Disclaimer: The great Stephanie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I'm just using her amazing characters to tell you a story.

I want to take a second to welcome my newest pre-reader to the crew. Kate22689 has joined Loulabelle and AgoodWITCH and together they will use all the powers at their disposal to make this story worth reading. Thanks so much ladies. Love ya tons.

A/N: Just a quick note, Edward's pov will back up about a week before Bella's birthday so you can see everything he went through to get ready for the her big day. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 4

EPOV

What could I have possibly done to earn such good fortune?

I asked myself this same question every time I stared out my bedroom window to gaze upon the girl next door. Her beauty was unmatched with her soft brown hair that shined with a hint of red in the sunlight, expressively beautiful, deep brown eyes and delicate skin that rivaled the finest silk. But all these things were nothing compared to the pure kindness and gentleness of her soul. She was an angel among men and for sixteen years, I'd been given the gift of walking through life with this angel by my side.

By some stroke of luck, Bella Swan and I had been together since birth. Our parents were neighbors and best friends and when we were born, both our mothers knew that we would be just as close and they were right. She was my best friend, but somewhere during all of our years together those feeling had changed.

One stolen kiss in a garden when we were thirteen changed our world, and there was no going back. Now, three short years later, she was truly mine in every way possible. She was not only my best friend, but she was now my one true love. The one person I lived for, and would die for and the one and only person I would move heaven and earth for.

On Bella's last birthday, her father granted me permission to court her and over the past eleven months, our love had deepened until we knew we would spend our lives together. I was anxious for our future to begin, but I knew we couldn't move forward with our plans until I had a ring and her father's permission to offer it to her. So I would wait until I had enough money in hand to purchase a ring for my angel.

"Someday my beautiful Bella," I whispered.

Then, as if she could hear me, she turned and looked up, meeting my eyes. The smile she gave me warmed my body and quickened my pulse. She lifted her hand to me as she walked toward her house and I touched the glass as I watched my beautiful girl disappear. My heart ached at the thought of having to wait, but we were young and we had an eternity to love each other.

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A month passed and I was sitting in my room creating a list of possible gifts I could buy for Bella's approaching birthday. She would be sixteen in a week and I wanted to do everything in my power to make this special for her. Unfortunately, a list was rather difficult to come up with.

Bella was a girl who liked the simple things in life, nothing too extravagant. She preferred a gift made by hand and always said she could feel the love that went into making it. I was never good with my hands so, against her wishes, I bought something special for her every year and this year would be no different. The dilemma I was facing now was what to buy for a girl with simple tastes when my every thought centered on how I would give her the world if I could. Thankfully, my focus was pulled from the empty paper in front of me as I heard my father's voice calling me from downstairs.

"Edward, can we speak with you for a moment?"

"Yes, Father," I answered.

I left my bedroom to meet my parents in the dining room, where we had all of our family discussions. They were seated, leaning close together and whispering to each other. They straightened with serious looks on their faces when I walked in.

"Father…Mother." I greeted them and walked slowly to take my place.

I was nervous, thinking I had done something wrong, but I didn't remember anything they could have been upset with me for. My father motioned to my chair and I sat facing them.

"Edward, your mother and I would like to speak with you about Isabella."

The look on his face caused me concern as he spoke the one sentence that could affect my whole life. If something happened to her I don't know what I would do. She was my life…my future; I didn't want to live without her.

"Is she sick…hurt? Please Father, tell me she is alright." I started to get up. "I have to go to her."

"No Edward, please sit. Isabella is fine. We would like to speak with you about your intentions where Isabella is concerned."

"My intentions?" I asked.

"Yes, Edward," he said. "It has been a year since you began your courtship. Have you considered what you want for your future?"

Thinking of Bella and our future always brought a smile to my face. She and I had talked about this so often, we had our whole life planned; my career, our home and our family, everything down to the last detail.

"Yes, Father. I want a future with Bella. I would take her as my wife tomorrow if I could, but I know that is not possible." My words were quick to leave my lips.

He laughed at my eagerness. "Well, there are a few things that need to be done first before that happens. You must speak to Mr. Swan before you begin to make any plans. He must give his consent before you can move forward."

"I know, Father. As soon as I have a ring to offer, I will ask Mr. Swan for Bella's hand."

My parents exchanged a look and a smile before focusing on me and I knew they were planning something.

"Son," my mother spoke, "that is what we would like to speak with you about."

I nodded, waiting for one of them to continue.

"Edward, your father has gifted me with many pieces of jewelry over the years. A few years ago, he gave me a ring that would replace the wedding ring he bought for me when we were first married."

She looked at my father with the loving smile she always had for him. He placed a kiss on her cheek and urged her to finish.

"I have watched your love for Isabella grow over the years and I know she feels the same. The two of you have reminded us how in love we were in the beginning and I promise you, Edward, it will only get better when you begin your life together."

My father pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and touched my mother's eyes when tears began to form. I had always hoped to share the same kind of love my parent's had for one another, but with Bella, I was lucky to have found so much more.

When she was ready to go on, she looked back at me. "This has been sitting in a box for years." She showed me her wedding ring. "Your father and I have talked and we would be so greatly honored if you would take this and place it on Isabella's finger when you ask her to be yours forever."

My eyes went wide as I looked at my parents and then at the ring they were giving me. I never expected such a gesture and I didn't know what to say. I fully intended to purchase a ring for her on my own, but that was going to take some time. They were giving me more than I could ever ask for and I could never love them more than I did in this moment.

"You have no idea what this means to me. I thought it would be some time before I was able to buy something suitable for her, but this," I reached out to grab the box, "is more than I could ever ask for."

