Disclaimer: I know, and you know... Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight universe and characters.

Chapter Eight

EPOV

It was the first time in a month that I was able to spend some time in my office. The first production that Bella had been involved in had been a resounding success. Alice had been beyond elated to find out that she didn't use a penny from her budget. Rosalie was impressed as well, because she had been offering advertising space in the programme in lieu of monetary payment. She had even taken over that task, inviting Rosalie over to her apartment one evening to check out her computer set-up and high end printer. She had offered to print the programmes and practically begged Rosalie to let her design them.

This, in turn, made Rosalie like her even more. Their earlier conflict regarding Bella's disinterest in any of the other crew was forgotten quickly, and Rosalie was more than grateful for Bella's offer. It had always been one of her main tasks for the theatre and Rosalie found it more of a pain in the ass than anything. After a morning of showing Bella the database, and Bella providing us samples of her past programme designs, we were sold. The programmes went off without a hitch and everyone remarked positively about them. We had one of our most well-attended runs and we couldn't help but realize that it was in great part due to Bella.

Each night, after the performances we would have a meet and greet and she surprised us all by attending and working the crowd. She was a complete professional during the run and it showed. Like us who worked backstage or in the booth, she wore the typical blacks during the show, but wowed us all by changing for the meet & greet parties into modest skirt and sweater combinations with actual colour. I found it beyond difficult to perform my own duties, often becoming distracted as I watched her meet people quietly but appreciatively, and manage to hold conversations with total strangers.

From the actors to the crew, everyone remarked favorably about her. Everybody was sold on Bella. She worked very hard, and was always prepared. Her office was completely organized, and I was impressed with how much she had gotten done in the short time she had been here. Rosalie and Alice often dropped by her office with cupcakes and coffee, and while Bella still didn't speak more than a word or two at a time generally, I could often hear girlish laughter from down the hallway. One more than one occasion I moved from my desk to the hallway and was surprised to see both Emmett and Jasper do the same. Each time it had happened, they gave me a look of encouragement and approval.

I couldn't do anything though. I knew that if I pushed too hard, Bella would distance herself from me. With that in mind, I let her set the terms of our interaction. It pleased me to know that she did make attempts to see me, even after our conversation during the heat wave. I had been on edge for days after that conversation, certain that she was avoiding me. However, once the heat wave passed, we fell back into an easy companionship that was shaded with an apparent mutual attraction.

We had fallen into the habit of running together, and I vowed after our first run, to step up my program. She was light and quick on her feet, and while it wasn't a challenge to match her speed, she had set up her own program of steady running and quick sprints. I definitely felt the burn. I don't know how I managed to avoid visually feasting on her, especially when she showed up wearing a fitted fleece and white gym shorts that made her legs look as if they went for miles but it was a success. Of course, I had to try and concentrate on remembering everything from the periodic table, the New Testament, and number 1 albums from the 70s to keep her from visually noticing my apparent interest.

She was turning my world upside down. I was constantly aware of her presence and could feel her whenever she was nearby. I could pick her voice from a crowded room, and I spent every available moment just thinking about her; wondering what she was doing, how she was feeling, when I was going to be able to see her next. I still wanted her. Between our first conversation about never wanting to date again, and her agreement that we were definitely not buddies, I didn't push it. However, the more time we spent together, the more I needed to be with her.

Emmett wouldn't let up on me and felt the need to drop her name into every single bloody conversation we had. Rosalie didn't say a word to me about her, and while I was grateful at first, I was soon growing suspicious as to why she wasn't demanding details from me. Bella had stated her limits, but Rosalie generally held no mercy for me. Alice, too, refrained from mentioning her name around me, which was more alarming. Jasper assured me that I had nothing to worry about, which did nothing for setting my mind at ease. My parents, who had loved her from first sight also said nothing about my obvious interest.

Carlisle doted on her the same way he doted on all the ladies in our family. Sometimes he would show up at the office with flowers for all the girls, and she never failed to feel touched by his inclusion. I knew that Esme regularly phoned her, checking in to see if she needed anything or popping over with food that she had recently had an overabundance of. This was something that she used to do with me, knowing that my coupled siblings had their own family meal times together.

