A/N: Welcome to chapter three of my story. I couldn't help but notice that I've had over 100 hits on this story, but only one person has been kind enough to leave a review. Reviews are like an author's lifeline. We don't know if the story is good, not good, you love it, you hate it - get rid of it... unless you take the time to submit a hit of oxygen.

Disclaimer: As per usual, this story and all characters (except minor, plot neccessary ones that are only referenced briefly) belong to Stephenie Meyer.

We ended up doing nothing more than strolling through the woods in my backyard. Edward kept a careful hand on my arm, preventing me from taking any unnecessary trips forward.

"So, what are you guys going to do with the food you are supposedly 'eating'?" I asked, curious to find out exactly how they were going to disguise the fact from Charlie.

"You'll see."

"Don't you think I should know in advance, in case I have to duck from any flying food?"

He smiled at this and shook his head. "I expect Carlisle will take a few bites, just to be polite."

I stared at him in confusion. "But, won't he have to…"

"…Choke it back up?" he supplied, helpfully.

"Well, yeah." We continued walking and found ourselves standing before a fallen tree. He paused and asked me if I would like to stop and rest, but I shook my head. We turned and began heading towards my house.

"What are we having anyway?" I asked casually.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I think Alice was keeping me out of the details on purpose."

"Reciting the alphabet in Arabic?"

He laughed, "No, counting backward from one million. In German."

Before I knew it, we were back at my house and sitting on the front stoop. "So, how is this going to work? The wedding, I mean. Will I be Bella Cullen or Bella Masen?" I twisted the ring around my finger nervously.

"Sshh…Charlie is at the front door. He's wondering if he should interrupt us. I think he'd like a moment alone with you. To try to talk you out of marrying me and leaving Forks altogether."

We sat in silence for a moment and then he resumed the conversation.

"You can decide. For now, it will have to be Cullen – only because that is what the town knows the family as – but if you want to change it later, I'm sure Jasper can arrange to have it be whatever you would like."

"Cullen is fine."

Edward played with my hair for a moment, then sighed. "I should go. You need to get ready." He stood up to leave and I grabbed his hand.

"You're not leaving me here alone! The last thing I want is to be cornered by Charlie right now!"

"Bella, he is your father. He only wants what's best for you. Besides," he grinned, "you'd better get used to it. Wait until you tell your mother."

I groaned and closed my eyes. Renee was going to be less than thrilled at the idea. She might even be harder to sell on the idea than Charlie was.

"I'm going to e-mail her tonight and tell her about it."

Edward looked at me in consternation. "You really should tell her in person."

I pouted. I knew he was right, but I wasn't looking forward to it.

"Okay, then, I'll call her."

He took my hand and shook his head gently. "No, Bella. You should go see her and tell her in person."

"Will you go with me?"

"Of course," he replied, squeezing my fingers lightly.

I hauled myself to my feet and opened the front door. He turned, as if to leave, and I tugged on his hand. "Are you seriously leaving?"

He smiled and said, "I'll wait for you in the living room."

I released his hand and trudged up the stairs. I stared at my bed. There was a dress and a note.

Bella,

I know you didn't want me to take you shopping, but I couldn't resist.

Alice

I rolled my eyes and strode to my closet, grimly. As usual, there was nothing that seemed appropriate for the occasion. I looked back to my bed and sighed. The dress was beautiful, I supposed, as I pulled off my t-shirt and jeans. She had set a pair of panty hose with them, but I wrinkled my nose in distaste. I stepped into the dress and found a sandal that half matched. I leaned over to peer under my bed to find the other shoe and spied the shoe box peeking out from the dust ruffle. I muttered to myself as I pushed the box out of the way and dug under the bed for the missing sandal.

After putting my shoes on, I walked carefully down the stairs and found Charlie and Edward watching the game. Charlie glanced up and then looked at the clock. It was 4:15.

"You kids heading to Edward's?" he asked, as he focused his attention back to the television. Edward looked at me for a response.

"Yeah, Alice might need help setting up, or something." I fidgeted a little. "Are you meeting us there?"

He looked at the clock again. Heaving a sigh, he pulled himself out of the chair. "Yeah, I'll meet you guys there at five." He didn't look at me again as he ambled out of the room.

Edward stood and offered me his hand. We stepped out of the house and he walked me to my side of the car. The door was opened for me and I sank into the passenger seat.

"On second thought," he mused, "why don't you drive?"

I looked at him in confusion. "But, my truck isn't here."

He smiled and held out his hand. "I know. I meant, you drive my car."

I shook my head, but he grabbed my hand insistently. "Just give it a try. Please, for me?"

I allowed myself to be pulled from the car and steered toward the opposite side of the car. He opened the door for me and I sat down. After shutting the door securely, he was to the passenger side in a blur and fastening his seatbelt.

Smiling weakly, I turned the key and started the car. It was completely different than driving my old truck. The dash board seemed all wrong. Placing the car in reverse, I carefully backed out of the driveway. The car purred in response as I shifted into drive and gingerly stepped on the accelerator. Whoa. Way more get up and haul than the Chevy. We were flying down the road at over seventy before I looked down at the speedometer and jammed both feet on the brake. The car squealed to a halt and I was thrown forward against the seatbelt. I wrenched the steering wheel to the right and eased the car to the shoulder. Glancing over at Edward was a mistake; he was hiding a grin, poorly.

"You think that was funny?!" I demanded, shrilly.

He shrugged his perfect shoulders and replied, "You didn't even realize you were going fast. I felt it beyond me to tell you. But you enjoyed it didn't you?"

"Charlie will kill me if I get a speeding ticket!"

"Relax, Bella." He placed an icy hand over mine on the gearshift. "Deputy Dan is no where in sight."

I smiled. My heart skipped a beat at the minimal contact. He lifted an eyebrow in acknowledgment of the change in my pulse. I sucked in a deep breath and looked over my left shoulder at the road.

"Shall we try again?"

I put the car in gear again and eased off the side of the road. Taking a peek at Edward, I smirked to myself and stomped on the gas. He was perfectly at ease, obviously. The speedometer needle flew past sixty and was approaching eighty when Edward's phone rang. He answered it swiftly and then dropped it.

"Bella, very carefully slow down and pull the car to the side of the road."

I looked at him, confused. He'd been extolling the virtues of driving fast and now as I surpassed my own personal speeding record, he wanted me to slow down? I obediently depressed the brake and eased the car back to the side of the road. Ahead of us, a logging truck teetered down the winding road and nearly side-swiped us as it passed.

"Ah. That was Alice?" I guessed.

"Yes," he replied, grimly. He retrieved his phone from the floor board, where it had fallen a moment earlier, and dialed the sheriff's office. After speaking to Kimmy, the dispatcher, he hung up. He exhaled sharply. "Alice saw a different ending in her vision. A very frightening one. Maybe we should switch places."

I hastily agreed and fumbled to unfasten my seat belt. He had the door opened for me and escorted me to the passenger side, before sliding into the driver's seat. I reached to buckle up again and glanced at him. A line of worry creased his forehead.

"Do I even want to know?" I queried.

His glazed flicked to me. "No."

A/N: for those who would like to know what Alice's vision entailed aka an alternate version of the story - I will be posting it later, but you can get it faster if you leave a signed review or leave your email address on you review and I will email it to you.