Yes, this is the sequel to 'Painted', titled 'Love You Forever'. This first chapter is just a starter, I'm not going to update again until I finish one of my other stories, 'Best'. I really appreciate all your support for 'Painted', and I hope you continue to do so for this story.

This first chapter is in EPOV, and picks up right where 'Painted' left off.

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EPOV

I was inking up one of my regular customers, Ben, when Bella peeked into the room, our son in her arms. "Hey, babe, Alice and I are taking Gavin on a walk." Bella said, her sweet voice lilting. "We'll be back later." She said. I momentarily put the needle down and kissed Bella on the lips, smiling as I did so.

"Okay, have fun. Love you, B." Then I turned back around and continued my work as Bella turned on her heel.

"Love you too." She said simply, leaving the room.

I refocused on the work I was doing on Ben's arm, and he glanced towards the door that Bella had just disappeared from. "That's your girlfriend, right? Bella?" He asked, his voice rough and hoarse from smoking. I nodded without looking up, smiling instantly at the mention of Bella.

"She's my wife." I corrected. "We've been married for two years now, and we have a son." I said, glancing up at Ben momentarily and smiling. "She's amazing." I added, smiling like a fool very much in love, which I obviously was. I wasn't afraid to admit it, either. It was true that Bella and Gavin were the best things that had ever happened to me, and I would put everything else on the line for either of them.

The day Gavin was born…it had been the day that had totally changed our lives. We had wanted a baby for such a long time, and when we finally had him, it was almost overwhelmingly perfect. Bella had looked so beautiful holding our son in her arms for the first time, even though she had been exhausted and sore. And then we had taken Gavin home the next day, and I was in awe of Bella. Of course, I usually was in awe of my wife, but this wasn't the same. Seeing her taking care of our son; holding him, whispering in his ear, nursing him, was unbelievable. Bella was meant to be a mother, I knew it. She looked so complete whenever she was with Gavin. It was like she was in her true element.

And I was also in awe of my son. Seeing him grow and develop was phenomenal. I couldn't believe how quickly he seemed to be growing up, even though he was only thirteen months old. I felt like he was growing up far too fast, and I really didn't want to see him go. Although I knew that there would be plenty of trouble ahead of us, I was admittedly excited to go through all the stages of raising our son, especially with Bella at my side. Everything she did turned me to mush these days, and I wasn't ashamed of that. In my eyes, there was absolutely nothing wrong with being so infatuated with someone, even more so when that someone was Isabella Cullen. She was simply fascinating in everything that she did, including seemingly mundane things like cleaning the apartment or caring for Gavin or sleeping. I loved every second of my life with her, and I wished that I was able to take it all in better.

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When I got back up to the apartment that night, I could hear Bella moving around in the kitchen, and Alice was sitting on the couch with Gavin on her lap. In one simple movement, Alice turned around to look at me and Gavin slipped right off her lap, tumbling to the floor. I was at his side in an instant, trying to comfort him as he started screaming.

"God fucking dammit, Alice!" I snapped, scooping Gavin up and trying to sooth him as I examined his head, because he was clasping his hand over his forehead as he howled. Bella practically flew into the room from the kitchen, a hot pad in her hand.

"I'm so sorry! He slid right off my lap!" Alice said tearfully, but I continued to fume at her.

It wasn't right to be so angry with her, but I wasn't thinking straight and I just wanted someone to blame. "Do me a favor, Alice, and just stay away from me right now." I snarled, trying to look at Gavin's head again. As I tried to look, he squirmed for Bella. But she was staring at me with her hands on her hips.

"Edward, cool off!" She said sharply, putting her arm around Alice's shaking shoulders. "She didn't mean to let him fall, okay? He's going to be fine, he's not even bleeding. It's just a bump." She said her voice still sharp.

I didn't say anything, just moved Gavin's hand out of the way so that I could get a good look at his head. When I saw that he was indeed okay, my tense shoulders relaxed and I handed Gavin over to Bella. "I'm so sorry Alice…I just freaked out." I admitted, giving Alice a hug. She wiped her eyes and smiled weakly at me.

"It's fine…I'm sorry to." She said softly, and then turned to Bella. "I'm going to get going…I had a lot of fun today." Bella shot me a dirty look, blaming me for her friend leaving, but Alice shook her head. "Don't fight about this, seriously. It was an accident, and Edward just overreacted a little bit. Can you blame him? He was here when Gavin fell, he saw him hit his head."

With Alice's words, Bella visibly relaxed and I cautiously put my arm around her waist. "Thank you, Alice. And I really am sorry." I said honestly as she kissed my cheek, then Bella's, and then Gavin's. His face was still red and scrunched up, but be had stopped crying. We said goodbye to Alice, and then were alone in the apartment. "Hey, I am sorry." I said in a low voice, skimming my lips against Bella's forehead.

"It's fine." She muttered looking up at me and shaking her head, a small smirk on her lips as she looked back down at our son, who had burrowed his head against her chest. "Just please don't overreact like that again, okay? Alice is already insecure enough with kids, and she was just getting into the groove of things. But thank you for apologizing." Bella gave me a quick kiss on the lips and then tapped my nose. "Let's just have dinner, okay?"

I nodded, following my wife and son into the kitchen with a smile on my face.

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As we lay in bed that night, Bella rested her head on my chest and stared up at the ceiling, obviously deep in thought. "What's on your mind, B?" I asked, kissing the top of her head and running my fingers through her long hair.

"I was just thinking that you and I haven't had a one on one date night for a long time." She murmured, and I realized that it was true. We had gone out plenty of times lately, but it had always been with Gavin in tow. We were insanely in love with our son, but it was true that we could use a little time to ourselves.

"You're right. Maybe…we could have a date night tomorrow?" I asked hopefully, and Bella mmmed under her breath. "We could ask Alice and Jasper to babysit, and maybe they could take Gavin to their place and we could have a little alone time." I propositioned.

Bella grinned and rolled over on her stomach, her smile playful and loving. "That…sounds…amazing." She said in a low husky voice, kissing me with promises of 'alone time' to come.

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What do you all think? Please review with your input?

Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie