Hello, people!
Happy Saturday, everyone!
Usual housekeeping:
- I still don't own any of it.
- Team Momo wouldn't exist without Midnight Cougar and Alice's White Rabbit with their red pens, or without AGoodWitch, Maplestyle, Mel, and Eternally Addicted who pre-read and tell me if I'm off my rocker or not.
The general consensus seems to be that Charlie is being an a-hole, and y'all ain't wrong. We'll learn why he's doing what he's doing over the next couple chapters, but Bella isn't going to roll over just because.
Also, we're staying with Edward this week.
Chapter 28 – EPOV
As soon as we stepped outside into the cool evening air, Bella stopped in her tracks, and after verifying that nobody was around, she started stomping her feet and growling out all of her frustration.
"Nuts. He drives me fucking nuts. Why does he have to be that nasty? Why does he want to control my life?"
At the end of her outburst, her voice, which had so far spewed forth in a torrent of vexation, broke into a tormented wail. Her father had made her cry. Twice in less than half an hour.
I threw a glance over my shoulder, afraid the Swans would decide to leave, and we'd run into them. That would spoil our quick getaway. Coast was clear. With Bella safely enfolded in my arms, I steered her away from the restaurant's entrance.
"I'm sorry he was so horrible to you, love. None of it was warranted."
She let go of me, but circled my waist with her arm. "He was horrible to you, too. I'm sorry, Edward. I'm so embarrassed right now."
"Do you want me to take you home?" I'd assumed she'd want to come home with me, but given the situation, I'd rather be sure.
"Can I stay at your place? They know where I live, and I don't want to deal with them tonight."
I kissed the top of her head, and she burrowed into my chest. I rocked her in my arms for a bit until her sniffles subsided. "You can always stay with me. Let's go."
We walked in silence to the office.
"Oops. We ended up here on autopilot," she commented.
"Not really. I parked my car here. It was easier."
She shook her head, then slapped her forehead. "I'm so out of it. Sorry. And now I'm also hungry. Fuck."
"We did abandon our salads to the wolves. Here's an idea. How about we go grab some dinner elsewhere? When I'm pissed, comfort food helps me get over it."
For the first time in the last hour, she smiled. "Would you be up for going to Smashers?"
"And get the whole experience, not just their takeout? I vote yes."
By now, we'd reached my car in the office underground garage. With a click to my key fob, the doors opened, and I held Bella's until she got into her seat.
It was a relatively short ride to Smashers, and when we walked in, the bartender shouted at Bella to sit wherever she liked. Because it was still relatively early for the bar crowd, the pub wasn't full to the rafters yet, and we eyed an empty, quiet booth at the back. We stopped by the bar on our way to the booth and ordered a couple of beers. After the evening we'd had so far, booze was definitely in order.
"Hi, Steph." Bella hailed the bartender—a tattooed and pierced lady with hazel eyes who laughed merrily at Bella's greeting.
"Hey, Bells. Long time no see. How's tricks?"
They fist-bumped and chatted for a minute while I let my gaze roam the expanse of the establishment. The last time I was there, I dashed in and out to pick up our food and didn't notice all the sports memorabilia on the walls. This place had quite the collection.
"What do we have here? Girl, did you kidnap an Armani model or something?"
Bella giggled, then grabbed my hand, pulling me closer to her. "This is my boyfriend Edward."
Steph extended her hand, and I shook it happily. "Nice to meet you, Steph. Friends of Bella's are my friends."
"You look so familiar, man. Why do you look so familiar?" she asked me, but trained her gaze on Bella.
"He's Em's older brother, Steph."
"Shit! Of course. The lawyer, right?"
I nodded. "Guilty as charged. I hope it won't count against me."
"Oh, hell no," she replied, laughing. "Em's helped a lot in paying off my mortgage since I started working here. And these are on the house." She pushed two frothy, freshly pulled pints toward us.
"Thank you, Steph," Bella replied, while I grabbed our pints.
She waved us off and called out over her shoulder before we walked away. "Do you want food? Your usual, Bells?"
"For me, yes. I don't know about Edward," she added, turning to me in question.
