Firstly, shout out to my rock star beta who still found the time to go through this despite her crazy RL schedule. Edwardsfirstkiss, you're the real MVP.

Sorry this wasn't up as quickly as I'd hoped, and maybe you all hoped. My RL has been crazy with moving countries, starting a new job and subsequently resigning from the job. But, such is life. Now I need to sort my life out again and start looking for a new job.

I hope you enjoy more of Edward's POV.

EPOV

Listening to Rose have a go at Em was nothing new. Although hearing that he had decided to take a cab for a joy ride at Alice's insistence was a whole new level of stupid. I was glad I decided to come up to Mechanix when I finished my shift to have a cuppa with Alice, otherwise I'd have missed the show.

She may run The Point, but she often takes breaks when Jasper works so that she can come and see him. His studies are tough and he is definitely the studious type. He pours through his texts with more vigour than I've ever seen him apply to anything. It is as weird as it is remarkable. My laid back brother-in-law is more inclined to just let things happen. He is the unflappable type. It's probably why he and Alice work so well together. He balances out her enthusiasm.

Alice and I were sitting in the break room at the back of the main office, and I couldn't help but laugh to ourselves. "Why the hell did you challenge him?"

Allie shrugged her shoulders in answer.

"Come on Allie, you don't do anything without cause." Jasper chimed in, leaning over so he could look at us from where he was sitting at the main desk. He handled the cash, and did a lot of data entry. His ability to read the chicken scratch, mechanic hand writing was bar to none.

He really did help Rose and Em out a lot and even Alice from time to time over at The Point. If Psychiatry didn't work out for him, than he definitely would have had a future in office administration.

"Okay fine, I just thought we could use some entertainment around here."

I shook my head. Entertainment? Em was always doing something stupid that warranted getting grilled from his wife, or my parents. This was nothing new.

"How'd he piss you off this time? Convincing him to steal a cab is a whole new level of stupidity." The evil little look Alice gave me had me shrinking back into my seat a little. She had the potential to be a creepy little thing. Mama probably had a lot to do with that. She frequented her dreams a little too often I reckon, but I guess Alice really was the only one open to them.

"Don't worry about it, Brother. Just eat your donut." Alice handed me a brown paper bag which had turned slightly translucent from what I had hoped was whipped cream.

I couldn't help my triumphant little shout as I pulled what could only be described as donut heaven out of the bag. The long cake, topped generously with cream and a dollop of strawberry jam.

My family and my work were the only things that brought joy to my life lately, though food often was a close second.

When Aunty Kate offered to give me The Point, I wholeheartedly wanted to refuse. What use would I have with an Inn? I already had a career.

Maybe I was lucky that she knew me as well as she did, because she refused to accept my answer until I'd spoken to my family. I guess it was a good thing too. Alice had been waiting years for the opportunity to step up and do something for herself, and it worked out that I needed an Inn Manager.

The Point was worth a hell of a lot of money, but Aunty Kate didn't think through the amount of work that was required to run it. So she admitted defeat, and was happy to take the monetary loss so long as it went to someone who could give it the care it needed.

I don't know why she thought that person was me, or maybe she'd hoped I'd have Alice step in. I don't know, I guess things happen for a reason, and after only six months The Point was turning a profit. As soon as we were turning a profit, Alice and I agreed that Aunty Kate didn't need to pay for the upkeep of the business. Despite her protests, she stopped funding and allowed us to run the business completely.

Though I use the term 'us' loosely. Alice really did everything, from marketing, event management, general operations, payroll, you name it.

This was exactly what I needed, something that kept me completely distracted from the realities of my life. Or what was left of it. I debated about getting a dog to help fill the house I now lived in, and had been living in for about two years—but then I was never be home and that would be fair to the dog. For my two years of bachelorhood, I had been living only with short term flatmates, all with their own lives and limited interaction with me. I could have been home more, but sometimes it paid to have two specialties.

I hated coming home to nothing but an empty house. I didn't want to admit to my family that I was pretty much always filled with dread when it came to spending time in my own home. I hated it.

I had the quaint family home I'd always wanted full of overstuffed, functional furnishings, bright colours, open rooms... but it wasn't the same.

I was constantly surrounded by perfect couples, my parents, Em & Rose, Alice & Jasper. They had these relationships that were completely solid, and I had an ex-wife who pretty much shat all over our vows and our marital bed, crushing just about every hope and dream I'd ever had of being a father.

Em had tried to push me to use Tinder, but I couldn't do it. I'd already been married to someone who clearly cared more about my position and my looks, than my actual desires in life, and I couldn't put myself through that again. Not now, not ever.

If I could have been a person to have meaningless sex, I would have, but even warm bodies to fill my bed just didn't do it for me.

Yeah, I was probably depressed. I certainly wouldn't doubt that about myself. I probably should have asked Jasper if he could list the signs of clinical depression, but I feared my mother's reaction too much if she found out—which she would.

Alice's ringing phone pulled me from my musings. I watched as she looked down at the screen and frowned. She titled the screen so I could see it 'The Point'.

"Alice, speaking." She greeted quickly before standing and heading towards the front of the store. She was a manic pacer, and often needed the ability to walk the full length of a room.

Though a part of me wanted to know what was going down at The Point, that place was Alice's to run day to day. She'd let me know if I needed to get involved.

I was debating heading out when Jasper started laughing like a twit from the front room. I tried listening with a bit more intent, but I couldn't quite make out what was going on.

Bored, I quickly got up and headed toward the front desk. I was probably overdue for a decent reason to laugh.

"Jasper, what the fu—heck are you laughing about?" I only just managed to catch myself when I saw an unfamiliar woman standing next to Em.

She was gorgeous, though I couldn't remember a time where I may have met her in the past. I was pretty good with faces, and she definitely had the type of face I'd remember. Her big eyes, hidden by dark shadows of sleeplessness, were framed in long eyelashes. Her cheeks slightly rosy, as her lips sat with a full pout.

Who are you, Beautiful?

I'd been surrounded by my fair share of beautiful women, my ex-wife included, but she was something else. She had a kind, open face. Kind of like the girl you grew up with, only more.

Jasper caught my attention as he quickly apologised. It took him a little while to calm down though.

"Be that as it may, try and be a tad more professional, we can't have you scaring off business. 'sides, don't you think Emmett's going to hear enough about this for the rest of his life, let's not exhaust ourselves with it now." I couldn't help but add. Picking on Emmett was something I'd been engaged in since birth.

Realising we were being a little rude; I offered the woman my hand in hariru, as I quickly kissed her cheek. Emmett took that as his cue to introduce us.

"Edward, meet Bub. She's just moved here from America—ugh, she's the fare I was telling Rose about." Only my brother would be game enough to steal a cab. He was never going to live that down.

Wait, America. Was it rude to kiss random strangers on the cheeks? Maybe. Not sure of how to feel, I found myself apologising to the woman for the second time. Though she was quick to wave them off.

Only Emmett.

"Well you know what they say about assumptions." Bub offered, breaking the ice. I couldn't help but laugh with her. Yes, I did know what they said about assumptions, 'It makes an ass out of you and me'.

"I like you, B." The way her face lit up with a smile had me wanting to do everything I could to bring that smile to her face more often. She had a beautiful smile, and it seemed to take the sadness out of her eyes when it spread across her face—even if only temporarily.

