A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

The wedding is finally here…

Edward:

Looking after these rings was a big responsibility, so I checked my jacket pocket for the two hundredth time that morning. Happy they were safe in my possession, I added my keycard to my trouser pocket and left the room with about twenty minutes to spare until my son's wedding ceremony.

As I checked that the door was locked, I saw Bella rounding the corner. She walked down the corridor towards me, and as our eyes locked, she froze.

"It's okay; we're allowed to see each other!" I joked. She slowed down and paused a few steps away from me, looking flustered and panicked.

"I know, I just wasn't expecting to see you."

"Is everything okay?" I asked as I approached her, desperate to touch her, to pull her close and kiss her. But I didn't know if Nessie was seconds behind her, about to round the corner just like Bella had.

"No. Vanessa doesn't have anything blue, and she's freaking out, and I said I'd sort it out, but I don't have anything either. Well, I did find a chewing gum wrapper, but I can't give that to my daughter on her wedding day! Why didn't I think about this… why wasn't I prepared…" She was pacing the hallway and gesturing wildly, clearly flustered.

"Bella…" I held her shoulders and locked eyes with her. "Calm down. Take a deep breath; we'll figure this out."

She relaxed her shoulders and took a few deep breaths, which seemed to calm her slightly.

"Christ, you look stunning," I mumbled under my breath. The off the shoulder dress she was wearing accentuated her décolletage and made her look dainty, while the heels she had on made her appear taller than usual.

She looked rather flustered as she brushed loose strands of hair out of her eyes.

"Edward, you don't seem to appreciate the severity of the wedding crisis we have here!"

I squeezed her shoulders as I chuckled at her overreaction. "What can I do to help?"

"Find something blue within the next few minutes." She was dead serious.

"Done. Anything else?"

Bella smiled at me, finally calming. She seemed to take in my appearance for the first time, and she wasn't too subtle about looking at my outfit, mainly my chest.

"Maybe…maybe don't look so damn handsome in that tux."

I sucked in a quick breath. "Hmmm, not sure what I can do about that one."

She chuckled. "You know, later…" she held the lapels of my suit jacket and pulled me closer.

"Hmmmmm," I answered.

"….later…I'm really going to enjoy taking this tux off you."

"Is that so?" I teased with raised eyebrows. "Shame, it's only a rental!"

She laughed, finally looking more relaxed.

"Stay here," I told her, kissing her forehead before I turned back to my room. Inside I found my wallet. I pulled out the photo I was looking for and returned to Bella. She smiled when she saw what I was handing her.

"See, he's in blue shorts, and the ocean is blue."

"Edward, it's perfect." She gazed at the picture of an eight-year-old Jacob at the beach, his face split wide in a grin, his hair whipping away in the wind.

"Nessie can tuck it in her bouquet," Bella said as she hugged the picture to her chest, which warmed my heart.

"Thank you." She sounded so sincere I couldn't help leaning forward to meet her lips with mine.

I pulled away after a few seconds, mindful that any of the many wedding guests could spot us, and neither of us needed to be explaining our situation to our kids, today of all days.

"I'll see you at the altar." I winked.

She smiled and nodded. "See you at the altar."

Neither of us moved, we merely looked at each other, and I was aware I was grinning like an idiot.

"Okay, I'm going to go now."

"Okay."

"Okay." Finally, I turned and headed for the stairs trying not to turn and look back at Bella.

Christ, I needed to get a grip.

ooooooOOOOOOOOOooooooo

"Are you sure you have the rings, Dad?" Jacob looked at me with wide questioning eyes, and I couldn't believe he was talking to me about wedding rings. My little boy was asking me if I had his wedding ring, wasn't he still in middle school?

I patted my suit jacket pocket. I knew they were in there, but the gesture seemed to reassure him.

"Yes, Jacob. I have both rings." I held his broad shoulders and bent my knees slightly, so he was looking directly at me.

"You've got this, Son, there's nothing to worry about. I've seen Bella this morning; everything is fine with Vanessa. She's about to walk down that aisle, and all that matters are the two of you and your vows to each other. The rest, the flowers, the music, the damn chair covers … none of that matters."

Jacob sighed and nodded. "Thanks, Dad." I patted him on the back as I stood up straighter and looked to the double doors through which Vanessa and Bella would walk.

The celebrant took her place, and within a few minutes, the music started, and all the guests stood and faced the aisle. My stomach lurched in anticipation, and it wasn't even my wedding. I rested a hand on Jacob's shoulder, and he stood taller, his eyes fixed on the double doors.

Slowly they opened wide, making me gulp as I heard Jacob gasp.

