A/N: I don't own this, we all know who does. What I do own is leftovers from hub's birthday dinner last night. Is it wrong that we went to a seafood restaurant, I ordered chicken? :D I like chicken. :) Though I'm a little disappointed, they screwed up 2 of the 4 things I ordered. Seriously? I mean clam chowder and raspberry cheesecake are fine, but not when I wanted potato bacon soup and key lime pie. Whatever. :) Not to mention, the guy wanted to refill my raspberry lemonade with iced tea, and he brought hubs a Ceasar salad instead of the garden one he ordered. I suppose I should have rethought that $10 tip... :D That's why I like Chili's. They get it right every stinkin' time, it costs half of what dinner last night cost, AND they gave us dessert for free on my birthday! :D Yeah, it's a good thing we only do seafood a couple times a year. :D
You guys had some interesting answers as to who that ring in Edward's drawer belongs to. :D Let's see who was right, shall we? :D
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Chapter 28
Valentine's Day started with Edward bringing me breakfast in bed. It was very sweet of him, especially since it was a school day and he didn't even have to wake up until an hour after I had to leave. He sat next to me and we ate together. I waited and waited for the ring.
But nothing.
During our class party at school, there was a knock on the classroom door. The kids were busy eating candy and looking through their Valentine cards when a man walked in carrying a huge bouquet of red roses. They were beautiful, and for me. The card was from Edward and simply said how much he loved me. I searched through the flowers for the ring.
There was nothing there.
I met him at the cafe that afternoon for lunch. He was already sitting in our regular booth, with a smirk on his face. I sat down next to him, lacing my fingers with his and kissing him a hundred times while we ate. He laughed, saying he hoped I liked my flowers. Then he ordered a piece of chocolate cake for us to share. I kept waiting to bite down on the ring.
It never happened.
That evening he took us to dinner at the same restaurant where we'd eaten on our first Valentine's Day together. He ordered champagne for us to drink, and I looked in the bottom of my crystal glass hoping to see the ring.
It wasn't there.
After dinner, we ended up at our ice cream shop, and then on the beach. I knew it would be there, he would ask me there. That was our special place. The place I fell in love with him. The place I first kissed him. The place we poured our hearts out to each other. I knew it would happen, and after an hour of sitting there, he stood up. My heart began to pound as he looked at me and then felt around his pockets for a moment. After patting his pants pocket, he smiled and reached into them. It was the moment...I just knew.
"There's my keys, I thought I'd lost them," he said before reaching for my hand and pulling me up.
No ring.
There was no ring in his hand, just a set of keys.
We walked back to our house. I was in a daze. It was nearing midnight on Valentine's Day, and he still hadn't asked me. When would he do it? The suspense was beginning to annoy me.
Once we got home, we went into our bedroom and Edward started kissing me. Maybe that was what he was waiting for, I told myself. Maybe he wanted to do it at home, while making love to me. I couldn't wait, and I let him strip me bare and lay me down on the bed. He hovered over me, kissing me silly before finally pushing into me.
I'd been on the pill for quite a while, so condoms were a thing of the past for us. Edward loved how much more he could feel without wearing them, and after a few minutes, I knew he was close.
"On your knees," he said, flipping me over and grabbing my waist. He pulled me up as he knelt behind me, then thrust into me again. I felt him deeper inside of me, and when he told me to touch myself, I did it. It wasn't long before we were both falling over the edge in orgasmic ecstasy, and afterward, he settled down next to me, kissing me and brushing the hair away from my face.
"I love you so much, Bella. I don't know what I'd be without you."
I smiled. This had to be it. Finally. I'd been waiting all day. I'd been waiting nearly a week, to be honest. I kissed him softly, wrapping my arm around his neck and letting my fingers play in his hair.
"I love you, too, Edward. You're everything to me."
He smiled, then kissed me again and let out a sigh as he closed his eyes.
That was it. No ring. No proposal. No "I wanna be with you forever" declaration. Nothing.
After about ten minutes, I'd had it.
I got up from the bed, went to his drawer, and pulled out the box I knew was there. I'd been checking every day, and he'd never moved it.
He had some explaining to do.
"Seriously? That's it?" I said as I sat back down on the bed next to him. I was totally naked, and didn't even care. I wanted some answers. I wanted to know what was going on.
"What?" he asked, rubbing his tired eyes.
"Don't you have something to ask me?"
"Um...no?" he said, looking up at me with confusion on his face.
I held the box out in front of me. "This! What is this?" I demanded.
He looked at the box for a second, then answered. "It's a box."
"Yeah, and what's INSIDE of this box?"
