Destinations
"What exactly are you looking for, then?"
"I don't know, Emmett. Someplace romantic."
"Niagara Falls?"
"Eh, that's not very special."
"Edward, Niagara Falls is, like, the honeymoon destination!"
"I guess that's my point. I want to take her someplace exotic."
"Cabo San Lucas? Or what about Cancun?"
"Um, hello? Vampire wars? Armies of newborns? Is any of this ringing a bell?"
He snorted. "You worry too much. Humans vacation there all the time."
"Do you have any idea how many times since I've met her that her life has been threatened? I'm not going to take her someplace that would add to her danger."
He held his breath, puffed out his cheeks, and rolled his eyes before suggesting, "Paris?"
"Mmm... Humans might enjoy the fine dining in Paris, but the hunting options are severely limited for a vegetarian vampire."
"Rose didn't have any complaints when I took her there for one of ours."
"Rose mightn't have, but I clearly recall listening to you gripe about never taking her there again for a good two months after you got back."
"That had nothing to do with the hunting; that was 'cause of all the shopping." ...we seriously have to visit every single clothing store in the entire city?
Smirking smugly, I was quite grateful that Bella didn't share either of my sisters' obsession with fashion. "Still, Bella isn't interested in such things, and I think saving a trip to France would be better for when she speaks French. I'll take her to Paris someday, but not this time."
"Okaaay... What about the Himalayas? There's lots of different types of big cats in the mountains. And I'll bet Bella would love a tour of the castles." She's into antique things, right, old man?
Ignoring his taunt, I shook my head. "You weren't there for Bella's first encounter with a European castle, but I think it's safe to say I will not be taking her to one for our honeymoon. Besides, all of the Himalayan cats are endangered, and Bella doesn't like the cold."
"Australia? You want warm, it doesn't get much hotter... unless you'd like to take her on an African safari? And you can't tell me you don't wanna go hunting those cats again!"
"Do you not remember how bright it was the last time we were there? I wouldn't be able to go anywhere with her."
"Yeah, but the hunting!"
"You expect her just to tag along while I run around catching cheetahs or kangaroos? I could have sworn I just mentioned that I didn't want to put her in yet more danger."
Emmett was sprawled across the couch, tossing a baseball into the air and catching it, while I sat on the floor of our living room, flipping through an atlas as I tried to pick a place to take Bella on our honeymoon. Hearing his stray thought, I reached out to catch the ball just as he launched it toward my head.
I snickered and threw it back to him. "Nice try, Emmett."
"Cheater," he muttered, rolling onto his side to stare at me through narrowed eyes. "So let me get this straight. You wanna take Bella to some secret city of romance that's warm, but not sunny, where you can hunt, while keeping her safe from other hunters, including yourself, all without bringing up any bad memories. Is that about right?"
"If I knew an easy solution, I wouldn't be flipping through a world atlas, now, would I?"
"I think you're overthinking things." Again. "Rose was perfectly happy with you, Carlisle, and Esme leaving the house to us after our first wedding."
Smirking, I said, "Yes. And aside from the fact that we very nearly didn't have a house to come back home to, you were a newborn vampire at the time, and not exactly capable of world travel."
"Ah," he sighed and stretched his arms out before linking his fingers behind his head and leaning back deliberately slowly. "Yeah, that was a great month."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Emmett, please! Do you mind?!"
"What?" Feigning innocence, he looked at me with wide eyes.
"She's my sister," I said through gritted teeth. "You're being obnoxious. I thought you said you wanted to help me."
"I am helping. You just keep shooting all of my brilliant ideas down."
"Come up with one that's actually brilliant, and I won't!"
He snorted. "You want a brilliant idea? How 'bout you do us all a favor and just go ahead and get Bella's change out of the way. I dunno why you're bothering to wait; you know it's gonna happen. Besides, Esme's just itching to have another house to renovate."
"When we have a pack of werewolves waiting for just such an occurrence? Yes, that sounds like a brilliant plan, Emmett. Bravo. We have to move first."
