A/N: Thanks so much for hanging in there, guys. I love hearing from you all. :)

Betad by Michelle Renker Rhodes.

Most characters belong to S. Meyer. Major plot line belongs to J. Austen. The rest is me. Sorry.

A&A Ch. 30 (P&P Ch. 54)

The next day, Renee was as excited as she'd ever been in her life and it showed - much to the dread of her family. To her credit, she did actually try to offer some assistance to her two daughters as they prepared the New Year's Eve meal, but as her help was the type one was better off without, her daughter's persuaded her that she'd be of much more use outside of the kitchen.

Jasper and Edward arrived promptly at eight p.m. on New Year's Eve. Small talk soon followed in the family room, but just as the day before, Edward did not seek Bella out, and Bella, now determined not to let him see how much his indifference hurt and affected her, did not seek him out either. Instead, she busied herself with watching how Alice and Jasper fared with one another.

Unlike Edward, Jasper had apparently made it his mission to woo Alice this evening. He sat next to her, directed most of his conversation in her direction, and Renee made sure to help them both along every step of the way.

Bella could see that Alice was still wary when it came to Jasper, but she could also see the love Alice still felt for him, along with the concerted effort Jasper was making in pleasing Alice. It would probably take great effort on Jasper's part, but if he was really willing to make amends and to prove to Alice that he loved her, Bella was sure that Alice would eventually soften towards him again. Knowing that Alice's happiness would eventually be secured was the only bright spot of the evening for Bella, as her own hopes for love now appeared to be a thing of the past.

Now, Bella stole a glance at Edward to see if she could determine his thoughts on his friend and her sister. But Edward seemed to be keeping to himself, and his expression was one of complete indifference. His cool gaze suddenly met hers, and she gasped quietly and turned away.

When they moved to the small dining room for dinner, Jasper again took a seat next to Alice. Bella sat on Alice's other side, with her father at the head of the table, next to her, Emmett next to him, and her cousins on his other side. Edward was therefore left with the last seat at the other end of the table, next to Bella's mother. If Bella would've been feeling as unkind and ungenerous towards him as she'd felt just a few months ago, she probably would've found this to be a most humorous situation, as Edward would've probably preferred any other seat to that one. As it was, Bella was sure neither Edward nor her mother would benefit from the current seating arrangement.

Unfortunately, conversation around the table was sufficiently loud, and Bella was seated sufficiently far enough so that she couldn't hear the discourse that seldom occurred between Edward and her mother. But the few words that they did exchange were spoken coolly, as Bella could clearly see, and formally, with absolutely no smiles or warmth. Despite the fact that Edward was apparently determined to ignore her from now on, Bella couldn't help but feel indignation on his behalf. Her mother's impoliteness made the debt the family owed Edward even more painful to bear. At that moment, Bella would've given anything to be able to yell her and her family's gratitude to him from the highest mountain, in the highest voice.

Her thoughts were taking on a dramatic flair; she knew they were. It was almost funny how her love for this man had transformed her into a drama queen, something she would've never pictured herself as in her life.

Either way, drama queen or not, Bella had to speak to him. Somehow, she had to try to get a minute alone with him so that they could talk beyond the simple and mundane pleasantries that they'd done with so far. Anxious and nervous, Bella regarded dinnertime as a burdensome affair. The food tasted dry and bland, and she couldn't wait for it to be finished.

When dinner was finally over, Bella and her sisters cleared the table, and once clean-up was complete, Bella was alone in the kitchen, preparing a pot of coffee for dessert.

She heard slow, hesitant footsteps behind her, and when she felt his warm breath caress her shoulders, her heart rate accelerated furiously. Bella closed her eyes and stilled, waiting.

"Do you need help?" Edward asked.

Bella grimaced quietly at the trivial question, but didn't respond. "If that's all he says, if he says nothing else to me, I swear, I'll give him up forever," she thought to herself.

She heard him sigh behind her, felt his heated breath prickle the sensitive skin at her neck. Then she felt a hand wrap around her waist and tighten.

"Bella…"

"Bella, for goodness sakes, what's taking you so long with that coffee? Jasper is waiting for a cup!"

