Edward

He'd felt lighthearted…for the rest of the day. Like if the worst case scenario had come to pass, and it wasn't the worst thing ever. He and Renesmee attended dinner, sat with a couple who had a boy her age, and though he didn't have her maturity, they'd become quick friends, arranging to meet at some of the ship's activities.

Bella Swan was on this ship. Now, he'd seen her…she'd been able to make a fool of him and chosen not to. He appreciated that. And now, he wondered what the likelihood of seeing her again was. She was the talent. Didn't they keep the performers on some other part of the ship? If so, he could inquire about the other activities and avoid her in the future. Yes, he could get through this. Renesmee had been all too pleased and she'd known better than to mention it.

This time, Edward was on hyper alert. He was not going to be trapped or manipulated. There was not a reason in the world he should run into Miss Feather Bella again.

Feather Bella.

She'd been too adorable with her feathers and the boa around her neck. And it would have been easier to not think of her if he didn't anticipate running into her again.

The next afternoon, Joseph, Nessie's new friend, and her were going down the slide. Edward made himself comfortable on a lounge chair and put on his sunglasses. The kids were having fun, and he thought, or tried to push away the thought that he didn't bring any work with him. When was the last time he found himself without work to do? And why was he having trouble winding down in the most relaxing atmosphere…with children laughing, steel drums playing in the background, and the sun on his face. He breathed and then allowed himself a moment to relax. Then he heard the chatter around him.

"That's her! Bella Swan!" Two females had said it from the row of lounge chairs behind him. "Let's get her autograph."

Another said, "I want a selfie with her."

Edward froze, and his gaze darted around to see where she was. She'd come from a corner exit, wearing a large sunhat and oversized sunglasses.

He shrunk in the chair, wishing he'd had a newspaper or something to hide his face. What was she doing out here among the guests? A crowd of females gathered around Bella, and he could no longer see her.

Ugh. Had she thought so much of herself that she needed to have her followers around her? Didn't she have a private lounge area?

He considered sneaking out but didn't want to get up to tell Nessie he was leaving and certainly did not want to attract Bella's attention.

It seemed her crowd just had to be within his line of sight. This was already awkward enough.

A lady offered to buy her a drink but Bella mentioned that she liked to keep her vibration high and stuck to water with lemon or herbal teas.

She tried to maintain her grace and looked like she was getting ancy; like she wanted to get out of there. But, hadn't she asked for this?

The crowd never seemed to disburse as an older woman continued to tell her story, and he heard Bella tell her at least three times that she had to go.

Seemed she was having issues with crowd control. He never would have thought she couldn't fend for herself. That's what she got. A man stormed up to the crowd and began yelling at Bella.

"You are a phony," he said. "Who do you think you are? You're the reason my wife left our 6 year marriage! You are a damn witch; that's what you are."

A foursome of ladies rounded on him, telling him to back away, but he continued to holler and make a scene, and Edward looked around to see if someone from security would be making their way over as soon as it appeared that this friendly fan session had turned into a string of insults.

Edward couldn't help himself and rose before he could think better of it. The man, balding and in his thirties, was yelling over her as the ladies tried to tell him to leave them alone. A foreign instinct inside of Edward rose from out of nowhere. This man was slurring his words, and what the heck was he doing on a cruise for families, slinging curses the way he was? People were watching, and the bartender held a phone to his ear, probably contacting security.

Edward actually wanted to slug the man who was being held off by Bella's little fan club.

As Edward approached, he heard her trying to debate with the man, telling him that her mission was to help people, but she might as well have been speaking to a brick wall.

"Miss Swan," Edward said in a loud voice. "I'm so glad I found you. You're needed on the lido deck. Come on. We're late." He went toward her, towering over the crowd of ladies and reaching out to her. He couldn't see her expression but her hand took his right away. And there was a serious zap of electricity at the touch.

"You take that heathen with you. Get her thrown off this ship."

Edward wanted to growl at him. "Let's go," he said, leading her away. He noted that Renesmee was watching him, and Edward knew he couldn't go back and talk to his daughter so he gave her a wink. And she winked back.

"Where do we go?" Edward whispered as they hurried away.

She pointed to the door marked staff, and pushed through the double doors. Now safely indoors, she removed her sunglasses, and her wide-eyed expression left him a little shaken.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said. "I just need a minute to catch my breath."

"What were you doing out there?"

"I was going to meditate by one of the pools. I hoped people would join me, and it…didn't go as I had hoped."

"But didn't you expect that you were going to encounter people?"

"I'm no different than anybody else."

"I see. How's that attitude working for you?"

"I adapt. Besides, I was led this way."

