When we arrived home from our "night out", we walked up the stairs leading to the front door of the glass house. Before my hand touched the handle of the door, it flew open.

"Ah, good. You're home!" Alice exclaimed. "How was it?"

I smiled. "It was…entertaining."

"Well, I hope you three aren't all puckered out, because you are all running some pre-wedding errands!" She jumped up and down like we were supposed to be excited about it.

Emmett, Jasper and I all groaned all in unison.

She smacked me on the arm. "Oh, stop complaining. I know you're excited. Now I need you," she said looking at me, "to go to these addresses." She handed me a slip of paper with three addresses on it. "The first one is the tuxedo place. You have to pick up four of them for Jasper, Emmett, Carlisle, and yourself. The second place is the florist. You have to pick up the bouquets and the corsages. And the last place is the bakery. There you will get the cake. I made sure not to have anything delivered ahead of time so I could keep you busy today, understand?"

I shook my head. How annoying could a 4-foot sister vampire be?

"Yes, I understand. What time should I be back?"

Alice thought this over for a second. "Be back here around 3:00. I'm sure you can find something to keep you occupied if you happen to get done early."

An idea then came to my mind. Alice must have seen my deciding it because she replied with a smile, "Yes, I'll allow that."

I smiled wide and kissed Alice on the cheek. "Thank you, Alice! See you later!"

I heard her turn to Jasper and Emmett as I ran towards Carlisle's Mercedes.

"Ok, you two are helping me decorate!"

Jasper and Emmett groaned again.

I sprinted as fast as I could towards the black car, happy to finally be alone. I turned the key in the ignition, and stomped on the gas pedal, steering towards my first destination.

I pulled my cell-phone out of my pocket and dialed her number, hoping she would be up. I checked my wristwatch. 8 am, she should be up by now.

After three rings, I heard an angel on the other side of the line.

"Edward?" Bella asked. She sounded exhausted.

"Bella, love? How are you?"

"Oh, I uh, couldn't sleep. Nerves, I guess."

"Really? I couldn't sleep either," I joked. Hopefully this would loosen us both up.

"Ha. Ha. Funny. Anyway, how were you able to call me? I'm surprised Alice the Wedding Nazi let you."

I chuckled. "Well, I think she finally caved in. She seemed to feel bad about keeping us apart."

She sighed tiredly into the receiver. "Well, I'm glad. I miss you already. I hate us being separated. It brings back bad memo…" She stopped before she could continue. I flinched, knowing that she was still scarred from when I left her over 2 years ago. I would never be able to fix what I'd left her with, no matter how hard I tried.

" I know, love. And I'm truly sorry. But I promise, as soon as we say 'I do' we'll never leave each other's side. Deal?"

She laughed lightly. "Deal."

After a few seconds of silence I whispered, "Thank you."

"For what?" Bella asked confused.

"For marrying me. For being mine. And just for being you." I felt like I needed to tell her that. She's given me so much and I never really had officially thanked her.

"Oh. Well, you're welcome. And thanks for not eating me that first day."

I had to laugh at that. "You're certainly welcome."

After another few moments of silence, I heard her whisper into the receiver.

"I love you, Edward."

Those three words always made my stomach flutter. How much I wish I could reach through the phone and take her into my arms.

"I love you, too, Bella. Forever."

She smiled so wide I could hear it.

"Well, I have to go get a shower and get ready. I have to be at the house by noon. Maybe if I can sneak away I can call you again later?"

"Sounds wonderful. I'm running errands for the Nazi all day, so I'll be available."

"Ok. Talk to you later then."

I hated this part.

"Goodbye, my love."

"Bye," she whispered, just as reluctant as I was.

I snapped my cell-phone shut, my thoughts still on my fiancée as I headed towards the tuxedo shop.

It took about 45 minutes to reach the address where the tuxedos were. I parked the car, locked it, and then entered the small little shop. I opened the door, and the inside had mannequins dressed in suites and top hats. Many were on hangers and racks, looking ready to go.

I walked over to the front desk where a young woman, maybe in her 30's, was organizing some papers with her back turned to me.

"Excuse me?" I asked gently.

She turned to me, a smile on her face.

'Whoa, who is HE?' she thought. I tried not to laugh.

"Can I help you?" she said, trying to flatter me.

"Yes. I'm here to pick up four suits for Cullen."

'I bet he would look amazing in a suit. He's gorgeous,' she thought again. I was used to these kinds of comments about me. They seemed less annoying now than before I met Bella, just because now I had someone to think about like that.

"Ah, yes. The Cullen order. I'll be right back with those."

She turned around and walked into a door behind the counter. As she left me alone, I began to feel how excited I was. I was finally preparing for my wedding. And what made it even more special was whom I was sharing it with.

Moments later, she returned with four garment bags that she placed on the counter. She looked at the ticket attached to the first one on the pile.

"Looks like these are already payed for, so you're all set," she smiled at me. "What's the occasion?"

