BPOV
I hold onto Edward's arm as we enter the restaurant for Esme and Carlisle's anniversary dinner. They had basically shut down half of Alinea for their party.
We both were dressed to the nines for the occasion.
Edward in his navy jacket and slacks with a crisp white button-down underneath and me in a navy silk slip dress. We were one of those couples who liked to complement each other's looks when we were at an event.
It drives Emmett nuts and has earned us the nickname of Barbie and Ken, which Edward hates.
"Please tell me your mom won't go this big for our reception venue," I say as I look around.
"She will only choose what we agree to," he assures me.
I nod hoping that to be the case.
I tighten my hold on his arm when we enter a room full of Esme and Carlisle's nearest and dearest.
And like Edward told me so many years ago I watch him turn on for an audience.
He's polished and charismatic as he greets Esme's design partner, Carmen.
His handshake is firm with Carmen's husband, Eleazar.
We move around the room greeting the guests until we reach his parents.
"My darlings," Esme coos, pinching both our cheeks.
She is definitely tipsy.
"Inside voices, love," Carlisle tells her as he rolls his eyes.
"How long has she been hitting the champagne? We're on time," Edward teases looking at his watch.
"There is this thing called pre-gaming, Edward," she sings.
A giggle escapes me.
Carlisle grins before pulling me into a hug.
"I'm glad we amuse you, kid," he says with a kiss to my cheek.
I hug him a moment longer because of his term of endearment.
He called Edward, Rose, and now me all kids. It was something Charlie had called me since I could remember.
Carlisle reminded me a lot of Charlie the more I've spent time with him over the years. He loved both his children more than anything. He would drop everything if they needed him.
"You're hogging her," Esme says as she hip-checks her husband so she can hug me.
"You both know you're my parents, right?" Edward says dryly.
"Can't help she's sweeter than you," she replies letting me go. "I'm counting down the days until she becomes a Cullen."
"Not like she isn't already one," he points out.
"She's been one for quite some time," Carlisle agrees with a smile.
Edward gets me out of his mother's hold and rests his hand on my lower back. I smile up at him, which earns me a wink.
"Are Rose and Em here yet?" Edward asks his parents.
"Not yet, Rose was held up at the office," Esme answers.
I feel slightly guilty since I stepped back from the Hunter case a week ago, but maybe if she would have worked with me she'd be at the parents' anniversary dinner.
It makes me think of the first time I learned about Rose being out only for herself.
~PR~
"I really appreciate the help… oh, you brought Bella," Rose says as we enter her brownstone.
She had recruited both Edward and Emmett to help paint her living room.
Edward just came back from two weeks in L.A. and asked me if I'd like to come help since we had been apart. It was the longest we'd spent apart in the two months we'd been dating.
This was also the first time I've been anywhere near Rose in almost six months. After the stunt she pulled with Tanya, I've made it my mission to steer clear of her and the trouble that seems to follow her.
"The more hands, the faster we get done," Edward tells her with a shrug.
"We get beer and pizza when we're done, right?" Emmett asks Edward for like the fourth time since we picked him up.
"Yeah, Rose you better have the pizza ordered before we finish up," he says knowing Em might strike otherwise.
She sighs.
This is the first time I really ever seen her dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt.
"Hey, we're doing you a favor," Edward reminds her as he shrugs his coat off and moves to help me with mine. "Also, why couldn't you sucker Tyler into this?"
She glares.
"He's at a Blackhawks game with Pete," she tells him.
"I had tickets to that game," Em mumbles.
Rose moves past us with a huff down the hallway to her laundry room.
"She doesn't need to be this pissy," Emmett says to Edward.
"Rosalie was born pissy," Edward responds, taking a seat on the couch.
He holds his arms out to me and I climb into my nook by his side.
"You two really are disgusting," Emmett says with a gag. "Ed's totally whipped."
"Is he now?" I ask amused.
"I'm so whipped, baby," Edward teases me with a kiss.
Another gagging noise leaves Emmett's mouth.
"Will you fucking knock it off," he says kicking Emmett with his foot.
A giggle escapes me as it often does with these two.
One thing I've learned is that Edward and Emmett are very loyal to each other. A few weeks ago Emmett had a minor injury involving the tendon in his right arm and Edward was heading down to the medic tent as soon as Em was being walked off the field.
He might give us shit but Edward says Em sings my praises and couldn't be happier for us. It's a little different for me because he and Ang are not me and Edward.
There is this passion between them that may be a little toxic. They banter, but that turns into arguing and they both seem to want different things.
