Diamonds are Forever a Girl's Best Friend

Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters are property of Stephenie Meyer.

Author's Note: Spoiler alert!! This story takes place after Eclipse so don't read it if you haven't read Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. That is, unless you want to be very confused. I'll put some "refreshers" in, but for the most part, background knowledge is preferable! This is, to a certain extent, how I hope Breaking Dawn will turn out. Please enjoy, and REVIEW!

Diamonds are Forever a Girl's Best Friend

Chapter One

Telling Charlie

They say that diamonds are forever…a girl's best friend. Those statements held more truth for me than even your most practiced housewife living on Manhattan's Upper East Side or for a princess who had everything she ever wanted served to her on a silver platter. The most important difference, though, was that my diamonds (at least not all of them) could not be bought at Tiffany's or paid for with any type of money. My diamonds could not be worn…by me.

My diamonds glimmered off the skin of my love, my Edward, my…fiancé. Before, I couldn't even say the word "fiancé," or hear Edward say "fiancée" when referring to me. But now, as I watched him sparkle in the sun, laying carefree in our meadow, those fears evaporated…for the most part. At least, I knew what I had to do, and what I wanted to do…what I was finally ready to do.

I had already promised Edward that I would marry him. That was his condition. He told me that if I wanted him to change me, to make me immortal, that I would have to marry him first. At first I didn't want to, but when I realized that I wanted nothing more than to be a vampire, and for Edward to be the one to change me, I conceded. I promised myself to Edward, but no one except the Cullens knew…the Cullens and Jacob.

Jacob Black—my best friend. That was a long story and a half. So to make a long story short, Jake is in love with me, and yesterday, I realized that I love him too. I didn't love him nearly enough to choose him over Edward, but it still hurt to think about how he must be feeling. At least I had Edward, and I would always have him.

It killed me to know that I'd never be able to see my best friend again, once I changed. Jake had the unfortunate genes of being a werewolf…a species that didn't only not get along with vampires, but werewolves only existed in order to destroy vampires. We said our goodbyes, and that would have to be enough.

So now, I had made my decision. I chose Edward over Jake, something that was always inevitable. Edward was my drug, and I was his brand of heroin. Yes, I would miss Jake an awful lot, but I also knew that never, in all of the eternity that I would be spending on this earth, would I regret my choice. I loved Edward with every fiber of my being. He was my soul mate, and my best friend in a much different way than Jake.

Edward was laying next to me in the meadow, not touching me. I think he was still afraid I was about to change my mind and beg him to drive me to La Push to see Jake. And every now and then, I noticed his hand twitch like he wanted to grab mine. I'd have to prove to him just how wrong he was. I had to prove that I wouldn't change my mind.

I perched myself on my left elbow and turned to face Edward, moving so that I was right next to his perfect body. I put my hand on his beautiful face, and he opened his eyes. They were too dark—he needed to hunt, but he hadn't been able to leave me for days. We had just gotten ourselves out of quite a pickle, that was of course caused by his love for me, and mine for him. A vampire never fell in love with a human, especially his tua cantante. My blood sang to him, but he would never drink it because he loved me. But now we were carefree, and Victoria was dead. Edward ripped her limb from limb, and burned her remains. She was gone.

"Edward," I whispered.

He smiled at the sound of my voice. "My beautiful Bella…" His voice was liquid velvet as he spoke my name with such contentment and wrapped his marble arms around me.

I rested my head on his chest and breathed in his sweet scent. "I love you, Edward," I said. "You do know that, don't you?"

"I think so, Bella. But I know that I love you."

I looked up at him and stared deeply into his eyes. "I do love you. I said goodbye to Jake, Edward. He knows that in about two months, you and I will be married and I will be a vampire."

Edward smiled. It was a genuine smile, no skepticism whatsoever. He believed me, and truthfully, he had no reason not to. "Married…" he mused. "It sounds amazing to me."

