2,864There Goes My Life
Chapter Twenty-One
...
Edward chuckled, shaking his head as he opened the door, ushering everyone out. Bella lifted Braxton into her arms, and Edward scooped up Holden while gently brushing his free hand along the small of Bella's back as they stepped onto the porch.
The ride to Emmett and Rosalie's house was filled with a mix of sleepy silence and sudden bursts of chatter.
Asher narrated an elaborate plan to teach Emmett how to play his new video game. Mia hummed along softly to the Christmas playlist; her unicorn buckled into the seat beside her. In the back, Braxton sleepily babbled while Holden dozed off with one thumb in his mouth and the other curled around Edward's pinky, still held loosely between their seats.
Edward shot Bella a glance as she navigated the neighborhood roads. "You sure you don't want to turn around? We still have time."
Bella gave him a dry look. "Don't test me, Cullen."
He grinned, sinking deeper into the passenger seat. "Just saying. Costco is terrifying this time of year."
"And yet, somehow, still more appealing than trying to get your mom's nativity set out of the attic."
He made a face. "Fair."
They pulled up outside Rosalie and Emmett's place, a cozy single-story house with a ramp built seamlessly into the porch. A colorful red and green Christmas wreath decorated the front door. A blow-up Frosty the Snowman waving heartily from the yard.
The front door flew open before Bella could put the car in park. Rosalie stepped out with a warm, broad smile, a perfectly messy bun atop her head, wearing leggings and an oversized sweatshirt that read Santa's Favorite Aunt. "Look who's here!" she called back into the house before jogging down the ramp.
Asher scrambled out first. "Aunt Rosie! I brought my Switch!"
"You better have," she said, catching him mid-barrel and spinning him around once before planting him firmly on the ground. "Emmett's been talking all week about challenging you."
"Where is Uncle Emmett?" Mia asked, sliding carefully out of the car with her unicorn in one arm and Edward's hand in the other.
"Inside," Rosalie replied, reaching for Braxton as Bella hoisted him from the car seat. "He's making cocoa bombs."
Bella gave her a dry look. "You know he's going to get at least one of them to explode too hard and scare someone."
"That's the goal," Rosalie said brightly.
Emmett was already waiting inside the house, his wide grin visible from the entryway. His wheelchair, sleek and black with red accents, rolled easily over the hardwood as he opened his arms wide. "Bring it in, monsters."
Asher dashed forward with a whoop and flung himself at Emmett, who absorbed the hit with a practiced laugh and a dramatic grunt. "Oof! Hey, champ. You pack your Switch?"
"It's in my bag." Asher nodded, climbing onto Emmett's lap without hesitation.
Mia followed more cautiously than her older brother, but Emmett extended his hand, wiggling his fingers. "C'mere, Sugarplum. Got something for you."
She tilted her head, then stepped closer, letting him pull a candy cane from behind his back like a magician. Her eyes widened behind her pink glasses. "It's pink!"
"Only the best for my girls," Emmett said, winking.
Rosalie had already taken Holden, snuggling him against her shoulder as he blinked sleepily. Bella passed Braxton to Edward, who carefully transferred him into Rosalie's other waiting arm. Braxton grunted his disapproval but quickly settled when Rosalie started humming under her breath, pacing the hallway with the kind of rhythmic sway only seasoned aunts and tired parents mastered.
Edward lingered by the door, brushing a thumb gently across Mia's cheek as she tucked her unicorn under one arm. "You're good, sweetheart?"
She nodded, then turned and whispered something to her unicorn, which Edward took as a yes.
Bella crouched in front of Asher. "Remember, if you miss us…"
"I can call," he recited, though his tone was more excited than anxious this time. "But I probably won't. 'Cause Emmett's gonna let me help him do the explosions."
"Controlled experiments," Emmett corrected as Asher and Mia dissolved into giggles.
Edward glanced toward Rosalie, who was now expertly juggling the twins on her hips, Holden mouthing her necklace, and Braxton half-asleep on her shoulder. "Sure you're good?" he asked.
Rosalie snorted, her eyes bright with happiness. "Please. This is my Olympic event. You two go do boring adult things. I've got crafts, movies, and at least two emergency games."
Bella leaned over and kissed Mia's forehead, "thank you," she said quietly, her eyes finding Rosalie's. "For all of this."
Rosalie's expression softened. "You guys deserve the break, and we love having the kids in the house."
As the door closed behind them a few moments later, Edward exhaled. "They'll be okay?"
"They'll be spoiled, over-sugared, and up past bedtime," Bella replied with a smile. "So yes. They'll be fine."
He laughed, fingers tightening around hers. "Costco?"
She leaned into his side, the cold morning air curling around them as they walked toward the car. "Let's go before Rose texts us a unicorn emergency."
The fluorescent lights buzzed faintly overhead as Edward and Bella stepped through Costco's sliding doors, greeted by a blast of cold air and the smell of rotisserie chicken and rubber tires. Bella tightened her grip on the cart handle.
"Nothing like a giant warehouse full of other people's screaming toddlers to say romance," she muttered.
