Wee time skip in this chapter; the Twins are now 5 months old.
Chapter 12
Edward.
"Do you think Bella caught onto our plan, Padre?" Cooper bounced with giddiness as we made our way to the jewellers.
"I don't think so, Bud; we're too sly for her." I had to come up with some sort of scheme to get Cooper and I to the jewellers where we'd pick out her engagement ring, but Bella isn't stupid; she can tell when I'm lying. So, thankfully, she had booked an appointment to get her legs and other places waxed before our vacation (girl stuff, pfft.) She took Marco with her, and I raced down with the street with Ellie sleeping in her buggy and Coop practically running beside me to get the purchase complete before our time was up.
To make my decision easier, I went to the shop after work the previous week and picked out my two favourite two and both were ready and waiting in her size - we just had to pick one.
Gavin, the same shop assistant from last week, greeted me with a warm smile when we piled through the door.
"You've come back with the troops, I see." He grinned at my children.
"Sure have! This is my son, Cooper," I ruffled the wee man's hair, " and my daughter, Ellie." I pointed to the sleeping beauty.
"How you doin', Buddy? Bet you're excited to help Dad, right?"
"Yeah!" Coop jumped straight off the ground, pumping a fist. "Bella's gonna be my Madre, so, y'know, I gotta help finding her ring!" I was so proud of him - he'd known about my up-coming proposal for a couple weeks, and had managed not to slip once when around Bella. I knew how desperate he was (hell, so was I!), but it had to be the perfect moment, and our vacation was that moment.
"Excellent. Well, Edward, here are the two you chose earlier - have you seen any others you like the look of, also?" Gavin slid the two cases over the glass worktop. Cooper gasped loudly at the sight.
"Nope; I'm sticking with these, thanks. Coop, which one do you like?"
"I like them all! But… um… I fink this one," his tiny finger tapped the case which held a white gold band with diamonds and sapphires incased in it, with a larger diamond in the centre. "'Cause, y'know, blue is Bella's favourite colour, so… it just makes sense. And I like the other one too, but I fink it's 'bit too big for her - Bella likes smaller fings, 'member." The second option was practically identical to the first, except the diamond was quite a bit larger and it didn't have the sapphires.
Our decision-making was cut short when a tired whimper came from the buggy parked to one side. Ellie rustled about in her seat and whimpered louder when noticing Marco was not beside her. We'd noticed that the Twins hate waking up without the other, because they are almost always together. It was so damn cute.
"Hello, Cupcake," I cooed whilst unclipping her straps and bringing her into my arms. "Do you want to help me choose a ring for Mommy?" She laid her cheek against my shoulder and popped her thumb into her mouth. I noticed her eyeing up Gavin as if to say: 'my Daddy…not yours."
Apparently my shoulder was too comfy and a minute later Ellie was back to sleep, still sucking her thumb. We kept a close eye on the time and quickly wrapped up the deal.
I cannot describe how it felt to have that sapphire ring in my pocket.
If things go as planned, Bella will agree to be my wife in the next couple weeks.
Oh, my God...
The next day we were leaving for our trip to Italy and where better to drop to one knee?
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Our vacation started off with a four hour flight from Seattle to Chicago. Our flight was at 5:57am, so the kids slept the whole way there and Bella and I dozed off for a short while too. But from O'Hare airport to Marco Polo in Venice, it was a long flight of just over eleven hours. We set off the runway at 2:30pm.
"I love this part!" Cooper giggled and gripped the arm rests tight as the plane grew faster and faster down the track and then suddenly elevated into the air. He'd never been on a plane before that morning, and had found the whole experience thrilling. The Twins were surprisingly calm; I held Marco and Bella held Ellie and they both lay against our chests like nothing was happening.
"Eurgh, Padre, my ears have popped again."
"It's alright, Bud, they'll de-pop themselves soon."
A little into the flight I looked next to me at Bella and saw the sweetest sight - Ellie was fast asleep on her mother's chest, and Bella had also fallen asleep, but her arms were wrapped protectively around Ellie, and her head had fallen forwards so her cheek almost touched Ellie's crown. And at that moment, I couldn't help but think about how much I had been given in a short space of time - how my life had completely changed for the better…
"Padre?" Cooper broke me from my musings.
"Yeah?"
His face curled up almost in disgust. "You're not gonna be all mushy with me, are you?"
"W-why would I be mushy with you?"
"'Cause you got your mushy face on," he self-consciously looked around the place, "and we're in a public place so, y'know, it's kinda embarrassing."
