Romance Isn't Dead...For Italians, Anyway

But it hadn't. Alice's theory on the third date being the first time for sex kinda fell through when Edward had been the one to pull away. He kissed Bella's hand chastely and led her back to the dining room for another glass of wine.

The rest of the night was filled with romance and mild flirty. Well, mild on her part. Edward didn't have to do much to get her fires burning. Just his presence, they way he looked at her with more than a bit of curiosity and want, and his damn slanted smile held secrets. Dirty, sinful secrets that had her rubbing her thighs together under the table.

And when she was brought home that night, her mind wouldn't let her rest until she'd satisfied her body more than one time, finally slipping into a orgasmic catatonic state.

The next morning while Bella was preparing her morning coffee, she heard a soft knock at her door. Taking a quick inventory of her ensemble, messy bed hair, cami and small short, no undergarments...

Crap.

She crept toward the door, adjusting her tank and shorts to cover as much skin as she could. Mike would've killed her if anyone else had seen her in such an outfit.

What the fuck! Why am I thinking of that asshole?

Sighing, she pulled the door open to see a small card laying next to a bundle of a dozen roses lying in a box and surrounded by a soft layer of tissue paper. Bella grabbed them from the ground and glanced around outside, trying to see who had dropped the off, but the streets were silent.

She took them inside, a small smile on her face. She hoped the flowers were from Edward. Of course they were. She also had unease inside of her that perhaps they'd be from Mike. She hadn't seen him in weeks, but there had been a couple drunk texts that she ignored. She'd been hoping that his communication with her wouldn't go past that, but if she knew Mike, at some point, his ego and need to win might overtake his common sense. That is, if he truly did want her back, as his texts implied.

Bella set the card down on the counter and started at it for a couple moments. Instead of opening it right away, she reached for a vase and filled it with water and some plant food. She prepared the flowers and made a beautiful arrangement that she took straight to her bedroom. The deep red colors of the petals accented the earth tones of her room, dark brown, black and cream on her comforter. Deep mahogany of her kings sized bed frame.

Perfect choice, Mr. Volturi...

The beauty of the roses mixed with the dull tones of her room set into a mood she'd never really experienced. Relaxed. Her body tingling. Needing something she couldn't quite describe.

Hmmm...

Once she had the flowers just right on her dresser so that she can see the beauty of them from her bed, she headed back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up after breakfast.

After a while, she paused with a cup of coffee in her hand, leaning back against her counter and looking over her perfectly cleaned kitchen. Taking a sip, she heard another knock at the door.

Hmmm...

She went to the door, this time checking the peep hole but didn't see a thing. But when she opened the door, there was a large black box wrapped by a deep red bow. Bella scanned the area as she bent down to retrieve it. The same cars were parked along the streets, vacant. The neighborhood was quiet, most of the residents at work or in school.

The box felt heavy and she took it immediately to her room. Pulling the satin bow free, she lifted the lid and gasped.

Inside was a beautiful red cocktail dress. Bella pulled it from the wrappings and held it up. The majority of the dress was a satin red, the top coming up just enough to cover her bustline, the waist cut in tight, as did the rest of the length. What made the dress spectacular, and a bit more conservative as Bella would have desired, was a layer of red tool the went from under the breast line, and wrapped around the back to serve as sleeves. And what mad the dress so elegant was the line of diamonds defining the bodice. It was beautiful. A little more than Bella had worn before, but she knew she could wear it.

Bella laid out the dress onto the bed and returned to the box. She removed another layer of wrapping to find a pair of satin red shoes in her size. They were gorgeous peep-toe pumps, the same deep red color with a little bow at the heel. And underneath that was a card and a slender, black velvet box.

Bella's fingers trembled as she reached for the box. Inside was a necklace, with a diamond encrusted heart at the end. Inside the heart was a red stone, a ruby maybe. Bella closed her eyes, tears forming. This was just too much.

She set the necklace on her bed and looked at the card. Picking it up, she had no doubt who these items were from. But why? Did she give Edward the impression that she was the type of girl who's affections had to bought? After all, the items sitting next to her looked to be of high quality, and she'd only been on three dates with Edward. Why would he spend that kind of money on her unless . . .

With a frown, Bella opened the card.

My beautiful Bella ~

You are an amazing woman, and I

have enjoyed every moment we've spent

together. I think it's time I show you

my life, a part of me that you haven't

seen yet. It would be my pleasure

if I could pick you up at seven tonight

for an evening of dining at mi familia's

Italiano resturante. I can not wait to be in

you stunning presence once again.

Yours,

Edward Volturi

AN: So? Would you be pissed if you were Bella? Or would you make sure you have some kinky ass lingerie underneath for later?

PLEASE READ:

I have had to take a break from fanfiction for a couple reasons. One, there have been things in my life that have happened that have completely changed and put me on the edge of insanity. If you have ever had to deal with infedility, I could really use some advice right about now.

The most important change that has happened is that my book is DONE! There is a webside on my Betty blog (found on my FFNet profile) that has not only pics from this story, but also a link to where you can read a preview of my book. There is also a author facebook page, and I could use some of my wonderful FF fans to head over there and give me some likes. Spread the word, my friends. LOVE YOU ALL!