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Isabelle:

I can't believe...

It's not possible...

I've never met...

I took a deep breath and sank into the hot water, holding my breath for a moment before resurfacing.

I went over and over the conversation in my head. His wife, his dead wife, told him that I would come to his home? That I would help his family?

I let my mind wander over the images I'd seen today.

I sat up straight in the bathtub, my mind finally catching up with what happened today.

I'd only seen images he pushed me. His wife, his daughter, his grandchildren, his home...I didn't see anything having to do with his future, only his past. How is that possible? I don't understand.

Emmett walked in right after Mr. Masen sprung his revelation on me, so I didn't get to find out what he meant. I didn't get to ask the questions that bombarded me.

Emmett chattered the entire way back to Charleston. He was really excited about this project, and kept talking about what he would do if we were granted the contract. I admit, I am excited about this house, really excited. But to be honest, I think I'm more intrigued by Mr. Masen.

I want to pick his brain and ask if he has a gift, and if so, is it carried through each generation of his family. I want to know how it works, and how is he able to speak to his wife, Elizabeth. All of these thoughts running through my mind, nonstop. Elizabeth.

His love for her is so beautiful. Will I ever be lucky enough to have that?

I take a deep breath and pull the plug out of the bathtub. I squeeze the excess water out of my hair before standing, and stepping out.

I look at myself in the mirror. My eyes are bright with excitement, wonder. Mr. Masen triggered something inside of me. Something...I don't know. But I almost feel like my gift might not be so bad after all.

I've been staring at the plans for over an hour. Something is just...wrong. Some people are just weird, but I can't imagine they will be happy to have a triangular shaped bathroom when they realize how uncomfortable it will be. I mean, it's just...weird.

I close my eyes and think about the house we visited last week. Dark colors, light colored stone and marble floors, my nose twitched. A bedroom flashed behind my eyelids, ruby red with a swing hanging from the ceiling. My eyes pop open in surprise. Oh, these people are a little on the wild side. I look back down at the plans in front of me; I guess a triangular shaped bathroom isn't so weird after all.

I scrunch my nose.

The door chimes, and I look up to find a beautiful, blond woman about my age walk in. I smile and stand, ready to greet her. That is when I see Mr. Masen walk in behind her.

"Mr. Masen, what a surprise," I say, with a bright smile. I am glad to see him; maybe I can pick his brain.

"Isabelle, my dear," he kisses my cheek when he reaches me, "I hope you don't mind us stopping by. I've made a decision and wanted to speak with you in person."

"Of course, you're welcome to stop by anytime, business or otherwise," I answered, my eyes glancing at the people that walked in with him. I felt rude not addressing them.

"You my dear are too kind to an old man."

I snorted, awkwardly, and then laughed at myself, shaking my head.

"Isabelle, I'd like you to meet my grandchildren. Edward and Rosalie Cullen, please meet Isabelle Swan-Whitlock."

Mr. Masen's eyes were on his grandson, who I hadn't quite looked at yet. I turned my attention to the woman, Rosalie, and smiled.

"Hello, it's very nice to meet you," she said, quietly. Her voice was soft but soothing. I braced myself for her touch, not sure what I would see, if anything. But there it was; a bright flash, and laughter, but no solid images. Fuzzy, everything was fuzzy, and out of focus. I could make out her silhouette, but nothing more. What an interesting family.

"Likewise, thank you," I answered with a smile before turning toward Mr. Masen's grandson, Edward.

He cleared his throat, and gave me a tight smile. "Hello, it's nice to make your acquaintance, Ms. Swan-Whitlock."

I swayed a little. His eyes are the most beautiful, green. Not too light, not the color of cut grass, but just in the middle. I was frozen.

I took his outstretched hand, and a shock snapped between us, making me gasp, "Oh!" I pulled my hand away, but my eyes were still on his. "It's nice to meet you."

"Edward, are you okay?" Rosalie asked, snapping me out of my trance. God, I'm so weird.

