Buying Love Teaser

I was chilled to the bone, thanks to my hasty exit to get to Edward after he ran out of the conference room in the Seattle courthouse. Despite taking a long, scalding hot shower, I could not stop shivering. I was wearing leggings, loose pajama pants, a long-sleeved t-shirt, hoodie and covered in a blanket. Edward was in the bathroom and I could hear him crying inside of the shower. The loss of Jared had hit him to the core.

“Here, Bells,” Rose said, handing me a large cup of tea. “Hold it for a few minutes. Maybe it’ll help warm your hands.”

“Thanks,” I replied, taking the tea and wrapping my fingers around the mug. I inhaled it, smiling at the spicy orange flavor she’d chosen. “Rose, I want you to do some digging about Jared. Find out if he has family.”

“Already on it,” Rose smirked. “Carlisle actually beat me to it, using Emmett and his contacts at the Seattle PD. The preliminary findings indicate that Jared was alone in the world. His wife left him when their son died. She disappeared, it seemed. My guess is that she went back to her maiden name and flew across country.”

“What about that family he worked for? The Volturis?” I asked. “Do we know why Jared stopped working for them?”

“Hold on,” Rose said, flipping through her notebook. “Ah, got it. Aro Volturi had to go to Italy to care for his dying father, Caius and his mother, Maria, who suffered a stroke. He’s been in Italy ever since late 2015. Marcus gave Jared the option to stay, but since Marcus preferred to drive himself, Jared left the company and began working for Esme shortly after.”

“Find out as much as you can, Rose. But, I want to help out and pay for the funeral, if no one claims the body,” I sighed, taking a sip of the orange spice tea.

“I’ll make the necessary arrangements,” Rose said. She kissed my cheek and got up. “I’ll leave you with Edward. I don’t want to intrude on whatever is going to happen. If you need anything, I’m just a call away. And take your medicine. I really don’t want you back in the hospital, Isabella Marie.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said. She kissed my forehead and left me in the living room, looking at the beautifully decorated Christmas tree. I got up from my cocoon of blankets, taking the time to admire the elegant decorations, ornaments and details that Edward chose for our first holiday together. I reached for a crystal ornament of two angels, twined together with their foreheads touching. Half of the angel was a clear, faceted crystal and the other was smooth, but frosted.

“You are the one with the sparkle,” Edward said, his voice somber and gruff. “You always had this glow about you, pulling me in and giving me hope.”

“And the other?” I asked, turning to look at him.

“It’s me, but I’m no angel. My life was dim and lifeless before I met you,” he murmured. “I don’t know. I saw it on a website and fell in love with it. It was very expensive, but Rose ordered it for me for our tree. I need to pay her back.”