Now

"What the hell, Alice?" Bella demanded as soon as her cousin entered their home. Alice was expecting this. She had a special gift, too. She could see things before they happened. She'd already known that Bella would be furious over the fact that she had lied about the state of the garden and had omitted who their new contractor was.

"Hello, Isabella, my day was fine. How was yours?" Alice rolled her eyes, which irritated Bella. She wanted to take Alice by surprise so she would actually tell her the truth. Bella crossed her arms.

"Hello, Alice," she said through clenched teeth. "How was your day?"

She loved her cousin - she did. Alice was Bella's best friend. However, she had a tendency to make decisions without consulting Bella - typically decisions that directly impacted her. It normally ended up being for the best, but that didn't make it less annoying. Because Alice shared only the most necessary information with Bella, her decision-making tended to blindside Bella. In this case, it completely floored her.

"My day was great!" Alice brightened. "I have almost everything checked off my list for the wedding. I can't believe it's next month! The pictures are going to be amazing."

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Are you intending on using our front lawn or porch for any of these pictures?" They'd already had this argument a few weeks back when Bella suggested they hold off until after the wedding to begin deconstructing the porch.

"Oh no," Alice chewed on her fingernail - a habit that Bella found off putting. She didn't actually bite her nails, though - just chewed on them. This happened when she wasn't...in the moment. "That won't be ready."

"Right, okay," Bella huffed, waiting for her cousin to return to the present. She was used to this type of behavior from Alice. They were very close - practically sisters. Alice was really the only family Bella had left. It was why she knew she could rely on Alice's judgment. When the dazed look left her eyes, Bella asked the question that had been bothering her, "why didn't you tell me it was Edward Cullen?"

Alice smiled sheepishly. "I had a feeling it would be better to not tell you." She looked remorseful when Bella's lip quivered. She then walked over and embraced her. "I'm sorry. I know your history with him is complicated, but I promise you that this is for the best."

Bella scoffed at Alice's use of the word complicated. It was so much more than complicated. He had been the focal point of Bella's teenage experience - not that he was aware of all of the details of that experience. However, he'd clearly remembered their chemistry.

"This isn't good," Bella groaned, leaning into her cousin's arms. "He has already asked me out."

Alice gasped in delight and pulled back slightly, looking Bella in the eyes. One wouldn't know that the two were related unless they saw them next to one another. Alice had jet black short hair and bright eyes that made her look as though she belonged on a movie set. People still avoided her, though. Bella, on the other hand, had long chestnut waves with dark eyes. She was less ethereal than Alice, which made her the more approachable one. However, in their family, being more approachable didn't mean that people went out of their way to approach Bella unless it was absolutely necessary. Fortunately, for their business, it was, more often than not, necessary.

"Maybe it's fate. I saw that this was what was supposed to happen - that Edward was supposed to be our contractor."

Bella shook her head. "It's never fate, Alice. You know that."

Alice disagreed, but she didn't say that. "Well, I invited him to my wedding."

"You what?" Bella pulled away from Alice. This was bad. He was only supposed to do the porch. Now, Alice had invited him to her wedding? "What were you thinking? You barely know him!"

Alice giggled. "I know, but he's so sweet and he's new to town again, and I actually don't know this for sure, but I think he may have been charmed as a child…"

Alice recalled her conversation with him. He was kind and direct. He had mentioned he was glad to be back in town but that it felt strange to him. She'd liked his vibe, and there were no inner sounding alarms, so she'd invited him to her wedding.

"So...is Edward Cullen going to be at your wedding?" Bella's day had turned to chaos when she returned from work. She needed to understand all of the details about the near future so she knew how to avoid him. She couldn't imagine seeing him dressed in a suit, or worse, how he would respond to her in her dress.

"Yes, he will be." Alice was certain of that. She was certain of particular events but it hadn't all come together in her mind yet. There was one particular vision that she was clear in her mind, but she couldn't tell when it would occur. She only knew that it would.

"I think that I'm going to need to avoid him." Bella was staring off into the distance now. She knew how she'd been in the past. Distance was exactly the right solution.

"If you think that's for the best," Alice responded. "Again, though, it could be fate. Why don't you let the chips fall where they may?"

Let the chips fall where they may?

Bella could never do that. She had to remain in control at all times. It was dangerous if she slipped.

"I will try."

Alice gripped Bella's elbows. "Everything will be okay."

Bella nodded then changed the subject as they had always done. "What else do you have left on your list? Anything I can help with?"

Alice grinned. "Actually, now that you mentioned it. Come with me to taste cakes. Jasper hates cake so he doesn't care, but I know how much you love cake and how amazing your palate is."

That was true. Bella loved sweets. She was easily won over by cupcakes and chocolate. She never kept them in her home though because she knew she would have no self-control. She always said yes when it was offered to her, though.

"Yes," she agreed, though she didn't sound pleased. She was still angry and hurt by her cousin's decision. "That sounds amazing. When?"

"This Saturday - full moon. I know you're stressing about it...and about this." Alice was very in tune with Bella's emotions. "We'll go and gorge ourselves on dessert."

Bella's face lit up slightly. Alice and Bella had been through a lot together, and there was a strong sense of trust between the two of them. Despite this apparent betrayal, Bella still loved and trusted her cousin because Alice had done so much to prove her worthiness of trust countless times before.

"Okay, but please don't use the word gorge again."

Alice grinned, already knowing she was on her way to being forgiven.

I am loving your guesses on where this story is headed.

Thank you again for being amazing readers :)

Also - not sure if you've heard of the idea of a trust bank, but I'd recommend listening to some Brene Brown podcasts. Loooove Brene Brown :)

Another post coming this weekend.

-Bravery