Picking up the Pieces

Chapter Fourteen

This story is dedicated to my friend, Pam, who recently lost her husband to cancer. She's a wonderful friend with a beautiful soul who didn't deserve losing her best friend to such a devastating and deadly disease. I love you, girl.

I do apologize for the lack of updates, but my RL has imploded. There are not enough hours in the day to get everything I need to get done, from work, spending time with my family and writing these updates. Thank you for your patience.

Up next will be Vancouver, lemony action, Independence Day and possibly a trip to Phoenix.

Chapter Fourteen

BPOV

"Do I need a passport to drive to Canada?" I asked Alice. I was packing for my trip with Edward. My kids were spending time with my parents so I could get ready for my trip. Alice was sitting on my bed, folding my clothes and placing them into my suitcase.

"I would assume yes," Alice replied, holding up an oversized t-shirt. "Bella, I realize that you and Edward are fairly comfortable with each other, but that is not appropriate wear for you to put on while you're spending a couple of days with your sexy new boyfriend. Don't you have any lingerie?"

"No," I answered, squeaking slightly. "Not anymore. I tossed it all when I moved. I have some cute bra and panty sets, but no lingerie. At the time, who was going to see it?"

She gave me a stern glare. "When are you leaving with Edward?" Alice asked, her brow shooting to her hairline.

"Tomorrow morning," I said, slightly afraid of my best friend.

"Thank goodness your kiddos are with your parents. We've got some shopping to do," Alice said, tugging on my hand. Dragging me to her Lexus, we drove to Port Angeles to some specialty lingerie shop.

"Ali-cat, I cannot buy all new lingerie," I whined, looking at the stuff in the window. "Yes, the promotion is great and I'm making good money, but..."

"But nothing. I'm not talking about a complete lingerie overhaul. As a woman, you need to have those granny panties and holey bras. Whenever I have my Aunt Flo, I wear that stuff so I don't ruin my fancy underwear," she explained, leading me into the shop. "Besides, Jasper knows that if he ruins them, he has to replace them. My man has a tendency to shred my panties when he's horny."

"I am not going to make Edward buy me panties, Alice," I deadpanned. "Neither one of us is made of money."

"Who said that this place is expensive?" Alice snickered, opening the door. "Just because you're buying new lingerie, doesn't mean that it's expensive." She handed me a light blue teddy. Looking at the price tag, I was expecting it to be over a hundred bucks. Instead, it was just under thirty. "Yes, you can buy stuff from La Perla and Agent Provocateur, but I'd be paranoid to wear that shit. This place offers decent knock-offs for a mere fraction of the cost. Though, when you get married, I am treatingyou to some saucy goodies from La Perla. You are not going to wear imitation underwear on your wedding day."

"Who says I'm getting married?" I asked, thumbing through the racks of panties and push-up bras.

"Um, anyone who has seen you with your boyfriend? Hells Bells, even a blind man can see how in love you two are," Alice chided.

"But, we're not getting married," I argued. "I haven't even had sex with him. I'm terrified."

"Why? It's not like you're a virgin," Alice retorted.

"Alice, the only man I'd been with, made love to, was my husband," I said. "Edward and I, we've fooled around, but we've not crossed that bridge yet. It will probably, more than likely, happen while we're in Vancouver, but what happens if we have sex and then he realizes that we're not compatible in that way. I'm too stiff or I can't get the idea of Jake out of my head?" Alice looked at me like I was certifiable. "What? It could happen."