I want a Mommy!
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. The plot, along with a few of the characters I add here and there belong to my ruthless muse.
Chapter Five
It had been a little over six exhausting weeks since he had held Bella in his arms at his nightclub Aqua. Since then, a dozen different things kept pulling him away never giving him enough time, he thought distractedly. Even now he was busy debriefing with Jasper and Emmett before he could retire for the night or morning as the case would be. It appeared that they were getting nowhere. The boys couldn't agree on how to issue a simple warning, it was late and everyone was on their last nerve, including him.
"Enough!" Edward hollered, intervening before Jasper and Emmett moved to swing at each other. "Fucking knock it off," he yelled shoving the two temperamental men away from each other. His voice taking on a cold edge that they both knew not question, "We're done here. Emmett, check in with Grant, compare notes; this isn't the sixth woman hurt at one of our establishments. Jasper, issue the Sixers a warning that if we hear so much as a funny whisper, I will stop their supply. Sam is sure they're the crew behind those young thugs that tried to push product into that fucking middle school."
"Sure thing, Boss," Jasper said.
"The Emerald Palace is on course; the old abandoned hotel that we're converting is in closing, it will be ours by the end of the week. Carlisle is hosting a High Stakes Night, twenty grand a pop for an entrance fee. Emmett, put some of your boys on it, I want it covered," Edward said pausing as he tiredly held back a yawn. He hadn't slept in over thirty hours and the jet lag was about to kick his ass. "My trip wasn't a failure, between the Chinese and the Irish, their history is nowhere near settled; so for the near future we will be playing middle man. Actually, I've arranged for the Natives to be their middle man in exchange for gold for which we'll be giving the Natives a small profit, but in turn, it will free our hands. It's five in the morning, all the other shit we'll figure out later. I don't want to see either of your ugly mugs until tomorrow," Edward said as they left his office and headed for their cars.
"Where to?" Antonio asked, pulling Edward's car door open.
"Bella's Corner Market," Edward said smoothly, pulling his black cashmere sweater over his head. He had been away for almost five days and he was ready to see her warm smile. He couldn't believe he had known her for six weeks; six weeks of courting her, but she didn't just immerse herself with him, she was fully committed to getting to know EJ as well. She'd stop by a few nights during the week and eat dinner with them, going as far as making him play at least one board game with them before EJ and her would disappear up the stairs. Many nights he would sit at his desk in his office across from EJ's bedroom and listen to her read to his child.
"Edward, what are you doing here?" Bella smiled brightly, surprised at the sight of her future husband waiting for her outside the store, her sore muscles quickly forgotten.
"I came to see if you'd like a ride home? I was in the neighborhood." He laughed, handing her a small arrangement of pink and yellow roses accompanied with daisies.
"The neighborhood, huh?" she asked, raising an amused eyebrow as she looked around the dark and silent street. "I'd love a ride, Edward, even if I think you're full of it."
"How was your trip?" Bella asked as soon as Edward slipped his arm over her shoulder.
"Profitable," Edward said with a dashing secretive smirk.
"That's good," Bella murmured softly, giving Edward a kind smile.
"Nanny Sarah told me that you two don't see eye to eye," Edward said with an amused grin, wanting to hear Bella's point of view on the matter.
"We don't." Bella's words were crisp and final. "Nanny Sarah made it nearly impossible for me to see EJ on Friday night, boiling down to when I had to call you even though Antonio and Elizabeth both told her it was fine. Then when I was tucking EJ in, she insisted I read Shakespeare to EJ even though we're midway through Hank the Cow Dog. Now there isn't anything wrong with Shakespeare, I love his works but EJ is five." Her words sparkled with passion. "So, if you think I'm going to be reading Macbeth instead of Harry Potter or the Magic School Bus, you've picked the wrong woman."
Edward tossed his head back and laughed. "I heard you went to the museum."
"We had a remarkable time at the Children's Museum." Edward grinned at the enthusiasm on Bella's face; he could only imagine EJ's. "We had a Happy Meal and played at the park as well. Are you coming up?" she asked getting out of his town car.
"Sure, I'm not supposed to pick up EJ until sometime after ten this morning," Edward grinned which turned into a frown as she led him into her building, up the creaking staircase. He gritted his teeth as he stared at the multiple door locks on the inside of her door.
