A/N: So many questions and theories. This chapter is going to take a stab at answering a big chunk.

Massive appreciation to all the reviewers on the last chapter. We pushed past the 1K mark combined, and had the highest review count yet. Hope you enjoyed the crazy parody.

None of it is ours thought we wouldn't mind wearing the earrings for a few minutes.

Chapter 14 – Give Me a Sign

Bound

Bella's spirit was infectious. I had a lot on my mind in the weeks leading up to the event at the Met, but her mantra about not giving others power was helping.

I kept the picture of my dad inside the top drawer of my desk. I took it out often throughout the day. I memorized every detail of his face, every line, the subtle difference in color between is left and right eyes.

In that picture I remembered the man I admired, the man I aspired to be. I had forgotten what it felt like to have a true role model.

I was still angry with him. I wasn't at forgiveness stage yet, especially not when he hadn't bothered to apologize. But I found myself thinking about him differently. Above all else, I realized I missed him. I just had to figure out how to reach the man in that picture.

The picture brought up a different set of memories. They were over a decade old, but they were good ones. Sunday afternoons when I was little, I would sneak into his library to watch him read. I suppose I just wanted to be near him. I would sit quietly behind a stack and just look at him. Sometimes, I took a toy car in and ran it along the spines of the books. One day, without looking up from his book he announced, "If you're going to be in here, you might as well pick out a book."

I peeked out around the corner, and asked, "Will you help me pick one?" Of course, there was no children's section to this library. So, we started with things he thought a little boy would like, adventure stories of Huck and Tom and a river. With a dictionary, a lap, and unyielding patience, my father spent hours helping me work through books years ahead of my reading level.

It remained a constant between us. When we had nothing else in common, our small talk typically began with, "So, have you read anything good lately?"

We didn't even ask that anymore.

Public curiosity surrounding Bella and me was still high, but all in all, we were finding a groove. We avoided the press as much as possible, and presented a united front when we couldn't. It was all inevitable really. There's no way to know how things would have gone if Bella had experienced anything other than baptism by fire.

In all relationships, there is a significant amount of disclosure in the beginning. Bella and I had shared so much, but there was even more pressure now. It was hard to stay ahead of the press. I worried about what she'd learn about me by someone asking the wrong question or her reading a random tag line.

Bella handled it all effortlessly. When something came up, she asked questions, but never accused or demanded. Though my dating history was on display in the daily news, she trusted me. No one else seemed to. Even Tanya gave me the warning whistle.

She called the day after the fitting she had with Bella.

"I would like to have talked to you in person, but I knew how that would look."

"Thanks for that."

She didn't waste any time. "I really like her, Edward."

"As do I."

"She is far too good for you, of course." She laughed when she said it, but I wasn't going to disagree. I knew it was true.

"You've been more than kind, and we both appreciate your help."

"I'm happy to do it, but you should know if it all falls apart, I'm keeping her and ditching you as a friend."

"Fair enough," I chuckled. She paused before proceeding.

"Edward, I missed you. You didn't have to disappear from everyone, you know?"

"I know. You didn't deserve it. If it's any consolation, I honestly thought things would look better for you if I were the asshole who ran off."

"I'm tired of worrying about appearances. That's what got us in trouble in the first place."

"I'm sorry, Tanya."

"Does Bella know everything?"

"I don't think so. I mean she may have looked things up, but we haven't really talked about all the dirty details."

"I had a feeling. I have no idea how she might have avoided it, but even she doesn't know, it's time she heard the details…from you."

I knew she was right, and I wanted to be sure she had all the facts about my past going into yet another occasion with my family. I couldn't expect her to give me trust, if I didn't offer her the same.

Not quite what you thought

My dress was couriered to the office on Friday afternoon. Everything combined, including Esme's earrings; I would be wearing an outfit that cost almost as much as the median annual US household income.

It scared the crap out of me. I still buy ten dollar t-shirts from H&M.

Edward kept cheering me on, telling me that I could do this. He seemed to have a knack for recognizing when I was starting to panic, and could talk me down or make me laugh. He was a regular mind reader.

