I forgot to mention at the end of last chapter, there was a guest who reviewed chapter 21 and asked for an email to be sent to them whenever I update. I was not ignoring your request but Fanfiction does not allow for replies to guest accounts only those with sign on names and I do not have your email address and even if you put it in a review Fanfiction will block me from seeing it. I am not sure but I think the site only allows alerts to go out to those with sign on names with email addresses attached. You could always send me a PM with your email, thanks again for reviewing.

Disclaimer: The characters of Twilight are owned by Stephenie Meyer. The original characters, content and ideas of this story are mine.

Chapter 23

Complications

EPOV

I woke up feeling kind of melancholy, because today my girlfriend would be spending the day with her "friend" Jacob against my better judgment. I knew I had nothing to worry about, but it wasn't her I didn't trust, it was him that got up under my skin. We had talked some more about his three day visit and I had agreed to not interfere and to trust her judgment on this one. So as to not lose my mind and snap Jacob's neck I made sure I was scheduled to work for the duration of his visit that way my mind would be occupied with my patients and not what Bella and Jacob were doing. However I made it very clear to her that she was not allowed to visit with him at his hotel under any circumstance and in turn she made me promise to go out to dinner with him and her on his last night here, in which I very reluctantly agreed. Next weekend Bella would also be moving into her own apartment which will only be four floors up, but I can't say I'm happy about it at all. There is a $1000 fee for breaking a lease before moving in which I offered to pay so that she could stay with me, but she refused and I just think it's silly for us to stay in the same building in two separate apartments when we will spend most of our free time together anyway. Bella's sweet voice broke me from my mental rant.

"Edward, your breakfast is ready."

"Okay, I'll be out in a second"

I got out of the bed, put on my boxers and headed to the kitchen where the smell of cinnamon and apples assaulted my nostrils. As I sat at the table I grabbed one of the freshly baked cinnamon apple muffins Bella had baked and she came over and sat a plate with eggs and bacon in front of me.

"How did you sleep?" she asked pouring coffee in our mugs and walking over to sit with me at the kitchen table.

"Pretty good until I didn't feel you in my arms anymore." I said smiling at her.

"You've managed to sleep without me for twenty eight years, I'm sure you'll survive." She said chuckling.

"How about you, did you sleep well?"

"Like a newborn baby." She said taking a sip from her coffee. "How are the muffins?"

"Delicious as always; why, do you suddenly doubt your cooking skills?" I said getting up and kissing her forehead before placing my plate in the sink.

"No, I was just checking"

I leaned back against the counter and folded my arms across my chest and chose my words carefully.

"So, what time will your… "friend" be here?

"His flight lands at 5pm, he should make it to his hotel at 6pm and we are meeting for dinner at 7:30pm."

"Yeah I know don't remind me, please."

"Remember, you said you would be good Edward."

"I am, I am… I just don't like you being alone with him."

"With him? You make him sound like a psychopath or something."

"No, just a man"

"A man that I am not interested in other than friendship. You are the only man I want." She said wrapping her arms around my neck and I pulled her close to me while kissing her lips which caused other parts of me to wake up.

"You should tell your boxers that it's rude to point." She said looking down at me and then back up into my eyes with her eye brow raised.

"Sorry love, that head has a mind all of its own."

Needless to say we ended up back in bed for another chart topping make out session before I had to get dressed for my 3pm shift at the hospital.

"So, I'll see you when I get home tonight?"

"Yes I promise I won't stay out later than midnight, okay?"

"I guess I can live with that." I said kissing her on her lips and then her forehead and heading out to work. The end of my shift at 11pm could not come fast enough for me.

BPOV

After Edward left for work I showered and washed my hair with my favorite strawberry scented shampoo. I picked out a pair of white linen pants and a lavender blouse that was sleeveless and draped in the front showing off my collar bones. I settled on a pair of cream open toe sling back sandals with a pearl necklace and matching earrings and bracelet. I wore more hair wavy and put on mascara and lip gloss for a natural look.

