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A/N: A huge thank you to LaMomo, Beta extraordinaire.

Lots of love to all my Facebook family, you guys rock my socks!

I'll chat with you later, so you can get on and read.

Chapter 7

Bella stood looking at the closed front door; she could hardly believe that her Jogging Man had actually been in her house. She let out a breath she felt she'd been holding. Her mind was abuzz with the realization that Edward would be back here tonight. She squealed in delight, and skipped back to the lounge room.

"Edward's coming over tonight. Jake, can you believe it?" She reached down to the bemused dog, raised his paws and danced on the spot with him. Jake cocked his head to the side a little, unsure of her exuberance, but he let her play and gave her hand a big sloppy lick.

"You know, Jake, I should be very cranky at you for running away like that." She admonished him playfully as she let his paws down, "But I'm not. Actually, I could kiss you, you naughty boy." Bella laughed, ruffling his fur.

Surprisingly, she felt a little better; her headache had receded somewhat and, removing the soup bowl to the kitchen, she found herself smiling. She still couldn't believe that Edward would do something so kind for her.

"Edward Cullen." She said slowly, feeling the sound slide over her tongue and past her lips. She could still see him, feel him, and smell him, all earthly and warm. She shook her head to get the picture of him out of her head. She felt the urge to ring Alice and tell her that she'd met Edward, and ask her why she hadn't told her how hot he was. She refrained from calling her though; she didn't want the pressure of an "official" date, however nice that would be.

"Keep it platonic, Bella." She chided herself, as she went to open the fridge to see what she could possibly make for dinner. Seeing that it was almost empty, she groaned at the realisation that she would have to go shopping.

Edward pulled up at his office, scooping up Nessie with a smile on his face. He wanted to pull up the plans of Bella's house and land, which he knew he could get hold of through the Department of Planning and Development.

Tanya looked at him in surprise as he walked through the foyer.

"Oh my lord, Edward," She exclaimed as she reached out for Nessie. "You got a puppy! Can I have a cuddle?" Tanya reached out for Nessie and Edward laughed.

"Tanya, meet Nessie." He passed the pup to her outstretched arms.

"Oh, she is gorgeous, Edward! So soft, so fluffy…I might have to take you home with me." Tanya cooed, as Nessie licked her face.

Edward silently chuckled to himself, thinking that Nessie certainly did make women melt.

"Hey, Tanya, can you get Alec on the phone for me, please? I need to get some plans up for the Swan account."

"Swan?" Tanya asked, a little confused, "Isn't that appointment for the end of the week?"

"I um…have moved it forward…I will be seeing the client tonight, so I'd like to have the plans…It's quite a large block…Make sure there are no building or planning restrictions…I'll take the call in my office." Edward said, trying to sound professional, dismissing the "Swan" account as mere business. Inside though, he was nervous, to the point that his heart was racing and his palms felt sweaty.

"Sure, Edward. I'll get Alec on the line…I'm stealing Nessie, by the way." Tanya replied, picking up the phone with her free hand and snuggling Nessie with the other.

Edward shook his head as he turned and entered his office.

Sitting in his chair, he spun and leaned his head back against the soft cushioning. Closing his eyes for just a second, he let his mind envision Bella. Her skin on his, the deep sensuous depths of her eyes, how light she'd felt in his arms, and the sensual shape of her lips as she spoke.

The phone buzzed, shattering Edward's vision, thankfully before it became too graphic.

Edward asked for the plans to Bella's property and Alec was only too happy to email them straight to him. Edward smiled as he fired up his Mac; the years of dealing with Alec had now made all the red tape in getting property details seem to disappear.

He sat back and read the details of the property. The block was indeed large, but there were developing restrictions. There was no way that another dwelling could be erected; Bella's property was earmarked as heritage listing. Her house was one of the first built in that area, before developers started building the city where it was. Her property had been one of the buildings of the Macy's, cattle and dairy farmers, who, for some unspecified reason had sold a large portion of their land to developers of the township in the first half of the 1900's.