Edward chuckled beside her, brushing his fingers lightly against her lower back. "It's not every day I take a woman to buy forty-eight rolls of toilet paper."
She gave him a sideways look, but there was a smile tugging at her lips. "Only the best for me, huh?"
He bumped her hip with his. "You know it."
They moved through the aisles in sync, the cart slowly filling with essentials. Pasta, peanut butter, oatmeal, and the juice boxes Mia insisted only tasted right if they were the ones with the dinosaur straws.
Edward tossed in a pack of batteries and glanced over. "Did we ever find out what remote those actually go to?"
"Nope," Bella said, checking something off her phone list. "But by the time we figure it out, Christmas will be here, and we will be prepared. Every toy, gizmo, and gadget will have its match."
"Practical and prepared. You're setting the bar high because I've always found your list-making deeply seductive."
She looked at him, amused. "Just wait until I pick the wine."
He laughed, but it faded as their cart turned into a quieter aisle, the kind with small boxes that spoke volumes.
Condoms.
Bella slowed. Edward didn't. He scanned the shelf with the same casual ease he used to pick out cereal. "Well," he said, grabbing a box and dropping it into the cart without ceremony, "that's one kind of bulk we definitely don't want to run out of."
Bella blinked, her mouth twitching. "You didn't even look at the options."
"I looked," he said, too calmly.
"Extra comfort, huh?"
He shot her a look. "It's the gentleman's choice."
She tried to hide her laugh behind her hand. "You're impossible."
"And yet," he said, tugging her gently closer by the hem of her coat, "you're still here. Buying condoms and string cheese with me in a warehouse the size of a football field."
"Low standards."
He leaned in a little. "Or maybe just excellent taste."
Her heart did that soft, stuttering thing it sometimes did around him, especially when he looked at her like that … like she was the only thing in the room that mattered.
The house was still, the kind of still that felt unfamiliar. No toys scattered across the floor, no background hum of cartoons, no sudden shrieks of laughter or thudding toddler footsteps.
Bella stood barefoot in the kitchen, sleeves rolled past her elbows, slowly peeling garlic while Edward seared the filet mignon in the cast iron skillet. The sizzle filled the silence like a warm hum, steady, comforting.
The overhead light cast a soft glow across the countertops. Bella glanced over, watching Edward baste the steaks with slow, practiced movements, the garlic butter foaming gently around the edges.
"I didn't realize how loud our life is," she murmured.
Edward glanced at her, a quiet smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "It's a good loud."
"It is," she agreed softly, separating rosemary leaves from the stem. "But this is good too, every now and then."
He nodded, adding a sprig of thyme to the pan. "Like we can actually hear ourselves think."
She looked at him and reached for two plates, gently setting them on the counter. "Or maybe just hear each other."
They didn't speak much as they finished cooking. The air between them was comfortable, filled with the clink of utensils and the scrape of roasted potatoes shifting on a sheet pan. Every movement was quiet, deliberate hands brushing as they worked side by side.
Edward poured her a glass of wine and then lit the candle in the center of the table before he pulled her chair out for her with a light touch to her shoulder. Bella sat, curling her legs beneath the chair and drawing her fingers around the stem of the glass.
They ate in silence for a while, the meal soft and satisfying, rich with garlic butter and warmth. It wasn't until they were halfway through that Bella finally spoke. "Mia read me a bedtime story last night," she said quietly. "An actual story. Front to back. No stumbles."
Edward blinked, then set down his fork. "She read it herself?"
Bella nodded, smiling faintly. "She didn't want me to help. She said, 'I've got it.' Like she's been doing it forever."
He leaned back, the weight of her words settling. "She's four."
"I know."
There was a pause. Not alarm, not worry, just awe.
"I think she's gifted," Bella said, voice just above a whisper. "I've thought it for a while. But … what do we even do with that?"
Edward ran a hand down his jaw. "We support her, but also make sure she still gets to be a kid."
Bella nodded. "And Asher…?"
Edward looked down, his fingers tracing the edge of his plate. "He's smart, he's so incredibly smart. But he's struggling with focus, transitions, and reading. It's like his mind wants to move faster than he can keep up with."
Her throat tightened. "I've seen it, too. The tantrums, the frustration when he can't make the letters match the sounds. I don't think it's just being six or adjusting anymore."
Edward met her eyes. "Should we have him tested more comprehensively? Maybe look for learning delays and processing or sensory stuff so we know what we're working with."
Bella nodded, "I'll ask Jacob if he has any connections."
Edward reached for her hand across the table. Her fingers tightened around his.
"I was looking at the calendar," Bella said, softer now. "The twins turn one in three weeks."
Edward exhaled, slow and full. "Feels impossible."
"I know." She smiled, eyes glassy.
"I still remember the first night we were home with them. How Holden wouldn't sleep unless you kept your hand on his chest. And Braxton… that little raspy breathing sound he made?"
He laughed under his breath. "I thought something was wrong."
"We called the pediatrician. At midnight."
