I bit my lip and imagined it for a moment. "Edward, if you thought I was going too fast or losing control of the bike or something, what would you do?"

"Let her crash," Emmett said.

"No, I wouldn't," Edward glared at his bother.

"Which is why she doesn't want to ride with you," Emmett smirked back at him. "That's the fun part."

"That doesn't sound like fun to me," Edward grumbled.

He hesitated, obviously trying to find the right answer. I knew the truth: he'd find some way to save me before I crashed.

Then he smiled. It looked effortless, except for the tiny defensive tightening of his eyes.

"This is something you do with Jacob. I see that now."

Edward looked glum about that.

"It's just that, well, I don't slow him down so much, you know. I could try, I guess. . . ."

I eyed the silver motorcycle doubtfully.

"Don't worry about it," Edward said, and then he laughed lightly. "I saw Jasper admiring it. Perhaps it's time he discovered a new way to travel. After all, Alice has her Porsche now."

"Edward, I -"

He interrupted me with a quick kiss. "I said not to worry. But would you do something for me?"

"Whatever you need," I promised quickly.

He dropped my face and leaned over the far side of the big motorcycle, retrieving something he had stashed there.

He came back with one object that was black and shapeless, and another that was red and easily identifiable.

"What?" Emmett said.

"I think I can guess," Edward said.

"What?" Emmett repeated. Esme took pity on her son and started reading again, knowing that Edward wasn't going to answer the question.

"Please?" he asked, flashing the crooked smile that always destroyed my resistance.

I took the red helmet,

"Oh," Emmett said. "Of course, you would want her protected."

"Of course," Edward smiled and then added more harshly, "though, why the mutt didn't think about that sooner is beyond me."

"She could have thought of it herself," Alice pointed out.

weighing it in my hands. "I'll look stupid."

"No, you'll look smart. Smart enough not to get yourself hurt." He threw the black thing, whatever it was, over his arm and then took my face in his hands. "There are things between my hands right now that I can't live without. You could take care of them."

Esme smiled at that.

"Okay, fine. What's that other thing?" I asked suspiciously.

He laughed and shook out some kind of padded jacket. "It's a riding jacket. I hear road rash is quite uncomfortable, not that I would know myself."

"Okay, that's a little much," Emmett rolled his eyes.

"Hm..." Edward sighed, looking like he had a wistful look in his eyes.

"What are you thinking about Eddy?" Emmett laughed.

"Nothing," Edward said.

He held it out for me. With a deep sigh, I flipped my hair back and stuffed the helmet on my head. Then I shoved my arms through the sleeves of the jacket. He zipped me in, a smile playing around the corners of his lips, and took a step back.

I felt bulky.

"Be honest, how hideous do I look?"

He took another step back and pursed his lips.

"That bad, huh?" I muttered.

"No, no, Bella. Actually . . ." he seemed to be struggling for the right word. "You look . . . sexy."

"Ah," Emmett laughed looking at Edward, who had the same wistful expression on his face.

I laughed out loud. "Right."

"Very sexy, really."

"You are just saying that so that I'll wear it," I said. "But that's okay. You're right, it's smarter."

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest. "You're silly. I suppose that's part of your charm.

"Definitely," Edward smiled and everyone seemed to agree with that.

Though, I'll admit it, this helmet does have its drawbacks."

And then he pulled the helmet off so that he could kiss me.

As Edward drove me toward La Push a little while later, I realized that this unprecedented situation felt oddly familiar. It took me a moment of thought to pinpoint the source of the déjà vu.

"You know what this reminds me of?" I asked. "It's just like when I was a kid and Renée would pass me off to Charlie for the summer. I feel like a seven-year-old."

"Great," Edward said. "Just what I wanted to hear."

Edward laughed.