Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight. I own some empty Reese's Cups wrappers, and a newly discovered – and very powerful – addiction to Junior Mints.
A/N: It was so lovely to hear from you all after Chapter 17. I was quite nervous about writing it, as I'm just not terribly good at angst. I got a lot of help from my incredibly windswept and interesting Beta LEISA/yesyov, for which she has my profuse thanks. It was great to engineer a fight between Edward and Bella, although by the end of it all, my heart was in my mouth. It made me realize that at the end of the day I'm a humourist at heart, but that doesn't mean we're in for fluff all the way here. I don't want to run the risk of my readers going into sugar shock!
CHAPTER 18
Bella jumped at the pounding from the front door.
"I wonder who this is," Edward called over his shoulder as he walked over to answer it.
He opened the door and was enveloped in a quick bear hug from Emmett, before being unceremoniously shoved aside as Emmett shouldered his way into the apartment.
"Hey bro," Emmett added as an afterthought before he swept Bella up in a big hug, "Hey Bells, lookin' good girl, but I'm guessing my brother had something to do with that!"
"Good to see you too, Em," Edward answered in a dry tone.
Rosalie had followed behind Emmett, and Edward greeted her with a warm hug and kiss, squeezing her tightly.
"Thanks for looking after my girl," he said in a quiet voice.
"And is she your girl now?" Rosalie replied in an equally quiet tone.
"Absolutely," Edward confirmed, trying and failing to keep the happy grin off his face.
Rosalie gave a quiet squeak and hugged him again.
"About time you two got your act together!" she said in a fierce whisper, and kissed him again for good measure.
"So," Emmett turned to face Edward again, rubbing his hands together briskly, "where are they?"
"Where's what?" Edward said, feigning ignorance.
"Aw c'mon man, don't be like that … I have needs!" Emmett replied in a wheedling tone.
Edward rocked back on his heels and grinned at his brother.
"Well, I do seem to recall that the cupcakes had a pretty specific message," he began, "Help me out here Em, what did it say again?"
Emmett turned back to Bella.
"Bells, c'mon … "
Bella shot Edward an amused glance.
"Well I don't know," she hedged, "you did steal the last batch that I left for Edward."
"But I hardly got to eat any!" he protested.
"Way to go honey, drop me right in it why don't you," commented Rosalie.
"Fine," Emmett huffed, "but s'not fair," he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down as his feet, scuffing one shoe on the carpet.
"Oh my god, you guys are as bad as each other," Bella said, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "Edward, I told you it'd be like this, which is why I insisted on the contingency plan."
"Contingency?" Emmett's head shot up, his face bright with curiosity.
"Absolutely. Women always plan ahead, which is why I had these," she went to the kitchen and produced an airtight container which she opened with a flourish, "on standby."
Rosalie and Emmett darted over to have a look, and oohed and ahhed at the contents. Bella had produced an extra dozen cupcakes, six of which sported a bright red frosted 'E', and other six with an 'R'.
"Pretty good, huh?" Bella said. "What do you think?"
"Were I not a married, I would take you now in a manly fashion," Emmett grinned.
"Honey, I'm standing right here," commented Rosalie.
"Huh? Oh, right. Sorry," Emmett turned to her and began to noisily kiss her until she pushed him away with a laugh.
"And this is why I say we don't need a dog," she said to Bella as she wiped her face, "one look at food and he gets all panty and slobbery."
"Maybe, but at least I don't lick my-"
"Emmett!" chorused Rosalie and Edward.
"Okay, okay," Emmett held his hands up in surrender then reached over to grab a cupcake which he promptly bit into with every sign of enjoyment.
"So, Edward," Rosalie said as she helped herself to a cupcake as well and began to peel off the patty paper, "How long have you been in town?"
Edward had strolled into the kitchen and stood behind Bella with his arms wrapped around her, swaying gently from side to side. Bella leaned back against Edward's chest, radiating contentment.
"Two days, it's all I could manage on the schedule, and that took some pretty fancy footwork," he replied.
"Well I guess the tight timeframe explains why we didn't hear a peep from you," Emmett said with a leer, "You and Bella must have had a lot of catching up to do," he said, using finger air quotes for emphasis.
"Subtle much?" replied Edward, as he helped himself to one of the 'E' cupcakes.
"Hey!"
"Turnabout is fair play, Emmett," Edward mumbled through his mouthful, "you'll just have to live with it."
Emmett subsided with a grumble.
