[Disclaimer] All things Twilight belong to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Hello my lovely readers. Thanks so much for taking the time to read & review my Bellice story. Your kind and encouraging words mean so much to me. They really manage to cheer me up when real life sucks. So thanks a lot for all of them.

This chapter is dedicated to MangekyoMasta510 for telling me that his story is one of the best Bellice stories she read. And to aquarius127 because her suggestion what Bella could do to Tanya made me laugh so hard.

**Chapter 20**

Little children have the annoyingly habit of asking a lot of questions. Some of them are easy to answer, some are not and some of them are just embarrassing. The last one my four-year old daughter had come up with a few seconds ago was one of the last two categories.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, honey?"

"Do you like Auntie Ali better then Auntie Rosie?"

I cleared my throat before I spoke up again.

"No, Lilly, it's just…well I don't like her better. I like her …in a different way."

God, how should I explain something as complicated as my current state of love life to my little daughter?

"I think I like Auntie Rosie better than Auntie Ali." She stated after a few awkward moments of silence.

"Why?" I asked her, glad that she had hopefully forgotten about the kiss thing.

"Because she gave me my Barbie house for Christmas and she has Fido."

Love was obviously a lot simpler when you were a four-year old.

I parked the house in front of the house and a shiver went down my spine when I remembered the awful things that Lilly had told me and Jasmine.

She has a key to our house….

Had the strawberry-haired bitch already been here? Checked how her boss/lover lived with this happy façade that he dared to call a family.

"Mommy, why do you kiss Auntie Ali on the lips?"

My face flushed three different shades of crimson red and I desperately tried to remember how to speak.

"Uncle Emmett kisses Auntie Rosie too when they think no one can see them." She continued cheerfully.

"Yeah, I know, sweetie. You see, sometimes adult people like to kiss each other. It feels nice, but you'll understand that better when you're older."

"But I want to understand it now."

I wondered if I should probably tell her not to tell anybody about me and Ali kissing, but I was too chicken to bring it up. It was probably only a matter of time until Lilly would accidentally slip…

"Lilly?"

"Yes, Mommy?"

"I'm really sorry that I didn't believe you about the witch. I should have listened to you better."

"Hmm,"

As soon as I opened the door Ali appeared in the doorframe and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I'm so glad that you're back, Bella." She mumbled and planted a soft kiss on my mouth. Her sweet breathe tickled my skin pleasantly while I nudged the tip of my tongue against her full bottom lip.

With a low sigh I finally pulled back, instantly missing the touch of her warm lips on mine.

"Went everything okay with Jazz? She didn't ask you anything that made you feel uncomfortable, did she?" she whispered anxiously into my ear.

I nodded my head and swallowed hard to keep the tears from falling again.

She seemed to notice it and pulled me closer for a moment.

"I'll explain everything to you later." I murmured so low that my voice was barely audible.

"Kay,"

Ali kneeled down in front of Lilly and twisted a wisp of her long copper curls around her fingers.

"Do you want me to braid your hair again, sweetie?"

"Yes, please! You make my hair so pretty."

A smile flashed over her pixie face and the warm tingly feeling in my stomach increased. I loved her even more for loving Lilly so much. It was so obvious how much she cared for her niece. Not in the same way Rose loved her, deeply but always with the slight hint of bitterness, because my child constantly reminded her of something she would probably never have.

"My brother sent you a pack. Do you want to open it? It looks expensive."

I shook my head and rolled my eyes in disbelief.

"Whatever it is, I don't want it."

She seemed relieved, and I took her hand in mine to squeeze it gently. My fingertips caressed her palm in small circles.

The doorbell rang and I went to open the door, never letting go of Ali's hand. I wished I never would have to…

"Hello Bella, happy birthday. How does it feel like to be old?"

"Hi, Emmett,"

"Fido!" Lilly called out cheerfully and wrapped her hands around the huge, russet-colored dog. He licked her face, and she wrinkled her tiny nose in disgust.

"Yuck!" she mumbled and wiped the slobber from her chin.

Emmett chuckled slightly and turned to Ali who had her arms crossed in front of her chest. Her caramel eyes sparkled feisty.

"You shouldn't tell her that she's old. It will probably make her feel bad."

"Oh come on, Tinker-Ali. I was just kidding."

"McCarthy, you know exactly how much I hate it when you call me that name. It's so embarrassing."

"Yeah, I know, that makes it much more fun."

She rolled her eyes at that and an evil smirk appeared on the face of her bear-like brother in law.

"I honestly don't know why my sister loves you. Sometimes you have the emotional maturity of a thirteen year old."

He sighed deeply and rubbed his chin thoughtlessly.

"I could tell you what she loves about me, but that would probably be quite useless considering the fact that you have zero interest in men."

"You're right about that."

"By the way…Rosie thinks that you're secretly dating Jasmine again."

"Seriously? What makes her think something like that?"

"Jeez, you know how curious she is. And you refused to tell her anything about the person…," he grinned at me again, obviously amused by the horrified look on my face.

"…who gave you the hickey on your neck; so she assumed that you're probably dating someone whom you didn't want her to know about."

"Emmett, please. There is no way, I can tell her about me and Bella. She wouldn't understand it."

He raised his hands in a placatory gesture.

"Ali, I've already told you, that I won't tell anyone. But your sister isn't stupid. The two of you can't hide your little affair…romance…relationship, or whatever you and Bella are currently having, from her and others forever."

