Chapter 26 Bonus Scene

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Chapter 26 Bonus Scene

"I can't believe Edward was so worried," Jasper laughed to Alec and Marcus when he spied Edward and Bella leaving the reception hand in hand.

Not that they ever went anywhere these days without holding hands...at the very least.

"No kidding," Alec said with a roll of his eyes. "Dude was about to shit his pants. I seriously would have loved to see Bella get pissed at him, just to see what the poor bastard would have done," he chuckled evilly.

Marcus slapped Alec on the back and shook his head at him. "You just want watch Bella get all feisty and shit, man, don't even lie."

"Whatever," Alec said with a wave of his hand, totally not denying what Marcus had said. "I'd just like to see her get annoyed with someone besides me for a change." As soon as he realized what he'd just said, he laughed good-naturedly at himself, especially when the other two laughed, too.

"Well, if you wouldn't antagonize her every damn time you see her, maybe she wouldn't. Besides, everyone knows you love it anyway, so don't even try to deny it, jackass," Jasper teased.

Alec huffed and then threw his plate of half-eaten appetizers in the trashcan. "Let's go grab a burger and beer somewhere; this food isn't enough to fill me up," he said as he looked at the other two.

Because Alice and Camille were both going to be busy, Jasper and Marcus agreed and they made their way to the sports bar down the street from the CP building. After they'd found themselves a table by the big screen TV and ordered their drinks and burgers, they settled in.

They hadn't really had a chance to talk very much in the few weeks since Edward had invited them all to his house and told them about his past. Individually they'd all talked to Edward of course, and Alec had spent a lot of time talking with Bella just like Jasper had with Edward, but they hadn't gotten together to compare notes so to speak. Much like Edward had felt when they'd all been at the house, they each knew that they were closer than friends. They were family, even if they weren't related.

Jasper broke the ice by saying, "Can you believe Sinclair? That is one fucked-up situation over there."

"Couldn't happen to a better person," Alec said with a low growl.

He never said anything to anyone, but he had been really worried about Vincent and the way he made things so personal between he and Edward and by extension Bella. That night after the opera, when Bella had handed Vince his ass, it had been funny as hell to watch, but Alec wasn't a fool; he knew there was no way Vince would ever take that lying down. He had been on guard ever since and now that Vincent was out as CEO and more than likely looking at the very real possibility of jail time for fraudulent activities discovered after he was removed, he could breathe a bit easier. Not that he would ever let his guard down, though. Edward and Bella meant too much to him to ever stop worrying.

"Down, tiger," Marcus teased, but he knew Alec was...just being Alec.

He was closer to Edward than Alec was, but not as close to Bella, and he was a bit saddened by that to be honest. Especially so as he watched Edward and Bella earlier at the reception. He'd always admired Bella, but that had increased at least ten-fold after that night at their house when Edward had been so painfully honest with them all. It had been one of the most difficult things Marcus had ever witnessed, but the bond they each felt after that night couldn't be denied, not that any of them would want to in the first place. He thought, for just a moment, about Vincent Sinclair.

He had known Vincent longer than anyone except Edward and he couldn't help but echo the sentiments of both Jasper and Alec. Vincent really was a piece of fucking work and had no one to blame for his downfall except for himself. For the life of him he couldn't figure out why Edward had always been the focus of all of Vincent's misplaced anger and jealousy. Knowing what he did now of what Edward's life had been like both before and after he arrived in Chicago, made him hate Vincent even more and respect Edward a hell of a lot more than he did already.

"You know, Bella is going to do everything she can to make sure some of those poor saps have jobs at CP, right? I mean, there is no question about it," Alec said as he took a long drink of his beer.

Jasper chuckled, because yeah, there really was no doubt at all. "No kidding. Good thing CP is doing so well and we can afford to hire some new employees."

Marcus shifted in his chair, nervous about admitting something he had kept to himself for a while now. "I have to say, Bella and Emmett's project was way more successful than I ever imagined it would be. I mean, I don't want it to sound like I doubted either one of them, but really, who would have ever thought it would take off like it did?"

Alec ran his hand through his hair and nodded. "I hear ya, man. I feel the same way. I've always known there was a lot more to both Em and Bella than any of us probably gave them credit for. I know when Edward asked my opinion at that first meeting I was so fucking shocked I didn't even think about disagreeing with him or Emmett. I mean, guys, really, before that how long had it been since he'd asked us our opinion on anything?"

"No shit," Jasper scoffed. "He has come a hell of a long way since that meeting. You know," he went on, the tone of voice changing to one that was more introspective, "after hearing everything he lived through and then talking to him about it all, even about things that happened with Carlisle and Esme, it's a fucking wonder Ed's able to function at all."

"No kidding. That was some hard fucking shit to listen to," Alec said in a tone that matched Jasper's. "I mean I had always assumed something bad had happened to him, but I never would have expected it to be as bad as it was."

Marcus took a long drink of his beer and then set the empty bottle on the table. "When we were at Northwestern," he began in a kind of far away voice, "I was always jealous of Edward. I spent more time with him than anyone and it never failed, no matter where we went, people were automatically drawn to him. He has always just had this...way about him, you know?" he asked and looked from Jasper to Alec. "I remember thinking how much I wished I could have been more like him because he always seemed so put together and so confident. It never fazed him what people thought or said about him and I always just chalked it up to him being arrogant. If I'd only known," he trailed off feeling like total shit for some of the things he'd thought way back then.

Jasper scrubbed his face with his hands because he'd repeated that same sentiment over and over to himself and to Alice until he was blue in the face and it didn't do anything except make him feel more like shit than he did before. "I know how you feel, Marcus, but there isn't any point in beating yourself up about it. Besides," he grinned like a Cheshire cat and leaned forward, "Edward told me he and Bella are going to try to have a baby as soon as possible. If that doesn't tell you how different he is, nothing will. He's happy, finally, and frankly that is all I care about."

"My girl is going to be a mommy?" Alec blurted out before he could stop himself which caused Jasper and Marcus to laugh so hard half the restaurant was staring at them.

"I think you mean Edward's girl, buddy. Bella has always been Edward's and always will be. You need to find your own woman, dude, seriously," Marcus teased him.

Alec popped some peanuts in his mouth and after he'd chewed and swallowed them he said, "Well, if you can find me a woman half as amazing as Bella, I'll marry her."

As soon as the words left his mouth he got a funny feeling that the woman of his dreams was waiting for him, he just had to find her.

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