A/N: Rosette's Chapter.
I more-or-less walked around the house as a member of the living dead. I'd taken the route from the kitchen to the laundry room to the foyer in search of any kind of work to occupy my time, but it all seemed to be too tame.
I looked for anything involving arrangements of flowers, but the florists had already taken care of that. The tables were in Grand Hall of the Cullen's home, all aligned in perfect precision with the ones next to them. The white table cloths were lined up evenly, not one unsightly hem out place and every piece of fine white china sparkled with the glow from several chandeliers hanging about.
The floor were washed and shined to perfection, if I looked hard enough I would be able to see my reflection in it. With the curtains drawn and greenery set in place, I walked from the Grand Hall and back into the foyer.
I felt so useless aimlessly wandering around the Cullen's mansion. The wedding was tomorrow night and guests had come in from all over the country to celebrate with Jasper's cousin and her fiancée.
I stopped in front of a framed picture of an old farm mill and looked at the slick oil marks that still looked as if they were wet. My eyes followed the ripple of water that drained from the field and the whole picture had the appearance of a morning dew about it.
"Do you like it?"
I jumped up and turned around quickly, feeling my blood rush straight to my face. Jasper was standing by the stairs, his hands in his pockets and an easy smile on his lips.
I nodded my head, my eyes flashing back to the painting. I was met with streaks of early sunrise, copper and orange mixing together to create the most amazing shade of brown across the field.
"It's beautiful," I answered.
"My great grandfather made it," Jasper said while taking a step toward me and looking at the painting. "He and my grandmother lived there for nearly fifty years. They refused to come and stay at the Whitlock manour because they wanted to build their own lives—not just take what they were naturally endowed with."
Jasper paused to look over the painting. His eyebrows rose a bit and he smiled at it. He rocked back on his heels and looked down at me.
"Sometimes I wish I could do that. You know? Run away from all this stuff that ties me down. I'd like to take Alice with me and go to that little farm house and not have to worry about offending the wrong business man with wrong kind of soufflé."
I smiled. "I know what you mean."
"My mother will be glad to see I've put it to good use. I fought her tooth and nail to have this. Something about it is just so… peaceful."
"I noticed that," I answered quickly. "The colours and the textures, they look so real and in the moment. Like it was freshly painted and hung on the wall."
"That's what drew me to it, too. Maria will love to it as well."
"Is Maria the bride?" I asked.
"Yes, my cousin. When we were little she used to go on and on about how she would be married there. As we got older she changed her tune." He chuckled.
"You two are close then." I stated.
"Very, we grew up as nearly siblings. She and Alice never agreed as children, but when they grew older they became just as close."
"Why didn't Alice like her?"
He smiled. "Don't tell her, but I think it was jealousy. Maria and I were close as Siamese twins and Alice—I think—felt out of place."
I nodded my head, looking back at the painting and pursing my lips. It really was a beautiful thing. It seemed as though some of the furniture purposely coordinated with the painting's colors. Rich browns and oranges distinguished a small shelf on the wall and the table above which it hung had the same colour of stagnant blue that looked like the water of an oasis.
"Where's Edward gone to?" Jasper asked.
"He needed to go into town. He didn't get what he need yesterday." Jasper nodded, his eyes not meeting my own.
Nearly everyone knew that I had been attacked; what they didn't know was that I had run away from Edward, and confessed my love for him after I stopped him from killing the man.
Some things were best left unmentioned.
"Do you know when he'll be back? We need to move the furniture out onto the lawn since the gazebo is up."
"He said around sunset, so maybe five or so?"
"Jasper! Bella!" Alice bounded around the corner, a large garment bag in her small hands.
Jasper ducked his head and kissed her cheek before he walked into the Grand Hall to speak with Emmett.
"Good afternoon, Alice," I greeted.
"Afternoon," she grinned. "Your dress just arrived from the tailor. I'm absolutely positive you'll love it!"
I chuckled at her infective enthusiasm and received the garment bag from her eager hands. She ushered me upstairs quickly and when we were in her large, spacious room, she grabbed the garment bag from me and held it up proudly.
Without a moment's hesitation she pulled the buttons from the white silk and it pooled gracefully to the wood floor. I gasped loudly, unable to stop my mouth from opening like a fish and gaping quite openly at the piece of… art, before me.
It was a pale blue, so light that it looked like a thin cloud giving way to the endless blue sky, and many different pieces of lace and satin embroidery surrounded the torso. The sleeves were short, three quarter length, and the waist had a sash that looked so soft and light that I had the urge to rush over and run my fingers along it.
"Don't you just adore it?" She sighed.
"I—I'm completely in love," I sighed back. "Where did you find this?"
