to have?" I'd placed my fist over my heart, pretending to clutch at my chest in mock pain.

I thought his beautiful eyes were going to bug out of his head. "YOU are unbelievable!" He held me tightly and his eyes went to slits. "I want ten, how about that?"

"Oh! Well, if that's all." I suddenly took my hand off of my chest, waved it in the air and then placed it lazily on his. "I can handle that."

He barked a laugh, shaking his head at me. "That was not nice, Isabella Marie Swan. I had no idea what you were going to say for a moment."

Oops. "Using my complete name, now, huh? I must be in big trouble." My eyes went down and I felt him continue to laugh.

He heaved a sigh. "No, you're not in trouble. But I do want to know how many children you really do want."

"Um… two or three?" I said rather sheepishly.

"That can be arranged." His smile grew wide. "However, you're looking a little thin to me right now, so… Come on. Let's go see what my mum has fixed up for us for lunch. You're probably starving." He chuckled and, as if on cue, my stomach rumbled just as he finished speaking. We both laughed and got up to head into the kitchen, hand in hand.

~~:::~~

Lunch was… Very British. There were sandwiches on lightly buttered white bread with cucumber, and salmon with watercress, all with the crusts cut off and then cut into petite triangles. There was a mouthwatering salad with sliced pears, walnuts and tiny bay shrimp, with a creamy, rich salad dressing. There were even dainty little cakes for dessert. And of course there was tea.

It made me feel a little silly about our tea parties at the office. It was all splendid and very tasty. I was glad it was a light meal too, since I knew I'd be sleeping soon and didn't want to have a suddenly upset stomach from being too heavy and full.

Edward had already set things up with Jasper to pick us back up around 6:00 p.m. from his parents to take us back to their home. I was having an extremely hard time keeping my eyes open by this point but we'd had a wonderful afternoon with his parents. Even though their home was resplendent, they were so down to earth and friendly that I knew I'd discovered where Edward had gotten a lot of his charm from.

I was also fairly sure that they had taken notice of how we looked at each other all the time. It was sort-of embarrassing but we couldn't help ourselves.

If our eyes didn't meet at least once every two minutes or so, I'd start feeling anxious; and I could tell he felt the same way. We tended to sigh at the same time, would begin to laugh at the same time… We'd even reach for each others hands at regular intervals at the same time.

Right before Jasper arrived, I was in the music study with Esme while she was showing me a distinguished looking violin that she'd recently found at an auction, when I noticed that Edward wasn't standing by me any longer. She noticed my change in demeanor, as if I'd suddenly lost something and smiled knowingly at me. "He's talking to his father in the study, Bella. They'll be right out."

We walked over to the foyer and I felt a small bit of heat on my cheeks, wondering if his mother thought I was too silly for his wonderful son. But then he was suddenly standing next to me again, reaching for my hand and I felt… Relief. I sighed as I looked up at him.

He grinned at me and lifted one of his eyebrows. "Ready?"

Instead of answering him directly, I turned to his parents with my hand outstretched. "It was so very nice to meet you both. I now see where Edward gets his charming nature from." They both shook my hand and laughed. They walked us out to Jasper's waiting car holding hands and promised that we'd see them soon, probably in a week or so down at the estate.

As Edward was getting in the backseat so that I could have the front since the children's car seats were still in place, Esme touched my arm. I turned, surprised to find her so close to me. She reached out tentatively and gave me gentle hug and whispered in my ear. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to him. Thank you."

I wasn't sure how to respond to her. I returned her hug and whispered back. "No, thank you. I've never felt so content in all my life."

I don't know what made me tell her that, since we'd only known each other for a few short hours, but she made me feel like I had a mother again. I tried not to let the moisture that was suddenly in my eyes spill over as I got into the car and we all waved to them as Jasper drove away.

After a few minutes of listening to them talk about Susanna and Joseph, I turned in my seat to face Edward. "Your parents are absolutely, one-hundred percent… Amazing."

He gave me a huge smile and hit Jasper on the arm. "Isn't she awesome!" We all loudly laughed together as we drove back to his sister's home.

~~:::~~

The next two days we'd planned on sightseeing. Well, really Edward planned everything, which I was fine with. It was surprisingly warm for late November. He told me it was pretty normal for London, though usually not this late in the month; I should still be prepared for rain. I just started carrying my rain coat around with me all the time, which seemed the safest thing to do.

The first day we visited the Charles Dickens' House, completed a Shakespearean walking tour that included touring Shakespeare's Globe Exhibition Theatre, and then ended our evening in the West End for an Opera, 'The Pearl Fishers.' It was absolutely enchanting. We took the underground, or the 'Tube', back to Alice and Jasper's. I went to bed exhausted.

I was having so much fun being with Edward and having him act as my own personal tour guide, that I didn't even notice until our second day of sightseeing that that he was actually absolutely thrilled to be showing me around London.

We spent the morning of the second day walking around the northwest portion of Kensington Gardens. Since it was November, there obvious weren't any flowers present but it was still lovely. We then took the Tube from Bayswater to head over to the British Museum.

When we reached the Museum, Edward seemed to radiate happiness even more than usual. "Come on, I can't wait for you to see this." He had my hand held tightly within his own, and was almost dragging me to the first gallery, Room 1, 'The Enlightenment.'

