Disclaimer: Steph still owns everything.

Thanks to killerlashes and messynachos.

And to lie_2me and oscar519, you know why.

Thanks to all of you for reading, reviewing, reccing, tweeting, whatever it is - we're getting close to the end so thanks for sticking around.

Chapter 26 – Surprise, Surprise

As the light filled my hotel room the scent of vanilla filled my senses. The body resting beside mine was warm and soft, with tender hands that ghosted over my skin with just the slightest pressure. From the way her fingers moved across my chest and her light breathing I knew Bella was awake. I wanted to look at her, to see her sleepy eyes and rumpled hair. I wanted to kiss her pretty pink mouth and touch her body, to make her mine again.

Bella was in my bed.

We kissed last night.

She wanted to pretend things were simple.

I could see the surface with no chance of ever reaching it.

I was so in over my head.

I gently grabbed her hand to still it and held it tightly to my chest, over my tattoo and over my heart. She placed a small kiss on my shoulder and I felt a shudder roll through my body as it refused to obey my mind.

No.

I rolled over smoothly so that she was beneath me and pressed into the mattress, our legs tangled together as I rested part of my body weight on her.

"Hi," she said quietly, shyly. Her sleepy brown eyes were tinged slightly red around the corners and it reminded me of all the mornings I'd woken up to them. All the mornings we'd been a tangled mess of naked limbs, reeking of sweat and sex and love. That image and her pulling her bottom lip between her teeth caused my body to react in a way that made me really, really uncomfortable… in a really, really good way. I could feel the heat course through my body as I steeled my will to keep my mouth off hers, to keep my hands planted firmly on the mattress and nowhere else.

I dropped my head and made to lift myself from her but her arms were around my neck in a flash, holding me to her.

"Stay," she whispered, her warm breath against my cheek making my problem impossibly… harder.

"I can't," I replied, breaking both of our hearts with two small words. "You can't either."

"I know." She sighed as she held me tighter. I placed a soft kiss under her ear and pressed my forehead to hers. We stared until my vision went blurry and I was almost positive I'd gone cross-eyed. She laughed softly.

"What?" I asked.

"Your breath smells." She touched one finger to my bottom lip and I broke. Completely and utterly broke as I pressed my mouth to hers one quick, hard time.

I pulled away and hoisted myself off the bed, not bothering to meet her eyes as I jogged to the bathroom. I made use of the facilities and washed my hands, splashing some cold water on my face and trying to calm myself down. We had to talk. I needed all the blood in my thinking brain.

I dried myself and exited the bathroom to find Bella sitting in the middle of the bed with the comforter draped over her head and shoulders so only her face was visible. A soft laugh fell from my lips as I crawled onto the bed to join her. She opened the blankets willingly and covered me the same way. A wave of nostalgia crashed over me as I remembered that we used to spend summer nights like this as children. The four of us piled onto my bed, telling ghost stories or talking about growing up and how we'd always be together.

"So…" I said as my fingers traced a pattern of freckles on the side of her knee.

"Yep," she whispered back. I could feel her eyes on my face but I knew if I looked at her... everything would be shot to hell.

"I'm at a loss here, Iz."

"I know." Her voice was soft as she stopped my tracing fingers and laced her fingers with mine.

"Tell me what I'm supposed to do, please? How am I supposed to feel?" I pleaded.

"I can't, Edward," she said and I finally met her eyes.

I groaned and slipped my hand from hers so I could pull her into my lap, her legs on either side of my body. She snaked her arms around my torso and up to my shoulders, pressing herself against me, her head on my chest. I dropped my chin to the top of her head and sighed.

"You're supposed to know everything," I said softly. We were quiet for a long moment, just the sound our breathing and the traffic below filling the room.

"I'm going to tell James I need some time. I need to think about some things." She finally broke the silence and I felt my heart stop. What did that mean for us?

"Bella – I told you. Don't do this because of me. Because of what happened last night," I said, though it broke my heart to do so. Of course I wanted her to.

"Contrary to popular belief, Edward, not everything is about you," she said coolly as she pulled away and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Well, that's news to me." I shrugged nonchalantly. I had to. I couldn't let her see the hope that had bubbled inside of me. I didn't want it to burst.

"You're an ass, you know that?" She shook her head and gazed out the window.

"Yes," I replied and she laughed, soft and sweet.

"It's just… it's not about what happened last night. It's what's been going on for months." She turned back to me and slipped her arms to my neck and pulling my face to hers. "It's about us and our son and how I feel… how you feel."

I nodded and swallowed (though both things were difficult to do) then pressed my forehead to hers.

"I need to think about… everything."