Demetri dropped me off on Friday night, my bag for the weekend already safely ensconced upstairs. I dodged the press outside the building, the garment bag holding my dress tucked under my arm. It must be a slow day, there seemed to be more of them today.

I greeted the door man, and happily slipped into the elevator, away from the prying eyes. That was honestly the worst part of this. I missed my privacy. I ran out one night this week to pick up my dry cleaning, thinking nothing about the yoga pants and sweatshirt I had on. The next morning I was fodder in the New York tabloids. It had been humiliating.

"I can't believe the published a picture of my backside. You can't even see my face!" I exclaimed, disgusted.

Edward looked over my shoulder at the photo. I started to turn the page, but he stopped me.

"What?"

He grabbed the paper out of my hand. "Do you have those pants here? Your butt really looks cute in them."

"Edward!"

He gave me a slow, evil grin, and grabbed the dish towel, twirling it in preparation to snap.

"You wouldn't!" I squeaked.

"Want a bet?"

He always had a way of putting the situation in perspective.

He was in the kitchen when I let myself into the apartment.

"Hey." I called. "I'm stashing my stuff, and then I'll be in to help."

I hung the garment bag up in the closet and wandered back into the kitchen.

"Did you get takeout from Carmines? " I pulled open one of the bags, inhaling the scent of garlic. "Please tell me you got broccoli rabe. I will never complain about you using the last of the half and half again if you did."

"Yeah, that will be the day. I made sure they didn't over sauté it this time."

"Put it in the record books; I'll never complain ever again. But I reserve the right to whine a bit." I pulled wine glasses out of the cabinet and grabbed the bottle off the counter.

"Did you have any luck digging?" Edward had been poking around CI, trying to identify the source of the leak. He'd not had any luck, but he did say that there were a few surprises. I didn't push. I knew that he would tell me when he had it all mapped out.

"So what is our T minus count? Are we going straight there, or do we have to do some kind of pre-event?" I took a sip of wine. "I feel like I am back in college. Are we doing a pre-party? If so, who's buying the Boones?"

"I can't believe you drank that swill. Such a girlie drink."

I pulled the neck of my t-shirt out and looked down. "Yep, still a girl."

"Nice." Edward continued to focus on warming up food and transferring it to plates.

"What's up Edward?" His head shot up, a confused look on his face. "I just looked down the front of my shirt, and I didn't get a single smart alec comment or innuendo. What gives?"

He took a sip of wine and leaned back against the island opposite me.

"If we are facing the lions tomorrow, there are some things that you and I need to talk about."

I grabbed a roll out of one the bags and began pulling it apart. "Okay. Have at it."

He hesitated for a moment, as if struggling for how to begin.

"Do you remember when I told you that if you went digging, you would find references to Tanya and me, specifically rumors about an engagement that never was?"

I popped another bite of bread in my mouth. "Yep. You guys were each other's beard. No big deal."

"Each others' beards. That is one way to phrase it." He reached out to cradle my face in his hands. "I love you; you know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, I think we have pretty well established that." My flip answer was an attempt to mask the apprehension that was building. "Stop dancing around things, Edward. What happened between you and Tanya?"

Set Free

"You want to sit down?"

"I'm good."

"You've got most of it already. We were a public item. It made everyone happy, especially our parents. They loved the idea of our families merging." This is the part I hated the most. I knew she knew about me. And other women, but I wasn't proud of it. "You know I have a reputation right?"

"Are there going to be any supermodels in this conversation, Edward?"

"No."

"Good, then carry on."

"So, obviously you know which reputation I mean. I guess you could say it was warranted. I was never ashamed of it until I knew what I was missing." I had to put some words together, so I took a drink from the wine Bella poured. "I didn't stop seeing other women when Tanya and I were public. She knew about it, of course, and she begged me to be discreet and keep it out of the watchful eye of press or family."

Bella continued to pick at the roll. She didn't break eye contact, and she seemed intrigued. I walked over to her, and touched the bracelet. I hoped that what I was about to tell her wouldn't destroy everything it meant to us.