Vanessa looked stunning in a lacy white dress. It was shaped around her bust, and her fancy top knot hairdo accentuated her bare shoulders. I glanced at Jacob, who looked frozen, his eyes glued on his bride.

"Breathe, son," I whispered, prompting him to take in a large rush of air.

I looked back down the aisle, and this time, my eyes found Bella. I knew I should be focusing on Vanessa but seeing Bella at the end of the aisle walking towards me while the wedding music played, made my heart skip a beat, and my knees feel weak.

As she approached, I made eye contact with her and tried to suppress my smile. I tore my eyes away from Bella to see Jake take Nessie's hand and help her step up onto the stage area.

ooooooOOOOOOOoooooo

Bella:

I'd slept surprisingly well last night, but today it was game time. After room service delivered a breakfast of fresh fruit and warm pastries, the room started to fill with excited bridesmaids, as Nessie's makeup artist and hairstylist arrived right on time.

I was included in the beauty treatment and pampered as I've never been pampered before. My bone structure was contoured, and my cheeks highlighted before my hair was curled, backcombed, and twirled into a half-up, half-down affair, I would never be able to create myself.

Right now, I was thankful for the helping hands I'd had with my appearance because as I watched my daughter's wedding ceremony draw to a close, Edward's gaze was boring into me.

I tried not to look over at him, but when I felt his eyes on mine, I knew I was going to give in.

His eyes twinkled, and when he licked his lips ever so slowly, it made my knees weak. I never thought I'd find love at my age. I knew I wasn't particularly old, and love didn't care what age you were, or apparently what relation you were either, but I thought if I did find it with someone, it would be a relaxed, gentle relationship. We'd take afternoon walks together and do the Sunday crossword in quiet harmony. But with Edward, things weren't relaxed or gentle.

We were all-consuming. We're teeth clashing, clothes ripping, scream stifling, desperately touching, and that surprised and thrilled me. I'm not going to lie though, we had done a Sunday crossword or two, but when we didn't know the answers, Edward made up rude words to fit the spaces as his hand inched higher and higher up my thighs before we tried out the meaning of some of those rude words—right then and there on his dining room table.

See, not gentle or relaxed.

We were all tension and spark, and right now, looking at him across the room, it thrilled me and scared me in equal measure.

With the official ceremony complete, Jacob and Vanessa walked back down the aisle together, hand in hand, waving to friends and family. That left Edward and me next to follow them. He offered me his arm, and I threaded my hand through the crook of his elbow, looking up at his sparkling eyes. Any onlookers must have thought he was very pleased with his son's newly married status because he was absolutely beaming. His pearly white teeth were on full display as he nodded at me and led us down the aisle, closely followed by Kate and Tanya.

After a quick round of congratulations, Jacob and Vanessa were led away for photos. We were told to wait until we were called to join in, and seemingly out of nowhere, wait staff appeared with flutes of champagne and teeny tiny appetizers.

Edward and I made conversation with various family and friends as they filtered out of the ceremony room, but Edward never went far. He always managed to catch my eye from across the room and smile at me in a way that made me wish we were alone. Even though I didn't want to wish away my daughter's wedding day, I was counting the hours until Vanessa and Jake were occupied in the honeymoon suite, and Edward and I could be alone in his room. Or mine, I wasn't picky. They both had a bed, and I figured that's all either of us would need.

Before long, close family were called into the garden to pose with the bride and groom for photos. Once the more formal photos had been taken, the photographer instructed us to have some fun while they tried to catch some natural smiles. It didn't take long for Edward to stand next to me, his hand finding my waist, then slipping lower to my ass, always careful to hide his hand from the camera, it certainly got a natural smile from me!

The reception was my favorite part of the day, so far, at least. Everyone was more relaxed now that the formalities of the ceremony were over. And, true to their word, Jacob and Vanessa had paired Edward and me together at the main table, where we were enjoying an array of tasty dishes. Edward's hand occasionally rested on my thigh, under the table and out of sight. My shoulder brushed his, and he grinned widely at me, wearing that damn tux and looking so handsome; the butterflies in my tummy couldn't settle long enough for me to enjoy eating my food.

The rest of the evening consisted of the usual funny and touching speeches, cutting of the cake and throwing of the bouquet. There were also the unusual glances between the father of the groom and me—the looks the mother of the groom was giving me that I couldn't quite work out, and the catching of the bouquet…by me. Nessie and the DJ had coaxed me onto the floor. Even uncoupled, it's a bit unusual to have the mother of the bride in the catching group, but when the bouquet landed in my hands, Nessie squealed, Edward winked at me, and Emmett couldn't stop laughing.

It was a joyous occasion, as we all celebrated the marriage of Vanessa and Jacob!

A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time.

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