"I know." I tightened my arms around her and she rested her head on my shoulder, her heart beating wildly against my chest. "Take your time," I whispered into her hair. I felt her nod, then the unmistakable warmth of tears falling onto my bare skin. Gently, I pushed her body away from mine and cupped her face in my hands, then kissed her tear-stained cheeks.

"Why is this so easy for you?" Her fingers made soft circles on my skin.

I thought for a moment, our eyes locked the whole time. She was right, I had the right to hate her, to be angry but… I just didn't care.

"Bella… you gave me the most precious thing I could ever ask for. And, as girly as it sounds, Masen makes everything better. He – he makes my world complete, you know?"

"Yeah," Bella agreed and tried to break from my gaze. I held strong though.

"I wish I could be angry. I do. But he's perfect. I've already missed so much time and… and being mad just takes away from what I feel when I'm with him."

"I hate this. I hate this so much," she whispered and pressed her forehead to mine. "I should have gone with you."

"We did what we did. It's like you said last night – it's time to move on."

Bella nodded and kissed me softly, slowly. I could feel it building when her mouth parted slightly so I gave her a gentle push away from me.

"Not like this."

BPOV

Edward was gentle as he pushed me away, but it didn't soften the blow to my ego. I felt blood rush to my cheeks as I extracted myself from his arms.

"Bella." He said my name softly as I crawled off the side of the bed, eager to leave.

"Bella, please." I heard him again as I entered the bathroom and closed the door to change back into my dress. I folded his clothes and brushed my teeth with his toothbrush. (After all, his tongue had been in my mouth a few hours earlier, so it didn't seem like that big of a deal.) When I opened the bathroom door I found him, fully dressed and sitting on the bed waiting.

"Come here," Edward said softly, and I complied. He wrapped his arms around my waist and gazed up at me with sad mossy eyes. "I want you. More than you could imagine. But Bella, I won't do anything while you're with him. I won't try anything… again." He smiled sheepishly. I kissed his forehead and smoothed his hair. "And I'll support you whatever you choose." Whoever you choose.

Edward's support should have made me feel better, but it didn't. As I left his room and traveled the few steps back to my own, the potential consequences of my actions settled in the pit of my stomach. They sat there, leaden and immobile, while I showered. They grew while I dressed and boiled as I made my way to my parent's room to pick up my son.

I'd cheated.

I was engaged, and I'd kissed another man, then slept in his arms.

No matter what the situation with James was, I knew that I'd had no right to act the way I did.

"Hi, Mama." Masen smiled brightly from the couch when I entered the room.

"Hey baby." I pulled him into my arms, breathing in his little boy scent and reveling in his warmth. "Did you sleep well?"

"I missed you." He nuzzled my neck and wrapped a lock of my hair around his finger.

"I missed you, too." I kissed his head.

"Daddy said he'll take me to get pancakes. Do you want to come?" He looked up at me with the same mossy eyes as Edward. I nodded and smiled as Edward came from Charlie and Sue's suite, carrying Masen's backpack.

"I packed his stuff. I figured we could leave after breakfast. I haven't talked to Jasper but he'll probably ride with Alice so it will be us three, that okay?"

"Fine," I replied as I watched him slip Masen's backpack over his outstretched arms. When Masen turned to smile at his father, I felt my heart stutter violently at the look of pure adoration on both of their faces. We said goodbye to my parents, Seth, and Leah (who promised Masen she'd be home for the summer in a few short weeks) and headed downstairs to load our luggage and have breakfast.

We'd just received our orders (Edward and Masen both with giant stacks of fluffy chocolate chip pancakes) when Alice and Jasper walked in, hand-in-hand. They sat and placed their orders, giant smiles on their faces. I watched Edward as he eyed his sister warily and felt his knee bobbing up and down against mine, causing the table to shake slightly. I gave his knee a quick squeeze and he turned to me, jaw tight and eyes wide.

"What's wrong with you?" I mumbled and he just shook his head.

I didn't have to wait long to discover what was bothering him. As Alice turned to ask Masen a question about his breakfast she brushed a strand of hair out of her face with her left hand.

A silver ring that had not been there the previous day glittered on her slender finger.

Edward dropped his coffee cup.

"Edward?" Alice turned to him, a concerned look on her lovely face. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"What the fuck, Alice?" He stood up quickly and Masen gasped quietly having never heard Edward swear or yell for that matter.

"Edward!" I whispered loudly. His eyes flashed from Alice's to mine and back. Alice glared at her brother for a moment before he finally sat down, defeated.

"You could have warned me," he said after he'd whispered a quiet apology to Masen for scaring him.

