Bella:
I awoke to the gentle touch of Edward's knuckles grazing my cheek. "Bella," he spoke softly. "We've arrived. Wake up."
I mumbled sleepily and stretched, breathing in the scent of him, and reaching for his hand against my face. "Good morning," I murmured, looking into his tawny eyes.
Sometime after I had fallen asleep, he had covered me with the comforter again, and had reclined the seat all the way. I struggled upright, the comforter sliding away from me, and looked out of the windows. We were parked in a cobbled parking lot deeply shaded by trees. At the end of the lot, an old-fashioned sign indicated the way to the Cottage Inn entrance. We got out of the car, Edward shouldering my backpack. I stretched again, breathing in the cool morning air, my hands kneading the small of my back. Dawn was breaking, and the pale morning sun was gilding the tops of the trees in a golden light. It was very quiet, the freeway just a distant hum.
"We made it just in time," I told Edward, indicating the sun as he came up beside me and draped his arm over my shoulder, "a few minutes more, and you'd be walking to the hotel glittering like a disco ball.
"I had to break a few traffic laws to swing it," he replied, laughing.
We started down a path flanked with huge rose bushes, flowers drenched in dew and poised to unfurl in the morning light. I was about to comment on the sight, not to mention the heady scent, when we rounded the corner, and took a step straight back in time.
I gasped. "Oh, Edward, this is lovely!"
The Cottage Inn was a sprawling, L-shaped two storey cottage, built of warm, honey-golden stone. It had black and white trim and a gabled roof, tiled in slate shingles. An enormous wisteria twined up the wall to the left of the entrance, and stretched as far as I could see around the building between the first and second floors. It must look breathtaking in flower, I thought. Hanging at right angles with the building, over a huge door painted a glossy black, was an old-style sign, swinging gently in an unseen breeze.
The entrance took us straight into a warmly lit reception area. Edward headed for the desk to check us in, while I looked around. The Cottage Inn didn't look like a hotel at all. It looked more like somebody's home. The seating arrangement in the reception area was made up of mismatched furniture, gently worn but extremely inviting looking. Through a doorway to the left was a large, darkly paneled sitting room, with wall to wall bookshelves filled with books, and clusters of seating areas arranged for maximum comfort around the room, for anything from a game of chess, to an informal meeting, or a solitary escape into a good book.
"Do you have any luggage?" I heard the receptionist saying. I moved back toward them, curious as to how Edward would handle the question. Our arrival, so early in the morning and with no luggage, would no doubt invite speculation.
"No," he replied, unleashing his devastating smile on her, and offering no further explanation. Every inch the consummate professional, the receptionist ignored our unusual circumstances. Without missing a beat, she rang the bell and told us someone would be right along to show us to our suite.
"We will start serving breakfast in about ten minutes, if you and Mrs. Cullen would like something," she continued, handing him the key.
I darted a look at Edward. Fortunately, the receptionist didn't notice. She only had eyes for him. Edward didn't bat an eyelid at her mistake, taking it all in his stride.
"Thank you, but I think Mrs. Cullen and I will have something in our room later." Before he had finished speaking, a sleepy looking young woman appeared, clearly a high-school student brand new to the job for the summer. Intimidated by Edward's super-model looks, she stumbled over her words as she invited us to follow her.
Our suite was utterly lovely. Lushly carpeted, it was furnished like the rest of the hotel was, with an eye for comfort and relaxation more than anything else. The sitting room was large, with a fireplace, comfortable seating, and somewhat incongruously, a large wardrobe with a mirrored door, and a chest of drawers. When I went through to the bedroom, I saw why the wardrobe and chest were in the other room. It was relatively small, with space for only a large brass bed and two nightstands. The room had an Anne of Green Gables feel to it, all whitewashed walls, crisp linens, and frothy pillows. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven, until I saw the bathroom, with its huge freestanding claw-footed tub that doubled as a shower, and of all strange things, an armchair in the corner.
When I came out of the bathroom, Edward was leaning casually in the doorway to the sitting room, his fingers tucked into his jeans pockets, watching me. "Surprise," he said with an engaging lopsided grin, when he saw the look on my face.
"Edward, this is too…wonderful," I sighed, kicking off my shoes and stretching out on the bed. I rolled on to my side, burrowing my nose in the sheets, and the scent of freshly laundered bedding was the last thing I remembered.
I woke up sunk in soft pillows, curled up beneath the softest cotton sheets I had ever had the pleasure of sleeping in, blindingly white in the sunlight streaming through the window and across the bed. I sighed, feeling happier than I ever had in my entire life. I could almost pretend we were a normal couple on a romantic getaway, if not for the fact that one half of the couple was a vampire who had abducted the other half of the couple, with the twofold objective of keeping her safe from a horde of bloodthirsty newborn vampires, and keeping her mortal against her express wishes. Some of my contentment faded, and right on cue, the light in the room faded too, as the sun disappeared behind the clouds outside. I sat up, throwing back the bedding, realizing for the first time that Edward had stripped me of my jeans before putting me under the covers.
