Bella's POV

A really cute salesman walked up to us as we started looking at some of the display items. "Hello, welcome to Modern Design Sofas. Can I help you ladies find something?"

I looked at Angela and then shook my head. "I think we're okay. We'll come find you if we have any questions, though."

He nodded in understanding. "My name's Keith, so just ask if you don't see me. Have fun shopping!" He gave us one last smile before heading back the way he came.

Once he was out of earshot, Angela and I giggled with each other quietly. "Okay, my shopping leader, lead on," I told her, grinning.

We started in the bedroom section, and I found the perfect bed before she did. I fell back on the mattress, drawing my legs up to rest my feet on the extra space around it. It was a raised platform bed with an extra few inches of the wood platform around the mattress.

"It's so cool."

She laughed, and I sat up, looking curiously at her. Holding up a tag, she said, "How well do I know you, Ms. Bella? This is the collection I was thinking about."

I laughed with her and then began to look around. The bed frame was a dark wood with an attached headboard, squared off at the corners. There were matching nightstands, each of which had one large drawer and a metal handle, and a dresser with six large drawers that matched the nightstands perfectly.

That was when I looked more closely at the tag on the bed. I couldn't believe it! Fourteen hundred dollars? For a bed without a mattress? I grabbed the tag for the dresser. It was only a hundred less than the bed. "Angela! I can't get these! Did you see the price?" I hissed quietly.

She walked over to me, took my hands, and led me back to the bed, sitting us both down on the edge. She turned to face me and waited until I looked up at her before she started talking. "Bella Marie Swan. You never buy yourself anything. I know you grew up not having a lot of money. We both did. Right now, though, it's a different story. You have more than enough to buy the bed, dresser, and everything to go with them. I know you feel guilty spending it, sweetie, and that's understandable. But remember what Dr. Pearlman said. Not spending it on the things you want and need isn't gonna bring them back. You gave a lot to charity and invested the rest. What you spend on furnishing your new place isn't gonna come close to eating up the interest you're earning. So let loose a little bit. Forget about looking at the tags for anything this week. If you like it and want or need it, we're buying it. I won't let you out of this, so there's no point in arguing. Got it?" She smiled to take the sting out of her words.

I took a deep breath and nodded, giving her a small smile. "Thanks, Ang. It's a hard habit to break, so thank you for giving me a push in the right direction. You're right. I love this set, so...I'll get it." I gave her a bigger smile then and stood up to look for Keith. Seeing him standing with another salesman, I waved him over.

When I pointed out what I wanted, his eyes his up, and I had to hold back my giggle, knowing he was trying to calculate the commission he was going to make from my purchases.

"Okay, I'll get started on having these found in the back. I'm assuming you have a truck with you?"

I nodded. "We actually have a U-Haul parked out front."

"Great," he said. "I'll have all your purchases brought to the loading dock out back. Once you're finished and have paid, you can drive around, and our guys will load everything up into the truck for you. Let me know when you're ready with more or if you have any questions." Smiling at both of us, he headed toward the back of the store.

Angela and I laughed quietly once he was gone. "Did you see the way his eyes nearly bugged out of his head?" she gasped, catching her breath.

"Well, by the time we're finished shopping, I'll have paid for his vacation... I'd be excited if I were him, too!" I giggled again and then asked, "Okay, so, any more recommendations?"

She nodded, looping her arm through mine and steering us toward the sofa section.

After picking out a deep chocolaty brown leather sofa with chrome legs, two solid brown and two striped throw pillows, and low, squared-off arms, we headed to the coffee tables area of the living room selections.

"This is one of the coolest tables I've ever seen, and if I didn't have a wedding to pay for, I might buy one for myself. But the next best thing is for you to have it so I can drool when I come to visit," she said, laughing.

I stood looking at the coffee table she'd picked out and grinned. "That's awesome, Ang." It wasn't rectangular, like most coffee tables, so it contrasted nicely with the square look of the sofa, and the metal legs matched the sofa almost exactly. The top glass was clear, but the shelf underneath was a frosted glass, giving it an almost futuristic look. "What about end tables, though? I'm not sure I want kidney-shaped end tables, too. That might feel a bit...over-the-top."

"Let's ask Keith. He might have an idea." She waved him over.

He smiled, looking at the table we were standing beside. "Nice choice! I love the frosted glass on the bottom. Do you want the matching end tables?" he asked, pointing to the pair near us.

"No, actually. I think that would be a little too much of that shape for me. Do you have one that's like these, with the clear and frosted glass and metal base, but round instead? I'd take square, even, but would prefer round." I crossed my fingers behind my back, hoping.

