All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer; I just like to play with her characters.

No copyright infringement is intended.

HUGE thanks to darcysmom and twimom817 for beta'ing; Edwardsmyobsession1971 for pre-reading and huge HUGS to the three of them for their unending encouragement.

When You Least Expect It

Chapter Three

Hectic

The woman who interviewed me at the employment agency wasn't kidding when she said that the month of November would be erratic at best for Edward. Eric set me up with a calendar so I could keep up with things. Edward was doing promotions for his newest movie right up to Thanksgiving.

The first few days I worked since he'd gotten home were a learning curve. Edward was soft spoken and extremely polite. Just as I had been told, I found he was very laid-back and demanded nothing. He was a far cry from some of the celebrities I'd had the displeasure of cooking for in New York.

Most days he didn't get up before nine unless he was working. Some days he was hung over and had a hard time getting going and other days he was up and out of the house before I even arrived. I could see a lot of myself in him - sometimes he had good days and sometimes he had bad days – just like me.

If Edward was home, the only interaction we'd have was when he was eating. He'd ask how long until his food was ready and he'd sit down at the breakfast bar and play with his phone. Sometimes he'd make small talk which I liked because the sound of his voice was rich and soothing.

One morning in early November, Edward came shuffling into the kitchen – his hair disheveled – more so than usual. He was wearing sweatpants and a tattered t-shirt. He sat down at the bar and rubbed his face with his hands. Other than the noise he'd made upon entering the room, the house was eerily quiet.

"Good morning, Edward. Can I get you some coffee?" I asked softly.

"Hey. Actually, I'd love a cup of tea if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all. Do you have a preference? There's English Teatime, Coconut Chai, Spiced Chai, Orange Pekoe …."

"English Teatime is fine," Edward replied quietly.

I had just poured myself a cup before he walked in, so I grabbed a mug and reached for a tea bag. I poured in the water and handed the mug to Edward with a little plate for him to put his tea bag on.

"Do you need milk or half and half?"

"Milk, please, and sugar too."

I reached into the fridge, placing the milk on the counter in front of him before getting the sugar bowl and a spoon.

"Thanks." He smiled shyly. "It smells great in here by the way – what's for breakfast?"

"Oh … I made blueberry muffins. They should be about done."

"Thanks, Bella. I haven't had a change to say it yet, but thank you for everything."

"You don't have to thank me for doing my job, Edward. I appreciate the sentiment but the best thanks you could give me is an empty plate – then I know you've enjoyed your meal."

"You have yet to make sometime I didn't like. I know it's only been a couple weeks, but … yeah."

I looked over at my schedule seeing that he had engagements every day that week.

"You're busy this week …." I trailed off.

"Yeah … I'll be glad when this month is over."

I was all too familiar with the Starlight Saga books and the wildly popular movies that accompanied them. When they first cast Edward Cullen as Phillip, I thought it was a gutsy move on behalf of the movie studio. I'd seen him before in another movie franchise and had fallen in love with his character only to be disappointed when he was killed off. But now, Edward was beginning to promote the fifth and final movie in the Starlight franchise – Aurora Part 2. From the first movie, Starlight, Edward had made Phillip's character come alive along with his co-star, Lauren Welch, who played Phillip's love interest Ariella.

Lauren had been Edward's long-time girlfriend who admitted just four months ago to having an affair with Mike Ross, the lead actor of another project she'd worked on earlier in the year.

I didn't keep up with the news and tabloids – I only knew the basics of what they reported. With the craziness of my own life, I didn't have the energy to keep up with anyone else's personal life.

"I bet. Anything in particular you would like for dinner this week?"

"Something easy. I won't be back from my appearances until early or late evening depending on how quickly the tapings go."

"So … something you can reheat or maybe a cold cut sandwich and salad?"

"Sure, Bella. That'd be great."

After I pulled the muffins out, I made a list and set out to the store to pick up what I'd need.

Edward was on his way out when I pulled into the drive.

"Have a good day, Edward." I smiled as I carried the grocery bags into the house.

The rest of the morning was spent making a small pan of lasagna. I made the sauce from scratch as well as the pasta. I'd made arrangements for my dad to pick up Kaden, so I'd have plenty of time to get the lasagna into the oven while I cleaned up my dishes.

"It's so rare to see a chef doing all their own cleaning."

I gasped and turned to see Edward standing next to the bar smiling crookedly at me.

"Jesus, Edward. Please don't sneak up on me like that. Especially when I have a knife in my hand."

I placed my hand over my heart in a vain attempt to slow my rapid pulse.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I turned back to my task not wanting Edward to see the heated blush on my face.

"What are you making? It smells great."

"Lasagna. I thought it would be easy for you to heat up later."

"Yeah. That sounds really good, actually."

I didn't see Edward again for the rest of the week, and the next week he was off to New York for a whirlwind press tour.

The morning of the big premiere, I arrived early to find him sitting on the sofa in the backyard with a cigarette in his mouth and a whiskey bottle on the table in front of him.

He's having a bad day and it's not even eight a.m. yet.

Eric was sitting at the breakfast bar rapidly typing into his laptop.

"Good morning," I said quietly.

"Hey, B." Eric said without looking up.

I entered the kitchen, setting my keys and phone on the counter before filling the teapot with water.

"I already made coffee," Eric said dryly. "He won't drink it and he won't talk."

I sighed and thought to myself – it's not your job, Bella.

I pulled out my mug and another for Edward. Tea was a step up from whiskey.

"Is that for him?" Eric asked as I poured in the milk and added sugar.

I nodded.

