The Letter

Part Thirteen

The often-mischievous Alice, Edward's baby sister, made their sleeping arrangements. She ensured Edward and Bella had the master suite to themselves. They didn't complain, whispering well into the night and until the warm glow of dawn. Getting to know each other.

Meanwhile, everyone else squeezed into the living room and the remaining bedrooms. All the kids shared the living room, having built a fort, and had adults rotating watch until morning, often checking in their security out in the neighborhood.

Edward and Bella volunteered for breakfast duty along with Esme and were due to wake up soon. However, Edward couldn't help studying the length of Bella's lashes to stir her awake. Their shadows played softly against her lightly freckled skin.

"You are lucky some of my instincts recognized you as a friend, or else I would strike first and ask questions later." Her eyes remained closed, but her smile greeted him first.

Edward laughed, thankful her words pulled him from the edge of dreams and into reality, which was so much better.

"A friend?" He playfully clutched his chest dramatically and sighed in what they could only describe as sadness, his eyes closing. "Is this what they call 'friend zoned'?"

Bella rolled her eyes, gently smacking his bare chest with the back of her hand. "Would friends go to bed topless together?"

Edward's eyes snapped open, remembering instantly that Bella ran kind of hot and had to remove her flannel pajama top while they cuddled and talked the night before. She wore a sports bra, but a less clothed Bella meant he shouldn't waste time arguing.

"Good point," he muttered, nearly tackling her, her laughter loud enough to wake the others. "Shhh!"

She covered her mouth with her hands, one to prevent him from kissing her because of morning breath and to keep their time private. If the kids heard they were awake, they'd run into the room and jump onto the bed, demanding attention.

Jasper and Alice had said because of the late night, their kids usually slept in until about noon. Unless someone made too much noise, of course.

"You're beautiful in the morning." Edward hummed in contentment against the hollow of her throat, finding her delicate collarbones quite appealing.

"And you're soft and sweet in the early morning." Bella's words seemed to have triggered a thought in his mind, something that caused him to shift and show her he was anything but soft at the moment.

Edward sighed since privacy in a house full of people was an illusion. Peppering Bella's face in small kisses and even nipping at her chin, he pulled away. "As much as I would love to continue our morning like this, we have a lot to do today before we leave for Seattle."

Bella sighed, snuggling against his neck, looking for another moment longer. "Do you think our families will be okay on their own?"

Edward laughed. "Are you kidding? My mother and Alice probably have an itinerary of things to do here. Your father and I coordinated with the security team so Will can join them."

"That would be great for my brother. Will had a lot of friends, but because of my mom's illness and the shooting, he hasn't had anyone over at the house or gone to visit with them."

His look of concern prompted her to continue.

"It's not that my parents and I deprived him of that, precautions were necessary, of course, but Will wanted to be home with our mother. One of his friends, Mikey, knows from experience in almost losing a parent to cancer. He worried excessively and didn't want to risk germs. Of course, that made me worry excessively, too." Out of breath, she continued to over-explain, though it wasn't necessary.

Edward kissed her rose-red cheek when she quieted after realizing her habit of rambling when nervous reared its ugly head. Thankfully, he seemed to understand and maybe felt some nerves too.

Edward brushed a wayward curl from her forehead around her ear. "Should we get up already? It's barely eight, and we only had a few hours of sleep." She looked especially soft in the morning. How he wished to experience this every day.

"We probably should," she muttered, tucking her forehead against his chest. Embarrassed to be caught up in the heat of the moment, thinking about their upcoming visit to Seattle, apparently alone.

"If you insist," he grumbled, wrapping his arms around her tighter. "I think you should get up first, though." It wasn't only Bella's cheeks that flushed at the moment.

She laughed, feeling a little better about her anxiety. "I'll be out of the shower while you wait."

Her wink made him flush even more and groan as he watched her sashay her way to the master suite bathroom. Covering his face with his hands, he rubbed hard and had to pull up bullshit from work to get himself under control.

While he waited for Bella to freshen up, he checked in with the helicopter pilot he had arranged for their trip. He also checked in with his secretary to ensure everything for the office party was running smoothly. Other than a few minor details, he had little that needed his immediate attention.

"Oh, oh, you seem to me in work mode," Bella surmised, having walked into the bedroom to find him sitting at the vanity table slash desk, having just finished a call. She rubbed at her wet hair and watch him slip off the mask of hard-working, cold CEO to the soft Edward she was falling for much too fast.

She had no idea who was hotter.

"I wanted to be sure once we arrive in Seattle that my time at the office would be as little as possible."

"You don't have to do that, Edward. I understand running is business is a lot of work. I can work from anywhere, I'm taking my laptop and while you're working, I can do the same. Unless you plan to drop me off at your place until you're done?"

She rambled again, worried over expectations for their time alone.

Edward rose from the tiny chair he'd been sitting on and joined her near the bed. "What is going on in that beautiful head of yours?"

She slapped her hands over her cheeks, hoping to hide her blushing. A grown-ass woman shouldn't be blushing this much, she thought. Edward wasn't wearing a shirt and only had low-riding pajama pants on, which sent his handsomeness to nuclear levels.

Too bad she forgot about the towel she was holding up around her chest.

Edward gaped, jaw to the floor, his eyes widened to cartoon proportions. He clenched his eyes shut and dropped to grab the towel and hand it to her. "Uh, I'll be showering now."

Bella burst out laughing at how quickly Edward ran toward the bathroom and how much of a gentleman he really was, which she figured out a while ago. Since they seemed to be on the same page, maybe she would stop blushing like a schoolgirl.

.

.

.

"Edward, I like your pancakes better than Bella's," Will said with his mouth full. "You can tell her that, too."

"I heard you, brat." Bella stuck out her tongue. "I'll remember what you said the next time I come over to make breakfast." Neither of their parents was good at making them.

"Yours are so delicious, sister." Will's eyes turned glassy, his little chin quivering in fake sadness.

"I'm actually shocked about how good they are," Esme stated, taking a delicate bite. "Wonder where you got the recipe?"

Edward cleared his throat. "Come on, Mom. Of course, I used the same recipe you taught me growing up."

"I knew it!" Bella glared at him. While cooking breakfast, he kept hiding what he put in the pancake batter, claiming it was a secret recipe.

"They are quite good, son." Carlisle had helped himself to another plate. He looked content just listening to everyone, feeling more complete than he had in a long time. Losing his daughter and granddaughter left a mark on him, but he had let it destroy his relationship with his only son. Katie would be so disappointed in him. He would do what he could to mend the bridge that he had burned so long ago.

Alice's kids had disappeared shortly after they ate at the game room that Edward originally set up for Will in mind.

Will had woken up last and joined the adults instead of gaming, still feeling a little shy after dancing like a fool the night before for his sister. He thought it was still worth it. He'd do anything for her. Even ask Santa to let Edward stay with them forever. Now he had to think of a way to give Edward a happy ending, too.

He deserved it.

AN: Next up is Seattle, Bella will get to see CEO Edward in action. If you remember from the first chapter, he's pretty closed off. There's an office party, a weekend in the city, and we'll see what their families are up to while they're gone. I want to say this has about five chapters left, but it will probably be more like ten, lol. Thanks for your continued support and for reading!