"So," began Rosalie, "you called, we came-"
"Yeah right, if only it were that easy," Emmett snorted, earning a cuff over the head from Rosalie. "Aw c'mon, everyone's picking on me today?"
"Honey, I've told you time and time again, if you have to work for it, it's all the more worthwhile," Rosalie said in a calm voice, then cupped her breasts through her t-shirt, "so keep your eye on the prize big guy."
"Yes ma'am," Emmett mumbled, with a distinct gleam in his eye.
"Again Rose, I just love the way you've trained him," Edward complimented, then shot a hasty look at Bella, "and don't even think about it babe."
"Oh please, my training is much more subtle than that," Bella scoffed.
"As I was saying," Rosalie began in a slightly louder voice, "You called, so I'm guessing you want to be taken to the airport?"
"Uh-huh," confirmed Edward, squeezing Bella tighter.
Rosalie gave Bella an understanding look.
"You're not going to run the gauntlet this time?"
"Not this time around," Bella confirmed, "but that'll change in future."
She turned slightly in Edward's embrace so that she could look up at him, and he gave her a soft kiss.
"Well I'm very pleased to hear that. So are the two of you okay?" asked Rosalie.
Edward and Bella looked at each other for a moment.
"Yeah, we're good," Edward replied.
"I'd say we're world standard, gold medal Olympic medal type good," Bella added with a chuckle.
Rosalie and Emmett gave each other a mystified look as Bella dissolved into laughter and a very slight flush stained Edward's cheeks.
"Babe, that one went right over my head," Emmett commented.
"That's what she said!" retorted Edward, which sent Bella into another fit of giggles.
o * o * o * o
A while later, Emmett left Bella's apartment under the guise of taking Edward's overnight bag out to his car, and making sure his cupcakes were safely stowed.
"I'll, ah, just go check up on Emmett," Rosalie said with a wink. "Have a safe trip back, Edward, and we'll see you real soon," she stood up on tiptoe to give Edward a kiss, and he picked her up for a hug, giving a slight grunt of effort. "Oh I'm not that heavy," she laughed in protest as he set her down, and then patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Try not to take it too hard Edward, but I definitely picked the right brother."
"Fine by me, I've got my girl right here," he replied, putting his arms around Bella.
The two of them had hardly been out of contact with each other all morning. Any excuse to brush against each other had been made, which had led to kisses that had started sweet and ended steamy.
Rosalie closed the door quietly behind her.
"So," Edward said as he tucked a strand of hair behind Bella's ear. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I'll be a lot better than last time," she replied, "You're through most of the shoot already."
"Thank god," he said with feeling. "Seriously though," he continued, "are you sure you're okay. We've had a hell of a time over the last couple of days."
Then inspiration struck.
"I know," he said suddenly, "why don't you come with me?"
"What?" Bella started laughing.
"Why not? You can catch an evening flight, that'll give you time to pack and get everything you need. It'll be great!"
"Edward," she ran a finger along his jaw line, "I've still got work to do, remember?"
"Oh, right," he deflated. "Well it was a nice idea while it lasted."
"Are you kidding? It was a great idea, and it's one that I'll take you up on next time."
"Really?" he perked up.
"Sure. We'll work something out. But for now you've got to finish your movie, and I'm getting things started here."
Edward leaned down and gave her a long, lingering kiss.
"If you're sure," he breathed.
"When you do that I'm not," she admitted, "but I'll be here waiting when you get back."
"And that makes coming home all the sweeter," Edward replied with a sad smile. "Just do me a favour will you?"
"Anything," Bella answered.
"Take care of my heart, I'm leaving it with you."
"Then you can take mine to keep you company," she said with a smile, and captured his lips with hers again.
o * o * o * o
The two of them walked outside to where Rosalie and Emmett stood waiting at the car. Edward gave Bella another long kiss, and then scooped her up for a hug that lifted her feet off the ground.
"Okay guys, look after my girl while I'm gone," he said as he set her down.
"You know we will," answered Emmett as he draped a brotherly arm around Bella's shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze.
"Actually speaking of which," Bella said to Rosalie, "do you guys want to catch up with Angela and Ben again soon?"
"We'd love to," Rosalie said, "just tell us where and when."
"Yeah those guys are fun," Emmett agreed.
"Great! I'll give Angela a call and we'll arrange something.
"Well," Rosalie's forehead creased in thought. "We invaded your place last time. Why don't we have dinner at ours? Sorry Edward, yours," she amended hastily.
