A/N – Welcome back!

We're going to hear from our dear Edward now.

As always, Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. We don't.

Chapter 2 (EPOV)

It's done. After all of the headaches and sleepless nights, it's actually finished.

I was standing in the middle of my restaurant the day before its grand opening. Masen's had occupied every spare minute of my free time for the better part of a year; but it was finally a reality and I felt like I could finally breathe again. As I watched the decorators put the finishing touches on the tables, I thought about my life in New York. The day I left Forks was bittersweet; I was extremely excited to move to the big city, and start my classes at ICE, but leaving my family and friends was difficult. I struggled for about the first year to get my bearings, and make some friends.

Now, to be sure, I would never complain about where my education and career had brought me. Over the course of my education at ICE, I gained quite a rapport with the professors there, and after I graduated, they suggested that I apply to teach some classes. That, of course, ate up a lot of my free time; which, in turn, caused me to gradually lose touch with Bella. When I first moved out to New York, we called each other all the time, but talking to her was hard because I missed her immensely. Every time I heard her voice, it just made me miss her that much more. I found myself to be extremely...lonely.

Sure, I dated, but the women I found were all missing something; they lacked integrity and substance. The friends I had made were good enough company, but they weren't Bella.

The fact that I had lost touch with her pained me. We had been so close growing up, that the idea of us ever not talking was laughable. Yet, as sure as the sun shines, it was true. It had probably been almost a year since I had spoken to Bella; even longer since I had seen her.

Had it really been THAT long??

My ringing phone brought me out of my daze, and I pulled it out of my pocket to look at the caller ID.

Alice.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your call, my dear sister." I crooned, holding the phone away from my head, waiting for the impact.

"Edward? Edward! Did you get all of the shipments? Is everything ready? Oh, I hope everything got to you on time. I fought with the suppliers about expediting delivery on the wine, but they were wary about it getting there by today."

I laughed. "Everything is fine, Alice. The shipments came this morning, and everything is just about finished around here. You can relax."

Even though my sister was on the opposite side of the country in Washington, she had helped me immensely with preparations for our grand opening celebration. She handled all of the purchasing, and made sure that everything got to the restaurant on time. I would have to buy her something special to show my appreciation for her efforts.

"Alright Edward, well I have to go pack. Our flight leaves ridiculously early tomorrow morning. We'll see you tomorrow night. Don't fret about anything. The party will be great."

"Okay, Alice. Love you. Bye." I snapped my phone shut, and shoved it in my pocket.

I heard my name called from behind me and turned to see my assistant manager, Jasper, coming towards me. He was one of the first friends I made when I came to New York. He lived in the same building as me, and we crossed paths quite often. One lonely Friday night I was coming in from class, when I passed him in the hall, and he invited me out for a beer. We had been friends ever since. Jasper went to Columbia University, and graduated at that same time I decided to open Masen's, so I offered him a position.

He put his hand on my shoulder and smiled. "Edward, you've been here since 7 a.m.; it's 7:30 p.m. Get the hell out of here and I'll lock 've got a big day tomorrow, bud."

I nodded, running my hand through my hair. "Thanks. See you in the morning, Jaz."

I walked home, enjoying the peaceful serenity of the night. Cars flew by me, and people passed me on the sidewalk, but I felt calm. Happy. My dreams were coming true before my very eyes, and that fact seemed to escape me through all of the hustle and bustle of opening Masen's. It seemed like just yesterday I was standing on a stool at my mom's kitchen counter, making Bella peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It was always a wish of mine to own a restaurant, and it all seemed so surreal that my wish was coming true. And that wish was housed on 5th Avenue. In New York City. I chuckled at the thought.

How things have changed...

My apartment was situated on West End Avenue, on the West side of Central Park; Masen's was near the South-East corner. I took the elevator up to the third floor, and walked into my apartment, dropping my keys and wallet into the bowl by my door. My apartment was a decent size but the kitchen resembled a shoebox; however, it was my home. My mother and Alice tastefully decorated the place in rich blue and brown hues, the perfect mix of modern and masculine. I kicked off my shoes, and dropped onto the plush brown leather couch in my living room, flipping on the large flat screen TV in front of me.

