:: DEDICATION ::
Okay. I know I don't usually do dedications, but I just feel that several people deserve a special mention. This is not just because of the reviews they left but for other reasons too. Thank you so much to everyone that reads and reviews – if I could, I'd dedicate a chapter to everyone who reviews, that's how much these reviews mean to me – but these people aren't just getting dedications for the reviews they leave so please don't feel left out. Basically, I'll be doing this for the next few chapters, but not all of them. There are about five people I want to dedicate chapters to, so this will happen for about the next few chapters. However, the content of the chapter has nothing to do with who it is dedicated to so consider it a story dedication really, and a huge thank you.
THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO… 'Corrdelia', my cheering squad of one. I really hope your son is better now. Much love.
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Previously…
"Do I need a reason to take my beautiful girlfriend out to dinner?" His words melted my heart and reduced my legs to jelly.
"Then I might have to accept that offer, Mr Cullen," I said, smiling.
"Good." He kissed my cheek and then pushed me to my feet. "Come on then. Packing."
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A Million More Mistakes- Chapter 29
When I'm with anybody else, it's so hard to be myself.
And only you can tell…
That I'm only up when you're not down.
Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground,
It's like no matter what I do…
Well, you drive me crazy half the time,
The other half I'm only trying to let you know that what I feel is true.
And I'm only me, who I want to be,
Well, I'm only me, when I'm with you.
-I'm Only Me When I'm With You, Taylor Swift
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Edward POV
I clocked out at midday and headed straight for Alice's. She came to the door almost instantly, to my surprise.
"Hi Edward!" she sang when she had opened the door.
"Hey Alice."
"What did you want?" she asked.
"Can I come in?"
"Of course you can, my dear brother!" she gushed.
I quirked an eyebrow at her.
"What? I'm not allowed to be happy now?" She scowled as she stood aside.
I shrugged and walked past her and into her living room.
"So…?" she prompted, sitting down on her sofa.
I sat next to her and said, "So… Alice, you're good at shopping, aren't you?"
"Shopping?" Her eyes widened as though she were a small child and I had just suggested that there should be two Christmases in a year. "Are you taking me shopping?"
"Sort of," I admitted. "Look, Alice," I sighed, and shifted my position on the sofa, "I love Bella and… well, I want to marry her."
"You're going to propose?!" she shrieked.
"Yes," I replied.
"When?!"
"Well… I was thinking tonight… if you wouldn't mind babysitting?"
"Of course I will!" Alice cried, hugging me. "But what does this have to do with shopping?"
"Well, I don't want to give Bella Jessica's ring so…"
"Wait," Alice stopped me. "Are you saying… that you have decided to propose to Bella this evening and you don't have a ring yet?!"
"Yes," I answered, rolling my eyes.
"Don't you roll your eyes at me, mister. It should be me rolling my eyes at you. You are so damn lucky that you have me for a sister." She stood up and held her palm up at me. "Stay," she warned before heading for the stairs.
I crossed my legs and sighed, waiting for Alice to come back. Several minutes later, the ball of energy I called a sister came back into the living room and handed me a little blue box.
"What's this?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Open it and see." She stuck out her tongue and resumed her position next to me.
I pinched the sides of the box and opened it. "Wow," I breathed. Sat inside the box on a pad on deep blue velvet was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. The gold band glinted in the light and there were three huge diamonds and two tiny sapphires set into it.
"Where did you get this?" I wondered quietly.
"It was our great-great-great grandmother's wedding ring," Alice told me. "It's been passed down the family for centuries, on Esme's side. Of course, she never had a brother and neither did her Mum so she kept hold of it and then gave it to me when you proposed to Jess."
"Why didn't she give it to me to give to Jess?"
Alice rolled her eyes. "Edward, you never really told Mum that you were going to propose until afterwards. Besides, she probably wouldn't have given it to Jessica anyway."
"I guess not." I was still staring at the ring in awe.
"Do you like it?" Alice asked.
"Like it? Alice, it's perfect. Thank you. You are the best sister a guy could wish for."
Alice beamed and hugged me. "You're not a bad brother either," she said.
"Wow, what a glowing compliment," I said sarcastically and she thumped me playfully.
"So do you want me to get Natty from school again today?"
"If you would. Bella and I have to finish off the packing. She thinks there's a lot to do but, to be honest, I think we're nearly there."
"That's good," Alice said. "Okay. I'll get Natty and then I'll just stay for the evening babysitting job?"