I coughed out my laugh, wrapped my arm around his shoulders and hugged him tight, "ooh, Coop, I love you."
"Dad! I said no mushy!"
Even though he shrunk against me and tried to act like a cool nine-year-old, the shy grin told me he loved the 'mushy' really.
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I had booked us a family room for two weeks in Hotel Cipriani; a beautifully placed, idilic hotel that over-looked the waters of Italy. Online it stated you could travel to Venice within minutes and that it came with amazing facilities for children. Well, I forked out almost two grand per night for that hotel, so it better be the dogs' bollocks.
Bella was not happy when she saw the amount I had spent, but little did she know how long I had been saving up for - ever since I caught onto Coop's obsession with things Italian I knew I had to take him there, then Bella entered the picture so I added more to include her, and finally the Twins arrived and… here we are.
Our room was the Poolside Junior Suite and did exactly what it said on the tin; it over-looked the main pool. It was spacious, airy, and they had set it up with a king bed, a twin and two cribs for the Twins for our arrival.
The colour scheme was cream mingled with sky blue in places, like the rims of the couches and other parts of the furniture. It was very… Italian; the architecture, the decor - everything. On the wall opposite the king bed was a widescreen LCD television, and either side of that were two clear glass doors which led you to a patio by the pool. The pool itself wasn't cluttered with flumes and was bog standard rectangular, but it was olympic size and apparently the only swimming pool in central Venice, so there was no way I was complaining.
All the kids were cranky from the flight, so after we checked in Bella and I decided to chill for that night. Cooper was lying on his bed with Tony Bear and Ellie and Marco were on their play mat entertaining themselves with the games.
"This is beautiful." Bella and I were looking out over the pool and additional surroundings. I slipped my arm around her slim waist and pulled her close to my chest. I drew in her beautiful scent as my lips placed whispering kisses on her neck and jaw. I felt her body relax under my touch.
"I would do anything for you."
She turned to face me and rose her hands so they sat gently around my neck. "I know you would."
I so wanted to run in and find the secretly hidden ring box and ask her on the spot, but, again, it had to be perfect, and our hotel patio wasn't perfect enough.
Our kiss started off slow and loving, but like always, once the passion was added, the heat rose and so did our desire. My hand came over her back and rested under the thin cotton of her cam is; even under the heat of the sun, she shivered.
If it wasn't for the call of 'Dad!', we more than likely wouldn't have stopped, even with our kids just behind that wall. But I'm glad we did (kinda), because we had forgotten where we were and how many people could have been watching from their suite window… perverted bastards.
"Yes, Bud?"
Cooper was still sprawled on the bed - Tony Bear was being just as smothered. "Can we go to the pool, Padre?"
I looked over at Bella who answered with a smile. "That sounds great fun; it doesn't look busy out there right now."
So with that planned, Cooper leaped off the bed in search of his swimming shorts, Bella snuck into the bathroom to change, and I blew up the floaties for Ellie and Marco.
"Do you want to come to the pool?" I cooed to them - I was rewarded with a slobbery smile and a round of mumbles from both.
It was clear from the get-go that Ellie was not a fan of her floaty, but Marco loved it. He would sit in it and happily bob on the water, kick his little feet and chuckle at the faces Cooper pulled, but Ellie fussed and cried when we sat her in it and didn't stop until one of us was holding her, so we passed her back and forth.
"One… two… three… weeeeee." I threw her up into the air and always caught her just before she reached the water - my heart grew at her chuckles and smiles. "One… two… three… weeeee."
To my side, Bella had a canary. "Oh - oh, my God, no… Ed-, please, I do not want to see that."
Like I would have ever let anything happen to my baby girl. "Love, she's perfectly safe."
"I don't care how perfectly safe she is, I don't like watching it."
"Do it to me, Padre!" Bella got over her worrying when she noticed how much fun we were all having, and even allowed me to throw Marco too. "…But just this once and not too high…"
As our fingers began to prune, we lay back on the loungers with a drink brought over by the pool assistants. I snapped another picture of the Twins wrapped in their shark towels and being cuddled by Bella, and then of Cooper who attempted to act 'cool' on his own sun lounger, hands behind his head and fake aviators on. I didn't see his need for buying them, but apparently Uncle Jasper has a pair, so, y'know, he's gotta get them too.
Everything was falling into place, I only hoped it stayed there.
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A picture of Bella's ring, plus a small collage for this chapter are over on my Facebook group: RosieRathbone FanFiction.
I'll see you all next time for part 2 of their vacation! x