I smiled back at her, not wanting to be rude, but not wanting to start a conversation either.

"I'm getting married this evening, actually," I said, excitement in my voice.

'Damn. I should really stop flirting then.' "Oh, I see. Well I wish you the best of luck and congratulations," she said, the smile off her face.

"Thank you very much. Have a good day," I said as I picked up the garment bags and turned towards the door.

"Yeah, uh, you too," she mumbled.

I walked to the car, unlocking it with a beep, and placed the tuxedos in the back seat. I started the car and looked at the next address, which was the florist. I did the math quickly in my head, and figured out it would take about 30 minutes to get there from here. I pulled out of the parking space, and continued my pre-wedding errands.

By the time I got to the florist and bakery to pick everything up, it was around 11 o'clock. I was on my way to my own personal errand when my cell phone vibrated. I quickly answered, knowing who was on the other end.

"Hello?" I answered.

I smiled to myself when I heard her voice. "Hey. It's me."

"Bella. How was the rest of your morning?"

"Uhmm…well I took a shower, ate breakfast, tried to fall back asleep, and when that didn't work, started to read."

Ah, my Bella. She loved to read.

"I see. What was today's selection?" I asked, curious.

She seemed reluctant to answer. "Oh, I was just uh, re-reading some parts from Hamlet. You know, busy reading."

I chuckled. She had a fascination with Shakespeare, something I could never understand. His plays and poems never were particularly interesting to me.

"You would think I would have figured you out by now, Bella. But you always keep me guessing," I told her. There were many things about her that I knew and cherished, but she always found some way to surprise me.

She laughed. "Well, I can always say the same thing about you. Anyway, how are the errands coming along?"

"I'm almost finished. I have one more that I forgot about earlier that might take me a while."

"What did you have to do at your earlier stops? Or am I not allowed to know?" she asked with fake annoyance.

"Well, I had to pick up some flowers, get the cake, and pick up the tuxedos. I must say, the woman at the tux store was very keen on me," I joked.

She scoffed. "I might just have to go beat her up, hitting on an engaged man"

I laughed. "You're not particularly the jealous type, Bella."

"Well, you aren't really a comedian either, so what's with the jokes today?" she countered, enjoy our banter.

"Well, I guess I'm just very excited for 5 o'clock."

She sighed nervously. "I am too. I want us to be married."

That took me off guard. She had only agreed to this because of our compromise. But she just said she was excited. That she WANTED us to be married.

Once again, I wished she were here next to me.

We continued to talk, just admiring each other's voices, being able to hear them. It would have to hold us over until we saw each other later tonight.

At around 11:45, I told her, "Shouldn't you be on your way to the house, love?"

"What time is it?" she asked.

"About quarter of twelve."

"HOLY CRAP. I'm sorry, I've got to go or else Alice will hunt me down."

I laughed. "It's alright, love. I'll meet you at the alter," I said repeating what I had said last night.

"I'll be the one in white," she said again as she hung up.

I smiled to myself, and as I snapped the phone shut, I reached my destination.

My errand kept me occupied, enough that I had almost lost track of time. And at around 2:30, I headed back to the house. When I arrived home, the long driveway was already filled with cars. I could see many different ones, but the one that stuck out was the black Guardian, or, as I call it, Bella's "before" car. It had missile-proof widows and a chassis that wouldn't bend even if a tank ran over it. They weren't available yet, but I knew someone high up in the car business. I knew Bella was frustrated with me because it had attracted a lot of attention, but at least I knew she was safe.

I parked the Mercedes, and as soon as I took a step out of the door, Alice was by my side.

"Did you get everything?" she asked with a sneaky smile.

"Yes, I did. It's all here." I said gesturing to the back of the car. That's when I realized Alice had been working with Bella for 3 hours. It was unlikely, since Alice had been very careful not to think of her around me, but maybe I could steal a glimpse of Bella from her mind?

I hadn't even finished my thought completely when Alice smacked me on the arm. "Don't even think about it, Edward. I'm not that easy," she said smugly.

I sighed, frustrated, but admired the persistence of my sister. "Very well, you win. Where do you want me?"

She reached in the back of the car and shoved the four suits into my arms. "You will go get dressed and ready with Carlisle and your brothers in Emmett's room. I told them specifically how I want your hair done and when you are to take your places, so that's basically everything you need to know."

I nodded and turned towards the house when Alice was suddenly in front of me again.

"And don't even think about going to see Bella because I will know about it and I swear I will hunt you down, Edward," she said through her teeth, genuinely looking as if she would rip my head off.

I rolled my eyes and nodded. "I promise, I will be good."

She gave me a wary look, but smiled back. "Now go get ready."

I chuckled as I walked towards the house. Emmett's room was the room farthest from Alice's, which is surely where Bella was being prepared. I could only imagine how wonderful Bella looked. Her natural, elegant beauty combined with Alice's styling skills would make her ravishing.

Was it 5 o'clock yet?