Hello, people!
Early update for the last chapter of this story.
I'll leave AN stuff for the bottom; I know you all want to jump in.
Bella's getting the last word today. ;-)
Chapter 51 – BPOV
The late June sun flooded my newish bedroom with honeyed light on an otherwise ordinary Thursday morning. Except, it wasn't an ordinary day for us—today was Edward's fortieth birthday.
Jazzed that I'd woken up before him—at the crack of dawn, more like—I'd stepped out of bed to make him breakfast. It was the first step in my plan to pamper Edward for his special day. But now, it was time to wake him.
"Good morning, birthday boy."
"Good morning, love. Thank you." He ran his hand through my hair, playing with the strands that fell on my shoulders. "What's with the smile?"
I gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, then explained. "It's the first of your birthdays we spend together."
He returned the smile and pulled me down toward him. "The first of countless birthdays, I hope. And no parties, please?" he begged, his exasperated expression firmly in place.
Em had been waiting for Edward's birthday to razz him about hitting the big four-oh, but Edward shot down his plans, refusing any and all ideas for big parties that Em sent his way. Edward couldn't get out of his mom's plans for this Sunday birthday brunch at the Cullens' residence, but even Em couldn't fault him for that. Those two big boys became big softies under Esme's loving but unflinching scrutiny, and they'd never dare contradict her.
"Not if I can help it. I've passed your directive to all and sundry. The rest is out of my hands. The guys are a bit disappointed, but they'll live."
He rolled his eyes and scratched his naked chest absently. Then he sat up in bed, and I moved with him, burrowing into his side. He glanced at me and pouted adorably. "You got dressed. Why?"
"Because I made you breakfast, silly."
"But …" His demeanor turned so boyish that my heart skipped a beat, and I bopped his nose for good measure.
"You wanted birthday nookie?"
"Well, yeah. Or not." He started out whiny, but collected himself when he glanced at the clock. "No time for nookie this morning. Rain check?"
"Yes, counselor. Your birthday gift awaits—well, part one of it."
He frowned. "What did I say about gifts?" His other birthday-related stipulation had been iron-clad. I wasn't supposed to spend money on him for his birthday, his reasoning being that spending the day and evening with me was enough of a gift for him.
"I didn't spend a dime on it. And breakfast is the most important meal of the day."
Edward narrowed his eyes at me. "You still look like you're planning something."
"Oh, I have a whole day of things planned for you. But everything meets your exacting requirements."
He chuckled, and his voice rumbled low and gravelly. "How am I supposed to get out of bed and go about my business when you talk this dirty to me?"
Two could play the game. "How about this?" I grabbed my phone from the bedside table, navigated to a browser tab I'd kept open, and started reading. "And I quote, 'Cullen seems to have enjoyed his stint at Cornell as visiting professor, but has given no indication of a future in academia. Industry rumors place him back in the office at CCM Legal, ready to return to his lucrative, cutting-edge regulatory and antitrust practice. The prominent Atlanta attorney is expected to attend our 40 under 40 soirée next fall.' Wow, way to go Legal World. They published the puff piece on your birthday, no less."
"Meh. Who gives a crap about the umpteenth puff piece? They're kissing my ass, hoping I'll be at their event. Now, I was promised breakfast, woman. Where is it?"
"In the kitchen. Obviously."
He snickered, shaking his head. "No breakfast in bed? Not even on my birthday? You're cruel."
"You were singing a different tune last night," I sassed him.
I left Edward Cullen speechless. That had to be a first.
&&&StN&&&
"Happy birthday!"
A small crowd erupted in a rambunctious, gleeful yell as soon as we stepped into LawBucks for coffee later that morning.
"I swear I didn't know about this," I hedged.
"You better," he retorted. It was all he had time to say before our friends and coworkers swarmed him.
"Let me count the gray hairs." Emmett—you could always depend on him for unconventional well wishes.
After a few minutes of hugs, shoulder slaps, and handshakes, a small space opened up in front of us.
Edward cleared his throat and raised his hand in salute. "Thank you, people. This is really … unexpected and very, very thoughtful. Now, please, don't let me ramble on because this could get really awkward. I will also pretend I didn't say 'no parties.' Right, Alice?"
Alice's jaw fell open, and with her elbows to her hips, she threw him as dirty a look as she could. "This isn't a party. It's a coffee break. You can't prove that it was an organized event."
We all broke out in a fit of giggles, and after sobering up, people began to filter out of the room to go back to their offices.
However, Carlisle lingered. His fatherly hug to his eldest was so loving and intimate that for a minute, I felt like an intruder. "Happy birthday, son."
"Thanks, Dad."
"We're proud of you. And happy that you're happy." He added those words almost as an aside with a wink in my direction. "I'll see you both on Sunday. Your mother is making her famous chocolate cake."
An unexpected detail about Edward—the man had a never-ending sweet tooth and was a self-avowed chocoholic. It didn't take me long to figure out that Esme's choice of birthday dessert was her way of guaranteeing that Edward wouldn't miss brunch on Sunday.