I scanned the channels at least a dozen times before finally deciding there was nothing worth watching and shut the TV off as quickly as I had turned it on. Not that I could focus on TV anyways; every spare part of my brain was concentrated on the opening of my restaurant tomorrow. I was both scared and excited. This was a huge step for me, and I knew my family was proud, but there was always that little nagging voice in the back of my head.

What if nobody likes it? What if everything is a total disaster?

I immediately shook those thoughts from my head, trying to keep a positive attitude. Unfortunately, my nervousness got the best of me, and I started pacing around my living room in a panic. I was tugging at my hair, imagining all the worst case scenarios that could possibly conspire on opening night; the kitchen would be short staffed, we'd run low on a particular dish, the wait staff would drop the food, something - or someone - would catch on fire.

The anxiety was working its way quickly through my system and I felt like the walls were going to close in on me.

Air. I need air.

In a rush, I put my shoes back on, grabbed my keys and wallet, and was out of my apartment in a flash. I made a mad dash for the stairs, too impatient to wait for the elevator. When I made it outside, I nearly collapsed on the sidewalk as I stood there gasping for air. I also happened to catch the strange looks people were giving me as the walked past me, but I didn't care.

I hailed a cab, and as I slid into the backseat, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent a quick text message to Jasper.

Meet me at The Parlour. - E

"Where to?" the cab driver asked.

"The Parlour; 250 West 86th Street," I replied, drumming my fingers on the seat.

It was a fairly short drive considering how much traffic there was, and before long the cab was pulling up to the curb. I paid the fare and wasted no time making my way inside. I took a seat directly at the bar and ordered myself a Guinness.

"How can you drink that shit?" I heard a voice say.

I turned and saw Jasper.

How the hell did he get here so fast?

He laughed and slapped me on the back before ordering himself a beer. I shrugged a response, but I couldn't match his enthusiasm and he caught on immediately.

"What's wrong, bro?" he asked, taking a swig from his bottle.

I shrugged again. "There's nothing really wrong per se, it's just..." I paused and sighed. "I don't know. I kind of had a little bit of a nervous breakdown at home. Everything just hit me at once; I'm just now realizing how huge tomorrow is going to be for me."

Jasper snorted and looked at me like I had grown a second head. "That's it? That's what you're worried about? Of course it's going to be huge, but you'd be a damn fool to think you're the only person who's ever been in this position before."

"I'm not stupid Jaz, I know that," I said, furrowing my brow "But what if something goes wrong? You don't realize the scenarios that have been playing in my head. More importantly, if something DOES go wrong, my family will be witness to it and I will feel like a total failure."

I shifted my gaze to Jasper and he had the most incredulous look on his face.

"Dude, when did you become such a girl???" He laughed out.

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm not. This is a big fucking deal, Jaz. It's what I've been working towards my entire life. Tomorrow night could make or break my entire career."

It was now his turn with the eye roll. "Shut the hell up. Seriously. Don't be all emo about this. Everything is ready; everyone is trained. Just sit back and let it all happen. Trust me on this; I'm not going to let you fall on your face, okay?"

I nodded slowly, taking a long pull of my beer, letting his words sink in. "Yeah, okay. Thanks."

A triumphant grin spread across his face. "Okay. Good."

Just then, someone called his name from across the bar and we turned to see a man approaching us.

"Well I'll be damned, Jasper Whitlock, it really is you." the guy said.

Jasper stood and greeted him, then turned to me to introduce him. "Edward, this Jacob Black. We went to college together."

"Nice to meet you Jacob," I said as I shook his hand.

"Please," he laughed "Call me Jake."

*****

The following morning, I was up before the sun so I decided to go for a jog through Central Park. My anxiety has subsided for the most part, but I was still nervous and I could feel it in the pit of my stomach. I kept a steady pace as I repeated Jasper's words in my head like a mantra.

Everything is ready. Everyone is trained.

