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Chapter 11 – Two Steps Back
Edward's POV
The smell of French toast and bacon tickled my nostrils, waking me from my comfortable
slumber. I stretched my arms over my head and squinted my eyes open. The sight of unfamiliar
eggshell colored walls and light pink sheets greeted me. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes,
trying to figure out exactly where I was. The sound of a familiar voice humming from the
kitchen gave me my answer.
"Holy shit," I muttered to myself. I never stayed at a woman's house. In fact, I couldn't even
remember the last time I went back to a woman's house. I thought about the previous night and
how much fun it was to take Bella out on an actual date. It had been years since I'd done
anything like that, and even though it wasn't my style, I found myself wanting to do it again.
Well, assuming it was with Bella. I still had no desire to date any of the other women on this
island.
I felt a small twinge of an unrecognizable feeling in my stomach. It's not that you don't
recognize it, it's just that you haven't felt it in so long you've forgotten it, a tiny voice in the
back of my head piped up.
"You're awake!" Bella exclaimed from the doorway. I looked over at her and couldn't help but
smile. She was wearing nothing but my t-shirt from the night before. Her hair was pulled back
in a loose ponytail and she had her glasses on. It took every ounce of my self-control to keep
me from launching myself across the room and taking her right then and there on the floor.
"Good morning to you too," I said, pushing back the covers and standing up. Bella's cheeks
flushed with embarrassment, and I looked down at my naked body. I chuckled and grabbed my
boxer briefs off the floor, pulling them on and striding towards her. "Nothing you haven't seen
before, right?"
"I, uh, made breakfast. I didn't know if you had somewhere to go or if you'd even be hungry,
but I figured…" Her voice trailed off and the blush on her cheeks deepened in color. This woman
was damn cute when she was nervous.
"Breakfast sounds great." I reached out and ran my fingertips down her jaw and neck before
leaning forward and pressing my lips against hers softly. Her body melted against mine and her
hands went to my hair immediately. I ran my tongue along her lips and she opened them,
inviting me in for a taste. Our tongues swirled around together for several minutes before I had
to pull away and catch my breath.
"Wow," she breathed, taking a few steps back and placing her hands on her hips. "This is not at
all meant in some creepy, clingy, stalkerish way, but I honestly don't think I could tire of kissing
you."
I laughed and swatted at her butt playfully. "You have no idea how many times I've heard that."
Bella shook her head and rolled her eyes, leading the way to her small kitchen.
"Remind me not to pay you anymore compliments until after your book comes out. If your head
gets any bigger there's a good chance you won't be able to fit through the door to your own
release party!"
I dropped down in one of the dining chairs and laughed. "You'll probably have to ask them to
widen the entrances as it is. I'm a loud and proud egotistical bastard."
"Please, tell me something I don't know." Bella set a plate of food and cup of coffee down in
front of me.
I may have moaned when I bit into her French toast. "This tastes amazing. Who taught you how
to cook?"
Bella's cheeks flushed once again. "I learned from my mom when I was younger. Neither one of
us wanted to subject ourselves to Charlie's cooking, so we traded off meal planning while I was
growing up."
"Well, if everything you made tasted like this, I'm quite sure Charlie was one happy camper."
"He lived his life surrounded by beautiful women and delicious food – what more could a man
want?" She slipped a strawberry into her mouth and winked at me from across the table. I felt
my dick twitch and imagined how good it would feel for me to be in her mouth.
What can I say? You can take the patron out of the restaurant but that doesn't mean his appetite
is gone.
"So, I was wondering…" Bella's words trailed off and she started clearing the table. As I watched
her move about the kitchen, I was transported back to a different time and a different
apartment. Instead of Bella's stunning figure in front of me, I saw Jessica's, moving around in
one of my button-down shirts, tipping her head back in laughter at my jokes, and looking at me
with a ridiculous amount of love in her eyes. When Bella turned around to face at me, I saw the
beginnings of what could someday be that same expression in her eyes.
