The Volvo gave a fine-tuned growl, its engine revving, the sound menacing to Bella's ears. The force of the acceleration threw her back in her seat. She grappled for something to hold on to, seizing the handle above the door and gripping it tight. She glanced out the window. A sign blurred past, a blip in the green landscape she would have missed if she had blinked a fraction of a second later.

She was out of Forks. Under other circumstances, she would've taken a moment to celebrate that.

"Next time, I'm driving."

"This trip would be asking a lot of a truck as decrepit as yours. Wiser not to test its limits." Edward turned to toss a stunning smile at her. He spun the steering wheel even as he looked away from the windshield, navigating a bend in the road with impossible ease. His expression sobered as he took in her position. "Relax, Bella. This doesn't really seem so fast to you anymore, does it?"

"No." Nervousness made her voice squeakier than normal. The denial was weak at best.

He sighed, but the car quieted. The needle on the speedometer fell a few notches back. "There will be an aggravating number of traffic cops in the city anyway," he muttered, as if consoling himself.

Bella shook her head, his words making her feel slightly guilty. What would Charlie say? She forced herself to let go of the handle and rested her hands in her lap. She stared down, trying to focus on their destination and not how quickly or erratically they were hurtling toward it. An undercurrent of excitement thrummed through her at the mention of the city.

"Do you think we'll have time to stop at Elliott Bay Book? Or would Arundel Books be closer to where we'll be?" She rattled off a couple names of bookstores that had seemed promising from her internet searches, unsure which would be the most convenient to check out. She wasn't all that familiar with the area yet.

"We can stop wherever you want. Every bookstore in a hundred-mile radius," Edward promised, tone brightening in response to her eagerness. "I think we should meet your friends first, though, if you don't want to be terribly late."

"We don't have to meet them."

"Didn't you tell Jessica we'd be there?"

"Well, yeah, but…" That had been before she'd had a chance to think about what a day alone in the city with Edward could be like. She gazed at his hands, imagining his long, cool fingers entwined with hers all afternoon, how they might break away occasionally to caress her cheek, her jawline, the skin of her throat. She looked at the side profile of his face and longed to be free to lose herself in the oscillating golden darkness of his eyes. She wanted to steal as many kisses as possible on the sidewalk. She was also more seriously tempted by Edward's offer to explore a hundred miles worth of bookstores than he probably would've guessed. "I could tell her something came up. I'd rather just be with you."

Edward met her stare. His eyes smoldered beneath a furrowed brow. One of his hands lifted from the steering wheel. He brought it back down, taking hold again. "I don't want to get in the way of your friendships."

"You're not. If it wasn't for you, I never would've met Alice."

"Your human friendships," he clarified, a little stiffly.

"Those are overrated. Besides, being friends with a psychic vampire is way easier. I barely have to tell her anything. The first time I ever talked to her, I think she already knew me better than my mom does. And Renee's the best friend I've ever had."

Bella risked another glance out the window. She tried not to focus on the blurred scenery, still whizzing by too fast for comfort. She just watched the colors outside the car bleed into each other and felt the smooth glide of the tires on the road. Her mom would like this—the continuous motion, the enticement of a new adventure. Bella would have to send her an email tonight.

This was one outing she wouldn't have to keep secret from her or lie about, she realized with relief.

"It is very easy to love Alice," Edward agreed, his voice softer, affection for his sister clear in his words. "I'm sorry you have to tell me things."

"I'm glad you can't know what I'm thinking." Bella thought of the romantic afternoon she'd been imagining and flushed.

He leaned slightly closer to the center console, as if he was drawn to the flare of warmth beneath her skin. "Will you explain why you're embarrassed?"

"That would only make it worse." She smiled with sealed lips, hunting for a distraction. She didn't mind the idea of wandering the mall with Jessica, Angela, or Ben, but Mike... She peered over her shoulder expectantly, checked the empty backseat, and frowned. "Hey, did you bring that jacket from Newton's?"

"It's in the trunk."

"But you're going to put it on, right? When we get there?"

"I don't understand why you want me to."

Bella fidgeted with a piece of her hair. She rolled the ends of one lock between her fingers until she'd created a tiny knot. "It's… raining. You should wear something to protect your clothes."

"You're concerned about my clothes?" Edward asked, the question dripping with skepticism. His jaw clenched in a seemingly unconscious reaction to her pathetic attempt at lying. But, when he spoke again, the comment was teasing and casual. "Now I know you've been spending too much time with Alice."

"It's not that. It would... look funny... if you didn't wear something," she lied a second time, just as feebly.

"I have a heavier coat in the trunk as well. Don't you think that would be more appropriate, more convincing?"

"Not really." Bella crossed her arms stubbornly, scowling. She wasn't sure who she was angrier at. Him for calling her bluff? Or herself for not making up a better explanation?

Edward seemed to study her for a moment. She could feel the weight of his gaze as he took in her obstinate posture, but she didn't return his stare.

He faced forward again. "Bella, I'll wear the jacket in front of your friends, if it will make you happy."

She glanced quickly at his face in surprise. Her arms relaxed.

"I would just like to know why it matters to you. The truth, please. I thought you already told Newton I'd accepted your gifts."

She grimaced. "I did." The news hadn't gone over like she'd hoped it would at all.

Bella had come into work early on Tuesday and found Mike hanging out in the back of the store, waiting to clock in. He had been exactly who she wanted to see. She couldn't wait to tell him how her gift to Edward had been received. She had grinned, unable to contain her excitement, feeling a bit smug.

Mike had looked mostly tired and bored, blue eyes dull, spiky blond hair less neatly gelled than usual. He had been paying attention to his phone. He pressed a button on the keypad, flipping it closed with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, as if it had done something to contribute to his mood. When he caught sight of her expression, though, his posture had improved instantly, and he beamed.

"Hey, Bella."

"Edward loved the camping supplies," she had burst out. "He's going to start using it right away."

Mike had looked off to the side. He went to the time clock, putting his back to her. "Huh."

She had followed him. "So, he doesn't have any problem with your family's store. It was never like that."

"Cool." He had left without turning around, the door to the back room swinging closed after him.

He'd made it perfectly clear that was all he was willing to say about it. Their conversations were strained and limited to strictly work-related things for the rest of the day.

Bella had been stung and frustrated by Mike's coldness. But now, in the Volvo, it looked like Edward was trying very hard not to crack a smile.

"And, even after you told him I'd use the items from his family's store, he still hates me." There was no question in Edward's voice. He sounded like he was rattling off a well-known fact, and Mike's resentment was a foregone conclusion.

"I don't think he believed me," Bella said flatly, irritated. What she was trying to do wasn't impossible. She could change the way people thought about Edward. So he was a vampire. So what? He shouldn't have to be an outsider. It was unfair for her to be the only one aside from his family that got to know him at all. "When he sees you in the jacket, he'll know I was telling the truth."

"Or he'll guess, correctly, that you wanted me to wear the jacket, and I'm helpless to resist anything you ask."

Bella rolled her eyes. As if she could be anything close to irresistible. "Right." But she smiled and her face warmed again as she returned her attention to the window.

Edward reached over to turn on some music, harmonizing with crooners straight out of the 1940s all the rest of the way there.