"If that's okay. I'll pay you Alice," I promised.
"Oh no," she refused. "You don't have to pay me to look after my niece."
"I'll find a way," I swore.
"Whatever," she said childishly and then we stood up.
"I should be heading off now to do the packing and stuff. Thanks again, Alice. See you later."
"See you." Alice showed me to the door and I stuck the little box into my pocket, nerves already beginning to gather in the pit of my stomach; I had told Alice I was going to propose so that meant no backing out now…
Bella POV
Surprisingly, Edward and I managed to get quite a lot done. We even got to the stage of folding down the seats in his Volvo and driving as much stuff as we could down the road and unpacking the boxes into the right rooms. We agreed that we were pretty much on schedule to move in tomorrow.
I had noticed that Natty's behaviour over the last week had been… different. She seemed insecure about something and I was worried that she didn't want the new baby. When I had spoken to Edward about it the night before, he had comforted me by telling me that any child would react in this way; on the same day, she had got a father and found out that she'd soon have to share him. But, whenever I tried to talk to Natty, even about her day at school, she clamped up. She barely even spoke to me anymore and I felt that the incredibly close relationship we had shared was being torn apart. The only things she'd talk about were Carmen and Tess.
Alice dropped Natty back at four and insisted upon staying.
"Bella, there's no point in going home. By the time I get there, I'd just have to turn round and come back."
"Alice, it's really okay. Edward and I don't need to go out. We can get take-out and you can stay home with Jasper or something. Honestly, I don't want to bother you guys…"
"Nonsense, Bella!" Alice exclaimed. "Jasper knows I'm here and is coming to join me when he's finished work. You two need a break."
I raised an eyebrow at her insistent behaviour and she changed the subject.
"I have something for you," Alice told me, grabbing my arm and leading me to my own bedroom. There was a dress lain on my bed and I turned to glare at Alice.
"I hope you didn't spend any money on me," I said threateningly.
"Don't panic, it used to be mine," Alice sighed. "Though, honestly, Bella, I don't understand your aversion to presents. Why would it matter that I spent a bit of money on you for a new dress?"
"It just would, okay?" I sighed. "But why do I need a new dress anyway, Alice? We're just going out for dinner, no more, no less."
"Well… it's nice to have a change and… well, you just have to have a new dress. You know me." Alice grinned at me.
I rolled my eyes. "Unfortunately."
"Oi!" Alice thumped me and picked up the dress. It was made of satin and was a gorgeous deep red. The skirt of it would come down to my knees and it had a halter-neck strap. I had to admit, it was a stunning dress.
Then, Alice grabbed a bag from the floor and brought out a shoe box. I glared at her.
"What?"
"You can't kid me that these are second hand," I said.
"Well… they're not," she admitted. "But I know you don't have any shoes that go with the dress so I figured I would…"
"Buy some?"
"Yes." Alice beamed and lifted the lid of the shoebox to reveal what were possibly the most glamorous shoes I had seen in my whole life… and the scariest. They were shiny and red with a soft, curved toe, a bit like Dorothy's shoes in the 'Wizard Of Oz', but with one major difference: the killer heels.
"Alice, you do realise that, if I leave the house in those shoes, I will never – repeat, never – come back?" I said.
"Bella," Alice scoffed. "Do you think so little of Edward? Of course he's not going to let you die." She rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Try as he might to save me, my balance is impossibly life-threatening. You know that, Ali."
"Bella, you'll be fine," Alice sighed. "Besides, it's not like you to let me spend money on something and you to reject it."
"Alice, these shoes will endanger my life. Literally!" I pointed out.
"Believe what you will, but you are going to wear them and I'm pretty sure you'll return."
"Pretty sure?"
"Okay, one hundred per cent positive," Alice said. "It would benefit you a lot by wearing them, though. You have no idea what a simple pair of stilettos do to your legs and, therefore, to Edward."
"You're right. I don't have an idea what it does and I'm not sure I want to know. I'm okay with pumps."
Alice literally snarled. "You. Are. Not. Leaving. In. Pumps," she growled.
We argued a bit more, but, as usual, Alice won. I didn't understand why she was so determined to get me into heels that would end my life. I went back into the living room, to find Natty sat on the sofa staring at the ceiling, even though the TV was on.
"Natty?" I asked softly, going over and taking a seat next to her. "Natty, are you okay?"
"Yes," she replied, without hesitation.