"I know we just went out last night and all, but did you want to do something today? It's
beautiful outside and you're here already." Bella sounded so hopeful. I closed my eyes and tried
to swallow back the lump of fear that was quickly rising in my throat. I wanted to stay. I wanted
to shower with her and take her to a movie and perhaps to a nice restaurant later. I wanted to
bring her back to my place and worship her body in the same fashion I had last night and the
Friday before. I wanted to take her to meet Carlisle and Esme and show her off to my
colleagues at next month's holiday banquet.
But doing those things meant cutting my heart open and letting her in, making myself vulnerable
and opening whatever we had up to the possibility of my fucking everything up. I couldn't do
that - not to Bella or to myself. She was too good of a woman and she deserved so much more
than I was willing – and able - to give her.
I had to keep some distance so that when this bet was all over, I didn't break her too much. I
knew I couldn't live with myself if I did.
"I, uh, actually have a, uh, thing this afternoon," I sputtered out, standing up and heading
towards the bedroom. "I should probably head home."
"Oh, okay." She followed me and started to peel off my t-shirt, but I put my hand on her arm
gently to stop her.
"Keep the shirt. I can button mine up."
She bit her lower lip and crossed her arms protectively over her chest, looking away from me
and out the window. "Am I going to see you again soon?"
"Of course," I said, tying my sneakers and grabbing my coat off the edge of her dresser. "We
have a meeting on Wednesday and another interview on Thursday, right?"
Bella reeled back like she'd been slapped, but composed herself quickly. "Uh, yes, that's right."
She shook her head a few times and looked up at me with an icy expression. "I guess I'll see
you then."
"Thank you for breakfast." I stepped forward to kiss her lips, but she turned her head. I ignored
the stab of pain in my chest and pressed my lips softly against her cheek instead before turning
to leave.
I didn't bother calling a cab. I needed time to myself to process my thoughts.
I saw my long walk home as a chance to figure out what the hell I felt for Bella. Because the moment I left her apartment, I knew that she no longer fell into my "just a friend" category.
Emmett's POV
Rose wasn't a morning person – especially on the weekends. I learned this the very first time I
made the mistake of trying to wake her up early. She'd practically slapped me before yelling at
me that nine am was too much and she always met her girls for brunch towards noon.
I hadn't tried waking her up before ten on a Saturday or Sunday since.
You can imagine my surprise when I rolled out of bed at eight thirty that Saturday and found my
gorgeous girlfriend dressed, made up, and drinking coffee in the living room.
"Someone is up mighty early," I teased, kissing her cheek and rubbing her shoulders. She tipped
her head back and smiled up at me.
"This someone has to meet her parents for lunch at Barney's this afternoon. That requires plenty
of coffee and awake time."
I walked around the couch and sunk down next to her, resting my head against her shoulder. "I
see. And to what occasion do you owe this lunch?"
"My older sister is getting married – again – and she's in town to get fitted for her dress," Rose
explained. "We haven't seen each other since she moved to Colorado earlier this year, so my
presence is requested."
"This wouldn't happen to be the same sister you couldn't stand two weeks ago, would it?"
Rose jabbed me playfully in the ribs. "Siblings are supposed to hate each other every few
weeks. It's in our blood. Besides, Bree can be quite the handful at times, especially when she's
the center of attention in the family like she is right now."
I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to me, planting a kiss on her forehead.
"I'm just giving you a hard time babe. Feel free to hate away."
I leaned my head back against the cushions and closed my eyes. I'd been debating whether or
not to out Edward and Jasper's bet since I talked to Cullen at the gym two days earlier. Edward's
book didn't come out for another couple of weeks, and even though he swore up and down he'd
fix things after it was released, that seemed like too much time to let this go on.
I'd never been in a situation that caused me as much internal conflict as this one was. On one
hand, it wasn't my business and I knew I shouldn't be butting my nose in. Actions had
consequences, and both Jasper and Edward would find that out the hard way when word of the
bet surfaced. On the other hand, Bella was Rose's best friend, and Rose was my girlfriend,
which left me obligated to spill the beans. If I didn't, and Rose found out in the future, things
would crumble, and I didn't want that to happen.
My motives were more selfish than anything at that point, but as I held her in my arms on the
couch, I knew I had to tell her.
"Can I talk to you about something?" I asked. Rose sat up and turned so she was facing me.