"Don't you think that we already know that?" I told him and put my arms around Ali's shoulder.

"I hate that everything is so complicated. It scares me." Ali whispered and interlaced the fingers of her right hand with mine.

"You don't have to worry about Rosie. She might be angry at first, but she'll forgive you. Your sister is very protective of you and she wants you to be happy."

"Yeah, I know, but she wants the same for Edward too. Don't you think that will inevitably cause a conflict of interests?"

"Hmm…who knows? The thing is that your brother didn't really do a lot to make his wife happy. He's a crappy husband and an even lousier father, if you ask me."

I nodded my head.

"He told me that he wants full custody for Lilly if I'm going to divorce him."

He raised one eyebrow.

"That's a joke isn't it? There is no way he'll get through with this."

XXXX

I inhaled deeply through my nose and the delicious smell made my mouth water.

"Happy birthday, my darling." She whispered into my ear and hugged me tightly from behind.

I turned my head and my heart skipped a beat when her gorgeous mouth captured mine in a tender kiss. A low moan escaped my throat as the tip of her tongue slipped between my slightly parted lips to caress the inside of my mouth.

She smiled against my lips when she finally pulled back.

"I hope you're hungry." For you anytime…for good food…probably too, I thought secretly.

"You cooked for me?" I asked her while she pulled my hair over my shoulder to caress the exposed skin on my neck with her fingertips.

"Yeah, I did. And I want you to eat up everything that I made for you. I don't want to hear any of this weight loss crap tonight."

Her hands moved down my spine and stroked over my hips.

"In case you haven't noticed it yet…I really like that you're so curvy."

"Ali, you don't have to lie to me, just to make me feel better about my body."

"Bella, I would never lie to you, never. You are gorgeous…so soft and warm. I can barely keep my hands off of you."

"It's the same for me, when it comes to you, Ali. I just wished we had more time alone. It probably means that I'm selfish."

"Bella, trust me. You're far from being selfish."

"Lilly is still so confused about the whole Tanya thing. I shouldn't have let her stay the night with Rose and Emmett again."

"She'll probably feel saver at their house then here right now. And I'm glad, Emmett changed the lock. The whole thing is so creepy."

"Yeah, I know, but still…,"

Gently she put one finger on my lips to silence me.

"Stop worrying that much. Everything will be okay. My sister is thrilled when she gets to spend time with Lilly."

She sucked my earlobe between her teeth and nibbled on it. I closed my eyes and sighed when I felt myself relax under her caress.

"Would you like to see your second present now?" she whispered softly.

"Ali, you already cooked for me the entire afternoon. That's really enough."

She shook her head and the spikey ends of her hair tickled my neck.

"No, it's not. And I wished that I could give you a lot more than what I can."

"Ali, I don't care about material things. I've never had a lot of money before I got married. You care about me; that means a lot more to me than anything that you could buy."

"You're cute, Bella. But if you won't accept my gift, you'll make me feel bad."

"I can't let that happen, Ali. So can I see it now?"

She searched for something in her pocket. Then she closed the fragile silver necklace around my neck. The heart-shaped pendant felt colt against my skin.

"It's made of amber." She whispered kissed the sensitive spot right beneath my ear with trembling lips.

"The woman in the shop told me that the color of it is close to my eye color."

"It's really pretty. Thank you."

"It's meant to remind you that my heart is yours. No matter what will happen, it will always be."

Slowly I turned around and cupped her beautiful face between my hands.

"I promise to take good care of it." I mumbled, while I felt tears burning in the corners of my eyes.

Then I leaned down and kissed her full lips so lightly that I was barely touching her mouth at all.

She twisted her hands into my hair to pull me closer to her. I whimpered slightly when she sucked my upper lip between hers. The tip of her tongue nudged against mine and that touch sent something that was comparable to an electric shock, but way more pleasant through my entire body.

"I'm scared, Bella."

"Why?" I whispered and stroked down her jawline with my fingertips.

"Because you already mean so much to me, and I know that it's stupid, but I'm still so afraid to lose you."

"You won't. Don't you know that I love you far too much to let you go?"

"You love me?"

"If I know what love is, it is because of you…" I whispered, feeling a single tear running down my cheek.

Carefully she wiped it away with her thumb.

"Don't cry. You know that I like it better when you smile at me."

I cleared my throat and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs.

"So what did you cook for me?"

"Coq au vin, one of my roommates in Paris showed me how to do it. It's one of the few things that I can do apart from microwave popcorn."

She filled my plate and poured me a glass of a ruby colored wine.

Slowly I put a tiny piece of the chicken into my mouth. Damn it, it tasted even better than it smelled.

"It's so delicious. That's the best thing anyone ever made me eat."

A smile flashed over her face that made her beautiful eyes sparkle in different shades of gold.

I took her hand in mine and put it to my lips to plant soft kisses all over her knuckles.

"Will we have dessert too?" I asked her while I nipped on the wine in front of me.

She nodded her head.

"Twice," she told me cheerfully and touched my knee under the table.

"Twice?"

"Well, I made mousse au chocolat for you because I know how much you like chocolate and then…,"

Her cheeks turned into a bright crimson color and she stared down at her plate.

I put one finger under her chin to make her look up at me again.

"And then?"

"And then I'd really like to try the strap-on with you tonight."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

[A/N] The next chapter will probably be interesting to read, I guess. *smile* I'm pretty sure some of you had already forgotten about Alice's little toy LOL

As always, reviews encourage me to write faster. Until next time, take care.