30

Bella sat in a booth in the farthest corner of Danvers, waiting for her father to arrive. Ten days had passed since she and Edward walked out of his house, since her brother called her stupid, grabbed her arm, and almost caused her to fall. Ten long days of ignoring Jasper's phone calls, knocks on her front door, and text messages.

Alice brought her dinner the next night. She even brought enough for Edward. While there, she never mentioned her husband or his idiotic behavior. Jasper had a beautiful bouquet of roses delivered, which she placed in the middle of the dining room table. She hadn't yet thanked him. His voicemails and messages were filled with apologies and regret; however, she wasn't ready to deal with his guilty conscience.

"Hey, honey, sorry I'm late." Charlie huffed, leaning toward her and kissing the top of her head before sliding into the booth across from her. "Wreck on the highway had traffic stopped for almost half an hour, and then it felt like I hit every red light."

Bella laughed, trailing her finger along the rim of her water glass. "It's lunchtime, Dad. What'd you think was going to happen? And how did you get away from work?"

"Told Mrs. Cope I have a dentist appointment. Don't give me that look, Izzy. The woman acts like I must explain myself to her."

"Apparently, you do," she snickered.

"Whatever," he scoffed, picking up his menu. "Know what you're getting yet?"

"Just some chowder."

His eyes lifted over the top. "That's it? I've never known you to come here and not get shrimp or crab legs. Hell, even tilapia."

Bella nodded. "Not very hungry."

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes," she said with a smile. "Just . . . Edward came over and made me breakfast."

"Oh," he responded, lifting the menu a bit higher.

She rolled her eyes, picked up her glass, and took a sip. "It was just food. Not like he slept over."

"Okay." Charlie hummed. "I think I'm going to get the crab legs."

"You don't approve of Edward."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't not say that, either."

Charlie laid the menu down before clasping his hands together. "Do I love the idea of my daughter dating the boy who once almost got her killed? No, I don't, Izzy. But you don't answer to me."

"He's not a boy," she mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"You called him a boy. Edward is a man, Dad. He's . . . he's not that same lost, scared kid who turned to drugs and alcohol to deal with the fact that his parents sucked."

"Okay." He picked up the menu. "I might get some oysters, too."

"Dad!" Bella exclaimed, causing him to chuckle and drop the menu.

"What do you want me to say, kiddo? You're a grown woman. If you tell me that man is someone you trust and feel safe with, then I am going to trust you."

"Yeah?"

Charlie nodded.

"Then why did you want to meet for lunch?"

"Can't a father just miss his daughter?"

"No."

He scoffed, but then turned serious. "You need to forgive your brother."

"I need . . . I'm not going to talk about him with you."

"He feels horrible."

"He should."

"Izzy, just . . . look at it from his perspective."

Bella shook her head. "His perspective, Dad? He told me I was being stupid because I'm choosing to . . . to move on with my life."

"Well, it is kind of quick."

Closing her eyes for a moment, she scooted to the edge of the booth, but Charlie was quick to keep her from standing. "Move, Dad."

"I'm not going to let you run away just because it's uncomfortable for a second."

"I'm not running away. I just don't want to sit here and be told how reckless I'm being with my life. When I came back from New York, you and Jay told me how I couldn't wallow in my grief; I had to think about Little Bit." She paused, blinking against the tears that burned her eyes. "I . . . I don't know if this thing between me and Edward will ever be more than . . . what it is, but I can't ignore the way he makes me feel."

Her father settled back into the booth. "So, tell me how he makes you feel. Help me understand."

Bella bit her lip before saying, "I don't know that I can explain it without sounding like a silly schoolgirl, but when I'm with him, it doesn't hurt. I . . . He tells me I'm beautiful, and he calls me sweetheart, Dad. Nobody else calls me sweetheart, but he does. And he doesn't . . . he doesn't scold me when I feel sad and cry over Carlisle," she whimpered. "Carlisle knew Edward had feelings for me, Dad, and that's why he agreed to leave Woodbury. Maybe. . . I don't know . . . maybe Carlisle really didn't love me, maybe he was just scared to live without me. I don't know. I may never know the truth. But I do know I can't keep living in the past, not for me and not for Little Bit."

"You know you can't keep calling my grandson Little Bit."

Bella smiled. "I know, but for now, that's who he is."

"I won't lie to you, Izzy; I worry about you and Edward. Not because of his past. Or not justbecause of his past, I should say."

"Then why do you worry?"

"Because you're my daughter, Izzy, and you look at that boy with a look I've only ever seen in your eyes with Carlisle."

"Dad," she mumbled, feeling her cheeks warm.

"I'm just saying, kiddo. Now, enough about him. Tell me what names you're considering for Little Bit."

—RtW—

"Are you sure I can't help you?"

Rosalie laughed as she sat on the floor and folded the mountain of laundry next to her. "Just keep little miss sassy pants entertained while I handle this."

"I mean, if you insist," Bella snickered, shifting her attention back to the almost three-month-old baby girl propped up on her legs.

If it weren't for the pink headband and small studs in her ears, one would have thought Jasmine was a boy. She was completely bald. She'd almost doubled her birth weight and had plump, rosy-red cheeks. She opened her blue eyes, her lips twisting into a delicate 'O' before smacking her mouth closed.

"So, you and Edward are finally seeing each other, huh?"

Bella bit her lip as she shifted her eyes to Rosalie. "He told you?"

"He didn't have to," she scoffed. "Everything is Izzy this and Izzy that. Kind of disgusting, to be honest."

"Gee, thanks!"