"Sounds good to me," Bella said.
"Now it's my turn to whine," commented Edward. "I haven't even left the country yet, and you're already planning fun without me? And at my own home no less, it's not fair!"
"Don't worry, we'll have plenty of fun when you get back," Bella said as she ducked away from Emmett's arm and wrapped her arms around Edward's waist.
"Oh I plan to," Edward said, giving her another kiss.
"Okay kids, I hate to break up the fun, but we've got to get this show on the road," Emmett said with some reluctance.
"We'll see you soon, Bella," said Rosalie as she gave her a quick kiss.
"You can count on it," Emmett added as he got into the car.
"I guess this is it then," Edward said, swallowing down the lump in his throat.
"I guess so," agreed Bella.
"So I'll see you in …" he trailed off and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Eighteen days," she supplied with a smile.
Edward cupped her face in his hands and gave her a deep kiss, reveling in the feel of her body against his. It was with considerable reluctance that he let her go.
"Hey Bella," he whispered, "do you know what?"
"What?"
"I love you," he replied.
"And I love you."
o * o * o * o
Bella waved the car off, blowing kisses and laughing as Emmett tooted the car horn extravagantly.
"He loves me," she murmured to herself.
o * o * o * o
Edward twisted around so that he was facing front, and grinned at Rosalie who had turned in her passenger seat to watch Edward and Bella wave at each other.
"Oh yeah, you two have got it bad," she said.
"Looks like it," Edward agreed, "and I couldn't be happier."
"So was Bella surprised when you showed up?"
"Absolutely, she thought she was on the phone to me in Prague until she answered the door."
"Oh, so I'm guessing that went down pretty well," Emmett chimed in.
"You could say that," Edward grinned at the memory of Bella's enthusiastic welcome. They had barely made it into the bedroom.
"It sounds like you guys have had a good weekend then," Rosalie commented as she looked at Edward's smile, and then raised an eyebrow as his expression clouded over.
"Well," he shifted a little in his seat, "things got a bit heated yesterday," he began.
"I bet they did," Emmett commented.
"Quiet honey," Rosalie shushed. "What happened?"
"I found something that she'd been working on, and the situation went rapidly downhill from there."
"How far downhill?"
"For a while there I thought we were breaking up," he said quietly.
"What?" Rosalie looked at him in shock.
"Shit Edward, what the hell did you do?" Emmett glanced at him in the rear-view mirror, and then shifted his attention back to the road.
Edward spread his hands in a placating manner.
"I don't know how the hell it started, but everything just kind of exploded. Some things were said, things that I'm not proud of, and I don't think she is either, and then we both had to cool down."
Rosalie gave him a long measured gaze.
"How long a cool down?" she said in a too-calm voice.
Edward gave an unhappy shrug, picking at a thread on his jeans and avoiding her gaze.
"Don't know," he mumbled, "maybe a couple of hours."
He still remembered the hurt expression on Bella's face as he had walked out the door. He never wanted to see her looking like that again.
"I see."
There was silence in the car for a long moment.
"But you guys worked everything out okay, yeah?" asked Emmett.
"Yeah, we did," Edward responded, "but I have to say that was a few hours of my life that I don't think I'd care to repeat."
"Oh I don't know that I'd be so sure about that," Rosalie said in a thoughtful tone.
"Huh?" Edward leaned forward in his seat.
"Well," Rosalie turned, "do you think you guys would have really hashed things out and made your declarations if you hadn't gone through that shit beforehand?"
"Maybe," Edward hedged.
Emmett snorted.
"Yeah, but it would've taken you another three months at least."
"Sometimes you have to go through the hard times to appreciate the good," Rosalie added.
Edward sat and thought about it for a while, leaning back in his seat. He had to admit that Rose had a point, although it had been a bitter pill to swallow at the time.
"Have you guys suffered like that?" he asked after a while.
"Oh for sure," Emmett said promptly.
"Really?"
Edward was surprised. He knew that Rosalie and Emmett could be a volatile pair, but he'd never seen any serious discontent between the two.
"You can count me in on that," added Rosalie, "when did we go through a rough patch?"
"Remember that time you put a moratorium on sex because you thought I was flirting with other women too much?" Emmett shuddered at the memory. "Man," he said with feeling, "that was the worst three days of my life."
"Aw baby," Rosalie reached out and rubbed the back of Emmett's neck as he drove, "it was pretty rough on me too."