I wondered if the sadness in her eyes mirrored my own, and if it did, I couldn't help myself as I considered what may have put it there.

A bad breakup?

Did someone pass away?

Did she lose her job?

They were pretty macabre things to consider, but to wear sadness the way she was; it had to have been something shocking. Sure? I really hoped she wasn't as sad as she looked.

I knew emptiness and the sinking way it could completely overcome you. It hurt, in ways you never really consider. Kind of like grief, only wayonly way, worse. It's always there, whereas grief has this ability to sneakto sneak up on you, overwhelm you like a rough wave before receding.

After quickly introducing himself, Jasper realised something I hadn't. "Hold on, you called her Bub. You don't even know her name!"

"I never told him." Then I heard it, the longer vowels of her American accent. I didn't realise how much of a contrast that would be compared to ours. I wouldn't admit it to anyone, but I found her accent very attractive.

Before I said or did something stupid, I decided to occupy myself with something. It was likely I'd need to catch up with Alice about whatever was keeping her held up, sticking around seemed like a good idea.

I offered to make tea for everyone, though I hoped Bella would be the only one to take me up the offer. I ended up makingup making four cups of tea. It didn't really surprise me. The caffeine would probably help perk her up a bit.

Rose had a built inbuilt-in boiling water tap, so it didn't take long to make our teas. Lady grey wasn't my favourite, but it was all Rose ever had. The staff didn't much care for it, so Em kept a stash of Choysa—his black tea of choice—in his desk drawer, but I didn't dislike it that much to put in the extra work.

Juggling the four cups, I headed back towards the group. I offered Bella—as I'd overheard her finally introduce herself—hers first. She needed the pick me up, before handing Em and Jas theirs.

Alice had come back inside and was waiting with Jas behind the reception desk, leaning into his side. To look at them, they lookedthey looked an odd pair. Jasper was about my height, around six' two", whereas Alice was a tiny five foot. Jasper more than towered over her, but he also treated her like she hung the moon and the stars.

I couldn't help myself as I watched Bella take a tentative sip of her tea. I watched her nose crinkle in confusion, did I make it wrong? "What blend is this?"

"Lady grey, itsit's all Rose drinks so…" I trailed off with a shrug. Maybe I should have taken the effort to get the Choysa, or perhaps she preferred English Breakfast? When her cheeks pinked up, I was confused, but she seemed to get over it quickly.

Her face lit up with a smile, almost like she'd just figured something out. Maybe she decided she liked it? I couldn't help but quirk my eyebrow at her, and she offered me what I could only consider a genuine smile.

When the smile slowly fell, I worried for her. I could see her slowly losing her balance, andbalance and I was moving toward her before I even thought about it. She was barely holding herself up. I grabbed her cup andcup and set it down just as her knees gave out.

"Edward, catch her." Alice shouted as my arms shot out of their own accord. Her slight frame fit just right in my arms as I feel to my knee, holding Bella to my chest. Syncope.

My mind was whirring with reasons as to what may have caused this, but without background the lists of potential contributing factors was miles long. Was she pregnant? Dehydrated? Stressed?

There were just too many potential diagnoses.

Shuffling her weight slightly, I stood up, cradling her in my arms and walking intowalking into Rose's office. She had a bit more of a professional office than Em which included a three seaterthree-seater couch.

She really was tiny. Alice was short, midget short almost, but she was also all muscle which was a bit deceiving. If she hadn't gotten mum's slight frame, she'd probably be built like a Staffy.

Once she was settled on the couch, the rapid fire questions of my family began as they'd followed closely behind us into the office.

"Has she eaten anything?" I found myself asking Emmett, cutting off Alice's question. I don't even know what she'd asked.

"How the fuck should I know?" Emmett said in a panic. He didn't deal well when people were sick. "I was posing as a taxi driver, not UberEATS?"

"She didn't drink much of her tea."

I looked at the cup Alice was staring at. She probably only managed to have had a couple of sips. If that.

I looked from the cup to Bella and noticed her starting to stir. "She's coming to."

"Won't lie, I've never seen anyone faint before." Jasper muttered lowly under his breath.

Emmett nodded his head in agreement. 'I hope to never see it again.'

Bella was becoming more coherent as her eyes started blinking rapidly. "Shhh." She'd practically groaned. Making me think she was as tired as the dark shadows under her eyes suggested.

"Can you open your eyes for me, B?" I needed to see her open her eyes so I could see for myself if she was feeling okay.

"More sleep. 'Night." I chose not to acknowledge how good it felt to have Bella attempt to snuggle further into my embrace.

When Bella's eyes shot open, using her small hands she pushed off my chest. She clearly didn't realise how close to the edge she was and almost went ass over tit. I grabbed her shoulder, miraculously managing to stop her fall, though I did slide off the edge myself. I fell onto my knee in the process; it jarred, more than I'd like to admit.

Bella was certainly well on the road to maiming me. Jesus.

I got up, helping Bella back onto the couch so she was lying down again. "Please, just lay there until my Dad gets here."

She looked so small tucked into the couch, and there was a stubborn set to her shoulders that had me thinking she wanted to argue us on this.

There were so many things I wanted to ask her, but the questions all got muddled and I couldn't find the words. I was trying to be Doctor Cullen but it wasn't working out so well for me. This woman, who'd barely uttered a handful of words to me, was throwing me for a loop.

Jasper clearly didn't have the same verbal issues I was having as he asked her when she'd last eaten.

She'd potentially skipped meals for at least twenty-four hours. Definitely not great for the body, so it definitely could have resulted in faintingin fainting. There was also the added stress of traveling and I can't imagine leaving behind everything you know is easy. I'd spent some time in Australia and that in and of itself was difficult.

My heart went out to Bella. I was of the impression there was a lot about her that was a little fractured, not broken, but definitely fractured. I hoped there was a way we could help her.

When she shot up off the couch and hugged Emmett tightly, I was confused, until I managed to hear what she was saying to him. She thanked him profusely for going on his little joy ride. I wanted to thank him too.

Bella needed help, and it was the Cullen way to lend a hand to those in need. Baby girl was definitely in need.

Rose didn't look too bothered as she joined us in her office. She stood at Emmett's side, waiting to see who the newcomer was. Given that her husband had randomly picked the woman up from the airport.

"Oh, Bub, this is Rose." He opened, gesturing between his wife and Bella, "Rose, Bella." Rose quickly gave Bella a quick squeeze as she kissed her cheek.

Rose had either seen or overhead about the drama, as she gave her own little cursory once over, checking to see how Bella was doing.

"I'm happy to see you're okay, but how's 'bout we go grab some kai—a feed, uh something to eat. I reckon it's the least we can do?" I didn't miss the side eye she gave her husband, but the smile she gave Bella was genuine.

I think Rose was going to like Bella. She seldom warmed up to new people, but something about Bella seemed to intrigue her. If there was one thing I put my faith in, it was Rose's judge of character. She'd never steered me wrong in the past—marrying Tanya against Rose's instincts; look where that had landed me.

Bella was quick to agree to join us, though the reality of the matter was that she didn't really have a choice. When Rose wanted something, she got it, always.

I led the way out of the office back toward the entrance, a bright smile on my face when I heard Emmett call his shout. He certainly wasn't going to hear any of us complaining.