Jacob called at 5:15 to let me know he had landed safely and would meet me at the Olive Garden in Time Square at 7:30. As I sat around surfing the internet to kill time my cell phone rang and James' name appeared on the caller id. My heart rate immediately accelerated though in my mind I knew I was in no danger from just a phone call, but I chose not to answer and pushed his call into voicemail. The less contact I have with him the better. We were still waiting on him and Lauren to try and cash that last check they were holding onto which we expect to be by the end of the week, but for right now I would not spoil my evening with Jacob by allowing myself to get upset about how naïve I had been with James and Lauren. after sending Edward a quick text to let him know I was heading out and also that James had attempted to call me without success, I left to catch a taxi to Manhattan.

I arrived at the restaurant before Jacob so after requesting a table for two in their non-smoking section I quickly went to the ladies room to check my hair and makeup. When I returned to the waiting area I saw a muscular guy towering over everyone else and instantly knew Jacob had arrived at the restaurant. As I approached him I swear he look like he had grown a foot since I had last seen him three months ago.

"Jake, you made it." I said as I approached him

"Hey Bells, I'm so glad to see you." He said pulling me into a tight hug.

After we were seated, Jacob began to tell me about all that he had been up to for the past few months and I also filled him in on the current events in my life. I even braved admitting my poor choice in friends with James and Lauren in which he shook his head and gave me a pretty disappointing glare.

"Since when have you become a party animal?" he said cocking his eyebrow "I knew moving to New York was a bad move for you, does Emmett know any of this?" he asked sounding pretty pissed.

"Well he knows about James stealing the checks from my check book and that him and Lauren are planning to take a large sum of money out of my account, however he does not know about the drinking and partying and it will stay that way, you got that!"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tell and let him rip your lover boy's head off for letting this happen in the first place."

"First of all his name is Edward and you will address him as such, second of all, I am a grown woman and Edward had no idea what was going on and when he found out he came looking for me."

"Looking for you? I thought you were staying with him?"

"I moved out into a hotel for a week, long story."

"Well I've got time so start talking."

"I met some new friends and started hanging out with them and thought it harmless to have a few drinks here and there to relax and try to get pass my parent's death. Turns out they were only hanging out with me for monetary reasons, well not Jessica. She actually looked out for me and gave me a heads up on James and Lauren being up to something, but it was Edward, Alice and Jasper that found out about the checks and alerted NYPD. END OF STORY, now can we eat in peace?"

"Who's Jessica?"

"She's one of Edward's receptionist and a pretty cool friend; I'll introduce you two before you leave."

"Well I'm just glad your okay. Other than that how has New York been?"

"Well, now that you asked… Edward along with the rest of the Cullens plus Emmet and Rosalie all chipped in and rented me a space for my bookstore/tutoring service as a surprise graduation gift and they have already purchased all the equipment I will need to start. That has pretty much been the highlight of my move here, oh that and… Edward and I are… in a relationship."

"What!" he said a little too loud to be in public.

"Jacob, lower your voice." I hissed at him.

"Sorry Bells, you just kinda caught me off guard with that one. I thought you two were just friends, at least that's what you told me."

"At first we were friends, so that was an honest answer at the time and to be honest we've only officially been dating for a couple of weeks although we've probably danced around the idea for a few months."

Jacob sat staring at his hands with his shoulders slumped and looking nervous.

"Is something wrong Jacob?"

"It's just we use to be so close and tell each other everything and now I barely know what's going on with you anymore. Don't get me wrong Bells, I'm happy for you and Edward honestly I am and though I would probably never admit this to him, I know he's a good guy and will take care of you, but I guess after all these years of being your best friend I will just have to get use to sharing you."

"Awww Jacob, you're still my best friend and you are not losing me. I know we haven't been in touch very much, but I am still here and always will be." I said placing my hand over his.