I was fucking ecstatic to receive phone calls from her, inviting me up to help her eat a casserole or lasagna on occasion, and I replied in turn some mornings to invite her down to share breakfast and coffee with me. I learned more about her past, and while she never discussed prior relationships, she did have good stories about her experiences in theatre, and her love for music. Neither of us had much use for television, but at least once a week she would come downstairs for a coffee in front of the fireplace with me. She favoured dog-eared paperbacks, while I idly played the guitar. I knew she'd listen to me sing, but she would hold up the book in front of her face, as if to ensure my own privacy.

I did pimp my spare room for her, and lugged a drum kit in for her. I showed her how I soundproofed the room, and she was impressed that nothing could be heard outside my apartment. Her expression was hard to read after I presented her with a key to my apartment, inviting her to use the drum kit any time she wanted, even if I wasn't around. She would call me and once she knew that I would be out of the apartment for a few hours she'd come down. The only evidence that she had even been there would be the short note she'd leave behind, thanking me for the opportunity to play.

I startled at the knock on my office door. It had been open, but she waited in the hallway until I said, "Bella, come in. Come in."

"Hello," she greeted, stepping into the room.

"It's nice to see you," I admitted, motioning for her to join me on the couch in the corner of my office.

"Likewise."

"Finally, a slow day," I observed, waiting for her to feel more at ease. I had come to learn that the one word sentences would always begin a conversation, but after a bit of time had passed, she would open up more.

"Yes," she managed.

"This is the first time in a month that I feel I've been able to sit back and relax. I know we have the fundraiser coming up at the end of the month, but for the next week or two, it should be kind of slow," I told her.

"Alice said that I could have some time off. I've booked a lot of hours and she says she feels guilty for giving me so much stuff to do my first month in."

She paused, momentarily distracted by an errant hair that she quickly tucked behind her ear and continued pensively, "Everybody seems to be leaving town. Emmett and Rosalie are leaving for San Fransisco tomorrow, and Alice said that she and Jasper were planning a trip to New York City in a couple of days. I just dropped by to see if you were going anywhere, as well," she said, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"No. I didn't make any plans," I told her, "I thought I'd just stay home and savor the quietness. Even Carlisle and Esme are leaving to visit some friends in Chicago so I said I'd keep tabs on their house, the theatre, and here. I'm in charge of watering plants, feeding fish, and general security."

Normally, I would have booked a flight out east to catch up with a few buddies, but I had hoped that with the others gone it would give me a chance to spend some time with her, if she stayed in town.

"What are you going to do?" I asked her, wondering if she would head back to Toronto.

"I'm not leaving," she told me, finally glancing at me. Her brown eyes met me, then darted quickly away before catching mine again. "I've got an outside project that I'm working on, but really, I just want to hang out, maybe do a little shopping, catch a movie in town..."

I tried not to jump on that, but I was fucked if I was going to let it slide by, "I haven't seen a movie in a theatre for awhile now, mind if I join you when you go?"

She simply nodded, "There's about three movies that are playing..."

She listed them off, and I couldn't care less what movie we saw, just so long as we were together.

I waved a hand at her, "What one do you want to see?"

"I like explosions, mass mayhem and total chaos," she admitted, "I don't know if I could handle anything too deep, and I can't handle the tearjerker."

"Good, because I'd hate to let you see me cry," I was relieved.

"Really?" she raised her eyebrows in surprise, "You cry at movies?"

I was curious about her reaction and nodded, "Sure I do. I might pretend I've got something in my eye, but I react to emotional scenes just as much as the next person..."

"I hate crying," she said flatly.

"I can't imagine not crying during a great movie, a spectacular song, a fucking great book," I admitted, "I can't help it."

She looked away again, but was somewhat amused, "I guess it's no surprise to hear that I just suppress everything."

"We all handle it the best way we can, I'm sure. How we express it, well... some of us try to control our feelings and some of know when it's best just to let things happen."