"That's exactly my point, Eddie. Just change her right after the reception and stay here. They'll never know, and we'll go on a vacation instead! Destroy the house all you like, and when we get back, we'll all leave."
"No. Not yet. Not until I have to."
"Well, where does Bella want to go? Have you even asked her?"
"I have, actually. She said 'everywhere'." I laughed and rolled my eyes, remembering my early days with Bella and all of the questions I had thrown at her.
Esme came into the living room and stood behind the couch to watch us before leaning against the back with a smile.
Emmett's right.
"About what?"
"You're overthinking things."
Emmett's face broke into a wide grin. "That's what I told him!"
"I know. And you're right."
"See? I'm right." He breathed on his fingertips and pretended to polish them on his shirt with a smug expression on his face.
I let my breath out slowly in a long-suffering sigh.
"You're looking for someplace warm, romantic, and safe, yes?"
As she was deliberately not thinking of what she was about to suggest, I warily agreed, "Essentially..."
Esme glanced at Emmett and thought, Carlisle told me of your plans for your honeymoon.
Of course he had. They didn't keep secrets, and I hadn't expected them not to discuss our plans. "So?"
So there is another consideration that you need to take into account. Not just someplace where Bella will be safe, but where the humans would be safe from her should you accidentally end up changing her.
I ground my teeth together. I had been thinking of that; I just hadn't wanted to tell Emmett so. "Will you get to the point, Esme? Please?"
Emmett groaned, "Aw, come on! No fair cutting me out! I was right, after all."
"Shh," she scolded him. I can only think of one place that meets your needs, and how you haven't come up with it on your own, I don't know. But I suppose you do have a tendency to miss the obvious sometimes.
"Esme, really!" I glared at her.
Well, changing Bella into a vampire is an obvious solution to your problems. You're just too stubborn to admit it.
"I thought we were discussing my honeymoon?" I raised an eyebrow.
Her eyes were dancing with amusement at her ability to keep her idea a secret. We are. And the solution to your dilemma is the same one that worked for me. An island. Specifically, mine.
I gasped and felt a grin overtake my face. How had I missed that?
You're more than welcome to take Bella to Isle Esme, if you'd like.
In an instant, I was at her side so that I could plant a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks, Esme. It's the perfect solution."
"Huh? Wait, what's the solution? Edward! Hey, where're you gonna go?!" Emmett called after me as I laughed and zipped away to return the atlas I'd borrowed from Carlisle's office.
The island! Of course! I guessed that, in looking for someplace different, I had forgotten how exotic the place would seem to her. We had gone to Esme's island so many times over the decades that it felt like home, and not someplace unusual at all. But to Bella, it would seem magical, I was sure. It was certainly one of my favorite places in the world. And it was likely to become even more so after spending a few weeks there with my new wife.
I found Alice sitting at the computer, but instead of tapping away at one of her projects, or gliding her fingers along the touch screen designing clothes, she was facing the door as I opened it. Her lips were pursed and twisted to the side, her eyes were narrowed, and her arms and legs were crossed. I stopped in surprise at the ferocity of her glare.
"What?"
"Edward," she groaned. "You've just ruined a week's worth of planning!"
"In what way?"
"I'd thought you were going to Alaska! I had an entire wardrobe picked out and ordered for Bella. It should be here any day! And now, all of it is useless on a tropical island!" She threw her hands into the air in disgust. "Useless!"
I grinned at her, holding back a laugh. "You should know how easily the future changes, especially as I hadn't decided yet. Look at the bright side, now you get to pick out a whole new wardrobe."
"Hmm, there is that."
I gave in to my laugh as I replaced the atlas on its shelf before motioning for her to move. "Scoot. I need the computer."
Alice sprang from the chair so that I could purchase the tickets for our flight to Rio de Janeiro. Since I was buying plane tickets already, I thought it a good time to get ones for Renée and Phil. I bought a pair without specific dates that would let them fly from Jacksonville to Seattle and back whenever they chose. Grabbing the printed receipts, I handed the papers to Alice. "Send these with the invitation, will you?"
"Sure thing."