"Are you sure?" I pressed, slipping my arm round her and pulling her on to my lap.
"Yes, Mummy!" she giggled. "I'm fine."
"How was school today?" I asked. "You haven't told me about it yet."
"It was okay. I played on the climbing frame with Carmen," she told me, playing with a strand of her hair. I frowned; she only ever played with her hair when she was nervous. Why was she nervous?
"I have to check your bag for letters," I remembered and Natty went to get her bag. I opened it up and pulled out a bunch of letters as Natty sat back on the sofa next to me and actually watched the TV.
I flipped through the letters, past one advertising a school fair and another for an after school club, but the third letter made me stop in my tracks. It was dated the previous Wednesday and it was an injury form.
"Natalie fell off of the climbing frame today. She went to first aid, but she was very brave and only needed a little plaster stuck on her knee," it read.
"Natty, why didn't you tell me about this?" I wondered, showing her the form.
"You were busy and it doesn't matter anyway," she replied.
"Natty, I'm never too busy to talk to you," I said, the words coming out harsher than I meant them. "You should always tell me or Daddy things like this, okay?"
"Yes," Natty answered, looking back to the TV.
I pursed my lips sadly. What was happening to my daughter? Why hadn't she told me that she was hurt?
"Well, that's the last of the boxes. Now it's just the bigger things like the TV and the computer, but we're leaving them here until tomorrow," Edward said, coming in.
"Great." I smiled at him, deciding that we could talk about Natty at dinner tonight, when she was out of earshot.
"What time are you guys leaving?" Alice asked, coming in as well.
I saw Edward share a 'look' with Alice before replying. "About seven?"
"Seven?!" Alice shrieked. "Bella, you have to come and get ready now!"
"Fine," I sighed, standing up. I looked at Natty, but she didn't move. I frowned, remembering how she used to love sitting in on Rose's make-over sessions. As I let Alice drag me away into my bedroom, I felt like I wanted to cry.
***
"Okay… you're done." Alice finally put an end to my torture with those words.
"Can I look now?" I sighed.
"Yes," Alice replied, packing my make-up away back into the moving box it had come out of.
I gasped as I saw my reflection. I looked stunning. The beautiful dress hugged me in all of the right places and the killer shoes magically made my legs long. My immaculately applied make-up was perfect and I noticed that Alice had used little blush. I wanted to applaud her; I never needed it.
"You like?" Alice questioned.
I grinned at her. "I love." I realised that the last time she had ever done my make-up for me was on that night almost six years ago. She hadn't changed a bit.
"Thank you, Alice," I said. "But, I have to ask, why do I need to be all dolled up to go out for dinner?"
"You'll see," Alice answered.
"You know I hate surprises," I moaned.
"You'll like this one," Alice promised. I couldn't help but doubt her.
"Bella?" Edward called, knocking on the door. "Has my sister finished wreaking havoc yet?"
"Yes," I called back, and Edward opened the door. I watched his reaction in the mirror; his mouth fell open slightly and his eyes widened.
"Do I look okay?" I teased turning round to look at him properly.
"Okay? You look incredible. Thank you Alice." Edward didn't take his eyes off of me.
Alice stuck her tongue out at me. "Told you so."
I took the opportunity to look Edward up and down. He wore a simple tan sweater that clung to his chest and emphasised his muscles and jeans. I smiled; Edward looked sexy in jeans. Actually, Edward could probably wear a dustbin liner and still look sexy.
"Shall we?" Edward grinned and held an arm out to me.
"Sure." I took his arm and we headed for the door.
Edward POV
Bella looked… stunning. There was no other word for it. I was beyond proud to have her on my arm as we walked through the entrance to La Bella Italia.
I steered Bella to a table in the corner, where we could have some privacy and we sat down. I fidgeted slightly in my chair, my stomach full of butterflies. Maybe dinner was a bad idea; I couldn't eat in this state. Perhaps a moonlit stroll along the beach would have been better… oh well, it was too late to start having regrets.
"Excuse me, Sir?" a member of staff came over.
"Yes?"
"This restaurant is reserved for a private party from half past seven, which is in ten minutes, so I'm afraid you'll have to leave."
"Oh." I frowned; well, that was just perfect.
"It's okay," Bella said. "We'll go somewhere else."
"Uh… yeah," I agreed.
"Sorry for the inconvenience," the waiter apologised as we stood up and headed for the door again.
"Well… that went brilliantly," I murmured, when we were outside.