Oh…the universe again…

She still looked a bit shaken up, and he imagined she'd probably learned her lesson.

"So, are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. You can go."

"Well, I'm sure there are other places to go meditate. Like alone in your room. "

"That may be true, but I intend to do what I came out there to do. And talking to your daughter would be delightful…"

Grrr…"Renesmee is having fun with her friend, and I would appreciate it if you didn't. Like I told you."

"I was joking. I have a sense of humor."

"And what were you thinking? What if that man is still out there? And what if I hadn't been out there to step in?"

"I would've worked it out."

Edward swiped his hand down his face. Obviously there would be no talking to her.

"Okay. Fine. Do what you want."

"Fine. Good. That's what I was going to do."

They both headed to the doors at the same time, but Edward halted her with his hand.

"Bella…I think it's a bad idea…unless you enjoy creating this kind of drama."

"It's not about the drama. It's about not avoiding conflict."

"Sounds the same to me. Anyway, I'll go first."

She held out her arm, gesturing for him to go ahead. "I'm a big girl. I'm sure I can handle it," she said as she put her sunglasses back on.

He kept his doubt to himself because it seemed there was no convincing this woman. He wondered why she didn't have security or someone with her. The image of that man came back to him, his face contorted, shouting at her…

They both emerged onto the deck at the same time, and he made no move to leave. By this time the scene was clear and it was as though none of it had happened. The ladies were gone…and thankfully so was the belligerent man. She walked to a specific spot close to the pool, sat and crossed her legs. Then she didn't say a word for the next several minutes.

As much as Edward had wanted to throw her back to the sharks, he couldn't. He took his place in one of the lounge chairs, watching Renesmee as she and Joseph were now playing ping pong on the other side of the deck. Whispers rang out around him when people noticed Bella there, but to his surprise they kept their distance.

Renesmee appeared, and he wondered if she was going to try to join her, but instead she had Joseph standing beside her. "Is it okay if I go with Joseph's mom to get ice cream?"

He smiled. "Sure. You wanna meet for lunch?"

"Actually, Daddy, they're playing a movie in the lounge, and I was going to eat with Joseph and his parents, if that's okay. Unless you want to come too, I'm sure that would be fine."

"No," he said. "That's fine. Go have fun. Let's meet later."

Joseph's mom, a heavyset woman, waved to him as the kids caught up to her. She had her cell phone and he had his, so he had no doubt he could catch up with her , he wondered what would happen when Miss Bella Swan came out of her meditation. He grappled with leaving, but what else was he going to do? They were at sea until tomorrow, and what did an adult do alone on a Disney cruise?

"Mind if I join you?"

Looked like she was done with her meditation and pointed to the lounge chair beside him.

"Suit yourself."

"Look, I appreciate what you did back there. Can I buy you a drink?"

"Are you admitting that you didn't have it handled?"

"I'm saying that it would've worked out…whether you appeared or not. That's kind of the way the universe works."

"Yeah, you'll have to excuse me if I call bullshit on that one."

She sat down on the chair. "Oh? Can you recall an instance where things didn't work out… in retrospect?"

He looked at her, wanting to roll his eyes. "I can recall many." His wife had died, for one.

"Ah, I see."

"Wait. What does that mean?"

"It means that you don't think that things are happening for you. That you're a victim of your circumstances. It's a common belief."

Sigh. "Can we not do this? You obviously have your belief system…and I have mine."

"How's that working for you?"

"Pretty well. I mean, I'm on a cruise ship. My life is great."

"But you just said that things haven't worked out for you."

"That's not what I meant."

She giggled. "I know."

Exasperated, he sat up. "Something funny."

"It's just that I enjoy arguing with you."

Oh. Oh. "Well, I'm so glad I can be of entertainment to you."

"It's just exhilarating!"

This just was ridiculous, her looking at him all bright-eyed this way.

"Maybe we can argue some more over lunch?"

Bella

Edward Masen was unnerving. And it was unsettling to her the way he affected her. From the moment their fingers touched, that zap of electricity bolted her attention, telling her that this was no ordinary interaction. Edward Masen was meant to be in her life—whether it was as his daughter had manifested or not—he was there for a reason.

She couldn't fault his timing at which he appeared, encountering her as a damsel in distress. It bothered her to think that she seemed helpless. But, when he so kindly burst in and offered help, she found herself helpless not to accept.

She was going to be who she was.

She'd told him the truth, having found arguing with him disturbingly intoxicating. Because it was all in fun, wasn't it? Or was he going to insult her? Maybe she'd read him all wrong? Maybe he truly didn't want to spend another second with her…despised her that much.

