"Follow me, then." I said, sliding into my truck.

"I love your truck, Bella," James said, kicking the tire. "It has personality."

"Thanks, Uncle James," I replied, watching him mount his motorcycle, Victoria getting on behind him. We drove off, and I checked my rearview mirror every few minutes to check and see if they were still there. Vicky waved every time. I smiled. I had never had an Aunt or Uncle, both of my parents were only children, and it felt good to have family, even if they weren't related. We pulled into the parking lot of my upscale apartment building, and I was surprised to see Rose's BMW and Emmett's Jeep along with Edward's Volvo.

"Ready to do this, sugar?" Vicky asked, grinning down at me. I noticed she was wearing a poofy yellow skirt, a black tank top covered with a camouflage linen shirt, unbuttoned, of course, and high heeled combat boots. James' jeans were ripped across the knees, and his t-shirt said 'Mess With Her and I Kill You'. It was pretty bomb. There was a black bandanna around his head, and he had a piercing in his left ear, a shark tooth.

"Absolutely not." James and Victoria each grabbed an arm and dragged me towards the doors. "I can't do this," I whined.

"You will do this. We will be right here. So will Alice, and your sister. So chill out," James said, pushing me into the elevator. "What floor do you live on?"

"The top one," I muttered. Vicky pushed the button and I sulked in the corner. The doors chimed and I moaned. Stepping into the hall, I saw someone sitting on my doorstep. Two people. Tyler and his blond friend. "What are you doing on my doorstep?" They shot up, giving me terrified looks.

"We just- uh- wanted to see if-"

"Screw you," said James, glaring. "Get off the doorstep."

"Who's gonna make me?" Vicky stepped forward, next to her husband.

"You see these heels? You're gonna lose the ability to spawn if you keep standing here. My hubby here agrees with me, don't you, baby?" He grinned manically and they shot off down the hall. Then he stepped forward and pounded on the door. It opened a second later.

"Who are you?" asked Emmett.

"Let us in, Emmybear," I sighed.

"Bella!" came Edward's voice. He pushed past his brother and bundled me into his arms. "I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it, Bella, please believe me! I didn't know, I shouldn't have been so surprised; I shouldn't have acted so rashly, I should have let you explain! I never meant to hurt you, I swear, I'll make it up to you, Bella. Alice explained everything, I felt like such an ass, I shouldn't have said anything without knowing the whole story, I-" He said it all in between kisses bestowed upon my skin. My face, my neck, my shoulders, anywhere he could reach. I cut him off by dragging his lips up to mine. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and he hugged me tightly to him. I pulled away.

"Lighten up, Edward." Everyone laughed. Then, he saw James and Victoria.

"Who are they?" I smirked.

"They're my Aunt and Uncle." His jaw dropped. "Guys, meet Victoria and James. My Aunt Vicky and Uncle James."

"We have an Aunt and Uncle?" Rose asked.

"Sure do, Rosie," Vicky said, swooping in to give her a hug and whisper in her ear. Rose grinned.

"That's fantastic, Aunt Vicky!" Edward was looking a little green around the gills as James leveled his cold stare on him. He let go of me and backed away.

"Get right back where you were, young man," he snapped. "You're going to make it up to my niece for what you did, understand?"

"Yes, sir," he replied, nodding vigorously, obviously happy that James wasn't going to try to keep us apart.

"Want to stay for dinner?" Alice asked, bouncing excitedly. Vicky looked shocked as she gazed at Alice. Then, she turned on me.

"You never told me it was Alice Cullen!" she shrieked. I grinned nervously. "You never told me that you were modeling for the world famous romantic painter! How could you not tell me that?"

"I didn't want you to know that I was modeling nude!" I protested, and she choked.

"Nude?!" I nodded, and Edward cursed quietly behind me, glancing over his shoulder at James. "Don't look at my husband, pretty boy, it's me you should be scared of!"

"I'm scared," he said, holding me tighter.

"You'd better be." Then she turned back to Alice. "Think you can get my babe and I a pair of tickets?"

"On one condition," Alice replied, making Victoria nod. "Tell me where you got that skirt!" she screamed, grabbing it, gently, and examining the material.

"I made it myself. You like?"

"I love it! That is so cool!"

"I did James' shirt, too," she said, pointing. "Show off that sexy chest, honey, and let Alice get a look at ya." James rolled his eyes but did as he was told.

"Ooh, I think Jasper needs a shirt like that! Want to start a line? Talk to me, baby, I'll set you up. I have… connections!"

"Gimme a line, sugar, and you're on. Promote me, will you?"

"Keep making things like this and I won't be able to stop myself!"

"That's good. So, what are you having for dinner?"

It was getting late, and Vicky and James decided to head out. We exchanged hugs and numbers, then watched them walk out the door with the promise to visit soon. As soon as they were gone, they turned to me. I smiled, still wrapped in Edward's arms.

"Okay, spill. Who were they?" asked Jasper, shaking his head.

"Victoria and James," I said, laughing.

"They aren't really related to us," Rose said, making Edward start.

