4
"What to grab some lunch before I head to the shop?"
Bella's eyes widened before she shook her head. "I, um, I kind of have plans."
Carlisle raised an eye. "You do?"
She nodded.
"With that boy?"
Again, she nodded.
"What are you doing?"
She shrugged.
"Birdie? What are you and that boy doing?"
She sighed. "I don't know. He said we're going on an adventure."
"An adventure? What does that mean?"
"I don't know," she muttered. "Am I not allowed to hang out with him?"
"I didn't say that," Carlisle was quick to say. "I'm just curious."
Bella nodded.
"Is he picking you up?"
"At eleven."
This time, he nodded. "Will you bring him by the shop so I can meet him?"
Bella groaned.
"I just want to meet him, Birdie. Not like I'm going to interrogate the boy."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever," she mumbled.
Carlisle laughed before he pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head. "Make sure you have your phone and take my card. Just in case you need to call an Uber or something."
"Fine."
"Have fun, Birdie. Just . . . try to have some fun today, okay?"
Bella nodded.
Carlisle grabbed his keys and phone before he left. The second her uncle was gone, Bella hurried into the bathroom and showered. She couldn't explain why she was nervous. It wasn't like Edward was anything more than a friend, but then again, she'd never had a real friend before.
She dried off and then put on her black cotton shorts and a white tank top with a blue and yellow wave. She'd just finished braiding her hair when she heard a knock on the front door. Scrambling back into her bedroom, she grabbed her flip-flops and hurried to the door, finding Edward standing there.
"Hey," he said, smiling.
"Hey," she replied softly. "You're early."
"Mom said if you aren't early, then you're late."
Bella laughed. "My mom always said if you aren't at least ten minutes late, you're an overachiever."
Edward chuckled. "That's fair."
Bella slipped her shoes on before grabbing her bag, her phone, house keys, and Carlisle's debit card before dropping them inside. "We, um, we have to make a quick stop."
"We do?"
She nodded. "My uncle is kind of insisting on meeting you."
"Okay."
"You're okay with that?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, grinning. "Mom was grilling me this morning about you."
"What'd you tell her?"
"That you're beautiful," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh," she whispered, feeling her cheeks warm.
Edward held his hand out. "Are you ready?"
Bella nodded, making sure the door was locked before she joined him on the front porch. "Are you going to tell me what we're doing today?"
"Nope," he snickered, and when she grimaced, he added, "It's an adventure, Bella. Trust me."
"And can I? Trust you, I mean?"
"Absolutely," he said sincerely.
"Okay," she whispered, wrapping her fingers around his.
Edward led her down the white, curving staircase to where a seafoam green Ford Bronco Beach Cruiser was parked. He gave her a look when he opened the door for her.
"My father gave it to me for my birthday. He said if I was going to be a beach bum, I should have a beach bum car. If I didn't want it, I would have told him to fuck off. He thinks he can buy my forgiveness for cheating on my mom."
"That sucks."
Edward shrugged. "It does. But enough about him. Let's go meet your uncle, and then we can have some fun."
Bella got in, and watched Edward hurry to the other side, climbing in behind the wheel. Once they had their seatbelts on, he headed toward Carlisle's shop. He parked in the lot behind the store, telling her to wait when she reached for the door handle.
She felt her cheeks warm when he opened it and offered her his hand once again. The two walked around the front of the shop. Edward placed his hand in the middle of her back as he pushed the door open and ushered her inside. Carlisle sat on a stool behind the counter, writing in a large binder. When he looked up, his eyes flickered between the two, and he smiled.
"Thought you weren't going to stop by Birdie."
Bella rolled her eyes. "You told us to."
"Still." Carlisle stood and walked around the counter, holding his hand to Edward. "Don't believe we've met before."
"No, sir. I've been in a few times. Nice place you've got. I'm Edward Masen."
"Carlisle Cullen. Thank you. I'm proud of it," he said with a smile. "What's your plan for today, Edward?"
"Oh, um, we're going on an adventure. Right, Bella?"
She simply nodded.
"And what exactly are you planning on doing on this adventure?"
"Carlisle," Bella hissed, glaring at him.
He laughed. "I'm not doing anything, Birdie."
"Whatever," she muttered, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment.
"I'm going to take her over to the cove behind the boardwalk. It's, um, kind of my favorite place to go," Edward replied. "If that's okay with you, of course."
"I don't see why not," Carlisle said, his eyes flickering to Bella. "You kids have fun, and you know, be safe."
"Yes, sir, I'll have her home early, too. I promise."
Carlisle's grin grew. "Make sure you do, Edward."
"Can we go now?" Bella asked, glaring at her uncle, who just smiled wider.
"Yep," Carlisle replied, and as Bella and Edward started walking toward the door, he said, "Hey, Birdie?"
"What?" she groaned.
"You have your phone, right? In case you need to call for help or anything."
"Yes," she muttered, her cheeks darkening even more.
"Have fun."
Rolling her eyes, she couldn't keep from smiling when she felt Edward's hand on the middle of her back, ushering her out of the shop and over to his cruiser.
"I'm sorry about him," she grumbled.
Edward snickered. "Don't. He's just doing his job, right? Not like he knows me, Bella. I do have one question, though."
"What?"
"Why does he call you Birdie?"
She scoffed. "Because when I was little, I would follow him around, and according to him, I might have talked all the time. He's called me Birdie practically my whole life."
"It's cute." Edward opened the passenger door. "Are you ready?"
Nodding, she climbed inside and pulled on her seatbelt. As Edward hurried around to the other side, she wondered if her mother would have approved of him.
Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews! Big thank you to Sunflower Fran for being an awesome beta! If you haven't joined her group, It All Started with Twilight, on Facebook, do it now!