"I'll have the same as Bella, Steph. Thank you."
We took our seats on either side of the empty booth, and silence fell over us for a spell.
"Jalapeños, counselor? Feel like living on the edge?" Mischief sparkled in her smile and in her eyes.
"Why not? We can make more heat later." I winked at her and flashed a salacious grin.
"Mmm. The evening's looking up." She took a deep breath, then sobered up and leveled me an earnest look. "What am I going to do, Edward?"
Her hand reached for mine across the tabletop, and I threaded my fingers with hers, encasing her hand in both of mine.
"Let's take this one step at a time, shall we? Did you expect those objections from your father?"
She spluttered, expelling yet more frustration. "I don't know what I expected from Charlie. Surely not that."
"Did he ever hint at wanting you back in Washington after graduation?"
Bella shook her head, rolling her eyes. "No. That was completely out of the blue. I never even mentioned wanting to move out of Atlanta."
I took in her words. Maybe it was time I laid out all my cards on the table. "We haven't been together long, but this needs to be said. If you ever wanted to pursue a career elsewhere, don't feel you can't just because my job is here. We'll make things work. I can be a lawyer anywhere."
She frowned. "But CCM is your family's firm. It's Carlisle's legacy, your legacy. You worked so hard to build your practice—"
"And I can practice anywhere. But no practice would be worth anything if I lost you. That said, if you're seeking long-term career goals in Atlanta, nothing would make me happier. And it would make our future a bit easier," I added, kissing her hand—the next best thing when I couldn't taste her lips.
"I like it here; I don't want to leave. I wasn't just saying that to antagonize Charlie. I have a job I love, friends, a support system. I have you here."
I swiftly moved to her side of the booth and cradled her face in my hands. "I love you. You don't know how much that means to me. How long I've waited for you."
"I love you too. So, so much." She kissed me chastely on the lips, then rested her head on my shoulder. "I think Charlie's apoplectic because I'm in a relationship he can't pick apart or diss in any way."
"Your theory has merit. Elaborate, please."
She kissed me again, this time nibbling at my jaw, which earned her a short, lustful growl from me. "You're an established professional. You're successful at your job and have an extremely lucrative position. You come from a great, loving family. Upstanding citizen, to boot—and if he stops fuming long enough to run a background check on you, what will he find? A couple of parking tickets? He has no substantive objections other than his stubborn ass."
"He'd run a background check on me? Isn't that an abuse of his office?"
She scoffed. "Do you think someone in Forks, Washington would care enough to file a complaint? He's run unopposed for his position since I was in high school."
I snorted. "Small towns—gotta love them."
"It was a nice, quiet, and safe place to grow up, but I wouldn't go back there now. Charlie's delusional. Any viable job opportunities for me would be in Seattle, and that's a four-hour drive from Forks. So even if I moved there, I wouldn't be living under Charlie's watchful eye."
I nodded and mulled over all of it while sipping my beer. "Maybe he knows. Maybe he misses you, and that's his misguided way of telling you. Maybe he's hoping you'll move back or move closer."
"He has a weird way of showing it," she groused.
Steph stopped by with our food—our burgers stacked high, dwarfed by gigantic onion rings. Once she checked we still had a way to go before we needed fresh drinks, she flitted away.
We both dug in, and the noises we made while we ate, famished that we were, eclipsed all other conversation. The quiet didn't last long, though.
The shrill ring of Bella's phone interrupted her mid-bite as she attacked an onion ring. She dropped it on the platter and grumbled for the entire thirty seconds that it took her to wipe her hands and fish her device out of her purse.
"It's my mom." She let it ring, drumming her fingers on the worn tabletop. At length, the phone stopped ringing. "This might be childish, but I'll deal with them on my terms. And by God, they're not going to come in between me and my dinner for the second damn time tonight."
My girl had her priorities straight.
These two had to talk about things, and Charlie's tantrum prompted some of that.
We'll be back with Bella next Saturday. Meanwhile, you can catch snippets and teasers of my future fics, fic recs, Rob pics, and other shenanigans in my FB group, LaMomo's Lair (just type the name in the search bar). Come and join us!
See y'all next week!