I
was sitting on the floor, organizing the abundance of Christmas presents
underneath our tree. The thing was, they were not underneath our tree.
They were spread out, covering half of our living room. All of them were gifts
for Charlie. My son was going to be spoiled. He was the first-born grandson of
the Cullen family. He deserved every one of these gifts and then some.
“Where’s
Mommy, Charlie?” Edward crooned.
“I’m
buried underneath mounds of presents,” I snickered, trying to make more room in
the living room. I looked up, seeing Edward carrying Charlie at his chest,
facing out. “These are all for you, kid.”
He
babbled, reaching for me. Edward crouched down and I took Charlie from his arms,
nuzzling my son and holding him to my chest. “This is a lot of fucking
presents.”
“Language,
Edward,” I chided, maneuvering Charlie so he was sitting against my chest and
facing Edward. “And how many did you purchase for our son?”
“Roughly
this half of the room,” Edward snickered, moving some gifts to sit down.
“I’ve
been doing some thinking since the doctor’s appointment earlier this week,” I
said, leaning against the couch as Edward sat down across from me. “You
recommended a nanny.”
“I
want you to have the freedom to do what you need to do. Charlie is a good baby.
A very good baby. We’ve been very lucky, but it’s an adjustment, that’s for
sure,” Edward said, massaging my bare feet with his hands. “Do you want a
nanny?”
“A
part time nanny,” I said. “Maybe three days a week, at most. And only working
in Chicago. I don’t want a nanny to know where we live. This is our sanctuary
away from the violence and I don’t want to open up our home to some stranger who
could possibly hurt us. With the condo, we have the Fortress below and security
guards at the entrance. I want this to be my Christmas present.”
“We’ll
also need to set up a nursery in the condo, too,” Edward said.
“We
have more than enough furniture and décor for a second nursery in the condo,” I
snickered. “I have what I want pulled aside. We just need to change my old
room, when we first started dating into a nursery. I’ve got some ideas
on my computer. With Emmett’s contractors and connections with builders, we can
have the nursery up in a couple of weeks.”
“I’ll
make all of the arrangements, dolce,” Edward smiled. “Does this mean
you’re going back to work with Emmett?”
“That,
along with helping you find some new recruits for the organization, Edward,” I
smirked. “You need to have men who are willing to die and kill for you,
Edward. That means you need men who are loyal.”
“They
may not want to speak to my wife,” Edward said, wrinkling his nose.
“Understandable,
but I could create a questionnaire to create a psychological profile where you
could weed out men who are not loyal to the Consortium or who aren’t willing to
do the ‘dirty work’ of the organization,” I said. “They’ll be nondescript
questions, but open-ended. It will leave room for interpretation and you can choose
an inner circle tailor-made to your specifications.”
“Do
you know that you’re brilliant?” Edward breathed, staring at me lovingly. I
blushed, hiding behind Charlie who had nodded off. “You are, Bella.”
“I
want to have a long marriage to you, Edward,” I whispered, kissing my son’s
soft, wispy hair. “I love you and I want you to be there for Charlie and any
future children we have.”
“You
want more children?” Edward asked.
“Not
soon, but I’d like more. A girl would be great,” I snickered. “I’m surprised
your mother didn’t lose her shit with you, Emmett and Carlisle. You guys are
the holy trinity of masculinity, I swear.”
“Um,
wow,” Edward laughed. “The ‘holy trinity of masculinity.’ That is quite the
descriptor, Bella.”
Charlie's condo nursery