"It wasn't exactly planned." Jasper grinned sheepishly, looking utterly fuck-stupid in love as he held up his left hand to display a ring that was the twin of Alice's.

"When did this even happen?" I asked, as I racked my brain trying to remember the reception. I didn't even remember seeing the two of them there.

"Sometime after the cutting of the cake," Alice said as she smiled up at Jasper. Edward was still silent beside me, so tense he was practically vibrating. "There's a little chapel down on Third Avenue- I saw it when Rose and I came for some last minute preparations. I mentioned it to Jas last night and… well, you know."

"What are you talking about?" Masen asked, exasperated.

"Aunt Alice and Jasper got married last night. Just like Uncle Emmett and Aunt Rose," I explained to him, and smiled at my best friend. Edward remained quiet, the vicious stabbing of his pancakes the only noise he made.

"Ed, listen," Jasper started, but Edward held up a hand to silence him.

"No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted that way." He smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. Alice pretended not to notice and he continued. "Congratulations. I'm happy for you." Edward stood up and kissed her head. "I love you," he whispered, tossing some singles on the table before picking Masen up and turning to me. "Ready?"

I nodded, hugged both Alice and Jasper and followed Edward out of the restaurant. I nearly had to run to catch up with him and he had Masen almost completely buckled before I finally reached the car. He opened my door for me but left me to close it and slammed his own once he was in the car.

Edward started the car but made no move to leave. Instead he leaned his head against the leather seats and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands. I pulled his hands from his face and he looked at me with sad green eyes. I was tired of seeing sad eyes.

"Are you alright?" I asked, quietly enough that Masen couldn't hear me. As if he were reading my mind, he glanced into the rearview mirror at Masen.

"I'm just… surprised, that's all," he muttered and I frowned. He wasn't surprised. He was hurt.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I rubbed my thumb over his knuckles.

"Yeah… thanks." He gave me a small smile and threw the car into reverse.

"He's a good guy. She's lucky to have found him."

"I know, Bella." Edward sighed. "It's just that – I thought things were better between us. I thought she would tell me."

"Maybe they really did have no idea. They haven't been together that long, you know. And Alice has always been impulsive."

"I know." His eyes focused on the midmorning traffic, and I didn't push the issue. It had been years since I'd been in the middle of an Edward/Alice fight, and I wasn't quite sure how I should handle one of this magnitude.

The rest of the ride was quiet, conversations with Masen filling most of the time. He was sad his Uncle Emmett would be moving out when he and Rose got back from their Alaskan cruise. He wondered if his new Uncle Jasper would move into Daddy's house with Aunt Alice (Edward blanched at that one). He was nervous about his preschool graduation, but Edward only had to remind him of how well he did in the wedding to calm his nerves.

"We should take a day off to visit kindergarten classes next week; will you be able to do that?" I asked as we entered Forks' city limits.

"Yeah, I can probably do Friday afternoon. I have some client meetings that morning," he replied; his voice was indifferent but I could see the excitement in his face. I suppressed a smile, glad something could make him happy today.

We finally pulled into my driveway and my palms started to sweat. I knew there were things I had to do today. Things that would hurt and I didn't want to do them. Edward brought my bags in and Masen ran upstairs to check on Jake while I stood helplessly in the middle of the kitchen.

"I'm gonna get going, okay?" Edward stuck his head into the kitchen. I nodded and he turned.

"Wait!" I nearly yelled at him.

"Yeah?" he asked warily.

"Can you – can you take Masen tonight? I um… I have to do some things," I said in a rush, hoping he would understand.

"Oh. Oh, yeah. No problem." He shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet anxiously. "Uh… good luck?"

"Thanks." I laughed quietly, though there was no humor behind it. He smiled and stood at the foot of the stairs.

"Weasel!" he called up to our son.

"Yeah?" I heard Masen's voice from the top.

"Come downstairs, you're going to stay with me tonight."

Masen hopped down the stairs and flung himself at Edward, excitement all over his face. He loved sleepovers with his dad. He quickly extracted himself from Edward's arms and hugged me tightly.

"I love you, Mama." He gave me a quick hug and I kissed him softly.

"I love you." I told him before he ran out the door and across the yard to Edward's car. "You boys have fun." I smiled weakly at Edward.

"We will." Edward returned my smile and kissed my head, then followed the path Masen had taken. I closed the door once they'd driven out of sight and leaned my forehead against the cool windowpane, trying to summon the courage to do what had been inevitable since the moment Edward had returned to Forks.

EPOV

"Do you think Mama is pretty?" Masen looked up from his drawing and stared at me with curious eyes. I kept my eyes on the plans I'd been going over and thought about how I was supposed to answer that question.