I laughed. "It's growing on me, can you believe that?"

Edward glared at me, deciding on his answer. "No."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Well, that's too bad, Edward." I pulled myself free from his arms and stood up.

"What's too bad?" he asked, slightly alarmed, standing up much more gracefully than I had managed to.

I crossed my arms and smirked. "It's too bad you don't believe me. I guess I'll have to prove it to you." I smiled fully now.

Edward realized he could relax, and smiled back. I walked back towards him and he met me halfway, reaching out for me and pulling me into his cool embrace. I put my arms around him in return and he put his face in my hair. "How are you going to do that, love?"

I pulled away just enough to look up at him. "I'm going to need my ring, Edward. It's time to tell Charlie."

Edward beamed and released me so he could pull the ring box out of his pocket.

"Of course you have it with you," I joked.

He shrugged and pulled the ring out of the box. He picked up my left hand and kissed the spot where the ring would go, then slid the ring over my finger.

"It's going to stay there now," I promised. "I'm ready for this, Edward."

He pulled me back into his arms and brought his cool lips to mine. His hand went to my hair and he laced his fingers through it. It frustrated me to no end that we couldn't do more than move our lips, and just as I was thinking about this fact, he parted my lips ever so slightly. He traced his tongue along my front teeth and brought my face closer to his. Just as I was about to explore his perfect mouth, he pulled away.

He could see the pout forming on my face and said, "I'm sorry, Bella. I shouldn't have done that."

"Yes you should!" I whined.

"Well, it's fine for me to do, but…" I swore that if Edward could have blushed, he would have right now.

"But what?" I pushed.

"But your tongue in my mouth is dangerous, what with my venom-coated teeth."

I jutted my lip out in a pout, but knew he was right. "Yeah, I know." I smiled up at him and said, "Okay, let's get this over with."

Before I could blink, I was on Edward's back and we were running. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, and put my face as close to his as possible. I knew it was silly, but I made my left hand into a tight fist so the ring couldn't fly off. Every now and then during the run, I'd turn my face and kiss his neck, or his jaw.

"I love it when you're like this, Bella," he said after a couple minutes.

"I'm just going to miss running on your back when I'm able to just run alongside you," I admitted.

"We can still do this, you know. Just because you'll be able to run yourself doesn't mean you always have to."

I had never even thought of it like that, silly me. "I guess that's true. And, hey, maybe you can see what it's like to run on my back."

Edward laughed. "Maybe I can!"

By that time, we made it to the long winding path that was the Cullens' driveway. Alice came darting out of the house to meet us before we got in the Volvo (we had to appear inconspicuous to Charlie. Showing up without a car would cause questions to be asked).

"You're going to tell Charlie?!" she shouted as she danced her way to the Volvo.

I laughed at her excitement. "Yep!"

"Maybe I should come," she suggested. "I might need to calm Charlie down."

"No, Alice," Edward intervened as I was about to tell her she could come. "I can't always have you around to help me escape Charlie's wrath. Although, maybe this is something Bella needs to do on her own." He turned to me to see what I thought.

I shook my head violently. "No way, Edward. You're the only one that would be able to keep me from blowing up at Charlie when he objects."

"I don't think he will, Bella. Didn't you tell me that all he wanted was a warning? You're giving him so much more than that, Bella. You're giving him the chance to walk you down the aisle and tell you goodbye."

I took his hands in both of mine. "Please, Edward. I just need you there with me."

He nodded and kissed the top of my head. "I'll come."

"Well, I would tell you to call and tell me what happens, but I'll already know by the time you get back!" Alice announced cheerfully. "And I will have already informed the rest of the family."

I laughed. "Okay?"

Suddenly, Edward said, "Don't even think about it, Alice," under his breath. But he didn't look angry. In fact, he was smirking.

"Oh," Alice added, ignoring him, "and when you get back we can shop for the dress for your engagement party."

