~*~*~ Playing Mommy~*~*~

"Would you mind explain why you're here, Bella?"

Isabella Swan

I jerked my head in the person's direction and gasped. "A-Alice," I blurted, immediately slamming the book shut and clumsily placing it back on the stand. "L-long time no see." It wasn't THAT long. It had been, like, only a week and a half.

She had her hands on her hips; her lips were pursed—trying to hold back a smile or a scowl. I wasn't sure. "I thought your work was an out-of-town thing?" she asked.

"Did I say that?" I asked dumbly.

"Yes," she affirmed. "You did."

"Well, I just got back," I lied. "Um, the business trip ended quicker than expected."

"Right," she said after a moment of awkward silence. I was positive she knew I was lying. I mean, I WAS the worst liar. Even a dimwit could tell I was bluffing.

"I think I better go," I said quickly, making my way toward the Children's Books section. And suddenly, a thought occurred to me: can I really get out of this place with Renesmee in tow? Alice was surely going to be more suspicious than she already was if she sees me with a child—who calls me mommy.

My hunch was confirmed when Renesmee slipped her hand in mine and grinned up at me. "Mommy, there you are!" she said. Slowly, I looked down at her then sheepishly at Alice, whose eyes were bugged out of their sockets.

"Did that girl just call you mommy?" Alice gaped. She narrowed her eyes at me. "Is there something you're not telling me, Bella?"

I sighed.

…

Central Park

"What the hell were you thinking?" Alice snapped after I told her everything—starting from Edward's offer.

"I wasn't thinking, that's the problem!" I snapped back. Renesmee was playing near the pond so she couldn't hear us one bit. I knew that when Alice got angry, she tended to swear like there was no tomorrow.

As if reading my thoughts, she said a string of swear words, making me sink lower into the bench. She was deeply surprised that I, the killjoy between us two, would even think of doing this kind of thing.

"Enough, Alice," I said. "I bummed out, okay? You don't need to make me feel worse."

"How long are you going to keep this up?" she demanded. "Aren't you aware that you might scar that girl for life? She's going to end up with a bad case of trust issues."

"A month," I answered quickly. "And in case you were thinking it, I'm not doing this for the freaking money." Well, maybe I was. But it wasn't about that entirely.

Then it dawned on me. Why did I freaking do this again?

She looked at me.

"I feel bad enough as it is," I groaned. "So don't. Please don't."

She sighed then surprisingly gave me a hug. I hesitantly hugged her back.

Then, out of nowhere, she said, "Edward Cullen must be hot if you actually agreed to do this, no?"

I blushed and pulled away from her. She laughed.

"Oh my, god," she said, all trace of anger already nowhere to be found on her face. She was a quick recover-er. "He is, isn't he?"

I groaned and tried to keep my blushing at bay. "Maybe he is," I said nonchalantly. My nonchalance was ruined by my voice drifting into a squeak at the last word. Crap.

"Maybe, maybe," she taunted, rolling her eyes. Then she slowly looked at Renesmee's direction. "You know, I can tell by his kid. Renesmee's beautiful."

"I still can't believe that that girl thinks I'm her mom," I shook my head. "I mean, aside from the hair, we look totally different from each other."

"No," Alice actually said otherwise. "Actually, I can see a striking resemblance." She turned back to me with a playful glint in her eyes. She put her hands on her hips and added in mock indignation, "are you sure you didn't get pregnant before we met?" she and I met three years ago so it was somehow coincidental that Renesmee had been born when I was twenty-two.

I put up a hand. "I am sure," I said. I looked at Renesmee and smiled a little. "And besides, Edward told me his wife died in giving birth to her. I feel bad for the little girl, you know."

"So," Alice said. "You're warming up to her?"

I let out a laugh and nodded. "Yeah. I guess I am."

…

"Are you sure I can visit?" Alice asked as she trailed behind us as we walked toward the Cullen Residence.

"You're a friend, Al," I said as I tried to fish my house key from my bag with my left hand while I kept a tight grip on Renesmee's tiny one with my other. "He and Esme won't mind."

"You're calling your mom-in-law by her first name?" Alice teased.