Edward's hand quickly dropped away, and she felt him take a step back, a cold shiver passing through her at the loss of his proximity.

He cleared his throat. "I'll bring in the mugs." When she turned around, he was walking out of the kitchen, mugs in hand, shoulders straight and stiff.

"Hmph!" Renee snorted at his retreating form, shaking her head. "What a waste of a perfect specimen." She then turned to Bella. "You're welcome, by the way," she grinned.

"You're welcome?" Bella repeated. "What do you mean, 'you're welcome'?"

"Well," Renee replied, looking at Bella as if the reason why she owed her mother thanks should've been plainly obvious, "for rescuing you from having to be alone for one second with that annoying man! What was he doing? Instructing you on how to make his coffee to his exact specifications?" she sneered. "Hmph!"

Bella glared at her mother. If it wasn't for her inborn instincts, which told her that striking your own mother was completely wrong, Renee would've found herself with five finger marks across her face.

Instead, she simply shook her head and scowled. "Oh Mother."

And then coffee pot in hand, she walked out, leaving Renee to the assurance that she would never understand her youngest daughter.

OOOOOOOOOO

As the hours wore on, the Swan household bade farewell to the old year and prepared to welcome the new one. Her cousins laughed and played with one another, Emmett and Edward took up the friendship they'd begun forming over the past few days, Jasper and Alice talked and laughed and renewed their own friendship, even Bella's parents seemed to have called a truce for the evening.

And through it all, Bella followed Edward around with her eyes. She was jealous of everyone he spoke to, barely had patience to serve the champagne that Renee had bought for tonight's celebration, and the entire time hated herself for being so stupid.

"A man who I already turned down once!" she scoffed to herself as she sat alone on the sofa. "Of course he'd think twice before renewing his affections! And after everything that's happened in the past few days, of course he'd decide the trouble was more than it would all be worth!"

So while on the surface Bella appeared to be as happy and cheerful as everyone else, inside her heart ached for all of the promise she'd once thought the New Year would bring.

She was so involved in her misery that she failed to realize that Edward had approached her and was now taking a seat at her side. When his thigh pressed against hers, her body shivered of its own volition.

He held out his empty champagne flute, requesting a refill.

Wordlessly, Bella picked up the bottle and served him another glass.

"Is Rosalie still at Pemberley?" she asked, unable to meet his gaze, acutely aware of the warmth of his thigh pressed up against hers. How she wished she would've worn that short skirt Alice picked out for her tonight.

"Yes, she'll be there through the New Year." His voice was soft and low. He adjusted his position, his thigh rubbing up against hers, and Bella had to repress her need to purposely rub her own leg against his.

"Is she there alone?" she inquired, staring at her champagne flute with the utmost concentration.

"No. Mr. Reynolds and his family are there with her. They often spend the holidays with us."

Bella nodded, unable to think of anything else to say. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, so close together, yet she felt like they were worlds apart. All around them, their friends and her family partied and vibrated with the excitement that comes with knowing that only one hour remains of the current year.

"Jasper and your sister seem to be getting along well," he noted.

Bella let her eyes trail to Alice and Jasper. They sat apart from everyone else in the room, at the dining table all by themselves. Jasper had his hand wrapped around Alice's hand, and Bella could see how he whispered something intently to Alice, his face close to hers. And though Alice stared down at the floor, even from the distance, Bella could see the way the corners of Alice's mouth lifted; she could feel the hope resonating inside of her sister.

Bella sighed. "Yes. I'd wager that Alice will be a lot happier in New York than she's been up to this point."

Edward said nothing, simply took a sip from his flute.

"Did you have anything to do with Jasper's return?" Bella dared ask, still refusing to look directly at him.

"I made…a confession to him, at Pemberley a couple of days ago."

Bella figured this must've been right after his return from Seattle.

"I told him things that, as one of my closest friends, I should've told him a long time ago, but I suppose he was so involved in his own happiness and then misery that he hadn't noticed. I also told him that I'd been wrong to assume that Alice hadn't really cared for him and that if he was really lucky and she still cared for him as she once had, and could now find it in her heart to forgive him, he'd be an idiot not to take the chance."

"And how did he take that information?"