Edward wondered whether Bella had bought the property so she would be able to sub-divide. If that was the case, there was no way that would ever be passed, according to this document. In fact, Bella would even find it hard to build an extension to her house.

Edward perused the specifications of Bella's parcel of land and smiled to himself.

"Shit, it's a double sized block," He spun in his chair and ran his hand through his hair, thinking over possibilities. He turned back to the computer and read the fine red print featured on parts of the blue prints. He realised that he would have to tread very carefully with this block of land. One wrong move and the heritage department would be on Bella's case.

Humming to himself, he saved the file and reached for the phone.

"Tanya, can you organise for my crew to be at the Swan residence around 10am tomorrow please? Thanks, Tanya."

"I'll take the strongest cold and flu tablets you've got, please." Bella asked, surveying the pharmacy assistant. My god, is she even old enough to dispense drugs? She thought, while the assistant asked for her name and address.

"Take these with some food and be careful driving; they may cause drowsiness." The assistant replied, handing over the medication, "Oh, and please, no more than 6 in a 24 hour period." The girl smiled, and then flipped her chestnut hair over her shoulder as she went to address the next customer in line.

"Thanks." Bella replied, but realising too late that the assistant was already serving someone else.

Placing the medication in her handbag, Bella made her way to the supermarket. She had no idea what to make for dinner.

'What would Jogging Man eat? I should ring Alice. No, I can't do that. Why not? I can't just ask her what she cooks for her brother… Then she would know something was up… Why can't Alice know something is up? Is something up? I want something to be up… No, it's just business… Yes, that's right, JUST BUSINESS. So, I can call Alice. No, you can't call Alice.'

Bella wrestled with her mind as she walked up the street. Entering the supermarket, she started to feel a little dizzy, headache overcoming her again. Her mind just didn't want to function properly as she paced the aisles, trying to decide what to cook. She decided she needed to pop a couple of pills. However, this didn't help with the choice.

'Italian? French? Indian? Chinese? Moroccan? Gahhhhhh!' All this thinking made her head ache more. So she settled for the easiest thing, a roast. Chuck it in the oven and it's done.

'Does he like chicken or lamb? Or pork? Maybe he's Jewish, so no pork. Maybe he's a vegetarian?'

"Stupid fucking cooking!" She exclaimed as she tried to make a decision in front of the meat department. Realising what she'd just said, she spun around to make sure no one had heard her. Unfortunately, there were a few scowling shoppers staring at her. Embarrassed, she mumbled her apologies and grabbed a chicken and some vegetables on her way to the checkout.

After her little expedition, she felt exhausted as she emptied her groceries into the refrigerator. She kicked off her shoes and made her way to bed, Jake following her closely behind. As she slipped under the blankets, she rolled over to cuddle Jake who was nestling beside her. She noticed that she had left her mobile on her bedside table. It was flashing to indicate that a voicemail and a text had come through. Picking it up, she listened to the voice on the other end. It was her Jogging Man, Edward; just the sound of his voice brought the picture of him to her mind and she shivered in anticipation of him coming over tonight.

She was even more surprised that the text was from Edward, too. She clicked save, and laughed as she realised she now had his mobile number. She re-read the text and hit reply.

Thanks for today. Bella :)

She waited a second or two for a reply and then, feeling silly, she slipped the mobile back on the table, snuggling into Jake once more. Bella giggled as her phone vibrated, and she instantly reached for it.

My pleasure, see you tonight? Edward.

Bella couldn't help but smile as she texted straight back.

I'm game if you are! B

She held her breath as a text came straight back.

Well, I'm game! I'll see you tonight, then. E

She couldn't help but squeal at the reminder that Edward would be here soon. A shiver ran down her body as her mind wandered, thinking about Edward keeping her warm in bed.

She was surprised as another text came through.

I hope you are in bed. E

She raised an eyebrow and her stomach knotted. Could Edward read minds? Almost instantly, another text came though.