"Oh Jesus," Edward gagged, "are we there yet?"
o * o * o * o
"C'mon, cut to the chase!"
Bella laughed as Angela flapped her hands impatiently and leaned forward in her seat.
"What happened next?"
"Well, I told him to get out, so he left," Bella began, pausing as Angela wailed and put her hands over her face.
"Oh for fuck sake, Bella, you're killing me here!"
"I hadn't finished!" Bella protested, then continued, "and then I had a mini meltdown and had a shower,"
"You what?"
"I had a shower," Bella looked at Angela's blank expression. "What?"
"Why on earth did you do that?"
Bella shrugged, "I don't know," she gave it some thought and shrugged again. "I guess the water calms me down. It was purely an instinctual thing."
"You get upset and you turn to water. I get upset and I turn to chocolate," Angela commented, "that goes a long way towards explaining why I can't wear skinny leg jeans, but please, continue with the story."
"Um, yeah. I don't know how long I was in the shower for, but then I got out and got dressed, and moped around for a while, and then there was a knock at the door."
"And?" Angela prompted, starry eyed.
Bella sighed.
"And he was standing there just," she glanced at Angela and bit her lip, "and the look on his face,"
"Uh-huh," Angela said in a soft voice.
"Then we just held each other and talked and talked until there was no air in the room."
"And did you say it?"
"Yep," Bella nodded.
"And did he say it?"
Bella nodded again.
"Okay, so tell me exactly what he said, and don't leave out a word."
Bella told her.
The two women sat in silence for a moment.
"Wow," Angela breathed.
"Yeah," Bella sat on the couch hugging her knees.
"I mean," Angela waved her hands as she searched for a descriptive word, "just … wow, you know?"
"Tell me about it."
"Yeah," Angela nodded absently. "Still," she said after a while, "it took you both long enough to get there. The suspense has been killing us."
Bella looked at her in surprise. "Us? Who's us?"
"Well there's me and Ben, obviously, and Rosalie and Emmett. We've all been waiting to see who was going to make a move."
"What, so you've been comparing notes?"
"Something like that," Angela looked sheepish, "Rosalie and I swapped n umbers and we've been keeping each other up to date," she looked at Bella, "Are you mad?" she said in a small voice.
"No," Bella smiled.
"Oh good," Angela said with evident relief.
"I'm too happy for that. Getting mad will come later."
"Right."
o * o * o * o
The makeup woman checked her watch and then looked up at the rapid tattoo of knuckles on the doorway of her trailer. Edward grinned at her and took his seat.
"Well don't you look like a different man," she praised by way of greeting, "I'm guessing you had a good break then."
"Absolutely," Edward gave an expansive yawn and settled into a more comfortable position on his chair, then shot her a grin, "is it that obvious?"
The woman considered him for a moment. Oh honey, you've practically got 'I'm in love' tattooed on your forehead'.
"Yeah, it's pretty obvious," then she patted his shoulder, "but you know, you could always try acting if you want to hide it."
"Really? I hadn't considered that," he mused, "acting you say, I might have to give that a go. Is there much money in it?"
She shrugged.
"Not much, you're probably better off getting a trade."
"That's what my mom said," Edward agreed, "still, it was a nice idea while it lasted."
"Absolutely," she agreed, "now close your eyes while I put this foundation on."
"Yes ma'am."
Edward leaned back, a faint smile on his lips.
Some woman, somewhere, is the luckiest bitch on the planet, she thought, as she went to work.
o * o * o * o
To: Bella Swan
From: Edward Cullen
Subject: ILY
Bella
It was so good to wake up to your voice; I love you by the way. The shoot has been going well, although I'm going to have to change hotels again this week. Word seems to have gotten out again where I'm staying, and strangely enough, squealing fan girls prowling the corridors of the hotel doesn't help me get much sleep. I love you.
Have you guys all caught up for dinner at home yet? You know, that really fun evening you were happily planning without me. Not that I'm bitter or anything. I love you.
How's the writing going, are you happy with it all? I'll read what you let me, when you let me, but the pages I saw the other day were fantastic. You, Ms Swan, are a fantastic writer, and I love you.
Eric has been in touch lately, yapping on some new scripts that he wants me to check out, and I've told him that I want to work local for the next year or so. Now that I've got you in my clutches – my very loving clutches I might add - I don't want to leave town for a while.