"I'd prefer if we didn't argue," he said.

She tried not to appear disappointed. It wasn't the disagreement that she loved, but rather the banter. The way his lips curved…but then disappeared into the frown. No, it was something else.

A tall thin woman appeared, holding a beach bag and could hardly contain her excitement. "Miss Swan! I'm so excited for your workshop later! Could you sign this, please?" she asked as she pulled Bella's book out of her bag.

Bella signed it, thanked her for her support, and waited for Edward's response. "Okay, sorry."

"Are you sure you want to be out…in front of people?"

"I'm like everybody else."

"You said that, but don't you value your privacy?"

Another woman was headed toward her now. "Yes, I do."

He suggested meeting at the dining room and he would request a private table. Giddy at the idea of talking to him, she held back a smile. If he hated her that much why would he agree to have lunch with her?

She met him at one of the exclusive restaurants. The server walked her over to a table beside a large window, featuring the ocean view. This was amazing, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd sat in the company of a man, an attractive man.

He was sipping from a wine glass and she ordered a flavored water and browsed the menu.

His linen shirt brought out the green in his eyes, and when he smiled, she was disarmed by it. But she didn't know if it was an actual smile or if something sarcastic was coming next. Whatever it was, she was here for it.

"Is this your first cruise?" he asked.

"My first Disney cruise. My inner child decided that this tour has been long and meaningful and that it was time to stop being so serious and play."

"Your inner child?"

"Yes. Everybody has one. Even you." She smiled.

"Uh huh. But we grow up, and then we just let go of some things."

"True, but if you listen, your inner child speaks to you, inviting you to have fun. It's beautiful in a way if you think about it. When we were children, we wanted to have the freedom of an adult, be able to do what we wanted and not have anybody tell us what to do. So, now here we are, we have that choice now, with the money to do the things we want."

"Yeah, but I don't find myself wanting to do childish things."

"That's because you're too serious, Goofy Eddie."

"Ah…is that right, Feather Bella?"

"You are way too uptight."

"Uptight? I…" He stopped himself. "I said I didn't want to argue, but I respectfully disagree."

Such an adult thing to say. She scanned the menu and sighed. The server appeared and they ordered.

"What would you do if you could go back to being Renesmee's age and you were allowed to make music."

He mused. "I guess I'd have a library full of songs. I probably would have learned to play the violin, and maybe played on the baseball team. I was pretty good in high school."

She frowned. "When was the last time you wrote music?"

"I started a piece before Nessie's mom died…and then…"

"Grief took over. I'm so sorry, Edward. That must've been so painful, and I'm sure it still hurts."

His eyes took on a faraway look and he cleared his throat, coming out of the trance. "I prefer not to talk about it."

"Ah. I see."

"What?"

"Your inner child is still dealing with it?"

"Maybe this has less to do with my "inner child" and more to do with not wishing to discuss my private life."

Before she shot back a retort, she took a bite of her food, allowing the flavors to sink in. "I apologize."

He laughed. "You're actually apologizing."

"Yeah. Why?"

"I didn't know you had it in you."

Oh, there was so much she could say…what about that nasty email he'd sent her?

"Look, I'm sorry about the whole video thing. If it really means that much to you…"

"You'll edit us out?"

She doubted that would sit well with Angela. "I was going to say that we could edit it. But, I'm not sure if we could wholly exclude either of you."

"I'd say that was very self-serving."

"I'd say that it's very self-serving of you to ask me to do that."

He put down his fork, and his brows were pinched together. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

Maybe. What had she been thinking?

"I…don't know what else to say."

He scoffed. "I'm sure that's a rarity for you."

Actually, it was, but it was very ungentlemanly of him to point that out. "You just can't help yourself, can you? You just have to insult me?"

"It's just that…"

"What? You won't get your way, and so I have to find a way to make you happy? That's not really the way things work."

"Oh? Tell me how it is that things really work, oh wise one?"

"You do what you feel is right and hope for the best. Ultimately, things will either work out as you had hoped, or they won't. But you have to go with it."

"Here we are again." He stood, tossing his napkin onto the table.

"Edward, it doesn't have to be this way. Sit down, please, and let's talk about this."

"I've tried."

"What? Did you meet me for lunch because you thought after everything that I would still agree to remove you from the video? I thought we were past that."

"Well, I'm not."

She blew out a breath. "Okay. Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise."

He paused for a moment but then shook his head. "Same to you."

A/N: Ahhhh, but will they find a common ground? Thanks to those who are reading, following, and reviewing, I appreciate you! More to come, and I'd love to hear from you. Maybe someday the alerts will work again. Please check back for updates as I try to play catch up. :)