Ok, here it goes, my first fanfic. I'm very nervous at this point so kindly review and let me know what you think.

First I would like to thank my extremely talented beta - dyenessa -, She's got a great story out called Two Wants, One unfulfilled that I highly recommend. It's already in my favorites and I'm sure it will be in yours once you read it.

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyers Own all things twilight ... I own a perfect pair of Christian louboutin pumps

BPOV

*Ding*

"Excuse me, miss. Please fasten your seat belt. We are about to land."

I looked up at the stewardess and smiled at her as I complied.

I can't believe I'm in Rhode Island; it's been five years since I last spent the summer here. The memories were too painful for me to return and it is taking all of my strength to be on this plane. But despite what happened here, I still love this place. It was always so beautiful this time of year

My stomach started to clench and I couldn't help but feel the wave of uneasiness that was hovering over me. I haven't even stepped out of the airplane and already I'm starting to tense up.

I am doing this for Alice.

I am doing this for Alice

I was thrilled the day I received a phone call from Alice Cullen informing me that she and Jasper have finally set the date for their wedding. They were going to hold the ceremony at the summerhouse.

Alice has always felt like family to me. We'd grown up together.

Alice's mom and dad, Carlisle and Esme, are my Godparents. I love them as much as I love Charlie and Renee. Even though I am an only child, I never felt that lacking of siblings since I had Alice and her brother Emmett by my side throughout my whole childhood.

Just like Alice and I, our parents were inseparable. All four of them had gone to the same school and grew up to be pretty close.

It wasn't until I was five that Edward joined our happy family.

I still remember that tragic day when his parents passed away. His father, Edward the first, was Carlisle's only sibling. He and his wife died when Edward was only seven years old. Carlisle and Esme took him under their wing and treated him as their own. He was always the rebel in the family, the only one to stand against his grandfather authority. Aro was a very kind man. He always treated me as his own granddaughter. Every year he would insist on us spending the summer with them at his summerhouse in Rhode Island. After his death a few months ago, Aro wrote in his will that the summerhouse property was to be shared by the Cullens and the Swans. He left letters to each one of us in which he narrated his wishes of keeping the seasonal arrangement in tradition.

I was in London on a business trip when I first received the news. Aro's death was very sudden. It broke my heart to see the whole family aching from his absence. What hurt more was to see the disappointment in Carlisle's eyes when he found out that Edward was not attending the funeral.


Edward.

Just the thought of his name brings back that ache into my heart.

It's funny how things change over time, how people change.

I pushed that thought into the back of my head not wanting to remember the events of the last day I had seen him.

After grabbing my luggage, I made my way through the airport looking for a familiar face. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a head of bronze hair. My heart beat erratically in my chest. Panic creeping over me.

I am not ready to face him yet.

Snap out of it, Bella.

I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding when the man with the copper hair turned around.

It wasn't him.

I am a strong woman!

No man can control me!

I've done this before.

I am strong!

Who am I kidding? I am going to crumble the first moment I see him.

I wonder if I could turn around and catch a flight back to New York.

Just as I was starting to form what seemed to me like a quite successful get-away plan, I hear a loud squeak coming from somewhere in the crowd.

Alice.

" Bella… Bella over here!" I turned around to see Alice bouncing up and down, trying to catch my attention. As if the thirty balloons she was holding weren't noticeable enough.

" Alice, I'm surprised you're not floating away!" I giggled at her and the set of pink balloons she was holding.

"Ha ha. Very funny, Bella, I'm getting married in two weeks, so make use of the time you have left. Pretty soon, you'll have to refer to me as Madame Whitlock," she chanted with a small lady-like bow.

"Well, come here, soon-to-be Madame." I replied as I pulled Alice into a hug.

I heard a small whistle coming from behind me. I turned around to find Emmett with a stupid grin on his face. "Revenge is a dish best served cold."

"I think she plans on giving him a heart attack." exclaimed Alice while she made a circle around me.