Bella laughed and took my hand. "It's fine. We'll go somewhere else. I'm not that hungry anyway."
"You're not hungry?" I checked.
"Not starving."
"Would you like to… go for a walk instead?" I suggested.
"Where?"
"Through the public gardens. We can sit under the stars like we did in Forks."
Bella smiled. "That would be lovely."
We walked in a comfortable silence through the gardens for a while, whilst I went over what I was going to say in my head. Sheesh, and I had thought that proposing to Jess had been difficult; I hadn't feared rejection then.
"Edward…" Bella started, frowning. "I'm worried about Natty."
"Why are you worried about her?"
"She just seems… different. I found a letter in her bag today telling me that she had fallen off of the climbing frame at school and she never told us. She seems really distant…"
"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," I said.
"But she's never been like this before…" Bella objected, her frown becoming more and more pronounced. "It's like she's keeping something from us. And she said that I was too busy for her to tell me anything. Why would she say that? She knows I will always listen to her. She knows that she will always come first."
"She's probably just a little apprehensive about the baby," I soothed. "It's probably nothing, Bella. If something really important had happened at school, she'd tell us."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Bella sighed as we came to a large moonlit part of the gardens. I helped her over the little railing and we went and sat on the bank by the river. "But I can't help…"
"Worrying," I finished for her. "I know. Let's forget about Natty for now. I wanted this night to be just for the two of us."
She looked at me doubtfully, and we were both quiet for a long moment. Eventually, Bella sighed again. "Why are we here, Edward? I mean, we're putting Alice out and Natty probably needs us and there's loads of things we should be doing…"
I clamped my hand over her mouth. "Just the two of us," I begged. "Please?"
She smiled a little. "Fine."
I leant over and picked a daisy out of the grass. Then I handed it to her. "Your favourite flower," I murmured.
She smiled. "You remembered."
"Of course I did." I rolled my eyes. "I remember everything you say."
"Really?"
"Well… as much of it as is humanly possible," I admitted. Suddenly a firework went off overhead.
"This reminds me of the time we went out in Forks," Bella said contentedly.
"Yes, it is very similar," I agreed, my mind on the little box in my pocket. How to do it… what to say…
"Edward, what is the matter?" Bella asked warily.
"Nothing," I replied.
"Something's up. You've been… edgy all evening," she remarked.
I took a deep breath and stood up. "Come with me."
I led her through the gardens, with my hands over her eyes, until I came to where I had planned to take her after dinner. It was a little meadow that I had found when we had first moved here. I had only been here the once, but I loved it.
"Edward…" Bella gasped when I took my hands away from her face. "This is beautiful," she said. And it really was.
"It's not as beautiful as you are," I whispered truthfully.
Her brow furrowed. "Edward, what…?"
But I didn't let her finish. "Isabella Swan, I love you more than words can say. The way I feel for you cannot be erased or lessened; it can only get bigger and better. When I'm not with you, time stands still and when you're by my side, I never want to let you go. You are always on my mind and I know that my love for you is unconditional and eternal. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I want to be there for you when things are both good and bad, and I want to help you with everything you go through. I want to love you every single day of forever, every single minute, every single second. You are the last thing I think of before I sleep, the first thing I think of when I wake. Bella, you are my life. Without you, my life would be pointless." I drew in a deep breath. "And that is why, Bella, I have to ask you this one question." I heard her sharp intake of breath as I got down on one knee and drew the little box out of my pocket. I lifted the lid and then I stared into her sparkling eyes and said, "Isabella Swan, would you do me the greatest honour… of becoming my wife?"
Bella POV
I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I couldn't even breathe. But somehow, somehow, I managed to squeak out one word: yes.
The dazzling smile that lit up Edward's face was astonishing. He fumbled with the ring on the velvet cushion of midnight blue, but I couldn't wait any longer. I threw myself at him and kissed him with as much passion as I could. I knocked him to the ground, but he didn't seem to mind because he kissed me back just as eagerly. When I couldn't breathe, I pulled away, took a deep breath and then kissed him again.
So this was why he had insisted upon going out, having an evening to the two of us. He had planned this the whole time.
"Bella…" Edward murmured against my lips.
"What?"
"Can you stop kissing me so I can get this ring on your finger?"
"Stuff the stupid ring," I muttered, but I pulled back anyway, letting him take my hand. He gently slid the ring on my finger, claiming me as his own. Now that the initial shock had passed, I saw the ring properly.