I'll give you a call tonight if I'm able, although I'm not sure what time I'm doing to be finishing up. It turns out my couple of days off threw things out a bit, but I've done a deal with the director to push on and get the principle photography finished on schedule. Means I had to do some sweet talking with the rest of the crew, but it seems to have worked.
Oh, and before I forget, I love you.
Edward
PS. Love you!
To: Edward Cullen
From: Bella Swan
Subject: RE: ILY
Edward
I love hearing your voice at bedtime. It's the perfect way for me to end the day. Of course, I can think of a few other ways, but they involve your rather active participation. Still, we'll have a chance to explore those options in 15 days.
I love you.
Wow. Sounds like those fan girls have quite the communication network going on there. How on earth do you think they do it? I have a hard enough time coordinating Angela and Rose to both be available on the same night, but I guess their incentive for seeing you isn't on the same level. Mind you, at this point in time I think I could give those fan girls a run for their money. If you were to walk into my bedroom right now, I'd be on you so fast it'd give a striking cobra performance anxiety.
The writing – or should I say, the Great Mystery Project – is going really well. You're going to have to meet the people I'm working with then you get back, they're absolutely brilliant. It's a husband and wife team, Jasper and Alice Hale. Jasper is really laid back, quietly spoken, southern manners, that sort of thing, and Alice is such a livewire I think she could make coffee nervous. Still, they're a perfect couple, although Alice has been looking at me and muttering words like 'shopping' and 're-style' so I'm getting a little bit anxious about that. Shopping has never really been my thing.
I love you.
You know you don't have to base your work around me, I felt a bit guilty when I read that … do we need to have a talk about this? My work is at least a bit more portable than yours, so I'm sure that as long as we keep talking we'll be able to work something out.
I love you.
We haven't had the big catch-up yet, although it hasn't been for want of trying. Everyone is getting really busy, but Emmett has suggested that we hold off until you get back anyway. I've been keeping in touch with everyone though, and they all say 'hi'.
I love you.
If you managed to get the crew to do a few all night sessions on filming you must be a silky-tongued devil. Mmmmmm. Tongues.
Sorry, what was I saying?
I love you.
I guess if your powers of persuasion had failed, you could have used some cupcakes to sweeten the deal, although you don't have any there, or here for that matter. I was hungry the other night, and then Ben spotted the container, and took some for Angela. And then Emmett just happened to drop in the other day – he was saying something about Rosalie eating his share, but the jury is out on that one. I'll bake you some more when you get home.
I love you.
Bella
To: Bella Swan
From: Edward Cullen
Subject: RE: RE: ILY
Well, I managed to last 4 days at the last hotel. I blame Twitter, MySpace and Facebook. ARGH! Maybe once the penny drops that I'm spoken for they might back off a bit.
Alice and Jasper sound great. Why don't we get them over for dinner when I get back?
There was something else I was going to say but I can't remember. Oh yeah, that's right … I love you.
Love
Edward
o * o * o * o
"Hello?"
"Hey Mom, it's Edward," he said.
"Edward," the voice on the other end of the line mused, "I think I used to have a son called Edward."
"Yeah I know," he sighed, "it's been a while since I called."
At the other end, he heard a male voice of inquiry in the background.
"It's our long lost son, I think he finally found our phone number," his mother said clearly into the receiver for Edward's benefit as well as his father's.
"Well now I know where Emmett gets his subtlety," Edward commented.
His mother laughed at that.
"Touché, how are you darling?"
"I'm good, I thought I'd give you a call and see when you and Dad could come to LA though, there's someone I'd like you to meet."
"Ah, would this be the same woman I saw in the magazines a while back?"
"She's the one," he replied.
"Well Edward, I have to say that Bella sounds perfectly lovely, and I hear she's quite a cook too."
"What? Where did you read that?" Edward yelped. Bella hadn't mentioned any new articles.
"No darling, Rose and I keep each other up to date, even when the men on our family can't."
"Ouch."
His mother gave a soft chuckle.
"Oh you know I'm teasing you, Edward. It's so wonderful to hear your voice. Where are you calling from?"
"I'm still in Prague," he replied.
"Oh lovely, and when do you get back?"
"All things going well, I'll be home in about seven days."
"Wonderful. Well your father and I would love to see you, but we'll let you settle back in first. How about we visit the weekend after you get back?"
"That would be great, Mom," he replied, "It'll be really good to see you both."
"And we can't wait to see you, would you like to say hello to your father?"
"Absolutely, put him on," Edward waited for a moment, and then heard his father's smooth voice.
