A/N: Short, sweet, simple: Thanks to my bad ass beta CereuleanBlue and my Team Fire & Ice ladies (and gents). Kisses to my readers and major bewb snuggles to you all!

Edward

"I know it was a bad idea," I said to Alice as we washed the dishes together. I'd promised Rosalie and Emmett I would leave as soon as my apartment was ready here in Forks and had decided to commute to work until I got everything in order.

"Well, you're confusing Bella, and she really doesn't need that right now. She's gone through enough already. You need to back off." I slammed my plate down into the sudsy water and backed away from the sink. Bubbles flew everywhere, even into Alice's hair.

"What is wrong with you?" Alice asked.

"I'm sick of people telling me to leave her alone. You, Emmett, hell Jasper is always on me about staying away from his girlfriend. Can't everyone just let Bella decide?"

"When Bella isn't around you, she can decide. You coming into the picture makes her doubt her decisions. Just stay away for a while okay?" Alice blew causing the suds that rested in the hair atop her forehead to fly haphazardly through the air in front of her.

"Why should I stay away?" I asked innocently.

"Edward, she's getting married," she replied, the exasperation evident in her tone of voice.

I stopped picking at a spot on my watch. "She's what?"

"Didn't you see the ring on her finger?"

I thought about it for a second. I'd never even noticed it until Alice said something. "I didn't… I just…" I stammered, unsure of how to answer.

"Edward, she needs to move on with her life… please?" Alice begged.

I felt the anger rise in my chest like bile, boiling and bubbling around my heart. "She's getting married to that carpenter? What the hell? Why didn't you tell me until now?"

"Because I knew you'd act like you still owned her. Edward, please just let Bella go for her and for all of us. This is getting way out of hand."

I reached for my cell phone to call Bella. I had to convince her to not marry him.

"Who are you calling?" Alice asked.

"Bella," I replied sharply.

"Edward, don't," Alice spoke gently, in a sharp contrast to my hotheadedness.

"Don't tell me what to do, Alice. I'm a grown man." The ringing in my ear was quickly replaced with the robotic sound of Bella's voicemail greeting. I slammed the phone shut with a loud snap. "Fuck," I yelled, reaching for my keys.

"Where do you think you are going?" Alice asked, worry filling her voice.

"I'm going to her house," I yelled back.

"It won't do you any good. She's not home."

I stopped again. "Where is she?"

Alice looked away. I walked up to her and grabbed her arms. "Alice, where is she?"

"She's on vacation with Jasper. Now, just leave her alone and get your hands off me." She struggled out of my grasp.

I ran my fingers through my hair. "I'm sorry," I said, trying to compose myself.

"Edward, I know you love Bella still, but she has to make this decision on her own. Give her some space. Please?"

"Fine, I'll do just that. I'll sit here with my thumb up my ass while that blonde bastard steals the only thing I've ever cared about in this world." I grabbed my keys and walked out of the house. I needed time to think and figure things out.

I drove around for a while, hitting the back roads that Bella and I used to drive around on for hours. I smiled as I thought of the day she accepted my high school ring to wear as hers. That led to an engagement ring and, finally, a wedding band. I looked down at my ring finger where it once sat, and a huge weight landed on my chest. I reached for my phone again and sent Bella a text message that simply said, "My heart is empty without you. I know you don't love me anymore, but I love you so much."

I hit send and threw the phone on the dash. I waited patiently for a reply that never came.

Bella

Getting away from Edward was probably the best thing I could have done for Jasper and I. As we sat across from one another at the bistro the concierge had recommended to us, I couldn't help but feel giddy. Jasper wore his hair tied back and smiled at me as I sipped my tea.

"So tell me, Ms. Swan. Since this is our time to "reconnect," how about you tell me some things about yourself that you've not mentioned yet."

I gave him a coy smile and said, "What kinds of things would you like to hear about?"

"Well you know, the basics. What did you want to grow up to be? How old were you when you learned to walk? Those kinds of things."

"Are we playing twenty questions or something?"

"Maybe," he said, flirting back.

"Well, I'm not sure how old I was when I learned to walk. I'll have to go back through my baby book when we get home to figure all that out. And as far as what I wanted to be when I grew up, don't laugh okay?"

"I promise," he said.

"I wanted to be a US Marshall." Jasper nearly spit up his tea.

"A US Marshall? Why on Earth would you ever want to do that? I can't picture you carrying a gun." He chuckled at the thought.

"You promised you wouldn't laugh," I said, putting my hands on my hips.

"I'm sorry, please continue," he said, wiping tea off his chin.

"Do remember the movie "The Fugitive" with Harrison Ford? The remake, not the original."

"Of course," he said.

"Well, one weekend while Charlie was out of town, his friend Sue came over to babysit me. I was around ten when it first came out, and I begged my dad to see it. He wouldn't let me even look at the cover of it when it came out. So the night she came over, she brought it to watch, and I was amazed. I loved Tommy Lee Jones, and every day from that point on, I was all about becoming a US Marshall. Dad thought it was cute, until he realized Sue had let me watch the movie. Then he was livid." I laughed at the memory of it. Dad had been so upset with Sue about that incident, over such a silly little thing as a movie.

