Author Note: Thank you for the great response to this story so far! Glad everyone enjoyed part 1 of the book signing tour! Disliking Jane is one thing you can all agree on.
Thanks again to moosals for pre-reading. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.
Chapter 18 – Thank You
Once Jane has sat down with her lunch, she monopolizes the conversation, giving more or less a play by play of the signing. I drown her out at some point, opting instead to entertain Masen.
When we've finished our lunch, Jane makes sure that Edward has the address for the Barnes & Noble in Bellevue for the 3pm book signing. She's really worried that he'll get lost and be late, but I assure her that I went to college in Seattle and know where we're going.
Masen is asleep in his stroller by the time we head back to the hotel's garage to get Edward's car. This afternoon's bookstore is located near the Bellevue Square mall, on the other side of Lake Washington. Once we've arrived, we park in the lot out front, and I get Masen settled back in his stroller for our trip to Bellevue's Downtown Park.
"I'll be done at 5:30," Edward says, ruffling his son's hair. "Have fun!"
"We will," I smile.
The park is huge, so I let Masen out of his stroller once we get there, allowing him to run around as he pleases. I'm happy to see that the playground has a special toddler area, though Masen is still too young for much of it. Still, he seems to be having a lot of fun with what he can do. I take lots of photos on my phone of him enjoying the park, to show Edward later.
I'm pushing Masen in one of the baby swings when I hear a young girl shouting, "Mommy! I want to go play in the sandbox!"
"Do you want to play in the sandbox, too, Masen?" I ask. He claps his hands in excitement, though I doubt he even knows what a sandbox is, so I lift him out of the swing, taking his hand as I lead him over toward the little girl.
"Hi," she says, waving madly at Masen. "I'm Katelyn, and I'm thwee, what's your name?"
"His name is Masen," I answer for him.
"Mommy, look!" she shouts at the woman who's standing about six feet away and staring at her iPhone screen.
"Did you make a new friend, Katelyn?" she smiles.
There are a couple small pails in the sandbox, so Katelyn shows Masen how to fill them with sand and dump them out. He thinks it's great fun. I stand nearby taking more pictures, while Katelyn's mom continues to have her head buried in her phone. I make a mental note to ask Edward about putting in a sandbox in his backyard.
The afternoon with Masen goes perfectly — until I tell him it's time to leave to go meet his daddy. It's been a while since I've dealt with a toddler tantrum. He kicks and screams but I still manage to get him strapped into the stroller. No amount of telling him that we're going to see Daddy calms him down, so I eventually give up, pushing him down the pathway while he screams.
Thankfully, Masen quiets down when he can't see the park anymore. By the time we've covered the three blocks, he's as happy as he usually is.
Not spotting Edward outside the bookstore yet, I decide to go on inside. I easily notice his unusual hair color as he stands behind a table, talking to Jane. She's standing right beside him — a bit too close, if you ask me.
I push Masen closer, noticing Edward's eyes light up when he spots us. "Hey, buddy!" he calls. Masen starts bouncing in his seat, excited to see his father. I let him out of his prison so Edward can pick up his son.
"Did you guys have a good day?" he asks.
"We sure did! Masen didn't want to leave," I laugh. "Tonight I'll show you all of the photos I took."
"Awesome!" he smiles. "Jane and I were just discussing the plan for tomorrow morning. We need to be in Lakewood for the signing at 9:30, and she suggested allocating at least an hour to get there." I remember now that Edward told me his publishers had suggested getting a closer hotel, but he didn't want to pack up and move to a new hotel each night.
"So we go to bed early tonight," I laugh… realizing too late the impression I may have given Jane.
Once we're back at our downtown hotel, Edward and I decide to use the food vouchers his publishers got for us and have dinner at the hotel's restaurant, a burger bistro. I'm glad to see that they have those placemats where kids can color in a picture to keep Masen entertained, as long as he doesn't keep throwing the crayons on the floor.