"It was all a big mess. I made what I thought was a discrete jewelry purchase, but I was wrong, and gossip flew about Tanya and me getting engaged. It was an easy addition to the lie, so she and I sort of went with it, but then someone who knew where the delivery really went started talking. It was a huge embarrassment to both families."

She looked down at her bracelet. "Tiffany's."

I took her hands in mine. And I waited.

"I guess I don't understand it all. I mean, I get the embarrassment, but it was all mutual, right? So, how did this lead to all of the problems with your dad?"

"I'm not always sure I understand that either. Obviously, this wasn't the cause. Things with my dad had begun falling apart years before that. He always seemed to hold me to a standard outside of what I could accomplish. I don't know how to explain it exactly. Emmett would make a mistake, and he would get upset, but he'd say something like 'Son, I know you'll do better next time.'" I did my best to imitate his formal tone.

"With me, it was different. More like 'I would have anticipated more from you.' I know it doesn't seem that different, but I felt it."

"No, I see what you're saying," Bella encouraged. "Did you fight a lot?"

"Not until I was a teenager. I tried too hard before that. I didn't want to upset him. I took his expectations. I was a know-it-all teenager. And everything that happened with my parent's 20th anniversary had an impact as well. My mom was so upset, and I think I saw it more because she took her emotions out in music. I lost admiration for him after that. I didn't understand how he could hurt someone he loves so much. Anyway, I'm sure I didn't exactly treat dear old dad with tremendous respect after that.

"What teenager does?" Bella asked shrugging her shoulders.

"Jasper." I answered. She laughed at the thought.

"Anyway, it all just continued to build. We disagreed on everything, didn't seem to have much in common. So, by the time my relationship with Tanya was outed, he was angry about a lot of things. In part, he hated the negative publicity. As usual even though Tanya was a co-conspirator, he thought I should have had better judgment, and placed the blame solely with me. You can imagine that even though I was a cad, she came off as sort of a pathetic charity case. My family hated seeing that. Hell, even Jasper was pissed at me for that. And I'm not entirely convinced they ever believed Tanya wasn't a misled victim all along. For my dad, the icing on the cake was that 'the other woman' so to speak was a low level staffer at CI. Some inappropriate stories came out after the fact. It just gave him one more nail in the coffin."

"Inappropriate?"

I sighed. I was such an ass. "Workplace inappropriate."

Her brow furrowed for a second before her eyes went wide in realization.

"Oh my god. That day in your office."

I nodded. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry. I was the one in a short skirt sitting on your lap in the office."

"You had no idea there was a history. After all, it's not exactly the kind of thing to come up in casual conversation. 'Oh by the way, should you ever decide to surprise me at work . . .'"

"True." She appeared to process the information. "And that's why you left?"

"Yes, I needed to put some distance between us and between the whole situation. Remember I told you he wasn't entirely wrong. I fucked up, and I felt horrible. But I like to think I paid my dues."

So far, she had taken everything I'd given and not batted an eye. I didn't know what to expect this time. I didn't want to press, but I needed reassurance. I needed relief.

"Bella, please tell me you have some skeleton somewhere in your closet, some story that makes you fallible."

That's All?

I was really trying hard not to laugh. I know it was a major blow up for Edward's family, but that was it?

"You rich people are screwy. I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't something as simple as this. A torrid affair, an illegitimate child, a dead body maybe…something deserving of ire." I popped the rest of the roll in my mouth. "That is not enough to justify a five year self imposed exile, Edward. You Cullens get hung up on stupid shit."

"You probably aren't horribly off there." He acknowledged.

"Okay, so you want skeletons in my closet…" I searched my memory. "Let's see…there was the time that one of my dad's deputies caught me and Mike Newton making out in the backseat of his car. Mike was the local golden boy, and of course, his mom didn't think I was very appropriate. Combine that with the drama of being caught by one of your Dad's employees, it's not fun."

Edward raised an eyebrow at me.