Jasper laughed. "Well I always wanted to be a carpenter. Ever since I was little, I loved building blocks, and my parents just knew. My dad got me a set of Lincoln Logs when I was five. I got my first job at 16 as a grunt worker on a construction site. From that point on, I've always done it."

The afternoon lunch was beautiful. We talked more about our childhood and the things we missed from it. We talked about high school and how much our lives changed once we walked out that door. As we walked hand in hand back to the hotel, my phone buzzed. I thought I'd turned it off but accidentally left it on. I quickly put it into my pocket and tried to ignore the fact that Edward's name had popped up on the screen.

Jasper and I went back into the hotel room and sat down on the couch in the living room portion. I kicked my shoes off.

"I'm going to go take a shower, if you don't mind," I said as I walked up to him. I dropped my jacket off on the coffee table in front of Jasper as he flipped through the channels. I leaned down to give him a lingering kiss, which I thought was enough of a signal to let him know that I wanted him to join me. He smiled and said, "I'll be there in a moment."

The warm water flowed freely against my skin while I lathered up my arms and shoulders. I smiled as I thought of what it would be like to have Jasper doing this for me instead. I waited patiently, but Jasper never came into the bathroom. Just as I was about to get out, I saw him standing in the doorway of the bathroom in only his boxers with a very disturbing expression on his face.

"Why is Edward texting you stuff like this?" he asked, holding up my cell phone.

I couldn't answer.

Jasper

Seeing Bella enjoy herself for the first time in weeks had made me the happiest person in the world. It was so refreshing to watch her have a good time in LA, regardless of the things that had been going on with her dad. I wanted to bring up the wedding again sometime during the weekend, but I was scared to death she would shoot down the idea. I kept hoping she would bring it up again herself, but I hadn't seen any sign of it.

We spent the weekend shopping and enjoying each other's company, and it was at dinner that I realized that Bella was feeling more like herself. She was able to say Charlie's name, and it didn't seem to bother her as much as it once did.

So when Bella kissed me the way she did, I was ready to help her relax even more. I couldn't wait to feel her warm body against mine in the shower. It was so damn sexy just to see the water drip down her body.

After she shut the door to the shower, I stood and stripped down to my boxers. Then her coat pocket buzzed. As I reached down, a part of me said to just let it be; it was nothing. Another part of me, a part which I wished I'd ignored, told me to read it; no harm could come from it.

And I read it.

There was definitely harm in it. When I read the words, "My heart is empty without you. I know you don't love me anymore, but I love you so much," I saw red. I stood for what seemed like an eternity debating on whether or not to confront Bella about this. Half naked, I paced back and forth in the living room until finally; I said out loud, "Fuck it." I walked towards the bathroom.

I could make out the silhouette of Bella in the shower, so I waited patiently for her to emerge. Finally, the water turned off, and as the door slid open, I could see from the expression on her face that she knew something was up.

"Why is Edward texting you stuff like this?" I asked. She just looked at me, confused until she got it.

"I... I don't know Jasper. Really." She looked away, and I could tell she wasn't being completely truthful.

"You're lying Bella. I can always tell when you are. So what is up with Cullen?" I asked the question, even though I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answer.

"He's… he's not over me yet," she said, biting her bottom lip. She hadn't even put a towel around her yet. The water dripped from the ends of her hair and rolled down her body towards the floor. Normally, the very sight of her body would have driven me to distraction, but the only thing I could see were those words on the tiny screen of her phone.

"Do I need to take matters into my own hands again?" I asked, and she quickly shook her head.

"I know what you did to him last time. Let me handle it, okay?" Bella reached for her robe but I snatched it away before she could get to it. She came closer to me, and suddenly, the rage that had been building inside of me turned into sexual lust. I put my arm around her waist, hosting her up onto the counter in the bathroom. I spread her legs wide open and whispered into her hair, "You belong to me Bella, no one else. You are my honey, mine and no one else's." She gasped as my tongue trailed down her neck. She reached down, pulling my hips closer to her center.

"And you are my baby, and no one else's," she whispered back. Our lips met in a crushing blow as her legs wrapped around me, tightly. I entered her slowly, letting every inch search deep inside her. She let out a wimpier and a sigh. I slipped slightly out of her and crashed hard back into her again, nearly raising her off the counter top. I could feel her about to come as she started panting in my ear.

"Come for me Bella," I whispered back to her. She exploded all around me, and as she was coming down, I felt myself do the same inside her. She looked up at me, saying, "I think you should be more angry, often."

I smiled, "Well if Cullen keeps this shit up, you may just get that."

"Do me a favor though," Bella said as she stood up to clean off. "Give me some privacy. I don't go through your cell phone."

I nodded, "Agreed, but if Cullen starts anything, I'm going to be nosey all I want. I have to make sure nothing happens to my Bella."

She nodded and embraced me again. I rested my chin on the top of her head and held my Bella close.

Le sigh... more to come soon.