"So how did it go this afternoon?" I ask once we've placed our order — and picked up the crayons for about the fourth time.
"Really well, I think," he answers. "There was a pretty steady stream of people, but not so many that I only had time to sign my name before moving on to the next person. I had a chance to spend some time chatting with everyone, which was cool. This morning I think we got more random people who showed up just because they were at Pacific Place and saw that something was going on," he explains. "That's fine too if it exposes my books to new readers."
"Do you enjoy talking to your readers?" I ask curiously. After picking up the crayons one more time, I take one of them to try and show Masen how it's done, coloring between the lines while I chat with Edward.
"Yeah," he smiles. "I like hearing their perspectives on my characters. I think maybe it's time to get with the current decade and start an author page on Facebook. My publishers actually wanted me to do that back when my first book came out in 2015."
"But you didn't?"
"No. I was working a full-time job then, with a baby due in a month. Just when things had calmed down enough that I could start thinking about it…" he pauses, shaking his head. "Once I moved to Forks, I wasn't really in the right mindset to interact with anyone."
"I'm glad that things are better for you now," I reply softly.
He nods, giving me a small smile. "They are. Your friendship has helped, so… thank you."
I smile widely as our server brings our food, effectively ending the conversation. I'm over the moon to hear how much Edward values our friendship.
After dinner, we go up to our room, where Edward takes Masen into the bathroom for his nightly bath. Knowing he'll be at least several minutes, I decide to make myself more comfortable and change into my pajamas before repacking my suitcase as much as I'm able.
I'm lying on my bed playing with my phone when Edward comes out of the bathroom. He puts Masen down for the night in the crib, then freezes when he turns around, his eyes raking up and down my bare legs. I don't really know what to do except let him look. I want him to look.
Finally, he turns his head, his cheeks darkening. I think… maybe… Edward liked what he saw, but I don't think he wants to. Maybe I should've bought pajamas with longer pants, but I don't like to be too warm when I sleep. I had no way of knowing that he's a leg man, but apparently he is.
"I should probably set the alarm for 6:30," he says quietly, digging around in his suitcase. "I don't want to be late because of traffic."
"All right. Would you like to see the photos I took today?"
"Sure," he agrees, coming to sit on the edge of my bed. I hand Edward the phone and he smiles as he swipes the screen.
"This was Masen's first time at a playground," he says wistfully. "I'm sorry I missed it."
"Oh, I'm sorry!" I quickly apologize. "I should've realized that he would've been too young last summer, and the weather has been too crappy this spring to visit the playground in Forks."
"It's not your fault," he replies with a small smile.
"He really didn't want to leave," I chuckle. "Full on toddler meltdown."
Edward winces. "Sorry about that. He's usually a pretty good kid."
"It's fine." I wave my hand. "I've truly enjoyed getting to spend time with him."
"Do you want kids of your own one day?" he asks.
"Yeah," I smile. "I love kids; I mean, I teach 6-year-olds! But I'm only 25, so I have lots of time yet."
"I suppose you need a man first," he muses. "I mean, you aren't dating anyone, right? I guess I shouldn't assume."
"I'm not dating anyone," I confess, a little surprised that he'd bring up the topic. Living next door, I think he'd know if I were dating someone.
"I haven't had a serious boyfriend since college," I continue. "Most of the men in Forks I've known all my life, since they were obnoxious kids. When I look at them now, it's hard not to remember them when they were 10 and putting frogs in my book bag."
He laughs. "I imagine it is a pretty small dating pool. I guess that's why all of the women I run into around town look at me like I'm some kind of magical unicorn."
That makes me laugh out loud. "The sister of one of the other teachers works at the Thriftway, and she had mentioned that you get a lot of female attention when you go shopping."
"Yeah," he admits, his cheeks turning a cute shade of pink. "I try to just ignore them, you know? I don't want to be rude, but… "
"But you're not interested," I finish. At least I can be glad that he doesn't seem to be interested in anyone else either.
