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second time, very carefully, parting them slightly.
And then I collapsed.
"Bella?" His voice was alarmed as he caught me and held me up.
"You& made& me& faint," I accused him dizzily.
"What am I going to do with you?" he groaned in exasperation. "Yesterday I kiss you, and you attack
me! Today you pass out on me!"
I laughed weakly, letting his arms support me while my head spun.
"So much for being good at everything," he sighed.
"That's the problem." I was still dizzy. "You're too good. Far, far too good."
"Do you feel sick?" he asked; he'd seen me like this before.
"No  that wasn't the same kind of fainting at all. I don't know what happened." I shook my head
apologeticallv, "I think I forgot to breathe."
"I can't take you anywhere like this."
"I'm fine," I insisted. "Your family is going to think I'm insane anyway, what's the difference?"
He measured my expression for a moment. "I'm very partial to that color with your skin," he offered
unexpectedly. I flushed with pleasure, and looked away.
"Look, I'm trying really hard not to think about what I'm about to do, so can we go already?" I asked.
"And you're worried, not because you're headed to meet a houseful of vampires, but because you think
those vampires won't approve of you, correct?"
"That's right," I answered immediately, hiding my surprise at his casual use of the word.
He shook his head. "You're incredible."
I realized, as he drove my truck out of the main part of town, that I had no idea where he lived. We
passed over the bridge at the Calawah River, the road winding northward, the houses flashing past us
growing farther apart, getting bigger. And then we were past the other houses altogether, driving through
misty forest. I was trying to decide whether to ask or be patient, when he turned abruptly onto an
unpaved road. It was unmarked, barely visible among the ferns. The forest encroached on both sides,
leaving the road ahead only discernible for a few meters as it twisted, serpentlike, around the ancient
trees.
And then, after a few miles, there was some thinning of the woods, and we were suddenly in a small
meadow, or was it actually a lawn? The gloom of the forest didn't relent, though, for there were six
primordial cedars that shaded an entire acre with their vast sweep of branches. The trees held their
protecting shadow right up to the walls of the house that rose among them, making obsolete the deep
porch that wrapped around the first story.
I don't know what I had expected, but it definitely wasn't this. The house was timeless, graceful, and
probably a hundred years old. It was painted a soft, faded white, three stories tall, rectangular and well
proportioned. The windows and doors were either part of the original structure or a perfect restoration.
My truck was the only car in sight. I could hear the river close by, hidden in the obscurity of the forest.
"Wow."
"You like it?" He smiled.
"It& has a certain charm."
He pulled the end of my ponytail and chuckled.
"Ready?" he asked, opening my door.
"Not even a little bit  let's go." I tried to laugh, but it seemed to get stuck in my throat. I smoothed my
hair nervously.
"You look lovely." He took my hand easily, without thinking about it.
We walked through the deep shade up to the porch. I knew he could feel my tension; his thumb rubbed
soothing circles into the back of my hand.
He opened the door for me.
The inside was even more surprising, less predictable, than the exterior. It was very bright, very open,
and very large. This must have originally been several rooms, but the walls had been removed from most
of the first floor to create one wide space. The back, south-facing wall had been entirely replaced with
glass, and, beyond the shade of the cedars, the lawn stretched bare to the wide river. A massive curving
staircase dominated the west side of the room. The walls, the high-beamed ceiling, the wooden floors,
and the thick carpets were all varying shades of white.
Waiting to greet us, standing just to the left of the door, on a raised portion of the floor by a spectacular
grand piano, were Edward's parents.
I'd seen Dr. Cullen before, of course, yet I couldn't help but be struck again by his youth, his outrageous
perfection. At his side was Esme, I assumed, the only one of the family I'd never seen before. She had
the same pale, beautiful features as the rest of them. Something about her heart-shaped face, her billows
of soft, caramel-colored hair, reminded me of the ingénues of the silent-movie era. She was small,
slender, yet less angular, more rounded than the others. They were both dressed casually, in light colors
that matched the inside of the house. They smiled in welcome, but made no move to approach us. Trying
not to frighten me, I guessed.
"Carlisle, Esme," Edward's voice broke the short silence, "this is Bella."
"You're very welcome, Bella." Carlisle's step was measured, careful as he approached me. He raised his
hand tentatively, and I stepped forward to shake hands with him.
"It's nice to see you again, Dr. Cullen."
"Please, call me Carlisle."
"Carlisle." I grinned at him, my sudden confidence surprising me. I could feel Edward's relief at my side.
Esme smiled and stepped forward as well, reaching for my hand. Her cold, stone grasp was just as I
expected.
"It's very nice to know you," she said sincerely.
"Thank you. I'm glad to meet you, too." And I was. It was like meeting a fairy tale  Snow White, in the
flesh.
"Where are Alice and Jasper?" Edward asked, but no one answered, as they had just appeared at the
top of the wide staircase.
"Hey, Edward!" Alice called enthusiastically. She ran down the stairs, a streak of black hair and white
skin, coming to a sudden and graceful stop in front of me. Carlisle and Esme shot warning glances at her,
but I liked it. It was natural  for her, anyway.
"Hi, Bella!" Alice said, and she bounced forward to kiss my cheek. If Carlisle and Esme had looked
cautious before, they now looked staggered. There was shock in my eyes, too, but I was also very
pleased that she seemed to approve of me so entirely. I was startled to feel Edward stiffen at my side. I
glanced at his face, but his expression was unreadable.
"You do smell nice, I never noticed before," she commented, to my extreme embarrassment.
No one else seemed to know quite what to say, and then Jasper was there  tall and leonine. A feeling
of ease spread through me, and I was suddenly comfortable despite where I was. Edward stared at
Jasper, raising one eyebrow, and I remembered what Jasper could do.
"Hello, Bella," Jasper said. He kept his distance, not offering to shake my hand. But it was impossible to
feel awkward near him.
"Hello, Jasper." I smiled at him shyly, and then at the others. "It's nice to meet you all  you have a very [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]