Rose and Em hung back so that they could catch the boys up and get them to close when they were done.

"We're just heading to a mate's place up the road, do you have any allergies?" Jasper asked Bella as we headed up the street. Jasper happily trotted off after Alice when he received confirmation that we weren't going to accidentally kill Bella.

I matched Bella's pace as we followed behind the crazy couple ahead. Kiwi Kai was so good. Just like home made only without the effort. We didn't come here half as much as we wanted to, mainly because none of our waistlines could handle it.

We walked in a comfortable silence, neither of us feeling the need to fill it with idle chatter. Fortunately, the walk was short so it wasn't long until we arrived.

We exchanged greetings quickly, and made sure to take the time to introduce Bella to Pete and Char. We'd been family friends for years, and if Bella was going to be sticking around for a while, it would helpwould help for her to know good people. Pete did take the opportunity to check in on me. It'd been a couple of years since the Tanya debacle, but it was no secret that I'd spent a lot of that time working myself to death. This was probably the first time I'd actually seen Pete since I'd left her.

After the introductions, we joined Alice and Jazz, who'd grabbed the biggest booth at the back and made ourselves comfortable.

Bella quickly poured water for the table, while we waited for Rose and Em to turn up. We pretty much knew what we'd be ordering, but if for whatever reason we changed it up, it would save Char and Pete the hassle, so we wanted to wait for everyone to arrive.

"So I take it kai means food," I slid the last glass over to Alice, "Well what's kiwi kai? Food made from kiwis, because as much as I love kiwis I don't know how many dishes you can make with one fruit?"

Fruit? What? I quickly looked at Alice with a raised eyebrow, and he shrugged.

"Bella, what's a kiwi to you?"

With her hands, Bella gestured the size of a kiwi fruit as she continued to explain that she was referring to the fruit, and not our highly endangered national bird.

Just as Bella started questioning the menu items, an unfamiliar ringtone filled the table. I looked around to see whose it was and was shocked to see Bella shuffling around as she pulled out her phone. Her whole face filled with dread as she looked down at the screen.

I didn't like that expression on her face one bit, and wanted to know who was responsible for putting it there. My concern only increased when she swore lowly under her breath.

I watched her make little fists, she squeezed them tightly and I could hear them crack. I watched her inhale deeply before she slapped a smile on her face, before swiping to answer. "Hey Dad?"

Why was she so worried to accept a call from her dad? With the exception of Rose and me, the rest of our table seemed to understand a bit better as to why she was so reluctant.

All I could do was shrug along with Rose. Bella didn't seem to want to leave the table, so I hoped she wouldn't mind that we could practically hear the whole conversation as it happened in front of us.

I don't know what it was about this woman that had me wanting to jump up and save her.

Did she need to be saved?

Did she save herself?

She moved to the whole other side of the world, a place very much unlike the world she knew.

In the tiny amount of time I'd known this girl, she'd proven she had more balls than me, that's for damn sure. I'd buried myself in my work when things got bad, Bella simply moved on.

The way she described her split with her ex to her father confused me. At first it sounded like she'd seen the writing on the wall and had left… then she dropped her bomb. He'd cheated on her.

She wasn't on the phone with her father long after that bomb. She wrapped up the call quickly before sliding her phone across the table away from her.

She collapsed, hiding her face in the nest she'd made of her arms and just sat there, slumped over the table.

I met the eyes of everyone at the table. Not even the girls knew what to do, as they subtly shook their heads. They'd both lucked out with their first relationships and had never really known heartache. I certainly wasn't any good at it, but the way they kept eying me and gesturing towards Bella, had me thinking I'd drawn the short straw.

Trust the guy with a divorce under his belt, and warning signs of depression.

I cleared my throat, trying to get her attention; though it looked like it took a lot of effort, as her shoulders lifted obviously, as she took a deep breath.

"All good?" I hoped the look in my eyes carried the sincerity I was trying to convey. I didn't want to pry, but the human part of me wanted to make sure she was okay.

Jasper kicked me under the table, managing to hit my shin right on the bone. "Did you kick his ass, Bella?"

What the fuck, Jasper, was I target practice?

When Bella shook her head in the negative, I was shocked.

"Why the fuck not?" My sentiments exactly Em. I wanted to beat this guy up and I didn't even know him. "That's just, no—he's skux, B. Seriously, that's such a dick move. You seem really cool, Bub, he must be a real bastard."

If this guy ever crossed paths with me, or my brothers he'd be fucking dead. The venom lacing Em's voice alluded to that. He rarely ever raised his voice in anger, but you definitely knew when he was angry.

I took the bait, and realised Bella wanted this conversation to end quickly. So when Pete came out and spread all of her food across the table, I took that as the go ahead to move on.

I explained all of the dishes in front of us to Bella. Her face was alight with curiosity. It was the genuine, almost childish excitement I often saw in my patients when we brought in entertainers.

We took the time to take Bella through kiwi kai. She was absolutely adorable as she picked through the plate of food I'd dished up for her. There was no denying that our food didn't always look great, but it definitely made up for it in taste.

Emmett slurping the juices from his plate distracted me from my Bella gazing and I found myself glaring at him. "Why can't you dip breaddip bread in the juice like a normal person?"

He'd been a dick about that his whole life. While the rest of spent our time using our bread to soak up the juices, he slurped from his plate, obnoxiously loud too. Kind of like you hear when people do wine tasting.

I watched Bella, probably a bit too intently as she picked through her meal. She was reluctant at first, especially when it came to things like Kina and paua and cream. They definitely didn't look that flash.

It was hard not to appreciate the little expressions she made as she tried tiny little bites. Her face was incredibly animated, her eyes showing clear as day how she felt about any one mouthful of food.

She didn't like kina, her face screwed up pretty much as soon as it touched her palette. I loved it and quickly slid them off her plate onto mine. I knew it was an acquired taste, and I'd grown up with it.

She seemed to thoroughly enjoy puha, which didn't surprise me. It was my favourite green, and Pete knew how to cook it. He cooked it in the same water he cooked the brisket which gave it the most amazing flavour, and with just the right amount of salt too.

In hindsight, I probably gave Bella way too much of my attention. I could tell you everything she ate that she enjoyed, tolerated and loved. It was obvious by the look on her face that she'd eaten her fill, but didn't want to stop. It was a feeling that I knew well.

"How was it?" I slid my plate away, mainly so I'd stop eating myself.

"It was good. I'm not a seafood fan, but I liked it. Except kina." Her face screwed up when she mentioned kina, and I couldn't help but laugh at the expression. She was so adorable.

My phone was vibrating against my leg. I pulled it out shocked to see Alice's name. I shot her a look, but she just nodded her head towards my phone.

Jasper, Em and Rose were talking to Bella about her work, and as much as I wanted to know what Bella did for work. I had a piss ant sister to deal with first.

I want her to have the flat.

I'd actually forgotten all about the flat we'd had renovated for Alice at The Point. We'd done it so she could move out of our parents' home. Aunty Kate had paid for it actually, when she'd heard Tanya and I had split, thinking I'd want to move into it.

I thought about it, but I couldn't do it. I wanted a home, not a flat. Aunty Kate wasn't offended in the least when I'd told her Alice was going to move in. She and Alice had always gotten along amazingly well. She was more upset with herself because she hadn't thought to offer it to her first.