"Um… yeah, buddy. I do." I smiled and he nodded, apparently happy with my answer, and went back to his drawing.

"Is she pretty enough that you would kiss her?" he asked a few minutes later. "Uncle Emmett says you should only kiss really pretty girls."

"Yes, she's pretty enough to kiss." I rolled my eyes.

"Then why don't you kiss her?" He had set his crayons down and was staring at me again.

"I have, you know, a long time ago," I mumbled.

"Kiss her now!" he cried.

"I can't, Masen." I stood up and walked to the refrigerator to grab two juice boxes. I sat back down and handed him one, which he gratefully accepted.

"Why not? If you think she's pretty then you should kiss her. One day, I'm going to kiss Haley Newton. She's really pretty."

"I just – it's not – who's Haley Newton?" I tried to change the subject, as I was really not interested in arguing romantic politics with a four-and-a-half year old.

"She's Miss Jessica's daughter." He shrugged and went back to his drawing. Success.

"I still think you should kiss Mama."

Damn it.

BPOV

I gave a gentle knock on James' front door and stood back to wait. His expression was blank as he opened the door and stood back to let me in.

"Why didn't you use your key?" he asked as he took my hand and pulled me to him. He kissed me softly as his arms wrapped around my body. The gesture didn't make me feel safe and warm. It only aggravated and annoyed me, especially after he'd walked out on my brother's wedding.

"Why did you leave last night?" I said after he'd released me. He ran a hand through his sandy blond hair and gestured to the kitchen. I led the way, taking a seat on one of the leather-topped barstools at the island and waited. James poured us both a glass of red wine and took the seat across from me, his blue eyes glued to his glass.

"Things have been really busy lately, you know? I'm under a lot of pressure at the college with midterms coming up. I just felt like… I had other things to do than sit around and watch a bunch of people get drunk and then lose another day driving home."

"It was my brother's wedding, James. My brother." I took a long sip of my wine and appreciated the warmth that I felt from it. Liquid courage it is.

"I'm well aware of that, babe. This is my career and you knew that when we got involved."

"I didn't think you would bail on such a huge family event! The rehearsal was one thing, but the reception too?" I stood up from my seat and paced the length of the kitchen finally settling against the counter. "James, it's like you aren't even trying anymore."

"What the fuck, Bella? Of course I'm trying! You walk around acting like it's totally normal to treat Edward like he's a fucking god and you have the nerve to tell me that I'm not trying?"

"Jesus Christ, James. Is it that fucking hard to spend a few extra hours with my family instead of working all the time? What about Masen? What about if we decide to have kids? Will it always be like that?"

"I don't fucking know." He threw his hands up in the air. We were silent for a long moment, our eyes locked in a silent staring contest until I finally looked away.

"I kissed Edward," I blurted out and closed my eyes, waiting for his wrath.

"When?" he asked with muted voice, not sounding surprised at all.

"Last night. After you left," I told him as the guilt made its way to the surface.

"So… I leave and you throw yourself at him? Is that how things work with the two of you?"

"What? No! Of course not!" I cried, angry at his accusations. "I've never – we've never – it wasn't like that."

"Then tell me 'what it was like', Bella." He made little air quotes and it angered me more.

"I was upset. It just happened," I muttered as my face flushed. It didn't just happen; that was a lousy fucking excuse. He knew it, too.

James laughed loudly.

"That shit doesn't just fucking happen and you know it. He's probably been planning this, been fucking waiting for it or something."

"He hasn't! He wouldn't."

"He wouldn't what? Kiss another man's fiancée? Well, he did," James scoffed and I felt tears spill onto my cheeks. "God, Bella. I feel like I'm in fucking high school or something."

"I'm sorry," I said softly. "I'm sorry you're hurt but I don't know what you expect me to do when you're constantly running off doing God knows what and - "

"I'm working Bella!"

"I don't care! I don't care because this is my family and they're supposed to be your family, too. I support your career wholeheartedly but when it comes to anything like this, for me, you disappear!"

"Why should I make time for people who don't give a shit?" He threw his hands up and I scoffed loudly.

"Because it's important to me. You should care what I think." I told him. He glared at me and crossed his arms tightly over his chest, his silence telling me he knew I was right.

"I need some time. I need to think about some things," I said as I choked down the lump in my throat and looked away.

"Fine," James answered curtly.

"Fine?" My gaze was back on his, his face indifferent.

"Fine." He repeated himself with a shrug. Blue eyes burned into mine and I blinked away fresh tears.

"I'll call you." I turned around and walked hastily to the door, grabbing my purse and keys on the way out.

As the door closed behind me, I heard the unmistakable sound of shattering glass.

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