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UPDATE: Thanks to: nidszala, and Bobbie Francies Reisen.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 21

Bella

We both sat down on the edge of my bed, with Edward a few inches away from me, hands to himself. I itched to just close the distance between us and continue what I had just stopped, but, at the same time, I was glad that I'd pulled away when I had.

As much as I dreaded breaching this topic, I knew that we needed to talk things through, no matter what. We couldn't simply continue what we were doing without knowing where this relationship was headed, and when it was heading that way.

On the other hand, I would've preferred having a talk any day as opposed to sitting in this awkward tension for a second longer.

"So..." I started, tapping my fingers on my lap, giving Edward an opportunity to say whatever he wanted to say.

He was deep in thought, and I restrained myself from brushing my hand along his cheek to snap him out of his reverie. That always managed to do the trick.

Edward turned his head to me, looking down, "You want to wait."

It was a statement on his part, but I, nevertheless, nodded in confirmation.

He smiled, a soft, barely noticeable one, "So do I."

Relieved at his answer, I breathed a short sigh of relief, but it was short-lived seeing as there was still one more thing we needed to clarify. I continued toying with my fingers, building up the courage as Edward looked over at me, about to ask what else was on my mind.

"How long do you want to wait?" I asked, slowly and cautiously, waiting for his response. My stomach churned as I waited. I didn't have a clue why. Maybe I was worried to disappoint him.

"Until we're married," Edward blurted out automatically, before his eyes widened slightly at the realization of what he'd said.

It wasn't conscious, but my entire body went still.

Though, on the inside, I was disbelieving and kind of ecstatic that he'd given me precisely the answer I'd been looking for, I hadn't quite anticipated him saying "until we're married", as in, he very much thought about the two of us tying the knot. A series of butterflies rose up in my stomach at the prospect.

Edward, of course, completely misunderstood my expression, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have –"

My lips twitched as I interrupted him, "No, I'm really happy that you're being so honest with me. You just caught me a little off guard." I looked down, before forcing my eyes to his, "I want to wait until then as well." I could feel my face burning, as I tried to calm my emotions down. I hated the fact that I got so flustered talking about these things.

Edward's smile widened, as I cleared my throat, trying my best to act nonchalant, but failing miserably. It was all due to the gigantic smile plastered across my face. I looked down, "So you see yourself getting married to me?"

In the next instant, Edward's fingers slipped under my chin, bringing my eyes up to meet his. His whole face brightened up, and I melted, seeing that familiar look of adoration fill his eyes.

"You're the only one I'd want to spend the rest of my life with. Of course I want to marry you," his smile grew, as I raised my eyebrows, completely dumbfounded at how casual he was about saying something like that. He never intentionally tried to 'woo' me, but he always did just that when he spoke his thoughts.

Edward's topaz eyes continued to smolder mine, before his hand gently moved up to cup my cheek. I leaned into his touch, a bright smile on my face.

He grinned, showing his perfectly straight white teeth, before his lips finally met mine. I sighed, eyes shut, arms wound tightly around his neck. He pulled me closer to him until I was sitting comfortably on his lap. Our lips were synchronized as Edward grasped my waist, pulling my body closer to his chest. My fingers tangled in his hair, before they moved down to his cheeks where they rested. His lips were perfectly molded with mine, and I felt him sigh against me as our tongues battled with each other.

As soon as we broke away, he feverishly planted kisses on my neck, chuckling when I immediately froze. He was brushing his lips along my collarbone when a knock at the door interrupted us.

Edward and I both looked up, surprised. I guessed his siblings had come back from their hunting trip slightly earlier than expected. It was plain to see that he was disappointed that our little session had come to an abrupt stop, but he shrugged his shoulders, trying to seem neutral.

I giggled when he didn't remove his hands from my waist, giving him a peck on the lips to satisfy him as he begrudgingly released me, allowing me to jump off of his lip and answer the door.

"Hey Rose. What's up?" I greeted as I pulled open the door. She returned an equally wide smile.

