Bella's POV
Esme, Rose, Alice, and I were all sitting in soft, white, terrycloth robes, waiting for our lunch to arrive. We'd all had our massages and facials already, and after lunch, we'd get our nails done—hands and feet—and get our hair fixed for the family pictures.
"So, Bella," Rose said, "Angela's wedding is next month, right? Is she excited?"
I grinned. "She is. I think we've spent at least three hours each week on the phone, working out details. She's got the invitations ready to send in a couple of weeks, her dress is ready—aside from any last-minute alterations—and her appointments at the salon are all booked. Ben has his part under control, too. Apparently she's been..." I chewed on my bottom lip for a minute while I thought of a tactful way to say it. "Well, frankly, the last time I talked to him, he said she was being a bit of a control freak. Not quite Bridezilla, but close. Being by herself up there to plan it has been stressful, so she's involving him a lot more than he'd like."
They all laughed, and Esme said, "Yes, that happens. I got a little crazy when planning my wedding to Carlisle, too. I was in a similar boat to Angela, as I was in a new town, so I didn't know anyone, aside from the people that worked with my husband." She smiled over at me. "She's lucky to have you, Bella."
I shrugged, feeling my cheeks warm slightly. "She's one of my best friends. I don't mind helping, even if it is just to listen on the phone."
Just then, a woman came in carrying a large tray. She set out the fruit plate for the four of us and quickly figured out which sandwich belonged to which person. As soon as she finished putting down the last plate, another woman came in with another tray, only this one was full of glasses. I saw four water glasses, as well as four champagne glasses filled with orange juice—and I assumed champagne, making them mimosas.
"Here are your drinks, ladies. The first round of mimosas are already included in the price." She finished passing them around the table and then left us alone.
We continued making conversation, until Rose interrupted, looking over at Alice. "Hey, if you're not gonna drink that," she said, pointing to Alice's still full champagne glass, "I'll take it."
Alice's cheeks—normally pale—began to flush, and she looked down at her plate, slowing picking apart a piece of crust from her sandwich. When she didn't say anything, it suddenly seemed to register to us all.
"Alice?" Esme said softly. "Is there something you want to tell us?" Her voice was quiet, but there was no mistaking the excitement she was feeling.
Rose and I grinned as Alice blushed even more red before looking up with tears in her eyes and whispering, "I'm pregnant."
"Really?" Esme nearly squealed. "I'm gonna be a grandma?" At Alice's nod, she jumped from her chair and nearly hauled Alice bodily out of her seat to wrap her in a warm, yet excited, embrace. "I'm gonna be a grandma!" she said again, grinning from ear to ear.
"You're not mad?" I heard Alice ask softly. "I mean, we weren't planning it or anything, but we'd kind of hoped to wait until after we got married."
"Oh, sweetheart, no," Esme murmured. "You're an adult, and you're in love with and engaged to be married to a man who loves you more than anything else in the world. That's all that matters to me."
Alice burst into tears, and Esme continued to hold her, gently stroking her hair and murmuring softly for only her to hear. When her tears began to fade, Alice backed away, using her fingers to brush away the remaining tears on her cheeks.
"Sorry," she said with a short laugh. "It seems I'm extra emotional right now."
As soon as she and Esme were seated again, we all began peppering her with questions.
"When did you find out?" Rose asked.
Esme was beaming when she spoke. "When are you due, sweetheart?"
I could only think of what Edward's reaction would be when we had children, and that made me think of Jasper. "What did Jasper say when you told him?"
Alice grinned. "Yesterday, September twenty-fourth, and he cried. He's telling Dad and the boys today."
I laughed, both at the way she'd answered everything at once and at the thought of what the guys' reactions would be. Esme and Rose chuckled too, grinning.
We continued eating and talking until Alice finally noticed that Esme was especially quiet.
"Mom? What's wrong?" She looked concerned as she watched Esme.
Esme's eyes filled with tears, and she smiled tremulously. "I'm just so happy for you, sweetheart. I may not have given birth to you, Emmett, or Edward, but I know that having a child is the greatest joy you could ever possibly receive. You're going to make such a wonderful mother."
Alice burst into tears again, and the emotional scene between mother and daughter had both Rose and myself crying, as well. The rest of lunch was filled with laughter and happy tears, until Alice finally decreed that there would be no more tears, or we would all look puffy for the photos.
Once we'd all wiped our eyes and given Alice one more hug, we split into two groups. Esme and Alice went first to get their nails done, while Rose and I went to get our hair trimmed and styled. We would switch after and then meet up to go home once we were all finished.
~*~*~CIBD~*~*~
Edward's POV
"Deal 'em up, bro," Emmett said, pushing the newly shuffled stack of cards to me.
The guys and I were all at my parents' house, waiting for the girls to get back from the spa so we could get the photos taken that Dad had gotten my mom for Christmas. We'd already played a game of seven-card stud, and Emmett was feeling overly confident after his big win. Now, we were playing hand and foot, which was one of my favorites.
We had bowls of chips and nuts, some egg rolls my dad had baked up in the oven, Little Smokies sausages, popcorn, and a plate of cheese, salami, and crackers. By one o'clock, Emmett had already polished off a plate of the mini sausages by himself, and we'd had to heat up a second batch. We'd been snacking throughout the morning and early afternoon in place of lunch, and the chili my mom had started in the crock pot—the huge one she used when we were all home—before leaving that morning was smelling better and better, keeping us hungry.