"Oops. Sorry. You wouldn't something that wasn't 'been there, done that…'" I trailed off, searching my memory for the something to assuage his concerns.

Okay, he wanted skeletons. I'd give him one, and it wasn't pretty either.

"Right after college, I started dating this nice, stable guy." I pulled in a deep breath, hating the feelings the memories dredged up. I wasn't proud of this part of my life.

"I had just started at Little, Brown, and was living alone for the first time. I was scared of being on my own, so I probably kept him around more as security blanket. He was a nice guy, but milquetoast enough that I got bored. So I started dating another guy on the sly. The whole thing was pretty pathetic. One guy was boring and stable. The other was wild and totally unpredictable. I juggled dating both of them for about four months. Each one was convinced that I was the one, and that they were madly in love with me. They didn't even know me, just what I allowed them to see."

I broke off, almost too disgusted with myself to continue. I owed it to him to be honest, but it wasn't a pretty picture.

"I finally owned up and ended both relationships, but I put both of those guys through the blender. All because I was simply too chicken shit to be alone. Definitely not one of my proudest moments. I wouldn't blame either of them if they ran off and joined the priesthood after their experience with me."

It was like I was that scared kid all over again as I told the story. The fear, the loneliness felt crushing. I didn't want to go back to that place again.

I paused for a moment before continuing. I needed to lighten things up, not just for Edward, but for me too

"And then there was the time that I kissed Alice..."

Edward was expecting me to say something serious, and was unprepared when I made my joke.

"You…Alice…" he sputtered.

"Gotcha." I smiled at him. "Edward, I can't say that I am overly enthused about your past. It scared me to death at the beginning. That first weekend I stayed here, all I could think was I am not tall, blonde or gorgeous. I would never be confused for someone famous or a supermodel; how could I ever hold your attention? But then I realized that was who you were, not who you are when you are with me. I can't wish that we could turn back time and change things, because all those things you did made you who you are today. I know that you don't wish anyone ill. So it's water under the bridge, okay?"

He stood there, shaking his head.

I needed to do something to reinforce my words, to make him believe that I was sincere. I had never realized just exactly how little faith people had in him. In some ways, he had so much, and in other ways, he really didn't have anything.

He was still wearing his tie, although the suit coat was long gone. I reached over and gave the tie a gentle tug, pulling him forward. It always managed to get a smile out of him. I gave him a gentle kiss on the nose, not what he was expecting, but keeping him off balance sometimes was good.

"Are you for real?"

"Last time I checked." I teased back. "I'm also hungry. Will you please stop holding my broccoli rabe hostage?"

As we'll ever be

Perspective. Perception. The majority of what had been causing me stress for the past six years had been handed to her. And her reaction was to throw it all out the window. Oh the consequences of everything were real. My family was in the worst state we'd ever been in. I knew the fact that my fling years ago had been with someone he deemed "inappropriate" also influenced my father's perception of Bella.

All of the "stupid shit" I did when I was younger was catching up to me. This was the first time I'd heard Bella mention any insecurity about comparing herself to the women in my past.

I could see how I missed it. She was so strong. She took on the world for me, literally. I assumed a woman who kissed me on Fifth Avenue, who co-opted every plan I'd ever come up with and made it better, and who loved with the passion she did had to know just how amazing she was.

I'd been careless with her emotions. I can only imagine how I'd feel if I had access to pictures of every man she'd ever dated at the click of a button. It wouldn't matter what they looked like or what kind of titles they held. Just the fact they'd known her, made her laugh, had her comfort them, kissed her, maybe made love to her. I felt a sharp pain in my chest just thinking of imaginary men in tuxedos, men in jeans, men in white oxfords and khakis. I hadn't thought about the men of her past. Of course, I knew they existed, but somehow not talking about it made it easier to ignore. Bella had never had that luxury with me.

I would never take her strength for granted again.

I handed her the broccoli rabe before she lost all patience. I glanced down at the plate as I passed it to her. What an appropriate dish for our discussion. If you went by appearance, broccoli rabe should be disgusting. You had to get in your mouth. You had to see past what was on the plate to get the full sensation. Bella was the only person I knew who seemed to understand that.