I mean, I hope you are resting. Get over your flu and all. E

Bella laughed and sighed. She considered typing back that, she was indeed in bed , and could she use him as a hot water bottle? But instead she typed,

Having a nap now. See you later Jogging Man :P

She laughed to herself as she hit send, and then worried that she'd written the wrong thing.

Later, Girl By the Bridge ;)

Her heart fluttered as she read and re-read the last message. There was something sweet about the fact that he had a nickname for her just as she had for him. She placed the phone down and sighed, "How can I get Edward to like me?"

Sleepily and with her head full of images of Edward and his fluffy puppy, she drifted off to sleep.

It was 5:30pm; Alice had to stay back a little later than usual at her shop because of the delayed delivery of some Louboutin shoes.

She cursed the slow traffic as she tried to make it back to her apartment. Held up at some traffic lights, she tapped her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, and tried not to gag on the fumes of car exhausts. She flicked the switch to close the roof of her convertible and turned on the air conditioning.

Seth barked in the back and scratched at the window.

"Seth, settle down! What you barking at?" she asked, reaching to pat him. She followed his gaze as he barked once more.

Tied to a small tree was Nessie, who looked tiny even beside a small stick of a tree. Alice looked around, concerned that she couldn't see Edward.

"What the hell, Edward! What is he thinking, someone will pinch her!" Alice said with frustration. She tooted her horn to try to get the traffic to move along. "Come on!" she willed the car in front of her.

The traffic started to snake along and Alice spied a car trying to move out of its parking space. Looking about to make sure it was safe, she glided her car into the vacated space alongside the curb.

"You guys, I'll just be a minute…Be good." She inched down the windows so Seth and Leah would have some air, exited the car and beeped it locked. She darted across the street, in front of the slow moving traffic; drivers tooting their horns at her in agitation as she passed.

"Nessie, where's your Daddy?" She cooed, scooping up Nessie. "He's a very naughty daddy, isn't he?" She cuddled Nessie as she looked around for any sign of Edward. She turned and unhitched the lead from the tree.

"Alice?"

"Shit," she squeaked, "You scared me, Edward! Why did you leave Nessie out here on the street? Someone will snatch her." Alice grumbled at her brother.

"I can't take her into the shop Alice; I was just getting some…um…" Edward stalled, not knowing if he should explain why he had two bottles of wine under his arm.

"You can take her in. She's so little no one will know. I did buy you that doggie carry bag, Edward."

"Alice, you bought a pink diamanté carry bag that is fitting for someone like Paris Hilton. I'm not a queen, Alice, or maybe you want me to wear heels to match the bag?" exasperated, Edward went to reach for Nessie but, as he did, one of the bottles of wine started to slip. Juggling the wine, he repositioned them so that he could carry Ness at the same time.

"Relax, Edward. One - the bag is cute; two - you wouldn't be able to walk in heels, that's just wrong," Alice laughed, shaking her head; the vision of Edward in pink diamanté high heels gave her the giggles. Edward scowled at his sister as she continued to laugh at him.

"You quite alright, Alice?"

Alice nodded and took a breath to quell the giggles, "Sorry, I was just worried about Nessie…Any way, who's the wine for?" She asked, helping Nessie back into Edward's free arm.

"What…Oh, the wine…Um…" Edward struggled a little, unable to decide if he should tell Alice about going to Bella's. "Um…It's for… a client." His mind went back to this morning as he carried Bella to her lounge. She was so light, so soft, and so cute in her Sylvester slippers. 'Argh damn it, I was going to get her a replacement pair.'

"Couldn't you decide which one?" Alice asked, looking at the wine, securely under his arm, one a white and one a red.

"What?"

"The wine, Edward. God, you're acting weird." Alice started to frown at her brother, but noticed that he was blushing. Edward didn't blush like most people, his ears would flush a deep shade of pink, and then it would be gone. Alice was sure that she was the only person that knew this about him. 'Edward must like this client,' Alice thought.

"So, who's the client?" She asked as they walked along the street.

"Alice, it's just business…The client asked to review some plans over dinner tonight, as that was the best time for her…That's all." He replied, hoping Alice would back off.