"Nothing much. Alice and I were just wondering if you wanted to come with us to do some dress shopping for your dad's wedding," Rosalie explained, waiting politely for an answer.

Sulpicia had already picked out my dress, seeing as I was one of the bridesmaids for their wedding. It was actually quite beautiful – a deep purple, flowing dress, still fitted, with a high neck.

I was slightly surprised - but in a good way - at the fact that both Rose and Alice went out of their ways to include me in their lives. It definitely made me feel more and more like I was part of the family. At the question, though, I glanced at Edward for a millisecond, not necessarily wanting his approval, but wanting him to be included in my decision. It just didn't sit well with me that I was essentially ditching him after our talk.

Rosalie was biting her tongue, smiling all the way at the interaction, as Edward chuckled, in a second finding himself at my side. "Have fun," he bent down, planting a sweet kiss on my lips, leaving my body feeling tingly and my senses heightened, as I faced Rosalie once more.

"I guess that's a 'yes'," I grinned, as she shook her head, beaming. Edward took my hand in his, leading me downstairs, before branching off with the boys.

"I love you," he said, completely unfazed by the presence of his siblings all around us. My whole face burned, and he hid his amusement well as I responded with an 'I love you, too', before turning my face to hide my red cheeks. He let out a light laugh, tucking my hair back to show my cheeks, and planting a kiss on one, "See you."

Esme was working - helping design the interior of a recently married couple's home – and Carlisle was finishing his shift at the hospital. By the time the girls and I finished at the mall, hopefully the whole family would be at home.

Rosalie directed me to her red BMW, and I allowed Alice to sit shotgun as I jumped in the back. As soon as we hit the freeway, both Alice and Rosalie jumpstarted the girl talk.

"So what'd you guys decide?" Alice bounced in the passenger seat as Rosalie raced down the road, controlling the car. I wrinkled my eyebrows at her seemingly bizarre question, "Huh?"

She giggled at my oblivion, explaining, "I got a vision of you and Edward talking in your room. What about?"

"Oh," I replied, cleared up about what she was referring to. But I couldn't stop the feeling of discomfort from washing over me. As I had said, Rosalie and Alice made me feel like I was their sister, but at the same time, I was kind of a private person. Of course I wanted to tell them - it was just a little weird, seeing as Edward was practically their brother.

Rosalie immediately picked up on my apprehension, "We don't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, Bella. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." She breathed, "It's just that we'd like for you to eventually be able to talk to us about anything without feeling weird. You're like our little sister."

I instantly relaxed hearing what Rosalie had to say, feeling kind of terrible for hesitating. I knew that if the situation were to be reversed, they would both be happy to share their stories, no matter how private. And it wasn't like my feelings weren't going to be in a safe place. I trusted them both with my life.

"I'm sorry," I groaned, "I really don't mean to give you guys the cold shoulder or anything. It's just a little uncomfortable talking about things like this, with anyone," I clarified, earning understanding smiles from both Alice and Rosalie, who remained patient.

I took a deep breath before sharing with the girls what had happened between Edward and me. They nodded at all the right times, waiting until I finished speaking to provide me with their input.

"I'm really happy that you guys were smart and decided to talk about it," Rosalie began, allowing Alice to pick up where she left off.

"So many relationships hit rough patches when there's a lack of communication, so at least you know that that definitely won't be a problem for you both."

I smiled, as Rosalie continued, "You both seem to have a lot of morals, which is probably another reason why you guys clicked. It's great that you both agreed on waiting. At least you won't have any regrets."

It meant a lot hearing their kind words of support, making me feel even better for deciding to tell them. I just really needed to suck up my awkwardness sometimes, because hearing someone else's opinion always helped.

The conversations got lighter after that, as we discussed some of Emmett's recent antics – always a safe topic. He had recently downloaded that infamous Pokémon GO game, and had been so caught up in it, that, during the hunting trip, he'd fallen into a lake and almost pushed Jasper off a mountain in his attempt to catch a rare Pokémon. I sighed, rolling my eyes.