Her place was clean, neat and tidy and she seemed to make the place work, it functioned nicely. Along one wall was her kitchen, the other her living room and on the wall opposite of the front door laid a neatly made cot, and a plastic three-drawer dresser.
"Would you care for some breakfast?" Bella asked moving over to her mini fridge. Everything was marked, labeled, organized.
"That would be delightful," Edward said sincerely, his eyes roaming over her monthly calendar, the days were marked with when bills were due and how much, her work schedule, and he smiled when he noted that EJ and he were penciled in. "You work too much," Edward said turning to look at Bella who was placing a few pieces of fried bacon on a plate.
"I have bills to pay," Bella laughed.
"Why doesn't that obese man help you lift those boxes?" Edward asked his jaw clenched, being concerned for another human being outside of EJ was unfamiliar territory.
"Todd is lazy; he does just enough to get by," Bella said with a shrug.
"Move in with me," it wasn't posed as a question more like a statement, a demand. He hated that she worked herself so hard, only to still live in such an unsafe neighborhood.
She laughed and turned to look at him as she placed a fried egg on his plate. "Wait. You're serious… You can't be serious," she said flabbergasted, placing the frying pan in the sink, shock overwhelming her.
"I am," Edward said. "You already have a room prepared for you. Give me a day and I'll have a car for you and make the arrangements for you to have your own debit and credit card issued to you. In the meantime cash should suffice."
"Edward, whoa, hold on," Bella said firmly. "I know moving in with you is inevitable, but Hon, what brought this on so soon, right now?" she said stepping into his body space, her warm brown eyes watching his guarded green ones.
Edward frowned, "You work too much, and this apartment isn't safe enough for you. It makes me uncomfortable, uneasy that you live here. I've come to care a great deal about you—your safety and health is a concern of mine."
"I don't know, Edward." Edward's jaw clenched in irritation at being denied something he was most unaccustomed to.
"I don't understand," Edward said slowly. "We're going to be married soon. I'm not offering you anything that isn't already on the table. Moving into my estate would settle this issue. I do not like where you work; did you know more than half of your coworkers have some sort of criminal background, and this building has numerous health and safety violations."
Bella sighed, she knew this was a battle she wasn't going to win. His honest concern for her was making her cave into his will. "Give me a couple weeks. My finals are around the corner and I'll turn in my two weeks' notices, notify the landlord, put in a change of address, and alert some of my family of the move."
"That sounds logical," Edward said rubbing his chin.
Bella chuckled a little relieved he didn't try to push the issue any harder. "Can we eat now?"
Edward chuckled at her before digging into his plate of cooling food, he noticed her eyes shooting to his, her lip biting and her fidgeting increasing, something was churning in her mind.
"Bella, you can ask me whatever it is that's brewing in that stubborn head of yours," Edward said, finally breaking the silence between them.
She blushed and laughed, "I'm that obvious, huh?" she asked.
"Very."
"I... umm... It's none of my business I understand, but I heard Nanny Sarah asking about EJ's mother and I realized that I am very uninformed. EJ very plainly told me, and I quote, 'I don't have a mom, never have,' when we overheard Elizabeth rebuffing Nanny Sarah's questioning."
"I was in my upper twenties and I was feeling the pressure to settle down and then there was Tanya Denali. She is the oldest daughter of my father's longtime friend and confidante. We were arranged and I will admit I had little to no time for her. She was beautiful but crazy. I proposed like expected after she became pregnant. One day, out of nowhere, she left claimed she had fallen in real love and I never thought…" he paused as if in pain, "I never thought to have someone check on her during her pregnancy with EJ. She went into labor two months early, brought on by an overdose. Thank the Lord that nothing caused EJ any kind of permanent damage. I had her maternal rights revoked and she moved to be with her family in Alaska," Edward said, the pain and guilt of his past mistakes slipping into his voice. He didn't tell her how he forced Tanya into a treatment center. How her rights were terminated in exchange for her life, with the stipulation that she never return to his city. "Isabella, she is never going to be a part of EJ's life. When he's eighteen he can make his own choices, but while he's a minor and under my care, she will never have the power to hurt him."
Bella sucked in a long breath, releasing it slowly she had knew, or at least subconsciously known, that whatever had happened to EJ's mother wasn't something pleasant but her heart twisted at the cold reality. Fury, anger and heartbreak washed over her as the reality settled into her bones, at how incredibly luckily EJ was.
