CHAPTER 4
We spent a quiet day at home. I busied myself with housework, and Edward helped whenever he could, despite my protests. He fetched me water from the well, chopped firewood, and did all the other tasks he deemed too heavy for me.
"I've been doing them for as long as I can remember." I laughed at him. "What makes you think they're too much for me? How about you? A rich man like you must have servants attending to your every need."
He shrugged. "I wasn't always rich, you know. I used to be poorer than you."
"Really?" I was intrigued.
He sat down on a wooden chair by the stove where he started a fire. "I wasn't born with money, despite what you may think. When my parents passed away, I was only fifteen. My primary goal at that time was to survive. It was by accident that I came across a kind man who saw my potential and taught me everything I know. Carlisle was a rich merchant. He picked me up from the streets, brought me to his home, and treated me as his own son. When he died, he left everything to me. I was able to double his assets a few years later. Guess I was lucky."
"I doubt luck had anything to do with it. People say Edward Cullen is the youngest, smartest, richest trader in the islands," I said in awe.
"Do you always listen to what people say?" he questioned, chuckling.
"Not always. But in this case, I believe they're right. Only they didn't say he is also kind and caring, which matters more, I think."
He held my gaze for a moment, and I forgot what I was doing. All I could think of was the way the fire from the stove danced in his eyes, adding gold tinges to their green depths. He seemed to glow from within, like the angel in my dream.
The spell was broken by a sharp knock on the door. Edward stood up to answer it, and then Alice and Jasper stepped inside the cottage. They looked at Edward and me and their smiles widened.
"You're Edward Cullen, aren't you? I'm Jasper Whitlock, Bella's cousin." Jasper gripped Edward's hand in a firm handshake.
Alice turned to me excitedly. "Bella, you know our first wedding anniversary is tomorrow, don't you? We just stopped by to invite you to a barbecue dinner tomorrow at our house. Please tell Charlie to come with you. And Edward, we would like it if you were there, too."
Edward accepted the invitation, and then they were off. He grinned, seemingly happy to go to our family gathering.
"I know you've met almost everyone in my family. But I have to warn you, when they're all together, things get a little crazy," I teased him.
"All the more reason to attend then and tell them you think they're crazy," he countered, tickling me playfully in the ribs.
I laughed, batting his hands away. I was still laughing when Father came home. Seeing us together brought his eyebrows to his hairline.
"Mr. Swan. Good evening, sir," Edward said, letting go of me.
"Father, Alice and Jasper just left. They're having us over for dinner tomorrow. It's their wedding anniversary," I told him, fetching his slippers.
"Already? Huh. Time flies fast," he commented, sitting at the kitchen table. He turned wary eyes toward Edward. "Mr. Cullen, good of you to come by again."
"Please call me Edward, sir. And yes, I rather like having your daughter's company. She's the only one I've met so far whom I can have a pleasant conversation with," Edward said without hesitating, his voice clear and confident.
"Don't count on meeting more people like her. This island experienced a boost in trade and economy a few years back. Guess it went to most people's heads, and they started acting high and mighty," Father confided.
Edward nodded. "I'm happy to have met good people, then, sir."
"I'm just glad someone finally took an interest in my daughter," Father said bluntly, causing me to blush. "It'll do her a world of good."
Edward stopped by the house the following afternoon and carried the big bowl of squash candy I made for Alice and Jasper. Father, Edward, and I walked the short distance to their home, which was slightly bigger than ours. A small group of people was already there, comprised of Emmett, Rose, Peter (Jasper's father), Charlotte (Jasper's mother and Father's sister), Mary and Randall (Alice's parents), and Chelsea, Emmett's mother who was also Father's other sister. They were pleasantly surprised to have a "VIP" in the house and gave Edward a warm welcome.
After the introductions, Emmett handed Edward a bottle of beer and pulled him outside the cottage where the men were setting up the grill. The women stayed in the kitchen to cook the vegetables and dessert.
"Goodness, child." Aunt Chelsea breathed deeply. "What a fine young man you have there!"
"Chelsea!" Rose cried in a horrified tone.
"Oh, hush, Rosalie." Aunt Chelsea crossed her arms. "Just because I'm an old widow doesn't mean I don't know a great catch if I saw one!"
The room erupted into laughter.
"Honestly, Bella, what's going on between you two?" Alice asked, and all eyes were trained on me, their cooking forgotten.
"Nothing," I insisted. "We've just started getting to know each other."
They seemed satisfied with this answer because they resumed their various tasks. Rose, however, kept looking at me until she made up her mind and said, "Bella, just friendly advice. Don't push him away, okay? Allow him to get to know you."
"But, Rose, what if he doesn't like what he sees?" I asked in a small voice.
"I think he already does, honey," Rose assured me.
"Don't treat him like the boys in this village who don't know a good woman if she stared them in the face. He's different. I can feel it," Alice added.
The other women in the kitchen agreed with her, and I felt a little better.
We sat at the long bamboo table under a coconut tree outside the cottage. Alice had stringed some fairy lights on the branches of the surrounding trees, and the light of the moon as well as the stars dotting the cloudless night sky gave a bright glow to our small party.
The table was set with cooked vegetables, noodles, soup, and the grilled pork, chicken, and seafood, which the men cooked while drinking beer. I hoped they weren't too intoxicated to cook properly. But as I took a bite of juicy baby backs, I knew I didn't have to worry.
We toasted the happy couple a few times, and everyone settled into a calm mood as we enjoyed the meal.
Suddenly, Emmett's eyes lit up with a wicked gleam. Oh no, this couldn't be good.
"So, Edward, I hope you're not just stringing along our little Bella here only to break her heart later on," Emmett opened up, fixing his eyes on the poor man.
"Emmett!" I exclaimed, kicking his foot under the table. He didn't even move one bit. Stupid bear of a man with giant stone feet.
"I think it's too early to say that, Emmett," Father said uneasily.
"Oh, no. I have nothing but good intentions, sir," Edward addressed Father, then Emmett.
"Good, because you have me and Jasper to answer to." Emmett grinned.
"And me, Randall, and Charlie as well," Uncle Peter said.
"Uncle Peter, not you too!" I cried, exasperated.
Uncle Peter had the audacity to beam at me. Edward looked uncertain, as if he couldn't decide whether or not they were just joking. I gave him a reassuring smile, which he returned with an adorable lift of a corner of his mouth.
"By the way, you might as well call him Charlie, if you're going to marry his daughter someday," Emmett told him.
I choked on my salad, and Mary had to pat me on the back several times before I was well enough to glare daggers at Emmett.
"You know he's just joking, Bella," Mary whispered in an attempt to placate me.
"Yes, just call me Charlie from now on. All this 'sir' business is making me feel uneasy." Father squirmed, making everyone laugh again and dissolve the tension.
My family was a crazy bunch. Who knew what foolishness they subjected Edward to while they were cooking earlier? I only hoped Edward didn't run away screaming before the night was over.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Special thanks to my comma police, TDS88, jennej, and PTB mod Remylebeauishot. Your advice and book recc's are very much appreciated! :))
Chapter End Notes:
Do you think Edward handled meeting the family well? All this talk about food is making me hungry. ;-)
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