"Of course. You can talk to me about anything," she said, fixing me with an intense gaze. I took
a deep breath and pulled at a loose thread on my sweatshirt. I had no idea how to start the
conversation.
"Before I say anything, please promise me you'll at least try to control that temper of yours.
The last thing this building needs is a Rosalie Smith explosion." The corners of my mouth turned
up in a smile and Rose's followed suit. I hoped that by getting her to laugh now I'd soften the
blow that was coming.
"Perhaps you shouldn't tell me anything," she joked. "Do I need to get a drink? Maybe a valium?
Isn't it a little early to lay something this heavy on me?"
"No, but, I should probably take my morning leak before I get started. I'm pretty sure my
pissing my pants on your couch wouldn't be appreciated."
Rose rolled her eyes and tossed a pillow at me. "That's really mature, Hale. How old did you say
you were again?"
"Old enough to know better but too young to care," I called over my shoulder as I headed for
the restroom. I took a piss, washed my hands, and splashed some cold water on my face. After
a few deep breaths and a short face-to-face pep talk with myself in the mirror, I felt ready to
spill the beans to Rose.
When I opened the bathroom door, however, I could hear her voice coming from the living
room.
"Bella, take a deep breath and calm down, please." Rose was standing by the window talking on
her cell phone.
"What's wrong?" I mouthed. She furrowed her brow and shrugged her shoulders.
"So he just left? Without an explanation?" Rose nodded her head, even though Bella clearly
couldn't see her. "I'll be over shortly, hun. Just sit tight and try to relax." Rose hung up the
phone and turned to face me.
"What's going on?" I didn't even need to ask to know that the "he" she referred to was Edward.
"That asshole you and Jasper call your buddy took Bella out last night, spent the night at her
place, and then left abruptly after breakfast." Rose grabbed her coat from the hall closet. "He
didn't even give her an explanation, just some lame excuse about having 'something to do' in the
afternoon. Then he managed to evade the question of whether or not they were going out again.
I knew this was going to happen."
"Rose-" Her stern look stopped me in my tracks.
"Don't try to make any excuses for him, Emmett. I thought him taking her out might have meant
something, but clearly I shouldn't have been so quick to give that green-eyed monster the
benefit of the doubt." She was out the door before I could get any more words in.
I sunk down on the couch and lowered my head to my hands. Perhaps I didn't give Edward
enough credit. From the sounds of it, he'd certainly managed to put an end to things, although
not in the most tactful way. Bella was hurt, but I didn't doubt the pain now was far less intense
than it had the potential to be.
I felt ashamed by the fact that this development relieved me. Edward got me off the hook
however, and now we could all proceed forward as if this bet had never existed in the first
place.
I went back to the bedroom in search of my phone. The first thing I needed to do was call
Jasper and let him know what happened.
Then I needed to call Cullen and chew his ass out.
Bella's POV
On Wednesday morning, I didn't want to get out of bed. For the first time in years I thought
about calling in sick. Alice wasn't stupid though, and since Rose had filled her in on what
happened with Edward, she'd put two and two together in no time.
Being the hopeless romantic she was, the little pixie brat remained convinced the whole idea of
dating intimidated Edward and he was too embarrassed to admit that to me. She instructed me
to give him a week or two to gather his thoughts and then freak out if I still hadn't heard from
him.
Rose, on the other hand, was Team Kick-That-Bastard-To-The-Curb-Right-Now. According to her,
second chances were like trust; they had to be earned, and so far, Edward hadn't earned
anything. I tended to gravitate to her side of the fence, but there was a part of me that didn't
want to let go of Alice's prerogative.
I took my time getting ready and making sure not a single hair was out of place. If Edward did
mean to give me the boot, I didn't want him to think it had any real effect on my emotions or
my ability to work with him.
My cool composure disappeared as soon as he strode into my office.
"Good morning, beautiful," he sang out, setting two Starbucks cups down on the table. He
walked around my desk and kissed my cheek before letting his eyes roam up the length of my
entire body. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes today!"
"How original," I scoffed. It was impossible to stay upset – or avoid being dazzled – when I saw
his playful expression. "Did you bring everything I asked you to?"