Alice grinned; knowing her brother better than he knew himself. She wanted to pry a little more, but knew it would only piss him off, so she left it alone-for now.

"That's great, Edward. Anyway… I had better get back to the car; I left Seth and Leah… Oh, have fun tonight." Alice scooted back across the street, with horns blaring to mark her crossing.

"You trying to kill yourself, little sis?" Edward yelled at her as she sidestepped cars. Alice just laughed.

She unlocked the car and slipped in.

"I knew it!" she squealed to herself as she rummaged through her bag to find her phone.

"Hi, Tanya…Hey, can you tell me which client Edward is meeting with tonight? Yeah, I can hold…" Alice thrummed her fingers on the steering wheel. "Yeah, I'm still here…Swan…Really? What about the rest of the week? Really?... Thanks, Tanya, I owe you one, thanks."

"YES!" Alice laughed and her smile grew wider the closer she got to home.

Bella groaned as she rolled over. "What is making that god-awful noise?" she mumbled, trying to sit up in bed. She unwrapped her legs from the blanket, causing her mobile to hit the floor hard. A pained beeping rang out.

"Aw, shit!" Bella scrambled, realising that the awful noise was actually her alarm. Reaching down, she looked at the screen for any damage, sighing in relief that it was still intact. Turning off the alarm, she saw the time. 5:35pm.

"Shit, shit, shit!"

She would have bolted out of bed, but the stabbing pain of her headache was still there. Slowing her movements, she popped out two cold and flu pills from the container, swallowing them down with the glass of water beside her bed.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She snapped, making her way into the kitchen almost tripping over Jake. "Sorry, boy." Opening the refrigerator, she pulled out the chicken, felt the weight and looked back at the clock on the wall.

"GARHHHHH…God, I don't have time to cook this…What am I going to do? Jake, should I cook the chook? Or should I just get some take-out?" Jake cocked his head to the side and whined a little.

"Good idea Jake, take-out it is." Bella replaced the chicken in the fridge and rested her forehead on the closed door. 'Real classy, Bells, first date and we're eating take-out!'

Jake whined again and Bella shook her head. "Yeah, I know it's not a date…Just business. That's all."

Bella looked at the clock again. "Shit, he's going to be here in fifteen minutes!"

She ran to her room, gritted her teeth as her head pounded. She threw the blankets back on the bed, and the pillows and comforter haphazardly back into place, tugging on the ends to make the bed look neater. The room was getting darker by the minute and she flicked on the light so she could rummage through her closet to find something to wear.

"What to wear, what to wear? Not a date, not a date." She mumbled to herself, picking out a pair or black denim jeans, then threw them to the side and pulled out some black tights.

"Ok. Top, top, top…Ah, there you are!" she pulled out a soft knit cashmere top and threw it on the bed with the tights.

"Ten minutes, Jake! Shit!" She scrambled to the bathroom and started the shower, washing herself as quickly as she could. She ran a shaver under her arms and along her legs, as the conditioner soaked into her hair, thanking god she had shaved yesterday, otherwise she would have needed at least another ten minutes just for that.

She stepped out of the shower and Jake licked her wet legs.

"Eww Jake, stop it!" Bella said sternly, pushing him away. Unfortunately, Jake saw this an excuse to play and he grabbed the end of the towel in a game of tug-o-war.

"Jake, no!" she admonished, but this just made Jake pull harder, dragging Bella out of the bathroom. "No, Jake!" She yelled again, yanking the towel hard. Bella felt the towel start to give and pulled it again in triumph, but then she heard a loud rip as the towel got torn right down the middle. Not prepared for the loss of traction, Bella fell backward into the bathroom, slipping on the wet tiles and landing on her backside.

She landed with a thud and she was sure that her coccyx was broken. "Arrrh, Jake!" she screamed out in pain, with half a towel in her hand.

