Mable stayed by the desk while Edward sat on the bed, her face turned away from him.  Ah!  Ah!!!  Hearing him really say it was better than she'd imagined.  Her cheeks hurt from how wide she was smiling, amplified by what was probably a very embarrassing blush.

But she didn't have time for that!  She had company, a friend over, and she was going to make the most of it while she could.  So Mable took a breath, bringing her hands to her face to rub her cheeks and joined Edward, sitting across from him on her brother's bed.

"We should play on the beach together sometime, you know," she said.  "We could look for more shells together, or dig, or draw in the sand.  I'm not much of an artist, though.  How about you?  Can you draw very well?"