Chapter 20

Esme POV

"Edward! What are you five?" Bella shouts.

I pause in stirring the sauce for dinner and listen to their movements. I can hear Edward making his way through the house. I don't know why he's back. He left here around midday, planning to stay the night at Bella's. As a mother I try to turn a blind eye, not really wanting to know about what they do, but on the other hand it makes me a little giddy that they're this close already.

I suppose sharing a floor for two weeks would make them pretty close. Carlisle laughed at me when I gushed about how happy I was about this new development in their relationship. He wouldn't tell me why he was laughing though.

"A five year old wouldn't have done what I just did to you!" Edward yells in retaliation and I cringe.

"Edward!" Bella screeches and I silently chuckle a little as I hear the mortification in her voice. "Your mother's home."

"How do you know that?" he asks sheepishly.

"Can you not smell dinner?" Bella asks him.

"No Bella I can't," he mocks.

"Are you really that insensitive?" she asks with a touch of concern.

They become silent and I find myself leaning forward in hope of hearing what they're saying. I have no such luck. I tiptoe around the counter and peer around the corner. It warms my heart a little to see them completely making out against my living room wall.

I sneak back into the kitchen and finish making dinner. Alice and Jasper got back from their two week honeymoon a couple of nights ago, so they are coming over for dinner. It was supposed to just be the two of them and Carlisle and me, but with the appearance of Edward and Bella, who knows.

I see Bella's head peek around the corner. I smile at her warmly, so she enters.

"Need any help?" she asks.

"No, I'm fine, take a seat dear," I tell her and she hesitantly takes a seat at the counter.

"Sorry about the storming in," she says and her cheeks flush a little more, "Edward's being quite stubborn." She rolls her eyes before glancing around the kitchen. "This is a lot of food for just you and Carlisle, Esme."

"Alice and Jasper are coming over tonight," I tell her.

Her eyes widen and her face flushes red. "Shit! I completely forgot," she worries. For some reason they have been avoiding Alice and Jasper since their return.

"Why are you avoiding them?" I ask her.

Without making eye contact she tells me, "We're not avoiding them."

"Sure you're not." she looks up at me with a little bit of guilt. "Why are you and Edward fighting?" At least I think they're still having a tiff. I can't be certain after the display I witnesses against my poor living room wall.

"We're not fighting, we're just having a difference of opinion," she tells me without looking at me again.

"I know how to sort this out!" Edward announces triumphantly as he enters the kitchen. Holding up a quarter to Bella he tells her, "Heads, I get the left side, tails you get the left side."

I chuckle a little to myself because I know Edward's trick.

Bella is wise because she's looking at Edward with mistrust. "Can I take heads and you take tails?" she asks.

"What's wrong with tails Bella?" he asks and my chuckle breaks my lips a little. Edward and Bella both look at me, Edward with exasperation and Bella with curiosity.

"Uh, what left side are you trying to claim?" I ask them.

"The bed," Edward says, "Bella always gets it and I'm trying to claim it once and for all."

"Edward!" Bella shrieks. She's holding his wrist and looking at him with complete frustration. "Don't tell your mother we're sharing a bed!" She twists his wrist a little and adds, "And don't try to win bets with trick coins." Edward just groans.

"Edward dear, why don't you just give that side of the bed to Bella?" I ask him and he just shrugs.

Bella sits up straight suddenly. "Hey, Edward, do you want to stay for dinner, that is if we're welcome, Esme?" she asks with a wink.

"Sure, the more the merrier," I tell her.

Edward is looking between the two of us. "Who else is coming?" he asks warily.

"Honey, we're home!"

"Mom, who is that?" Edward asks anxiously. I can see that he's really hoping that it's not who he thinks it is.

"Alice, dear." I smile at him. "Really, I don't know why you're avoiding her, she's almost been home for a week. She wants to see you both." I wink at Bella who looks to Edward and laughs at his anxiety.

I rush out of the kitchen and wrap Alice in a hug. I hug Jasper after and grin at the both of them. Both are beaming and look giddy.

"Did you both have a good honeymoon?" I ask.

"Oh yes, it was wonderful..." Alice begins talking rapidly while I notice Jasper's cheeks have a faint hint of a blush to them.

Carlisle come and greets them both, causing Alice to begin to tell him about the honeymoon. Bella comes out of the kitchen quickly and hugs her brother, whereas Edward hides in the back of the huddle.

It's a flurry of greetings and story sharing before a lull forms and Alice says, "Edward?"

"Hey," he says awkwardly.

"Oh, come on everyone, let's have dinner," I break the silence and usher everyone to the table.

Bella helps me bring all the food to the table and everyone quickly digs in. It's the silence of knives and forks moving around plates and murmurs of "please pass the potatoes" for a while, until Jasper breaks it.

"Hey, Bells, I didn't see your car out front?" he asks.

Bella grins in my direction. With a quick glace to Edward on her right she says, "I actually came with Edward."

My son starts choking. Bella moves her hand to his back and starts patting it.

"Oh," Jasper says. He waits a beat before he asks, "Edward, what were you doing in Port Angeles?"

Alice perks up in her seat and bounces slightly. "Oh, this should be good," she sings.

Carlisle taps my arm and I lean towards him. "Better question might be who," he whispers to me.

"Carlisle!" I cry in surprise, though not shock, because due to the tiff between Edward and Bella I can't exactly deny what he's saying.

"Uh, I was in Port Angeles because, I uh, I had some stuff to do?" he asks uncertainly, glancing at Bella who I think is prepared to throw him under the bus.

Carlisle and Alice both laugh before attempting to cover their amusement with coughing.