"She said so," I shrugged and inserted the key into the hole and turned until there was a click. I opened the door and Renesmee tugged at Alice's arm.

"Auntie, I want to show you my room!" she said gaily. Alice laughed and let the girl drag her along.

"Renesmee? Bella..?" Esme's voice sounded from the balcony and I walked to where she was. She smiled when she saw me and gestured me to join her for an afternoon snack.

I sat down and poured myself some iced tea. "Do you mind if I came home with my friend today?" I asked as I grabbed a piece of cracker.

"You have someone over?" Esme sat up and peered over my shoulder. "Where is your friend?"

I let out an airy laugh. "Oh. She's playing with Renesmee," I said. She laughed.

"She isn't picky with playmates, is she?" she said in a joking tone. She looked down at her glass and slowly ran her index finger around the rim. "Bella, maybe I'm a little naïve now, but, I believe you have grown a liking to my grandchild, right?"

I stiffened at her random question. But I recovered and answered with the utmost amount of honesty, "I would be lying if I wasn't, Esme."

She looked up and met my eyes with her careful ones. "Have you and my son already planned out something? Have you two figured out how to tell her?"

"We haven't," I said. "And, knowing how fragile she still is, I think a month wouldn't be enough, to be honest."

A smile formed on her face. I blushed. Did I just imply something different?

"I mean, if I were Renesmee, I wouldn't accept something like that," I stammered.

"Maybe there is another way," she said, her eyes glinting humor. "Maybe there is a chance between you and my…"

Before she could finish, I laughed. "No, Esme, no," I said. "I'm pretty sure nothing like that is going to happen. He and I are just too different."

"Opposites attract, dear," she said, trying not to laugh.

"Maybe not all the time," I said, and I noticed that there was a bitter edge in my tone. And Esme noticed it as well.

"We'll just see, then," she said as she took a sip of her iced tea. Looking at my lap, I bit my lip, trying to ward off the red in my cheeks.

…

"You're home early, Edward," Esme said as Edward stepped inside the apartment. I looked up from the book I was reading in the living room and saw him pinch the bridge of his nose as he passed.

I stood up and crossed my arms. "Tiring day?" I teased, trying to be conversational. Even though he was a jerk to me 24/7, I still felt bad for him. He was practically facing pressure every day.

But instead of being semi-friendly back, he just glanced at me then went to our room. So he was really tired, then.

"His uncle is probably on the prowl," Esme said beside me. I looked at her in confusion.

"Who?"

She smiled at me. "Ever since my husband died, his brother began working on Edward," she explained, a tone of concern dripping in every word. "He's pressured. Whenever I voice out my concerns to Aro, he would just reason out that my son needed to face harshness if he wanted to be like his father."

"So, I'm guessing he'll be really snappy for the next few days?" I asked. Esme laughed.

"Be prepared, Bella," she teased then went to her respective room. I sighed then went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. After having a satisfied drink, I prepared another one for Edward and went to our room.

And there he was, quickly changed into a tight shirt—Ohmigod, he's ripped—and pajama bottoms, typing away on his laptop. I placed the glass of water on his table and he momentarily stopped.

"Peace offering," I said flatly and went to the bathroom to wash my face. When I got out, I smiled to myself as I noticed that the glass was now empty. I walked toward him and grabbed the glass. "Want some more, Edward?"

He stopped typing and looked at me suspiciously.

"Geez, Edward," I said. "Can't your fake wife be nice for once?"

He rolled his eyes. "What brought this on anyway?" he asked as he continued typing. I traced the rim with my index finger but immediately stopped when I realized his lips had touched the rim awhile ago.

I shrugged. "I just thought I'd take it easy on you," I said. "You know, because you're being pushed to your limit right now."

"I can handle my uncle, Bella," he said sternly, knowing what I was talking about. I snorted.

"That," he said, still typing. "Is simply unladylike"

"What, like I care what you think?" I said. I noticed that I was arguing with him again.

"I just thought you'd need a man's opinion," he said. "Maybe your snorting kept the suitors away."

"I am appalled by your comment, Attorney," I said in mock-hurt. I turned and added, "If you'll excuse me, I'm just going to snort over here."

My mouth twitched when he chuckled under his breath. Lightened the weight, didn't I?