Sounds good. You like her, don't you?

Alice loved meeting new people, but she was slow to make friends. She'd been the victim of bullying in intermediate school and it made it hard for her to trust people. She made friends easily enough, but she rarely ever opened up or let people get close to her. Bella was going to be one of her few exceptions.

Letting Bella have the flat proved that. Alice had put a lot of work into it; she'd decorated it to her tastes and it was very much her. Her willingness to give it to B, made me think there was more to their potential friendship than she was letting on.

We dropped in on each other all the time. Well, mostly at The Point or Mechanix, and at Dad's practice too. Mum was freelance, so she mostly worked from home, unless she had to see a client.

Shared lunches like this one weren't rare.

If Bella rented the flat, she'd still be in our lives, and I really liked the idea of that. I wanted to see Bella smile genuinely, and to remove the sadness from her eyes. When she smiled, she looked like a whole other person; a much younger, and lighter person. I wanted to see that smile on her face all the time, and I certainly wouldn't have minded being the one to put it there.

Rent?

I had no idea how to answer that. Should we charge her rent? It's not like the flat was initially renovated to make money. I would have happily let her stay there for as long as she needed, but she didn't strike me as the type who would be inclined to take help—least of all from apparent strangers.

Yeah? We'll talk to her about it. Work it out from what she used to pay?

Instead of replying, I caught Alice's eye and nodded my head quickly before jumping into the conversation.

They'd had a pretty engaged conversation about Bella's career as a teacher, and she was looking at me to find out more about what I did.

"Well, I'm a doctor at Greenlane hospital—that's actually the hospital that Alice was born at." I began, looking at Alice. I didn't remember how tiny she was when she was born myself, but I'd seen photos and she always looked like a little doll. "I started out in General Surgery, but I also specialised in Obstetrics too. So I mostly deliver babies now."

Jasper was absolutely fascinated by the States, and kept asking Bella about what it was like to live there. Not surprisingly, she didn't have a lot to say. It was home for her, and she also hadn't spent enough time in any country to be able to answer his questions.

When we'd sufficiently run out of questions for the while, and had eaten our fill we all started packing up the left overs and cleaning off the table. We never left a mess for Pete and Char to clean up. They were like family, and treated us as such when we ate here. With one exception—we always paid.

We ended up sending all the leftovers home with Em and Rose, but we helped pack them up tightly so they wouldn't spill. We'd all lost count of the number of times Em needed to pay for his car to be valet cleaned after he'd spilled something across the seats.

We dawdled lazily back to the shop once we'd finished our food. Our bellies were full and we were in no hurry to get home.

Before I could head to my car, Alice quickly grabbed my attention as Jasper was saying something to Bella. "See you at The Point; I've put Bella's bags in your boot."

I nodded my head, pulling away quickly. Alice had clearly packed my boot as the bags moved around on the drive. She was terrible at packing things. It wouldn't surprise me if she had stood the bags straight up and they had fallen over as soon as I accelerated.

I was the first out, so I beat them back with a decent amount of time. I pulled up around back, maybe driving a little too fast as I felt the back end slip out a little on the gravel path. I rolled my eyes at myself as I pulled into my spot.

I wasn't surprised to see Bella's bags tossed haphazardly around in the boot of my car. I loved my car. I bought it after I split with Tanya and had yet to regret the purchase. It was smaller than Dad's Mercedes, but still an SUV. It packed a shit tonne of power too.

I grabbed Bella's bags, and with some manoeuvring, I managed to get them all to the foot of the staircase in one piece. I thought better of leaving them out in the open and hid them in the 'staff only' entrance we often used for functions. I was tempted to take them straight up to the flat. However, I still wanted B to have a choice in case she wasn't keen on staying there.

I heard the rumble of Alice's car as she pulled up to the front door. Knowing Alice, she clearly wanted Bella to get the full effect of The Point, rather than the staff entrance.

When Alice opened the door and let B walk in, I couldn't stop myself from watching Bella's face from my hidey hole, as she took it all in. A lot of work had gone into this place. Most of the project had been managed by Alice, but I had put my foot down at times too.

If The Point was in my name, I wanted it to be somewhere I would want to come and relax. Alice initially wanted to gut the place and get rid of the more country style features and replace them with hard lines and steel, but I put my foot down.

Instead, we'd come to a compromise. We'd stripped back the floors so what remained was a sandy washed hard wood. Mum helped mediate when it came to furnishings, because Alice's tastes were still a tad too sterile and ultra-modern. I understand the want for clean lines, but we argued on finishes and fabrics all the time.

I won in the end, but there were some hard fought battles and a lot of tears.

What we ended up with was over stuffed sectionals and arm chairs, in light beige with legs finished to match the flooring. Cream, light blue and soft olive green cushions added a pop of colour and all of the windows were dressed with white netting that fell to the floor. We had off white drapes too, but unless requested, we didn't really close them.

Alice and I had arguments about art work too. She wanted over processed pictures of Point Chev beach and people kite surfing. I wanted simple stock photos of paunamu carvings and different wood carvings. Mum ended up turning up with shadow boxed carvings, paunamu taonga and bone taonga. They looked amazing, which Mum reminded us of… often.

I'd let her have her win, especially if it meant Alice lost too.

When I decided I had played the part of creeper long enough, I grabbed Bella's bags again and joined the two of them. "Which floor?" I asked pointedly, refusing to hand Bella's bags to her as she made to take them from me.

I may not work here technically, but I wasn't going to let a guest carry their own bags. What kind of customer service would that be?

I quickly shuffled up to the third floor. I'd let Alice handle the tour while I put B's bags away. Bella didn't seem to mind that we'd 'chosen' her room for her. So I hoped she'd continue to be this amicable.

I quickly opened up the room to get air flooring through. We didn't come in here much, so it smelt a little stale. I found a dish rag under the kitchen sink and found myself running around the whole place trying to get rid of every speck of visible dust.

I checked the toilet paper and found there wasn't any so I quickly ran to the to the storage room and grabbed a twelve pack and neatly stacked them under her bathroom sink. I'd also grabbed some hand towels, tea towels and bath towels while I was in there, and did my best to put them away like they'd always been there.

It took me about ten minutes in total, but by the time I'd made it back down, Alice was bringing Bella in from the kitchen.

I shoot a look at Alice quickly, before smiling and giving Bella my full attention. "I've put your bags in your room."

Confusion washed over her face as she looked between Alice and me. "I thought you said I could pick my room?"

Panicked, I looked to Alice for the answer. Maybe she hadn't heard me before?

"I changed my mind and picked a room for you. This way you'll have privacy; we have guests coming in early tomorrow and I'm pretty sure you're going to conk out as soon as your head hits the pillow, I figured this would be better." Nice save, Alice.

I often worried about her silver tongue sometimes. Then I found myself jealous of Alice as Bella wrapped her in a hug and thanked her. Then again, I didn't really deserve the hug. It was Alice's idea.

Stepping back, I let Alice and Bella pass as I followed them upstairs. Something told me that Bella was going to be reluctant to accept our help, but I was determined that she was going to get it.

Bella had no one here. No family, nothing, and that unsettled me more than anything else. Even when I had gone to Aussie for a couple of years I had Aunties and Uncles, cousins, everything.

If she was willing to deal with my family's crazy, then she was more than welcome to join the fray. Team Cullen!