Once she took her first bite, I reminded her. "I love you, Bella."

For the rest of the night and into the next morning, nerves made us silly. Bella asked me for a "crash course" in everything she didn't yet know about formal events of this nature. She laughed at the pretentious "rules" of society.

"This is an atypical event. The rules are al little more clearly defined. That can't be completely different in other social strata."

"True, for example, we didn't water the beer down for weddings," She answered. I rolled my eyes. "Honestly, a big night on the town is when the best local cover band is playing at the bowling alley. It's double entertainment. Add dollar taps, and it was an event."

By the time we had to get ready in the afternoon, we were positively slaphappy.

Before I got dressed, I thought I should give Emmett a call since I hadn't talked to him in a couple of days.

"Hey Rosalie, sorry, I thought I called his cell. I wanted to finalize arrival plans for tonight."

"He's in the shower. I picked up because I saw it was you."

"Oh, okay. Have any plans changed for tonight?"

"Not that I know of."

"Excellent. We'll see you at six for drinks then?"

"Edward, play nice tonight, please."

"What do you mean?"

"Emmett's been very stressed about all this. He was so happy to have you back, but there's all the tension, and he's got Esme gushing about the golden child being home all the time. Anyway, it really pains him to see you and Carlisle so at odds. Can you just try not to instigate anything?"

"Did you call my father and give him the same warning? Because I can assure you, if there is any conflict, it will be because he attacks." I didn't understand the warning. I couldn't recall being the one to fuel the fire as of late.

"Whatever Edward. Just try not to make the whole night about you."

An hour later, I was waiting for Bella in the living room. She had commandeered the master bathroom and left me to the guest suite. Given everything she'd put up with, it was a small concession.

I was reflecting on Rosalie's reaction. I couldn't exactly make sense of it. My mom and I were close, but the "golden child?" I decided to let it go. Even though tonight could be a disaster, it was still our first truly public "date," and I wanted to enjoy it.

Playing Dress Up

"As much as I complained, Alice, I am grateful. There is no way I could be getting ready for this thing on my own if I hadn't lived with you for three years."

My cell phone lay on the bathroom counter in speaker mode. We had agreed to make it feel as much like college as possible as a way of keeping my nerves at bay. The phone was a bridge because we couldn't get ready together. She was here in spirit.

"So this is a little different than going to the Pike winter formal, isn't it?" Alice teased. I could hear rattling on her end of the line. She must be digging through her jewelry box.

"Yeah, just a bit. I somehow doubt they'll have kegs of Natty Light and a DJ at the Met."

"Eww. I had for gotten about the Natty Light. I think I took two years of my life that night." Alice groaned.

"And ruined a couch if I recall correctly." I dropped the tube of mascara back in my makeup bag. Nothing too much. I may be going out of my comfort zone, but there was no need to pretend to be something I am not.

"So did you decide? Are you going to wear the earrings?" I had told Alice about Esme's gesture earlier in the week. She thought it was a no brainer. I was nervous about the whole thing, partially because of the potential for negative reaction from Edward's father, and partially because of the cost.

"I don't know, Alice. I feel weird having that much money hanging from my ears."

"Did you at least try them on?"

"No." I picked up the phone and walked back out into the bedroom. The black velvet jewelry box lay on Edward's dresser, untouched since the night that he brought them home.

"Get dressed and at least try them on, won't you? I don't know how you resist; I'd be all over it."

"Yeah, we know how you work, Alice."

I pulled the garment bag out of the closet and unzipped it. I was still in awe over how beautiful the dress was.

"Okay, if you hear a crash, it is me falling over trying to get into this contraption."

"Oh stop, you'll be fine."

I pulled the dress from the bag and stepped into it, slipping it up over my body. The silk was heavy and incredibly soft. I felt invincible in it. Almost like it was armor.

"Oh crap…" I trailed off. I couldn't reach the zipper.

