Disclaimer: I still don't own. Missrebecca still rocks as my beta.

As Destiny Strikes

Chapter 4

Edward

What was wrong with me? I was a grown man, a physician, accustomed to clinically examining the human body. A pretty girl shouldn't affect me this way.

Yet, whenever I was in the presence of Bella Swan, I caught myself shamelessly checking her out.

When she had approached me after brunch, my eyes were again drawn to her chest. I couldn't seem to help it.

Was she hiding magnets in her cleavage or something?

She hadn't called me out on it this time, though, and for that I was thankful. I would have to find a way to control myself if I didn't want every encounter with her to be this awkward.

We had exchanged introductions and when our hands had touched I could have sworn I felt a shiver go down my spine from the contact. And not in a creepy way. It was almost like something connected in that instant and I had wanted to touch her again.

When she had said my name, I couldn't suppress a sigh. I had never thought my name to be all that special – it was just a name – but coming from her lips, it sounded all the more intriguing. Like her lips and tongue and breath caressed it.

And now you officially sound like a girl.

Lucky for me, she left after that and I took a few moments to calm my racing heart. I was too old to be this affected by a girl, with the sweaty palms and the nervous throat-clearing.

o.O.o

The bridal shower. Not my favorite event of the week. I was expected to attend and give a speech, and since it was in the middle of the day, I had to limit the amount of alcohol I could consume. Not that I was a heavy drinker, but I did like to enjoy a drink in my rare off-time. I reminded myself that I was here for my friend and sucked up any annoyance I felt about the gushing women, choosing to hang back and just endure. One thing I did enjoy about employing a wedding planner was that they always came with a registry, so I knew James and Victoria would like my gift to them – a set of hand blown wine glasses.

After Rosalie and I had given our cursory speeches, Bella rounded up the wedding party for some formal pictures. I felt myself listening closely to her instructions, wanting to make her job as easy and pleasurable as possible for her.

And I wouldn't mind making other things pleasurable as well.

She smiled at me every time our gazes locked and that caused a strange tingling to settle in the pit of my stomach.

When the party was winding down, I discretely sought her out, hoping to make some small talk in an attempt to get to know her better.

'Hi, Bella,' I said when I was standing next to her.

She jumped and grasped at her chest in surprise.

'Edward,' she breathed. 'You startled me.'

Apparently I had been a little too discrete in my approach.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to. Let me buy you a drink to make up for it.'

'It's an open bar,' she pointed out.

'Well, yeah. But…' I chuckled, drawing a blank as to a witty reply. 'Humor me?'

She nodded and I led her to the bar, ordering a Southern Comfort and Red Bull for Bella and a rum and Cherry Coke Zero for me.

'Really?' Bella giggled. 'Cherry Coke Zero?'

'What kind of rum do you prefer, sir?' the bartender asked.

'Malibu, please,' I answered, causing Bella to laugh even more.

If she hadn't been laughing at me, I would have appreciated the sound of it, so carefree and feminine. Until the little snort at the end.

'I'm in the mood for something sweet, so sue me,' I grinned at her.

'Fair enough,' she shrugged.

Handing her drink to her, we toasted and she glanced around the room.

'Quite the party,' I commented.

'Yeah, Alice sure knows how to put things like this together. She amazes me every time.'

'Do you always work with her?'

'I do some freelancing from time to time, but yes, we started this business together right out of college.'

'That's got to be great; getting to do something you love and working with a friend.'

'So what do you do?'

'I'm a pathologist at Cook County Hospital in Chicago.'

'And do you enjoy that?'

'Cutting up dead people?' I winked at her. 'Sure. At least they don't complain about being sick or in pain.'

She elbowed me softly in the side and muttered, 'Funny.'

We were quiet again for a few moments. On one level, it was still awkward, and I felt the need to keep the conversation going, my mind scrambling to come up with suitable topics to talk about. But on another level, there was a sense of ease between us, and the awkwardness seemed to have more to do with my attraction to her than anything else.

After a while, I leaned in and quietly spoke to her, 'You look pretty, by the way.'

She was wearing a silver-grey V-neck dress with a black belt emphasizing her slim waist. Over it, she had on a black cardigan with the sleeves rolled up. Her skin looked so soft; I itched to reach out and touch her, to feel that shiver once more.

She blushed, 'Thank you.' Then added, after turning to look at me, 'You look nice, too.'

'Did you get the shots you needed?'

'I did, thanks for asking. It's not that hard, though, with a couple as attractive as James and Victoria. I'm excited for the wedding shoot,' she admitted.

We chatted for a while, but just when I found the courage to turn on the charm, Alice called out to Bella.

'Sorry, Edward, I've got to run.'

'Wait!' I said as I reached out for her arm in an attempt to stay in her presence a little longer.

She turned to look me in the eye once more.

'Yes?' she hedged, stepping closer.

'Would you… uhm…' I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. 'Like to grab a cup of coffee later?'

Her smile was radiant.

'Sure! I don't know how long I'll be, though… Can I call you when I'm done?'

She took her phone out of the pocket of her cardigan and I didn't hesitate to punch in my number. She took it back, hit a few more buttons, and I felt my own phone vibrate in my pocket.

'So you know it's me calling you,' she explained, before hurrying across the room.