I steeled myself against the potential backlash we may have from Bella, as I took a deep breath. B, didn't know us, she could refuse our offer and that very thought bothered me deeply.

Bella was surveying the flat, her eyes dancing around everything. There was a lot of space, more than you'd expect from the outside. There was a separate bedroom and a full sized bathroom; a sitting area, dining area and a reasonable sized kitchenette with a full fridge and dishwasher. Alice had hoped she'd finally learn how to cook, so a gas stove top, and oven had been put in too.

I doubted she'd ever really learn how to cook, but I loved the fact that she thought having new appliances would have made a difference. It was a rather entertaining idea.

One thing that did surprise me was how much Bella's acceptance of the flat weighed on me.

"Guys, I thought you said a room." She said, her voice carrying…shock? "This is a whole apartment, and why does it say 'no access' on the door?"

Alice looked at me from behind Bella, her eyes narrowed as she gestured to the couch with her head. I guess I was leading this conversation. "Sit down, Bella. We'd like to propose something to you."

I sat down on the plush L-shaped couch. Alice quickly joined me, and left a reasonable amount of space for Bella to join us. I wasn't surprised when she sat as far from as us she could. Her whole body turned toward us as she gave us her full attention.

With as little preamble as I could manage I walked Bella through our offer. This place was hers, and everything was included. She needed to pay a super cheap bond and her rent was going to be about the same as she had been paying in Seattle.

We didn't need the money, and we weren't really going to do anything with it other than save it. She definitely was not going to accept living here rent free.

After a relatively painless conversation—for Bella, she'd accepted and the flat was finally going to be lived in.

Alice and I quickly kissed Bella on the cheek so we could leave her to settle in. I'd stop by tomorrow to see if she needed anything, but for now she needed to sleep. The fatigue in her face was undeniable as the day had progressed.

I didn't hang around much longer. I simply signed a few things for Alice that needed my signature, and headed home.

I'd had a pretty long day, and just wanted my own bed and some sleep. Once home, I took stock of my empty house, and found myself sighing. I really did miss coming home to someone.

I should have stayed at Mum and Dad's.

My phone blaring at me woke me up. It was rare that I had the ringer turned on, so hearing the obnoxious—and highly generic—Apple ring tone scared the shit out of me. In the process of reaching for my phone, I knocked it off the bedside table and had to scramble to answer it before it rang out.

"Cullen?"

Being stuck on call from time to time, made rousing easy, but I still sounded breathless.

"Edward, it's Bella, she won't wake up." I sat up straighter, running my fingers through my hair and pulling. Yup, I was definitely awake, and now I was worried too.

I'd swung by yesterday when I ran out to get some food. I knocked but she hadn't answered so I had assumed she was sleeping.

I was very tempted to unlock the door and check on her, but I let her be. Just because she had moved into a flat once meant for my sister, didn't mean she had to lose her privacy.

Had she been asleep the whole time since Alice and I left her the day she arrived?

I'd worry about Alice completely breaching Bella's privacy later. I had potentially more pressing things to worry about.

"I'll be there in twenty. Text Dad, and see when he can get away." Alice agreed quickly. I grabbed the first pair of jeans and clean shirt I found, dressing quickly before shoving my feet—sock free—into a pair of Chucks I'd left at the front door.

I probably broke every road rule in existence as I drove to The Point, with one exception. I for whatever reason still remember to indicate left as I exited the roundabout. I didn't want to be that guy.

I sped down the long driveway and pulled my car around to the staff parking. I waved at the staff preparing meals for the diners who'd stopped by for lunch, and practically ran up the stairs on my way to Bella's room.

So many 'what ifs' went through my head. What if she was really sick? What if she wasn't just fatigued? What if—I knew I needed to stop.

I had to be clinical. I would assess Bella's condition when I got to her. Sometimes the body just needed sleep to recover.

Mentally and physically Bella was probably incredibly under the pump.

When I made it up the stairs, my foot clipped the top lip of the stair and I ended up ramming right into Dad. He'd beaten me here.

"Jesus, Edward." He laughed, helping right me. "I'd rather not be here treating two of you if I can avoid it—you always make the worst patient."

"Shut up." I shrugged off his arm and hastily unlocked the door, practically shoving it open in my mission to get to Bella.

When I rounded the bedroom Bella was sitting up, tiredly rubbing eyes and looking at my sister like she was insane. I couldn't help but take my first easy breath since Alice called me as I saw Bella sitting up and looking perfectly fine. Tired, but fine.

Bella looked from me to Alice and then to Dad. "Not that I don't love the company, but why are you here?"

I couldn't stop the smile that covered my face. "Good to see you awake, Bella." I watched as Bella's eyes darted around me at Dad, "Shit, sorry B, this is Carlisle. Dad, Bella."

Bella gave Dad the most adorable wave I'd ever seen from a grown woman in my whole life. It made me want to get to know her better. What made her tick? I hoped she'd let us stay in her life.

For two reasons, the first and most obvious was that she came across as being so strong. Who moves countries like she did? I couldn't do that. I had barely lasted two years in Australia and I had been surrounded by extended family. Timed right it's only a few hundred dollars travel between Aussie and here. I'd hazard to say it's a shit tonne more expensive if Bella wanted to fly home.

Did she even have those means? It couldn't have been cheap for her to just up and move here.

I digress, the second reason I wanted her to stick around, was because there was just something about her that fit. She was beautiful, witty and had this childlike curiosity that I found absolutely adorable. She wanted to know everything there was to know about New Zealand and the Maori culture.

"Nice to meet you, Bella." Oh right, Dad. I didn't miss his clinical appraisal of Bella. His eyes scanned Bella from head to toe, her colouring, her breathing…anything he could use at a distance to assess her.

"Okay, can someone please tell me what's going on?" Bella's eyes bounced from me to Dad, and then to Alice, going around in a loop.

We all seemed to know exactly who was going to provide the answer Bella wanted, so we looked at Alice.

"Bella, you slept all of yesterday away. It scared the bejesus out of me, when I checked on you this morning. You were so fast asleep I couldn't wake you. I shook you, called your name. Nothing woke you up—so I called Edward, and he was concerned so he called Dad and here we are. How do you feel? Are you hungry? I'll get you something to eat." Before Alice could dash off and disappear, Bella grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"I'm fine. I was tired; I didn't get much sleep on the plane. My body just wanted to rest." Bella said soothingly to Alice, her voice gentle and kind. Considering she could have gone off her nut, cried stalker or anything to that effect, I was relieved that she wasn't put out.

I only wished Alice was more inclined to taking Bella at her word, but she looked to Dad and me. As far as I could tell she was fine. She wasn't displaying any obvious signs of illness, and she'd looked incredibly fatigued when I'd seen her the other day.

"Alice, why don't you bring up some refreshments, and some fruit, toast too if they have it. I'm sure you'll feel better after Bella's had something to eat." Carlisle said from over my shoulder. Alice practically took off like a bat out of hell as she sprinted across the room.

Once Alice had left, Dad took her seat at Bella's bedside. I watched on uselessly as he assessed her more thoroughly. Dad's experience with medicine favoured general practice. That's why he'd gone into private practice. He absolutely loved that he could see his patients throughout their whole lives.