"I saw it in a window somewhere out of town, and once I saw it your face popped into my mind."
"Oh, Alice."
"You don't even have to thank me for it." She grinned. "Just let me make you gorgeous tomorrow and it'll be well worth it."
I had the base need to argue, to tell her that this was too much and that I didn't deserve something as beautiful as this. But the look in her wide, dark eyes made me think otherwise. She smiled radiantly as if she knew my decision before I even spoke it and she threw her arms around my waist.
"Thank you so much, Alice," I whispered, hugging her back just as tightly.
"Not a problem," she laughed.
Alice and I stayed in her room for most of the day. She made me forget that Edward was away, and that I wouldn't be able to spend the day with him; talking, kissing, loving. I missed him the more I thought of him.
She touched up the bust line and fixed the hem so I wouldn't trip over it at any point. And when all that was done and finished I didn't recognize myself in front of the mirror.
The dress made everything so much more enhanced. My skin seemed lighter and smoother and not pale and sallow; my hair had an extra lift in colour and appearance. This dress just made me feel more confident.
Alice decided that she wouldn't play with my hair and whatever else needed to be done because of the time. At this I started upright and looked at the large clock in the corner of her room.
"It's already so late?" I asked to myself.
"Yes," Alice laughed. "Did I distract you enough?"
Her eyebrow lifted and I felt the blood rush to my face again. She placed my dress into her closet and then opened the door, shooing me out, murmuring about how I should go greet him at the door.
I smiled gratefully at her and rushed down the stairs and directly to the foyer. Upon my arrival the front door opened and I heard Emmett and Jasper leave from the Great Hall with jovial smiles.
"Edward!" Emmett yelled. "It's about time you came you back! Where were you out to all day?"
"Nowhere in particular." Edward said while shrugging off his coat and handing it to a passing servant. "Where's Isabella?"
Jasper smiled and Emmett grinned in my direction. I blushed and grabbed onto the railing, wringing my hands around the polished wood.
Edward tipped his head in my direction and when our eyes met he smiled at me. I could get used to his smile, I thought.
He walked to the stairs with more enthusiasm than I thought possible and he grabbed onto my hand, bringing me up the stairs with him. I looked back at where Emmett and Jasper were standing but they were already walking away, laughing to themselves.
Edward pulled me along the hallway and into his room. He sat me on the bed, holding my shoulders in a silent order to stay.
"Close your eyes."
I did as he said, nervous anticipation building up in my belly the entire time. I heard paper being torn, and then a soft weight sunk onto the bed beside me. Edward's fingers gently brushed aside my hair and though the suspense nearly killed me, I kept my eyes shut. Cool metal touched my neck and I gasped.
"You can open them," he whispered, his breath fanning across the back of my neck.
I opened my eyes and found that I was situated directly across from where the vanity was. I looked in the mirror, my eyes darting to my neck and I gasped again, this time louder.
A silver chain was wrapped around my neck in the most delicate of ways. My fingers went up to stroke along the interwoven pieces until I made contact with the little key that adorned the necklace as a charm.
"What—what is this?" I asked, tears pricking at my eyes.
"I meant to pick it up yesterday," he whispered. "But someone decided to run off and get lost in the square." He chuckled.
"Oh, Edward, you didn't—"
"Shhh," he whispered, his lips touching the shell of my ear. "The necklace is nothing special, but the key," his fingers played with the charm resting just below my collar bone, "is a key to the house."
I spun around to face him fully. He was smiling, his cheeks a bit pink, and I could see the corners of his mouth twitching like he was trying not to grin. And so how could I help myself? I threw my arms out at him until we fell backwards on the bed I kissed him hungrily and wildly and with so much emotion that it seemed physically impossible to me.
My fingers dug themselves into his hair and he flipped me onto my back, his hands running up and down my torso.
I expected him to say it. I chanted over and over inside my mind that I loved him, and I wanted him to just say it, murmur it, whisper it, grunt it, pant it, yell it from the mountain tops - just tell me that he loved me like I loved him.
But moments passed by with us rolling around on the bed, lips locked and hands wandering across new skin that became bare, and he still didn't say it. Edward murmured my name over and over again while he panted and groaned. I decidedly couldn't make love to him in that moment; my spirits were deflated with each new second that passed as his hips bucked over and over into my hand.
Tears slowly penetrated my vision and at the same time his hand came up and touched my collarbone, his fingers tracing around the silver chain and then down to the key. And I felt so inept. This was his way of saying it. I told myself I would be patient with him; that I would wait until he was ready to say it to me, and that this was so much more than I had a right to expect. He was telling me that he loved me, with his actions more than his words. And in the end wasn't that all I could ever want?