"Edward!" I gasped.
"What?" He looked at me in alarm.
"Please, please, please tell me that you didn't spend a lot of money."
"Not a penny," he promised.
"Are you telling the truth? Because, if you're not, then you have to get me a piece of string for a wedding ring."
He laughed, exultant. "It was my great-great-great grandmother's wedding ring," he said solemnly. "And I can't think of anyone who deserves it more."
I flushed scarlet. "I love you. Eternally and unconditionally and irrevocably…" I sighed, mockingly.
"Not anywhere near as much as I love you," he objected.
Suddenly, another thought occurred to me and I bit my lip.
"What's wrong?" Edward murmured.
"I just… are you sure about this?" I asked in a quiet voice. "You only just split from Jess…"
"Bella, if I had had the guts, I would have proposed to you the night you came to Forks to tell me you were pregnant. No… I would have asked you before that, even."
"But… are you sure you're ready to be engaged again?"
"Bella, did you not just listen to a word I said? I love you. If you're not ready to get married, then I'll wait. I'll do anything for you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you so it doesn't matter that I've just come out of an engagement. I feel the same way now as I will in the future - nothing can change the way I feel about you – so I decided that now was as good a time as any."
"I guess so…" I sighed, yet another thought entering my mind.
"What now? Are you not ready? Because, if you're not, I'll wait, Bella, I promise…"
"No," I interrupted. "No, it's not that. I love you and I want to marry you but… well, I don't know what Charlie would think of all this…"
To my intense surprise, Edward laughed. "Don't worry," he said. "He's not going to shoot me. I already asked permission for your hand in marriage."
"You… what?" I gaped at him.
"I am a gentleman, Bella. I like to do things the right way."
"But… when?" I asked.
"When we visited him. See? I knew even then that you were the woman I wanted to spend my life with. I just had to wait for the right moment to come around…" He smiled at me.
"Wow." I smiled back. "Well… that's all my issues sorted. I guess I'll have to marry you now," I teased.
"Hell yeah, Mrs Cullen." He laughed.
I felt a smile play about my lips. "Isabella Cullen," I whispered, and then I beamed. "You know what? I like it."
"So do I," Edward agreed, leaning down to plant his lips on mine once again.
Finally my life seemed to be getting on track. I had a gorgeous fiancé, a wonderful daughter, a bunch of amazing friends and another baby on the way… yes, life was pretty much perfect. But perfection never lasts long. This thing called 'reality' kicks in and 'reality' was about to pay a very unwelcome visit. Little did I know, my dream life was about to become a living nightmare…
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Cue evil music! Dun-dun-daaah! As I promised, the next chapter is where the big-time drama kicks in. Seriously, enjoy the fluff while you can. And, this time, I personally think the drama is worse.
Soooo… what did you think of the proposal and the reaction? I tried so hard on Edward's big speech to make it… Edward-ish. Did I do okay? A lot of you guessed correctly what with the proposal and everything and I got a lot of comments saying that they had been waiting for this so I hope it lived up to your expectations :D
Also, did you like the Alice and Bella kind of friendship fluff in there?
AAAND... who here is proud of me? Why? I'll tell you why! :D a) this is the longest chappie to date. More than 4,000 words :D b) I know the last few chapters have been kind of… rubbishy, well, I think they weren't up to my usual standard and now, with this chapter, I feel like I've finally broken through and got it back up to the very best I can do. I might re-write the last few chapters because I seriously just don't like them! Ugh c) THREE DAILY UPDATES!!!!! Come on people, that is very good. Someone suggested that maybe I was losing readers because of the slow updates. Seriously?! Is that true? How many of you agree with that? I thought that an update every two days was pretty good… *sigh* But thank you so much to EVERYONE reading this for sticking with me.
Also, I know this may seem like I'm dragging this out, especially now that all of the drama related to Edward being Natty's Dad and Bella not telling him has been tied up. So, I'm thinking that maybe from here on in is like a very short sequel? In other words, the things that happen as of now aren't really related to what's already happened apart from the obvious but I just didn't really want to start a sequel. But consider this it, just part of the same story.
Oh yeah. And I forgot to mention that in the last chapter Carmen was the new character, even though she was only mentioned. She won't really be in the story big time but she will be a catalyst to the drama.
And that's it for this very long AN following a very long chapter XD
PLEASE REVIEW!!! (You are welcome to guess the drama if you want… and leave your opinions on the proposal?)
Thanks.
Steph
