A/N

Thanks for continuing the ride!

Unbeta'd, skip the mistakes, yada yada.

Happy Easter and Passover to all who celebrate!

S. Meyer owns all things, Twilight

Let's see if Bella makes him work for it.

Chapter 11

BPOV

I stare at Edward's text message.

"What are you going to do?" Alice asks. Her voice is slightly more subdued than earlier but hasn't lost its biting edge entirely. "Personally, I'd let him hang in the wind for a while."

I sit back, my stomach a bundle of nerves as I reread it. "I don't know," I say. But I do know. I'm going to give Edward a chance to explain. I start to type a reply and then hesitate. Maybe I should let him hang in the wind for a little while. I delete what I was writing and look down at Oscar for his advice, but he's on his back, legs splayed, sound asleep, and snoring.

"Well, you're no help," I say to him.

Alice picks up the remote to scroll through the options for our next movie. "It's your decision, Bella. All I'm going to say is, I think you should make him work for it."

I stroke Oscar's belly absently. "We still have to get through the Anderson presentation. You know, the real one with the client. I think I should at least get this out of the way first. I start typing again and chew on my lip nervously before looking toward the kitchen.

I wonder if I still have some of that cookie dough left.

Alice hits play, and the opening credits for Overboard come on the screen. She turns to look at me. "I get it. You have to work with the guy. All I'm saying is to set your boundaries. Don't be a pushover. Make sure Mr. Perfect realizes lying isn't acceptable to you in any scenario." Oscar rolls over and shoves himself between my back and the couch before the snoring starts again. "I don't care how old that man gets," Alice says. "He'll always be one good-looking DILF."

I look up quickly, my eyes wide, thinking she's circling back to her original speculation that Edward's nephews aren't really his nephews. "What the fuck, Al?" Then I see her eyes fixated on the TV where Kurt Russell is waltzing onto the screen.

She ain't wrong.

Looking back at my phone, I know she's right about Edward too. I can acquiesce to hear him out, but I need to keep my boundaries. I start to type a message, and I can feel Alice looking at me from the corner of her eye.

"Make him wor-"

I hold up my hand but don't raise my eyes from the phone.

"I got it, Al. Go check the fridge; I think I have some cookie dough left in there."

She places her glass on the table before pausing the movie. "I should have brought two pints of that ice cream." She stands and stretches her arms over her head before leaning down as I finish my text to Edward. "Let me see," she says.

I turn the phone toward her and raise my eyebrows in question. "What do you think?"

"I like it," she says. "It's neutral ground. I also like that he's going to have to drive thirty minutes to get to it, and you only have to drive ten." I take a deep breath and hit send. He replies almost immediately. Alice is hanging over my shoulder now. "Smooth bastard," she says. "That damn hot chocolate." She levels me with a stare before heading toward the kitchen. "Boundaries, Bella."

"I know," I say as she walks away. I type out a simple "yes" to let him know I will meet him at the café and am about to hit send when Alice yells from the kitchen.

"And make sure you tell him he better not be late!"

~!~

I arrive at the café a few minutes early and luck out when I find a parking spot across the street. I meet my eyes in the review mirror and take a shaky breath. "Okay, you're a strong, badass woman who doesn't take shit from anyone. Go in there, and don't be swayed by the pretty." When I get out of the car, I check the traffic before crossing the street and walking the few feet that lead me to the entrance of Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa. My hand feels slightly sweaty as I reach for the handle, and I try to ignore it before pushing open the heavy glass door.

I see him immediately. He's seated at a table by the window and is staring directly at me. My heart skips a beat. It's been a week since I've seen him last, and at this moment, no matter what's going on with him —with us, I realize how much I've just missed him. He's dressed in faded jeans and a button-down red checkered long-sleeved shirt. He wears a grey T-shirt underneath. He looks better than he did that awful day in the conference room. He's clean-shaven, and his eyes don't have that haunted look anymore, but there's something else now, and I'm not sure what it is. As I approach, I look closer. His green eyes are fixated on me and seem pensive, almost sad. He stands and pulls the chair out for me while an awkward silence swirls around us.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet me, Bella," he finally says. His voice is husky, and my body betrays me when it starts to tingle. I nod slightly before I remove my coat, hang it on the back of the chair, and take a seat. He's sitting now too, and we stare at each other across the table. He pushes a cup to me with his knuckle, and I watch it slide slowly over the wooden surface. I reach out and wrap my hand around it, feeling the warmth seep through the paper as steamy tendrils rise into the crowded cafe.

"Thank you," I murmur.

When I bring the cup to my lips, I see the three marshmallows floating on the top. He always remembers. Taking a sip, the warm hot chocolate coats my insides as I look at Edward, and I'm suddenly self-conscious. He plays with the cardboard ring around his cup of coffee before clearing his throat.

"So, um, I want to thank you again for agreeing to meet me," he says. "I didn't expect you to, and I know I don't deserve it." He runs a hand through his hair, and his eyes look out the window quickly before turning back to me. "I'm not even sure where to start with all of this." I hear a slight shakiness in his voice, and as I listen to him stammer through his words, I realize I'm not used to this Edward. He's always been so self-assured and in control of everything. But this Edward is neither. He takes a sip of his coffee, and by the way his knee is bouncing under the table, I wonder how many cups he's had already.

"Why don't you start by telling me why Mr. Volturri thinks you're engaged if you're not," I say. My voice is low, and I try to project an air of calmness I don't feel. He leans forward and grips the sides of his hair with both hands before sitting back again.

"I was never engaged," he says. "It was a misunderstanding, and Mr. Volturi knows that now. I told him that day, right after …" His eyes watch me, and I know we're both remembering that moment in the conference room.