"Yes, ma'am." Edward opened his portfolio and pulled out several pieces of paper. "Final guest
list, menu selections, and book shipment details." He handed the papers to me and settled into
his usual seat.
"Perfect! Carmen should be here any minute." We were meeting with one of the event managers
from the W to finalize all of the arrangements for the book release party, which was now a
mere three weeks away.
"Did you have a good rest of the weekend?" Edward's eyes fell on me and he smiled. I took a
sip of my latte, wondering how to best answer his question.
"It wasn't so bad. I spent a lot of time with Alice and Rose. How about you?"
He lifted his coffee to his lips and glanced at the clock. "Mine was good. Hit the gym, visited my
parents, did some grocery shopping. Nothing too eventful I guess."
"No Jasper? Aren't you two usually attached at the hip at some point between Friday and
Monday?" I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
Edward looked uncomfortable. "Our schedules haven't exactly meshed as of late," he explained.
I could tell he was lying, but I knew it wasn't my place to ask. "Besides, he has Alice attached to
his hip now. Which is good – I've never seen him happier."
"Speaking of Alice…" my voice trailed off and I looked up at my friend, who was now perched in
the doorway.
"The event manager from the W is here," Alice explained, standing aside so Carmen could enter
the office. I smiled at Alice and she winked at me before closing the door.
An hour and a half later, everything was in place for the party. Carmen was contacting the
caterer and an event designer, I was working with the publisher and sending out the invitations,
and Edward got to sit back, relax, and watch everything come together.
Despite my confusion surrounding where we stood outside of the office, I was pretty damn
proud of what Edward and I had managed to accomplish in such a short period of time as a
professional duo.
"That went very well," I said after Carmen made her exit. Edward was grinning from ear to ear.
"I can't believe this is all happening." He shook his head in disbelief. "I couldn't do this without
you, you know."
"Oh, I'm pretty sure you could do it, but your publicist probably wouldn't be half as cool," I
joked. Edward laughed and collected his things.
"I can't argue with that." He started for the door, and then turned around. "We're still on for
tomorrow afternoon, right?"
Not in the way I'd like to be, I thought. "Correct. The Times reporter will meet us at the Plaza at
two thirty for the interview."
"Perfect." He smiled and turned back towards the door. "Thanks for everything, Bella. I can't tell
you how much I appreciate it."
"You're welcome," I called out as I watched him walk down the hallway. He waved over his
shoulder before disappearing into the elevator.
I sat down at my desk and sighed, twining my fingers in my hair. Alice was in my office in no
time.
"So? Did you talk about Saturday?"
I shook my head and blinked back the tears that threatened to spill over. "I want to keep things
professional when we're here, you know? I don't want to put in all this work on his book party
only to become such an emotional wreck that I end up having to drop him as a client in the
end."
Alice smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry, hun. Maybe you should call him after all? He's probably
just as nervous to discuss everything with you."
"I don't know about that, Alice." I stood up and crossed the room, coming to a stop in front of
my window. I looked down just in time to catch Edward getting into his Town Car. It was a good
thing these windows didn't open, because I was at a point where I would probably wail and try
to start some skyscraper Romeo and Juliet reenactment.
"C'mon, let's go meet Rose for lunch." Alice wrapped her arm around my shoulders and gave me
a friendly squeeze. I leaned my head against her and closed my eyes.
Edward obviously wasn't going to offer up any answers on his own. That meant I would have to
go in search of them – a task that made me want to throw up.
"Can we not talk about this in front of her? I don't think I can handle any of that Smith hostility
right now."
Alice laughed and grabbed my hand, tugging me down the hall. "My lips are sealed darling.
Besides, she's so busy with Em's surprise party I don't think she has time to get hostile over
anyone's love life."
"Or lack of, " I muttered. Alice squeezed my arm encouragingly.
"Give it time, Bell. Good things don't happen overnight."
Right, I thought to myself. And sometimes they don't happen at all.
Edward's POV
"Edward, it's Jasper. Call me, I have something important I need to talk to you about."
Delete.
"Edward, it's me, Jasper. I know Emmett told you he knew about the bet, and, well … yeah.
Please call me, this is really important."
Delete.