"Alright, you can have the computer back now. Thanks." I grinned at my favorite sister and ruffled her short, spiky hair.
"Edward!" she protested.
I laughed and left the room.
A glance at my watch told me that Bella would be getting off work soon. She had held down the ridiculous job at Newton's Outfitters from shortly after I'd left her the previous year all through that winter and spring. She had stubbornly refused to accept my money to pay for her tuition into college, insisting that she was capable of supporting herself. While I liked that she was self-sufficient, I wanted to share what I had with her. When she'd finally agreed to be my wife during her attempt to convince me to be intimate with her, she had told me that I could pay for her tuition and even buy her a new car.
Well aware that she would be unable to keep her job after she became a vampire, whether we moved or not, she had told the Newtons that she would not be able to work after graduation. They'd convinced her to stay for a few weeks into the summer to help with the start of their busy season, but today was her last day. Finally! I was tired of listening to Mike's thoughts. Even after I'd told him of our engagement, the persistent boy had continued to seek out her company.
My phone rang as I walked toward my bedroom, and I was surprised to see the number for Newton's on my caller id.
"Bella?"
"I need you to come get me," she growled.
Surprised by the sound of her voice, I hesitated, wondering why she would be mad. The last time she had sounded so angry when calling me, Carlisle had been forced to put a brace on her broken hand. A human couldn't be expected to punch a werewolf in the face without consequences of some kind, but Jacob should have known better than to kiss Bella.
Of course, if Newton had done something similar, he would be lucky if all I broke was his face.
"What happened?"
"You don't know?"
"Should I?"
"My truck broke down."
"Oh." I was almost disappointed. I'd have liked to have an excuse to break Mike's face. Ashamed of my moment of weakness, I recalled a similar wish for Jacob to be harmed, and the way I'd felt once he had been. Reminding myself that I was supposed to be a gentleman, not a savage, I pushed the thought away and focused on my conversation with Bella. "I'm sorry. Alice didn't tell me."
She sighed. "Just come get me, please?"
"I'll be right there," I assured her before I hung up and grinned. Her truck died! Racing to the garage, I grabbed a new set of keys that had hung by the door, waiting for just such an occasion.
Ignoring my silver Volvo, I walked over to one of two new additions in my family's garage. The one was in a far corner, hidden under a sheet, but the other, the one I was planning on driving, was gleaming under the bright lights in the very center of the large room. Sleek and black, the windows were tinted so dark that even I couldn't see the interior. It was aerodynamic, with the curves and lines of the car just screaming speed, and I had been itching to take it out ever since parking it in its current place of honor.
However, it wasn't just for the beauty of the vehicle that I had obtained it. Yes, the ride was smooth and the quality of the craftsmanship without equal. Yes, it was fast and the engine's growl sounded rather like my own: fierce, protective, and powerful. The car model's name was, quite appropriately, Guardian. It was a Mercedes, like my father's car, only this car was built to protect its occupants and was advertised as capable of withstanding a tank driving over it.
"Four thousand pounds of body armor, Edward! I bet even a vampire couldn't hurt Bella in this baby." Emmett had been chortling when he'd shown me videos of humans aiming missiles and flamethrowers at their demonstration car. It had survived everything they'd thrown at it without a scratch, dent, nick, or even a cracked window. That was why I had convinced the manufacturers to allow me to borrow the vehicle. It had taken quite a bit of financial wrangling before they'd agreed. The car wasn't even available in Europe yet.
Bella's safety was priceless to me, and no amount of money would be too much to keep her safe. Though she'd never had an accident, she had been the target of multiple vampire attacks, and the other idiots on the road couldn't be trusted. If this car could play any part in protecting her from future threats, then it was worth every penny. Not that I thought it likely for yet another vampire to threaten her, but my Bella drew every possible danger toward herself. It was far better to be safe than sorry.
Emmett had begged me to let him test his strength on the car, but, though I'd been tempted to let him, just to make sure, I hadn't wanted him to mess her new car up before she even had a chance to see it. I slid behind the wheel and paused to listen to the car's purr after I started the engine. Unable to stop my grin, I took off down our winding three-mile long driveway toward the main highway that led into town.