I snickered at him. "I believe you, jeesh!"

He turned to me and got a rather sheepish grin on his face. "I'm sorry. I'm just so happy to show you all these things and to be able to watch you enjoy them… It's exhilarating."

He stopped outside the main door to the gallery, walked over to the left of the entrance and pulled me into a quick embrace. "It's just making me enjoy them more because you're enjoying it." He bent down and gave me a short kiss. "I love you, Bella Swan."

I looked up into his warm, happy face and had a feeling of intense contentment wash through me. "I love you, Edward Masen-Cullen." I told him this with a bit more intensity than I had previously.

I didn't think it could be possible but he actually looked even happier than he had just moments before. "Come on! You'll love this."

As we walked past some of the most important pieces of European history, Edward's face changed to a puzzled look. "Why did you call me 'Masen-Cullen' just now?"

I had to stop and think about that and then I remembered. "Because that's what Lizzie would always call you."

He looked down at me and I watched as his eyes changed from puzzlement to understanding. "Ah. Yes." He chuckled. "I'd forgotten you would have heard her do that. Would you like to know why?" I hadn't ever really thought about it but I curiously nodded yes to him anyway.

We'd left the first gallery behind us and we were now in the Prehistory and European section, since we had been breaking up our conversation between ogling at the exhibits. We happened to be passing an Irish religious relic and Edward stopped and pointed to the 'Kells crozier,' which looked like an ornate silver staff. It was magnificent.

"You may not know this but the English and the Irish haven't always been on the friendliest of terms." I raised one eyebrow at him. That was putting it mildly. He continued. "My mother's ancestry is Irish and Welsh, where my father's is obviously English. The only reason Gran says my name in that way is to remind me that I have a rich heritage that goes deeper than 'just' my English roots."

I looked at him knowingly and winked. "I've got a ton of Italian ancestry in my family tree, and my people are better than everybody else on this whole little island."

He stared open-mouthed at me and then gave a sharp laugh. Several people looked over at us only to find him kissing me. "YOU are incredibly entertaining." He laughed against my lips.

After spending almost the entire day touring the Museum, he promised that we would hit the National Gallery before heading out the next day to the estate.

When I woke up early on Wednesday morning, I noticed with satisfaction that I'd finally adjusted to the time difference between the East Coast of the U.S. and England. I also noted sadly that, again, Edward had not come into my room while I was sleeping like he had the first day.

I was sitting up in bed by this point with the covers loosely around me, when I saw the door open imperceptibly. I heard a velvet "Oh!" and then the door opened wider to give me a view of Edward in his boxer shorts and a t-shirt, carrying a tray with what looked like tea and toast on it with a small vase containing a single rose.

I didn't bother to cover myself up any further since he'd already seen me once like this in his Gran's kitchen, with my tattered white t-shirt and blue silk shorts… When was that? A couple of weeks ago? It seemed like we'd been together for years already. I still couldn't get over the depths that our relationship had grown in such an incredibly short time.

"Um, hi. I didn't expect you to be awake yet." He smiled guiltily at me. He apparently hadn't expected to get caught.

I tilted my head at him, gave him an appraising smirk and a nod. "Now you know."

He stood at the end of the bed staring at me, still holding the tray out in front of him.

I scooted to the end of the bed, not caring that I was exposing myself to him and tugged lightly on the end of his shirt. "Come here, you incredibly sexy man." He went to the side of the bed that had the single nightstand and set the tray down. I'd sat back in the middle of the bed again with my legs crossed under me.

He sat down on the edge of the bed next to me, still staring. "Huh. You're… A little sassy in the morning, aren't you?" He raised one eyebrow at me.

"You have no idea." I sat up, standing on my knees on the bed and put my arms around his shoulders. He smelled so good. Like green grass and cedar and honey. Before I realized what I was doing, I'd taken a deep breath and exhaled against his neck just to take in more of his delicious scent.

"Crap, Bella, you're going to give me a heart attack…" He took my arms off from around him and gently pushed me back on the bed. "You're rather amorous, too…" He looked a little unsettled.

I sat back, leaning into the headboard as I pulled the covers back over my legs and stomach and folded my arms over my chest like a petulant child. "Fine. It's not my fault I've finally adjusted to the stupid time change and I happen to be a morning person." I might even have pouted as I'd given my little rant.

He put his hand over his mouth to clamp down on a sudden laugh, since it was 6:00 a.m. by this point and we were in someone else's house. He lowered his voice. "You are too cute for your own good." He reached over and slowly ran his index finger across my cheekbone. I immediately relaxed. "You eat, I'll go get ready. Then it'll be your turn." He smiled lovingly at me and got up to go do just that.

I reached out and caught his hand in mine. "Thank you Edward. This was really sweet of you to try and sneak breakfast in to me."

"I'm just trying to take care of my sweetheart with all the attention that she deserves." He winked at me as he let go of my hand.

As he closed the door behind him, I remembered something he'd said to me on the plane. "Does it really matter that I can take care of you in a manner that you're perhaps a little bit unaccustomed to?"

I now knew that he hadn't been talking about his family's or his own money, he'd been talking about something much more important: His attention and his time.

I was all the more besotted with him because of it.

~~:::~~

A/N: Reviews are like... Listening to a true master play the piano. Ummmm... Sexy. Please review!