I jumped out of my chair and hurried to hug my mother. Her tears showed her joy and happiness and my repeated thanks told her that she had made me happier than ever. My father stood to shake my hand and give me a short hug of his own.

Minutes later, I rushed back to my room, closing the door behind me. I walked to my desk, crumpled up the piece of paper labeled 'Birthday gifts' and threw it away. Never in my life had I come up with a better birthday present for Bella than the one I held in my hand. I was holding the most precious of treasures and I knew there was only one thing left for me to do…face Charles Swan.

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The time had come and I made my way across my yard to Bella's. The second my foot touched the bottom step leading to their front door, my pulse sped up. The next step caused my heart to beat faster. Once both feet were on their porch, my hands began to shake. This would determine the course my life…no…our lives would take. With one word, he held our future in his hands.

I raised my hand to knock and it was so quiet at first that he wouldn't have heard it. I took a few deep breaths and knocked harder. I almost pounded on their door so there was no question that he heard it this time. I took a step back and waited.

One minute…two…three. Every nerve in my body tensed as I took a step to the door to knock again. My hand was just about to make contact when their door opened slowly.

"Mr. Swan." I bowed slightly to greet him.

"Edward." He opened the outside door, standing in the opening.

I didn't know what to do. I had spoken with him discreetly yesterday to let him know I wanted to speak with him today, so my visit should not have been a surprise. My shaking hands were now beginning to perspire.

"You said you had something to speak with me about. Well, Isabella and her mother will be home soon. Is it your intention to stand out there until they return?"

"N-no, Sir. May I please come in?"

Mr. Swan smiled and stepped to the side. "All you had to do was ask, Son."

He motioned for me to go inside and as I stepped over the threshold, his hand clapped me on the back. I exhaled as I realized what his actions meant. In all the years I had known him, I had only ever seen him act like that with my father. My body relaxed when I understood that he was playing a game with me.

Now inside, I waited until he closed the door and motioned for me to enter the family room. I took a seat on one chair and he sat opposite me in the other. I nervously rubbed my hands together as all of my well thought-out words escaped me. I closed my eyes and took a breath to calm myself. When I opened them again, Mr. Swan was staring at me with a knowing smirk on his face.

No words came as I opened and closed my mouth several times. I never dreamed this would be so difficult. Bella and I had sat together in this room many times over the past year, discussing our future. But now, sitting here with her father, taking the first step in making our dreams a reality was almost too much.

"There is no need to be nervous, Edward," he said.

"Yes, Sir," I answered.

As soon as I spoke those two words, a bit of confidence returned and I was able to think and remember the words I wanted to say.

"Mr. Swan, I have had the privilege of being allowed in your home for the past sixteen years. I have also had the pleasure of growing up with Isabella and having her consider me a friend. She and I have done many things together over the last several years that you have seen as questionable, but I promise you, Sir, that I will not allow any harm to come to her."

He cleared his throat and I knew he was thinking of all the games I had taught Bella how to play over the years, none of which would be considered ladylike.

"Sir, being allowed to court Isabella over the past year has been the greatest gift I have ever received. She has become the center of my world and I would like to spend the rest of my life with her."

I cleared my throat, placed my hand over my heart and asked the most important question of my young life.

"Mr. Swan, I sit before you now as a man truly in love with your daughter, and I consider it a great honor to ask you for her hand in marriage."

He sat back in his chair, rubbing his chin with his hands. He really seemed to be thinking about this. Time passed slowly as I watched him sit there, shifting his eyes between me and the ceiling. I began to panic.

He's going to say no. What was I thinking?

I couldn't sit still any longer. If he wanted us to wait, I could deal with that. I would wait for Bella forever if I had to. But, if he was going to tell me no, I wish he would just do it and put me out of my misery. I shifted in my seat and rubbed my hands on my pants. Just when I was about to get up and walk out, he finally spoke.

"Edward," he said in a gruff voice, "if I leave my daughter in your care, how will I know that she will be taken care of?"

"Mr. Swan, I will begin looking for a job tomorrow if I have to but I assure you, Sir, that I will do whatever it takes to care for Isabella. She will have the best I can provide and when I'm out of school and begin my career, she will have the very best that life has to offer. She will never want for anything and I will love her until I take my last breath."

I was almost panting as I finished speaking. I desperately wanted him to believe me. I needed him to know how much Bella meant to me. My eyes grew wide as he put his hand back to his chin while he considered my words. Every word was the truth and I prayed he wouldn't doubt my sincerity. After an eternity, his face broke into a smile and I felt my chest relax as I let the air out of my lungs.

"Edward, I have watched you grow from a rambunctious young boy to a very mature and amazing young man. For the past ten years, I have watched you care for my daughter like she was a precious gem and I do not need any fancy words or romantic gestures to see how much you love my Isabella."

I could finally breath again as I believed he was going to give his approval. He sat forward on the chair, looking me right in the eye.

"It is customary that I ask Isabella what her feelings are for you and if a proposal is something she would accept but in this case, it is not necessary. I know how much Isabella loves you and I would never deny her the happiness she deserves. I believe she has found her perfect match in you."

He let out a small breath as he stood up and stretched his hand out to me. I jumped to my feet and accepted his hand.

"Edward…Son, you have my blessing to ask Isabella for her hand. I would be proud to have you join our family."

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie it's not nice to make our sweet Edward sweat like that. But thanks for giving your permission; you've made our boy so happy. Now he just has to ask her.

Thanks again for reading. As always, don't forget to tell me what you think. I love to hear it and every review will get you a tease from the next chapter. So, until next time…much love to you - D