Edward chuckled, shaking his head as he stood and reached for their plates. Instead of carrying them to the sink, he set them gently on the counter, the clink of ceramic quiet in the stillness.
Then he turned to her, one hand extending toward hers, his voice a low murmur. "Dance with me."
Bella blinked. "There's no music."
His gaze didn't waver. Something in her chest fluttered. She slid her hand into his. "Alexa play Turning Page on Spotify."
He drew her in slowly, not the kind of pull that was demanding or rushed. Her body moved easily into his, her arms looping around his neck as his hands found her waist.
The house was dim and quiet. Somewhere beyond the windows, winter air curled against the glass.
But inside, everything slowed.
Edward's fingers slipped up to the base of her spine, his thumb brushing slow circles. "I used to imagine moments like this," he said softly. "Back in the office, even before everything was chaos, diapers, court hearings and sleepless nights."
Bella looked up at him. "And now?"
"Now it's real." He met her eyes.
Her throat tightened. "You don't have to say things like that."
"I'm not saying it to say it," he whispered. "I'm saying it because it's true."
He exhaled, the kind of breath that carried years. "There were days I'd be halfway through a meeting, and my mind would drift, and I'd find myself thinking about what it would feel like to come home to you. Then my gaze would find you at your desk, and I'd bark out some stupid order."
His lips brushed hers, gentle, unhurried, the kind of kiss that said I've always seen you, wanted you, I just didn't know I could have you. She curled her fingers into the fabric of his shirt, letting herself lean into him.
"Sometimes it felt like there was another version of my life playing in the background, one where I wasn't your boss, where we just … were." He murmured, "And the crazy thing is, Bella, this life, this messy, loud, sleep-deprived, Costco-budget life, it's better than anything I imagined."
Edward pulled back just slightly, his forehead resting against hers as his thumb traced a slow, reverent line along her jaw. His voice was low, teasing. "You know," he murmured, "maybe we should actually sit down and go over our budget. December's been a little …" he lifted his brows, "off the rails."
Bella huffed a quiet laugh, her breath catching in the space between them. "You're bringing up spreadsheets right now?"
His smile was all mischief. "I'm just saying, Costco, four sets of matching pajamas, holiday lights that sync to music…"
She shut him up with a kiss deep and certain, her fingers curling around the back of his neck. "Shut up," she whispered against his mouth, laughing quietly as she kissed him again.
Her hands slipped beneath the hem of his shirt, her palms trailing over the taut muscles of his back as she breathed, "Upstairs."
His breath caught a sharp intake that spoke volumes. "Bella…"
Her lips met his again, this time with a deliberate slowness. "No kids. No monitors. No waking up to someone crawling into our bed at four a.m."
Words were unnecessary; he answered in action. Edward bent down and scooped her into his arms, her laughter a soft, stifled sound against his neck. He carried her up the stairs, halting only when she whispered, "Put me down. I want to undress you properly."
They barely made it to his bedroom, her hands tugging his shirt halfway off, her lips already tracing fervent kisses along his collarbone, her knees sinking into the mattress as he joined her. Their movements were deliberate,
no frantic rush, just an exploration of intentions, a silent exchange of permission and trust.
Bella's fingers hovered at the waistband of his jeans, slowly slipping past the button, her gaze locked on his as his eyes darkened and he exhaled as if it pained him. His hands mirrored her intensity, traveling up her sides, over her ribs, lifting the hem of her borrowed shirt and casting it aside, leaving her bare in the pale moonlight.
Silence reigned until Edward leaned in, kissing a trail down her shoulder. "You're so fucking beautiful."
She kissed him again to ward off the rush of tears and the emotions that bloomed under her skin at his words.
And Edward, reverent, as he slid his fingers along the curve of her thigh, whispered, "I love you."
Not because he had to.
Not because the moment demanded it.
But because he couldn't not say it anymore.
Her breathing stuttered; a thousand emotions pinning her in place. She pulled him closer, her mouth lingering on his like she was tasting words.
"I love you," she whispered back, letting each syllable unravel until the room was filled with them, overflowing with the words and actions they'd never dared admit out loud.
He responded by rolling them over until she was above, aglow in the faint light emanating from the window, and it made him dizzy just to watch it happen. Her hair was curtained over them as she hovered there before beginning to move slowly against him.
At that moment, any semblance of control he thought he had vanished entirely.
When they were done, he lay beside her, his arm wrapped around her waist as if afraid to let go. Bella turned into him, her cheek pressed against his chest, and he hoped she couldn't hear how rapidly his heart was still pounding.
Bella adjusted the sheet around them, the fabric warm from their shared heat. She tipped her chin to look up at him, her lips curling into a soft, satisfied grin. "So … about that budget."
Edward huffed a laugh, the sound low and rumbling against her skin. "Fuck the budget, baby," he murmured, kissing the crown of her head as he curled her closer, feeling the desire beginning to stir once again.
Author Note..
Thank you to Fran, for every edit, every DM, and every push back to the keyboard when I needed it most, I'm endlessly grateful.
To everyone reading, thank you! And please drop a comment, I love hearing from you all.
All my love,
Emily