"We do, absolutely. The round ones are exactly the same, height and all." He smiled, hearing the breath I released in relief. "Oh, I also checked, and we do indeed have the chocolate-brown couch. It's already out back with the bedroom set, so I'll go get the coffee table and—you wanted two, right?—end tables rung up and set back there as well."

When I nodded, he smiled and left us once again.

"Lead on, Grand Shopping Mistress!" I grinned, really beginning to enjoy myself. Once I quit worrying about the money, I started picturing the new apartment, and as we went along, I would add the new furniture to my mental home. Now I couldn't wait to actually see everything in place for real.

We walked quickly back toward the front, finding an area rug I could use for the living room on the way, and then cut across the main aisle to the other side of the store. Standing between two bedroom sets was a beautiful shelving unit. It was wood, painted white, with two columns on the base that made the entire thing just over six feet tall. Angela was pretty tall, especially for a woman, and the shelf was a good four or five inches taller than she was.

My favorite part had to be the four glass shelves that matched the living room tables we'd picked out. You could tell from the way it was positioned that it was designed to be a room divider, but in my head, I saw one wall of the living room painted a deep blue with that in front of it, using it as a bookshelf and a place to put little knickknacks I'd collected over the years. I didn't even hesitate. With Angela's quiet laughter behind me, I waved to Keith.

"Ahh, great choice! Do you want it in this white or in a dark wood tone?"

"White, please. Do you happen to have any media cabinets that would go well with this and the coffee table I picked out?" I was getting more and more excited as our shopping trip went on, and I was anxious to continue.

"Hmm, let me think." He looked around the store for a moment. "Ah! I've got it! Follow me, ladies. I have just the thing."

The low cabinet matched the couch, tables, and bookshelf perfectly: white-painted wood, glass shelf, and chrome. Looking at the dimensions, it seemed like it would fit my electronics just fine, and it was low enough that I could hang the TV at a good height above it.

"I'll take it," I said, grinning.

"Great!" Keith chuckled. "Anything else you're looking for?"

My mind suddenly blanked, and Angela smiled, waving the list in front of my face. "Dining table and chairs, right, Bella?"

I shook my head to clear the cobwebs. "Right, right. Duh. Thanks, Ang." I laughed. "We can figure out which ones I want, Keith, thanks. I'll let you know when we're ready."

He smiled and headed back to add the latest two items to my order. We were right next to the kitchen section, which was good, because my head was spinning from all the stuff I was buying. I stumbled over to the nearest chair and sat down, rubbing my hand over my face.

Suddenly, I looked at Angela and laughed. "Okay, not this one." I stood up and patted my behind. "That's the most uncomfortable seat I've sat on in a long time, including the seat in the U-Haul!"

She laughed with me, and we began to wander around. Ten minutes later, I was just about to give up, when I saw the table and chairs I wanted. "Oh, man. I hope the chair is comfortable, 'cause look how cute they are!"

The chairs had a woven leather—not a perfect color match to the sofa, but close—back and an upholstered leather seat with a chromed steel frame. The modern-looking wood table was dark, but the tempered glass top and chromed steel legs matched the rest of the furniture well. The ends unfolded from underneath as built-in leaves to expand the length of the table too, which would be handy if I ever had company.

We both sat down carefully, crossing our fingers that they were comfortable. I knew immediately that these were perfect, but I wanted Angela's opinion, too. "Yeah?"

She grinned. "I'll take these. You can have ours back at the house."

I laughed. "Uh, sure, Ang, whatever you say."

She did a happy dance in her chair while I, again, waved Keith over.

"I take it you finally found the right ones," he said, chuckling.

"We'll just stay in the seats. You guys can load us up and drive us back to Port Angeles, okay?" I asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"Aww, I'm sorry, ladies. Our delivery zone for furniture extends way past Port Angeles, but to deliver people, you have to live here in Seattle." He grinned and then laughed along with us when we couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Well, darn! I guess we'll have to get up, then. I want this table and the set of four of these chairs. That's it! Stick a fork in me. I'm done. Point me to the register, please!"

Angela said, "Hey, Bells, I'll go pull the truck around to the back if you wanna pay, and then you can meet me back there while they're loading it all in."

"Thanks, Ang." I dug the truck keys out of my pocket and handed them to her.

Thirty minutes later, and after more money than I wanted to know, the truck was loaded and I was pulling away from the store.

"Did you look at the total?" Angela asked, giggling.

I shook my head. "I did not. No way, no how. I'd probably keel over from a heart attack, so no thanks! Hey, you mentioned that there was an Apple store nearby? How about we run over there, and you can keep the truck company while I run in and buy the computer? I researched and already know what I want, so it shouldn't take very long at all. Then we can go grab some lunch, 'cause I'm starving after all that."