The rusted, red Chevy was parked on the side of the road about a mile away from the camping supply store from which Bella had called me. I stopped beside it and took a few breaths, smelling her scent along the road where she'd had to walk back to her job.
Grateful that she'd made it back unscathed, I sped to Newton's to pick her up. Even knowing that she had called me from the store and was surely safe, I couldn't help feeling relief when I saw her waiting beside the front door.
"What is that?" she asked as I climbed out.
A crooked grin spread across my face as I said, "Your new ride."
Glaring at me in silence, she ignored the keys when I held them out to her.
"You did say I could buy you a new car when the truck died."
"Well, yes, but..." She narrowed her eyes. "My truck just stopped working not even an hour ago. When, exactly, did you buy this one?"
"I didn't, exactly."
"Huh?"
"It's a loaner. This is just the before car." I tried hard to control my smug expression, but I knew my eyes were shining with delight.
"Before." Her voice was flat, not quite angry, but I didn't think she caught the connotations.
Pulling her into my arms, I said, "The after car is a surprise, but I did buy that one. Emmett and I brought them home last week. He and Rose helped me pick them out."
She stared at me with her mouth hanging open. "You bought me two cars? I did not agree to that! Edward! What were you thinking?"
Giving in to my laughter, I reminded her, "I only bought one, and you said I could do that. This one will be returned after the wedding, when you no longer need it."
She contemplated me without speaking while I tried to read her emotions. Her silent mind was so frustrating!
"You did agree," I insisted.
"It's just awfully convenient that, what? A week after you get me not one, but two new cars, my truck should just happen to die."
Finally realizing what her anger meant, I watched her for a moment before demanding, "You don't think that I had anything to do with it, do you?"
She raised an eyebrow. "It wouldn't be the first time you broke my truck."
I felt my face turn sad. "I didn't break your truck before, Bella. I merely removed a part so that it wouldn't work temporarily, and then I put it back together. And I had nothing to do with this. Your truck was old. It was bound to die a natural death sooner or later." I shrugged and gave her a half-smile, trying to look innocent.
"You promise you didn't break my truck?"
Brushing my fingers along her cheek, I nodded. "I swear on my love for you. I had nothing to do with it."
Her cheeks flushed with blood from her easy blush as the anger faded from her eyes, and she whispered, "Well, okay. I guess I believe you, then."
My grin returned. "I'll call a tow truck. In the meantime..." I tugged her over to the waiting car. "You might want to familiarize yourself with the controls."
Bella groaned, but allowed me to pull her to her new car.
"Where do you want them to take it?" I asked as I dialed.
"Um, my house?"
After giving the tow truck driver directions for where to meet us, I slid into the passenger seat beside Bella while she gaped at the dash. Finding the ignition and inserting the key, she jumped as the car roared to life.
Doing my best to refrain from laughing at her expression, I cautioned, "This isn't your truck, Bella."
"I know," she whimpered.
"You only need a little gas. Speaking of which." I removed a card from my wallet and held it out to her. "What's mine is yours, remember?"
Taking the card, she turned it over in her hands, examining it, and noting her name on the bottom. "What's this for?"
"Gas money. Or whatever else you might desire." I shrugged and gave in to my satisfied smile. "I've already taken the liberty of adding your name to my bank account. Our bank account."
She rolled her eyes and sighed, but tucked the card into her pocket before shifting the car into gear and stomping on the gas pedal. The car lurched forward and then screeched to a halt as she slammed on the breaks. I tried to keep my expression blank and stared out the windshield while she glared at me. After a few more false starts, she eased the car onto the road and headed for her broken down truck.
Charlie came home to find me under the hood of the old Chevy with a morose Bella watching from the porch steps. After climbing out of his police cruiser, he eyed the new car and let out a long, low whistle of appreciation.
"That's not your dad's Mercedes, is it, Edward?"
I peered at him from around the hood. His eyes were wide and his mouth hanging open as he stared at the beautiful new car. Unable to stop my laugh, I said, "No."