" Enough, you two, this is nonsense. I' m still in my work outfit, so shush!"

Emmett pulled me into one of his crushing bear hugs while Alice pulled on my luggage throwing me a mocking look over her shoulder.

I wasn't wearing anything too revealing, just a smooth, knee long, black satin skirt which clung to my body in all the right places. My champagne-colored jacket was very modest as well. It had a touch of feminine brought by the silk belt that defined my waistline. I guess it was my snake-skinned pumps that had that tint of sexiness in it.

All in all, I looked professional yet sexy. But if they thought that this simple outfit was going to give him a heart attack, wait till they see what I have packed for the rest of my two-week vacation.

It is sure going to bring him to his knees.

On the way home, Alice filled me in on all the planning that I had missed. She planned on having her wedding in one of the many beautiful gardens of the house.

Our so-called 'house' was more like a personal resort. The Victorian mansion dated back to 1885. It was built by the great Cornelius Vanderbilt II, who later passed it on to his only daughter Marie-Allen who married the great Marcus Cullen.

The Seventy- room mansion boasted approximately 65,000 square feet. I never understood why the summerhouse was bigger than most of the national museums in the country.

What I loved most about our ' home' were the iron gates that lead up to the house.

As a child, I'd always imagined that the gates of heaven would look very similar to the sculptured thirty-foot iron doors that lead to the pathway of the place I called home for the summer.

The gardens of the house were heavenly and the view always took my breath away. It was my favorite place when I was growing up. It had everything we needed for the summer.

We even had our own beach. The trails of the gardens led to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

As much as I longed for the summerhouse, I didn't think it would be the same without Aro. He was the closest thing I had to a grandparent. My last remaining grandparent passed away when I was barely two years old. I felt lucky and grateful for the people I had in my life. Even though I had managed to avoid coming here for the past five summers, I would always visit Aro during winter. He was a great mentor, Aro always believed in me. He made me feel like I could accomplish anything.

Aro was a great man. A man of honor, he loved and cherished his family. He was devastated when he lost his son. He vowed that he would make Edward the man that his parents always wanted him to be. But Edward never saw it in that way. He would constantly fight with Aro, always rebelling against his traditional ways.

As the gates of my heavenly home started to open, I felt my heart in my throat.

I looked over at my family gathered at the door to welcome me home. I stepped out the car to fall into the embrace of my loving parents. I then moved to hug Carlisle

" Welcome home Bella" he sighed into my hair.

" It's good to be home" I smiled back at him. I then ran up to Esme who was still on her way down the stairs.

" Oh!" she chuckled, " Slow down, dear."

" I've just missed you so much." I haven't seen Esme since the funeral. She was devastated back then. It was nice to see a smile back on her face.

" I've missed you too, sweetheart." she said as she pulled away. She paused for a moment before she whispered with a sad smile, " Your granddad Aro would have been thrilled to have you here."

I felt small hands pulling at my side.

" Bella, we are already behind schedule." Alice whined with her signature pout.

I looked back at Esme who gave me a reassuring smile before she let go of my face.

" The wedding planner called and said that she will meet us in ten" she said jumping from one foot to the other. She sure was a little ball of energy. "We still need to get you refreshed before we head up to meet with the florist and the caterers and we need to find you the perfect bridesmaid's dress. Nothing too hideous, I promise…" She was already pulling me away towards the entrance. "…and, oh! By the way, we still need to do the final fitting on my fabulous dress, and then we have dinner with Jasper's parent…" she trailed off skipping down the hallway.

I glanced around the entry of the house.

No sign of him.

Did I really expect him to come and greet me like the others?

Really, Bella? Of course not.

I knew for sure that he was here since the beginning of summer.

I shook the idea out of my head and followed Alice as she tugged at my hand to pull me further into the house.

" Good luck, Bells." Emmett shouted to our retreating forms as he pulled his mother into a bear hug earning a squeak of his own.

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Links to outfits and pictures of the house are on my profile page

So?

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