Bella

"You spent the night with him? Bella, you don't even know him!" Rose's eyes have gone wide, and I'm trying not to choke on my iced tea as I sit down by the water while I'm Zooming with her.

I roll my eyes; leave it to my best friend to miss the point. "Did you miss the fact that I said nothing happened? We just stayed up all night talking about … nothing really. We watched the sun come up, and then he went to his room."

I joined Edward's family two nights ago for dinner, and after I broke down on my terrace while we were drinking coffee, he stayed until I calmed down, and then we just talked about books, movies, and all the things that we love in our lives. We have a lot in common, and by the time the sun started to come up, we hadn't even realized that we'd spent the whole night together.

"And you've been babysitting?"

I sigh. I love Rose, I really do. She's always had my best interest in my mind, but when she gets an idea in her head, sometimes that's all she knows. That's why she and Alice are such good friends, and why I love them.

"I'm not babysitting, Rose. I made friends; settle down." I lean back on the towel I brought down with me, holding my phone above my head. "They're a nice family; you'd like them."

"How are you doing really?"

Lolling my head to the side, taking in people walking along the shore, I sigh. "I'm not fine. I've been avoiding checking in on social media because I'm afraid of what people might be saying. I've tried reaching out to Garrett; he clearly doesn't want to speak to me because he won't respond to any of my calls or texts. I'm beyond humiliated."

I can feel the tears streaming gently from the corners of my eyes as I roll onto my side, but Rose doesn't say anything. Instead, I focus on my screen and her face. "What am I supposed to do? How do I move on from this?"

"I don't know. What I can tell you is that almost no one has heard from Garrett since Mike spoke to him. A lot of people are asking what happened, but between all of us who were there, we've just been telling them the truth; he didn't show up, and we don't know why." Her expression softens. "I should warn you though—"

"What? What else could there possibly be?" She and I both laugh a little.

"The news has picked up the story. Just a little, but I've been contacted and so has Lauren about interviewing you when you get back." Rose winces as I sit bolt upright.

"Absolutely not. I won't do it." Wiping furiously at my face, I see Jess and Carmen walking down the beach toward me. "Hey, Jessica and her daughter Carmen are walking over. I want you to say hi."

I wipe at my face as they approach, and Jess gives me a quizzical look, but I brush it off. "Hey, you two. I'm talking to my best friend Rose. Do you want to say hi?"

Carmen sinks down next to me and gives Rose a wide grin. "Hi! I'm Carmen, and I'm eleven. Bell and I are going to a painting class today!"

Rose's eyebrows shoot up to her hairline, but I give her a warning look. "I'm Rose, and I'm thirty-three. That sounds like fun."

"Hi, I'm Jess. Bella's told me a lot about you. I think you might actually know my in-laws, Peter and Victoria Hunter?" Jess is leaning behind me and Carmen, pulling her hair out of her face.

"Peter and Victoria Hunter who live in Golden Hill?" Rose and Emmett live in a fancy gated community a couple hours from me, and as Edward and I were talking the other night, I learned that we're basically neighbors. He lives about 10 minutes from me, with his family spread out from him by a couple hours each way in opposite directions.

"That's them. It took me a minute to put two and two together, but I'm assuming your Emmett is the same one who goes fishing with Peter when, um, someone's football team loses, right?" Jess drops down next to me and her daughter on the towel as Rose howls with laughter.

"They have a long-standing bet, but it's baseball. That's my husband—can't pick a winning baseball team and can't catch a fish to save his life." Rose winks, but I know it's for my benefit. "Your in-laws are wonderful people, and we're both grateful to be friends with them."

"That's so kind; they'll be delighted to know that!"

"Rose, we better go. The three of us need to get to our class, and then we're having dinner with Maria and Esme after," I say as we stand up, brushing ourselves off.

"Have fun. I'll talk to you soon. Love you."

"Love you."

Just before we decide on anything for dessert, Carmen starts to nod off at the table, and Jess bids us good night to take her back to their family suite. Maria, Esme, and I split a slice of lemon tart.

"I need to stop by the gift shop and see if they have any aloe vera. I'm so burned." Maria looks more than mildly uncomfortable, but she'd been out almost all day on the water, so I'm not surprised.

"They do; I bought some when I first got here. I burn easily. If you can't find any, come grab my bottle; I won't use it all," I offer, and she smiles.