After nodding at both of us, Carlisle left.
"Alone, at last. What's a man to do around here to have coffee with his girlfriend? On his damn birthday, no less."
"You're not complaining about the teeny-tiny celebration, are you?"
I busied myself preparing our coffees. Our friends' ambush had extended our coffee break past its generally acceptable length, and I knew neither of us wished to stay after hours today of all days.
"No," he replied.
Then he closed the distance between us and wound his arm around my waist. A tender gesture that made it increasingly difficult for me to work the coffee machine, so I left it. Five more minutes in our break wouldn't hurt.
"I'm being a grumpy pants again, aren't I?" Edward asked with his head perched on my shoulder.
I didn't want him to be self-conscious, but I didn't want to lie to him either. "A tad? They're showing their appreciation for you. Given your veto on birthday celebrations, I think your assistant found the only possible loophole here. I mean, this is a micro-party by Alice standards. She could've crashed our dinner for two tonight."
Edward blanched, and his eyes went as wide as saucers. "She wouldn't—"
"Oh, she absolutely would. But I passed on clear instructions and threatened retaliation, so she gave up her nefarious plans. For this year, at least."
He exhaled. "Thank fuck. It's not that I don't appreciate the fuss; I just want to spend the day with you, love. That's all."
I turned and kissed his jawline, reveling in the luscious smell of his cologne and the velvety feel of his skin.
"Well, let's get back to work, and tonight, it'll be only the two of us. Dinner at my place."
He hummed in pleasure. "Mmm. I love your place. And I love you."
&&&StN&&&
Later that night, Edward buzzed the intercom at my apartment at seven on the dot. It was the last time he'd have to do it, but he didn't know yet.
"Hello, love. I've missed you."
I reciprocated the kiss; it started out chaste, but Edward had other ideas. True to form, I ended up pressed against the back of my now closed front door with Edward pressed against me as he devoured my lips. He slowed down after a few minutes and only because the oven timer dinged.
"I'm not really hungry for food. Can we skip dinner?" he asked, walking into the kitchen with me.
"Nope. Sit your sexy ass at the table and open the wine, please."
"Cruel, cruel woman. You're lucky I love you."
I had an oven to check on, so I left him to his own devices. A few minutes later, we sat at the table together, ready to enjoy the special dinner I'd cooked for him—another one of his presents.
"Happy birthday, Edward." I pushed toward him the plate of bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers.
"Oooh, hot! Just how we like it. Thank you, darling. Today has been amazing. All thanks to you."
"Well, I have one last surprise." I grabbed the little gift box I'd prepared for him from the empty chair beside me.
"What is this?" he asked, curiosity etched on his face. He opened it, his eyes dancing with excitement like a kid's on Christmas day. "A key? Is this …?"
I nodded. "It's the key to my apartment. I want you to feel at home here."
He grasped my hand and leaned over to kiss me. "Thank you. And wouldn't you know, my love, we had a similar idea." He produced a similar but bigger box in robin's egg blue and set it next to my plate.
"But it's your birthday!" I protested.
"I'm an eminently selfish man, so this is a present to myself. Please?"
In the box, I found a heart-shaped keyring with a bundle of keys and a transponder dangling from it.
"Is this …?" Weren't we a repetitive pair tonight.
"Everything you need to get into my condo whenever you want. Because I want you to feel at home there, too. I know why you chose to live here, but this is … take this as a promise. A goal we can work toward. Together."
"Someday?" I asked.
My voice trembled and tears threatened to spill. This man, how I loved this man.
"We can work with someday."
The End … For Now.
Yeah, yeah, yeah ... These two aren't really done, are they?
There is more to their story left to tell, and they'll be back in some form next year.
I want to thank Team Momo for their stellar work on this. I couldn't do this without them.
First of all, the ladies with the red pens-Alice's White Rabbit (who just won Beta of the Year at the 2023 Golden Onion Awards) and Midnight Cougar.
My pre-readers: AGoodWitch, Maplestyle, Mel, and Eternally Addicted who did a stellar job on this story.
And last but not least, my readers. THANK YOU. For being here and chiming in, story after story. For every alert, for every review.
I also want to thank you all the people who nominated and voted in the Golden Onion Awards, because Team Momo bagged a few awards this time around, and I couldn't be more jazzed about it.
Shape The Narrative scored First Place as WIP of the Year and Lizzie Paige got 2nd place for Banner of the Year for this story banner.
Behind The Ivories won First Place as Best Je t'aime Fic, Second Place as Best Nail-Biting Fic, Favorite Fic of the Year, and Masterpiece of the Year.
Yours truly placed first as Author of the Year.
I couldn't be more pleased or humbled that my work has been recognized among so many other amazing authors and stories. Also a huge thank you to the hosts and staff for their hard work and dedication year after year.
What's next? A new story, Dreams Unwind, will start posting on September 26. A Business Class Girl outtake will post in a week or two.
So in the meantime look out for these, and remember ... teasers and extra are posted to my FB group (LaMomo's Lair).
Until next, be safe.
Love,
Momo