DISCLAIMER: The characters do not belong to me…they are all the creations of the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.

Guests

"How is she, Jasper?" I asked my brother. We were sitting downstairs on the sofa, watching Emmett play a game.

Jasper raised an eyebrow at me. "Edward…" he warned.

"Sorry," I muttered. This was probably the twentieth time I'd asked him that since returning from our hunt.

"Relax, Eddie!" Emmett piped up as he leaned his body to match the turn his car was taking on the game. "She's fine."

"What exactly are you worried about, Edward?" Jasper asked. He touched my shoulder and I immediately calmed.

"I think he's got wedding night jitters," Emmett teased, winking at me.

"No, that's not it," Jasper said, sure of himself. "Come on, Edward. Talk to us. It'll help."

"I'm still not used to talking," I sighed, turning away from my brothers.

"You'll have to get used to it." Emmett growled at his game as his car burst into flames. He quickly turned it off and spun around to face Jasper and me. "At some point, you'll need to come crawling to us to find out what you did wrong."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, turning back toward my brothers. "Why would I need to find out from you what I did wrong?"

My brothers laughed at me for…I had actually lost count of how many times I'd been laughed at today.

"You'll see," Emmett said. He smirked at me and winked at Jasper.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.

"Edward, calm down!" Jasper ordered.

I took a deep breath and unclenched my fists. I waited as patiently as possible for him to continue.

"You are entering very new territory," Jasper said. "The relationship between a husband and wife is a little more…complicated than that of boyfriend and girlfriend. Emmett is merely suggesting that you may find yourself in situations where you need some brotherly advice."

"What do you mean by 'complicated'?" I asked.

"It's not something we can explain to you. You'll find out on your own," Emmett said. The doorbell rang and he jumped up to answer the door, but not before I caught what he was muttering. "Saved by the bell." Emmett ran at a human pace for a change, and swung the door wide open. "Cullen Residence. How may I assist you?"

"Um…" was all the girl standing on the porch could get out.

I smirked as I stood and strolled over to my brother. "Welcome, Angela," I said to her. "And Ben," I added, acknowledging her boyfriend. I genuinely liked this girl—she was a good friend to my Bella.

"Oh…thank you!" she stammered as she entered the house, tugging Ben behind her. "I'd almost forgotten how lovely your home is."

"Wow!" Ben said with admiration in his voice. "The decorations are great."

"I'll relay your compliments to my sister Alice. It's all her doing," I stated.

"It absolutely has her touch," Angela said. "But I'm surprised it's not…" 'Completely overboard' she finished in her thoughts.

I smirked at her thought, but played along. "Not what?"

She blushed and glanced around the room nervously. "Well, Bella has always said that Alice tends to go overboard. Like with the party after graduation."

My brothers and I laughed heartily. This human girl had no idea just how overboard my sweet little sister could get.

"Bella was able to keep control of my sister, for the most part," I told her. The doorbell rang out before I could say more.

Jasper headed for the door, and I let out a low growl. Emmett flashed me a curious look and then turned back to the door, grinning wide as soon as he saw our newest guest. Now, he understood my growl.

"Welcome," Jasper said, with a slight bow. Mike Newton stepped in with Jessica Stanley following close behind.

'Wonder where Bella is. Wonder if she changed her mind yet. There's still time to get away from Cullen. I can't believe I agreed to take Jessica to this thing. She'll probably try to use it to get us back together. I bet Bella would love it if I objected to the wedding.' Mike's viscous thoughts were quickly wearing on my nerves.

Emmett must have guessed as much because he swung an arm around Mike's shoulders and grinned down at him. "Mike!" he said happily. "Why don't you come with me outside for a bit? I'll show you and Jessica where you'll be sitting.

I nodded my thanks to my brother as he led them out of the house. I turned back to find Angela and Ben talking calmly with Jasper so I wandered back into the living room. I sat down on the loveseat by myself, thinking of how Bella usually sat in my lap.

I didn't get to think about her long before Emmett plopped down next to me, putting an arm around my shoulders. 'Don't fret, Little Brother. I encouraged them to take their time inspecting the decorations outside' he thought.

