It's here!! Finally...sorry :)
CHAPTER 5
The rest of the morning was spent with Alice going over the flowers we liked and the table settings for the reception.
"The flower and china market overseas can be very picky at this time of year and usually likes to mess up when I am planning a wedding. So it's just so we can get in early," she had said in a matter-of-factly tone.
Edward stayed with me the whole time, claiming he wasn't getting to help enough. He also was there to make sure Alice wouldn't make me do too much, but then again, that could never really be helped.
We were flicking through the table setting magazines that had been found when I had a sudden thought.
"Jacqui seemed to love the idea of a wedding. How about we get her to help us plan it? And maybe…add one more to the guest list." I said as I turned the page.
It would be great. She could give us a second…or third female opinion and maybe it might give her more time to understand the way the Cullen's survive around here.
Alice seemed to share my enthusiasm. Edward…not so much.
"Bella, you've only met her on one occasion – while you were dead on your feet, mind you. Don't you think you may want to think about this a little more before you invite her to the wedding." Edward asked. "She's practically a complete stranger."
I nodded my head. "It was just a thought, but if you don't want her there, don't worry about it. I thought she may be able to help Alice out, stopping your worrying about me being stressed. And maybe, she could have learnt a bit more about you all while she was here." I turned to Alice – she was still beaming – and then looked back up to Edward.
"Okay, but only if you are one-hundred percent positive. This is wholly your choice. And I have nothing against Jacqui, just so you know." he whispered in my ear.
I thought about it quickly. Sure, it may be weird having a stranger help plan my wedding. But then again, I would get to know her better throughout the process.
I was certain. If she wanted to, Jacqui was helping with the wedding and added to the guest list.
"Alice, is there room for one more on the guest list?" I questioned, letting them know of my decision. She jumped up and down clapping her hands "Oh yes, Bella! Absolutely."
I giggled. Alice was silly sometimes. I rested back down on Edward's chest and sighed in contentment. This whole wedding thing may just be getting a little easier.
Edward played with my hair, placing stray bits back behind my ears and pocking them back in my ponytail, while I flicked through the pages of the next magazine.
He would occasionally point to one of the pages indicating that he liked that design or setting. I was glad that he could be involved in this. Not many grooms really wanted to be part of the planning stage of the wedding; but Edward, he was nearly as excited about planning as about the actual wedding. Well, maybe that was an understatement, but it would be very close.
Chucking that magazine on the floor once the last page had been turned, I sighed. I was getting frustrated with all of this. There was so much to choose from and I just could not decide. Even Edward was having a problem selecting.
I needed to stretch; get up and go for a walk somewhere.
Pressing myself up, I left Edward on the couch and then turned around to face him. His face was covered in mock sadness. I held out my hands wanting him to take them and come with me.
Alice had left the room to go speak to Jasper, so now was our chance to leave.
"Bella?" Edward had a confused look on his unblemished face. "What are you doing? You know Alice isn't finished with you yet. She will have your head if you walk out; and that head is very precious to me, Bella."
Placing my finger on his lips, I whispered, "We are going for a walk. Quickly, come on."
He just shook his head and followed me out of the living room door.
Before we could even leave the house, Alice ran out in front of us and stood with her hands on her hips. "Where do you think you are going?" she asked disapprovingly.
"For a walk," I answered simply. She looked to the ground and shook her head.
"Bella, what am I going to do with you? You should know we are no where near done for the day. Get your butt back inside!" I just shook my head and continued trying to get past her.
It was approaching night time anyway; we could drive me home to eat. Edward deserved a break too.
Alice kept beating me so it was becoming extremely difficult to get what I wanted. "Alice, please. I need a break. We've been at it for hours. Please," I whined.
She stood for a moment before moving out of the way for us to pass. "Not too long, though. We still need to choose the setting for the ceremony."
I pulled Edward along with me, surprised that he had been quiet the entire time. Oh well, we had escaped for a little while, that's all that mattered.
As we walked up to the garage, Edward spoke.
