A mug of hot tea warmed my hands as I curled up on my couch. My cell phone sat next to me on the coffee table so I could see the screen without moving. Alice sat on the other end of the couch from me sipping her own beverage. Rosalie was lying on the floor with a glass of wine within reach. She seemed to be sleeping. We had been sitting like this for a long time.

My phone rang for the sixth time in the last hour. I pursed my lips as Edward's name flashed yet again but I did not answer. Alice scrutinized my face as I tried to act nonchalant but I could not hide my frown. It honestly upset me to ignore his calls. She had been present through most of them and she seemed to be getting more frustrated with each failed ring.

"Why don't you just answer?" She sighed and put her mug down. Rosalie opened an eye and smirked but didn't interject her opinion. I picked up the phone and watched the call transfer to voice mail instead of flipping it open. Alice sighed again, louder this time. "Bella, I know he disrespected your trust and lied to you, but it was about something sweet. He was wooing your father as he wooed you!" I sipped tea instead of answering.

That was the argument I had been having in my own head for the last day.

"I wish it was that simple." Gently I placed my mug on a coaster and rubbed my temples with my now free hands. "I like that my father likes Edward, I just wish that he had respected my wishes. What would have happened if Edward and I hadn't worked out? Charlie would have lost someone and that is becoming increasingly harder to handle. Charlie can't be exposed to people who might leave; it isn't good for his health."

"Bella, what exactly do you think you are doing? By ignoring Edward you are cutting him out of Charlie's life and hurting them both. This is exactly what you were trying to avoid." Rosalie cut into our discussion. "But you and Edward did make it, and Charlie is not going to lose someone because you are going to answer the next time he calls. Bella, Edward is devoted to you and I can't believe you haven't given in. I have NEVER seen him put this much effort into making up with a girl. Normally he loses interest, but with you, he doesn't want to lose what you have. That has to mean something," Rose had risen up on her elbows to pin me with her gaze, but once her tirade was finished her eyes slid shut and she lowered herself back to the floor.

"I don't want to lose him either. I just want him to understand how truly hurt I was that he went behind my back." My resolve began to crumble as my need for Edward throbbed.

"I think he has suffered enough." Alice picked up her cup again and sipped. I stared at my phone with my thumb poised over the 'send' button when the sound of a voice mail chirped. My curiosity got the best of me since he had stopped leaving messages sometime yesterday, so I called to hear the message.

It started with a chair scrapping on the floor. Then music poured through the speaker. It was the beautiful melody that he had played for me a few days ago but with all the parts added in. I felt my eyes brim with tears as he wove intricate harmonies into the underlying line. It pulled at my heartstrings. My remaining anger immediately melted away and I needed to be with him. I could hear his pain through each minor chord until I could no longer take it. The song melted into a bittersweet end right before the message concluded and I was prompted to save or erase. I flipped the phone shut and stood.

My eyes sought Alice as I stalked across the room to the linen closet.

"I'm going out." My gaze met hers and she knew I was going to Edward. I pulled a jacket from the closet and swung it onto my shoulders as I exited.

"Go get him." Rosalie chuckled as the door swung shut behind me.

OOOOOOoo

The air was chilled as it slapped my face. Now that my trek to Edward's was urgent it seemed that the wind was trying to stop me. Each step was a battle in itself so I was surprised when I finally reached his building. The stairs seemed higher than Everest as my feet dragged their way up.

There was no sound coming from his apartment as I stood outside of the door. I lifted my hand to knock but stopped myself. I still had my key. My hand found it in the depths of my purse and it took me four tries to get it into the hole. My resolve was weakening as the music faded in my memory.

My hand fell limp at my side and my head bumped into the door as I tried to convince myself to knock. My forehead was pressed to the wood as I took a few deep breaths. I nearly fell onto the floor when the door was yanked open from the other side. Instead I fell onto Edward's chest.

"Bella?" His voice was filled with wonderment. I was frozen staring at his bare feet. His hands held my shoulders so I didn't fall. Slowly I lifted my head. My hair veiled my face at first but I could still see the dark circles under his eyes and his disheveled hair.

