A/N Ok, first I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who continues to read and enjoy this story! You have no idea how much it means to me! I also wanted to remind you that unless you sign your review, I cannot respond to you. You're welcome to keep submitting unsigned reviews, just don't expect a response. :) I hope you enjoy today's chapter and review! Thanks again! 3

Chapter 26 – Dinner

Edward was secretly relieved that the introductions to his family were out of the way. While he was almost one hundred percent sure that Bella would accept him no matter what, there was always that shadow of a doubt. Yes, he knew Bella loved him wholeheartedly, but he wanted her to love his family as well; he did. He also wanted his family to love and accept her, as he knew she would be a Cullen sometime in the future.

He knew his mom and dad wouldn't be an issue. Esme already loved Bella despite knowing absolutely everything about her. She knew the problems and issues that he would be facing with her and still, she was willing to welcome her into their family with open arms. Carlisle was happy if Esme was happy, so he was good there as well.

Last night, when Edward was on his way to Bella's house because she needed him, Esme had called his cell phone to talk to him about the whole situation. She had explained that she would rather have talked to him in person about it but that she knew he needed to go to Bella, so she figured she'd call him on his short drive. He thought back to that conversation and smiled.

"Son, I can see clearly how much you love Bella and I want to ask, have you told her about our family and our unique stories?"

Edward had shaken his head no. He honestly hadn't even thought about it but as soon as she brought it up, he started to worry a little bit.

As if she could sense his worry, she spoke again, "Edward, please don't worry so much. I could see yesterday that Bella loves you as much as you love her. She would accept you even if you were raised by wolves. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I will be talking to your brothers and sisters when they wake up in a few hours.

"I think it's important to be honest with Bella from the start and your father agrees with me. He said that if she is anything like Charlie, she will be very understanding and accepting of us.

"I want to give your siblings the opportunity to choose whether or not you share their story with Bella. It should be their choice after all because they lived the experiences. We will have a family meeting in the morning to discuss it. I will explain to them the situation and ask their opinion. They love you son and I have no doubt that they'll accept Bella the way that you and I already have.

"When you come home tomorrow, we'll discuss what they said. If for some reason Bella is with you, I'll give you a signal that it's okay to proceed if that is what's decided. If I don't give you a signal then you can forego any detailed introductions and just give general ones."

When Edward and Bella had walked in the house this afternoon and found Esme in the kitchen, his worries that had all but disappeared in the meadow came back tenfold. When Esme had refused their offer to help and sent them down to the family room instead with a sly wink to Edward, he knew this was her signal that it was okay to make full introductions; the conversation this morning must have gone in her favor. Butterflies assaulted his stomach as he led Bella by the hand down to the family room.

Once he began his introductions though, he began to calm down. He easily slipped into his normal role with Alice, teasing her about every minor thing, which made the whole conversation almost effortless. He had felt Bella relax on his lap and he couldn't have been happier.

After he shared each of their stories, Emmett had made some smart-ass comment as usual and then they all watched more of the movie until Esme called for help with the table. Not surprisingly, Bella jumped up eager to help until he pulled her back down onto his lap.

"Bella, you are our guest tonight. My family can take care of setting the table. I want to sit here with you for a minute alone. I'm sure you've got some questions for me," he said with a wink.

After his family left the room and headed upstairs, Bella turned in his lap, straddling him, and pressed her lips to his. "Thank you Edward. I know I said it before, but I can't say it enough. It means so much to me that you and your family are willing to trust me with your secrets. I promise you that I will never do anything to hurt any of you. I love you so much!"

She brought her lips to his again, this time her mouth was open, inviting him to deepen the kiss. He happily obliged and they sat there with their tongues fighting each other for dominance for a good five minutes. He felt himself start to strain against his pants, so he pulled away from her slightly.

"I love you too, Bella. More than you know, but if we keep kissing like this I'm not going to be able to join my family for dinner." He winked at her and she realized what he was talking about.

Once the light bulb clicked on, a horrified look came across her face. "Oh my god Edward. I'm so sorry! It just feels so natural to be with you like this that I don't even think about the effect it has on you. I've got it easy; my excitement is not as obvious even though I'm just as aroused." It was Bella's turn to wink and that one action was his undoing.

He reached up and pulled her face to his roughly as he assaulted her mouth with his. Suddenly, there was only one thing he was hungry for and it caused every rational thought to flee his mind. He let his hands slip underneath her shirt and grasp at her breasts through the fabric of her bra.

Her nipples instantly sprung to life, encouraging him to do more. He freed the left one from the cup and started encircling her nipple with his thumb before rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. She moaned at his touch, which only encouraged him farther. His hands found their way to the button of her jeans, which he quickly undid. He was just reaching for her zipper when they heard footsteps at the top of the stairs.