Thankfully, I'd paid attention and knew the way he liked his tea. I pulled out some biscotti I'd made and wrapped it in a napkin and set it on a tray.

"Maybe you can talk to him," Eric mused. "You are slightly outside his inner circle and can offer an unbiased opinion."

"No offense, Eric, but my opinion is that it's none of my business. I was hired to be a personal chef not a therapist. I'll stick to what I know if you don't mind."

Eric sighed.

"I'm sorry, Bella. You're right. I worry about him you know? I worry that he needs some female insight from someone other than his sisters, Rosalie and Carlie, and his mom, Esme. You're a sweet girl, Bella, I thought you'd be able to provide some compassion."

I sighed in defeat.

"Yeah, I can do that."

I carried Edward's tea and biscotti out to the patio.

"Hey," I said softly. "I brought you some tea."

Edward exhaled a puff of smoke as I set the tray on the table in front of him.

"Thanks," He grumbled.

"Nervous about tonight?" I asked.

"You could say that, I guess."

"Want to talk about it? I'm a pretty good listener."

"Maybe … would you make me some breakfast and we can talk over breakfast?"

"Sure, Edward." I grinned.

"I'll be in shortly … and I'll bring this mess with me when I come in."

"Okay."

"Anything in particular you're hungry for?"

"Surprise me."

I decided to make Edward an omelet and I was just pouring the eggs into the pan when he came into the house. I'd shooed Eric off and set the breakfast bar with silverware and a glass of orange juice.

Edward silently sat the tray on the counter and disappeared up the stairs. He came back a few minutes later with a different shirt on and sat down at the breakfast bar. I slid his plate over in front of him and he smiled softly at me.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now tell me why you're so nervous about tonight."

I watched as he pinched his nose with his long, thin fingers before running them through his hair.

"Because I have to face Lauren again. I haven't seen her since … July."

He took a bite of his omelet and moaned quietly in approval. I remained quiet; allowing him to tell me what was bothering him in his own time.

"She hurt me. I loved her … so much. She was my world and she threw it all away. For what? A fling with a married man?"

Anger seeped out of every pore in his body. Four months later and the wound was still as fresh as if it has just been inflicted.

"Bella … what would cause a woman to do such a thing? Why?"

I waited quietly, not wanting to interrupt him until I was positive that his question wasn't rhetorical. He looked up at me with pained eyes. That was my cue.

"I … I don't know, Edward. I honestly don't know what the circumstances were. I can't tell you what was going on in her head."

"I was going to propose. I had the ring and I was going to ask her to marry me."

My heart broke at the anguish in his voice.

"Maybe she wasn't ready to get married, Edward. Maybe she knew it was coming and she panicked. Panic can cause even the most intelligent people to do stupid things. I'm not making excuses for her, I'm only suggesting the idea."

"Maybe … but why couldn't she just tell me that? Why did she have to humiliate me?"

"I don't know, Edward. She certainly could have gone about it in a better way, make no mistake about that."

He nodded and took another bite of his breakfast.

"You're going to be fine tonight. Walk the carpet with your head held high, greet your fans and do what you do best. Don't let Lauren take that away from you. You are a gentleman – you can be cordial and you know how to put on a mask and let everything run off your back so do just that. It's one evening. At the end of the night, you can come home and crawl into your bed and hide under the covers if you want."

"I can do that."

"I know you can."

"Bella?" He asked.

"I don't want the fans to feel sorry for me, you know? I don't want them to say 'oh, poor Edward'. But at the same time, I don't want Lauren's fans to think I'm a bastard because I didn't take her back."

"Did you end it?"

"Yes. I just couldn't deal with it."

"Do you feel happy with that decision?"

"Yes. I mean, I do miss her but I was with her for four years for fuck's sake."

"I get it. I don't think the fans will feel sorry for you. Hopefully they'll be supportive and that's a good thing. Starlight is done now – give them some good memories to think about walking away from this and hopefully take them with you to your other projects."

He looked over at me and grinned his signature lopsided grin.

"You're pretty smart, ya know that?"

"Nah … I just know a little bit about heartache and how to pick yourself up and move on, that's all."

Edward piqued his eyebrow at me but I skillfully slid off the barstool and began to clean up my mess. I was at the sink rinsing off utensils when I felt Edward beside me.

"I know we don't have a whole lot of time today, but if you ever want to talk, I'm a pretty good listener."

I couldn't help but crack a smile as he threw my words back at me. I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to talk to him about my issues but I knew full well that opening up to him a little bit could only help build our relationship. After all, he'd trusted me enough to open up and talk.

"Sure, Edward. Thank you. I may take you up on that when you don't have to get all dolled up and run off to a movie premiere."

"I am not getting all dolled up," He huffed.

I watched as Eric directed two men with suits in their hands upstairs.

"Edward … you'll have to come choose which suit you want to wear tonight." Eric said from the entryway.

"Sure … I'll be right up."

"See?" I asked. "You have to get dolled up."

He shook his head and smiled at me.

"I'll get you for that, Bella."

"Uh huh … sure you will,Cullen. Just remember that I cook the majority of your food."

"You wouldn't spit in something just to get back at me … you have too much pride in what you do, Bella," He shot back at me.

He turned and left the room leaving my mind spinning in his wake.

A/N: So what do you think of Bella and Edward so far? Leave me a review, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Next week we'll hear from Edward! =D

To a couple of my lovely readers: – your pm's are turned off but thanks for reading and taking the time to review!

Katieleo - I'd love to know where this was recc'd at so I can give thanks where it's due.

Papierneersatzwelt – I'm glad you're intrigued and hope you enjoy the rest.