A/N - super short chapter but I wanted to give Edward his say. Since it's Valentine's Day and all...

Sadly, all these characters belong to SM - I'm just borrowing them.

Chapter 15

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EPOV

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I hadn't meant to kiss her. At least not with her kids running around any my nosy sister being in the next room. It was just that the last few weeks had been so incredibly emotional for me, and I got caught up in the moment. Alice had called me at work this afternoon to find out if I had dinner plans. Apparently Jasper was going to be working late, and she thought I could use some company. She suggested that we go out and take Jane, but I was hoping to at least catch a glimpse of my girl, so I asked if we could stay in. Alice was skeptical, but I promised that I wouldn't bother Bella, so she agreed. I must say, I think it was the first time that I ever remember Alice trying NOT to get involved in something. I loved her just a little bit more because of that. Alice had this hyper-awareness about people, and I think she knew that Bella and I were going to have to muddle through all of this ourselves.

When I pulled into the driveway, I was glad to see Bella's car in the garage. It was raining, so I was tempted to run to the side door and get to the basement through her house, but I remembered the promised I had made to Alice. I ran down the side steps and was thankful that Alice's door was unlocked. I walked in and was immediately aware that there were children around, lot's of them (or so it seemed). I saw little Jane run by being chased by a tall boy with dark hair and dark skin. I recognized him as Seth. Behind him came a little girl that I was nowhere near prepared to see. It was like looking at a tiny little Bella. Leah had the exact same big chocolate eyes as her mother. She was looking at me like she could see my every thought. It was quite apparent that she shared her mother's astuteness. She stopped and looked at me in the same way that I'm sure I was looking at her. Like Bella, Leah had dark brown hair that fell in curls down her back. It had been pulled out of her face with pink bows on each side. Unlike her brother, Leah had very fair skin. I was so taken aback by the sight of her, that I wasn't even aware Alice was looking at me from her couch until I heard the knock on the door.

Without thinking about who would be knocking on Alice's door from the inside of the house, I just walked over to answer it. Standing on the other side was the bigger version of the little girl I was just staring at. She was standing there with a huge dish of something in her hands. On top of that dish was a plate of brownies, and there was a bottle of wine tucked under her arm. It was obvious that she wasn't expecting to see me at the door. She blushed as she said she brought dinner (yes, it was pretty obvious, but I thought it was cute). I was afraid she was going to drop everything she was holding, so I took the wine bottle out from under her arm. I followed her into the kitchen to put the food down. I was pretty sure that if she had known I was there, she wouldn't have come, so I told her that I was wondering if I would get to see her tonight. What I didn't tell her was that I fully intended to see her tonight whether she wanted to see me or not. It was extremely uncommon for my sister to have nothing to say, so I had to give her some credit for staying seated in the living room as we were walking into the kitchen.

Bella was talking, but I was still so startled from seeing that little girl and the emotion that I felt for her in the thirty seconds or so that I was looking at her, that I didn't even hear her until she apologized. When I asked her what she was apologizing for, she told me that she didn't know, which I thought was so typical of Bella. I laughed at her and then tried to hide my amusement by saying that I hadn't seen her in a week. I was hoping that she had taken the time to sort out her feelings and that she was ready to declare her love for me. No such luck. The kids came running in, and I could tell by the look on Bella's face that she was not happy for us to be in the same room. She looked like she wanted to pick them up and run away with them. I felt the need to assure her that I wouldn't hurt her children the way I had hurt her, but I knew it would do no good. I put my hand on her shoulder and assured her that I wouldn't act inappropriately in front of her children. The look of sheer relief on her face when they left the room upset me. I couldn't stand the look of conflict on her face, so the only option I had was to kiss her. Then I wouldn't have to look.

I expected for it to be a quick kiss. Knowing Bella and her need to keep anything and everything away from her children, I was certain that she would pull away immediately and be upset with me. I wasn't prepared for her to kiss me back. Before I knew what was happening, her hands were in my hair and the earth could have been coming down around me without my knowledge. Bella's mouth melted against mine. Her lips opened as I licked the corners of her mouth. She took my bottom lip in between her teeth, and I felt my body temperature rise. I picked Bella up and sat her on the counter so she would be better able to reach me. My hands were roaming under the hem of her shirt. I probably would have made love to her right there on that kitchen counter had my nosy little sister not interrupted us.

"Um, guys... You may want to take this upstairs so little eyes don't witness the debauchery," Alice chuckled.

Bella blushed furiously as she looked back and forth between Alice and I. She jumped down from the counter as if it were on fire and said that she had to go. "I just meant to bring you dinner to thank you for all your help this week. I have to get back upstairs and make sure ours isn't burning. Um, I'll talk to you later." She said to no one in particular. It was pretty obvious that she was trying not to look at either Alice or I.

The kids ran by again, and Bella grabbed Leah and lifted her onto her hip. "We have to go upstairs little one. It's dinner time and you have to take a bath and get ready for bed."

"I don't think so. I just won't eat. I wanna stay and play with Jane," I was shocked again by how much Leah sounded like Bella.

Bella touched Leah's nose and told her that she didn't have a choice. The child struggled a bit, but it was obviously good naturedly. She started to walk out of the kitchen when I put my hand on her shoulder again. Her eyes looked devoid of emotion when she looked at me.

"I'd like to talk to you a bit more if it's okay." I said quietly so the kids couldn't hear me over their little conversation.

"I don't know, Edward. I have to go feed my kids and get them ready for bed." She was also speaking quietly. God bless Alice for keeping the kids involved in a conversation so Bella and I could talk.

I know I sounded a bit pathetic, but I asked anyway. "Can I come by when they are in bed?"

Bella looked torn. I could tell she wanted to get out of there though. "Come up the stairs through the laundry room around 9. Both kids will be in bed and asleep by then. Come to my room so they don't hear us." She got a little smirk on her face then. "It feels kinda like we're teenagers again, and you're sneaking me out of Charlie's house."

I couldn't help but smile at the memories. "I can promise you that my intentions this time are much more noble. Well... for the most part at least."

Bella took the squirming child with her and called for Seth to come upstairs. She asked him to help Jane clean up her toys first and gave him a five minute time limit.

The rest of the evening seemed to pass very slowly.

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A/N - The next chapter will be longer... Promise! There won't be much angst for at least a few more chapters though :)

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