Two weeks later, I was sitting in the Cullen's living room. Edward and I had just gotten back from a nice, lazy afternoon in our meadow and we were lounging on the couch while Esme cooked my dinner. She had just bought a new cookbook and was having the time of her life trying out new recipes out on me. Jasper and Carlisle were playing chess over in the corner, and Alice was on the floor, surrounded by a mountain of bridal magazines, notebooks and a huge calendar. Rosalie and Emmett were glued together on the loveseat in front of the TV, playing a new video game together. By all appearances, this was a perfectly human family evening.

I was sitting at the far end of the couch, holding a book in one hand. Edward's head was on my lap and he was playing with the ends of my hair, quietly humming some meandering tune with his eyes closed. It was nice to see him so relaxed. I noticed, however, the dark smudges under his eyes. Was this the right time? Alice had emailed me two days ago to tell me this was the week.

"Edward?"

He opened his eyes and tilted his head back to look at me. His eyes were almost black. "Yes, love?" he murmured.

I used my fingers to comb the hair out of his eyes, trying to keep him relaxed. "Um… you're looking pretty thirsty the last couple days…"

Edward's eyes grew even darker, just for a moment, and he shifted uncomfortably. "I guess it has been a while." He sat up. "Who's up for a hunt tonight?"

"No can do, bro," Emmett threw over his shoulder. "I had like six deer last night, and they weren't even good."

Edward glanced toward the opposite end of the room. "Jasper? Carlisle?"

Jasper didn't look up from his game, his face leaning on his fists. "We both went on Tuesday. I'll go with you next weekend if you want."

Edward was quiet for a moment and then laid back down, closing his eyes again. "I can wait another week."

I frowned. I had had a feeling this would happen. Alice had ensured that everybody had gone hunting earlier this week, but I knew Edward wouldn't want to go hunting alone. He and I spent so much time together now that he had started to neglect spending time with his brothers. Their hunting trips together were now their main source of "guy time". Hopefully Alice would remember phase two; the plan was that if this happened, we had agreed she would use this time to bring up the Paris trip.

As if on cue, Alice's head popped up like a jack-in-the-box. "Hey, Bella, check this out!" she chirped. "There's a bridal show next weekend we could go to. We really need to pick out your dress. Maybe we could… ooh! It's being hosted by Max Chaoul!" she squealed. "Bella, can we go, please please please?"

I rolled my eyes. Her theatrics were a bit over the top, but then Alice was a bit over the top. I played along. "Sure, I guess we do need to get that done. Where's the show?"

"Um… Paris?" Alice said quietly. Edward snorted, shaking his head.

"Well… okay. I guess that could be fun," I said casually.

Edward's eyebrows shot up. "Did you just say what I think you said?" he asked slowly.

I shrugged. "Well, maybe Alice and I can get all that stuff done in one weekend, you know? After all, you and Jasper will be out hunting, so-"

He sat up straight. "Absolutely not!" he growled. "Under no circumstances am I going to be an entire ocean away from you!"

"Well, you're certainly not coming with us! Have you forgotten this conversation is about wedding dresses?" Alice said in indignation.

"I can't believe this conversation is even taking place. Bella, are you sure you want to go shopping? In Paris? With Alice?" He felt my forehead.

"Sure, why not? And I think you should come with us." I continued speaking over Alice's protest, which had been scripted beforehand. "You could stay in the hotel while we go to the show."

"Only if he swears to stay out of my head for the entire trip! I'll not have you picking a single dress possibility out of my thoughts!" added Alice.

I poked him in the shoulder. "You'll have to go hunting before the trip, you know."

He frowned. "Fine, I'll go hunting on my own later tonight. You really don't mind?" He looked down at me apologetically.

I shook my head, and my thoughts began racing. I couldn't believe Alice and I had gotten this far! Now, would all her other preparations work? What if something went wrong?

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Jasper had turned around in his chair and was staring at me. My heart started to pick up its pace. I had forgotten I was supposed to do this when he wasn't around. At first I had suggested we let him in on the plan, but Alice had refused. "Bella, Jasper would go straight to Edward, trust me. Those overprotective-husband types stick together," she had insisted. But here he was, no doubt about to spoil the whole thing without even meaning to.

Edward looked over at Jasper, too, and then back at me. Then his eyes narrowed. Without looking away from me, he said suspiciously, "Alice, is there a reason you're suddenly running through all the orchestral parts to Grieg's Bruremarsch?"

Alice's face was the picture of innocence. "Well… wouldn't it be just a bit boring to have only Rosalie playing piano at the wedding?"

Rosalie's face whipped around. "Alice, I don't need some stupid orchestra to back me up!" she said indignantly. "Besides, it's bad enough you're inviting those disgusting mongrels. The last thing we need is a bunch of strangers to feed!"

Carlisle chuckled. "Better give up on this one, Alice. You've already achieved one wedding miracle today!"

Alice heaved a long-suffering sigh and stood up. "I suppose I should count my blessings. I'm going to book our flight!" In a whoosh she was gone, and I sighed in relief. That had been close…

But Edward had turned around to look at Jasper again, and they were locked in some silent conversation. Then he turned around and they both were watching me curiously. All at once, I felt my shoulders relax and a warm feeling of security flowed through me. Why should I hide anything from Edward? He only wants what's best for me… I opened my mouth, about to spill the whole story.

"Dinner, Bella!" Esme sang from the kitchen. I stood up and suddenly my head cleared. I glared over at Jasper, but he had suddenly taken an intense interest in his chess game.