Author's Note: I'm trying to get this story finished as soon as I can. Hope you're still enjoying it!

CHAPTER 22: Bella's Day

I am shocked and speechless at this wonderful surprise that I didn't see coming. I normally hate surprises but this one I can overlook. The cast, my uncle, Jacob—practically everyone—even most of the crew who I have become friends with—are here in the villa. No wonder Alice was acting so strangely when we set foot inside the door. And why I'm currently in this dress right now, courtesy of my devious little friend. With all the recent events, I completely forgot about my own birthday—not that I'm always thrilled to celebrate it because it's always been a simple day for me.

"Happy birthday, Bella!" Alice squeezes me into a hug, momentarily shaking me out of my daze. "It was so hard to keep this secret from you and I'm glad you said 'no' to our picnic, otherwise I would have had to improvise," she whispers with a grin. I half-smile back at her, trying to soak it all in.

Not wanting to be rude about the set up, I hug her back tightly. "Thank you, Alice. You never cease to amaze or surprise me."

She holds my shoulders at arms length. "Oh, no. Although I would love to take the credit—this wasn't my idea." Her eyes are gleaming.

"What?" I tilt my head to the side, not quite understanding what she means.

Before I can get her to further explain, Aro approaches me. Alice glides out of the way. "My dear Isabella, happy birthday my beautiful niece," he hugs me then kisses me on both cheeks. "I am so happy you are here. I hate missing special occasions like this. You are like a daughter to me and I want to be there for every celebration and milestone you make." He gently rubs my arm.

A small lump forms in my throat. I really do love my uncle, although I rarely tell him so. He's always taken such good care of me whenever I'm in his care and I'm grateful that he still takes time out of his busy schedule to be there for me when I need him. "Thank you, uncle Aro." I also hug him tightly, holding back the tears prickling in the corner of my eyes. He rubs my back with a smile.

"Happy birthday, Bells!" I hear Jacob's happy and amused voice. It's Aro's turn to step to the side. It appears people are in some sort of line, scattered around the room waiting for their own chance to greet me. "Another year older," he says, putting a party hat on my head then hugging me, "What are you now? Like forty?" I scowl at him, hitting him playfully on the arm. He laughs. "Happy twenty-third birthday, best friend. I'm glad I could be here for it." He says more sincerely, giving me a light kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Jake." I smile back. "Glad you could be here for it, too. I think I'd miss you more if you weren't." That lump in my throat returns as I try to breath from the overwhelming surprise.

"Overwhelming, huh?" he says. I nod. "You never really celebrate your birthday, not like this anyway, but you deserve it. You deserve the best, Bells."

"Did you do this?" I ask, trying to steady my voice. Jacob smirks at me then looks behind him toward the crowd. I follow his gaze to the back. Standing in the corner, leaning against the counter with his hands in his pocket, stands Edward. He gives me a shy smile and holds his hand up briefly to say hello. He's not scattered around me like the others. He almost looks like a fly on the wall, trying to stay out of everyone's way.

"I think he's trying to save to best for last," Jacob whispers with a snicker. I blush immediately. I hold Edward's gaze, his soft green eyes staring into shocked brown ones. He looks away after a while and rubs the back of his neck. His smirk grows a little more as he diverts his eyes to the floor, looking slightly embarrassed himself.

More party-goers greet me and hug me. I stay in place because everyone is coming at me like rush hour traffic. Emmett picks me up off the floor for a bear hug, laughing. To my surprise, even Rosalie greets me without any sort of irritation in her voice. There are so many people hugging and talking to me that their faces begin to blur. I automatically hug whoever is around me, saying 'thank you' over and over again, and smiling to seem sincere. Edward's still plastered in the corner in the same pose observing me, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. When the crowd finally disperses into their own conversations it was as if they opened a pathway between me and the man responsible for this day.

My legs feel like Jell-O. I can't move nor do I try for fear of falling on my face and making a scene so early in the afternoon. And this short dress would make that incident even more embarrassing. The nervous look on my face practically says it all as Edward saunters in my direction. I swallow the nervousness lump in my throat and suddenly my mouth goes dry. "Happy birthday, Bella," he says in a quiet, almost sexy-like voice. Well, sexy to me, anyway. His voice alone sends a tingling sensation throughout my body.

I swallow again and grin. Because I'm in flats I almost feel shorter than Alice looking upward at him. "Thank you," I say quietly back. "Did you…do all this?" I glance around the room. No one seems to be paying attention to us.

He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck again. It's cute how nervous he is. "It's no big deal, I'm just happy you like it." I want to grab this man and kiss him like a crazy woman in lust. The party hat he's also wearing on his head like many of the guests is adorable. Sexy almost. My thoughts are running away with me again. I restrain my arms in an awkward fold in front of me to keep them still, more so, to distract me. Edward is the first to lock eyes again. "Am I also allowed to give you a hug?"

