The Twilight Twenty-Five

thetwilight25[dot]com

Prompt: Italian Restaurant

Pen Name: Mcgt

Pairing/Main Character(s): Bella/Edward

Rating: M

This will be a multi-chaptered story.

Photo prompts can be viewed here: thetwilight25[dot]com/round-six/prompts

A/N

Thanks to LittleRedScientist for helping beta this for me and Jenequilter for her prereader skills.

Chapter 17 – Italian Restaurant – Who I Am Hates Who I've Been

By the time I got home after visiting Esme I barely had an hour to get ready for my date with Edward. Pulling open my closet door I suddenly realized how boring my clothes were. When had I become so dull? At what point had I allowed all the color to drain from my very existence? Everything in my closet was black, grey, or a sad mix of taupe. There had to be more in here than just that! Flinging clothes around, I pushed and pulled through them all and found a periwinkle jersey dress stuffed in the way back still with its tags on.

Yanking it off the hanger I examined it, holding it up in front of me by my full length mirror. It would have to do since after my closet raid the clock had ticked down another ten minutes.

I took a quick shower to try and rinse off the smell of coffee and anything else I might have picked up while visiting the greenhouse. As I let the spray cascade over my tense shoulders I realized I hadn't been on a proper date in almost a year. Aro hadn't been much for going out instead preferring to say in and order take-out and watch action movies.

God, what in the hell did I ever see in him? I asked myself. Of course the answer was easy. I just wanted someone to love me. Yet every time I seemed to jump- figuratively speaking- into bed with the wrong guy. Even with these dark thoughts milling about in my consciousness I was still looking forward to seeing Edward again and hoping my streak of back luck with men might be coming to an end. I was still terrified to open up and jump back into a relationship, but for some reason Edward made me feel safe in a way no one ever has before.

When the hell did I become an optimist?

I quickly dried my hair allowing its natural wave to do what it wanted knowing I didn't have time to break out the flat iron and smooth it all down. After a simple application of some mascara and lipstick I wrapped the dress around my best bra and panty set.

Looking into my mirror again I was stunned with the result. The dress skimmed over my curves while hiding my less-than-favorable attributes. The lavender color complimented my skin tone and it even made my eyes appear bright and alert.

Groaning I realized what an idiot I had for my inner voice. My eyes were bright because I was running on three cups of coffee and whatever kind of tea Esme had made for me. The dress fit most likely because I dropped a handful of pounds during my hospital stay.

Way to keep it real. My inner monologue just wouldn't be squelched.

Pulling my shoulders back I gave myself a quick pep talk in the mirror before putting a few things into a clutch and slipping on my shoes. Glancing up at the clock I had one minute to spare when my doorbell rang.

I opened the door and there stood Edward in a dark grey suit and a white button down shirt without a tie. His clean shaven face held a smirk as if he'd known I'd be giving him the once over as soon as I opened the door. He held out a small bouquet of Gerbera Daisies and told me I looked beautiful. I accepted the flowers and invited him in so I could put them in some water before we left.

"Thanks for letting me take you out Isa—Bella," he said quickly correcting himself.

Placing the bouquet into a tall glass I had that I always used as a vase I asked him where we were going.

"I actually thought perhaps a quick trip to Sequim? There's this little bistro I've heard great things about and haven't had the chance to go to."

"Sounds great. It'll be nice to get out of Port Angeles for once," I replied smiling, and allowing him to take my elbow and help me navigate the stairs out of my apartment.

The car ride to the restaurant was quiet but not awkward. We both seemed a little lost in thought and I knew I was trying to come up with a way of asking him things that wouldn't make me get emotional about the topic. I wanted to enjoy our evening and not cause him to go running for the nearest exit because I'd run through my entire emotional spectrum in only a matter of courses.

"What are you thinking so intently about over there?" he asked tugging my thumb from between my teeth.

I guess I wasn't as calm and cool on the outside as I'd thought.

"Um, I was just trying to come up with an adequate way of apologizing for my erratic behavior. I'm not normally so polarized about things." I explained figuring honesty was the best policy especially if I'd hoped for him to reciprocate in any way.

He reached between the seats and grabbed my hand, squeezing it once gently, but not letting go. "You've been through a lot recently. It's okay to be emotional about it. And I'll accept your apology only if you'll accept mine. I shouldn't have looked through your ledger. It was wrong to invade your privacy as I did, even if I thought it was for the right reasons."

He took his hand out of mine so he could turn the wheel into the small parking lot of the Alder Wood Bistro.

"Deal," I replied before asking him where he'd heard about the quaint little restaurant we'd just pulled in front of.

"Carlisle mentioned this to me awhile back as the Greenhouse project sells them some of their produce. The place is known for their support of local growers."

Turning in my seat I asked, "How do you know Carlisle?"

"He's actually my cousin. I don't see as much as him as I used to when I first moved here but now that he quit working at the hospital to run the Greenhouse Project full time, we're both on opposite schedules most of the time."

"Huh," I eloquently replied, discovering once again that I really had been out of the loop for a long time, and it was all my own doing.

He escorted me in to the tiny restaurant and we were seated immediately after Edward mentioned his reservation. I gave him a confused look but he replied he'd never cancelled the reservation from when he'd first asked me out earlier in the week holding out hope I'd give him another chance.

"Were you really hopeful or did you just forget?" I teased.

Pulling my chair out for me he whispered in my ear, "Hope Bella. It's a powerful thing."

I felt my face grow warm but tried to shake off my flustered feelings and my general inability to accept a compliment from this handsome man.

After we'd been seated and had ordered our wine and meals Edward asked me if I wanted to go first.

"Go first for what?" I asked, even though I had a feeling I knew what he was talking about.