"Hello son, I hear you've been keeping busy."
"Something like that Dad, but I'll be home soon and thought it would be great to see you guys."
"Absolutely, we'll be looking forward to it. Actually I think it'll be our first family gathering in a while, given Emmett's there as well."
"I hadn't thought of that," Edward replied. His mind started sorting through possibilities for the evening. He was sure that Bella would be able to hold her own.
"Don't worry dear, Bella already knows half the family, so a couple of oldies like your father and I won't scare her off," his mother added, startling a whoop of laughter out of him.
"Mom, it's like you just read my mind."
o * o * o * o
"Bella!" Alice looked up and beamed, "I was thinking about you this morning."
"All good I hope?"
"She didn't end up screaming, so I'd take that as a good sign," commented Jasper as he waved on his way to get a coffee, the two women followed. Jasper held up a cup and cocked an eyebrow at Bella, "You want?"
"Absolutely," Bella replied.
"One day I'll stop asking, and just have a cup ready for you when you get in," Jasper replied with a grin as he started to froth the milk.
"And on that day Jazz, I'll know my work is done," Bella said, patting him on the shoulder.
"So, Bella," Alice took a seat at the small table in the kitchen and crossed her legs, "there's something different about you today, care to share?"
"Huh?" Bella's attention was jerked back to the small woman sitting primly at the table, eyeing her with a calculating smile.
"I'll second that," Jasper added. "What are you on about babe?"
"Oh come on," Alice scoffed. "Look at her, she's practically glowing!"
Jasper switched off the steam nozzle and turned to face Bella, giving her a slow once-over. Bella felt the familiar rush of warmth to her face.
"Well she's glowing now," commented Jasper as he turned back to his coffee making.
"And I'll glow a bit more if you guys keep starting at me like that," she said, putting her hands to her face.
"I dunno, she looks the same to me," he said over his shoulder to Alice, then blanched and continued hastily, "not that you don't normally look good anyway, Bella." He handed Bella her coffee and shook his head. "I'll go before I can get myself into trouble."
"Wise move," laughed Bella.
"Sit," said Alice, pointing at a chair.
"I've been told," commented Bella.
"And I'm outta here," Jasper replied, beating a hasty retreat, "I know girl talk when I see it."
Bella sat down, and took a sip of her coffee, avoiding Alice's appraising stare.
"Well young lady, I don't know what has been haunting you these last few weeks, but it seems that the ghosts have been well and truly laid," Alice began, stopping when Bella threw her head back and laughed.
"Oh you don't know how true that is!"
"So it's about a boy?" Alice said, leaning forward.
"It most certainly is," Bella replied.
"I knew it!" Alice squealed, then clapped a hand over her mouth and giggled at her own reaction.
"Is it that obvious?" Bella said as she took another sip.
"It is to another woman. We've all been there honey, so we know it when we see it," Alice patted Bella's wrist in understanding. "I think this is going to call for some celebratory drinks, who's the lucky guy?"
"His name's Edward," Bella replied.
"Oh nice name." Alice considered it for a moment and then laughed, "God that gets me thinking about Edward Cullen. Now there's a perfect specimen if ever I saw one." Alice gave a lusty sigh. "I think the only reason to kick him out of bed would be to do him on the floor."
Bella gave a wicked grin.
"Hmm, now there's an idea, I'll have to remember that for when he's back in town," Bella replied with a wink.
Alice laughed, and then stopped when she saw the grin on Bella's face.
"Are you saying that … and your Edward is the Edward?" asked Alice in a faint voice.
Bella nodded and sipped her coffee again, innocently rolling her eyes towards the ceiling. She set her cup back down on the table and tried to stop the enormous grin that threatened to split her face in two.
"Oh my," Alice sighed. Then gave a louder, "Oh my!" as she leaned back in her chair and regarded Bella with wonderment. "Well that's it then," she said, slapping her hands on her thighs and pushing herself up out of her chair, "we have to go out and get drunk to celebrate that."
"Now?" Bella said skeptically as she glanced at her watch, "but it's only 11am."
"Is it?" Alice seemed taken aback. "You're right. That's a bit early. We'll just have to go shopping instead. I'll go tell my boy while you finish your coffee."
"Yes boss," Bella replied.
"Oh don't you 'yes boss' me, you're as bad as he is," Alice grinned, jerking her head in the direction of Jasper's office. "I'll go get my bag, and then you my girl, are going to get some style."