"I think… one day I'd like to get married again," Edward confesses quietly. "I don't want Masen to grow up without a mom. I want him to have at least one sibling."
My brow furrows. "What about for yourself?"
"Masen's needs take precedence over mine."
"Yes, but… if you're unhappy, then you won't be at your best. You have to think of your own needs, too."
"I know that one day I'll be ready for… female companionship. There are days now when I'm lonely and think about how good it would feel to hold someone again, or to touch someone."
"You can do that, you know," I suggest gently. "It's been nine months since Bree died. No one would hold it against you."
"I would," he replies quietly. "I'm gonna get ready for bed."
He disappears into the bathroom and I sigh, setting my phone on the nightstand. It makes me sad to see Edward still so hung up on his dead wife that he's not ready to look at another woman, despite his own needs.
When Edward returns — shirtless again — he sits on his bed, first running his hand through his hair, then holding it in his other hand as he flexes it.
"So your hand does hurt from signing your name so many times," I tease him.
"Not just my name; most of the time I'll write a little dedication."
"Want me to help?" I suggest, nodding toward his hand. He raises an eyebrow and I stand up, grabbing my bottle of lotion from my toiletries bag, then sitting cross-legged beside him.
"Give me your hand," I direct softly. I squeeze some lotion onto the palm of his right hand, then begin gently massaging it.
"Where'd you learn that?"
"Nail technicians will usually massage your hand when you get a manicure," I explain, gently pulling on each of his fingers individually. "I'm just trying to imitate what they do."
"It feels nice," he says quietly after a few moments. "Thank you."
"Glad I can help," I smile, looking up at him.
Edward quickly averts his eyes, looking for all the world like he just got caught doing… something. I frown, looking down… and see that thanks to the way I'm leaning over, the front of my pajama top is hanging open enough that he could probably see right down it!
Oops. I swear that was unintentional. Really.
"Better?" I ask, dropping his hand… and pretending that I didn't notice anything.
He smiles, nodding. "I may need your help tomorrow, too."
"At your service," I grin, standing before moving back to my own bed.
Edward picks up his phone, then sets it back on the nightstand after a messing with it. "We should probably get some sleep; we have a long day tomorrow."
"All right," I agree. "Good night."
I've never been the soundest sleeper, and I'm awakened by a noise when it's still pitch black outside. It takes a few moments for my brain to catch up and realize that the noise is Masen crying. Glancing toward Edward's bed, I see that he appears to still be asleep, so I decide to get up.
Picking up Masen, only a cursory check is required to know that he needs to be changed. Thankful for the nightlight in the bathroom, I manage to find where Edward had set the diaper bag. I hook the handle over one arm, then fumble my way across the dark room.
I turn the light on in the bathroom, then lay Masen on a towel on the floor before searching for a new diaper. Once I've got him cleaned up, changed and re-dressed in his pajamas, I pick him up, carrying him back into the bedroom.
Of course, he's wide awake now. I sway him back and forth in my arms while rubbing his back, then begin singing to him, "Hush little baby, don't say a word, Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird…"
When I've finished the song, I glance at Masen's face, happy to see him fast asleep, his head on my shoulder. Very carefully, I lay him down in the crib, then stand there for a minute to make sure I haven't disturbed him.
Turning around, I'm nearly back to my bed when I glance over at Edward's bed to see him sitting up, watching me. "You're good with him," he whispers.
"I babysat as a teenager. My goal was usually to keep the kids asleep so I could do my own thing," I add with a grin.
"Don't underestimate yourself. I think you'll make a great mom one day."
I'm glad it's dark, so he can't see my blush. "That means a lot coming from someone who's a great dad. Thank you." I crawl back into bed, smiling as I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.
A/N: There's part 2 of the tour! Bella got to spend some quality bonding time with Masen, and Edward realized that she is in fact a female. He's still not over the guilt about moving on though.
Next update on Monday with part 3 of the book signing tour!