"Do you want to take a walk or drive? I could drive you up to Port Angeles for dinner or back to Charlie's. It's your choice."
I smiled. Although, I was quite hungry, I wanted to walk around. Maybe we could walk around the property for a bit; I had never really spent much time outside of the house and it was such a big block.
"How about we go for a little walk first? And then dinner…you know that I haven't really ever seen much of the block around here. It's so huge and the rain usually doesn't help. Only if that's okay with you, of course," I looked up at him and saw pure love in his golden eyes; his crooked smile was just as big as ever. I had to take a breath.
"And why would that not be okay with me?" he chuckled.
"Good." I pulled his hand and headed in what I thought was the direction of Esme's garden. I always catch her walking in from this direction with gardening gloves on, so I figured it was close.
As we turned the corner around the grass, I was instantly hit with a glorious range of smells. Lavender and rose, honeysuckle and frangipani; I couldn't list them all. Instinctually, I took a few deep breaths in trying to fill my head with the aroma. It was something I never wanted to forget.
Completing the turn, I finally got a look into the garden.
It was absolutely breathtaking. Flowers upon flowers; colours upon colours. There was a small bench in the centre of the grass surrounded by small rose bushes; it was perfect. All around the edge of the garden were the flowers that I could smell before.
I spotted the two large frangipani trees; one pink and one white. There was a small patch of lavender in the corner and the bees buzzing around could be spotted from metres away. I noticed about four arum lily plants in the opposite corner.
This was like Esme's own secret garden. It was actually impossible to name all of the different varieties of plants that were in the small rectangle of nature. Words could not describe how much I loved this place, just from first glance.
I had no idea of how long I had been staring in awe for, but Edward's voice pulled me out of the trance.
"Stunning, isn't it. I used to come here to think. I know that Jasper still does and Alice adores it too. It's like our own little thinking space. I came here to think about you on more than one occasion, you know?" I notice the smile playing on his lips.
I was lost for words. Not just about the garden, but also about what Edward had just told me. "Edward, I-I…I love it here. I actually cannot believe that you kept this from me!" I play hit his shoulder. He laughed silently. "Can we sit?"
He nodded to the bench simply and placed his hand on the small of my back, leading me forward.
We sat on the small, detailed, wooden bench and Edward took my hand in his.
"So, are you having fun planning the wedding?" he asked curiously.
"Oh, yeah. Loving it. No, it's fun. I get to spend more time with Alice and it's getting us one step closer to our forever. How about you? Don't you love the torture Alice is putting you through?"
He laughed. "Well, it is torture. But then I just think about what it's going to bring. And I just think its one step closer to seeing you walk down the aisle towards me. I have no doubt you will be stunning; but I'm just desperate to actually see you so I will take what is needed to be endured for time to speed up."
I blushed deeply and dropped my forehead onto his shoulder. Could he be anymore perfect?
"Edward…" I whispered as I had a sudden thought. "Do you think Esme would mind if we used some of the flowers out here for the bouquets? This place is just so magical; it would mean so much more if they were from here than from Paris or Rome."
I knew that Alice would probably protest but once she knew how much it meant to me, even to Edward, I'm sure she wouldn't say no.
Turning my head around, I began to choose my favourites out of the selection. The arum lilies and frangipanis were definitely among my first few choices; then the roses. It was going to be a tough decision if Alice let me. She had suggested the best from the magazines and I just said yes.
"I think," he murmured, kissing my temples softly. "That she would be overjoyed that you even asked. And if Alice says no, I'll have a little chat with her."
I nodded simply. "So, what flowers are your favourites?"
A/N: I'm backkk! Sorry it took so long to update. Really busy with school work. Why am I writing this?? - only one person reads it. Anyways, this is kinda important for my loyal readers. In 13 days from today (24.3.09) I will be in Bali for 10 days. I will try to update once more if I can before we leave and will write at any chance I get. If you don't read this, I will be posting an A/N chapter before I leave anyways just letting people know. Thanks for reading :)
Elyse xx