"I really appreciate it. I made sure to reapply the sunscreen to all the kids, but I guess I forgot myself."

I tell her to take some ibuprofen if she has it, to hydrate, and get the aloe. "Take a cool shower too. You'll feel better."

"I might duck out if you two are all right. I'm exhausted after all the water sports today." Maria gives her mother-in-law a sheepish smile.

"Go on. Take care of yourself. It might be time for a couple 'nothing' days." Esme smiles when Maria presses a kiss to her cheek and gives me a little wave before making her way out of the restaurant.

Suddenly, I'm with the matriarch of this family that has clearly adopted me for a vacation.

"I understand you and Edward had a late night." Esme's eyes are twinkling as she drops this bit of information on the table.

"Is there an implication there? If you're bringing it up, it's because he told you or Jessica did. So, you either a) are implying that something happened and it would be wrong, or b) you're happy if it did." I set my spoon down, wipe my mouth with the linen napkin, and stare at her.

"I'm actually bringing it up because he doesn't spend too many late nights with women, at least not in the last few years." Esme pushes the plate away from her, locking eyes with me.

I do not, in the slightest, feel threatened by her, but I can't read her. I have no idea where she's going with this.

"Do you tend to keep up on the inner workings of your children's personal lives?"

She shrugs. "Only when one of them meets someone and the irony is astounding."

I try to blink away my confusion. "The irony? I was sort of having fun with whatever we were doing. I'm not trying to jump your son's bones. What are you talking about?"

She had started to laugh as I was talking but stopped abruptly. "Wait, he … Edward didn't tell you anything? Anything about something that happened to him in the last few years?"

"No. Was he supposed to?" And then it hits me. Irony. "Was he left at the altar too?"

Esme winces. "Not exactly."

I've been pacing in front of Edward's little patio for at least fifteen minutes. I can just make out that his room lights are on, and I can hear sound from the TV drifting out, but I don't know if he's awake or if he'd even want to see me or talk to me.

Esme apologized for our weird interaction, but she also didn't fill me in. That's why I'm here. Groaning, I bend over, hands on my knees, trying to gather my courage. When I stand back up, I scream.

"Edward!" His head is popped up over the bushes that give his patio a little privacy. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I'm in my room. The better question is what are you doing here? I heard someone out here, and when I came to look, I found you." He's smiling this crooked, half-smile.

"I just left your mom; I mean, I had dinner with her, Jess, Carmen, and Maria, but your mom and I were the last ones out." I sigh and look directly at him. "Your mom said you and I meeting was ironic but wouldn't explain why. I was trying to decide if I wanted to ask you why she would say that."

The half-smile turns into a full frown. "She said 'ironic'?"

I nod.

"Do you want to come in? It's kind of a long story."

I hesitate for a moment before making my decision. "Sure. I'll be around in a minute."

"There's just enough room to walk through here." Edward pushes some of the brush out of the way, and I tentatively walk through until I'm standing in front of him on the patio. "Wine? This might require a little more than coffee or tea."

I nod and follow him when he invites me into his room. There's a part of me that's pleased to find that he's tidy enough, and his room is almost identical to my own. He's calling my name when I refocus.

"Red or white?"

"Oh, I really like that Chardonnay. Thanks." When he offers me a glass, I take a sip before I can think. When he pours his own, he turns off the TV that he had muted and gestures back out to the patio.

We both have a small couch in our rooms, but it's more of a loveseat; much too small for what I assume is going to be a deep conversation. He's quiet for a few minutes, and just as I'm about to tell him that he doesn't have to say anything, he talks over me.

"I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me get it all out before you say anything or ask any questions. I'll give you the condensed version, but that's long enough on its own."

"You don't owe me anything; we barely know each other," I say before he can start, and he smiles.

"I think you and I already know each other pretty well. Jess loves you, so I have a feeling you're going to be a permanent fixture in our lives going forward. Truth be told, if the circumstances were different, I'd probably be trying to hit on you." He smirks, and I can feel my face heat.

"Oh."

"But things are the way they are, and because of that, I need to tell you this and why my mother thinks it's ironic. You were left at the altar … I left someone at the altar." Edward winces as he lets that sink in.

For a few minutes, all I can hear is white noise, static, until my ears clear, and I can hear Edward say my name again. "Okay. Go on. Tell me."

"Her name was Kate."