"He was more surprised than angry, that is until I also confessed that Alice had tried to contact him when she'd arrived in New York, and Tanya and I had kept that from him. Then…" – from the corner of her eye, Bella could see Edward shaking his head ruefully – "Then, he was really pissed off at me. But Jasper has always been an easy-going, trusting sort of guy. I suppose it's why we get along so well. They say that opposites attract…" At that, Edward cleared his throat. "Anyway, his anger lasted about as long as it took him to lay eyes on your sister once more. Once he saw her again, well…he's been doing nothing but whistling and humming to himself since. He's a good guy; he just needs how to trust his own instincts."

Bella could hear the smile in Edward's voice, and it made her smile in return. Slowly, she turned to look at him. When their eyes finally met, she was captivated by the warmth in his gaze, by the inner and outer beauty that absolutely resonated off of him. How it had taken her so long to see, she had no idea. But perhaps she'd always been captivated by him. She'd just never known how to react to it.

"I want you to know how…grateful I am to you, for bringing Jasper back to Alice."

Edward held her gaze, but something seemed to shift in his eyes. Their warmth appeared to fade slowly, and he looked almost…disappointed.

"Bella, I don't want your gratitude."

Bella frowned, and was about to ask him what he meant, but then Lauren plopped down beside her, almost making her spill her champagne, and asked for a sip. And while Bella took a minute to explain to Lauren why she wouldn't condone underage drinking, Edward excused himself and walked away. The heat her entire body had felt at where they'd been physically connected immediately receded, leaving her cold in its wake.

OOOOOOOOOO

The merriment and festivities at the Swan household continued, and with the two minute count-down upon them, Renee quickly handed out hats, noisemakers and confetti to everyone present, and together with Ryan Seacrest, the entire household counted down the last ten seconds of the old year:

"Ten, nine, eight, seven…"

Bella looked around the house, and with the wistfulness that the last few seconds of the year always affords, she realized that though her family might be insane, she loved them and was grateful for them all.

She looked at Alice and Jasper, standing together hand in hand, and couldn't help the warmth and happiness she felt for them.

She looked at her cousin Emmett and thanked God for giving her one normal relative besides Alice.

And then she looked at Edward.

As if she'd called him by name, as soon as her eyes landed on him, he turned and held her gaze.

"Five, four, three…"

For two bittersweet seconds, she allowed herself the hope that perhaps the New Year might still bring the realization of hopes she'd never even thought she'd possess. And for those two seconds, locked in each other's eyes, it was so easy to believe that Edward was wishing for the same thing.

"Two, one, HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Throngs of cheers erupted around Bella while the old familiar New Year's tune rang out from the TV. Confetti floated in the air. Her father popped the cork on yet another bottle of champagne while Renee kissed him soundly, laughing loudly against his mouth.

Her cousins hugged and giggled. Emmett and Edward shook each other's hand and then pulled one another in for a one-handed back pat. Off in a corner, Jasper placed soft, tender kisses on Alice's mouth.

Charlie hugged Bella and then Renee, and her cousins, and Alice, and Emmett.

She received hug after hug, quick kiss after quick kiss, until it was finally Edward standing before her.

Time stood still for an eternity as they stood before each other. Edward placed his hands on Bella's shoulders, gripping her tight, and pulled her in. She closed her eyes…

…and felt his warm lips brush against her forehead. He held them there for a few heartbreaking seconds before she felt him pull away.

"Happy New Year, Bella."

A/N: Thoughts?

Hey, don't blame me for the way these two are acting. I'm just retelling the story in a modern setting. :)

Anyway, apparently my saying that there were only about three chapters left may have been underestimating things a bit. So let's just say a handful or so, shall we?

**SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT**: I wrote a little short story last month called, "OPEN RANGE," which is now being features as Fic of The Week over at The Lemonade Stand. Just letting you all know in case you want to head over there and read the review prepared by my good friend Cared, and give the story a read if you haven't already. :)

triple w dot tehlemonadestand dot net.

**SHAMELESS PLUG NOW OVER**

Twitter: PattyRosa817

Link to 'Stories by PattyRose' is on my profile page.

I'll be starting a completely new story after this is done, so if you're interested, you may want to make sure you've got me on Author/Story Alert. :)

Thanks!