I hesitate for a moment before speaking softly. "Who's Kate, Edward?" The question hangs in the air between us, and Edwards's eyes tighten before he looks out the window again. When he turns back to me, I think I see something new. Determination maybe.

His steady gaze meets mine head-on. "Kate was my girlfriend, and I should have told you about her a long time ago."

There it is —the confirmation I was hoping wouldn't come. In the deepest recesses of my naïve heart, I hoped Edward would tell me some outlandish story like the ones that happened in those soap operas I used to watch with my mom. Where some evil villainess plotted and schemed to make the hero look like the bad guy when it was really her jaded unrequited fantasy behind it all. But this isn't a soap opera. This is real life.

I don't say too much as I listen to him explain the ill-fated tale of his relationship with Kate, and there are moments when I feel sympathy for both of them. Their circumstances aren't too different from mine and Tyler's to a certain extent. Communication was never our strong suit, and I let a bad relationship drag on because it was easy, and I didn't want to have to start over. I can't imagine what I would have done if I had to deal with the death of someone close to me and move across the country on top of it.

"I was going to tell you everything, Bella," he says. "That day. Right after the meeting, and then …" He looks up at me. "I had no idea how to get into the whole convoluted story with Mr. Volturi at that moment, with everyone in that room, especially when I hadn't talked to you yet. I was completely taken by surprise when he said what he did." Edward hangs his head. "And the look on your face Bella. God, it tore me apart, knowing what you thought." He's quiet for a moment and then speaks softly. "I wish I could go back. I'd change so many things. All I can do is tell you how sorry I am." Edward's pained look is back. Almost as if he thinks I'm going to get up and leave or something.

And while I understand more now about what happened, I can't get around one of the more significant details. "So, you not only lost your brother, but you lost your best friend too."

His brow furrows, and he shakes his head. "That's not important, Bella. What's important is that I fucked this all up. This is all my fault."

I interrupt him. "Edward, I might not like how you handled the situation, but it sounds like you were both at fault. And for Garrett to do that after you had just talked to him on the phone …" I trail off, and Edward takes another sip from his coffee. But at least the leg bouncing has stopped. "That's shitty, Edward." I look to the side nervously. "I mean, especially if you were still in love with her." I say the words quietly, and when Edward doesn't respond, my heart skips a beat. Just because it didn't work out between him and Kate doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings for her. The silence stretches on awkwardly, and when I look at him, I'm surprised at what I see. He's sitting back in his chair with an expression of what looks like complete astonishment on his face. "What?" I ask tentatively.

He leans forward and extends his arms on the table toward me. His fingers are just inches away from mine as I hold my cup, and I feel the familiar pull, almost like we're magnets. "Bella," he says, his voice strained. "I'm sorry; I thought you understood." He shakes his head and mutters under his breath. "I'm an idiot." He looks into my eyes. "Bella, I'm not explaining myself very well, and I'm sorry about that, but there's one thing you need to know. I'm not in love with Kate."

I can't help the excitement that blooms in my stomach when I hear those words and see the sincerity on his face. I try to tamp it down before it can overwhelm me and take me to places I'm not ready for yet. "I'm not in love with her, Bella." There's another long silence between us, and I look down at my hot chocolate, staring into the nearly empty cup while I try to digest everything he's told me. "Say something," he says. When I look up, his eyes are filled with trepidation. "Please, just say something."

I look at his face, the one I haven't been able to stop thinking about all week, and a truth suddenly comes to me. "I've been trying to figure out why it matters," I say. My voice is soft, and I see the slightest hint of confusion in his eyes. "I was talking to Alice about it last night and told her I wasn't some kind of jaded lover, Edward. We're coworkers, and I thought friends, too."

"We are friends," he says softly.

I nod. "I know, and I think that's why it hurt so much that you didn't tell me what was going on. I thought we were closer than that. But the more I thought about it, the more I rationalized that I had no right to be angry with you about anything else. I mean, I had no right to be angry with you for having a relationship with someone. It's none of my business, really. It's not like we're anything more than friends."

Edward stares at me intently, and his voice is husky when he speaks. "Bella, I want to be very clear about something else. I don't want any more misunderstandings." His hand inches closer to mine, but he still doesn't touch me. "What I feel for you is much more than friendship." He swallows and continues to watch me. "I've felt it since the moment I met you." My stomach flutters again, and my pulse races at his words. When I don't respond, he sits back, pulling his arms away and running his hands through his hair. "I know …" he says. "I, um, know that doesn't mean anything. I mean, I don't expect you to believe me. Why should you? It's not like I have the best track record. But I needed to tell you. You don't have to say anything. I just don't want any more secrets between us. I'm done with that."

I watch him and know that he's sincere. But I also hear Alice's cautionary voice, telling me I need to be careful. Edward has the power to hurt me, and he's already done that once. I don't know if I'm ready to give him an opportunity to again. So, I say what I decided upon before coming here this morning. It's what I practiced in front of the mirror as I got dressed and what I repeated in the car on my way over here. I know it by heart. I told myself no matter what I heard or how it played out, once Edward told me what he wanted to say, I would keep my boundaries in place. I stare at him across the table before taking a deep breath. "Edward, thank you for telling me all of this. I appreciate your willingness to set the record straight. But I think it would be best to keep our relationship strictly professional going forward." I give him a smile that I practiced this morning as well before I swallow. "It's good that we talked before the presentation. I don't think we'll have any problems with that next week. We make a good team at Volturi, so I'm glad we were able to clear the air." My hand is fisted in my lap, and my nails dig into my palm slightly.

Edward watches me, and if he's surprised or disappointed at what I've said, it doesn't show. But his eyes never leave mine. "We do make a good team," he says softly.

I give him another smile and convince myself I meant everything I just said.