BPOV.

The rest of the week was depressingly uneventful. Edward and our acquaintance had been on my mind for days. I liked him immediately and it would had been foolish to deny it. But the speed with which it happened scared me a little bit. Was I ready for a new relationship? And another, equally important question: did Edward even like me? I didn't know much about him, so the answer to that question was a mystery to me. He did call me beautiful, actually even twice, but what if he just calls all girls that? Or what if he wasn't looking for a relationship? Or worse, he could have a girlfriend. I needed to stop my thought process here.

I was steering my car up Rosalie's drive. It was Saturday evening and I could feel as my body buzzing with a strange excitement. And unlikely it had anything to do with the anticipation of meeting Emmett or Rose. Probably I was just excited to eat some steaks? And I could tell myself these things as much as I wanted but I knew it was all a lie. I meant, steaks are awesome. I loved food and I loved to eat real food, cause I wasn't "just a salads and clean air is enough" type of girl. But still, the main reason for my excitement wasn't some piece of meat. Khm.

The driveway of Hale-McCartney house was full of cars. Turned out Rose decided to invite all our friend and co-workers, so chance to meet Edward was quite low. I spotted my friends in the kitchen. Emmett was leaning on a wine cooler and was talking to Rosalie.

"Bells! You made it!" Emmett wrapped me in a tight hug. "I think you will be interested to know that Mike is already tired of waiting for you." He smiled widely.

I groaned and covered my face with hands. Everybody knows about Mike's unhealthy crush on me.

"Hide me!"

"No way. That's my favorite show."

"Rose, you are supposed to be my best friend. Do you want to see my death today?"

"Sorry, honey. You know, I always agree with my dear fiancé." She embraced Emmett playfully and kissed him on the cheek.

That was one big lie, I think I even heard how Emmett quietly snorted. I was about to leave the kitchen when I saw him. Edward? No! Mike. His gaze was creeping me out from all the way across the room, and the next thing I knew, he was approaching me. Oh no…

"Bella, you are late." He took my hand. "I already started to think that you are not going to come"

"Yeah. But here I am." I smiled at him awkwardly and tried to unleashed my hand, but he was still holding it.

"You look beautiful today," then his eyes widened in horror. "I mean, you're always beautiful, but you look especially beautiful tonight."

Oh I knew it, I was planning on meeting Edward here.

"Isn't it sweet?" Emmett whispered without hiding his amusement, but everyone in the kitchen heard it. Mike looked rather mortified, blushing furiously, when everyone in a radius of three meters burst out laughing. No, not again.

I rolled my eyes at them, feeling slightly embarrassed. I needed something strong and quickly. Was it vodka right there? Taking advantage of Mike's discomfort, I quickly walked out of the kitchen and Rose went followed me.

"I never thought I would agree with Newton, but you actually look hot tonight. Is there any special reason for this?"

Damn, was it that obvious?

"Nope" I said and took a cocktail from the bar counter.

"Sure."

"Yeah," Rosalie rolled her eyes at our highly intellectual exchange of words.

I did look nice but nothing over the top. I wore a black wrap crop top and black high waisted pants. My long dark-brown hair fell in light shiny waves. I always tried to look good, but why was it so noticeable today? Maybe dressing with thoughts about Edward was a bad idea after all. Rosalie sent me the all-knowing look and slowly took a sip of her cocktail.

I carefully looked around me, wondering where Edward was. I didn't want to look like I was looking for him, because Rose would probably start asking me a bunch of embarrassing questions or something worse, so I remained silent.

"Mike is coming here, so you better start hiding somewhere if you don't want to be in the same room with him again. "

Rose didn't have to said twice, and within a minute I went out into the back yard, where the guys were making barbecue. I was enjoying my drink and the smell of food, as I heard velvet voice next to me.

"Hi Bella" His green eyes seemed to burn into mine, making my knees feel weak. " I was wondering where you went."

What?

He probably saw a puzzled look on my face and decided to clarify his question. " I saw you in the kitchen, you were talking to the blond guy." He tilted his head slightly to one side, like he was trying to ask something.

He saw me with Mike. No good.

"Оh, it was Mike" I smiled as if nothing had happened. Right, play it cool, Bella. "He also works at the hospital. I think оn the same floor as Rose."

In a panic, I began to come up with options, what else could I say and mechanically bit my lower lip. Edward's gaze instantly fell on my mouth and my heart did a stupid little jump. He looked as if he had been charmed for several seconds, then shook his head a bit and looked me in the eyes.

"That's great. One more doctor," he forced a smile.

"Yeah. I don't know what else you could expect from your cousin's party, since we all work in the hospital." Why did he look so suddenly upset?

"You're right. This is probably even good, more familiar faces among colleagues," he fell silent for a while. "Is he your boyfriend?" He suddenly asked.

"What?" I asked, disbelief coloring my tone. Did he just call Mike my boyfriend?

I looked at him and started laughing. Come on, take a breath, relax.

"I'm sorry. I had no right to ask such a thing," He looked down in embarrassment, misinterpreted my reaction.

"Edward, that's all right. Mike is just my friend. We are not even close." I shook my head, trying to understanding how such an idea crossed his mind. "You apparently saw us from afar and didn't hear us talking." Fortunately.

"Oh, okay," he looked thoughtfully at the evening sky, and I looked at him. His long eyelashes gave a shadow to his high cheekbones, and his lips curved into a slight grin. It seemed that his recent bad mood had completely disappeared from his face.

"You look beautiful." It looked like he was surprised he said that and so was I. But then Edward smiled that sexy smile of his and I held my breath.

"Um...thanks." I could feel my entire face heat up from the blush. Why did the exact same compliment from Mike provoke a completely different reaction in me? You're a grown-up woman, stop blushing, Isabella.

"So, Bella. " The sound of my name coming from his deep, silky voice almost caused me to shake. It was so smooth, that my thoughts melted from it. "Do you know that walking alone at night is dangerous? " O my god! He remembered it!

"Don't worry. I'm more than aware of a danger," I smiled at him, shrugged my shoulders. "Sometimes you just need a place that calms you down. I guess for me it's the ocean."

I read a silent question in his eyes, but Edward remained silent. I felt grateful that he decided not to push me, because I wasn't ready to open up about my past.

"Then you shouldn't be alone" he said firmly. " Lucky for you, I also love to breathe the fresh ocean air before going to bed, and if you let me, I'll be more than happy to keep you company."

The comment, which probably should've caused outrage in me, brought some unexpected warmth and a sense of security. Control? Wasn't that what I avoided so much, because of my past relationship. Something gave me a great confidence that Edward wasn't the same as Jake. But what exactly?