My iPod in my hand gave me the extra dose of sanity that I needed to get through without having another breakdown. The beat of the music kept time with my pounding footsteps, and I soon found myself on the other side of the park; much farther than I usually go. I stopped, leaning forward with my hands on my knees, and caught my breath before turning around and heading back towards my apartment.

As I walked through my door, I peeled my sweaty shirt from my body, and tossed it in the pile of laundry that I had been neglecting. When I got to the bathroom, I turned on the shower, peeled my running shorts off, and got in, closing the glass door behind me. My shower was one of my favorite things in my small apartment. It was large, in comparison to everything else, and had four shower heads; two above me, and two about midway down the wall. The extravagance of it often made me stay in it until the water ran cold, but today, I showered quickly and got out, wanting to get to Masen's fairly early. Wrapping a towel loosely around my waste, I wiped the steam from my mirror, and glanced at my reflection. I was definitely not the boy I was eight years ago. While I wasn't on the bulky, muscular side, I was toned from jogging regularly. My hair was the same wild mess it always was, and I chuckled when I remembered how my mom used to put loads of gel and hairspray in it, trying to get it to lay flat. She finally gave up when I was 12, and embraced it. I ran my fingers through it, trying to tame it a bit.

My next five minutes were spent in front of my closet, trying to decide what to wear for my first public appearance. I contemplated calling Alice, but knew she would probably be going through airport security.

Maybe Jasper was right, maybe I am turning into a girl.

I finally decided on a simple white button-down shirt, jeans and my black Adidas sneakers. I glanced at my chef jacket hanging on the back of my bedroom door, and I smiled; I couldn't wait to wear it.

Masen's was completely desolate when I arrived. There was no music, no clinging of dishes, and no conversation; but that would change by tonight. I couldn't wait to see the place full of people and full of life. The excitement was almost too much to bear. I flipped on the lights, and headed into the kitchen to make sure we had everything we needed. I would hate to come up short and run out of something on our first night, but Alice assured me that we would have plenty of supplies to accommodate the masses of patrons that were expected to show up. As beautiful as the interior of the dining room was, the kitchen was by far my favorite attribute. It was big and masculine, with heavy stainless steel appliances. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief when I looked around and noticed that everything appeared to be set up and ready to go, thanks to Jasper. Hiring him was the best choice I had ever made. I didn't think I would have gotten this far without him and Alice to help me. I made a mental note to introduce them to each other later.

I managed to keep myself as busy as possible throughout the day, running errands and checking in with my staff every so often to make sure the night's prep work was being taken care of.

"Edward, everything is fine," Jasper said to me on my fourth -- or fifth -- trip to the restaurant. "I've got these guys under control. Besides, you need to go pick up your family at the airport."

I looked down at my watch. "Oh! Yes! Thanks Jaz, I'll see you later!" I shouted over my shoulder as I took off out the front door.

La Guardia airport traffic was a nightmare, but I managed to find parking and make my way inside with several minutes to spare before their flight actually landed. The terminal was packed, and I craned my neck to peer over the bobbing heads to look for my family. Finally, I saw my father's blonde head weaving through the crowd. As I watched them walk toward me I suddenly felt someone crash into me, wrapping their arms tightly around my waist.

"Edward!!" she shouted.

I looked down and saw Alice's petite form bouncing with excitement. "Hey Short-Stack!" I said with a smile.

"Hey mom, hey dad," I said, leaning over to give each of them a hug. "How was your flight?"

"Fine. Long." my mother said, trying to stifle a yawn. "But I wanna hear more about you. Tell us more about the restaurant."

I grinned and we all started walking for the exit. "It's great. Everything came together really well, and I think tonight is going to be amazing. I was really nervous earlier, terrified, actually; but now that it's close to opening, and you guys are here, I feel so much better."

Alice looped her arm through mine and squealed. "I'm so excited to see it!"

By the time we got their luggage, made our way out of the airport and drove to their hotel, I had just enough time to make my way back home, get changed and drive to Masen's.