After eating and stuffing ourselves with pasta, I took Jacob over to see my bookstore and he offered to come work for me to help me out during his summer and winter breaks until he finished college, in which I ecstatically accepted. We walked down Broadway so that he could see Time Square and all the shops and finally at 11:15 he rode back to Edward's apartment with me in a taxi before heading back to his hotel. We had agreed to meet tomorrow morning for breakfast, which I hope would not upset Edward considering that was part of our daily routine. As I walked into the apartment I could smell Edward's sweet scent and as I approached his bedroom I heard the shower running. Deciding to join him I quickly undressed and made my way to his bathroom, which turned out to be a not so bright idea. When I pulled back the shower curtain, I had forgotten to announce my presence first, which caught Edward totally off guard causing him to slip in the shower and land with a nice thud while hitting his head on the back of the shower wall.

"Oh my God Edward, are you okay? I am so sorry; I should have let you know I was here before just snatching the shower curtain back."

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Edward said with pure irritation in his voice as he stood up, got out of the shower and grabbed his towel.

"I'll get you some ice" I said running out of the bathroom, I headed towards the kitchen, put five ice cubes in a small zip lock bag and ran back to the bedroom.

"Here you go, put this on the back of your head." I said giving Edward who was now sitting on the side of his bed with a bath towel wrapped around his waist the zip lock bag. "Edward I cannot tell you how sorry I am, I was just trying…"

Edward silenced me by holding his hand up with his palm facing me while holding the bag of ice to the back of his head with the other hand. When he finally looked up at me he had an amused look on his face and slowly his eyes traveled from my face to my neck to my chest where they lingered and suddenly Edward was smirking. At that moment I realized I was standing in front of him completely naked and I could feel the blush heating up my face. I immediately grabbed my shirt and put it back on along with my underwear before sitting next to Edward on the bed.

"You know, you don't have to try to knock me out to get me to sleep with you, I would willingly do it with pleasure." He said still smirking and I playfully slapped his arm.

"Ha ha very funny. You shouldn't tease me, because I feel bad already Edward."

"I'm just kidding love." He said pulling me close and kissing my cheek "I'm fine Bella really I am."

He got up off the bed and put on a pair of boxers before taking the bag of ice to the kitchen to empty in the sink. I went to the guest bathroom and took a quick shower before returning to Edward's bedroom.

"So, how was your da… dinner?"

"It was good, we mostly did a lot of catching up and I took Jacob to see my bookstore."

"Really? So what did he think?"

"He thought it was awesome and he even offered to come work for me on his summer and winter breaks until he graduates from college."

"Mmm, that will be interesting."

"Speaking of Jacob, he wants me to… um well… he wants to meet for breakfast tomorrow morning."

"No, not going to happen Bella." He said while crawling under the covers.

"But why Edward, it's just one morning."

"Bella, that's our time together, it's the only meal of the day that I am guaranteed to be able to eat with you."

"I know Edward and that's why I was thinking you should come with us and then you can see for yourself how sweet Jacob is."

"I don't know Bella if that's such a good idea, I'm not very good at putting on facades."

"You won't have to; trust me on this Edward please."

"I'll think about it and we can discuss this in the morning, goodnight love."

"Goodnight" I said as Edward wrapped his arms around my midsection pulling close to him.

I woke up the next morning to the shrill sound of Edward's home phone which seemed to ring forever. Edward reached over and finally grabbed the phone off the receiver on his nightstand.

"Hello" he said his voice thick with sleep and then suddenly he sat up. "Really, when?" Edward was getting out of the bed and walking towards his closet where he grabbed a pair of jeans. He then went in his drawer and took out a Nike t shirt that said "Just Do It". "No problem we will be on our way." He said before hitting the end button on the cordless handset.

"Edward, what's going on?" I asked confused by him scrambling to quickly get dressed.

"NYPD has just arrested James for trying to cash that check and we need to go down to the police department."

I quickly jumped up and went to my room to find a pair of jeans and a t shirt and I slipped on a pair of black flip flops. I quickly washed my face, brushed my teeth and put my hair into a ponytail before grabbing my purse to head out.

"I can't believe they caught him."

"I know I can't believe it either." Edward said as he opened his front door and then we both froze.

"Good morning Edward." Tanya said looking like she had just stepped out of a magazine.

A/N: I know what some of you are saying, what the hell is she doing back? But please keep in mind this is a Bella and Edward story. Please tell me what you think and leave a review, thanks.