Disclaimer: I don't own them...this is unbeta'd.

Bella

Being in LA feels...different. This has been my home for a long time but now I feel like I don't belong here. People are in too much of a hurry, cars are on the road at all hours...I'm exhausted. I miss the easy sway of South Carolina.

Emmett and I had to fly in for a meeting my father has twice a year. He addresses changes, goes over profits and losses and then Jasper, Emmett and I discuss ongoing projects. Dad will also introduce new interns which is always fun. The office manager and admin assistants always have a field day with them.

I've been in my office all morning and I can't stop looking out at the city. My mind flutters from Edward, to the Masen Estate, to Kate, to Alice...hmmm. Alice.

I get up and walk toward my brothers office.

"Hey, Bella!"

I smile and wave as I pass by. I do miss all of the people in the office; they are all so great.

"Knock, knock," I call out and walk in.

"Hey, Bell. What's up?"

I drop onto the couch and sigh. "Nothing. What are you working on?"

I have to be subtle with my questions. "Not much right now. I'm bidding on a restoration home in Long Beach."

I sat up straight on the couch. "No way! Bembridge House?"

Jasper's smile lit his whole face. "It's just a bathroom, but I'm hoping it might lead to more."

"That's so awesome! How can I help?"

He pulled out blueprints and sat next to me on the couch. He had a few pictures also.

A knock on the door brought us out of the bubble. "You guys planning to join us?"

"Oh yeah, we lost track of time." My dad smiled and wrapped an arm around me.

"It's so good to see you. You look good, kid."

"Thanks," I blushed. "I think South Carolina was a good move for me. I really like it there."

"I can see that. How's Edward?"

"Good, great. He's great. We're great," I shake my head, and laugh.

"Good, great. Sounds great," my dad laughs. "Did you invite him to come with you to LA?"

"He'll be here tonight and we'll fly back together on Monday."

My dad held his hand out, gesturing for me to enter the media room. The room is set up like a movie theater; stadium seating, a wide screen and projector. There is an attached room that is setup like a banquet hall also. He always has lunch catered for these meetings. It's pretty much a half day of work because with the food and drinks and mingling, no one is expected to go back to their desks.

I grab the box of presentation binders and place one on each chair. Emmett is setting up water bottles on a table and Jasper is setting up the computer at the back of the room and testing to make sure the projector is online.

It takes about fifteen minutes for everyone to get seated and start the meeting. Overall, the meeting is upbeat. My dad loves this company and his employees. His meetings are always casual and he invites questions and comments and he always opens the floor up for suggestion on how we can be better.

Jasper gives everyone an overview of current projects and explains what needs to be done to make sure we hit our deadlines and keep our clients happy. He's a great speaker; he creates a very positive atmosphere in the office.

As he's finishing up, I catch movement at the back of the room. I turn to see who's entered the room and my eyes lock on Edward. His smile is bright and he nods in greeting.

"Isabella," I hear my name and turn toward the front quickly. My dad is laughing, "are you with us now, sweetheart?"

My face burns and I look at everyone sheepishly and wave. Everyone laughs and I walk up to stand with my father.

"So, Isabella has been in South Carolina for the past few months working on a restoration home. Why don't you tell everyone about it?"

Pictures of the Masen Estate were playing on the screen behind me and I walked everyone through the history of the house and the outline. "We've been taking pictures of everything as we go and we are so lucky that Mr. Masen has pictures of the house in it's prime so we can restore it to the perfect specifications. Emmett is busy designing the landscaping on this project also." As I said this, pictures of the landscape from before, now, and a sketch of the new design pop up. "It's all very exciting and..." I smile and look at Edward. He shakes his head no and my smile grows. "We actually have one of the Masens here with us today. Edward, won't you join me?"

He shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair. He's wearing a pair of blue slacks and a light blue button down with no tie, his sleeves are rolled up on his forearms; God, he's beautiful.

When he reaches me, he smiles and narrows his eyes. He kisses my cheek and then shakes my father and Jasper's hands.