"Dammit all to hell," he growled. "Bella, you're going to be my undoing; in more ways than one." He quickly buttoned her pants again as she adjusted herself up top. Even in the dim lighting, he could tell she was blushing from head to toe; he could feel the warmth radiating off of every inch of her skin.

He leaned in to kiss her one more time before grabbing her legs that were on either side of him and standing up with her. He set her down gently and entwined their fingers as he led the way back towards the stairs.

Just then, Alice came bounding into the room. "Mom wants to know if you're going to be joining us for dinner or if you're staying down here to molest Bella some more?" She had a huge grin on her face as she said it, so he knew she was joking, but poor Bella looked horrified.

He squeezed her hand and gave her a crooked grin before responding to Alice. "Relax, Tinkerbelle. We're coming right now, at least in one sense of the word." If Alice was going to try to embarrass him, he was going to dish it right back at her.

"Okay, ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! I so did not need to hear that from my brother!" she squealed as she covered her ears and bounded back up the stairs.

Edward laughed hysterically for a second and then looked at Bella. "Sorry, we like to tease each other in this family. Are you ready to eat?" When she simply nodded and tightened her grip on his hand, he turned and led them upstairs.

…..

Bella was mortified. When Alice had come down stairs and almost caught her and Edward in their 'extra-curricular activities' she made a comment about Edward molesting Bella more. Bella could feel herself turning as red as a tomato at that comment but then what Edward responded with made her want to disappear completely; at least until she saw Alice's reaction.

"Relax, Tinkerbelle. We're coming right now, at least in one sense of the word." Wide eyed, Bella looked at Edward feeling like she was going to faint until she saw her favorite grin on his face.

Alice's reaction was priceless. She squealed and covered her ears like she was ten and ran up the stairs after saying she didn't need to hear her brother say that. Edward just laughed uproariously and Bella found herself chuckling at the exchange as well.

When he stopped laughing, he looked at her a little sheepishly and apologized, explaining that the family enjoyed teasing each other. When he asked her if she was ready to eat, she simply nodded and let him lead her upstairs to join the rest of the family.

When they walked into the dining room, she was assaulted by the most wonderful smells. She looked at the table and saw a pan of delicious looking lasagna, a bowl of breadsticks, and a bowl of salad greens. Everything looked and smelled mouthwatering. She made sure to tell Esme just that too.

The table was a square table at countertop height with eight chairs around it: two on each side. Esme and Carlisle sat at the head of the table with Emmett and Rosalie opposite them. That left she and Edward sitting opposite of Alice and Jasper and Bella couldn't help but smile remembering the exchange from a few minutes ago.

Almost as if he knew what she was thinking, Edward starting laughing all over again. She looked up at him to see him looking at Alice who was sticking her tongue out at him. "Sorry Tink, but I'm gonna have to turn down your offer. I get my fill of tongue from Bella now," he told her before winking at Bella. Again, she felt herself flush what she assumed was a deep red but couldn't help but join in on the laughter that now filled the room.

The rest of dinner went much the same way. Alice would say something innocent and Edward would find a way to twist it into something sexual. She would glare at him as her face would flush but then she would continue eating.

Eventually, everyone else started in on the teasing too. Emmett made a comment to Bella about whether or not Edward was a good kisser trying to embarrass Edward, but when he saw that he embarrassed her more, he wouldn't let up. He was constantly razzing her about one thing or another and would break into loud guffaws when she would turn cherry red.

"Damn Bella, I haven't had this much fun teasing someone in a long time! You have got to come over more often," he told her as he laughed.

She wanted to glare at him and even attempted to, but she couldn't keep the damn grin from creeping across her face. She truly felt like she could fit in with this family and it warmed her to the core. She had finally found her place in the world and she couldn't be happier.

When dinner was over, she insisted on helping with clean up over Esme's protests. "Esme, you made an incredible dinner without any help. The least I can do is help with the clean up." When Esme finally relented, Bella picked up a sponge from the sink and started pre-washing the dishes so that they could be loaded into the dishwasher. After clean up was done, Esme pulled Bella and Edward aside to talk to them.

"So how was your day today in the meadow," she asked them. Bella felt her cheeks getting hot just remembering this morning and was glad when Edward stepped in to answer her question.

"It was great mom. I love spending time alone with Bella. We ate lunch and then got to know each other better." His words were innocent enough and he didn't lie to Esme directly, but Bella felt her face flush even hotter when she realized the double meaning of his words. Yes, they got to know each other a lot better!

"I'm so glad. You have no idea how happy I am for the two of you. You both deserve so much more happiness than life has allowed you up until now. It looks like the universe is finally righting those wrongs." She smiled genuinely at each of them before continuing.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do tonight or about school tomorrow?" It was a simple enough question but she honestly hadn't thought anything about it. She had been with Edward all day, feeling happy and content, so the dreaded thoughts had never come up.