"Thank you for telling me," she whispered, wiping a tear out of the corner of her eye.
Edward reached forward and pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her body, enjoying her soft fragrance.
"I am warning you now because eventually you'll meet my parents and family. I do not know how they will react to us. I want you to know that you are not replacing someone, you can't replace someone that has never been there, someone that will never be there. There are some things that can't be redeemed. Tanya lost her title of mother the moment she picked up that needle and harmed my child."
Bella nodded, she could see in his eyes that he meant every word he had spoken. Before she could respond, her phone rang breaking them out of the tension-filled moment.
"Hello," she said into her phone, her brow narrowing as someone breathed into the other end of the line. "Renee... Phil... I don't have any money to spare."
"Tick tock… goes the clock… your time's running out," someone whispered into the phone like a real creeper. Bella's eyes widened, frightened for a moment before she settled on a laugh.
"Stupid fraternity boys," she said placing her cell back on the counter. Word had spread fast on the small campus that she was dating the notorious Edward Cullen. A few had even been brave enough to ask her in person, but she heard the whispering and pointing and could feel their eyes following her.
"What was that about?" Edward asked curiously raising an eyebrow.
"Just a frat boy prank," Bella explained smiling down at their conjoined hands as he tugged her over to her couch, where he pulled her down next to him, wrapping her in his arms.
"I have a couple hours until I have to be anywhere. EJ is in the middle of a grandparent weekend and I can't pick him up until after ten, so would you mind laying here with me and enjoying the short-lived peace," Edward said using his green eyes to swoon her to his will.
"I'd enjoy that very much, Mr. Cullen," Bella said leaning into his embrace.
It surprised him how comfortable he was with her alone with no EJ as a buffer. How he didn't second guess himself with the things he shared, of the things he wanted to share with her. Being in her presence made him crave the intimacy her presence provided him. The laughter, the smiling, the flirtatious teasing, he wasn't sure when he had ever really enjoyed someone's company more.
Bella enjoyed the feeling of safety that Edward created inside of her. It scared her at how she felt at home with him and EJ, how they had turned her very lonely world and turned it on its axis. They remained there talking quietly until his phone rang sometime later.
"Hello?" Edward said answering his phone with a yawn. "I'll be there in a few."
"You've got to go. EJ, I assume," Bella said with a small yawn of her own.
"Yes," Edward said. "Can I give you a ride to campus?"
"You're spoiling me, Edward," Bella giggled and Edward chuckled as he watched her collect her books. He followed her out of her apartment, his eyes glued to her spectacular ass until they reached the curb where Antonio was waiting for them outside.
The ride was mostly quiet. Bella hummed to the radio as Edward's phone started to buzz and ding every few minutes.
"Would you like to come out after your classes end?" Edward asked after quickly silencing his phone, with the flip of a small switch so she'd have his full attention.
"I'd love to," Bella said smiling widely.
"Good… Andrew will pick you up from campus; just text me when you're ready and what building," Edward said stepping out of the car with her. It didn't escape his notice that he acquired a lot of attention–spectators. He didn't like how some of the men looked Bella up and down.
"Bella," he said stepping into her body space, eyes locked on her mouth. "Have a nice day," he said ghosting his lips over hers. He smirked as she stepped back grinning at him. "You'd better get or you're going to be late," he reminded her teasingly tapping his watch.
He waited until she was a good ways away before calling out very loudly, "I'll see you tonight, love." Edward turned and slipped into his car ignoring Antonio's knowing smirk. Antonio knew very well his boss was staking his claim.
Bella blushed deeply as Angela rushed towards her, her mouth gaping open. "It's true, the rumors; you're really dating Edward Cullen?"
Bella nodded not knowing how to tell her only friend in Seattle that she was technically engaged to the man.
Angela leaned in and looked around before whispering seriously, "Is he really a mob boss?"
Bella laughed, "Oh come off it, Angela that's just silly, it's the twenty-first century not the prohibition. He's just a businessman."
Angela laughed with her, "Okay, you're right… it's just what some of the boys have been saying."
"Then I'm glad I'm dating a man and not a silly boy," Bella said linking arms with her longtime friend and heading to class.
"A very hot man," Angela said giggling.
"Indeed," Bella giggled back taking her regular seat in the lecture hall.
Author Note...
Beta'ed by awaywithwords3
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