"And you fall into the latter category?" she questioned, still looking away.

"I try not to beat myself up for every little thing, these days. When I was young, not only was I quiet, but also somewhat anxious. I over thought things a lot, and it wasn't until I started to use music as an outlet for what I was feeling, that things started to get better for me, emotionally," I told her, trying to keep my voice matter-of-fact.

"I was quiet as a child, too," she barely whispered, "I liked to read a lot, so I spent a lot of time at the library. I wrote a lot, and that helped me."

"Are you still writing?" I asked her.

"Yeah. Work-related stuff."

"What's your outside project?"

"I... I still have a contractual obligation to fulfill. My deadline is close. It's a multi-disciplinary project. I'm working with film, live music, pre-recorded music, projectors and lights," she admitted.

"Really?" I couldn't hide my interest, "How did this happen? When is it due? When you say it's a contractual obligation, what do you mean? How do you present it?"

Bella shook her head, but grinned, "Theoretically, I would present in front of an audience and record it. Then, from that archival material, I would edit and send in report detailing my project results. However, because of my new location, I've made arrangements to film it from a variety of angles and include all film with an edit. It's due in a couple of weeks. I'm done with single shots and close-ups. I need a couple of wide angle shots and was going to work on it this week what with the theatre being closed. Jasper already gave me the keys and a run-down on the boards."

"Do you need any help?" I asked, trying not to sound too desperate.

"You can spot me when I hang lights, and maybe give me another tutorial on the sound board, if you'd like," she said, after a moment of consideration.

"You don't need any help with the filming?" I was disappointed.

"Edward," she shook her head at me, "It's really boring shit. I'm sure you've got better things to do on your holiday. Besides, the point is that I'm supposed to film it."

"I don't have anything better to do," I said, stubbornly, "anyway, I could be your assistant. I don't necessarily have to hold the camera. I'd do all the grunt work if you'd let me."

She sighed but nodded, "Fine. But it's not gonna be any kind of fun, and you'll hate how bossy I'll be. I'll try to reign it in, I guess."

I smiled, not able to picture her being bossy at all.

"Hey, are you going to Alice and Jasper's tonight? They invited me over for dinner," she said, breaking the silence.

I nodded, "Yeah. I got the invite too. Rose and Emmett and Carlisle and Esme are going to be there as well... I'm sure Mom and Alice will have a lot of leftovers and prepared meals just waiting for us to bring home with us. Emmett usually leaves gift certificates for pizza."

She said nothing, suddenly still.

"Bella, what is it?" I questioned, watching as her she briefly closed her eyes.

"You... your family... you're all so... good to me."

"It's not difficult," I said gently, reaching for her hand. I held my breath, not knowing if she was going to pull away or not.

She didn't pull away, and I slowly slid closer to her. I gently put my arm around her, and after a few moments, she rested her head on my shoulder. We sat like that for a few minutes, then she lifted her head, gave my hand a slight squeeze and stood up.

"I... I'll see you later, Edward."

"See you soon, Bella," I said quietly, and watched as she walked out the door.

"Edward, would you hurry up in there?" Alice demanded loudly, as I looked in the mirror, trying to assert some sort of control over my hair.

"Alice, I've been in here for less than five minutes, cut me some fucking slack," I hollered.

"Our guests will be here any moment, and I need to make sure everything is presentable," she said, and I knew she wanted to go over the guest bathroom with another round of Mr Clean.

"That's what I'm trying to do," I muttered under my breath as I exited the room.

"What's with you?" she asked, as I brushed by her.

"What's with you?" I countered, "It's just the family and Bella."

"You know how I like everything to be perfect," she said, and I leaned on the doorframe, watching her deftly wipe the countertop again.

"I don't know how Jasper puts up with this," I shook my head.

"Same way you put up with any annoying thing that Bella does, I suppose," she told me.

"Bella doesn't do anything annoying, besides, it's not the same thing at all."

"Edward, who do you think you're fooling? It's obvious you've got it bad for her."