Bella tried to move, but the pain in her lower back and buttocks made it very hard. She lay back on the cold tiles. "I could kill you, Jake!" she groaned. Jake stood over her and licked her face. She tried to push him away but he wouldn't move, only kept licking her more, as if he knew she was defenceless. She screamed and then started laughing when she realised how ridiculous this situation was, but the more she laughed, the more her butt hurt.

Edward made his way tentatively up the few steps and onto the veranda. The wisteria's fragrance hung thickly in the evening air. Edward heard a scream come from within the house and his heart rate picked up.

"What the hell!" He hissed, hearing a loud thud and yet another scream. He placed the wine and the blueprints down and headed around the side of the veranda to where the noises were coming from, desperately worried that someone was hurting Bella.

"I could kill you, Jake!" He heard and made his way faster. He reached a set of French doors and then heard Bella's unmistakeable laughter. He slowed and peeked through the glass of the French doors.

At first, all he saw was a bed, strewn with brightly coloured silk cushions, a light hung from the roof; no cover, just a plain bulb hanging from its anchor. Further into the room, on the other side of the bed was an open door with a brighter light. He heard a playful bark and watched, as the form of a person rose from the floor. Edward gasped, taking in a sharp breath. It was Bella, stark naked and hanging onto what looked like a tea towel. Her body glistened with moisture and her hair hung in a wet mess, half falling forward covering one breast slightly. She was laughing and rubbing her backside.

"Sweet Jesus," he murmured under his breath.

She turned and he watched her nice round bottom as she rubbed it. She reached to her bathroom cabinet, stretching her naked long limbs as she reached for what looked like some Tylenol. Edward shuddered and had to turn around; the sight of her was making him throb.

"Come on, Ness." He whispered, making his way back to the front of the house. He sat down at the top step. The stone step was cold underneath him; he took a deep breath and tried not to think about what he'd just seen. Bella was just luscious; he wanted to lick those water drops off her body. He felt relieved that she wasn't in danger, but he was more worried about the effect her naked form, whose visual was now firmly branded into his brain.

He sat motionless, willing his dick to calm the hell down, trying to think of anything but Bella naked.

"Emmett in his sweats, Emmett in tights, Emmett naked." He shuddered and shook his head.

"Get a grip, Edward. Business, business, business. She's a client, just a client." He chanted to himself. He looked at his watch and saw that he'd been sitting still for at least 15 minutes and realising only now why Nessie was pulling at her lead and almost chewing through it.

He eased himself off the step and toward the door. "I will not envision her naked, I will not envision her naked!" he murmured over and over again, like a mantra.

He raised his hand to the door and knocked, checking for the last time to make sure he had the wine and the blue prints-for the job.

Forgetting that she'd already taken the cold and flu tablets, Bella reached for the Tylenol and popped two in her mouth, swallowing them down with some water from the faucet.

"Well, you really killed the towel, Jake!" she laughed, reaching to get a fresh towel. She turned to look at her backside in the mirror and noticed a definite bruise developing; it ached like hell.

She dried herself and sprayed herself generously with her favourite perfume, Chance by Chanel; it was citrusy and floral all at the same time. She breathed in, loving the extravagant smell, and smiled, loving the way it could make her feel like a million dollars.

Her nerves didn't resurface until she looked in the mirror after changing into her clothes. Her maroon cashmere top hung in a low V, showing just a peek of her red lace bra and the curve of her breast. She adjusted the top so it hid her bra, and pulled the bottom so it covered her hips, but that made the bra show again; frustrated, she decided that she'd put on a different top.

At that exact point, there was a knock at the door. Jake barked and ran for the front door; Bella's heart rate picked up and her nerves spiked, almost making her feel sick. Forgetting the idea of putting a new top on, she made her way to the door.

'Ok, be cool…it's just Edward, he's here for work, he's here for work.'

As she reached the door, she actually started feeling a little floaty; she took a deep breath and opened it.

She smelled divine, all citrusy and flowery, and the colour of her top highlighted her blushing cheeks. Her hair was still damp and hung forward over one shoulder, falling over her breast.

'Dear lord, let me have strength!' She was wearing that red bra; he could see the lace peeking out her top, making the curve of her breast look divine.

