Chapter 41
BPOV
Our lips barely separated as he walked me backwards through the apartment to his bedroom. Once inside, he kicked the door closed and continued moving me towards the bed. He lay me slowly back against the mattress and only then did we part.
I shifted backwards up the bed until my head was resting on the pillows and watched with a smile as he pulled off his t-shirt and jeans, leaving him standing in nothing but his grey cotton boxer briefs.
"I've been dreaming about this moment for three weeks," Edward whispered, crawling slowly up the bed until his body was pressed firmly on top of mine.
"Me too," I whispered back, threading my fingers in his hair and pulling his face down to mine.
He undressed me slowly, kissing and exploring every inch of my body like it was our first time together all over again. I finally got a chance to slide his boxers off and moaned loudly when our now-naked bodies made contact.
"I love you," he murmured against my shoulder as he dropped feather-light kisses towards my lips.
"Love you too," I responded before his mouth claimed mine once more.
We made love slowly and gently. I came with a soft sigh as Edward dropped his head to my shoulder and his whole body shook. We lay, still connected while we both came down from the incredible high we had just shared. Eventually he rolled off me, pulling me in close to his side. We lay there in silence and I thought he had gone to sleep when he spoke.
"Want to see the bathroom?"
I smiled against his chest. "That depends on what visiting the bathroom will entail."
"A bath?" I tilted my head back to look up at him. "Bella, I don't want to lose the feeling we have right now. I'm all for more sex in the morning, but right now I'd love to take a bath with you and then lay here, holding you all night, knowing that we never have to be a plane ride apart again."
Holding back tears, I scooted up his body and kissed him softly. "In that case, I'd love to see the bathroom."
He slid out from under me and stood next to the bed, stretching. I couldn't help my eyes from roaming over his body – broad shoulders, toned arms, hard abs…my gaze drifted downwards and I heard him snicker.
"See something you like?"
I poked my tongue out and climbed out of the bed so it was between us and stretched as well. Edward's eyes travelled a similar path over my body as mine had over his. I cocked an eyebrow and cleared my throat, but my hard-ass stance was blown away when he shot me that gorgeous grin.
"I believe you were about to show me the bathroom?" I said, trying to get the control back.
"This way, ma'am," he said with a mock bow, pointing towards the door.
I giggled and walked out with him close behind.
"To your right, if you please," he said in a bad British accent.
I opened the door and stepped into the bathroom, which wasn't too different to either Jasper's or Emmett and Rosalie's. Edward squeezed my waist as he moved past me and put the plug in the bath before turning on the water. As the room filled with steam he moved back over to me and took me in his arms.
"How does a hot bath, dinner and bed sound?"
Sighing, I melted against him. "It sounds brilliant."
Edward stepped into the bath a few minutes later and I carefully situated myself between his legs, resting against his chest. We sat there together until the water started to cool and I reached over and pulled the plug from between his feet. As I stood, Edward steadied me with his hand under my elbow.
"Which towel should I use?" I asked, indicating the two blue and navy striped towels hanging on the rail.
"Either is fine, they're both clean," he said, smiling up at me.
I reached over and grabbed a towel, drying myself quickly and stepping onto the mat. I picked up the other towel and handed it to Edward as he stood up. I waited until he was dry and we headed back towards the bedroom. I made a quick detour back through the living room for my bag. By the time I got back to the bedroom, Edward was pulling on an old pair of grey sweats and white long-sleeved t-shirt. I pulled my long cotton pyjamas out of my bag and pulled them on.
"So what's for dinner?" Edward asked.
"I made minestrone soup and bought some crusty bread, I hope that's ok," I replied, suddenly feeling shy.
"It sounds perfect," he said with a smile, taking my hand and leading me to the kitchen, pausing to collect my picnic basket from next to his front door.
He set it down on the bench and I quickly pulled out the still-warm soup and the loaf of bread and was unpacking the bowls and cutlery when he covered my hands with his.
"I have bowls and stuff here, you know," he chuckled.
I dropped my head. "I didn't think you'd be unpacked or anything."
Next thing, Edward's strong fingers were forcing my chin up so I had to look at him, and his other arm was curled around my waist. "Hey," he said softly, "I love that you thought of that stuff. And I know you didn't think I'd be unpacked – I wanted to surprise you!"
I smiled despite myself. "And I'm surprised," I said, standing on my tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. "Now, where will I find a saucepan, a bread knife and a bread board?"
Dinner was ready less than ten minutes later and we sat at the kitchen bench to eat. Edward filled me in on how unpacking to surprise me had actually been Emmett's idea – he and Jasper had just fed in to the original plan.
As I mopped up the last of my soup with a piece of bread, Edward raised the idea of a dinner party the following evening.
"We could invite Emmett and Rose, and Alice and Jasper? Esme is away for a few days, Carlisle was telling me at work the other day…" I trailed off.
"What?" Edward asked.