I realized what Edward was smirking about. He wouldn't object to a party, but knew I would and was warning Alice. "Um, Alice, you really don't have to…" I pleaded.

"C'mon, Bella! It's my job as your maid of honor to throw you an engagement party, a bachelorette party, and of course, your wedding!"

"Alice please, no more than just the wedding."

Alice looked like she would have cried if she could have. "Don't you love me, Bella?"

"Alice, you used that one on me already, and it worked." I glared at her, but my expression softened when her face didn't let up. Damn you and your beautiful sad face, Alice! I thought. "Oh fine, Alice, how about a compromise? You can give us a small engagement party, just family and I'll let you fly Renée and Phil out if you want. Then, no bachelorette party, just a girl's night at home—me, you, Esme, and Rosalie. Sound fair?"

Alice beamed. "Can I paint your toenails and make you lots of food?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes and nodded. Before I knew what was happening, Alice had picked me up and swung me around. "It's a deal, Bella."

"C'mon, Bella, let's go to Charlie's," Edward said with a chuckle.

I waved goodbye to Alice as Edward helped me in the passenger seat of the Volvo. In a matter of seconds, he was by my side and we were speeding down the road.

"You're too good to Alice sometimes," Edward said.

I shrugged. "The simple things make her so happy. It's hard to refuse. Besides, what could it hurt?"

"Nothing, I just didn't think you'd let her," Edward said as we pulled into Charlie's driveway.

I sighed. "Ready?" I asked, turning to my left.

Edward took my right hand in his left, and his right hand went to my face. He stroked my cheek with his thumb as he said, "I'm ready whenever you are, Bella."

I leaned in for a kiss, and he obliged. "I'm ready," I said after my heartbeat was at a normal pace again.

Edward walked around the car at human speed to open my door for me, and we walked up to the house. When we stepped inside, it was obvious that Charlie was watching a baseball game on TV in the living room. I prayed Billy wasn't with him.

"Dad?" I said, as we waked into the living room.

Charlie looked up from the Mariners game. "Hey, kids."

"Mariners winning?" Edward asked.

I mentally thanked him for stalling. I also guessed that he must have heard one of Charlie's thoughts indicating something good had just happened on the game.

Charlie nodded. "Richie Sexon just hit a two-run homer bringing them back into the lead."

"Well, the Brewers are hot this year, I wouldn't rule them out of winning just yet," Edward challenged.

Charlie studied him for a minute. "I was just thinking that." He shook his head. "Anyway, what are you kids up to today?"

Edward smirked at Charlie's comment on his thoughts. I praised Edward at that moment for softening Charlie by using his power to gain a couple points on Charlie's scoreboard. I knew he was reading Charlie's thoughts because following baseball was the last thing on Edward's mind.

"Actually, Dad," I began nervously, "we need to talk to you. Do you think we could mute the TV for a while?"

Charlie's face became serious as he reached for the remote to comply with my request. Edward squeezed my hand that he was holding. I looked up at him and he smiled encouragingly.

Charlie remained sitting and we stood in front of him. "What's up?" he asked.

"Before anything else, let me just say that this has been in the works for a while, and it's not some spur of the moment decision," I started.

Charlie eyed me suspiciously, but I continued. I didn't think I could start again if I let him interrupt me. "So anyway, we've been discussing it for a couple months, but I finally agreed. Edward and I are getting married," I spat out in a rush, "in August."

I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks as I waited for Charlie's response. Finally, after just staring at me, he looked at Edward and stood up. "You know, Cullen, I couldn't believe that you had the audacity to come back here after what you put Bella through last September." Edward continued to look bravely into Charlie's eyes. I applauded him for not averting his gaze. "But at any rate, no matter what I thought of you, I knew Bella loved you. As much as I wished at times that she would choose Jake over you, I realize now that you're what's best for her. I can see that you understand the mistake you made, and that you'd never do it again." Charlie's gaze softened. "For all those reasons, I give you my blessing."