"Well mom, as far as school goes, I was hoping you could call Mrs. Cope in the morning and pull some of your magical strings. Bella and I don't have any classes together right now and I really can't imagine going an entire day without at least sharing a few classes with her."

"I think that's a good idea Edward. After what happened last week, I'm sure you can use the extra support Bella. Would that be okay with you if I had Edward transferred into some of your classes?"

"Thank you Esme! Of course it would be okay. It would be more than okay!" Bella gushed as she wrapped her arms around Esme. She knew that Esme would do anything she could to help her, but this seemed above and beyond and she was extremely grateful.

"Also Bella, I wanted to talk to you about your nightmare last night. I know it was bad and that you lost a lot of sleep because of it. Do you think you need me to prescribe you some medication to make it easier to sleep peacefully? I can write you a prescription for Ambien CR, a low dose of course. It would help you fall asleep and stay asleep and I'd be willing to bet it would keep your nightmares away."

"Actually Esme, I don't think my nightmares are going to be a problem anymore. Being with Edward all day today and feeling and seeing just how much he loves me has really solidified our bond in my mind; I know he would never leave me. I don't think I'll need any meds, but I'll keep you posted if the nightmare comes back. Thank you again for everything. You are way to kind to me."

"Nonsense Bella, you are family now. Maybe not in the official sense of the word but you will be one day soon; I don't doubt that at all, and I take care of my family in any way I can." Esme hugged Bella tightly as she said this and Bella could feel herself automatically responding to the words. She gripped Esme fiercely, hoping to convey how much this moment meant to her.

A minute later, Edward interrupted their moment by conspicuously clearing his throat. They both released themselves from the hug and turned toward Edward.

"Mom, I don't know if you realized or not, but Tuesday is Bella's birthday and she'll be turning eighteen. I know it's a school night and we can't do anything extravagant, but I was hoping you could talk to Chief Swan and ask him if I could take her to Port Angeles for dinner and a movie Friday night and then stay over in a motel. I really want to make it special for her." Edward sounded nervous as he asked his mom and Bella felt her heart squeeze. He really would give her the world if he could. She also realized that he was clearing they way for them to have some 'alone' time and Bella squeezed his hand and smiled at him.

"Sure Honey, I'll call Charlie tomorrow. I'm sure he'll be fine with it though. After all, you went over there in the middle of the night last night to help with Bella. I'm willing to bet he'll feel like he owes you."

Edward's crooked grin appeared on his face in triumph. "Thank you mom! You're the best," he told her as he bent down to kiss her cheek. "I'm just going to take Bella home and maybe hang out for an hour or so. Is that okay?"

Esme smiled at them and nodded her head. "Son, you are eighteen. You don't need to ask my permission but I do appreciate that you're so considerate. I'll see you around ten. Have fun kids," she said with a wink as she walked out of the room, leaving Bella and Edward alone.

…..

As soon as his mom left the room, Edward turned to Bella to kiss her. She gave him a sweet grin and assumed he was just coming in for a chaste kiss, but he had other ideas. As soon as their mouths met, he forced her lips open with his and snaked his tongue into her mouth.

She kissed him back earnestly until they were both breathless. "Oh Beautiful, I don't know what I'm going to do without you in my arms tonight," he whispered into her ear before grazing her lobe with his teeth. He felt her shudder at his touch and smiled, an idea beginning to form in his head. "I'd better get you home my beautiful Bella, before I'm tempted to keep you here forever."

The drive home was quiet but comfortable. It was nice that they were able to sit in silence without feeling the need to fill the conversation void. When they arrived, Charlie's cruiser was in the driveway so Edward knew he was home. He went around and opened Bella's door for her and then walked up to the porch holding her hand.

When they got there, Bella turned to him expectantly, leaning in for a goodnight kiss. "Can't I come it for a few minutes?" he asked.

"Of course you can but I doubt Charlie's going to let you stay the night again tonight," she said wistfully.

"I'll take any time I can get with you, love. Charlie may not let me sleep over, but he can't keep me out of your dreams." He added a wink for emphasis as he leaned in for a kiss. He felt Bella's arms wrap around his waist and tighten, pulling herself closer to him. A few minutes later she signed contentedly before pulling away.

When they finally went inside, they walked straight up to Bella's room, right where Edward needed to go. The moment she closed the door, he walked to her window and disengaged the lock. When she looked at him questioningly, he explained. "You may be able to sleep without me but I don't know if I can say the same. This is my contingency plan."

Understanding dawned on Bella's face and she crashed into his arms and kissed him fiercely. "I love you Edward."

"I love you too, my beautiful Bella. Get some sleep, you're going to need it," he whispered roughly in her ear before biting her neck. When he did leave that night, he left with a smile on his face.