Dress shopping had been pretty fun. We'd ended up travelling all the way down to Seattle after witnessing the limited selection in Port Angeles.

"I am truly worried about people's sense of style nowadays," Alice shuddered, watching a teenage girl buying a dress that resembled Big Bird's costume – complete with bright yellow feathers decorating the bottom half. I tried not to judge, seeing as my fashion sense could be a little questionable at times, but really, who would buy a dress as unflattering as that? Better yet – who would design a dress like that?

There had been points of false glory during the dress shopping, where either girl would seemingly find the perfect dress only to realize there was just one detail that was off. Rosalie's pick had been an elegant long black dress, but, given her height, it had ended up awkwardly reaching her ankles.

Alice's on the other hand, had been silver, with rhinestones decorating the waist – but of course, a few rhinestones had been missing, so she'd been forced to pass.

Just when all hope had apparently been lost, I'd found a small bridal shop, easily spotting two dresses perfectly suited for each girl.

Rosalie's was a black and gold, thin-strapped dress that hugged her curves and fell to the floor. Alice's was just as pretty; it was a dark blue strapless dress that hugged her tight, right until her waist before it poofed out, reaching her knees.

They'd both thanked me profusely for having such a good eye, while I'd dusted off my shoulders.

Time as well as school had passed quickly following that, and before we all knew it, it was the week of the wedding.

"Ready?" Edward asked, extending his hand for me to take. We had just arrived to Volterra and Edward had carefully parked us into the crammed garage under the castle. It seemed that most of the wedding guests had already arrived.

I took a deep breath, looking up at him, before nodding, taking his outstretched hand and jumping out of the car. The rest of the Cullens had arrived separately and were already waiting inside the castle, talking to Jace.

He grinned as soon as he saw me, his blue-grey eyes brightening. It was an automatic reflex breaking out in a wide smile of my own as he engulfed me in a bear hug.

Even though we had Skype'd almost every day, it wasn't the same as actually having him next to me.

As soon as he released me, he nodded towards Edward, giving him the one-armed bro hug, patting him on the back.

"Thanks for bringing her back in one piece," Jace nodded approvingly while I shook my head, rolling my eyes at my twin brother.

Edward only chuckled, squeezing my waist and beaming down at me. I smiled up at him, before we all walked to join the rest of his family.

It felt a bit surreal to be back at the castle again. It had only been a month and a half, but it felt like so much longer. I did miss my home, but I had also gained a new one, which I loved equally as much.

Obviously everything looked the same. The castle was still standing in all of its Gothic glory. There had been some modern additions over the years, like the kitchen – which had been built just for Jace and I – some of the bedrooms, and the pool, but the whole place looked about the same as it had a few centuries ago.

"How's everything been?" I asked conversationally as the Cullens, Jace and I sat around the kitchen table.

He shrugged, "Normal, you know? It's been weird going on missions without you, but it's been all right. How's life in Forks? You guys tired of her yet?" He made a face towards the Cullens, causing them to shake with laughter before fervently shaking their heads. My response consisted of a narrowed eyed glare towards Jace, causing him to throw his hands up in defense.

Emmett spoke up, "Nah, Bells is awesome. I'm glad Eddie and her are together. Things have been loads more fun with her around."

I smiled, surprised at his sweet response, while Edward wrinkled his nose at the unfavorable nickname of 'Eddie'. There was laughter from Emmett and I after seeing his face, eyebrows creased, mouth in a frown as he pondered the ridiculous nickname. Without really thinking about, I planted a kiss on his cheek, kind of obsessed with how adorable he looked right then.

Edward was surprised by my action, but nevertheless managed a wide, crooked smile. I knew it was dangerous territory looking into his topaz orbs, and yet still, I ventured, losing track of both time and place.

That was until Jace cleared his throat, looking from me to Edward, giving us a look. It wasn't one of those common 'it's-so-horribly-awkward-watching-my-sister-with-her-boyfriend' looks. It was more of a look of admiration than anything.