"What?"

"I don't have you to zip me. Hang on." I slipped out into the living room. Edward sat on the couch, feet propped on the coffee table as he flipped through TV channels.

"Hey, can you zip me?" I quickly turned my back.

I heard him stand and come around the couch to where I was standing. I felt the tug of the zipper at the same time that his lips brushed my shoulder. I dropped my head to the side, an instinctive reaction. He continued slowly trailing kisses across my shoulder and up the nape of my neck.

Good god, if he didn't stop, there is no way we will ever get out of this apartment.

The hand that he had been using to zip my dress was now around my waist, palm flat against my stomach as he pulled me back against him.

"Bella…" he breathed against my neck.

Hearing my name broke me out of the fog, reminding me that Alice was still on the phone.

"I left Alice on the phone. Two more minutes, I promise!" I broke away from him without looking back. Nerves were setting in, and it had nothing to do with where we were going, and everything to do with him in a tuxedo.

I grabbed the phone off the bed.

"Sorry. Alice, I got sidetracked."

"Yeah, and I know by who. Jasper just buzzed, so I need to go. I'll see you in a bit, okay?" I could hear the excitement in her voice. She had it so bad for him.

"Oh, and B? Just wear the damn earrings."

I sighed. She was right. "Okay, Alice."

I set down my phone and studied the black velvet box on the dresser. I needed to get over my irrational fears. Edward and his mother didn't seem to be concerned about how his father would react. The earrings, while totally extravagant and over the top to me, were nothing outlandish to Edward's family. This was Edward's world. If I wanted to be part of it, I needed to learn how to deal with it all.

I opened the box and pulled out the first earring. It was heavy, the topaz stone easily twenty carats. I slipped it on and secured the back. It swung back and forth, stopping just short of my shoulder. I pulled the other earring out of the box and started to slip it on as I walked back out into the living room.

"Well, what do you think? Did I clean up enough to be seen at the Cullen table?"

Awe

"Oh god, Bella. . . ." and that was it. I didn't have any more words. Literally struck dumb. When she'd asked me to zip her, she turned around so fast that I didn't get the full effect of this dress. Of her in this dress. It hit her frame perfectly, highlighting every subtle curve. She wore her hair up, but in a sort of messy bun, which made it very feminine and a little out of control—a lot like her. A few tendrils were loose near her ears, and I knew I'd fight the urge to play with them all night. My mother's earrings were stunning against her skin, and a perfect complement to her dark brown hair.

"You'd better say something before I get a complex."

"Wow." It was all I had. I hoped it was enough.

"That'll do. And back atcha. You clean up well yourself."

The left side of my mouth turned up in a sly smile. "It just occurred to me while I was waiting . . . We've never danced, Bella. How is that?"

"Maybe because I suck at it?"

"I don't believe that for a minute. Would you mind? I'd rather our first dance were here, not in front of the whole world."

"Umm, sure. It would be good practice I suppose."

I knew the exact song I wanted. I was telling her I understood the fear, the comparisons, the insecurities. I understood, but they were unwarranted. I shuffled through on the remote until it was cued, and I walked over toward her. "May I have this dance?"

"I'd be honored."

I held out my hand, and let her do a slow spin before pulling her into my arms. I was humming to the music before Ella even began to sing. I could carry a tune, but no one sang this song like she did, so I lowered my head to be cheek to cheek with Bella as I glided her around the room.

You do something to me

Something that simply mystifies me.

Tell me, why should it be

You have the power to hypnotize me

Let me live 'neath your spell

Just do do that voodoo that you do so well

For you do something to me

That nobody else could do

In the end, it was my favorite memory from that night.

E/N: I know we didn't quite make it out the door, but Bella did learn the truth of about Tanya and also more about Carlisle. They are all dressed and ready to go. The story still has a long way to go though, so don't go thinking all the conflict has ended. Time for new theories.

So, what's going to happen at the big event? What's it going to take for Carlisle and Edward to mend fences? Were you surprised by what caused their feud? What did you think of Bella's reaction?