"I just realised how comfortable I am calling your parents by their first names is all," I replied.
"And I love it," he said back, taking my bowl and his own over to the sink. "Domestic time?"
We planned a menu for the next night while he washed and I dried, then he called Emmett and I called Alice to invite them all to come. Both calls went directly to voice mail. "Don't wanna know," he said.
"Does that offer of curling up in bed still stand?" I asked.
"Yep, but there's something I want to do first. Come with me," he said, taking my hand.
He led me over to the piano and sat at the bench, lifting the lid covering the keys. "Sit with me?" he offered.
I perched on the end of the bench and waited. Edward leaned over and kissed my cheek softly. "I've been aching to play this with you here," he said quietly, sitting up straight and placing his hands over the keys.
My song flowed from his fingertips as they drifted across the keys. He was amazing. Seeing Edward play made me fall in love with him even more. When he finished I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder. "Thank you," I said in a barely-there whisper.
"You're welcome," he whispered back. "Let's go to bed."
We shared the bathroom while we cleaned our teeth then headed back to his bedroom. We snuggled in under the covers and I was drifting off when Edward cupped my cheek in his hand and tipped my face up so he could look at me.
"Bella?" he murmured, "Once I'm settled, if you wanted to, would you…would you move in with me?"
I could tell he was nervous and tried to calm his nerves with a smile. "When you're ready, I'd love nothing more than to move in with you, but I'll also have to discuss it with Alice."
"That's a non-issue," he smiled back, "Jasper and I talked about it on the trip back and he wants to look for a place for the two of them."
"I guess it's all settled then," I said happily, snuggling against his chest again.
We were woken the following morning by Edward's message tone going off.
"Ugh," I groaned, rolling away from him and burying my head in the pillow.
I felt Edward shift behind me and his arm wrapped around me. "If it was important, they'd call," he mumbled, pressing his face into my hair.
Soon after his phone rang. "You'd better get that," I said sleepily.
"They'll call back," he grunted.
They did. Almost straight away. "It's Alice, I'll bet you anything," I said, more awake now.
Edward rolled away from me and I heard him pick it up. "Morning Alice," he grumbled. "Yes…no, you woke us up…yes…no…no…that would be great…see you then…bye."
His arm was back around me almost straight away. "That was Alice. She's offered to bring a couple of bottles of champagne tonight to toast the new apartment."
I rolled over and kissed his chin. "Sweet. We should probably get up and get moving soon too – I have dinner to get ready, remember?"
"Mmm hmm…feel like christening the bathroom?" he asked, his voice low.
I quivered at the thought and disentangled myself from his arms. I climbed out of the bed and quickly stripped off my pyjamas. "I'll be waiting!" I said, running naked from his room to the bathroom.
I'd just stepped under the hot water when Edward stepped in behind me, pulling my body flush against his. "I only have a small hot water system…" he hinted, turning me to face him.
The water had long gone cold by the time we got out so we quickly dried off and got dressed. I braided my hair while Edward made fruit smoothies for breakfast. "Rosalie bought me some groceries," he explained as we drank.
We left the apartment half an hour later in Edward's Volvo and headed first to the grocery store and then to the fresh food markets. We'd decided that I'd do a few different canapés for entrees, then a whole fish stuffed with lemon and herbs under the griller for the main, with fresh vegetables and baked potatoes on the side. Alice was taking care of the wine, and Edward called Emmett to see if he could arrange a dessert, which he was more than happy to do. We bought some pantry fillers for Edward as well, things like rice and pasta, sauces, meat for his freezer and few other bits and pieces.
I made light salads for the two of us for lunch which we ate on the couch, watching Bones. "I really like this show, but I don't know that it goes too well with lunch," Edward commented as a decomposed body was pulled out of a pylon on the screen.
"It's not really a big deal to me, funnily enough," I teased. That opened up a whole discussion about some of the most grotesque things I'd encountered as a doctor. By the end, Edward was looking rather green.
We spent a couple of hours unpacking his books and photo albums. "I really need to buy a couple more bookshelves," he commented once we'd stuffed the shelves in the second bedroom with books.
I started preparing dinner a little after 5 and took ten minutes once the canapés were done to change and apply a little makeup.
Jasper and Alice arrived at six on the dot and Edward gave Alice a quick tour while Jasper helped me set the table. Emmett and Rosalie arrived soon after and Edward showed Rose around while Emmett and Jasper took over the couch and Alice joined me in the kitchen.
Once everyone had the tour, I took the canapés out to the living area and then headed back to finish the fish and vegetables. Just as Edward carried the empty platter back into the kitchen the timer went off and I carefully removed the fish. I peeled back the foil and the steam coming out was heavenly. I carried the fish whole to the dining table and set it in the middle, then carried out six plates of vegetables.
Emmett, Edward and Jasper kept us girls entertained throughout the meal with stories of their trip from Chicago to Seattle, ending with Emmett re-telling his grand plan to surprise me. Once everyone was finished I stood to clear the plates.
