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Word Prompt: Butter

Dialogue Flex: "Break it to her gently."

By six p.m. Charlie and I are en route to Uncle Emmett and Aunt Rose's house. I've been getting her excited all day…not that I really have to; she loves it over there.

We pull up and she's already wriggling like a puppy, desperate to be out of her carseat. "Wait for me!" I call, running after her as she shoots up the driveway.

Makenna answers the door with a grin. "Hey, Chuck! Want a chocolate banana?"

"Whatsa chocolate banana?"

"C'mon." She carts Charlie off with the practiced ease of The Older Cousin, remembering to throw me a glance. "Oh, hi Aunt B."

"Hey, Kenna."

They disappear, and I close the door behind me. "Rose?"

"In here!" she calls.

I find her with the girls in the kitchen, giving Charlie a paper towel to go with her chocolate banana. Yeah, that's a mess I'm glad I won't be cleaning up.

"So, you're sure you don't mind her staying the whole night?" I ask, as soon as it's just Rose and me.

She arches an eyebrow. "I offered, didn't I?"

Nodding, I set Charlie's Peppa Pig backpack on a chair. "Yeah. Okay, well, I'm going to head back."

"What time's he coming?"

"Seven-ish."

"Do you know where he's taking you?"

Charlie pops back in, grabbing my hand. "Are you staying, Mom?"

"No, baby. Remember? You're staying here tonight. Okay?"

She nods slowly, looking uncertain.

"It'll be fun," I say, kissing her cheek.

"So much fun," Rose adds.

"Okay." She grins, taking a bite of her snack. I think we're all in the clear until she tugs on my hand again and asks, "But is Edward taking you, Mom?"

"Taking me?"

"He's taking you," she repeats, glancing at Rose. Typical. I ask her to do something, and she doesn't hear me, but when it's not meant for her ears she suddenly has supersonic hearing.

Yeah - Charlie's all about having a sleepover until she discovers where I'm going. I suppose I've underestimated her infatuation with Edward.

"I like Edward, Mom."

"Me too. But -"

"I want to go, Mom."

"Not tonight. Mom needs a play date of her own."

"Mooooom," she whines.

"Stop it, Charlie." I sigh, hating that I'm actually feeling slightly guilty. I know I deserve time alone with Edward - time alone with anyone - but she's my baby and Mom-guilt is...just...ugh. The struggle is real.

"But I like Bennynanas."

"We're not going to Benihana. We're going to a restaurant that is boring and quiet and no good for kids." I give her a tight squeeze, ignoring the smear of chocolate it leaves on my t-shirt. "Okay? Auntie Rose has fun stuff planned."

"Uncle Em is gonna take you on the trampoline...and we might even roast marshmallows if it doesn't rain, okay?"

"Okaaaay," Charlie says.

I kiss her one last time, hug Rose, and escape, determined to erase my daughter-the-con-artist's pitiful pout from my memory.

I'm barely dressed when the doorbell rings. To be fair, it's my own fault I'm running late; I couldn't decide between the green dress and the blue.

Edward's expression when I answer the door tells me the blue dress was the right choice. "Wow."

Blushing, I roll my eyes and pull him inside. "Hi."

We kiss softly, and he pulls back. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yep. Lemme grab my bag..."

Tonight, the Aston Martin makes sense. Sleek and sexy, it navigates smoothly through the slowly darkening streets, quiet music filtering into our space. Edward's finger drifts up and down my thigh, giving me goosebumps.

"I really, really like this."

"Thanks." Jeez, I sound breathless already. I cover his hand with mine, halting his movements.

He smiles knowingly, flipping his hand and threading our fingers together.

"I think Charlie likes you," I muse after awhile, my mind wandering with the changing scenery outside.

"Yeah? I like her, too."

"You know what I mean. Likes you likes you."

He chuffs quietly. "She's cute, but a little young for me."

"Kids are smart, man. People think they don't know what's going on, but they so do. They understand vibes and situations even if they can't...put words to them. You know?"

He glances at me, nodding.

"She wanted to come tonight, but...I told her she couldn't." Shaking my head, I laugh a little, remembering. "She was kind of pissed."

"Did you break it to her gently?" he teases, side eyeing me.

"Charlie needs direct more than gentle," I say. "Anyway, it's good. She can do her thing and I'll do mine."

"Okay." He gives me the sweetest smile, making my heart skip a beat.

"I won't talk about her all night, I promise."

"Bella, you can talk about whatever you want," he says, squeezing my hand.

I nod, but I meant what I said.

Edward takes me to Campagne, a well known, but intimate, French restaurant in Pike Place Market.

"Have you been here?" Edward asks once we're seated.

"No, I haven't." I look around, impressed. "But I've heard a lot about it."

"Same here."

"Emmett recommend this, too?" I'm only partly joking; my brother has a penchant for fine dining and new foods.

"Pulled this one off all on my own," he says, slaying me with that panty dropping wink of his.

"Speaking of pulling things off," I begin, trying not to let my mind veer into the gutter with my unfortunate choice of wording, "you're the only guy I've ever met who looks good winking."

Grinning, he takes a sip of water. "Yeah? Who else has been winking at you?"

Mike comes to mind, but I mentally wave him off. "I'm just saying."

Dinner is, not surprisingly, fantastic. I allow Edward bites of my steak, which cuts like butter, and he shares his duck confit, changing my opinion on duck altogether. And as amazing as all of that is, our conversation is even better. I've long known about the connection between good food and arousal, how appealing to one sort of sense seems to spill into the other, but it's never been as sharply apparent as it is tonight.

We're going deeper, and we both know it.

"Ever thought of opening up your own business?" he asks.

"Not really." I shrug. "I have a couple of things going on independently, like that new client I told you about. But...I love working with Emmett."

"He loves working with you, as well. You guys have a good thing going."

"We've worked really hard for it. Mike, too."

"I know. I couldn't believe how far things had come when I got back. Em always downplayed it when we spoke."

"Sounds like Emmett." I smile, resting my fork down.

"It was a good investment." He drinks the last of his wine. "For everyone."

By the time we're ready to go, I'm comfortably full - physically, but also emotionally. It's been a really long time since I've been able to enjoy myself this thoroughly without having to cater to anyone else. I'd be lying if I said Charlie never came to mind, but I'm at peace knowing she's safe and sound. Rose promised to call if there were issues, and there haven't been any.

It's a subtle shift. Dessert's finished, and our conversation has come to a pause. Pushing my hair back over my shoulder, I catch Edward's gaze linger on my hand, and lower, maybe on the neckline of my dress. Our eyes meet, and I just know.

Edward takes care of the cheque, and then stands, extending his hand to me. I accept, for once enjoying the frantic pace of my racing heart.

Holding my hand, he leads me out of the restaurant, past wispy redheads with wandering eyes and a rowdy table of old men whose voices have been carrying the whole evening, and our ecstatic server, who just realized he got the tip of a lifetime.

The night outside is clean and wet, dark streets glistening with rain and neon signs softened by mist. Edward opens my door for me, and before he's even joined me I already know what he's going to ask, and what I'm going to say.

"Do you want to come over?"

"Yes."

will edward seal the deal?

will bella pull an amish stunt?

find out next time on "the bitter, the sweet!"

for real though.

xoxoxxo