"Sounds good to me," she said. "I'll call Ben and update him. I know he was curious about what I'd be able to convince you to buy."

I pulled up to the store and parked in a couple of spots. Swatting her arm gently, I said, "I was very good, thank you, so hush, woman. I'll be back in a few. Tell Ben hi for me." I grabbed my wallet and headed into the Apple store.

I came out almost ten minutes later, a nice guy from Apple following behind me, carrying the box with my new laptop in it. Leading him to the door of the truck, I said, "Thanks a bunch! I'll take it from here." Truthfully, I could've carried it all the way out, but he was just too sweet when he volunteered that I couldn't say no.

"No problem! Enjoy it!" He gave me a grin that I think was supposed to be sexy, but was more goofy than anything, unfortunately.

After he had made his way back toward the store, Angela got out with the keys. "Did you give him your number?"

I shoved her playfully. "No."

She unlocked the back of the truck, and I set the box inside, tucking it into a place beside some of the furniture so it wouldn't jostle around too much.

"You should've! He was looking at you with puppy love in his eyes."

I groaned and laughed. "That's okay. I live too far away from him. I'm sure he'd understand." We got back into the truck. "Now, lunch. Wendy's okay? I saw one back that way, not too far."

"Sure," Angela said. She began telling me about her conversation with Ben as we left the parking lot.

~*~*~CIBD~*~*~

Alice's POV

I had an hour break for lunch. Since Jazz was busy, I decided to grab a bite to eat and call Rose. Besides needing to ask her what I should bring to dinner on Friday, I wanted to make sure she'd heard about the new girl in Edward's life. I drove over to Subway, ordered the same veggie and cheese sandwich I always had when I went there, and then decided to go to the park.

After plopping down at a table in the sun, I unwrapped my sandwich and called Rose and Em's shop. I didn't bother calling her cell phone, since she rarely even had it on her at work, afraid that she would crush it when she climbed under a vehicle.

"Hot Bod's Auto. How may I help you?"

"Hey, Bree. It's Ali. Is Rose free by any chance?" Rose and Emmett's business had started booming enough recently that they'd finally hired a receptionist to answer phones and handle walk-in customers when both of them were elbow-deep in car parts.

"Yeah, Ali. She just came in for lunch with Emmett. Hold on and let me tell her you're on the phone."

"Thanks," I said before taking a big bite. I hadn't even finished chewing when Rose picked up the phone.

"Hey, Al. What's up?"

Swallowing quickly, I said, "Couple of things. First, what should Jasper and I bring Friday night?"

Rose or Emmett usually cooked the meal, and we would pick up dessert or any extras that she needed, but since we had to drive down from Seattle, I always made sure to check with her in case I needed to make arrangements ahead of time to bring something to keep food hot or cold for the hour-long trip.

"Hmm, I'm thinking meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, and stuff. If you wanna bring some rolls and something for dessert that you don't need to keep cool, that would be great; whatever's easiest for you."

I took another bite and continued to listen.

"We can pop the rolls into the oven before we eat, so you wouldn't even need to cook them yourself. I have everything else already at home."

I nodded. "Easy enough. Now, onto more important things. I'm assuming Emmett told you about Edward's new neighbor?"

"He told me they'd seen a couple of girls checking out the bookstore while he was there last week and that Edward had seemed interested. Why? Do you know more than I do?"

"He called me yesterday to talk about Friday and mentioned that it looked like her name is Bella and she bought the bookstore. He seemed really excited about it and said we could talk about it when we were all together Friday."

Rose was quiet for a few seconds and then said, "Good. Maybe she'll be someone that he'll really be interested in. Hopefully she's nice. Emmett said she was pretty, but I'm sure Edward will tell us more later."

We both laughed when I announced, "If he doesn't volunteer any other info, we'll just have to drag it out of him."

"Okay, I need to eat quickly so I can get back to work. We had a couple of new customers come in this morning, and I'd like to get them finished as soon as possible so they'll come back the next time they need work done. See you guys Friday around six?"

"Yup, see you then! Give Em a smack to the back of the head for me. I'm sure he's done something to deserve it!" I grinned when I heard a yelp in the background and Emmett asking Rose what the hell that was for as she hung up the phone.

I finished eating and called Jasper's cell phone. I knew he'd have it off, so I left a voice mail before pulling out notes for my meeting later that afternoon. "Hey, baby. Just finished eating lunch and talked to Rose about Friday. See you tonight. Pick up Chinese, and we'll eat while we watch the movie I rented this morning, okay? I love you," I said before hanging up, turning off the phone, and sticking it back in my purse so I could look over my papers.