Gently his hands parted my hair from in front of my face and slid it behind my ears only to cup my chin.

"Bella?" His thumbs caressed my cheek bones and my brown eyes met his emerald. He leaned forward until our lips met. Once. Twice. My arms came around his neck pulling him closer to me.

His arms were around my waist lifting me up in an instant. The door was kicked closed as my fingers traced his face. Our lips never stopped touching. I felt something hard and cold against my back but I didn't think about it. Edward's hands were all I wanted to think about. Our clothes seemed to disintegrate as our kisses became more fevered.

Our tongues dueled as his fingers explored me. I gasped in pleasure and deepened the kiss when they found what they were seeking. My breasts were crushed against his chest as I rode out my first orgasm. The next thing I knew I was set on a cold surface. As my weight lowered a cacophony of sound shouted its protest. The piano. I didn't even have time to rationalize what had happened before Edward entered me.

The song that ensued was not the most beautiful I had ever heard, but it kept my mind present in the jubilee of emotion flashing through my brain. Edward and my synchronized breaths came to a climax together. My arms were wrapped around his shoulders with my head resting at the nape of his neck. His arms still held out bodies together while he kissed my cheek sweetly.

I drifted to sleep in his arms, the most restful sleep I had in days.

OOOOOOoo

I woke some time later in bed. After first I was confused but my memory returned when I noticed Edward's arms wrapped around my waist. I turned to study him while he slept. The dark marks under his eyes were still quite prominent and he seemed reluctant to release his hold on me. My fingers traced his features and a small smile curved his lips.

There was still an ache of betrayal in my heart and soon he would have to answer my questions.

Quietly I slid out of his embrace and padded to the kitchen. I made myself a cup of coffee and curled up on the couch. I found an old newspaper and flipped through it trying to pass the time before Edward would wake up.

The marriage announcements caught my eye as the black and white pages changed. I read a few boxes and pursed my lips. The proclamations of love on the page were so generic I could smell Hallmark all over them. It made me sad that there seemed to be no more original romances nowadays.

I heard a sound coming from the bedroom. I swiveled my head and saw Edward coming towards me. I shifted up on the couch so he could see me and I saw his face change. It went from miserable to confused in an instant.

"Bella?" It seemed that was all he was capable of saying recently.

"Yes." I lowered my eyes in embarrassment when I glanced at the piano. We had left no marks but our 'song' still clanged in my head. Edward rounded the end of the couch and gently perched next to me as if I was fragile and would flee at any fast movement.

"Are you really here?" His fingers delicately caressed my cheek. I moved my face more securely into his hand unconsciously.

"Yes."

"I thought it was a dream." He dropped his emerald eyes to the floor in shame as he relived his day. "I thought I could only be dreaming. It wasn't possible that you would forgive me. I must have called you a million times."

"You did."

"Then why did you come?" His eyes found mine again. My fingers knit together.

"The song," I admitted. I could hear it faintly in my mind. "I could hear your pain and I just, I just couldn't not come to you." I shook my head. I must be crazy or exhausted to use double negatives in a sentence. Only Edward had this effect on me.

"I'm glad you did. Bella I am so sorry." His eyes pleaded with me as he engulfed himself in guilt. "I should have never done it. And I have never regretted anything more."

"Why did you do it?" My voice held no anger, only pain and confusion.

"I should probably start from the beginning." I shifted on the couch into a more comfortable position. This sounded like it might take awhile. "I remember the first time I saw you." He smiled at the memory. "It was at that horrible Sports Benefit. I was on stage giving a heartwarming speech about nothing to a bunch of vapid rich people when you, along with a cascade of waiters, came sprawling out of the kitchen." I could see the situation through his eyes. "At first I was angry at the interruption but I quickly became captivated by your predicament. To this day I don't know how you get yourself into the situations you seem to. Emmett had to lift you off of the ground since you had contorted yourself into an amorphous heap and were tangled in your own dress. I tried desperately to hold in my laughter and cover it with anger but a few chuckles escaped despite my effort. Not to mention that I was honestly shocked when you were seated at the same table as me once I had finished speaking. I had assumed that Emmett was just being a gentleman, but come to find he actually knew you. "

