Treasured Heart

Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading/reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying the story! I'm having a great time writing it, as well as doing research (although, creative liberties are taken here and there).

A huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for her insight and grammatical awesomeness.

BTW, this chapter is a little longer than the others have been.

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Thirty minutes later, Jasper was done laying out our course of action, and everyone got up to leave and find the rooms to which they'd been assigned. I stood up as well and was almost to the door when a hand touched my shoulder.

"Can we talk for a moment?" Edward asked, and I nodded my head.

While we waited for everyone to leave the room, I took a good, long look at Edward. Jesus, the man was fucking hot. He'd been cute as a twenty-year-old boy, but as a thirty-five year-old man ... Goddamn!

As soon as everyone was gone, Edward shut the door and turned to my face me. I crossed my arms over my chest as I stared at him, and before he could say anything, I blurted out the one thing I'd been thinking since I'd seen him.

"Did your parents put you up to this?"

"What?" he asked, confusion crossing his face.

"I've been emailing with your parents, regarding this expedition, and you just happen to show up as the captain of the ship we're taking. It seems fishy."

"Wait. You've been talking to my parents?" he asked, confusion written across his handsome face.

"Yeah, we talk every so often. Why?" I asked a bit defensively.

"No reason. I just didn't realize that you'd kept in touch all these years," he explained.

"So, you're telling me that you didn't talk to Esme about my wanting Carlisle's notes about the Sirène, and she didn't mention that I was going to be on this ship?"

"No, I haven't talked to my parents in a few months," he told me. "I took this position because it was offered to me and when I found out they were searching for the Sirène, I almost quit. The last time we searched for that damned shipwreck, it didn't end so well for any of us."

He didn't have to tell me that. I was well of aware of the outcomes of the last search for the Sirène.

"So, why stick around then?"

"I don't know," he said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his messy hair. "Maybe because Jasper was so convincing in his plea for me to stay on, or maybe because part of me wants to find this shipwreck as a fuck you to Marcus Caius. Listen, I have to get this ship going, but why don't we sit down later and talk, okay?

"Yeah, sure," I told him as I followed him through the doorway.

I watched as he walked away, confused and conflicted as to what I was feeling, before grabbing my suitcase and duffle bag I'd brought on board with me and made my way toward my stateroom.

I opened the door and took a quick look around. It was the typical stateroom equipped with a bunkbed, a desk, a dresser, and a small closet. There was a tiny bathroom attached to the room as well.

It looked like Dr. Tanner had already claimed the bottom bunk and put her stuff away, so I set my bags down on the floor and opened them up.

Just as I finished putting my clothes away, there was a knock on the halfway open door, and I looked up and saw Alice and Rose standing there.