Goldie (Carlisle Cullen)

six

Goldie Moore hummed gently as she snuggled back into the cool leather of the seats, the car was pristine and seemed almost brand new though she doubted it actually was. After a single street, she was calmed, safe in the knowledge that Carlisle Cullen was an excellent driver. The roar of the engine strangely calmed her.

"I would like to take you to a restaurant on the edge of town, my brother highly recommends it" Carlisle lied smoothly, smiling gently and she returned the gesture.

"You have a brother?"

"Yes, His name is Geoffrey" he hummed easily, this was not actually a lie though Geoffrey was not exactly his biological brother. "I live with him and his wife, Esme, in a house on the edge of town. And..." he swallowed, looking over at her and receiving only a reassuring smile in response. "Well, we have a few teenagers too" he chuckled.

"You do?" she blinked, unfazed by the revelation though shocked only by his young age.

"Yes," he smiled, glad to see her acceptance. "I have an adopted son of sorts, I suppose you would call him. Edward, he left home at a young age and I have cared for him for a few years. He is only seventeen."

"I think that that is sweet, Carlisle. I do not have any siblings myself, nor children." Goldie smiled with a gentle shrug.

"Esme's niece, Rosalie also lives with us. She recently got engaged in fact, to a man named Emmett." Carlisle informed, smiling when she saw how interested she was, her grin was infectious and the conversation seemed to easy for them.

"Aww, you must congratulate them on my behalf, if they happen to need a wedding singer..." she giggled, trailing off and he chuckled.

"You will certainly be at the very top of my list in that case. Your voice is beautiful" Carlisle smiled, proud of the contented blush that clouded across her lightly tanned skin when he said so. Usually, she was very used to that compliment but from him, it just felt so different.

"Thank you" she grinned. "My mother and father would much rather I become something-- well, anything else actually. They are very... Unappreciative of what I do but I absolutely love singing." she sighed, shrugging.

"I believe you should do whatever makes you happy, Goldie. That is why I became a doctor. I have always liked helping people, being a doctor gives me a reason to help people every day." Carlisle's eyes filled with such light as he discussed his job that her heart positively melted- Carlisle was the most perfect man she had ever had the pleasure of meeting though it was only slightly intimidating. "Ah, here we are" he smiled and she turned her head to assess the location they had arrived at.

As Marigold gently placed the sunflowers down in the car, she did not even notice his exit and the next moment; he had opened her car door for her and she involuntarily blushed at his gentlemanly charm. Carlisle smiled as he reached a hand down and she softly slid her fingers into his, feeling the incredible spark return as he helped her calmly from her sitting position, shutting the door easily behind her and looping her arm through his own as they finally entered the restaurant- it was abundantly clear that the place was expensive.

"Reservation for Carlisle Cullen?" he asked gently, smiling over at her as he watched the way her keen doe eyes scanned across the room.

"Ah Doctor Cullen, yes of course. Please, follow me" the man at the door grinned, gesturing for them to follow though even as they did, he could not help but look back and flicker his eyes between them continually. The two of them looked like a couple from one of the glossy advertisements, or movie stars, they were beautiful and complimented one another impeccably. "A server will be with you shortly, please look over our menu and specials." he grinned before bounding away like an overeager woodland creature and the two adults met one another's eyes for laughing again. Carlisle held her chair out for her and tucked her in easily and Marigold blushed as she dropped her eyes down to the table.

"This is a very nice restaurant" she hummed, eyes scanning over the room as a whole- it was mostly empty this early in the night. Carlisle and Marigold felt strangely calm in one another's presence, as though they had known one another for years and not weeks and he easily posed as the perfect human, golden eyes scanning the menu eagerly-- He had done his research and although he didn't relish in the thought of eating horrible food that his body physically could not digest- he was happy to do so, for her.

The doctor effortlessly ordered for them, though his eyes never left her face as she smiled over the candlelit table. And Goldie felt hypnotised by him, forgetting the servers name the second they introduced themself and everything seemed so far away from her mind as she watched him calmly. The conversation seemed neverending, bouncing between endless topics. One thing was for certain- it was the best first date Goldie had ever had.

"What is your favourite book in the entire world?" Goldie giggled, stabbing her food gently as she asked the question- having just recently found out about Carlisle's book obsession. He hummed as though in deep consideration as he pulled a potato cleanly from his fork with his sparkling white teeth.

"That is a very hard question" he chuckled, "I suppose it depends on the day of the week. What is your favourite song?" Carlisle mused, seeing a similar conflict light in her eyes as she considered it.

Marigold Moore and Carlisle Cullen felt an instant connection as they bounced questions back and forth, laughing softly, grinning and smiling shyly. Despite the way the vampire had to force down undigestible food- he had never been so happy in all of his life. They knew instantly that there was something there, that they were experiencing something real.

Authors note: I created Geoffrey as a mate for Esme because I didn't want to erase her from the story. :)