He smiled, all traces of humor gone from his face, "Seriously, I'm happy for you both, Bella and Edward." He looked pointedly at the pair of us, before continuing, addressing the rest of the Cullens, "I'm also glad that you guys are Bella's second family. Thanks for being good to my sister."

I looked around the room, seeing all of the Cullens wearing smiles on their faces showing that said they were clearly touched by my brother's words. I was quite blown away when everyone got up to give him a hug, including me. That's the thing about the Cullens that I loved; they were so genuine.

"It's our pleasure, dear. And don't forget that you're welcome to visit Bella at any time. We have an extra room that can be set up for you for whenever," Esme smiled, touching Jace's cheek in a motherly fashion. He grinned at her, nodding, "Of course. Thank you so much, Esme." I could tell that he appreciated her offer, and everyone's affection.

I appreciated them too. I'd lived with Jace for my entire life, so being separated from him was really new and difficult for both of us. At the same time, we'd always known that something like this would happen eventually, and it was just something we'd have to get used to. He was crazy about Lainey, and I was madly in love with Edward. Naturally, we'd want to be with our significant others more than anything else.

The moment was interrupted when Felix suddenly appeared in the room, coughing uncomfortably, and bowing his head. "Apologies, but Master Aro and Madam Sulpicia would like to have a word with Jace," this news made my brother groan.

"My God. All I've been doing for the past few weeks is helping Dad and Sulpicia with planning. It's so much work: which flowers go with which centerpiece, which fabric goes with the decorations… Can't they just sign the papers and be done?" He pulled at the ends of his jet-black hair, clearly frustrated. The entire room erupt in laughter, thought everyone seemed to have been trying to hold it in. Even Felix's lip twitched, and he rarely ever smiled.

"I can go if you want. It's the least I can do for you, as a repayment for all of the work you've done without me," I offered, deciding to at least contribute to the wedding in some way, as an act of maturity. As much as I missed my mother, Sulpicia was here to stay, and I wasn't going to make things difficult by being a nasty stepdaughter. My father deserved to be as happy as I was.

Jace sighed with relief, shoulders slouching "Sis, you are God's gift from Heaven above." He held his hands up in a prayer motion, as the rest of us laughed.

"Oh, I know," I smirked, feeling Edward release me and allow me to carry out my plans.

I tried to force down the uncomfortable, empty feeling within me by the loss of contact with him. No matter how many times it happened, that feeling was ever-present. Every time we were separated at school, or he was called away by his family. It was strange, and a little distressing.

I needed to practice endurance, or whatever it's called. It wasn't exactly healthy to feel this way whenever we were apart.

I followed Felix out of the kitchen, making my way to one of the master bedrooms on the second floor, taking a deep breath before knocking lightly on the door. I heard a soft, "Come in," immediately recognizing Sulpicia's voice, finding her seated at the desk in my dad's room leafing through a large scrapbook. My father stood behind her, hand on her shoulder, observing her actions.

They both looked up when I entered, golden eyes widening. I guessed they hadn't really expected to see me here. "Hey," I said, so quietly that I was almost surprised that they had even heard me. My dad smiled, along with Sulpicia.

"Just the person we needed for this last task," Sulpicia grinned, beckoning me forward. Her light hair was neatly combed to the side and her face was bright with delight.

I moved towards her, standing next to my dad, trying my best to move past my awkwardness. She pointed to a page in the scrapbook with her pale, manicured nails, and I quickly understood what she was asking. There were two pictures; an arch adorned with white lilies - placed above an altar - and a similar looking arch with lilacs instead.

"The lilies would be a nice choice. More formal," I nodded, pointing to the picture of the arch with white lilies, just for added clarification. Sulpicia and my father shared a look, smiling at each other, before thanking me for my help.