"Are we in junior high again? Am I getting the silent treatment? Look, I'm sorry I fucked up, but
we really need to sit down and talk - about this bet and about Bella. So call me, ok?"
Delete.
Jasper had left me six voice mails in total since I ran into Emmett at the gym a week ago, and I
had yet to return any of them. I also had yet to see my best friend. It was childish, but I was
still mad at him for opening his mouth to Emmett.
"Where the fuck have you been all week?"
I looked up and saw the brown-haired bastard himself standing on the steps to my building. I
rolled my eyes and slumped my shoulders, running a hand through my already messy hair and
tucking my phone away in my pocket. This was just my luck. First I got to spend my morning
with an unusually moody Bella, who practically bit my head off at the end of the Timesinterview.
Apparently our ideas of what constituted a good interview were on opposite sides of the
spectrum, and before she stormed off in her oh-so-sexy heels, she made sure to tell me I not
only had the worst interviewing skills she'd ever seen in a person, but I was also the worst
client she'd ever had.
Not that I didn't deserve every bit of snark she threw at me. I hadn't exactly been overly
friendly towards her at our meeting yesterday, nor had I texted or called her since last
Saturday. I knew I was being an asshole, and probably sabotaging the bet for myself, but I was
terrified that the more we went out, the harder it would be for me to fight the feelings I had for
her.
Now the icing on my proverbial cake stood just a few yards away from me; an obviously angry
Jasper with what was sure to be another tongue lashing.
"I've been right here, in this apartment, hiding from Emmett all week," I spat back. "Thank you,
by the way. I appreciate you finding it necessary to open your mouth all around town after
emphasizing the importanceof keeping things between the two of us."
Jasper took a few steps forward and met me on the sidewalk. He sighed and pinched the bridge
of his nose between his fingers. "I'm sorry about Emmett. He started interrogating me about you
and Bella at the bar last weekend and I didn't know how to weasel my way out of it."
I set my briefcase down on the sidewalk and stuffed my hands in my pockets. "Maybe you
should have suggested he come to me instead of gossiping about it like two ladies at lunch."
"Look, none of this makes me look like a saint either, okay? For fucks sake Edward, Emmett
thinks we're both complete assholes at this point."
"I don't care what Emmett thinks!" I yelled, throwing my hands up in the air. "It's been years
since Emmett played an active role in my life. Do you get that? Years! What I care about is Bella
finding out what's been going on and hating me for it!"
"What about hurting Bella? Do you care about that?"
I met Jasper's eyes and felt my own gaze harden. "Of course I care about that. I would never
dream of doing anything to intentionally hurt her."
"Then why are we still doing this?" Jasper sighed in exasperation. "Why can't you just try to
have a relationship with Bella and I'll have my relationship with Alice and everything will go
back to normal? Like it was before I made the mistake of opening my fucking mouth at the
Guggenheim."
"Gee, Jasper, that would be a great idea if Emmett wasn't part of the picture." I sucked in a
breath and rocked back on my heels. "Who's to say he won't tell Rose even if we call everything
off?"
"Emmett isn't going to say anything as long as we right everything we've done wrong up until
now. He promised me that much. You'd know this already if you weren't ignoring everyone's
phone calls."
"What if he doesn't keep his word on that? We're assholes either way, but the difference is, it'll
be for nothing if he blabs." I winced at how bad I sounded. When did you become such a first-
class dick? I asked myself.
Jasper stared at me in silence for what seemed like hours before speaking. "Here." He held his
hand out over mine. I opened my fist and a set of familiar keys dropped onto my palm. "The
house is yours. The bet is off. I'm not going to lose Alice over a piece of real estate."
I stared at him blankly, not knowing what to do or say. Jasper stood still for another few
minutes before getting into his SUV. I looked back down at the keys in my hand guiltily.
Jasper was right. The house was just real estate. My car was just a material good. Bella was a
human being, with real feelings that I'd undoubtedly hurt by pulling her close and then pushing
her away. I stuffed the house key in my pocket and withdrew my phone. I had her number
dialed before I was even back in my car.
Scared or not, I had to make things right.
I had to apologize to Bella Swan and acknowledge that, despite how hard I'd tried not to, I just might be falling for her.
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