"A ring."
"What kind of ring, Edward?" This game was getting really old, really fast.
"Well, it's a diamond engagement ring."
"Who's it for? And you'd better be sure about your answer, buddy."
"It's for you."
I let out a deep breath, pulling the box back to my side. "So, it's an engagement ring for me, but you haven't given it to me?" I asked.
"That's right."
"Why haven't you given it to me?"
He rolled his eyes. "Because I haven't asked you to marry me yet."
"Well, are you going to ask me, because today would have been the perfect time, and here it is, Valentine's Day is already over and you still haven't asked."
He watched me for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Do you want me to ask you?"
"Yes! Of course I do. What do you think, I'm just freaking out about this because it's fun?" I yelled.
He smiled a bit. "Okay then, I'll ask you."
With that, he rolled over, facing away from me and closed his eyes. He was going back to sleep.
"Are you serious right now?" I asked. My voice was low and I was on the verge of tears. How could he say the ring was for me, tell me he was planning to propose, and then just roll over and go back to sleep.
"Bella, what? I said I'll ask you. I need to think of a way to do that. Don't you want a big story you can tell your mom and that we can tell our kids someday?"
Did I want that? Of course I did. My proposal from Jasper had been so nothing, so boring. I wanted something good and grand.
"I guess. I don't know."
I didn't know.
"Well, you figure out what you want and let me know. Until then, I'm tired. It's been a long day, so let's get some sleep."
He rolled back over and closed his eyes. I sat stunned on the bed, holding the ring box in my hand. What did I really want? What did I want most of all? The answer was easy. I knew it was.
"I want it," I whispered. "Edward?"
He rolled onto his back, looking up at me with wide open eyes. "You want what, Bella?"
"I want you. I want your ring. I want your children. I want all of it."
"Are you sure?" he asked, sitting up next to me.
I nodded. "But you have to ask me."
I bit into my bottom lip, my eyes never leaving his.
"Give me the ring," he whispered.
Once he had the box in his hand, he flipped it open and I saw the amazing ring that was inside. I'd been dreaming about it for a week, and I wanted to see it on my finger more than anything.
"Bella Swan, you mean more to me than anything in this world. You've given me a life I never knew was possible. You make me laugh and you make me smile. You've made all of my dreams come true, and if you'll let me, I promise to spend the rest of my days trying to make your dreams come true, too. To make you laugh and make you smile, and to give you the life you thought you might never have. I know you're scared, and I know the last time you did this, it didn't work out. But I promise you, I'll never hurt you like that. I love you, and I swear to you I'll do my very best to be everything you want and everything you need. You're the only one for me, Bella. And I would be honored if you would let me be the only one for you. Will you marry me?"
Tears were gushing down my face as he sat holding my hand in his, the ring between us. I stared into his eyes and I knew right then...I would never find anyone more perfect for me. Not ever. All the hurt we'd both been through...all the pain and sorrow, it had happened so that we could get to this point. So that we could know beyond a shadow of a doubt that what we had together was real and true and perfect. What we had would last.
I knew it would.
"Yes, I'll marry you," I whispered. I hoped and prayed that he could understand me through my tears and crackling voice. And he did.
His smile grew wider than I'd ever seen it, and he carefully took the ring from the box, and slid it onto my finger. It was breathtaking.
"It fits perfectly," I softly said, a smile on my face.
"I knew it would. I snuck it onto your finger when you were sleeping one night. I didn't want any surprises today."
I gazed at him, knowing my eyes were probably filled with wonder and awe. "You planned this whole thing?"
He nodded. "I wanted you to find the ring. I wanted you to think about it, to be sure this is what you want. I didn't want to catch you off guard and have you say something you didn't mean. I want you forever, Bella, and I meant what I said when I told you I'd wait. I just wanted you to think about it before I asked. I hope you're not upset."
"No," I shook my head as I leapt into his arms. "It was exactly what I needed."
He knew me better than anyone, and his little tricks all day had proven that to me.
We both got sidetracked along the way. We both had experience with pain and loss and hurt. We both knew what we wanted. We both tried and dedicated ourselves to that dream.
He was it for me. I knew that. And as he gently lowered me onto the bed, his body lying on top of mine as he kissed me and touched me, I knew what we had was right.
It was forever.
He was exactly who I'd always dreamed of—exactly who was meant for me.
Even when I didn't realize it.
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A/N: I kinda love that he drove her crazy all day. :D He knew what he was doing. :D I love that Edward knows Bella enough to know that he couldn't just surprise her with a proposal. She needed time to get used to it and be sure it's what she wanted. I love that he did that for her. :)