Bella blushes before sending a hard glare Carlisle's and Alice's way.

At least Carlisle manages to stifle his laughter and send an apologetic nod Bella's way. I look to Alice and see her smirking in Edward's direction. I see Jasper looking around the table with a confused expression on his face.

"That's so nice of you Edward to swing by and pick up Bella while you were in Port Angeles," Alice comments sweetly.

Edward swallows. "Yeah, that's what I did," he says nervously.

Carlisle decides to poke the situation just a little by adding his two cents, "I didn't realise you two were so close," he comments casually. This makes both Edward and Bella exchange a quick glance. Bella also blushes bright red and diverts her eyes away from Carlisle's. Carlisle smirks knowing something I don't. I look at him expectantly but he just moves his lips into a thin grin telling me silently that I'll never get it out of him.

Bella breathes in deeply and pretends to look Carlisle in the eye. "We're, uh, yes," I watch Jasper watch Bella stumble around the truth. She finally takes a deep breath look Edward in the eye with a serious expression on her face and says, "We're dating, aren't we Edward?"

It seems as if we all hold our breath waiting for Jasper's reaction. Usually he's so mellow, but I think we're all wondering if the news of his sister dating, and let's face it I don't think they were always dating, but just as close with each other, and hiding it from him for so long will set him off.

Jasper it seems is waiting for Edward's confirmation, so Edward slowing wraps his fingers around Bella's and brings them to the table top and nods. "Yeah, we are." A small smile tickles his lips as he admits it out loud.

Again we all look to Jasper and await his thoughts.

"Does Charlie know?" Jasper asks with narrowed eyes at Edward.

"Yes Jazz he does," Bella confirms with slight irritation.

Jasper lifts his hands up in a sign of surrender. "I just want to know if this guy's going to treat you right!" he defends.

Bella rolls her eyes.

"Valid point," Carlisle says wisely and leans back in his chair with his arms crossed across his chest. I quirk an eyebrow at my husband's display of protection of Bella amused of his behaviour towards our son. "Son, you need to let Jasper know that you're going to treat his sister right, otherwise he will pop a hole in your face."

Alice and I laugh at Carlisle's pop a hole in your face and Jasper cracks a grin also before settling a hard glare on Edward's face.

"I do intend to treat Bella right," Edward says to Jasper with a quick glance to Carlisle, probably unsure to whom he should be professing his intentions, as both men look equally serious right now.

"How are you going to prove this, Edward?" Jasper asks.

"Well," Edward contemplates, "I suppose I'll just have to love her every day and hope that you'll see that we're good for each other," Edward explains while looking at Bella.

Jasper huffs at the term love while Alice lets out a shriek. "What!"

I start twitching with excitement.

"You guys love each other?" Alice squeals.

I can hardly take the anticipation as Edward and Bella glance at each other with shy little smiles. I'm actually bouncing on the edge of my seat.

"Yeah, we love each other," Bella tells shyly. Edward leans down for a small peck on the lips.

Alice's squeals of excitement are deafening and both Carlisle and Jasper lean away from her. Edward and Bella both sit there with red cheeks.

I'm unknowingly bouncing along with Alice, but stop when I realise and rush around to hug the two of them.

They're in love!

Oh! My baby boy is in love!

"Mom," he groans as I kiss his cheek and hug him from behind.

I'm just so happy!

Bella actually gets up and hugs me. She's grinning from ear to ear. A red blush tints her cheeks from embarrassment from our excitement.

"Thanks Esme," she whispers to me.

She thanked me? Oh I do suppose this is all my fault! I did practically force them together. I'm so glad I decided to give Bella the room next to Edward's.

A little chuffed now, I take a seat down at the table and wait until everyone calms down. Alice hugs the blushing couple in love before sitting down again. She leans over and whispers to me, "We outdid ourselves."

Dinner progresses a lot more smoothly after Edward's and Bella's little confession.

I wave Jasper and Alice goodbye as they go off to their new home and then turn around to see a sheepish Edward standing behind me with an overnight bag.

"Mom, I'm thinking I'm going to stay at Bella's tonight," he tells me.

"That's alright," I tell him and he walks past me to put his bag in the car. "You'll be a good boy, right?" I tease him and even in the dim light from the porch light I can see his ears darken a little.

He returns seconds later and tells me. "Yes Mom, I'll even give her the left side of the bed."

"That's the right thing to do," I tease him, "Now, go tell your father you're leaving."

I watch him head to the living room where Carlisle is, and see Bella slip past him. She's grinning from ear to ear.

"I won!" she whispers in reference to the bed debacle. She hugs me and says, "Thank you for dinner Esme, it sure was interesting."

I hug her back with a chuckle. "You're welcome, for everything."

She gives me a weird look, probably not realising that I am the catalyst for their relationship.

Edward joins her and I watch them head out to the car. I watch as Edward does the gentlemanly thing and opens the door for Bella, and I roll my eyes as I see him swat her bottom before she gets in the car.

I close the front door and go and snuggle on the couch with my husband.

"Dinner was good," he chuckles.

"I never once thought that it could end in love when I gave Bella the bedroom next door to Edward's," I tell him in a daze.

I sit up when he starts vibrating with laughter.

"Esme dear, you're not taking sole responsibility for those two getting together, are you?" he chuckles.

"I'm not!" I shout indignantly. "Alice can share some of the glory."

"Oh dear," he sighs bemused. "I think there's a lot more to the story than you think," he says mysteriously.

"What do you know?" I ask him with narrowed eyes.

"Ah!" he exclaims and with a wink he says, "Now, that's not my story to tell."

The End