A part of me was jealous of how quickly Dad had stepped up and wanted to help Bella. I could barely move to her bedside and Doctor Cullen had turned up in Dad the second he crossed that threshold.

Dad quickly checked her pulse and he temperature with clinical precision, questioning her all the while as I just stood there.

She was so beautiful, and also so different from the woman I'd once married. I doubted Bella would ever have had an abortion. She probably would have even given birth to her asshole ex boyfriend's baby too, simply because it was a piece of her.

Carlisle chuckling brought me back to the present.

"How about you let me worry about whether or not you're covered. It is my practice after all, and as for your IRD number, you'll have to get the forms and fill them out. You should be able to check online."

Fire filled Bella's eyes as she regarded my father. "Why on earth would my not having insurance be your issue?"

Dad caught my eye quickly before giving Bella his full attention. Had he noticed that I'd drifted off? "Well it's my practice, so I'm fairly certain you'll be fine."

"Thank you, Carlisle. Ugh, Dr. Carlisle? I really don't think it's necessary though. I mean I feel fine now. I probably just slept it off." Dad may not have wanted to push Bella, but I was very tempted.

I wanted her to get a full workup just to make sure there was absolutely nothing wrong. Yeah, she may have appeared fine, but I still wanted to be certain. The only way I could do that would be to have tests. Lots and lots of tests.

But she'd baulked at the idea of needles. Would she hate me if I pushed the issue of tests?

"I can't force you to do anything you don't want to, Bella. Though I wish you'd reconsider for the sake of everyone involved. Alice has grown quite fond of you, which means she won't be inclined to let up until she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that you're okay."

Why did Dad always have to be the good guy?

Then it worked! Bella crossed her arms over her chest, bowing her head. Dad was just that good. With that win, Dad left. I figured he'd give Bella a card, but he didn't. He gave a quick nod as left. "Excellent. I'll let you get ready for the day—Edward placate your sister until you bring Bella in."

I gave Dad a cheeky salute as he ducked out.

Dad knew damn well he'd just given me the hardest job in the history of life itself. Placate Alice? Only one man in this world had that ability and he was marrying her.

Once Dad had left, I remembered something Bella had said. Dr. Carlisle. Through our interactions, I guess our surname had never come up.

"Cullen."

She gave me her full attention once more. I hadn't noticed it before, but her cheeks were slightly pinked. Was she embarrassed?

"Excuse me?"

"Our last name, it's Cullen. That's what Dad goes by when you refer to him as doctor though I'm pretty sure you can just call him Carlisle." I offered with a shrug. I also went by Doctor Cullen.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched Bella mouth our names. Was she trying out our surname?

I was confused when her eyebrows scrunched up. "Is Emmett a family name?"

"What makes you ask that?" What was going on in her little mind?

"It's not exactly a common name, and I've never met an Emmett before. I thought maybe you could shed some light."

The only way I could explain that was to give Bella a brief history lesson of the Cullen clan and sat down giving me her full attention.

Yes, Emmett was a family name. But that wasn't the most interesting part of the story. Emmett was just called 'son' until he was about four weeks old, and my Papa—Dad's, dad, got fed up with him not having a name.

Mum had visited Papa as she'd done every day and Papa refused to let her inside until she accepted the name he'd chosen—William Emmett Cullen— or give him a better one. I'm told it was one of those 'nobody puts baby in a corner' moments.

There were enough William's and Wiremu's in our family on both sides,that Mum and Dad didn't want another one. She'd blurted out Emmett Carlisle Cullen, and from then onward, that become his name.

Before I'd even realised it, I found myself talking about my grandfather and his little quirks. The story or Emmett's name morphed into a retelling of everything I loved about my Papa. I missed him, more than I think I ever let on. He understood me on a level that Mum and Dad always didn't. He's the one who let me just be in my bubble and enjoy being a kid, or teenager.

He spoiled us, but in his own way. Alice loved Cocoa Pops and Papa made sure she'd never need to ask for them because they were always there. Em loved Memphis Meltdowns, so they were always on hand. Jasper and Rose loved anything frozen, so Papa used to always keep everything from Jelly Tips to Eskimo Pies in his chest freezer in the garage.

He even kept an old standup piano in the basement, even though none of us could play simply because he loved the joy on our faces every time we pretended we could. It really was no secret that we didn't have a musical bone in our bodies, but we still liked to tinker.

"Your grandfather reminds me of Charlie, my dad. He's the same. People think he's a hardened cop, but underneath it all he's my dad. You know I fainted at the sight of blood in a ab assignment in high school and Charlie drove from the station with his sirens on because he was so freaked out. I'd completely blacked out, but he actually carried me from class and strapped me into the cruiser. Doctor Gerandy was shocked when Charlie carried me into the hospital. By that point I was fighting him to walk because I felt fine."

I couldn't help but cherish the way she talked about her dad. He struck me as a very protective person in Bella's life, someone who always put her first. Like Dad and Alice, they probably had their issues, but if there was one thing I cherished above all else, it was the love a dad had for his daughter.

I didn't realise I was laughing at Bella until she stopped telling her story, and glared at me. I held my hands up in surrender, and she quickly continued. "Anyway after a blood test, which almost made me faint again and a quick checkup, Doctor Gerandy told Charlie I was fine. The good ole' Chief was still freaking out though and trying to comfort me, and patting my shoulder telling me 'I'd be okay'. It was probably the most endearing moment I'd have ever had with my father."

Something struck me as odd as Bella told her story. She clearly loved her father, but she constantly called him by his name.

She put her hand on my knee, her tiny little hand, "Just ask me, Edward."

"Um, is that an American thing?"

She looked confused, and I worried I offended her. I wasn't used to having to watch what I said, or how I said things. The women I dealt with on the regular were my family, or the women at work. They were used to me now, so I never needed to sensor myself.

"Is what an American thing?"

Perhaps I should have asked that question more clearly? "Calling your parents by their first name. I mean I'd get a hiding from either of my parents if they heard me even refer to them by their name. Jesus, don't get me started on what Koro and Māmā would have done."

When she explained herself, I guess it made a little more sense. She loved her dad, and she wasn't being rude when she called him by his name. It was more or less a learned habit, and her Dad probably loved spending every moment of the time she had with Bella, doing something she loved. Rather than berating her for calling him by his name.

Bella and I had been comfortably chatting for a few minutes, when she raised a very important question. "Hey, where did Alice go?"

Good point! I checked my phone quickly, hoping I'd see missed calls or texts—nothing. That worried me more than anything

"I thought she was getting toast and fruit. How long does that take?" I pondered Bella's question.

For most people, that would take a few minutes, ten minutes tops. That would mean potentially cold toast, but minor details. When I'd come in, the kitchen staff had been on hand too, so surely they'd have been able to help Alice. Right?

I got up in a panic. This was Alice! She could have been up to anything. "It should only have taken maybe ten minutes tops. She's up to something. Let's go."

I waited for Bella to be up on her feet before we ran down the stairs, I found myself taking them two at a time. What the hell was Dad thinking telling Alice to get the food? She burns water! He asked her to cook toast.

Oh fuck!

My heart bottomed out when I found the dining room empty. Lunch service was either short or we'd been upstairs longer than I'd thought.

When I found Alice, I was having trouble trying to figure out what to address first. The empty coffee pot burning on the heating element? My sister crying in the corner hugging her hand to her chest? The toast still cooking as I could clearly see smoke billowing over the top of the toaster.