"Are you serious? I was freaking out for nothing?" he asked.

"Not for nothing, Eddie," I muttered. "They are rather protective of me."

"Who are they, though?"

"Vicky works at the diner I went to after I left."

"Bella…"

"Edward…" I sighed, mocking him.

"I'm sorry, Bella."

"I know. They just wanted to help teach you a lesson. Do you think they helped?"

"If by helping you mean nearly giving me a heart attack, then yes, I think they helped."

"Why would you get a heart attack from Vicky and James?"

"Hello? If they were actually your Aunt and Uncle how would they react to the news that their niece was modeling with a man, nude, in a romance series?" he asked, raising his brows and giving me a look. I looked up innocently at him.

"I never thought about that." Edward rolled his eyes.

"Sure you didn't." Alice came bouncing over.

"I love your apartment, guys. There is so much color!"

"Thanks, Alice," Rose said, sitting on one side of the couch and Emmett on the other. "We put a lot of work into it, didn't we, Bells?"

"Too much, if you ask me," I muttered, moving forward to sit on the coffee table, curling my legs up underneath me.

"There is no such thing as too much," Alice protested.

"Except when there's too much," Emmett whispered to Jasper, who snickered.

"Would you two be quiet?" Alice snapped. "We missed our appointment, thanks to shenanigans being pulled, so it's scheduled for nine AM tomorrow. Is that understood?" she asked, glaring at me, and then turning to Edward.

"Yes, Alice," I sighed, yawning. "I am going to go to bed, now, it's been a long day. See you all tomorrow."

"What about me?" asked Edward, quirking a brow.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Bella, Alice called, and she'll be here in half an hour to pick you up for your appointment with Esme," Rose called through my door. I rolled over and groaned.

"I don' want to get up!"

"Get up, please, I have fresh strawberries for you." I bolted up and pulled on clothes that I thought Alice would approve of: a pair of light wash blue jeans, a green polo shirt, and a pair of Converse. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and opened my door. Rose was on the couch with a cup of yogurt, watching the news.

"I'm out, where are my strawberries?"

"They're going to stop by a farmer's market on the way to Esme's," Rose said, her back still to me. I frowned.

"Thanks a lot, Rose. I could have slept in another ten minutes, but you had to go and say you got me strawberries," I muttered to myself. "See you later, Rose," I said, picking up my keys from the basket on the table.

"Later, Bells. Be good."

"I'm always good," I retorted.

"You almost gave your boyfriend a heart attack," she reminded me.

"He's not my boyfriend yet," I reminded her.

"Soon?"

"Definitely." As soon as I had opened the door exiting our building, Alice pulled up in her Porsche. I rolled my eyes as she rolled down the window.

"I knew that you'd try to leave without me!"

"I came down to meet you," I replied, opening the door and sliding into the leather-covered seat. "Take me to the strawberries."

"I'm hurt that you didn't even say hi to me," came Edward's voice from the backseat. I turned around.

"Oh, my apologies, Edward. I'll say it when I get my strawberries. Drive, Alice, I haven't had breakfast yet." She pulled out of the parking lot and down the street, heading for the part of town with the farmer's market. Alice and I chatted back and forth, talking about clothes and boys, totally ignoring Edward. When we got there, Alice bounced away as soon as she locked the doors, leaving Edward and I alone. I began to follow her, but was pilled back into a muscular chest that I had become very accustomed to.

"Bella."

"Edward." He turned me around and pressed a hesitant kiss to my lips before pulling back.

"I know what you were doing."

"What was I doing?" I asked, tracing up his arms with my fingertips.

"You trying to make me jealous by telling Alice how attractive that Jacob kid was," he replied.

"Did it work?" I asked into the skin of his neck.

"Irrevocably. I had to keep myself from proving to you that I was better than him."

"Oh, are you sure that you still don't have to prove that? I mean, his face looks so-" I was cut off as Edward lowered his lips and pressed a bruising kiss to mine. He pressed me against the car, and I lifted my legs around his hips. "Did you miss me?" I asked, panting, as he pressed his lips to my neck. He nipped at it before looking up into my eyes, his a mixture of emotions.

"I couldn't sleep without you next to me," he said quietly. "I was punishing myself for doing something horrifying enough to make you make me sleep alone." I traced the dark circles under his eyes with a soft finger.

"I'm sorry, Edward. You just made me angry. Maybe I shouldn't have gone that far."

"I deserved every minute of your punishment, Bella," he replied. "But I think that you need to be punished as well," he whispered darkly in my ear, making me shiver and my core ache.

"Edward…"

"Edward, put Bella down," Alice commanded, returning to the car with a rope bag in her hand. "I don't want any dents in my car." I blushed as Edward lowered me to the ground.

"Alice-"

"Get in, both of you. We have an appointment to make." Edward opened the door and climbed into the back seat, then allowed me in. We again took off, this time to the older part of town, where the museum was. The museum itself was a giant marble building, the steps flanked by massive winged lions, and the doors by life-size marble elephants. "Welcome to Il Palazzo Reale Museo D'arte, otherwise known as The Paladin History Museum."