"This is it," I said quietly to myself.

No turning back now.

*****

The night progressed better than I ever could have imagined. The kitchen remained stocked and nobody caught on fire. There were even several occasions where I was requested in the dining room to be personally thanked by customers. It was an intense feeling; a feeling of self-worth and accomplishment. It was what I had waited my entire life for.

At one point, I was standing at the pass watching the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, giving words of encouragement, when I turned around and smacked into a woman. I grabbed her arms to keep her from toppling over.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" she said, holding her hands up to her face in embarrassment. "Are you alright??"

I chuckled as I smoothed my hands down the front of my jacket. "I'm perfectly fine."

She stuck her hand out and smiled genuinely. "I'm Angela. Do you work here?"

I shook her hand and couldn't help but grin. "Edward Cullen, and yeah, actually, I own the place."

Realization came over her face and she smiled even larger. "You're Edward?! It's so wonderful to meet you! I've heard so many good things about you. I work for the New York Times and I'm here with a colleague of mine that will be doing a review of her experience. We write the lifestyle columns."

A review? Of my restaurant?

I was suddenly nervous again. "A review? Really?" I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "That's great! I'd love to meet her."

"Great! Wait here, I'll go get her," she said, and took off towards the dining room.

I nodded and turned towards the kitchen door just as two of my wait staff, Alec and Jane, were emerging. "Everything going okay guys?" I asked.

Jane smiled and nodded as Alec spoke "Yes, sir. Table 20 asked to speak with you when you get a chance."

"Tell them I'll be with them as soon as possible. You guys are doing a great job," I said, slapping him on the back. They walked back out to the dining room, and I pulled out my notepad to remind myself to visit Table 20.

Just then, I heard someone coming up behind me, so I turned around and was damn near knocked off my feet by the sight in front of me.

No way. It couldn't be...

"Bella??"

It was Bella alright, but she was...different. Not bad different, just...there were no words. Well, there was one word...beautiful. Of course, she always had been; I never failed to notice that when we were growing up, but I had never really looked at her that way.

This creature in front of me, however, exuded so much confidence and sexuality that I had to focus on keeping my eyes trained on her face and not let them roam any lower. Her hair was down, flowing freely over her shoulders and her eyes were dancing with excitement. Clearly, she hadn't expected to see me either.

Angela finally spoke up, pulling me out of my Bella-induced fog.

"Do you two know each other?" she said, looking back and forth at Bella and myself.

"You could say that," Bella said quietly, obviously not wanting to reveal any more information than that.

"Yeah, we're...friends," I said, my eyes flicking to Angela before moving back to Bella. She was still staring at me, only this time, her face showed more than just excitement; Rejection? Abandonment? Both?

I should have called her more often. I'm a horrible person. I'm the one that let our friendship fade.

"It's good to see you again, Edward," she said, and I couldn't help but notice the sharp edge in her voice when she said my name. "And I look forward to perhaps doing an interview with you sometime in the near future, if that's alright?"

I nodded. "Of course, Bella, I'd love to. Just name the time and the place, and I'm there."

I could see some of her confidence fading as she shuffled from one foot to the other, and there was a moment of awkward silence that passed between the two of us.

Finally, Bella broke the silence. "We'll let you get back to work, Edward. The place looks great. Let's exchange numbers and we'll set up a time for the interview."

I nodded, pulling my cell phone out of my pocket and passing it to her so she could program her number into it. She quickly entered it, and then called herself, so she could have mine. She took a step towards me, and put my phone back into my hand, looking up at me; the deep brown pools of her eyes portraying a hint of sadness.

I stared back at her, unsure of my next move.

Do I walk away? Shake her hand? Hug her?

As I stood there contemplating, Bella made my decision for me. She took my hand in hers, gave it a firm shake and said "Thank you. I'll be in touch with you soon."

I slightly tightened my grip, not wanting to let go yet, but she pulled away and walked back to her table with Angela without saying another word; not even a second glance back in my direction.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair as I watched her retreating form.

Fuck. I have a lot of explaining to do.

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