I felt Edward relax next to me, and I took a breath that I hadn't realized I needed. Charlie walked the few paces to where Edward and I stood, and shook Edward's free right hand. "I still think you're both too young, but I'm completely powerless to stop you, so I may as well be there when it happens and put a smile on my face."

"Thanks, Charlie," Edward said sincerely.

"Yeah, thank you so much, Dad," I said, releasing Edward's hand so I could hug Charlie.

"I love you, Bells," he said into my hair.

"I love you too, Dad," I said back as I felt a tear run down my cheek.

"Well," Charlie said as he pulled away and I gave my hand back to Edward, "I guess I better dig some money out of your trust fund, huh?"

"Don't worry about the money, Charlie. My parents are taking care of it, and Alice insists on planning the whole thing," Edward said.

"Edward, I can't let you pay for Dartmouth and the wedding. That's entirely unfair."

"Really, it's fine; we want to. Bella's already like a member of the family and they couldn't mind less. Carlisle has more money than he knows what to do with. And to put it in Esme's words, 'If Charlie gives you any trouble about us paying for everything, you let me know and I'll go have a talk with him.'"

"Well, if they insist…" Charlie gave in.

"They do," Edward assured him.

"Alice is flying Renée and Phil here for everything. She also insists on throwing an intimate engagement party, just family," I informed Charlie and he nodded. "Speaking of which, we're supposed to help her plan it, and she wants to take me shopping for a dress."

Charlie smiled. "That sounds just like Alice. You go on ahead."

"Do you want me to fix dinner first?" I asked.

"Nah, I'll order a pizza. Don't keep Alice waiting," Charlie said.

"Okay, Dad, I'll see you tonight." I went to hug him again, something Charlie and I didn't do very often. "Thanks again," I whispered in his ear.

"Whatever makes you happy, Bella."

"This does," I promised. "I couldn't be happier."

Edward shook Charlie's hand again, and we were out the door and in the Volvo before I knew it. We just sat there, the engine off for a few minutes.

"That went really well," Edward observed.

"It's almost like he was expecting it," I said.

"He was," Edward said simply. "He's been expecting it since graduation. He knew as soon as we said we needed to talk."

"What else did you find out?" I asked.

"He was thrilled that he gets to walk you down the aisle and give you away, and that we didn't decide to go to Vegas. He also feels guilty about not being able to pay for anything."

"Maybe you should let him pay for something."

Edward shrugged. "Bar bill?" he suggested.

I laughed. "Sure, I bet he'd be happy to." I examined Edward's face and came to the conclusion that he was hiding something, due to the fact that his crooked grin didn't reach his eyes. "What else, Edward?"

Edward turned to me and touched my face. I bore my eyes into his, begging for an answer. "He wondered if Jacob knew, and if we'd invite him."

"They won't come, Edward. You saw how quickly they bolted after graduation. There's no way they could do that at a wedding."

"I know, Bella, but," he brushed his thumb over my cheekbone, "I would have wanted the choice."

"Would have?" I asked, wishing I could have been as confused as I let on.

"If you hadn't chose me, Bella. If you had chosen him and it was him you'd be walking down the aisle towards, I would have come. I would have come just to make sure you were happy."

"Then, I would have seen you, and run back down the aisle and into your arms, begging you to take me back because I made the wrong decision."

Edward smiled widely at my comment. "Well, even if you wouldn't have done that, I would have stood up at the part where the minister asks if anyone objects."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "No, you wouldn't have. You would have let me go," I corrected him.

"If it was what I really thought you wanted, yes. I would have let you go." He sighed.

"What's bothering you now?" I asked sweetly.

"If he comes will you do what you just described to me? Will seeing him make you think you made the wrong choice?"

Author's Note: I know the beginning is slightly different than the end of "Eclipse," but it worked that way.