Bella dropped her head into her hands with a groan.
"You trade in your Volvo?"
Snickering again, I repeated, "No."
"Then who – ?" He looked up to see me watching him with a smirk, and I nodded toward his daughter. "Bella?"
I ducked back under the hood to release the latch that had kept it propped up, enjoying the finality in the loud thunk as it shut. Shaking my head, I feigned an expression of regret. "This old truck has seen its last mile, I'm afraid. I knew it had to happen soon, though I'd expected to surprise her with her new car after the wedding. But I can't expect her to walk everywhere until then, so..." I shrugged.
Charlie's mind was full of an image of himself behind the wheel, and I had to bite back my laugh. There were many ways that Bella resembled her father, but neither his love of sports, nor – apparently – his appreciation for a beautiful vehicle, was one of them.
...know their family has money, but... need to buy her love... already getting married...
"Anyway," I explained, trying to ease his suspicions, "I didn't buy it. If she finds something she likes better, we can trade it in later, though I doubt you can find a safer car."
"Oh, you got a lease?"
"Something like that, yes."
"You know, you need to be careful with those kinds of contracts. There's usually a hefty fee of some kind due by the end."
"Don't worry, Charlie," I said calmly. "The terms were very clear. And quite reasonable, considering everything the car has to offer."
"Hmph. Well, Bells." He cleared his throat and tore his eyes from the car to glare at his daughter. "You be careful driving this around the mountain curves, 'kay? We don't need another - " He broke off, the images of Jacob's broken body and of Bella wrapped in casts were clear in his mind.
Bella rolled her eyes. "I don't drive very fast, Dad, no matter what kind of car I'm in." She shot me a ferocious glare, and I knew that the last part of the sentence was aimed directly at me.
I smiled and tried not to look guilty. Bella might not enjoy driving fast, or riding with me when I did, but I loved the feeling of flying at dangerously - for a human - high speeds down the road. Not that any of the cars that we owned could match the speed at which I could run, but driving fast was a completely different feeling than running. I hoped that when she was a vampire, she would lose her aversion to speed.
Watching her grimace at the car, I was distracted by the image of the two of us running together. No longer clinging to my back, my beloved Bella would soon be racing beside me. I would be able to look at her while we ran, to see her beautiful face smiling at me with her hair flying behind her, to see her eyes, wild and red...
After Bella fell asleep that night, I decided I needed to talk to my sister. When I'd opened the hood to see what might have broken after the tow truck had dropped the old Chevy off, I'd been surprised at what I'd found. Not that I had really wanted to fix it, but I knew how happy it would have made Bella if I could have. There had been no evidence of tampering, and I could see nothing obvious to suggest that the truck had been killed, but there had been a definite whiff of Rosalie's distinctive spicy scent.
Finding my siblings engaged in a race of their own when I entered the living room, I couldn't help but to roll my eyes and laugh. Emmett was winning by a very narrow margin, his tongue just sticking out of the side of his mouth while he maneuvered his car toward nearly every power-up.
I sank onto the recliner to watch their game. With the threat of the army gone and Victoria dead, there was no longer a need for my family's constant vigilance, and they were enjoying a much needed evening indulging in an activity uniquely even between all four of them.
Jasper's military training helped him strategize the best route around the many layered race track. Alice's ability to see the future was severely hampered by the fact that the game's parameters were random, the course, the obstacles, and the bonuses changing at odd intervals, causing the decisions of our siblings to change at every turn. She was playing on skill alone, and was only seconds behind her mate.
Rosalie kept trying to nudge her car around Jasper's while Emmett used his power-ups to throw grenades at his car, or to freeze it in place, or send him skidding off to the side with a deluge of glass marbles released from his trunk, or any of the hundred other options that the game offered. A few minutes after I sat down, Emmett's car shot across the finish line, followed closely by Rosalie and Alice's, with Jasper limping along in last place.
"Yes!" Emmett shouted, standing from the couch. "That gets me a new car." He clicked through the victory lap, eager to see what his win had given him.