Edward licked his lips and made an effort not to stare at her breasts. She was smiling nervously.

"Um…Hi." He made himself say; Bella laughed and he wondered what could be so funny.

"I think you should let Nessie off the lead," she giggled.

Edward looked down to see that Nessie's lead was wrapped around his legs . She must have run circles around him and he hadn't even noticed, since he'd been busy watching Bella.

"Arh… yeah…right." He bent down and let Nessie off; she quickly scampered into the house with Jake.

"Come in," she opened the door wider and he took a step past her, breathing in her lovely fragrance. "I hope you don't mind take-out. I um…ran out of time…you know…to cook." She nervously wriggled her fingers and looked down at the floor.

"Take-out sounds great," he smiled at her nervousness.

"Oh great, come in…into the living room…let me take those," she offered, reaching for the bottles of wine. Edward handed them to her and ran his hand though his hair. 'Business Edward, business! Stop looking at her top, business…right.' He took a deep breath and watched her move into the kitchen. her black tights outlining her subtle curves, her top clinging in all the right places. She returned with two chilled glasses filled with white wine and placed them on the coffee table. Then, she sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to her, suggesting he should sit.

"I've got the blueprints of your property here; it might give you some ideas of what you want to do with your yard." Edward said, sitting down next to her on the soft couch.

"Let's order some dinner, and then we'll have a look at what you've got." Bella suggested as she picked up a small booklet from the table.

"Sounds great, what have you got there?" He asked motioning toward the booklet.

"Oh, this? It's Cuisine Courier. It was in my mailbox a week ago, they deliver for about 20 restaurants around town. Great idea, right? I mean, some of the places in here are real restaurants and all the menus are in this booklet." She said quite excited, her words almost running into each other, "So what do you feel like eating? They do say that it can take up to 45 minutes for delivery though, you OK with that?"

"Yeah, sure… I'm in no rush," He laughed lightly at her obvious nerves, glad the he wasn't the only one.

"So…um, what do you like to eat? There is Chinese, Thai, Indian, Steakhouse…pretty much every cuisine is covered." She turned to face him, holding out the booklet and, raising her face to meet his stare, she smiled at him. It lit up her eyes.

'God, even her eyes are stunning. Stop staring, Edward…just look at the book. No, not the boobs…THE BOOK…Get it together, Edward.'

"I'll eat pretty much anything," he said, reaching for the booklet, but it slipped from his grasp, falling on the floor between them. They both reached down at the same time and their hands both grabbed the book at the same time, Edward's hand covering Bella's.

They both stilled as they felt a familiar feeling run through their hands. It was an unmistakeable electric tingling. Their faces were but an inch apart, turned toward each other, so close they could feel each other's warm breath on their skin. Their eyes searched the other's for meaning, inching closer still.

His eyes entranced her - so clear, so green, like an endless jade ocean. She could feel his breath on her cheek; her heart raced, as she was highly aware of their joined hands. All her senses were alert in this moment. He smelled like coconut and spice, a deep woody aroma that made her want to sniff him more. His lips, just an inch away, seemed to be pulling her closer. Her mind was full with the awareness of Edward.

She was so close his lips tingled; she filled his mind with her presence, her scent, her deep brown chocolate eyes, the charge running up his arm from where they'd touched. He could imagine the softness of her lips on his. He could taste her - soft, warm and sweet. It seemed as if gravity held him in this place and time, with her.

Their lips met, slow and passionate, moving in perfect synchronicity. The booklet was forgotten and Edward moved his hand to her waist as Bella's hand moved to the back of Edwards's neck and snaked up to his hair.

His lips were softer than she'd imagined and, where they touched, every nerve tingled, sending a deep harmonic frequency though her body. She ran her hand though his hair and subtly pulled him closer to her, quietly humming with the intensity she felt.

Edward was lost in her, he wanted her closer and snaked his arm around her waist. He sensed her; it felt like she was sinking into his soul, melting under his lips, his hand. She filled every cell of his being, all time and space lost.