The rest of reality suddenly intruded. "Charlie!" I yelped, realizing that he would have surely missed me by now and be frantic with worry. Hopefully he had not yet called the Cullens and found out from them that Edward had gone missing too.
"Bella?" Edward appeared in the doorway, looking concerned.
"What time is it? I have to call Charlie," I said glumly, not looking forward to that little chore at all.
"It's about eleven A.M., and I already took care of it," he said. Seeing my surprise, he continued. "I figured it was only right. This is my doing," he said, gesturing vaguely between us, "so it is my responsibility. It wasn't fair to make you clean up after me."
"What did you tell him?" I asked weakly.
"Actually, I didn't have to tell him anything. It seems Alice got to him first, and told him that you and I had made a spur of the moment decision to run off on an extended holiday. He was very angry with me. I apologized profusely, and was suitably submissive. I don't think he is going to hunt me down and try to kill me."
"Please don't joke about this," I said faintly.
"Bella." He sat down on the bed next to me, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. "I think he's ok. Mad as a hornet, with me anyway, but ok. He told me to have you call him as soon as you were awake."
He pulled out his phone, and handed it to me. "I'll run you a bath. That tub in there is something you should experience." He disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door to give me some privacy. I heard the water start running, and dialed Charlie.
He picked up on the first ring. "Hello?"
"Dad, it's me."
"Bella," he said, his voice stern.
"I'm sorry, dad," I said meekly. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. We weren't thinking. I am sorry if we made you worry."
He tone softened slightly. "Well, fortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to worry. Alice came over and told me before I even noticed you were gone."
"Oh. Good." There was an awkward pause. "I'm really sorry, dad."
"I know," he said, sounding resigned. "I don't like it, Bells, but I realize there is nothing I can do. You're an adult now, done with school, and you are free to make your own choices. Just be careful, ok? How are you for money? He told me he'd take care of you, but…"
"Dad, it's ok," I interrupted. "Edward is pretty wealthy. In his own right, it's not his father's money."
"Oh. I am not sure I like the idea of him paying for everything, Bella."
"To be honest, dad, neither do I."
My answer seemed to satisfy him. "He told me he wants to marry you."
"I know," I sighed. "I'm not sure how I feel about that either. I'm kind of with mom on that subject." That answer seemed to reassure him even more.
"Well," he said hesitantly, sounding somewhat relieved but unsure where to go from there. "You keep in touch, now. I want to hear from you regularly, especially when you're on the road."
"I will, dad. I promise," I said, a faint tremor in my voice. "I love you."
"I love you too, Bells."
We said our goodbyes, and I hung up, feeling a little shaky. On the one hand a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I had been so worried about disappearing on Charlie and worrying him, and even more worried about bringing danger in the form of vampires to his doorstep; it was a great relief to know that he could go on with his quiet life of fishing, and sports on TV with Billy, safe in his ignorance of the world I was now a part of. At the same time, I also felt a bittersweet sadness; Charlie's little girl was all grown up, and he had just let her go. And he didn't even know it yet. To Charlie, this was just an extended holiday. Only I knew that I may never see him or Forks again. Not if my plans of being turned into a vampire came to fruition, anyway. And I was determined they would. My life was with the Cullens and Edward from now on, and my conversation with Charlie had just made it real to me.
Edward walked out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam. He seemed to sense my precarious emotional state. "How did it go?" He asked gently, reaching for me and pulling me to my feet and into his arms.
"Surprisingly well," I mumbled into his chest, still sounding a little wobbly. "Edward…" I asked, changing the subject quickly before he could start questioning me, "why did Alice cover for us?"
"I don't know," he said grimly. "I have not been able to reach her. Frankly, I'm suspicious. Grateful, but suspicious."
I wondered. Alice was on my side when it came to the whole Bella: Vampire or Human? debate. Had she seen something with regard to my future? Did she cover for us to help me in my quest somehow? I was more determined to speak to her than ever.
My stomach rumbled thunderously, interrupting our separate musings and creating some comic relief. We both collapsed into giggles.
"Why don't you take a bath, while I order you something to eat," Edward said, his chuckles subsiding. "This place is famous for its Eggs Benedict. How does that sound?"
"Perfect," I said, heading into the bathroom.
My soak under bubbles in the claw-footed tub was heavenly, and sadly cut short far too soon by the delivery of my meal. I ate while Edward talked, outlining our plans for the day. The sunny weather had not lasted, and we were going to take advantage of the overcast day to go and do some much needed shopping.
Resigned to the inescapable, I finished my delicious brunch, and slouched off to the bedroom to get dressed.
There was a mall not ten minutes down the road from the Inn, but Edward drove right past it, to another one, a half hour away. This mall was in an upscale neighborhood, with a very different range of boutiques and department stores, all of them no doubt prohibitively expensive. I didn't protest, having learned some time ago that it was futile.