Rose smirked at Jasper, who was growling playfully at our brother. "Can't win them all, Jazz," she taunted.
"You're one to talk, Mrs. Second Place."
She shrugged, unruffled. "I beat you. That's what matters."
He grabbed Alice's hand and stood from the couch. "C'mon, hun. The only thing worse than a sore loser is a sore winner."
"Aw, come on!" Emmett protested. "I want to try out my new car!"
Alice tossed her controller to me. "Edward can take our place."
Rose snorted. "He hasn't raced in ages. We'll beat him easily."
"Maybe we should change the difficulty, then, eh Rose? Drop it back to beginner level?"
"Hah! You'd better not," I said as logged on to my saved game. "While you've been in here playing games, I've been driving real cars. The Guardian is brilliant."
"Oh, you finally gave Bella her new car, then?" Emmett asked, as his car shot off from the starting line ahead of both mine and Rose's. Rosalie was concentrating firmly on the game, her mind not giving anything away.
"Uh-huh."
"'Bout time! If you'd waited any longer, I was gonna take it for a spin myself."
I delayed saying anything more while we raced. Emmett won the first, and Rose got in a lucky shot at the end of the second race, sending his car down a ravine just before she crossed the finish line, followed closely by me. Emmett won again on the third and the fourth before his ribbing gave me a way to bring up the real reason I'd returned home that night.
"You can't tell me that watching someone sleep is worth losing over and over. You're seriously outta practice, little bro."
"Hmm. Well, maybe I'll just have Rose tamper with your controller then. Leave you stranded on the track a mile in."
He snorted. "She'd be more likely to upgrade mine or break yours, instead."
"You're right, I'm sure." I stared at her evenly, but Rose studiously ignored me, examining her nails while Emmett picked out the next track he wanted to race. I crossed my arms and waited.
"Hey, aren't you two even playing?" he complained when he saw that neither of us were holding our controllers anymore.
We didn't answer him as I stared at her and she ignored me.
"What?" he asked, looking back and forth between us.
"How did you do it, Rose?" I demanded, trying hard to keep my tone polite.
"Do what? What happened?" Emmett examined the controller in his hands, afraid that she had actually tampered with the controllers.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she denied, meeting my eyes.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice your scent under the hood?"
"You messed with the Guardian?!" Emmett exclaimed, his mouth opening in shock.
"Bella's truck broke down! She was stranded on the side of the road and had to walk back to town!"
Rose rolled her eyes. Oh no, the poor little human had to use her legs...
"That's not what I mean, Rose," I snapped. "She could have gotten hit by a car, or attacked by an animal, or what if another vampire had come along and - "
Rose snorted. "With the constant watch Alice keeps on her? She was perfectly safe."
"Deny that you killed her truck."
She tossed her hair over her shoulders. "You should be thanking me, you know."
"Thanking you?!"
"Yes. The whole reason you got her the Guardian was to keep her safe while she drove. The Chevy was hardly capable of doing that. Despite the fact that it was nearly as old as you it didn't look like it was going to die in time for her to use the Guardian at all. I just rigged it so that it would stop going so that you could finally give the car to her." She shrugged.
I watched her for a minute, trying to figure out her real motives.
Rosalie sighed and stood. "You really are an idiot. But despite that, you're my brother, and the last thing any of us want is a repeat of what happened in April." ...keeping Bella safe keeps you safe. Why do you think we let you sit out of the fight? She shot me a glare and turned to stalk out of the room.
"Rose," I stopped her.
She looked at me warily and crossed her arms.
"Thanks."
She sniffed and left the room. My family really was the best. Rosalie may have been difficult at the best of times, but I knew that she loved me as I did her, even if the way that she showed it was a little unconventional.
Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was still very early and decided to spend a little time with my brother before slipping back into Bella's embrace. With every intention of winning this time, I picked up the controller and gestured toward him. "Care for a rematch?"
"You're on!"
Author's Note
I just wanted to say a quick thanks to nickaroos for her insights into Rosalie's character that helped me in this chapter and throughout the story.