Jake bounded up and onto the couch and barked loud at Nessie, encouraging her to jump up, too.

This broke the kiss, bringing both Edward and Bella out of their moment.

They looked at each other, finally aware of what they'd just done.

"Sorry…I…Um…" Edward began, unsure what he wanted to say. Bella cut him off.

"No…I'm sorry…I…ahhh…I," Her mind was a mess. All she could think was that she'd just been kissing Edward and she wanted to do it again. "Um…maybe we should order some food…?"

Edward shifted on the couch; he could still feel her lips on his. 'God, how could I fuck this up so bad!'

"You sure? …" he was a little in shock and ran his hand through his hair, 'she must hate me now, shit, shit, shit!'

"Yeah, here. You pick." Bella picked up the booklet that was still on the floor and gave it to Edward. He looked so worried. 'Oh, no…he wished he didn't kiss me…oh god, what have I done!'

Bella picked up a glass of wine, took a big gulp and then another, draining the glass. "Would you like another glass of wine?" she asked as Edward took a long drink of his.

"That would be great. How about Thai?" he asked, looking a little less worried. 'At least she's not asking me to leave.'

"I like Thai, I'll just go get the phone and some more wine." With that, she quickly moved into the kitchen to grab the bottle of wine and the cordless phone. She paused before going back out.

There was definitely something there, something between them. She had never felt that kind of energy run through her. But what to do now? What to say? "Oh god, it's so awkward" she mumbled to herself, then shook her head. 'Just pretend it didn't happen…but it did…his lips are so soft…I'm out of my mind! Come on, Bella!'

Edward stared blankly at the menu in front of him. 'Should I apologise for kissing her? But I'm not sorry…She kissed me back…Damn, she tastes so good…hmmm,' his mind wandered to the vision of Bella naked in the bathroom, but in his arms instead, as he licked water drops off her neck. 'arhh, get your mind out of the gutter, Cullen…business…landscaping…remember!' He roughly ran his hand through his hair and rearranged the bulge he was now sporting in his pants. "Shit!" he muttered under his breath.

"So, have you picked something?" Bella asked, walking back into the living room with an air of nonchalance.

"Um… yeah…" Edward searched the menu and picked the first thing that stood out, "I'll get the Duck curry."

"Hmmm, I love duck…here's your wine," She sat down beside Edward and tried to remain as calm as she possibly could. She was very glad to have the wine as it did take the edge off. "I might get the beef Rendang and the Thai rice…You want anything else?" She asked as she started to dial the number to order.

"Nah, that sounds good though," he lifted his wine glass as if in thanks and took another long sip, likewise glad to have the alcohol to calm his nerves. He reached down to the blueprints and unrolled them onto the coffee table. Bella lifted her glass to give him room.

He looked over the blueprints as Bella gave the order and her address.

"Wow, is that my place?" she asked as she hung up the phone.

"Yep, it surely is. You have the biggest block in the neighbourhood." Edward grinned as he envisioned all the possibilities of her back yard. "Did you know it on the heritage listing?"

"Really, are you sure?" Bella asked quite surprised.

"Yeah, apparently it dates back to the 1900's. I hope you're not thinking of re-developing." He asked, hoping that her answer would be no, as it could take years to get permission to change the appearance of the house.

"No way, I love this place…Maybe a little change on the inside but not outside…it's too quaint."

"Yeah, it does have a charm…Anyway, this is the amount of space you have out there." Edward circled her yard with a lead pencil.

"What…No…That cannot be possible!" she exclaimed, looking at the blueprints, "There is no way my yard is that big." The circle was around a parcel of land that you could build a house on.

"Yep, this is your yard…Didn't you get it surveyed when you bought it?" He asked, watching with amusement, the look of surprise on her face.

"Well, I got a builder to make sure the building was sound and had no termites and stuff, but that was it." Her face fell as she realised that she had obviously missed a few things when she bought the house.

"Well, you got yourself a huge yard, but with it being on the heritage list you won't be able to build a house out back." He laughed, "So, what do you want to do with it?"