Ang now wants a committed boyfriend but Emmett seems to be dragging his feet. Actually, I don't even think it's a boyfriend she really wants more, so it's only Emmett she truly wants.
Edward has told him he needs to shit or get off the pot.
He's right because it's not healthy for either of them.
Rose comes back with her hands full of paint and painting supplies.
I help her set up the supplies while the guys move furniture.
She doesn't speak, nor do I.
It's awkward but I endure it because she is Edward's sister.
We did get along at one point.
Edward playfully hip-checks me when they're done moving everything to the middle of her living room.
"Midnight blue is a brave color," Emmett says once he opens the paint can.
"It's popular," she argues a little defensively.
He holds his hands up.
I glance at the furniture they just covered. It could work, her couch and loveseat were a silverish velvet color with a lighter leather chair.
"It will look great," I say optimistically.
Rose looks grateful for a second before returning to her cold indifference.
We all get our own wall to prime first.
I'm halfway done with my wall when Edward's phone goes off.
"Shit, I need to get that," he says quickly, dropping his roller in the tray.
I'm curious because it is a Saturday, but I know his producer and musical director were in the studio this afternoon.
Edward's job was definitely not a nine-to-five. I've seen him sleep into noon and pull all-nighters. It was the nature of the beast or so he said.
"I'm a little busy at my sister's at the moment," he says to the person on the other end of the phone. "She's fucking it up on purpose."
"You and Marcus can't handle it," he snaps.
He runs a hand through his hair in frustration.
Emmett keeps throwing glances over to him as he wraps up his call.
"I need to head out," Edward says into the room.
Rose doesn't react, she only continues to paint.
"Is everything alright?" Em asks.
"Someone is being a diva and I need to go in," he states in irritation.
He's not looking at me and I can only guess as to who the diva is. He doesn't talk about Tanya, but I know she doesn't make work easy for him.
Edward is very passionate about his music and has been open about it too. However, when there are issues at work he's very closed off about it. I'm not sure if it's because rehashing it puts him in a mood or if it's out of respect for me since I have an inkling Tanya is the majority of his work stress.
I do take a page out of Rose's book and continue to work instead of fueling any more of his stress.
Everything has been easy between us and for now, I'd like to keep it that way. Ang has pointed out that easy doesn't necessarily mean longevity.
We haven't had any arguments other than the misunderstanding when we first met, but to Ang, that is a red flag.
I just think that maybe we haven't found anything to disagree on.
"Hey, I can take you home on my way," he says from beside me.
I glance at Rose who is aggressively rolling.
"No, it's fine. We've already started and I don't feel right leaving your sister in a lurch."
He looks surprised by my response.
"I can take her home, man," Em offers.
Edward still looks unsure.
"Edward, honestly it's fine," I assure him.
"Go, dude," Emmett says, rolling his eyes.
Edward sighs.
He leans over and gives me a quick kiss before he goes to grab his coat.
"I'll call you when I leave," he tells me.
I give him a thumbs up, earning me an eye roll from him.
"Rosie no biting," Emmett warns playfully.
"You know Emmett, Bella was perfectly fine being left alone with me a year ago," she says pointedly.
"I suppose but weren't you scheming during all that?" he asks innocently but I can see the smile growing on his face.
"You know nothing, Emmett," Rose snaps.
"Remember Grace Pruitt," Em sings.
Rose's face grows red with anger.
"Shut the fuck up," she growls.
"Oh Bella, the tales I could tell you," he says before going back to his painting. "What was your first SAT score, Rosie?"
Rose throws her roller into the tray and marches upstairs to her room with a huff.
"Was that necessary?" I ask, feeling really uncomfortable.
Emmett sighs.
"Sorry," he frowns. "Sometimes she needs to be taken down a few pegs—"
"But why now?" I ask interrupting.
"You deserve to know her for the mean girl she is. She wasn't always like this, it's almost like she hit a breaking point when she was in high school, and how she is now is a result of that. I think that's why Ed tolerates her now because he remembers when they were so close," he explains.
"She can't be that bad," I say, trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, even though she tried to work with Tanya to keep me and Edward apart.
"Grace, the girl I just mentioned, Rose befriended her in high school and it's alleged that Rose tried to have her take the SATs for her," he begins.
"She wouldn't have gotten into college let alone law school," I interject.
"Rose said it was all a misunderstanding and that Grace was obsessed with her. She made sure she was on campus, the test hadn't started when Grace gave them a copy of Rose's license. Esme and Carlisle weren't buying what Rose fed the administration people, but during school, Rose had the highest GPA in her class," he explains, shaking his head.
"What do you think?"