"What? Yes, yes. I'm fine," he said, quickly, making me curious.

I gathered myself together quickly, taking a deep breath and inviting them to sit down. Edward was looking around the office space and commented that it was nice.

This made me smile. Emmett thought I was nuts for doing this, making it look like a living room. But I knew it would make a difference, it would make people feel welcome, and it would help them trust us. "Thank you," I finally answered. "I like for people to feel comfortable when they come in. I just moved here from Los Angeles, and the atmosphere is so refreshing."

When I looked back over at him, his green eyes were on me.

"Isabelle," Mr. Masen said loudly, and I snapped my eyes over to him. He had a sneaky, knowing smirk on his face, and I wasn't sure what that meant. "I have decided to give your firm my business. Edward and Rosalie," his head tilted slightly toward his grandchildren, "will be helping with the overall project, which is why I brought them with me today. I was hoping you might have time to discuss a few details, create a tentative schedule."

"Mr. Masen, thank you so much," I'm sure my smile was ridiculously big. I reached out and touched his hand, and I was immediately flooded with the beautiful, smiling face of Elizabeth Masen.

The images flew, like a picture book. Her smiling face angling slightly in each image until her eyes were looking in Edward's direction. I felt my face heat, and I couldn't contain my smile. "Thank you," I whispered. Was she leading me? Or was Mr. Masen?

Embarrassed, I opened my eyes. I quickly looked over at Rosalie and Edward, who had confused looks on their faces.

Just as I was about to apologize for being weird, the door opened and Emmett's hulking form entered.

"Mr. Masen," his voice rang through the room, loudly. "How nice to see you. How are you?"

Emmett was smiling and his hand was extended to Mr. Masen, who laughed.

"Emmett, hello," Mr. Masen said, shaking Emmett's hand. "I've just come to inform you that we've decided to hire your firm for the restoration project."

Emmett whooped loudly, throwing his fist in the air. It was his happy dance; I saw this display at least twice a day.

I was laughing at his antics, as was Mr. Masen. I looked over at Edward and Rosalie. Edward was smiling softly, and nodding. He looked like he had come to some kind of decision in his mind. Rosalie was blushing, shyly, and I tilted my head and looked between her and Emmett.

Emmett reached his hand out to Edward, "Emmett McCarty."

"Edward Cullen, nice to meet you," he said with a smile.

Emmett smiled brightly, and then turned toward Rosalie. His features softened as he took her in. With a blush and an easy smile he said hello.

"Hello, I'm Rosalie."

I was flooded with images of the two of them. Laughing, dancing, in costumes, hugging, leaning toward each other in conversation, holding hands, his hands on her face as he kissed her...they went on and on, and I couldn't help but smile. My big brother had found his one.

Edward looked in my direction, and I could feel the heat in my face. I looked down at my feet, but chanced a glance up at him. His eyes widened, and he got a far-off look on his face. I turned away, embarrassed at being caught staring.

I turned away from Edward when Mr. Masen chuckled.

"What do you say we all go out to lunch? Discuss the project a little and get to know one another? I have a feeling we are all going to be great friends."

The week passed quickly, and I couldn't get the image of Edward Cullen out of my head. His messy brown hair, green eyes, and soft smile, were all I could think about.

Emmett has been in an especially good mood all week. He has been constantly whistling, singing, and greeting anyone within five feet of him.

"Emmett, haven't you ever heard of the three-foot rule? Stop invading people's space."

"What? People love me!"

I shook my head and laughed. A woman looked at me uncertainly, and I smiled softly, tapping Emmett's arm. "He's special," I whispered.

She nodded, and smiled, offering Emmett a wave. I laughed as she walked away and Emmett narrowed his eyes at me. "That was not nice, Bellmarie."

Uh oh, nothing, and I mean nothing good, comes with the use of the name Bellmarie.

I tried to move away, but Emmett was quicker. He picked me up, threw me over his shoulder and proceeded to run down the street.