Sighing, he ran his fingers nervously through his hair and took a large sip from his wine before continuing.

"Okay, fair enough. I'll start." He reached across the table and grasped both my hands in his never taking his eyes off of me. Taking a deep breath he began. "First, I want to once again say how sorry I am for sharing your information with Esme and Angela. It wasn't as if I planned to go in there and blab all about your personal problems. I actually only asked Esme if she knew how the place was doing and when she replied the discussion started and then Angela walked into the conversation-" Swallowing, he took a breath before continuing. "Anyhow, it doesn't really matter why it happened, just that I'm sorry you felt betrayed by me and I hope I can make that up to you over time."

Smiling, I thanked him for telling me what happened and while it didn't fix what he'd done, now that I knew Esme was his cousin's wife it made a bit more sense about why he was talking to her.

Taking a long sip of his wine Edward commented that he had something else to tell me. His eyes darted across the room and he blurted, "Bella, I'm a compulsive gambler."

Seeing my confusion he continued his tale of how he'd gambled away a small fortune the year he turned twenty five when his trust fund had come into his possession. How he ended up almost failing out of medical school because he spent so much time playing poker and taking trips to Atlantic City where he ended up in debt to a local two-bit hoodlum.

"I lost almost everything. If it wasn't for my dad being an esteemed alumnus from Columbia, they would have never let me finish out the year. And if it wasn't for Carlisle I probably wouldn't have had a chance to do my residency here all the way across the country. When I left it was with my tail between my legs, essentially penniless. My parents haven't really spoken to me since they bailed me out and shipped me off to Port Angeles. Carlisle made sure I met with the local gamblers anonymous group every week for the first year when I lived with them. Once I got back on my feet I moved into a small apartment near the hospital and have been doing pretty well since."

My mind reeled. I wasn't sure if I wanted to feel sorry for all he'd been through or to be angry for his assumption that his life was anything like mine.

I mean, he lost his money while someone stole mine. Two vastly different scenarios.

Our meals arrived just as he'd finished speaking, giving me a few minutes to mull over how I wanted to approach his confession.

"Edward, I- I'm not sure what to say to that," I said, pausing to think over how I wanted to finish the statement. "I guess, congratulations on your recovery or whatever you call it, but I'm confused why you think your life and mine are anything alike?" I decided to leave out any of my opinions of the differences.

Swallowing the bite of steak he'd just taken he looked mortified by my statement. "Oh, Bella I'm sorry if you thought I was belittling your situation. I only meant that I understood what it was like to start over. To swallow your pride and ask for help."

I could feel my face grow hot as the anger built up beneath the surface. How dare he even think he could relate to my life when he'd squandered a trust fund. Not his own freaking money but someone else's. Sure he'd had to ask for his parents help but they had the money to actually help him. Mine didn't have that luxury. They were barely staying afloat as it was without me asking them for a loan.

Thankfully I remembered the trick Alistair taught to me and counted to twenty before replying, not wanting my anger to outweigh my words.

"I appreciate you telling me your story Edward and yes, while you may know what it is like to be vulnerable and to be essentially penniless I however, am in fact completely penniless. I don't have rich parents to turn to. I don't have a trust fund to squander away. What I have is my store. That's it. And I may not even be able to keep that for long depending on how the meeting with the bank goes on Tuesday."

He sat across from me not saying a word but appeared like he was trying to choose his words wisely.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

We sat in uncomfortable silence for a while both of us just pushing the food around our plates instead of eating it.

When the waiter asked if we were finished Edward appeared so defeated as he nodded his head and asked for the check.

Before paying however, Edward looked up at me with watery eyes and apologized again. "I never meant to offend you. From the first moment I saw you when I went in to your store for a coffee I wanted to get to know you. Esme kept going on and on about how good your coffee was. She said the way to Carlisle's heart was through your French roast." His eyes had drifted over my head as he continued reminiscing, "But when you came around the counter carrying a big box, your hair had fallen into your eyes and you were about to trip over the corner of the mat by the door that had rolled up. I grabbed your elbow to steady you and when you smiled and thanked me…" He glanced down into my eyes, smiling wistfully. "I've been coming to your shop almost every day since then just to catch a glimpse of you. Even though Esme said you had a boyfriend, I couldn't help myself."

My mind reeled at his confession. He'd wanted to meet me for so long? I had so many questions running through my mind but only blurted one, "Why me?"

"Why you what? Why did I have a crush on you from the moment I saw you? Why?" Now it was his turn to get a little irritated. "God, it's like you don't see yourself at all. You're beautiful, smart, kind, and you have this laugh that floats above all the other din around you." Shaking his head he added, "You own your own company, Bella. How many people in their late twenties own their own businesses?"

His words, while were kind and meant to be uplifting only felt like a smack in my face at the prospect of losing the store I'd put everything I had into.

My tears pricked at the sides of my eyes but before I could lift my hand to wipe them away, Edward was already doing it for me.

Cupping my chin in his fingers he tilted his face and smiled broadly, whispering that we'd figure something out.

By the time the waiter had reappeared to see about the check Edward had said we changed our minds and asked for two decaf coffees and the dessert menu.

We closed the restaurant down that night talking, explaining, and discovering all the layers we hid behind and I'd come to the realization that we really weren't as different as I'd wrongly assumed.

A/N

Okay- so… Bella was being a little irrational there for a second, no? She did count to 20, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been, right? Leave me some love. Next chapter tomorrow!

Oh, and the story didn't make the top 5 fics of the week on The Lemonade Stand, but thanks to the 10 people who did vote. I really appreciate it. Sometimes I forget what a small fry I really am. I appreciate the nomination more that I can adequately express.