An unexpected advantage of shopping in such style was that the mall was relatively free of crowds. A few shoppers strolled past the storefronts, most of them women in groups of two or three. Out of my depth, I allowed myself to be guided by Edward as we went from store to store, buying completely new wardrobes for our completely new lives. We both needed just about everything, Edward having brought even less with him when he took me out of my house…gosh was it only last night? It seemed like weeks.
We shopped for luggage first, taking it out to the car immediately, then went back for toiletries, including, I was interested to note, high SPF sunscreen, shoes and clothes. Everywhere we went, we had the undivided attention of the salespeople, thanks entirely to Edward's lethal charm. It was like having our own personal shoppers. I could get used to shopping like this, I thought, surprised. I was actually enjoying myself, which was unusual, as shopping and I didn't usually mix well. Edward and I separated only when he was escorted to the men's department, and I gave him an absent wave as he left, too engrossed in a selection of very pretty fitted scoop-neck tees to pay him much attention.
It was only when I was handing over one of Edward's credit cards to pay for my selections, that it occurred to me that now might be the time to try and sneak a call to Alice. Annoyed at myself for not thinking about it earlier, I was about to ask the sales girl if I could use her phone, when Edward reappeared, followed by a sales clerk loaded down with shopping bags. He signed the credit card slip, and gathering up most of my bags, led the way back out to the car, clerk in tow. As our new luggage took up most of the trunk, we put the rest of our things in the back seat of the car. We made one last trip before heading back to the Inn, and it was the highlight of our outing as far as I was concerned. We spent an agreeable hour in a bookstore, and bought an obscene amount of books. Feeling silly, I guiltily slipped a vampire love story into my pile, hoping Edward wouldn't notice.
Back at the hotel, we piled all our purchases in a corner of the room to be dealt with later, and I collapsed on the sofa, while Edward built a fire in the fireplace. I was staring dreamily into the flames, when I felt Edward sit down beside me.
"I bought you a present," he said, handing me a large flat box. "Well, I suppose I should say I bought us a present, because will get more pleasure out of it than you will."
I accepted the box with trepidation, seeing that it was from one of the more expensive lingerie stores we had lingered in front of as we shopped. I felt a little uncomfortable all of a sudden, not because Edward was giving me lingerie, but because I was afraid of what kind of lingerie he was giving me. When it came to my alleged 'beauty', Edward's judgment was not to be trusted. It was clouded by love. I had come to appreciate my looks more since being with Edward, but I would have still felt like a fraud in anything too overtly sexy.
I should not have worried. I removed the lid with only slightly trembling hands, and parted the tissue paper, lifting out the most beautiful, blindingly white nightgown I had ever seen, made of the finest cotton. I was surprised, and yet knew I shouldn't be. Somehow the choice was so very Edward.
"Try it on," he said softly.
I took it with me into the bedroom, stripped out of my clothes, including my underwear, and slipped the nightgown over my head, letting it slither down my body. It fit me perfectly. The neckline was just wide enough so that the gown hung off my shoulders, baring them. It sloped downward from there in a shallow V, exposing the very tops of my breasts. It was edged with a tiny ruffle and trimmed with eyelet lace that was threaded with a satin ribbon that tied into a bow between my breasts. The gown fell in soft folds all the way to the ground, leaving only my toes peeking out from beneath a six inch ruffle. The sleeves were the icing on the cake. They were bell sleeves, with a band of the same eyelet as the neckline a third of the way up the sleeve. The ribbon could be tightened at the elbows, creating a slightly puffed sleeve effect.
It was stunning; pretty and virginal, yet sexy at the same time. Something I could feel alluring in, without feeling uncomfortable. It was an intimate, thoughtful and tasteful present, and showed how well Edward knew me, and that by itself was a gift. Anticipation and nerves made my pulse race as I went to join him in the other room. I stopped in the doorway, searching for him.
"Mother of God," he breathed reverently from the other side of the room, straight across from me. He was standing up against the wall in the shadows of the wardrobe. I looked toward him, choking back a giggle at his words and the expression on his face, and caught sight of my reflection in the wardrobe mirror.
I nearly squeaked in shock. The light from the bedroom was streaming through the thin material, subtly outlining the dip of my waist and the swell of my hips, in fact outlining my whole body all the way down to my ankles. I moved away from the direct light, leaning against the wall by the door.
We observed each other wordlessly from opposite sides of the room. "Thank you, Edward," I murmured finally, my voice heavy with emotion. "It's…well, it's simply perfect." I watched him, thinking that I had never loved him more than I did right now, and how perfect it would be if this moment could be carried through to its natural conclusion, when his face went blank with shock.
"Edward?" I said uncertainly, taking a step toward him. "What is wrong?"
He moved so fast, he just appeared in front of me. "Nothing is wrong," he breathed in awe, cupping my face gently with his hands and searching my eyes with childlike wonder. "Nothing is wrong at all."
His scrutiny was beginning to make me uncomfortable. I was about to move, when he spoke again. "Bella," he murmured, a slow smile spreading on his face. "I don't know what happened, but for a moment just now, I was able to see your thoughts."
To be continued…