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen." He gives a wave and smiles, making the women melt.

"Can you talk a little about the experience and expectations of the restoration?"

"Yes, of course. First off, let me say that it's been a wonderful experience. Your firm has been nothing but kind and your attention to detail is impressive. So thanks to all of you," he gestures out toward the room. Everyone claps and he completely owns the room. I really want to see him in court; oh my...I can feel my face getting warm.

Edward looks at me with a smile, and his eyes crinkle a little; probably wondering why I'm blushing.

He goes on to discuss what his expectations were at the beginning of the project and his excitement at being involved in the whole process and how happy his grandfather is with the progress that's been made so far.

When he wraps up, everyone claps and Edward squeezes my hand before moving away from the front of the room.

"Thank you, Edward. We are all excited to see the house when it's complete," my dad nods at Edward and then looks back out at the audience. "Alright, thanks to all of you for your hard work and dedication. I have been incredibly fortunate to have such a loyal and talented group of people representing Whitlock Design. We appreciate all that you do for us."

Jasper and I clap and smile at everyone. "Lunch is being catered in the next room; mingle, eat, drink and enjoy. Thanks everyone!"

Once everyone starts moving toward the banquet room, I walk over to Edward. "I thought you weren't getting in until tonight. I'm so happy to see you." I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him.

He wraps his arms around me and we sway a little. I feel him pull away a little so I look up; his eyes are sparkling and his smile is soft. "Hi," he says, and leans in giving me a soft kiss.

"Hi," my body is buzzing with happiness. "Let's go have lunch, yes?"

Jasper talked us into going out tonight. So Edward and I are waiting for Jasper and Emmett outside of The Mint. Edward's arms are wrapped around me, my back against his chest.

I can feel his lips on my neck as he talks to me about his day. The hum of his voice and his breath on my neck are making me a little crazy. I turn in his arms and capture his lips; warm, supple, smooth, and perfect for me.

Someone clearing their throat next to us brings us out of our bubble. Jasper is standing next to us with a raised eyebrow and I feel my face get warm.

"Isabella, Edward, so nice of you to tear yourselves from one another for a few minutes."

I narrow my eyes, "Shut up, Jas. I've had to watch your disgusting displays with women for years."

He opens his mouth to retort, but a tall woman with long black hair and a curvy figure wraps her hand around his arm.

"Oh," he smiles at her. "This is my sister, Bella and her boyfriend, Edward. This is Leah."

I smile at her, "Hi, it's nice to meet you."

She smiles and says hello, nodding at Edward but quickly turns back to Jasper.

"Are we ready to go in?"

"No, we're waiting for Emmett. He has some kind of hot date."

I frown, "Hot date?" I chance a look at Edward but he's people watching and not paying attention.

Just before my mind starts creating images of him with a woman who is not Rosalie, his voice carries over to us.

"Baby Belle!" I snap my head in his direction and find him walking toward us with the biggest smile I've ever seen. My smile is immediate and I squeeze Edward's hand before letting go and hugging Rosalie.

"Hey!" Emmett whines.

"Edward didn't tell me you were here!"

Rosalie's laugh is light, but she hugs me tightly. "It was a last minute decision. How are you, Isabelle?"

"Good," I wrap my arm around hers and lead her over toward the group. "Jasper, this is Edward's sister Rosalie. Rosalie, this is my brother Jasper and his date, Leah."

Leah gives Rosalie a smile but doesn't say anything out loud.

"You guys ready? Pete put us on the list."

We found a table for the six of us and ordered drinks. Everyone started off quiet, but as the drinks started flowing so did the conversation. It turns out Leah works for one of our competitors and she and Jasper met at a bid meeting.

When the band took the stage we all clapped loudly. I actually had some music from this band on my iPod but hearing them live made me like them so much more.

The lead singer has a quirky style and bright red hair and her voice is strong, clear, mesmerizing.

I leaned into Edward, closing my eyes and absorbing the music. Edward swayed with me, occasionally kissing my neck and shoulder.