"Fuck!" I turned off the percolator first; I really didn't want to have to replace it. The toast went out the window and then I was helping Alice stand and ushering her onto a stool. She had to jump a little to sit on it properly, and once she was settled I noticed that the tea towel she'd wrapped around it was stained in red.

"Bella, how squeamish are you around blood?" I found myself asking. She'd seemed reluctant about needles earlier; it wasn't a massive leap to assume she wasn't a fan of blood.

She looked at me like I was stupid, and I assumed that to mean that maybe I was on to something.

"I faint on sight, and get sick to my stomach around the s—" Oh fuck. Bella's face screwed up quickly, before she ran to the sink. The poor thing was completely leaned over, as I watched tremors run through her as her body heaved.

Poor baby. Her tiny little body just kept heaving, probably because she hadn't had a chance to eat yet. She didn't have anything to bring up.

Alice didn't react too well to people throwing up so she clapped her still good hand around her mouth.

"Damn it Alice, I really don't want to have to deal with the two of you. Go to your office, your finger is fine. You don't even need stitches." She pushed me away and practically ran to the office, as I tried to help Bella.

I grabbed a bottle of water for Bella, and quickly opened it for her, rather intentionally too. I wanted her to see the seal break as I twisted off the top. I'd seen a few too many women in my time that'd been given drinks by strangers, and if I was going to give a woman a drink I wanted them to feel safe consuming it.

Bella didn't seem to care as she took the bottle, sipping it slowly. She'd probably been through it before; especially if her blood typing story was anything to go by.

I'd just managed to settle Bella down, as she was finally taking normal breaths, and her hands were no longer shaking when a breathless and frazzled Jasper burst into the kitchen. The door was thrown open with so much force; it hit the wall with an audible crack.

He was normally so calm, but he always lost his shit where Alice was involved. I stepped away from Bella, giving Jasper my full attention. Unlike his girlfriend, when Jasper got riled up, there was nothing you could say or do that could calm him down. He needed to see Alice, and that was the only think that would help.

"Bro, calm the fuck down, she's fine. Her finger isn't cut off, but it is cut. It doesn't need stitches; she's just be'n a Hollywood. She went to wash it, and grab a plaster. She'll be in her office trying not to chunder."

He turned on his heel leaving as quickly as he came. All Alice needed was a plaster. Between the two of them they should be able to achieve that much.

It was a wonder that Bella didn't want to be rid of our brand of crazy. Sometimes I wanted to get away t and I was born into it.

When Jasper got back, I decided that I didn't really want to stick around the two of them post coitus. One because she was my sister, and I didn't really want to think about that. The other reason was because they were always weirdly clingy—which just gave everything away.

A supermarket run sounded like a good idea. Even just so that I could get away from them. "You know what, seeing as surgery was a success; you're fit to clean up your mess. B, you wanna come for a ride? I wanna hit up Countdown and I figure you might want some things too."

Bella didn't hesitate, though she did ask for a few minutes to get ready. While she shot upstairs, I headed into my office in the back. It was a pretty nice space, that I probably should have given to Alice, but I did still did work from here.

I went through some paperwork that needed processing. A lot of it confused me, and l could see the numbers looked great. Too good. It actually confused me with how much I didn't expect it.

I knew Alice was doing amazing things here, it was hard to miss. This little Inn that had pretty much been given to me had undoubtedly saved me. It was about the only thing positive that I had in my life, at the time that was good.

Now it was not only good, it was great. Amazing!

Maybe it was time I relinquished The Point to Alice?

There was one thing I wanted to find; Alice's time sheets. Where would I find them? I shuffled through all of the papers that I had, accidentally knocking them to the floor. Instead of picking them up, I folded myself down to my knees, enjoying the soft rug as I scanned through the documents. Time sheets. Time sheets…

That's how Bella found me; bumbling my way through different documents. She was dressed comfortably in a long singlet dress and jandals. I liked her dress, though all it did was to highlight how tiny she actually was.

Mum and Alice weren't massive, but unlike Bella, they were mainly muscle. They'd been into fitness and sports my whole life, and it showed. Bella's was a mere slip of a person comparatively.

Her brow furrowed. "You okay?"

I must have looked worse off than I thought. I rose to my feet, casually rubbing my neck. I was about to tell her that I was looking for Alice's time sheets, but I thought better of it.

"I think I should leave this to Alice. She's a lot better at it than I am." Bella looked at me confused, and I realised maybe that wasn't the best thing to have said.

She looked at the papers on the floor. "Isn't this Alice's job? To manage the place and deal with that."

I shuffled everything and quickly put them away. I'd look for her time sheet later. Before I could leave my office, Bella quickly asked to use my charger. She quickly plugged her phone in and then we were off.

"You ready to go?" I asked kindly, when she nodded, I let her leave before me so I could lock up behind us.

Time to head to Point Chev Countdown! It was small, but it had everything I'd need. I wanted to give Bella a taste of New Zealand.

Bella darted around the store picking up some essentials, like bread and milk, while I went straight to the confectionary. I needed everything Pascals, Bluebird and Maggi, well I only really needed one thing, Maggi.

Just as I was about to head to the counters, I turned around and grabbed some chocolate. I didn't think they sold Whitakers outside of New Zealand, but they might. I figured Ln'P was a good choice too.

Ana was the cashier. I'd just helped deliver her first grandchild on my last shift, and we'd had a good chat. She was actually friends with my God Father, Uncle Paora, so when she wasn't coaching her daughter I was catching her up on how Uncle and Aunty were doing.

Ana scanned everything quickly, which I was happy about because Bella was kidding herself if she thought she was paying. She was very huffy with me once I'd paid, and was practically dragging her feet as she followed me back to my car.

"Why didn't you let me pay?" She'd asked as I finally settled everything into the backseat. I hadn't actually expected her to ask me so pointedly. Well, wasn't that normal? I mean sure, I expected her to try to pay, but she seemed genuinely upset with me.

"B, its all good. I paid, because I just dumped a hundy worth of junk food on you. Seemed fair," I offered, though it didn't seem to placate her much. "You do realize I plan on helping you eat all this right? Besides, you don't know how to make the dip."

I pulled Bella into me lightly so I could close the boot. She felt much smaller than I had originally thought as I tucked her under my chin, making sure she was clear of the boot. After a gentle squeeze, I stepped back.

She seemed slightly less put out, so I headed toward the driver's side and was confused when Bella followed me? I would have offered to open her door for her, but I thought better of it. She didn't strike me as a woman who'd react too well to that, and it was only a habit I'd picked up because Tanya hated doing anything for herself.

When a blush spread over her features, it hit me. She was used to riding on this side of the car. Cars were left hand drive in America, so jumping in on the right hand side would have been the passenger side.

Bella, in a move I was beginning to notice was simply her, blushed bright red before rounding the car and jumping in beside me.

I started driving back to The Point, but I couldn't help but kept glancing over at Bella. She was pretty much refusing to look at me as she pretty adamantly stared at her window.

The houses really weren't that exciting to look at.

She must have felt my eyes on her as she all but turned with a glare on her face. "What?"

I was beginning to enjoy how fiery she could get. "I've never actually seen someone blush quite like you do. Your entire face flushed red and even down your neck."