I started to protest and she gave me the sweetest of smiles, "Hey. It's me, your favorite sister. I'm happy for you. I know that it must be hard to have to hide your feelings from her right now, but you don't have to hide them from any of us."

"I don't hide my feelings from her," I said stubbornly.

"Have you told her that you're attracted to her?" she countered right back.

"Of course I have. Bella doesn't want to date me," I admitted.

She gave me a bittersweet smile, "She doesn't want to date, period. I definitely don't think you should take this too personally. She isn't ready, but she will be, soon enough. I can see that things are starting to change for her."

"Really?"

Alice nodded, "She's opening up a bit more each day. Jasper says she seems more at ease, and is becoming more comfortable with everyone. And, she can't keep her eyes off of you, even if she thinks no one else is watching."

"Alice, don't tease me."

"Truth," she said, solemn.

I pondered that, and finally realized that I was smiling. Alice, however, seemed worried.

"What is it?"

"I know that she talks to you more than us... and I don't want you to feel like you are talking about her behind her back, but... Edward... whatever happened to her... is there anything I can do to help her? Maybe Carlisle or Esme?"

I shook my head, not wanting to answer. She waited and I sighed, "She's... handling things as best as she can. Alice? She really hasn't said anything to you? Or anyone else?"

"No, Edward, she hasn't. I think she might have talked with Carlisle, though. He's been making a habit of dropping in to see her every couple of days. When I mentioned it though, he gave me that doctor confidentiality bullshit. Jasper says Bella visits with him, but doesn't say much."

I was surprised. I was about to say something else but there was a knock at the front door.

I wanted badly to check myself out in the mirror again, and Alice smiled up at me, "Go on, I'll get the door, but you look fantastic as always."

I rolled my eyes at her, and she said, "You can tell that you're happier these days, too."

With that, she walked down the hallway to greet her guests.

Throughout dinner, Bella was her quiet self, but Alice had been right. She seemed far more at ease with us, and I loved her interactions with my family. She had been the last to arrive, bearing a large vanilla frosted cake with her, which everyone gushed over.

"WTF? Did you make this?" Emmett demanded, getting very close to the cake she had set down on the counter.

She slapped his hand away as he reached to put a finger in the frosting, "Emmett Cullen, if you touch my cake before dessert, I will show you what pain really is."

Rose laughed loudly and gave Bella a high five. Emmett looked apologetic but said, "Come on then, let's eat. I need to know if Bella can cook as good as she can dish it out."

Bella caught my eye and she shook her head as everyone laughed.

Alice led us to the dining room, and Bella paused, pulling out her cellphone, "I'm sorry," she apologized to us all, "I've been waiting for this call all day."

Alice smiled warmly and waved a hand at her, and Bella disappeared down the hallway.

When she came back, she wore a pleased expression on her face, and when she sat down beside me I leaned over, "Good news?"

"Definitely not bad news," she said agreeably, "My last shipment arrives tomorrow afternoon, and I've been waiting for ages for Marcus to get it all together. He tried to get everything on my list but it was going to be just too damned expensive to ship. However, I sold a story a couple of months ago and he's depositing the cheque for me tomorrow. Say, Edward? Are there any good music stores here in town?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "What are you looking for, Bella? If its equipment, we'll have to go to Seattle, I think. There's a place in town that sells instruments that aren't badly priced, though."

"I need a banjo and an alto saxaphone."

"Edward has a banjo," Alice offered immediately, "Do you have a saxaphone?"

The others were staring at us intently and I shook my head, "No but Sherriff's here in town might have one. Otherwise, Hollinger Music might be a good place to look."

She looked pensive, "I don't know. I'd love to borrow the keyboard if that's cool, but I kind of wanted my own banjo. I guess, if you'd lend it to me that would be great. Marcus couldn't send the banjo in this shipment; it wouldn't be worth it."

"You can borrow anything from me, anytime you want," I told her, and she smiled up at me, thankful. She reached for my hand that had been resting on the table and squeezed it warmly until Emmett asked, "Who's Marcus?"