Bella looked closer at the blueprints, "You sure that's my place? My yard doesn't look that big!"

"Well, you do have a hell of a lot of weeds, trees and bushes out there. You'd be surprised with how big it will look when we clear it." Edward smiled, knowing it could take up to two days just to clear the place.

Bella sipped her wine, "Can I have a hot tub? Or does that count as a building?"

"Arhhh…sure, hot tubs don't count as buildings Bella," he chuckled at the random question and the vision of Bella sitting in a hot tub.

"How about a pool?" she asked, smiling at the fact that Edward had relaxed and seemed more comfortable than before.

"You can have whatever you like, as long as it's not a dwelling, you know, for living in." He shook his head and took a long sip of his wine, emptying it.

Bella finished hers and felt a bit of a head rush, "More wine, Edward?" she asked, refilling his glass before he could answer, and then filled her own.

"Sure, Bella," again he laughed and held up his wine glass to hers, "To your new backyard."

"To my new backyard," they clinked glasses and sipped the crisp wine.

Jake bounded through the room again with his new fluffy friend and skidded to a stop, barking at the front door.

"I guess that will be dinner." Bella stated, getting up to stand.

Edward dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out his wallet.

"Put that away Edward, if I had woken up earlier you'd be eating roast chicken. Just pretend I'm a master Thai chef!" with that, she went to pay for the take out.

Edward watched her walk to the front door; her hips swayed slightly and she wobbled a little as she walked. The sleeve of her top fell from her shoulder and he could see the red lace of her bra strap. Gritting his teeth, he willed himself not to think of her back in that bathroom.

As Bella made her way to the door, she could feel the effects of the wine. It was going straight to her head, actually her legs. They felt a little wobbly. She stilled herself against the doorframe as she paid the deliveryman.

"I'll just get some plates." She said as she went into the kitchen. Rummaging through the cupboards, she pulled out her Asian-inspired plates and grabbed some forks. A clink of glass on the counter surprised her. She turned around and smiled, Edward was grinning as he held out her glass of wine.

"Here you go, dinner is served." She pushed a plate toward him and motioned to the take away containers.

"Smells delicious, Bella. You must open a restaurant!" he laughed. Bella had to laugh too, some host she was!

They ate in the kitchen and it was comfortable and casual. The earlier awkwardness of that kiss was pushed to the back of their minds. When the plates were rinsed, they made their way back to the living room with a freshly opened bottle of wine.

Edward felt relaxed and Bella tried not to show that the alcohol had indeed gone to her head. She cursed herself for taking the painkillers on top of the cold and flu tablets. The mixture was going straight to her head faster than usual.

They sat on the couch a little closer than before and Bella struggled to keep her eyes open.

"How about we put the hot tub here and we could put in some decking off the veranda here," Edward drew in pencil on the blueprint, "We could set it into the deck…" Edward continued.

Bella nodded, "Yeah, that sounds good."

"So, we want to have a focal point," Edward turned to Bella and he could see that she was getting sleepy. "We can do this tomorrow, if you like?"

"Nah, no it's ok…just…the wine…a bit fuzzy." She smiled lazily and put her hand on his leg, "Keep going, I like your voice."

"Um…ahh…ok," he turned back to the blueprint and tried not to think about her hand on his leg. The warmth of her hand seeped through the denim of his jeans. "So, a focal point…something that draws you into the garden," Edward turned back to Bella as she ran her hand along his leg. Was she humming?

She looked up at him intently as she rested her head against the back of the couch. "Your eyes are so pretty," she slurred slightly.

"So are your lips." He said quietly, watching her slowly drift off to sleep.

For the second time today, he carried Bella, but this time it was to her bedroom.

~0~0~0~

A/N: Damn Cold and Flu tablets!

So where are they going to go from here?

I have just started University, so my updates will be a little slow coming out. Well, until I get my head around the assignments!

Thanks so much for reading.

If you like period Fics go read LaMomo's – Moorward!

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