"Oh god," Bella said with a groan.
o * o * o * o
Edward sat down in his set chair with a small groan of relief while the lighting technicians scurried around setting up the next shot.
"Probably about twenty minutes," the Production Assistant said on her way past.
Edward nodded. That could mean anything up to an hour's wait. He glanced at his mobile and saw that he had a text message.
Alice wants girl talk and shopping. God help me! B x
Edward grinned and sent a reply.
Have fun! Love you – E x
A few minutes later, his phone beeped again.
You call THIS fun? Love you too – B x
Edward shook his head.
Buy something sexy! E x
Another beep. Edward's grin was getting broader now.
OK actor boy, what's my motivation? B x
Edward coughed to smother his laugh, and composed another reply.
I get to peel it off you piece by piece? E x
His phone beeped again.
Is that my reward or yours? B x
Edward thought for a moment, and grinned.
Uh … I love you! E x
Funny man – love you too – B x
o * o * o * o
Jasper looked up as the office door opened and Bella appeared sporting several shopping bags. She looked exhausted.
"How did it go?" he asked.
Bella grimaced and held up her laden arms.
"Do you really need to ask? I only managed to get her to stop when I told her my credit card was about to burst into tears and call Amnesty International to report abuse."
Jasper grinned, "Welcome to my world."
Alice appeared a moment later, breathless with exertion and looking triumphant as she shouldered her way past Bella, swiping a stack of magazines off the coffee table with some of her shopping bags as she passed.
"Don't worry honey," she called, "some of these bags are Bella's."
Bella slumped down onto a sofa.
"God I'm exhausted," she moaned, "I don't get it Jasper, she's so damn tiny, where does she get the energy?"
"Don't ask me, I find it helps to either go along with it, or sit quietly and hope it passes you by."
Bella leaned back in her chair and watched Jasper as he kept tapping away at his laptop. He and Alice seemed to be the perfect foil for each other.
o * o * o * o
"Alice, how long have you and Jasper been together?" Bella had asked while they had been browsing through yet another rack of clothes.
"Well, we met at college, and things kind of went from there."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Alice laughed, "it's cheesy but true." She had held a dress up against Bella for a moment, and then shook her head and hung it back up on the rack as she kept talking. "We discovered early on that we collaborated really well together, although there are times when we could kill each other too, but on the whole it works really well."
"Is the work element that has kept you two together?"
"Oh no, much more than that," Alice held another dress up against Bella, nodded in satisfaction and added it to the ones already stacked over her arm. "Jasper has always said that a good relationship is one that feels like you've just started a fantastic conversation with someone, and it just keeps on going."
"What a great way of putting it," mused Bella.
"Yeah, he's a bit good," Alice replied in a proud tone.
o * o * o * o
Jasper looked up with a lazy smile as Alice swept back into the room and plonked herself down on the empty chair beside him, giving a sigh that was replete with satisfaction.
"Feel good, baby?" he asked, reaching over to rub his hand in lazy circles on the small of her back.
"It was great," Alice replied, closing her eyes and all but purring with pleasure.
"For you," protested Bella with a smile.
"Oh come on," Alice said, her eyes popping open and fixating on Bella, "even you were starting to look a bit excited by the time we found those butt-perfect jeans for you."
"I was excited because you'd sent the assistant out to get me a coffee," Bella explained, "I didn't even know they'd do that sort of thing for you!" she elaborated to Jasper.
"I think you'll find that Alice is pretty well known in the stores she probably took you too," Jasper said with a smile.
"I got that impression," Bella said with a laugh, "Alice you must spend a fortune on clothes."
"Actually," Alice said, "not as much as you'd think. I tend to supply a few of them."
"Huh?"
"My girl here designs," Jasper answered, giving Alice a fond glance. "They make, people snap them up, and everyone profits."
"Wow, really?" Bella was impressed.
"Hey," Alice laughed, "all my spare energy has to go somewhere."
"I would have thought you'd burnt up a fair bit in the shoe section this afternoon," Bella answered, "you were like a hummingbird on speed."
"Again with the shoes," Jasper groaned, "I just don't understand why women have to have so many shoes."
Alice sighed and gave Jasper a loud kiss before shaking her head at Bella.
"I feel so sorry for men sometimes," she sighed, "their lives must be so empty and dull."
o * o * o * o
The three of them had sat idly chatting for a while, before Alice had declared it was 'drink o'clock' and gone into her office to get her bag.