"Thank you," I whispered for his ears only.

"No one messes with my brother on his wedding day," Emmett whispered. He slapped my knee and then made his way over to Jasper, Angela, and Ben.

'Edward'. I ran to the stairs as quickly as humanly possible—it couldn't be good news if Alice was calling me upstairs.

I knocked on her door and she threw it open, yanking me into the room. "Alice, what's going on?"

"I need to warn you about something," she whispered.

I sat down heavily on her bed. Not today. No more bad luck, especially not today.

The fear must have been evident on my face because Alice grabbed my shoulders tightly. "Calm down," she demanded.

I looked up into her smiling face and relaxed immediately. She wouldn't be smiling at me if something was really wrong. "What is it, Alice?"

"I just need you to be prepared to be a little extra gentle with your words to Bella in the next few days. And to keep your temper in check with Mike Newton! You are marrying Bella today and no matter what fantasies run through his little mind, he can't change that."

"I'll try my best."

"Your best isn't good enough. You need to do better than that."

"What's going on?" I asked. She was making me nervous again with her cryptic talk.

She sighed and sat down next to me. She grabbed my hand and twined our fingers together. "Her parents aren't coming. She's going to pretend at first that it doesn't bother her. Her mood will be quite unpredictable until she deals with this. It'll take a few days, but she will come to terms with it and be fine after that. You'll bear the brunt of her frustration and anger just because you'll be closest. Bella needs you to be understanding and to let her get away with yelling and screaming at you for no apparent reason."

"This should be an interesting honeymoon," I said glumly.

"Edward, her bad mood will only be for a few days. After she accepts this, she'll decide it's really for the best. They've cut their ties with her and now she won't have to do it herself. She'll apologize to you and you will greatly enjoy how she makes it up to you." Alice's grin was very wicked as she looked at me.

"Will I?" I teased, inching my eyebrow up.

"I've seen it!" she giggled. Her face became more serious for a moment. "Edward, I have never been happier for a vision to come true."

"I'm sorry I fought you so hard in the beginning," I said.

"And in the middle," she snorted.

"Yes, then too," I agreed. "Did Bella give you permission to look?"

Alice smiled sadly. "No. So you have to keep this between us. We needed to be prepared and I couldn't leave this to chance."

I hugged my sister around her shoulders. "I'm glad you did. I was going to ask you anyway."

She smiled brightly at me. "Good!"

"Alice, about tonight…" I found myself unable to finish the sentence.

"Everything will be fine. You won't hurt her," she assured me.

I nodded my head, willing myself to believe her. "Are you coming down?" I asked, standing up.

"Soon. I have to check on Bella again." She winked at me. "Then I'll be down to greet our guests." She walked with me into the hallway.

"Alice, could you tell Bella that I love her?" I asked.

"Of course!" she giggled. I watched her skip down the hallway toward Rosalie's room.

I headed downstairs and into the living room, taking a seat near Jasper.

He looked up at me and smiled. "I'll have to remember to thank Alice for whatever it is that she told you. It really took away your anxiety."

I grinned at my brother. "That noticeable?"

He chuckled. "Slightly. So what did she tell you?"

I smiled, thinking about my pixie sister. "She told me to let Newton live."

Jasper laughed and patted me on the back. "Good advice. Besides, I don't think you have to worry about him."

"Why?" I asked.

"Emmett had a little chat with him," Jasper chuckled.

"Oh, no!" I groaned. "What did he say?"

"Nothing bad," Jasper replied. "He just mentioned what he would do to anyone who interrupted his little sister's wedding day."

I looked over at Emmett and smiled. He really could be a great big brother at times.

A hand settled on my shoulder and I looked up into my father's smiling face. "How are you, Edward?"

"Fine, Dad," I replied for Angela and Ben's sakes. "Ready to get this wedding started."

Carlisle chuckled at my eagerness. "Soon. In fifteen short minutes, we'll be standing ready outside and fifteen minutes after that, Bella will be walking towards you."

I grinned from ear to ear. I was sure it looked stupid on my face, but I didn't care. In thirty short, excruciating minutes, Bella would be with me, becoming my wife.