"Bella… Isabella…" he groaned.
"I like it when you call me that," I whispered.
"W-what?" he panted.
"I like it when you call me Bella, it's so… informal." I nearly giggled.
He flipped onto my back, his lips panting by my ear and his hands spreading my legs wider. His fingers dipped inside me and my back arched.
"Bella," he whispered while placing a kiss on my ear. "Bella," he kissed my cheek. "Bella," he kissed my throat. "Bella," down to my collar bone, "Bella, Bella, Bella," he chorused over my heart.
"Edward," I moaned.
"Edward!" We both froze and looked toward the door.
"Would you hurry up; the furniture has to be moved by tonight!" That time it was Jasper.
"What are you doing in there that would be taking you so long?" Emmett chuckled.
"We should stop," I whispered, getting up and grabbing my dress from the floor.
Edward's arm wrapped itself around my waist and pulled me down onto the bed again. "On the contrary, I think we should continue and give them the show they're looking for."
His stiff erection pushed into my back and I arched on contact. Maybe…
"Are you even in there?"
"Guests will be arriving tonight!"
He groaned quietly and released me to go pick my dress up. Edward stumbled into his slacks and threw the door open with nothing else on. His glare was murderous and once Emmett and Jasper looked at Edward's state of undress they pursed their lips in obvious amusement and walked back down the hall.
"I will slaughter them," Edward muttered.
"You will do no such thing," I giggled.
He looked over at me, and once his eyebrow rose, obvious innuendo laced in that look, I backed up into my own room and closed the door before I was tempted to have him skip out on his duties.
The next day came quickly. The men were out all night preparing the house for the wedding. The back yard looked amazing when it was finished; tables and flowers were everywhere in perfect harmony. Not one thing was out of place and when it was all finally finished, Alice looked completely proud.
The women spent all morning getting the bride ready, and Alice requested that I come along with her. She fixed my hair and eyed my necklace curiously before recognition hit her eye and she pulled out her own key.
"Well I'll be damned," she murmured. That was all she said about the matter, though it was hard not to notice her grin.
Maria was a tall French girl that had lived in the States for some time. She had met her husband in Texas, and when she'd had to leave and return home he came with her. She gushed about him nonstop the entire time she was getting ready. Her long dark curls were pulled upwards and she had the most gorgeous gown I'd ever seen.
Diamonds covered every inch of her neck, ears, and even her fingers. Her engagement ring was a positively huge and solid piece of a canary diamond that she flashed every chance she could get.
I left the room a few minutes before the wedding and went to the bride's side under the gazebo. Edward was waiting for me there with his jacket across the seat.
His eyes lifted as I came into view and once we locked gazes his eyes immediately went downward. I flushed and my eyes fluttered closed for a second before I sat down on the bench.
"You look… glorious," he murmured.
"Thank you," I smiled. "You look handsome yourself."
"I'm surprised the sun decided to make an appearance; it's been overcast for a while now."
"Maria said if there was one cloud on her wedding day she would curse the heavens for all of her lifetime." I laughed, imaging the sour look on her face when she said that.
I looked ahead of me and saw the back of blonde's head with a ridiculously ostentatious red had with different kinds of flowers poking out from it.
"Is that—"
"Yes, it is Rosalie," Edward cut in. "She promised to keep it civil."
"She and Emmett…" I trailed off.
"Are on the mend. She promised him a few things and if she can keep to them he'll consider staying with her."
I nodded, no longer feeling as bright and shining as before. The wedding march began and everyone on the pews outside stood and turned toward the back door of the mansion.
Maria came out holding a bouquet of while lilies and baby's breath. She smiled brightly at the man down the isle from her, also dressed in white, and after her slow walk down the pathway that was covered in tulip petals, she handed her bouquet off to Alice—the maid of honour.
As the vows began, Edward's fingers gently touched my own, and then his fingers intertwined with mine. I looked up at him, and he peered down at me, his emerald green eyes dancing with new light and happiness.
I sidled closer to him and he put an arm around me, letting me lean my head onto his shoulder. When the "I do's" were said Edward's lips touched gently at the top of my head and my heart sped.
Maybe I was reading into it too much, but this gesture seemed to show that Edward was relinquishing some piece of new ground to me; that he did love me. I knew he did, I could see it in his eyes.
But would he want to marry me? Could it be possible?
I looked over at Edward; he had a small smile playing on his lips and was still watching the bride and groom and they slipped on their rings and kissed.
Yes, I thought. Maybe it is possible.
A/N: We don't normally update on Saturdays, but we wanted to post this chapter a day or two early, because . . . we have a very important announcement to make.
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