His words send another shade of red to my face. I nod hesitantly. There's an amused look in his eyes as he reaches over for a slow embrace, enveloping me in his arms. He smells of sweet cologne and Edward. I discreetly take in his scent, briefly closing my eyes with my cheek resting softly on his chest. He's wearing a pale short-sleeve, gray button down shirt. The first two buttons are undone showing his chest hair. My tense, nervous muscles begin relax as I hug him back; my hands sprawled against his shoulder blades. I can almost feel every muscle on his toned body flexing. His heart is beating nervously in his chest as is mine. "Thank you," I whisper.

"It was my pleasure, Ms. Swan," he murmurs near my ear, his breath tickling me, sending more tingling sensations all over me. He slowly lets me go, much to my disappointment, and places his hands back in his pocket as if he feels guilty for hugging me a little longer than everyone else. Alice is right. He does become more quiet and reserved around me. Why hadn't I noticed this before?

I'm back to fiddling with my fingers. "How did you know it was my birthday?"

He smiles shyly. "I heard Jacob mentioning something in the car, while you were passed out in on the way home last night. He was say about how last night's celebration on the beach would have to do for your birthday. He knew you had forgotten. He wasn't able to plan anything since he was going to be busy packing and planning out his trip this morning. So…I went ahead and took it upon myself. I talked to Aro last night, too, if everyone could get a few hours off for the surprise celebration. I knew it was a slim to none request but I thought I'd try anyway. And he was actually more than happy to do so because he wanted to attend as well." His eyes grow softer as he continues to stare at me. I can't believe how quickly he scrambled all of this together. Well, I'm sure he had help, but still. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.

"If you two are quite finished," I feel Alice's hands on my shoulder again. She's standing behind me. "You have a cake to cut. And before it melts, too." Melts? She ushers me away from my sweet, beautiful Adonis to the kitchen island. I pout inwardly. I want to stare at him some more but I realize I have people waiting on me. Edward silently shakes his head at his sister, grinning quietly.

I stare at the cake before me with colorful candles, white icy frosting with fruits all around it, my name and the words Happy Birthday, Bella! written across it in beautiful calligraphy. To my surprise again, it's an ice cream cake. That's what Alice meant about it melting. I've never had ice cream cake before and the fresh slices of fruit surrounding it look delicious. My ears suddenly fill with a song, happy birthday sung to me by the crowd. Edward appears at my side smiling at me, singing as well. I gaze at him, not really caring who sees, as the song ends and I close my eyes, blowing out all my candles at once after my birthday wish. The guests applaud and cheer, Alice cutting the cake for me as I help her pass plates of it around.

This really is a great birthday. The ice cream cake and the fruits are yummy, cold and sweet in my mouth. Jasper arrives late but is still able to get a slice. He greets me just as everyone did before him and I am content with my friends and family at my birthday, celebrating it out of the country. And in Italy of all places! My uncle's friend, Marcus, who I also consider like an uncle couldn't make it so he sent his birthday wishes through Aro. After the experience on his yacht, I don't think I'll sail anywhere anytime soon.

"Bella…?" I hear Edward's apprehensive voice behind me. My muscles tighten at the sudden startle.

I throw my empty plate in the trash and face him. "Hi," I say shyly.

"Do you have a moment to go outside with me?" he asks with a grin. My eyes fully open for a moment when I see him extend his hand out to me. I slowly take it and let him lead me through the crowd toward the backyard. No one seems to care too much on where we're wandering off to. Most of them are still busy enjoying the food and conversations that fill the room.

Edward's hand seems so big around mine. I can feel the calluses that have grown below the creases of his fingers—from sports, perhaps—but yet still soft in its own way. He gives my hand a gentle squeeze and looks back to check on me. I swear he has mind-reading abilities like his sister. "You okay?" he asks softly. I nod timidly. Why is he taking me outside?

"Where are we going exactly?" I finally ask.

"Just somewhere we can be alone," he shrugs. Oh! I feel my blood creep to my cheeks again. "I didn't want to yell over the crowd for a simple conversation," he adds. Oh…I frown a little inside.

Once outside, I have forgotten there's a small pond with white marble stones encircling it with fish idly swimming about and small statues surrounding the greenery in the yard. Aro really likes flowers—aside from his vineyard—so the area is decorated in different assortments of flowers and bushes and the nicely trimmed grass beneath our feet. It's pleasant and warm still as we step out of the shade. The calming breeze is nice, away from all the noise inside the house. "I used to sit by the pond for hours just watching and sometimes feeding the fishes when I was younger," I say absentmindedly about the memories. Being out here brought me back to my childhood. Edward looks as if he's admiring me when I glance back at him. "What?" I ask embarrassed. I also can't help but smile at his gorgeous crooked smirk.