"I had not realized how beautiful you were until I sat down. I lost all interest in Fiona as soon as I could see you clearly. I was amazed at my luck when she had to leave towards the end of the night; I thought I would have a chance at you. I thought that I would be satisfied for the night and move on, like I had so many times before. But I did not realize how unique you were until you declined my invitation to stay with me that night. Up to that point I had never been rejected before. I burned with the need to know more about you, this new emotion was eating at me. I asked around to find more information but people knew very little since you were so new to the area and social network. I even stooped so low as to ask Rosalie. She just smirked at me and cracked jokes about my waning libido."

"When I saw you again at the night club that next night I thought it was fate working for me. I wanted you more than I have ever wanted another woman and here was my opportunity to have you. I nearly went insane when that Mikhail man put his hands on you. I was so jealous Jasper could not put up with me, not that he was in any better shape. He almost murdered that guy who was kissing Alice. But yet again you evaded my seemingly inept flirting and left alone."

"The next day I found out something new about myself. I needed to know you, body and soul. Your favorite color, movie preferences, anything and everything. I did not feel the need to seduce you as forwardly since there was so much more that I wanted. That didn't lessen my desire to have you anyway possible. Time with you was all I wanted, but the paparazzi interrupted us during your lunch break in the park and drove you back to Mikhail."

"I later had a conversation with Alice about you. She made an off handed comment about you living nearby and I wanted to know where. That night I walked block to block hoping to run into you. Instead I see you hanging from a fire escape. I had felt compelled to turn down that alley as I passed even though I was close to giving up. I could feel that you needed my help. I felt a great need to save you from being hurt as you jumped, so I caught you. It was the only logical move in my head."

"Then, when you told me about Charlie I heard something in your voice. I could tell how deeply you cared about him. I yearned to meet him if he meant so much to you. And honestly Bella, I really like him. I did not mean to go against what you asked; I just wanted to learn more. You were having enough press issues with Mikhail you didn't need me barging in making things worse. Not to mention how much I enjoyed spending time with Charlie so I went of my own accord. That way the press wouldn't link us together." His eyes pleaded with me to understand.

"How often do you go see Charlie?"

"Every few days, when I had free time that I wasn't with you or at practice." I bit my lip thinking.

"So why didn't you just tell me when we did finally get together?"

"I panicked. I didn't want you to be angry. I honestly hadn't thought about the wrong in my actions until I had to lie. I wasn't thinking about the repercussions to Charlie, I just wanted to be closer to you any way possible."

There was only truth in his voice. I felt my anger melt as he continued to berate himself. It shocked me to find out how intensely he pursued me. It made me think back to the first few times I met him and trying to relive them through his eyes. One thing confused me.

"Edward," I took one of his hands in mine and interlaced our fingers. "I forgive you." It took a second for him to comprehend my words. I had already decided to forgive him, but his explanation helped me understand so much more. His eyes blazed with this information and I was pushed into the couch. One hand was tangled in my hair while the other held me close. "I have another question." I giggled as his assault continued. Edward leaned back to look at my face.

"And that is?"

"If you wanted me so bad, why did you go to Tanya?" He smirked a cocky smile.

"We had been together before and I am a guy with needs." I looked at him skeptically.

"So basically you're a nymphomaniac?"

"Only with you baby." His teeth flashed into a brilliant smile before pushing against mine again.

"So she was just an itch." I mumbled between kisses.

"Yeah." I smiled into his mouth.

"Am I better?" I caught his lip lightly in my teeth. His grin grew.

"There is no comparison."

A/N Sorry guys! Really, I started writing this chapter right after the last one to prevent waiting too long but I had midterms this week and countless other things. I hope you enjoyed it, I believe the next chapter will start the Wedding. But who knows. Thanks for reading!