Just a little bit tonight. More tomorrow.

For my"Arms" readers: My plan for this weekend was actually to finish up the next/last chapter of Arms. Sadly, I'm just not happy with the last bit I've written for it and since it's so close to the end, I'm being particular. Please just know it's a huge priority for me & I AM working on it!

~Ginnie

Love…

~(~)~

She misses Edward's call because her father is hesitant to let her go after making her cry.

Charlie's so different now that he has a wife to attend to and, while it's nice to see him learning and growing emotionally, it's also annoying. She would actually prefer him to be oblivious most of the time.

Why couldn't he have been oblivious today?

With his words still echoing in her mind, she's almost afraid to call Edward back. Because what if Charlie's right? What if Edward really is still in love with her after all these years?

She never doubted that he still cared for her of course, and she still cares for him, too, but being in love with someone is sort of different than just caring for them. Okay, it's totally different.

And yet… is it really?

If she's learned anything over the years, especially in her vocation, it's how easily people confuse being "in love" with passionate feelings of infatuation or sexual attraction. She's even honest enough with herself to admit that, in the beginning at least, that's exactly what she did with Edward.

She may have called it love at first sight at the time, but when it was all said and done, she came to realize what she initially felt for him had merely been infatuation and powerful physical attraction. There was very little genuine love.

Love, she knew now, is truly as the bible verse states. It is patient, kind, selfless, enduring, and forgiving. It is the actions of those that profess it, more than it is their words. It is a choice, as much as it is a compulsion or a feeling. It is inexorably bound with respect and trust, and mutual admiration. And, if you are very lucky, love is what remains when all else falls away.

No one knew that better than Bella Swan.

No one that is, except perhaps Edward Cullen.

Packing up her lunch, she runs to the bathroom to freshen up a bit, taking a moment to look herself over in the mirror.

She's changed a lot in the last five years. Her cheeks aren't so round. Her hair isn't so long. She wears less make-up, but applies it with more skill. Her wardrobe is more daring, unlike her personality at the moment.

Don't be a coward, she tells herself, meeting her own eyes in challenge.

So what if Edward's in love with her? It's only Edward.

It's always only been Edward.

She returns to her office feeling a little more centered. There are just some truths that aren't worth fighting and she realizes, however belatedly, that identifying her feelings—and perhaps his as well—changes nothing between them. She's merely aware now.

Sitting back at her desk, she checks her agenda for the rest of the day before moving forward.

There's a new voicemail on her cell phone just as she assumed there would be, but she can't be sure it's safe to check it or to call him back until she sees what the rest of her day looks like. Fortunately, she has the next half-hour free to do paperwork; paperwork she can take home with her this evening if necessary.

She smiles then, and picks up her phone.

~(~)~