When the band finished their set, I clapped wildly and Emmett was whistling. The band waved at us and walked off of the stage.

"You have some of their music, right? One of the songs sounded familiar."

I smiled brightly, "yes, I'm surprised you remember."

"Ha, well, you do have over 20,000 songs on your iPod. It's a miracle I recognized it at all."

I smacked his chest, but he continued to laugh and pulled me in for a kiss making my brain go
fuzzy for a minute or two.

"Bella?"

I pulled away, smiling and a little breathless and looked up at the person next to us.

"Alex?" I asked, surprised.

"Hey," he looked nervous, and shifted slightly. "I thought that was you. How are you?"

"I'm good, you?"

He nodded and glanced at Edward, then at the rest of the table. Emmett and Jasper gave him
a curt nod. Yeah, no love there.

"Oh, Alex this is my Edward. Edward, Alex."

Edward stood and shook his hand, and then sat again, linking our fingers together.

"Sorry, I just...I saw you and wanted to say hello. Do you think..." he frowned and then shrugged. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Uhm..." I said, looking over at Edward. His smile and the squeeze of my hand assured me that he was okay. "Sure."

I leaned in and kissed Edward's cheek whispering, "I'll be right back."

We walked to the bar. Alex gestured toward the barman and I smiled. "Midori sour."

"Newcastle."

I didn't know what to say, so I stood quietly and waited for my drink. I felt Alex move closer to me and I tilted my head, not looking at him but giving him my attention. It still hurt to look at him. To know that we were together and happy until one day we weren't. But knowing that the heartache led me to Edward...well, I can't say I would change anything.

"You look really good, Bella. Happy."

"Thanks. I moved to South Carolina after...," I trailed off, awkwardly. "I needed a change."

"I'm sorry. God, I can't believe..." he put his head in his hands. "I just let you go. I didn't even fight for you. I'm such an idiot." He looked at me, his eyes sad. "I miss you and by the time I realized that I had fucked everything up, you were already gone."

We accepted our drinks from the barman and Alex put some cash on the counter. "You talked in your sleep a lot toward the end. You'd say, 'choose me' but I didn't understand what you meant. It took me a while," he snorted. "Idiot that I am, I didn't realize that all I had to do was 'choose you' and things would have been okay. I just took everything at face value and accepted it."

HIs eyes were focused on me but I didn't know what to say.

"Is he good to you?"

I looked over at Edward. His face was serious, a small frown line between his eyes but he softened when he caught me looking at him and gave me a wink.

"He is."

"I'm glad." His voice was quiet. "I just wanted to say hi and let you know that I regret not trying harder. I'm sorry I hurt you."

I reached out and touched his hand. "Alex," he looked at me softly. "I was upset when we ended but I knew that I wasn't your future; I'd been having the dream for months before you left. Even if you had picked me then, you would have left eventually and I would have always been waiting for you to leave. It took me a little while to understand that. I was starting to think that love and marriage and family wasn't in the cards for me. But the move to South Carolina has been good, it's helped me clear my head. Maybe you need to do the same. Get out of LA for awhile, see what's out there."

I squeezed his hand, "happiness will find you. I know this."

He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. "I love you, Bella."

"You too, Alex."

"I'll let you get back to Edward. Take care of yourself."

"I will. Seriously, get out of LA for a while. Go to San Francisco or Santa Cruz, the fresh air and surf will be good for you."

He smiled and gave me a nod before walking out of the bar. Warm hands wrapped around my waist and I leaned into him.

"You okay?"

I smiled and looked up at my beautiful, green-eyed man. "Yes, great. You?"

"Better now that you are in my arms. Let's go sit. I ordered you some nachos," he smiled.

******************polaroid***************

a/n: hey guys, sorry for disappearing on you. Weddings, visitors, and house guests kept me busy...and I have a little, tiny block going on. I'm trying to get moving again.

Thanks so much for reviewing the last chapter and sticking with me. I will probably repost this after its edited. I just wanted to get it out there for you guys.