Rosalie laughed before picking up a towel. "He told me about breakfast with the fam. Guess it didn't go all that well, did it?"

"That's an understatement." Bella shifted so she was seated with Jasmine cradled against her chest. "What did Edward tell you?"

"Said your dad seemed to be okay with him being there, but Jasper . . . Well, his voice tends to carry when he's worked up. How many times did we hear him and your dad going at it when he was in high school?"

"A lot," she said. "But Jay's never . . . he's never talked to me like that, Ro. Never."

"I'm sure he's just worried about you."

"About me dating Edward, you mean?"

Rosalie nodded. "Can't really blame him, can you?"

"Are you serious? You're the one who kept telling me to give him a chance."

"And I think you should," Rosalie argued. "But Jasper hasn't seen how much Edward's changed in the last ten years."

"He really has, too, hasn't he?"

She stood and sat on the couch, sliding Jasmine into her arms. "You know, when he came back from California, I . . . I wasn't sure he had changed, either."

"You didn't?"

"Nah, I mean, it wasn't the first time he'd told us he was going to quit using, stop drinking. But every time his old man came at him, he just . . . He didn't know how to handle that asshole without drugs or alcohol."

"So, what changed your mind?"

"It wasn't just one thing. It was . . . it was a little bit of everything. The way he handled his mother's death, for one. The old Edward would have been frantic, desperate to make sure that her funeral was perfect. He didn't want his piece-of-shit father to take out his grief on him," she quipped. "Of course, he didn't hang around long enough, so it was a moot point."

Rosalie laid Jasmine in her playpen before sitting again. "Nobody else came to her funeral, Izzy. Just me and Charlie Swan."

"Dad went to the funeral?"

She shook her head. "Emmett was overseas, so he couldn't go. Dr. and Mrs. Black hadn't quite gotten to the point where they forgave Edward for Jake's death. I walked into the church, expecting to find other people in attendance, but there weren't any. Your dad sat on one side, Edward on the other. When the service was over, your father shook Edward's hand, told him if he needed anything to let him know, and then left. I respected him for being there for Edward."

Bella nodded.

"Anyway, after that, Edward started working at The Oasis. Like you, I wondered if he was using the 'O' as an excuse to drink. But when Old Man Banner got sick, I saw how Edward cared for him. His death was harder on Edward than his mother's, which is not surprising considering how cruel that woman could be."

"Cruel is an understatement."

"When I got pregnant with Jazzy, Izzy, I . . . I was convinced I was going to lose her. I didn't tell Emmett until I was almost five months along. Just . . . I just wanted to save him the heartache if the worst happened," Rosalie whimpered, looking toward where her infant daughter slept. "Edward was there for me when Emmett couldn't be. He . . . he saved our lives the day I fell, was prepared to . . . to be my labor partner if Emmett didn't make it home in time. Izzy, I know letting him in like this is hard, scary even, but he's worth it. He is . . . he is so worth it."

"Yeah, yeah, he's definitely worth it, Ro."

—RtW—

"Where the hell are my keys?" Bella muttered to herself as she searched the kitchen.

Aggravated, she placed her hand on her stomach and shuffled into her bedroom, thinking they might be on the dresser. Luckily, they were, but before she could move, her phone rang.

Bella groaned and slipped it out of her pocket, sighing when she saw 'Big Bro' flashing across the screen. This was at least the tenth call from Jasper that day, and he'd sent a minimum of a dozen text messages. She was already running late for her appointment with Dr. Black, and the last thing she needed to deal with right then and there was easing her brother's guilt.

She needed to sit and talk to him, but he had never spoken to her with such malice before. So, instead of answering, she denied the call and shoved her phone back into her pocket. Bella hurried back into the kitchen and finished making her coffee. She had been convinced that once she got pregnant, she would have to give it up, but Dr. Black told her if she limited it to one cup per day, she could still indulge.

Her phone rang once again, this time it was Edward. She couldn't keep the smile off her lips as she answered softly, "Hey, you almost here?"

"I'm on my way. My delivery was late, and there were two broken bottles. Then they argued with me about cleaning up their mess and giving me credit."

"It's okay. We should still make it in time. You know, as long as we don't run into any red lights, drive at least sixty miles an hour, and left five minutes ago."

"I already called Dr. Black's office and let them know you were running behind."

"Don't you just think of everything," she teased, carrying her cup into the living room and sitting on the couch, groaning.

"You okay, sweetheart?"

"Just pregnant. Ro says I've officially popped."

"You're beautiful."

"You're too kind."

"I just speak the truth."

Bella smiled, shaking her head before she leaned over and placed her cup on the side table. "Was the bar busy last night?"

"It wasn't too bad. A couple of big groups came in, but nothing we couldn't handle, especially with Em there. Did you have fun with Ro?"

"Of course I did. I got baby snuggles. Jazzy said I'm her favorite person in the whole, entire world."

"She doesn't even talk yet, Iz. Besides, we know I'm her favorite," Edward snickered. But before Bella could insist otherwise, the doorbell rang. "Are you expecting someone other than me?"

"The Newton boy was going to come by and clean out my gutters," she said, standing. "I tried to tell him it wasn't necessary, but he refused to take no for an answer."

"Maybe he has a crush," Edward quipped. But before she could refute the suggestion, the doorbell rang again.

"Give me a second." Bella laid her phone on the couch before she walked over, turned the deadbolt, and yanked the door open.

However, it wasn't young Michael Newton standing on her front porch. Instead, it was Peter Cullen.

Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews! Big thanks to Sunflower Fran for cleaning up my messes.