There were a few other items that they wanted my opinion on, which I gladly offered, before they were satisfied and let me leave. Not before Sulpicia wrapped her arms around me, thanking me for being here. I was slightly stiff at first, but I quickly got over it, hugging her back, "I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

All the while, my dad was smiling gratefully at me. My being nice to his future wife obviously meant a lot to him, and I understood why. It wouldn't have been the best starting their marriage off on a bad note.

When Sulpicia eventually released me, I hugged Aro as well, smiling when he patted my back and looked at me. "How has Forks been?" he asked, genuinely curious. A little too curious, if you ask me.

"Amazing. I'm really loving it there," I answered honestly, keeping my thoughts centered on Forks itself, and not Edward.

I knew for a fact that if my thoughts wandered across to my mate, I'd blush a deep crimson. And I really didn't want to go through having to answer my dad's questioning gaze to that.

"Well we all miss you here, but I'm happy that you're enjoying life with the Cullens," I nodded with a smile, as he looked to be about to say something else.

Then, he paused, shaking his head.

I did a nervous laugh, "What?" It was obvious that he was holding something important back from me, yet he was deciding whether or not to tell me - kind of weird, if you ask me.

He looked towards me, opening his mouth, before Sulpicia smoothly slipped her arm around him, "Bella, why don't you go meet some of the other guests downstairs. Everyone's been asking for you."

Aro nodded wordlessly in response, as I bit the inside of my cheek, very much confused by their behavior. "Okay…" I looked between the two of them, noticing that they were both gauging my reaction carefully.

Then I shook my head, deciding that my best option was to leave the room and share the puzzling experience with Edward. Surely, he would know why they were behaving the way that they were.

I was wrong.

When approached, Edward temporarily looked away from me, seeming to be in deep thought, before coming up with nothing. He held onto my hands, leaning against the leather couch in my room and pulling me close.

"It's obvious they're hiding something from me. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they'd gotten my favourite band to play at the wedding…" then I trailed off, looking to Edward with raised eyebrows, waiting for him to confirm or deny my speculation.

He chuckled, holding my face in his hands, "No, Bella, unfortunately, The 1975 are not performing."

I let out a deep sigh, seeing his eyes glimmer with satisfaction. Satisfaction that he'd successfully strayed me away from the topic? If I hadn't been curious before, I certainly was now.

"I'm getting the distinct feeling that you're in on this…" I gave him a look, seeing a small flicker of something across his face, before he morphed his expression back to one of complete nonchalance.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

I whined, pulling away, "Edward, you know how much I hate surprises. Just tell me."

He hesitated, looking at my face, and I could see the first chink in his armor appearing. I almost smirked, but thankfully, held it in, playing up my pout and cocking my head to the side.

"Please, Edward," I dropped my voice to barely a whisper, trailing one hand from his neck down to his chest, and copying his trick of looking up at him from under my lashes.

I almost lost my cool when his eyes glazed over, his mouth opening slightly, completely fixated on my expression. He looked to almost be allowing himself to say the words…

But then, seeming to find some semblance of restraint, he pulled his eyes away from me, taking a very deep breath and shutting his eyes.

"That's not fair," he mumbled, shaking his head, as my grin widened. So, sue me. I was feeling pretty satisfied with myself in knowing that I could have just as much effect on him as he did on me. Though, I was disappointed that he hadn't cracked.

"I… I think that it's a good thing," he looked back at me, a bit of uncertainty in his eyes, as if he really was unsure of what I would think of the 'surprise'.

And then I felt bad for bringing that feeling out of him. I sighed, wrapping my arms around his neck, and looking into his eyes, "If you think it's going to be good, then it should be good." I smiled, "I trust you."

"You do?" he smiled, a little disbelieving.

"With my life," I said seriously, "And you haven't let me down so far."

He looked towards me – really looked at me – breathing a short sigh.

"I love you."

It's really amazing how three simple words could make one person feel so many emotions all at once.

I reached up, planting my lips against his, cupping his face with my hands. "I love you, too," I said, once breaking away, meaning every ounce of it, and hoping that he understood that.

Hmm, wonder what's happening at the wedding.

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Xoxo

LoveACullen