"I've known her since she was born. She has always strived for perfection and when someone is better it just cannot be," he says. "Something was up with her leading up to the test. She was dating an asshole and was Queen Bee, none of us knew what was up."
I would say Emmett is a straight shooter and due to this fact, it concerns me that Rose could be this heartless.
I don't even ask him what happened to Grace because I'm afraid that the outcome of her future isn't as promising as Rose's.
Emmett and I are able to work in a comfortable silence and get the walls primed. Rose does come down when we start prepping the paint.
She acts like nothing happened.
A cool aloofness wafts off her.
Edward never comes back but he does call me after Em drops me off. The thing that bothers me most is that he doesn't say anything about work and why he needed to leave.
~PR~
"Isabella," I hear from behind us, when I turn I see Mrs. King.
"Mrs. King," I greet politely.
I hadn't had a chance to ask Edward about his family's relationship to the King family, but I also didn't want to disclose too much due to attorney-client privilege.
I read the police report and the charges filed against Royce.
The details weren't very favorable to Royce.
The hospital also provided photos and the results of the rape kit the plaintiff had done to the police. These were all submitted as evidence by the D.A.'s office.
I still need to sit down with Royce and get his side, but the evidence stacked against him is pretty incriminating.
He's lucky if he gets a plea deal so we won't have to go to trial.
Again, I still need to meet with him so I can make my own judgment and see how I should proceed with my co-council on the case.
"Sylvie, you know our Bella?" Esme asks, surprised.
I glance at Edward seeing a polite smile on his face, but he's giving no indication that he knows Mrs. King other than being a social acquaintance of his parents.
"Your dear brother offered her services to our family. Royce has a minor indiscretion that needs to be sorted out," she explains with a wave of her hand.
My eyes widened in surprise at her flippantness.
At our first initial meeting, I never would have thought he was being charged with what he was due to her demeanor.
She made it seem as though it was a minor inconvenience when the severity of the situation was actually quite substantial.
He beat and raped the plaintiff then proceeded to harass her and tried to have her blacklisted from the Chicago society scene.
It told me enough to keep me cautious.
I catch Edward's frown as he sees my reaction but I try to school my features.
Esme happily decides to chat about our engagement as Edward and now Carlisle watch me.
I place my hand on Edward's forearm.
"I'm going to grab another drink," I tell him, hoping he'll let me step away.
He looks like he wants to say more but doesn't in front of our present company.
I walk off in search of the first person I see with a tray.
I grab a drink with a quick 'thank you' to the server and bump right into Emmett with an indifferent Rose.
To say that their relationship intrigues me would be an understatement, especially with the things Emmett has told me over the years, but one thing I do notice is the way he grounds her.
He's able to calm her down and socialize almost like her mother can.
It's really remarkable.
I just can't pinpoint when his opinion of her changed.
He was more brooding once Ang started dating Ben. That lasted a few months and then suddenly one day he started holding hands with Rose at one of her mother's charity events.
Edward seemed to have known though he never really commented on it.
"It's their business," he told me with a shrug.
That was that.
The Cullens weren't dwellers.
I'm still weighing my pros and cons on that one.
"Hey, B," Emmett greets with a dimpled grin. "Where is your other half?"
"With Esme and Carlisle and a family friend—"
"Which family friend?" Rose asks curiously as she glances around the room.
It's the most she's said to me since she snapped at me in my office.
"Mrs. King," I tell her.
She momentarily stiffens but it's almost barely noticeable.
"Her son is a fucking prick," Em says with a flare of his nostrils.
Rose places a hand on Em's forearm like she's wordlessly calming him down.
"He's not here is he?" he asks, looking around.
"Not that I know of?" I respond, confused by both their reactions.
Emmett lets out a breath.
"Good," he says.
Rose gives him a look before she addresses me again. "We should go let my parents know we're here," she says.
I nod and they move past me through the now sizable crowd in the room.
"Hey, are you okay?" Edward asks as he comes from the direction of where Rose and Em disappeared.
"Yeah," I lie.
"So, Royce is a client?" Edward asks having already heard this from Mrs. King.
"He is," I confirm.
"I know you can't say much but something is up, yeah?" he asks with his brows furrowed in concern.
"I can tell you what The Tribune has published. He has assault and rape charges against him, I still need to meet with him to understand his side. He posted bail rather quickly and your uncle was the lawyer that got him out of jail," I explain only what I know has been published.
A lot of emotions pass on his face but the one that I recognize is realization.
He stands so rigidly tall.
A glass clinks and the moment is gone.
I'm fairly certain that something happened between Rose and Royce.