The Business Arrangement - Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I'm grateful to Stephenie Meyer for her dream/vision.

Chapter 12 – Epilogues and Happy Endings

Bella POV

It's been ten years since our beautiful wedding. I don't remember much about the day. All I can really remember was Edward's handsome face and the pictures that now grace several photo albums and photo frames in our wing of the Cullen estate. I didn't want to ever think about the killer migraine I had that day.

After we'd returned from our blissful honeymoon to Paris, Jasper and Alice had married about a month later. It was nice having my roommate back – even though we were no longer roommates in that sense of the word. We were almost in different buildings! When we were both at home, though, we did have meals together.

Things had changed in my relationship with Edward. Not in the bad sense – only in the sense that we'd added to our love. We'd had a handsome son – Jacob Michael – two years after we'd married. We followed that stellar production with a beautiful daughter – Kate Elizabeth – three years after that. Edward was in the delivery room for both of the births. At first I thought he was going to faint, but he pulled through at the last minute and was there every step of the way. He was immediately captivated by our children. And they definitely had Daddy wrapped around their little fingers.

When Edward first found out I was pregnant, he demanded I stop working. I told him there was plenty of time between discovering the fact and barely being able to waddle like a duck. After he calmed down – sometimes he's a little prone to overreacting, difficult to believe, I know – we looked at the situation realistically. Lauren had been really been pitching in at work and learning lots of new things. She was the next logical one to take over my position. Once that was decided, I transitioned her into my job so I could concentrate on my next full-time job as Mommy.

Jasper and Alice also joined the parenting game and had twin girls soon after Kate was born. Jane Esme and Charlotte Mary kept them on their toes as well. Alice had resigned from her position as a personal shopper and had begun designing some fashions for a well-known fashion designer that was being really well-received. It was a perfect occupation for her! Those little girls also knew they could charm "Unca Edwa" into just about anything. What a softie he was around kids! It was halfway embarrassing to watch! Obviously Aunt Bella had to be the voice of reason or all four of those kids would own the entire FAO Schwarz toy store!

Emmett and Rosalie were still happily married, although they decided to live in the city due to Rosalie's job. Speaking of which, her job was actually perfect for us! She loved seeing her nieces and nephew when we brought them in for their appointments or on the rare occasions they were sick – and, of course, they came out to the house for all major holidays and they attempted to spoil those kids rotten as well. Emmett and Rosalie had decided against having children since Rosalie had the opportunity to have many children in New York City as her patients. Rosalie actually kicked Emmett's ass and got him to commit to work, so that was actually a relief for Edward. At least he didn't have quite the burden on his shoulders when everyone performed the job they were assigned.

Edward and I had taken the kids to visit my dad a few times. We'd also flown him to New York for Christmas once so he could enjoy the mayhem that was now a Cullen Christmas. I knew it was difficult for him to get off work, so I sent him frequent photos of the children – including Alice's. We also set him up with a computer so we could Skype with him and he could see them online and how fast they were growing.

We took a trip to Disney World once to visit my mom and Phil. That was a fun trip! We also kept my mom in the loop with photos and Skype. I didn't want to be one of those types of people who just write to their parents once at Christmas and send a family photo with a note to say "here's how much the kids have grown this year." I wanted all their grandparents involved in their lives.

Of course, Carlisle and Esme were over the moon with all these grandchildren running around their home! I was sure Carlisle would injure his back one day when he was playing horsey for all three girls. Kate was at the front and kept saying "good horsey" and patting her grandpa's face. I did notice the next day, he was alternating ice and a heating pad on his back. I just rolled my eyes at him and he grinned right back. He loved every minute of it! I think he was trying to make up for the fact Edward was at work when the girls wanted to play.

Esme had the girls outside every day it was nice to have a tea party. They all got dressed up in their "fancy clothes," took their current favorite doll or bear and settled themselves outside like "proper young ladies" and had tea with grandma. I just looked on from the window and laughed. One time, I tried to join them and Kate told me this was their time with grandma and I wasn't allowed.

Carlisle also had special time with Jacob. They went out in a small boat – always with a life jacket, puttered around in the solarium, played cops and robbers, along with many other things. Sometimes Edward even took him to the office. I'm not sure what he did there all day. I'm sure Daddy was teaching him something – probably how to charm the ladies – I have no clue. I'm sure Shelly was feeding him cookies by the barrel full and Angela was taking him out to lunch at some fun place!

Jacob was growing into a handsome boy, just like Edward. They both had that same unruly hair that I loved but was harder than anything to tame. Kate had lovely long brown and bronze ringlets. Both our children had Edward's eyes.

An amazing thing happened after I had our children – I no longer had migraines with the severity I did previously. That country bumpkin doctor in Forks was right, dammit all. At least now I could take some over-the-counter medication and keep alert during the day. It was rare I had a migraine that wiped me out and I had to go to sleep to knock it out.

Edward POV

I was thrilled Isabella had taught me how to work without being a workaholic. I loved spending time with her. I found I was actually more productive during the day since I wasn't given the opportunity to think about work 24/7. With my beautiful wife around, she didn't afford me many occasions to keep work on my mind – she was always tempting my mind toward other pursuits, yes including very sexy ones – and I didn't mind any of those in the least.

Me being the overprotective man I am, the day Isabella told me she was pregnant, I wanted her to stop working that day. She told me she didn't need to do that. After Rosalie told me a bit more about pregnancy, I begrudgingly agreed to let Isabella keep working while she trained Lauren. Seeing Isabella's body blossom during her first and second pregnancy was a beautiful thing. I preferred her fuller figure, even though she sometimes grumbled about it.

Isabella never again had to ask me where I lived or where my heart was – I was fully present in every moment with her and our beautiful children.

There were some days I took the opportunity to work from home. I actually got more accomplished when I didn't have the stress of wondering how my little family was getting along without me. I knew they were getting along fine – but I wanted to be there for them. It was relaxing to take a business call for a half hour, then immediately be wrapped up in Isabella for the next forty-five minutes while the kids were with my parents, followed by an hour's worth of more work, some play time with the kids, and so on throughout the day. I was incredibly grateful for the life I had so I could work this way.

Speaking of which, Isabella and I are going back to Paris for our tenth anniversary. We're leaving this afternoon. Isabella has us all packed and ready to go. I've worked out an arrangement – a business arrangement, of course – with my mother to distract Isabella for the next hour or so while I go through her suitcase and remove all her panties. She certainly won't need any of them while we're in Paris. If she forgot to pack any of the corsets I like to see her in, those will be packed in their place.

Oh, and our company did really well this year, so lucky bastard that I am – I rented out the Eiffel Tower for the entire night. I hope Isabella gets enough sleep on the plane. I don't plan on letting her sleep much at the top of the tower once I get her up there.

I need to go. I have some packing and unpacking to do!