She dropped my hand immediately, and I looked up to see almost everyone else visibly cringing.

She shrugged nonchalantly, "I guess you'd say he was my manager. He still helps me out from time to time."

"I didn't know you were musically inclined, Bella," Esme said, giving me a pointed and pleased look which Bella chose to ignore.

She smiled at my mother, "I just like to putter around, really."

"Maybe one day you'll play for us," Carlisle suggested encouragingly.

She looked around the table and drew in a breath, "I'm actually going to be playing tonight at the Black Sow. With Jacob and a few of the stage crew guys."

"Bella!" Rosalie exclaimed, "How did that happen? I didn't even know you knew any of the stage crew."

"I don't," she explained, "Well, I know Jacob, and he bet me..." she immediately stopped talking and I could see her cheeks beginning to flush.

"What did he bet you, sweetheart?" Jasper asked kindly.

She shook her head, and tried to explain, smiling slightly, "He's arranged tonight to be like a battle of the bands. Actually, it's a battle between the two of us. We each perform a song, and whoever gets the most applause for the song wins the round. They pass around a hat after each set and whoever wins the most sets gets the winnings. It's pathetic, really. He's going to win, but he was just so damned cocky about it that I got in his face about it. I shouldn't have. I hardly know anyone in town. He's got a shitload of groupies, so I doubt there's any possible way..."

"I'll be your groupie," I interrupted.

There was a chorus of agreement around the table and Carlisle asked, "Bella, honey, why didn't you say anything before? You know that we will all support you with anything you do."

"Ah..." she shrugged, "Rose and Em leave tomorrow, as do you and Esme. I knew that Jasper and Alice would be busy getting ready to leave as well, so... besides... I'm pretty nervous. It's going to suck so bad..."

"Bella Swan!" Alice shouted, "Don't you dare say that. I'm sure you'll rock the house. What are you playing? What are you wearing?"

Bella laughed, "Alice, I know you are dying to dress me up, but I've got that all covered. I figured that any extra ammunition would be a good thing. I've got a couple of costume changes suitable to the music I'm playing."

My mind was whirling like mad with that, and even Jasper and Emmett looked deep in thought. Rosalie cuffed Emmett upside the head and Jasper looked at Alice contritely.

"You said you sold a story?" Carlisle asked.

She nodded, but it was obvious from her expression that she did not want to talk about that, so Carlisle gracefully changed the subject. We ate a dinner that was filled with conversations, and a growing excitement. By the time we got to the cake, everybody seemed to feed off of each other's moods. Bella was nervous though, and I didn't hesitate to hold her hand protectively under the table.

"Not bad, shorty," Emmett sighed, after eating another slice of her cake.

"Thanks, buddy," she grinned, and squeezed my hand. She stood up, "Ladies, gentlemen... Emmett. It's been lovely, but I gotta go get ready. See you all there? It starts at 9."

I stood up with her and we all walked her to the front door. She accepted hugs and words of encouragement from everyone, and she stood on her toes and gave Carlisle a quick kiss on his cheek after he whispered something in her ear.

At last, she turned to me, and I hugged her again, closing my eyes as she allowed me to hold her. She pulled back, seemed about to speak and then shook her head.

"I can't believe I'm going onstage tonight... stupid Jacob Black."

"I could kick his ass for you, before the challenge. Then you wouldn't have to go on," I told her.

She gave me a wide, sunny smile, "Edward, I can't imagine you kicking anyone's ass. I know you're good at everything, but you're too damned good to go busting chops."

"I'm not that good," I warned her, thinking about how great I would feel to hurl a punch or two in Jacob's direction. Jacob Black was getting on my fucking nerves.

"Well, save it for another day. Just, if it looks like I'm going to pass out, or if I freeze on stage, save me."

"Always," I promised, and she quickly hugged me again, before giving a half-wave at everyone else and went back to her own apartment.

I turned, and rolled my eyes as everyone stared at me.

"Not a word, please. Not a word."

A/N: Thanks so much for the words of encouragement and keeping up with my story. It is greatly appreciated.