"Nothing. Just you and…your dress," he briefly glances at my bare legs and looks away, running his hand nervously in his hair. I try to suppress a grin. I already know my cheeks are pink. They have been since I saw him standing in the kitchen so there's no real point in not wanting to feel any more embarrassed that I already am.

"Thank you. Alice…umm…picked it out."

"Well, she did a great job," he comments, finally finding his normal voice. The expression in his face is unreadable. I wonder what he's thinking. I flush even brighter, tucking a strand of loose hair behind my ear nervously. I've never known anyone who can make me turn different shades in the red family so quickly. In one short stride, Edward is standing in front of me. I peek up from my lashes at him. "I have a present for you," he says quietly. He takes a small rectangular box out of the side pocket of his cargo shorts and hands it to me. "It's not much but I hope you like it." It was taped and wrapped in pale purple tissue. "I didn't have wrapping paper. Just the box…and that," he adds embarrassed, referring to the wrapping tissue.

I softly chuckle at his adorable attempt to wrap my little gift box, even though it wasn't necessary. The box itself would have been fine. Staring at it also makes me curious to what's inside but I didn't care. It can be a piece of his bronze hair and I'd still cherish it forever. Carefully ripping the tissue, I examine the box. It's a plain simple box, almost matching the color of the tissue he wrapped over it. Upon opening it, another wrapping tissue is inside. This time the color is white. I tear it open and find a silver charm bracelet with a single, round, flat ornate pendant hanging from it with word 'Bella' engraved. I look up at him again for the unbelievable gift. At the end of the bracelet by the clasp holds a stunning pearl.

"It's beautiful, Edward. Thank you," I marvel at it. He takes it from me and clasps it on my right wrist. He smiles at me as his fingers linger there longer than they need to. His touch is nice. I trace my fingers around the dangling pendant and notice the letter 'E' engraved on the other side. I look up at him in wonderment.

He runs his hand through his hair again, smiling to himself. He finally looks back at me, smirking. "Just so you know who it's from."

I look away, still so shy around this man. "Of course I wouldn't forget—especially coming from you." I cup the pearl dangling on the other end. It looks beautiful…and expensive.

"It's a Tahitian pearl, found in black-lip pearl oysters," he tells me as if he's read my thoughts once again. "It's also referred to as a black South Sea pearl if grown outside French Polynesia. That's where I was this morning—at the jewelers. I wanted to make sure the bracelet was perfect before I presented it to you."

A Tahitian pearl? Wow! This unexpected gift really blows my mind. "Edward, this is too much. It must have cost you an arm and a leg. I would gladly settle for a key chain that says 'Volterra' on it and still loved it."

He chuckles, shaking his head. He takes both my hands in his, caressing my wrists with his long index fingers. I want to wither under his touch but I try to hold my ground. "I can afford it, Bella," he smirks almost smugly, staring at me intently. Edward slowly pulls me closer to him. My mouth is dry again. His hands find my face, cupping either side of it, as I automatically place my hands on his waist. It's hard to break away from the longing gaze he's giving me, and I feel as if I'm under some sort of spell. Why is this man so dazzling? His lips slightly parts and so does mine. "Bella," he whispers and the next thing I know his soft lips are claiming mine.

After the seemingly long game our tongues are playing, we break apart for air—both breathless and softly laughing as we continue to gaze at each other, his forehead against mine. We're also still wearing the party hats, which makes us look even goofier. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he confesses.

"Really?" I'm surprised and blushing again. We kissed last night but this one is a lot more…heated.

"Really," he confirms with a smile, rubbing my cheeks softly with his thumbs. My heart is fluttering like a bird. "Probably since the first day you spilled water on me at dinner."

I cringe under his touch. That was such a horrible night! Our first official meeting and my clumsy fingers accidentally spills water onto his lap. "Still remember that, huh?"

He laughs. "Yes, I do," he says and kisses my forehead. "And as I recall, you still owe me for acquiring those strikes." A mischievous grin now plays on his face.

Two can play this game! I return the same expression. "And what exactly did you have in mind? You never did tell me."

Edward stands tall, almost stretching. He really is taller than I imaged, being this close to him I now can tell. "Have dinner again with me. This time somewhere more secluded, just us. Then maybe we can finally take that walk on the beach? No crowds, no agents and publicists, sisters, paparazzi, best friends, dogs, cats, fish—" he looks into the pond watching them swim about lazily.

"What?" I laugh. Was he serious?

He smiles and laughs with me. "Well, you know what I mean." He takes my hands into his again and intertwines one of our hands and we try our best with the other since I'm still holding on to the box the charm bracelet was in. "So…what say you?"

