Disclaimer: Don't own a thing

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BPOV

The apartment was quiet when I woke the next morning. I was a little surprised to find myself in bed, but it wouldn't have been the first time one of my brothers had carried me to bed. The clock next to the bed registered 6:30 A.M. and I grumbled, even though I was used to waking up that early I still didn't care for it. As soon as my feet hit the floor my morning routine reinstated itself. Pulling my hair up into a pony tail and changing into my workout clothes, I made my way down the hall to the gym. It was one of the perks of having this apartment, the home gym made it much easier to work out in the mornings.

My work out consisted of 45 minutes on the treadmill and then 15 minutes of cool down stretches. I'd lost most of my awkward teenage clumsiness long ago thankfully or my morning routines would have resulted in more trips to the emergency room than I cared to make. I wrapped a towel around my neck, wiping the perspiration from my face as I made my way to the kitchen. The next item on the agenda was coffee…nice and black. It seemed Edward and my brothers had left for work already, which was nice. The apartment was quiet and I wanted to take some time and go over the files that Seth had sent me so I took my coffee and laptop into the library.

My cell phone jumping across the table caused me to jump and I couldn't help but laugh at myself. Emmett's name flashed across the screen and I noticed that I'd been at it for more than three hours looking over all of the information Seth had sent to me.

"Hey Em, what's up?" A little surprised that he was calling me at this time of day. I still had a bit of time before I needed to start preparing for our dinner this evening.

"Bella, please don't be angry. Tanya suggested that instead of a small dinner that we invite a few friends over. Jacob and Leah are in town and I know they'll want to see you." I couldn't help the groan that left my lips. It wasn't that I didn't want to see our friends; I just wasn't up to a big gathering so soon after getting into town. Emmett knew I wouldn't be happy about a large gathering but he kept going. "Alice agreed to come over and help you get set up and she's already hired a bartender and…"

"Hired a bartender?" immediately cutting my brother off. "Em, just how many people are coming over here tonight?"

"Well, I'm not sure Bells; Tanya's been on the phone for a while this morning calling people. It'll be fun I promise" for a no nonsense executive Emmett was whining like a teenager now and I sighed in defeat. "Ok, fine but you owe me big time"

"Thanks Bella! You'll have fun, I swear it. I've got to go I have a meeting in fifteen minutes. Love you!"

"Love you too Em" Damn, a party. It took a few minutes to close everything down and make sure my files were secure, only once my laptop was safely in my room did I wander into the bathroom to shower.

I'd just wrapped a towel around my head when I heard the alert on my cell beep, signaling that I had a text message.

B

Alice will be over soon, she has a key to the apartment so don't freak when she lets herself in. She's going to help set up for this party Emmett has planned. Please don't be mad. I'll see you soon. Love you!

J

"Bella?" A female voice came from the hallway just as I'd finished reading the text message. Next came a knock on my bedroom door and I wrapped my robe around myself, it was thinner than I would have liked but it covered the important parts. The hem coming to the tops of my thighs.

"Come in" Just as Alice's head poked in the room. I plastered a smile on my face and stuck my hand out for Alice to take. She surprised me when she stepped up to me and wrapped me in a large hug.

"It's so good to meet you Bella! I'm Alice, I'm sorry for just barging in here like this but I couldn't wait! Jasper has told me so many nice things about you. I just know we'll be the best of friends"

It was really hard not to like Alice; she was the most genuine person I'd ever met. I was really good at reading people and in just the first few moments I found myself smiling more than I had in a very long time. Alice retreated into the kitchen so I could put something on and I changed into a pair of sweats, not wanting to get ready too early. Taking the time to brush my hair out so that it could air dry, I wandered into our large kitchen a few moments later to find Alice hard at work. She was making room in our massive refrigerator for something and I found my curiosity getting the better of me.

"I ordered a few party trays; I thought it'd be best to put them in here until people start arriving." She closed the door when she was finished arranging things and gave me a warm smile. "Jazz said that you'd be unhappy that Emmett had decided to throw this party. I'm really surprised to be honest. But I'm sure a lot of that was Tanya's doing. Have you met her yet?"

I shook my head; I was starting to really get a bad taste in my mouth for Tanya. Everything I'd heard so far did not paint her in a positive light, but for Emmett I needed to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Well, she's nice enough. I think you just need to get past the tough exterior. I'm sure she's a wonderful person underneath it all. Emmett wouldn't be with someone that didn't have a kind heart, right?"

I hoped she was right. The next few hours were spent getting to know Alice, she told me about her time at Northwestern. Her parents had hoped that Alice would follow in their footsteps and become a lawyer. She certainly was tenacious and used to getting her way. I had no doubt that Alice was not one to lose no matter what argument she found herself in. She was very passionate about fashion and design, it was really refreshing to hear her go on and on about different designers.

She then told me how she met my brother. Jasper had literally run over her in a coffee shop one afternoon. He'd gone from offering to pay for her dry cleaning to taking her on their first date all in the same day. It seemed that they had instant chemistry and she seemed to adore her brother. She practically glowed when she spoke about him and it really made me happy to hear it. They were both very lucky to have found each other.

We lost track of time and it was Alice that noticed the time. "Oh my! We only have two hours to get ready and have everything set up!" I couldn't imagine how long it would take the woman to get ready but I wasn't prepared to argue with her. She disappeared into Jasper's room and me into mine to get ready. I had declined Alice's offer to help me get ready, I was perfectly able to dress myself for a party but it was sweet of her to offer.

It took a little over an hour for the food to arrive and Alice took charge of getting everything in order. She seemed to be in her element as she began to place the food out on the table in our formal dining room.

"Honey, I'm hoooommme" Emmett's voice boomed from the hallway.