"Ah! Emmett!" I screamed. But he was laughing, and I could feel the vibrations in his back. "I'm sorry!"

He just continued to run and the blood was rushing to my head. And I smiled, remember Emmett's one weakness. "I'm going to throw up!"

Emmett stopped quickly and put me on my feet, and moved away from me quickly. I bent at the waist, putting my hands on my knees. When I felt balanced again, I looked up at Emmett and smiled, then took off running.

"Bella!" he yelled, laughing. When he caught up to me, he wrapped me in a headlock and messed up my hair.

I hit his side, and tried to fix my hair and continued on our walk. We sat on one of the swinging benches and pulled our sandwiches out of my bag. We were at Waterfront Park, enjoying the sunshine. It was chilly, but not too bad. I tightened my sweater around me, and took in the sights and smells. Beautiful. I don't feel like I'm missing L.A at all. I have sunshine, and water, and family. I looked up at Emmett and smiled.

And I've made some new friends. Mr. Masen has called me at least once a day since our meeting this past weekend. And I've even spoken to Rosalie a couple of times. She really is a nice person, a genuinely nice person, and she's perfect for Emmett. She may just be the one to soothe his soul.

"Hey, Bella," Emmett said, between bites.

I looked up at him with raised eyebrows. He swallowed a few times and then took a deep breath.

"I hate to ask you this..." he trailed off. "Never mind." He shook his head.

I touched his arm, and he glanced at me quickly. His eyes were troubled, dark.

"What is it Emmett?"

"It's just that after Angela, I haven't been too welcoming towards women, you know? I don't want my heart to get broken again. But..." I understood now.

"Rosalie?"

He nodded, "I don't want to get hurt. And I don't want to hurt her, either. I was going to ask if you saw anything, with Rosalie and me. But it isn't fair of me to ask you that. I'm sorry. Forget I said anything. I feel like an asshole."

"Hey," he was beating himself up. Emmett and my family never, never, asked me questions like that. He finally looked at me and my heart broke. He looked so scared and vulnerable, and sad. I scooted closer to him and hugged him as tightly as I could while sitting sideways on a bench. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, resting his head on top of mine. "It will work out. If you try, it will work out. That's all I can say."

I felt him stiffen, and then both of his arms were wrapped around me. "Thanks, Bella."

I smiled. At least one of us will be happy.

We rented a furnished apartment in Chapel Hill, NC. Emmett and I were going to stay here a couple of days, and then we would switch off between Charleston and Chapel Hill. It would be tiring, no doubt, but the reward of renovating The Masen Estate will be worth it. And if we gain good friends, that would make it even better.

I hope we do. I miss having Angela around, but Emmett is family. There was never a choice of whose side I would pick.

We were on our way to do a detailed walk through. We would photograph and document every room. List what repairs were needed, what Mr. Masen's expectations were, and exactly what would need to be completely removed and replaced...it would be a daunting task. But my excitement was through the roof.

This is what I lived for. It is so easy to get completely immersed in the house, the project.

I took out my iPad, leaving everything else in the car. Emmett and I made our way to the front door, and Charlotte was there to greet us.

"Hello, Isabelle, Emmett," she smiled, brightly. I wanted to correct her and tell her my name is Isabella, but I felt it would be rude. So I just smiled and gave her a little wave.

"Mr. Masen and Rosalie are on their way. He asked that you get started, they won't be too long."

"Great, thank you," I answered.

"Ready?" I asked Emmett, with a huge smile on my face.

He rubbed his hands together, "Let's do this." He pulled the pen from behind his ear and the folded notebook from his back pocket.

Here we go.

A/N: Hi everyone! I hope you had a great week. Thanks so much for throwing over the 100 review mark. I'm giving you all virtual hugs.

I hope you like this one. Please drop me a line and let me know. I may be inclined to send you a little teaser. :)

Take care and enjoy the weekend!