"I say, yes…" I smile back from ear-to-ear. I have to contain the giddiness in my bones. I want to jump up and down so badly, giggling like a school girl—but my cool, composed subconscious says that was a big no-no. We've already made a fool of ourselves enough times around this man. Something suddenly tugs at my mind after I've calmed myself down. And I contemplate on asking him.

"What's wrong, Bella?" It's easy enough to see the change in my mood.

"Nothing," I shake my head. "I just…"

"Tell me…" he coaxes softly, caressing my knuckles with his fingers. It's very distracting.

"I'm just wondering why…you like me…" I say almost inaudibly. The pink flush returns to my cheeks.

My words seem to have amused him because his smiles and kisses my hands. "You're cute when you blush." My eyes go wide and the famous shade on my face beams brighter. "And that's one of the many reasons why I like you. You're…very different."

I suddenly remember what Alice told me. "And interesting?"

The amusement in his eyes remains. "Yes, and interesting."

"I see…"

"I feel like I can be myself around you. Not Edward the actor, just Edward. Just…simply me. You actually make me feel at ease as if I don't really need to impress you. And we can talk about anything. The last time we had dinner, I really enjoyed myself and your company. Just talking about—whatever." He suddenly looks uneasy like something left a sour taste in his mouth.

"What is it?"

Edward squeezes my hands. "I'm sorry for the tabloid pictures. I didn't mean to sound so cold about it. I wanted to explain. I mean really explain but I was angry at myself," he whispers. I look away, letting my hands go limp in his. I frown on the memories. That was the day I realized I was in love with him. Something I can't tell him. Not just yet. This kind of feeling is still new to me and there's still Tanya and probably her wrath to deal with. Where she is, I have no idea. I'm just glad she's not here at this moment. "I…I wanted to tell you how I truly felt then but with everyone around and Aro abruptly asking if we were in love…I panicked. Then all those other events unfolded…Tanya arriving…and…" He trails off. He knows I knew what he meant. So much has happened since then. "I know I hurt you and I'm sorry. I should have made things better sooner but I figured…you wouldn't really want to be with a guy like me. Not with all the craziness in my professional life."

"Are you saying you're no good for me?" I gain the courage to ask. My heart is sinking. Is he already trying to end things with me before they even start? This wasn't the way I was hoping this conversation was going to turn out.

I feel the squeeze on my hands again. "I just want you to be happy…and I'm not sure if I can provide that for you. Being with me means you'll be in the constant eye of the public. Every little thing you do or say can be misconstrued to however the media wants it to be. I don't want the prying eyes of the world peering into your private life. And you might lose that with me. Privacy and normalcy will be nonexistent." I can see the pain in his eyes.

Edward's confession to me rings strangely familiar about how I feel about Lucy dating Aro and if she can really handle his famous life. Am I like her? Being the niece of a famous director never got me attention because I never sought after it. If things progress between Edward and I, will we be monitored like he and Tanya were? I remember almost every newsstand I saw had some article about Edward or her in it. There are more stories on them here in Volterra because this is where they are filming, and the small city doesn't really house that many celebrities to gossip about. I finally look up into his expectant eyes. I know he wants me to say something—anything.

Tucking the gift box underneath my arm, I step closer and cup his face like he did with mine. "I'm a lot stronger than I look," I say to him softly. "I know there's still the matter of Tanya to deal with but I know if I don't try, I'll always be wondering 'what if' and I think I've done enough wondering about you—about us—since I got here to last me a lifetime. Even if it doesn't work out at least we can say we tried, right?"

His green eyes give no hint to how he's feeling. Edward might still be processing my words. He slowly places his big hands over mine and caresses them with his thumbs in a very gentle, soothing way. Now it's my turn to want him to say something. His famous crooked smirk that I love so much returns to his face. "I've never been a quitter and I think my family will be disappointed in me if I did that now." My heart leaps into the sky bursting like fireworks. Edward moves his hands down to my hips, tugging me closer to him for another kiss.

"Bella? Edward?" we hear Alice's voice headed in our direction. Crap! What perfect timing. We drop our hands to our sides and stare at the pond as if that's what we've been doing this whole time. "There you two are…" she eyes us suspiciously. "Aro and everyone else are wondering where you disappeared to. It's time to open your presents."

"I'll bring her right in, Alice," Edward politely nods to his sister. I think she can tell we want just a few more minutes alone. My obviously flushed face should be the evidence.

She tries to suppress a smile. "Fine. But don't take too long. I don't want to have to make up any excuses on your behalf. You might not like what I may tell people," she snickers and winks.

"Alice!" I exclaim, turning crimson. She rolls her eyes and leaves happily enough.

"Shall we go back inside?" Edward asks, taking my hand. He means for us to walk hand-in-hand.

I smile immediately. "Umm…yeah. It is my party after all." He kisses the back of my hand and leads me back to my celebration.

Author's Note: Sweet isn't he? (hehe). More surprises to come!

Please review!