I couldn't help but chuckle at her as she turned back away from me. She really was the first woman I'd ever seen blush. Mum, Alice and Rose certainly didn't. It just wasn't a bodily reaction they had. The only time they'd ever gone red was when they'd been sunburnt, and even then, I don't think it had anything on Bella's.

"Awesome, make fun of Bella." I bit my lip at that. I didn't want her to feel like I was picking on her. That wasn't my intention.

How do I smooth this over? "Simmer down, Flash. It's not a bad thing. It's just different. There isn't anything wrong with different, I mean you have met my siblings. I'll show you some of the things they put up on Facebook."

She no longer looked pissed, but she did look very confused. "Stop over thinking things, Bub."

I couldn't help but laugh at the look on her face. She really did have adorable faces. Did she know how expressive her face was? Surely someone had told her at some point in her life.

I quickly skimmed through my phone, Inventing Myself had pretty much been playing on a loop in my head since the first time that I'd heard it. I may have actually been obsessed with it.

If Bella's silence was anything to go by, she was too.

I gave Bella the brief history of Stan Walker, and before I knew it, we were back at The Point. She was still pondering the fact that Beyoncé had actually toured New Zealand when we arrived. So I left her to her musings and quickly started pulling the bags from the boot.

When I heard her door close as she came 'round the car I was shocked to see her square her shoulders and swing. Her attempt at an apology followed soon after, but I couldn't help but smile at her.

Yeah, she'd be just fine around here.

I didn't dawdle as I ran up the stairs, juggling the bags and calling for Bella to pick up the pace. She had locked the door behind her, so I needed her to unlock it. As soon as the door was open, I all but upturned the bags on the counter so I could empty them fast. The dip had to be made first!

I rushed through as I made the dip, mostly because I wanted it and secondly because it needed to chill. Bella's eyes lit up as I offered a quick taste. Nothing tasted quite as good as onion soup and reduced cream.

One day I'd share the recipe with Bella for real.

I quickly checked my phone, and was shocked that it was full of messages from the family, all of which said one thing… 'We're on our way'.

I didn't have a chance to tell Bella before they were knocking on her door. She walked over, her step slightly delayed; I guess in confusion which must have tripled when she opened the door.

My whole family stood somewhat patiently at the stoop. I wished they'd have taken the time to at least ask Bella if she wanted to do have a barbecue.

Bella was undoubtedly confused, "So what are we all doing up here?"

Everyone simply took Bella's step backwards as the okay to enter, and they didn't hesitate as they each made themselves at home. I was confused! This sure as fuck wasn't my idea! This also wasn't Alice's flat, it was Bella's. You can't just welcome yourself into someone else's home.

When Bella turned to me with a frown, I felt the flush of red flood my cheeks. She was making me blush!

"Edward."

Well seeing as no one else was going to answer, "Well I figured that seeing as you slept through yesterday, we could have a barby and get to know each other a little more." I found the floor most interesting as I tried to find a way to answer for my family randomly just turning up.

I knew they were already planning on having a barbecue, but just turning up and inviting themselves into Bella's home was a bit much. There were much simpler ways to invite someone for dinner. A phone call perhaps or you know, actually asking them.

"Whose idea was this?" Bella scanned the room, and yet for some reason her eyes landed on me. I met the eyes of my family, and then I found out why. All eyes were on me!

Oh fuck! They were blaming me for this. I practically froze as Bella just looked at me. When she stepped closer, I half anticipated another punch; only I was pleasantly surprised when she hugged me, reaching up on her toes as she kissed me on the cheek.

"Thank you." I smiled down at the little terror, returning the gesture as I kissed her on the cheek.

"All good."

I watched as Bella took a deep breath before regarding my family. "So I don't know how you guys barbecue here, but in the States we normally do it outside."

Alice, not one to be insulted clocked Bella in the arm, "Jesus, we're not that uncivilised." She said before she gathering up all of the junk food and heading downstairs. She had probably asked the kitchen staff to setup the barbecue for her before they headed off today. Unsurprisingly, with one look Jasper was following Allie out the door, grabbing the goodies from her as he went.

He really was whipped; though Emmett was probably the worst. I shook my head as I watched him pretend to crack the whip behind Jazz only to get shutdown in the same second. Yeah bro, Jazz's whipped.

Dumb ass.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to stay with Bella, or follow my siblings, but one look at mum let me know. She was glaring at me, and then the door. Okay. Guess I was going.

Downstairs, Emmett was lighting the barbecue as Alice dished up chips into bowls. Jasper was in the chillybin covering the beers with ice, and Rose was slicing up vegetables for a salad.

I wasn't sure how long Mum, Dad and Bella were gonna be, so I set to work. Between Rose and me we managed to get through the salads pretty quickly. So Rose went to the barbecue to babysit, Em.

"Hey Ed?" Alice asked, as she sat down next to me, choking the neck of her beer.

I found myself sitting up a little straighter as I met her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Do you think Bella likes me?" Oh Alice.

Despite how she behaved now, Alice had a lot of issues with confidence and making friends. It was rare, but surfaced from time to time especially when new people entered her life. She'd been pretty badly bullied, mostly because of how small she's always been, and always being a little different.

Growing up, she trusted way too quickly and entered every friendship with her heart wide open. For some bitches, that made her the perfect target.

It stopped when she joined me at intermediate, but the damage had already been done. She was better now, but outside of the family, she didn't have a whole lot of friends. It didn't surprise me she liked Bella. There was probably something about her that Alice related to in a kindred way.

Maybe, just maybe, I'd be able to convince Bella to stay. Alice needed to see another strong woman that wasn't her familyher family.

I reached over, and wrapped my arms around Alice so I could hug her to my chest. I kissed her hair, as I just squeezed. "Yeah, Allie, I'm pretty sure, B, likes you. She didn't kick you out of her room today." I felt her nod her head against me. "Now come on, it's a party. Where's the music?"

By the time Bella, Mum and Dad joined us, the party had truly begun. We were all a few beers deep and were singing along as Rose took over the barbecue. I was surprised she'd let Em "cook" as long as she had.

As soon as Alice saw Bella, she was across the deck, making eyes at her and singing along to Awa. Bella didn't know what hit her as she was grabbed by the hands and dragged onto Alice's makeshift dance floor.

It was great to see my sister being so carefree and Bella too. She had no idea what song was playing, but she was swaying and moving with my sister like they'd been doing it for years.

I don't care what force had brought Bella into my life, but I had to trust that we'd found her for a reason and I was willing to do whatever I could to keep her in our lives. There was something about her that just fit, and if the smiles on everyone's faces were anything to go by, I wasn't the only one who thought it.

When Bella finally got over the shock of Rose throwing her beer to her, I smiled as she caught my eye. I tipped my beer to her in silent cheers.

'Welcome to Team Cullen, Bella.' I wanted to say, because it was pretty clear both Alice and Rose were enjoying her company. But I was a bit worried she'd take it the wrong way.

But Dad, being Dad, found a much better way of making her feel welcome. "Stick around, Baby B, you haven't seen anything yet."

Yes, Bub, stick around. Because you are definitely going to make our lives interesting.

So, what did you think? I know a few of you wanted Edward's POV about when they met, so I wrote it. I hope you liked it!

Don't worry, there's still more to come, they just take me time to write.

Nic.