"Sorry Jasper," Bella apologized, "this hasn't been my most productive day here so far."
"Ah don't worry about," he replied, waving a dismissive hand, "it's all swings and roundabouts, you'll catch up on it all later. As long as you're here when we really need you it'll be fine."
Alice reappeared with her bag and jangled her car keys at Bella.
"I'll just put my bags in my car, Alice, meet you out front?"
"Sure," Alice agreed.
It took a bit of effort, but Bella managed to pick up all of her bags and make her way outside.
"So how has today been?" Alice said as she sat herself on Jasper's lap.
"Pretty good, we're getting some serious interest out there, so I think we're getting closer."
"Oh honey that's fantastic, and I've got some news for you too," Alice replied.
"What's that?" Jasper said as he idly ran his hands through her hair.
"Bella's got a man," Alice said, a huge grin spreading across her face.
"Figured she would," Jasper answered. "Who is it?"
"Edward Cullen," she squealed. Jasper gaped at her.
"Serious?"
Alice nodded excitedly.
"Do you think she knows that-"
"Uh-uh. I think we'll surprise her with that later!"
o * o * o * o
It was late in the evening by the time Bella arrived back at home. She heaved her shopping bags onto one of the sofas, and threw herself down onto the other one. What had started as a celebratory drink with Alice had turned into dinner, then coffee, then a late night dessert at which point Jasper had joined them. The three of them had sat talking and laughing for another couple of hours. Alice was starting to suggest another round of drinks before Bella managed to call it quits for the night. She yawned. It had been a very long, and very busy day.
Her phone rang, and she let out a moan before she reached for her bag and began to fumble around for it. Without looking at the call id, she flipped it open and answered.
"Hello," she yawned.
"You sound like a tired girl, how was shopping?"
"Hey you," Bella replied, rolling onto her back and dangling her legs over the arm of the sofa. "I'm very tired, I've just gotten in."
"What? What on earth did you get up to?"
Bella relayed the day's events, making Edward laugh as she described Alice's energy and determination.
"So now you know why I'm tired," Bella finished on a yawn.
"And did you get anything sexy?" Edward asked.
"You know, I could practically see the tomcat grin on your face when you say that," Bella countered.
"That may well be the case, but you're not answering the question," he replied.
"Well you'll just have to wait and see, Cullen."
"Alright then Swan, but just for that I'm going to make you run the family gauntlet when I get home."
"What?"
"I've spoken to Mom, she and Dad are going to visit after I get back. I've told them about you and they want to come see for themselves."
"Fine by me," Bella replied.
"Really? I thought you'd be a bit worried."
"Not at all, parents love me. I guess it's just my thing."
"Sounds like a done deal," Edward answered. He didn't tell her that she was the first girlfriend in years that he had introduced to his parents. After his last relationship had ended and subsequently been splashed across the tabloids, he had told his parents that the next woman he introduced them to would be the real deal.
o * o * o * o
"CUT! That's a wrap, and that's a print people, we're done!"
Edward walked across the set to shake the Director's hand as the crew broke into applause. They'd done it. The filming had finished on time, and (so far at least) on budget.
Edward turned to his set chair and opened one of the large cardboard boxes that had been delivered to him earlier. Reaching in, he began handing out the gifts inside. He'd purchased over 100 in all, one for every crew member. Word soon got around, and there was more applause for Edward. He grinned and ducked his head in acknowledgement of everyone's thanks. It took another couple of hours for him to get through the pile, swapping stories and jokes, reminiscing and thanking people for their hard work.
"What's all this?" Edward looked up. It was Aro, the Director.
"Don't worry, I've got one here for you too," he grinned, and tossed one of the small Perspex boxes at him.
Aro caught it neatly and prised it open. His eyebrows went up as he nodded in approval at the contents. Edward had purchased an ipod Nano for everyone. On the back was engraved a simple message: the movie title, the year, and the word 'thanks' above Edward's autograph.
"Nice," Aro said, "no wonder they all love you."
Edward laughed.
"It's just my way of saying thanks and giving everyone a memento," he explained.
"It's going to make me look like a real tight ass, all I gave them was a crew team photo," Aro commented as he put the ipod back in its box.
"Oh I don't know," Edward replied, "don't forget you gave them the job opportunity in the first place."
"True," Aro agreed. "So, are you coming to the after-party tomorrow night?"
"Nope, sorry," Edward replied, not looking sorry in the slightest, "I've got a plane to catch."