"Uh uh," Edward chided me gently. "You cooked, therefore I clean up. We'll use the dishwasher tonight."
"We'll help," Emmett and Jasper said, rising in unison.
Alice, Rosalie and I sat and chatted while the boys tidied up the kitchen. They re-emerged fifteen minutes later with bowls, spoons, icecream and the most mouth-watering looking chocolate mud cake that I'd ever seen.
The six of us quite happily ate our way through the whole thing and the boys once again cleaned up when we were finished. "Would you ladies like to join us for some champagne?" Emmett asked, holding up a bottle and three glasses. Edward appeared next to him with another three glasses and we stood and walked over to them.
Jasper came out of the kitchen then, taking the glasses from Emmett so he could open the bottle. Six glasses were quickly poured, Edward handing one to me and one to Rosalie, and Jasper handing one to Emmett and finally one to Alice.
"A toast," Edward said, raising his glass. "To family, friends, and love."
I fully expected Emmett and Jasper to roll their eyes but they echoed Edward's sentiments along with us girls.
"Ew! There's something in my glass!" Alice squealed. She plunged her fingers into her champagne flute and as she was pulling them back out with the offending object Jasper handed his glass to Emmett and dropped to one knee.
Alice registered Jasper's position as she extracted the ring from her glass. "Alice, will you marry me?" he asked.
I could see Alice was about to drop her champagne so I quickly took it from her hand as I watched her eyes fill with tears. She nodded once and Jasper leapt to his feet, taking the ring from her fingers and sliding it gently onto her left hand.
"To Alice and Jasper!" Emmett boomed, startling us all slightly.
"To Alice and Jasper," Edward, Rosalie and I repeated, clinking glasses. Emmett and I handed Jasper and Alice back their glasses and we all toasted again.
Once we all hugged Alice and Jasper we gave then some privacy to call their parents by moving into the kitchen.
"That was amazing!" Rosalie enthused.
"We planned it all while we were in Chicago," Emmett filled us in. "The ring was Jasper's grandmother's, he's been carrying it around for months, so Edward and I convinced him that the time was right, what with Alice's business taking off and all."
"Our only concern was that Alice would spot the ring in the glass before she took a sip," Edward continued. "Thankfully Jasper managed to drop it in as Emmett opened the bottle to cover the sound it made, and handed her the glass with his fingers around the bottom."
Rosalie and I listened to the rest of the story and Emmett had just finished when Alice called, "You guys can come back in now!"
The four of us moved back in to the living room where they were both grinning like idiots. Rosalie and I immediately went to look at the ring and it was spectacular.
"I have one more toast to propose," Jasper called over our noise. We all quieted down and he pulled Alice close to his side. Edward moved over and wrapped his arm around me and Emmett and Rosalie were already joined at the hip as usual. "To Edward and Bella," he continued. "Edward, since you came into Bella's life she's been happier than I've ever seen her, and I can't thank you enough for that. She's been my best friend for as long as I can remember, and to see her with someone who makes her as happy as Alice makes me? Well, I can't describe it."
"And Bella," Alice continued, "you and I have been friends for a long time now as well. I know Edward was a jerk when you first met him but I'm glad that both of you got past it. I knew that the two of you would be good together and I'm so, so happy that you finally got there."
"To Bella and Edward!" Emmett cut in.
"Not quite," Jasper said as our laughter at Emmett's antics died down. "To the beginning of Bella and Edward."
My eyes met with Edward's as our friends toasted us and I knew with utmost certainty that tonight was just that…the beginning.
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A/N: Wow. I'm a little emotional! Even though the last chapter has been written for a while, the ending changed and I'm even happier with the end than I was in the beginning!
This is where I bore you all!
To everyone who has this story on alert, or who has added it to their favourites, or who has recommended it to their friends…thank you! I never thought many people would read it and to have so many people reading is amazing!
To everyone who has reviewed, be it every chapter or just every now and then…thank you! To have over 300 reviews when the story wasn't even finished is overwhelming! (I know that's nothing compared to some stories but it means a lot to me!) And I apologise once more that I suck at responding to reviews! Please know that I read each and every one of them and they really do lift me up!
And to Yankee Snoopy, Edward is my Planet, AzraTain and Ronnie (who finally signed up to get away from my incessant nagging!)…thank you. You girls have kept me sane (or insane) and bugged me when it's been a while between chapters. You've all proof-read different parts for me and hopefully each of you has picked up a few hidden bits and pieces in the story.
Next up for me will be "Jasper's Story" so please keep an eye out for it! The first chapter is written but won't go up for a couple of weeks – I really want to make sure my story line is set in stone before I start publishing. Bella and Edward was meant to be 30 chapters and we all know how well that worked out! And never fear, there will be a sequel as promised…when Jasper's is over and done!
Thanks again to all, and happy reading!