I dealt out eleven cards to each of the four of us from the five-deck stack. Jasper and I were winning by about eleven hundred points going into the second hand. He'd been unusually quiet, even for Jasper. I didn't think Dad or Emmett had noticed, since—as usual—Emmett couldn't stop talking long enough to hear if anyone else was or not.
Before we started the new hand, Jasper said, "I could use another beer. Anyone else?"
We all raised our hands, so he moved into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and pulled out four bottles, popping the caps off on the edge of the counter. Once back at the table, he handed them out and then stood, raising his own drink.
"I'd like to propose a toast," he said. "I hope you all aren't busy in September. Alice and I would love to have you join us when we celebrate the birth of our first child."
He grinned as we all sat frozen.
Emmett was the first to respond, and his loud, "Whoop!" broke the trance my dad and I seemed to be under.
"Congratulations, man," I said, reaching across to clink my beer to his.
My dad was smiling so hard that I was afraid his face was going to break. He clapped Jazz on the back and then must have decided that wasn't good enough, because he pulled him in for a big hug. His voice was quiet, barely loud enough for me to hear, as he said, "That's fantastic, son."
After a few more—manly—hugs and well-wishes, we got back to the matter at hand and started playing cards again. We only had a couple of hours until Bella and the rest of them got back, but we were enjoying just hanging out with each other, so I knew the time would pass quickly.
Shortly after four o'clock, my mom called and said they were on their way home. The photographer was supposed to be at the house at five, so they wanted us dressed and ready by the time they got home. The call sent us into action. My dad volunteered to clean up while the rest of us got ready. We all started to help, but Jasper waved us off, claiming he'd help while Emmett and I showered and dressed. We shrugged and headed upstairs.
I hurriedly rinsed off in the shower, mainly using the time to wash my hair, which I thought needed a trim—something I'd been forbidden to do yet by Bella. Once out, I dressed in the dark slacks and dark gray dress shirt Alice had chosen. She'd been in charge of picking out the styles we would all wear for the pictures. Each couple was color coordinated, but in her words, none of us were "matchy matchy." Bella was going to wear a gray fuzzy sweater that matched my shirt, but that was all I knew.
In time with my last thought, the woman herself walked into our room, just as I was finishing buttoning up the shirt. She looked beautiful. Her hair was curled under at the end, looking sleek and sexy, and she was absolutely glowing and relaxed.
"Hi, love," I said, giving her a kiss hello.
Her answering smile lit up the whole room.
She slipped her arms around me, taking care not to wrinkle my shirt, and gave me a hug, stretching up on her toes to kiss me.
"Did Jasper tell you their news?" she asked as she backed away and turned around so I could unzip her. Once I'd drawn the zipper down, she slipped it over her shoulders and off her arms, letting it flutter to the floor.
I'd barely heard her question, so taken in by the sight in front of me. Bella was standing there in nothing but a little black bra and panties set. She was lucky I hadn't seen her before she'd left, or I'd have—
She laughed. "Edward! Snap out of it," she teased.
I took a step toward her, my eyes still roaming the length of her body, but she laughed again and backed away, one arm over her chest, the other held out in front of her to warn him off.
"No way," she told me with a grin. "Alice would kill me if we wrinkled your clothes or I messed up my hair, and we can't be annoying the pregnant woman."
That snapped me out of it, and I finally looked up at me and grinned. "Sorry, love," I purred, my voice warm and filled with lust. "You're right. Bad timing."
She giggled as she moved into the closet for the clothes Alice had chosen.
By the time she came out of the closet, tucking a white dress shirt into a dark gray skirt, wearing a matching sweater and holding black high heels, I was dressed, my hair was dry and—somewhat—styled, and I was sitting at the desk, waiting for her. She smiled and walked into the bathroom to do her makeup.
As she finished getting ready, I told her about our card games and about Jasper telling us that he and Alice were having a baby.
"Isn't it amazing?" she asked, carefully applying mascara to her lashes. I held back my chuckle when her jaw dropped. I'd grown up seeing Alice and my mom do it, too. It amused me that women couldn't seem to put on some makeup without their mouth hanging open.
"It is," I agreed. "I think they were planning on having their wedding in August, but now I wonder if they're gonna either move it up or back, so she's either not very pregnant or has already had the baby."
"Hmm. I hadn't thought of that... I think they'll probably wait, but I honestly have no idea."
She came out of the bathroom, sliding earrings into her ears, and then handed me the necklace. Lifting her short hair out of the way, she asked, "Put that on me, please."
Once she was ready, I held my hand out, and she slid hers into it. I pulled her to me, kissing her lightly on the lips. "You look beautiful," I murmured softly.
"Thank you," she said, smiling as she reached up to wipe a trace of her lipstick from my lips, showing me the small pink smudge. "You're quite handsome yourself."
We walked out of the room, meeting Rose and Emmett—decked out in navy blue and black—at the top of the stairs. When we got downstairs, my parents, in their dark burgundy tops, were sitting on the sofa, chatting with the woman who must've been Sophie, the photographer. Jasper was in the chair to the left of the couch, with a weirdly calm Alice perched on his lap. They were wearing dark purple and looked absolutely, stunningly happy.
"There they are!" Mom said, standing and coming over to us. "You all look perfect." She turned to the photographer. "Sophie, these are my other children. Our son, Emmett, and his wife, Rose, and this is Edward and his fiancee, Bella." She pointed to each of us in turn.
The woman came over, camera in hand, and smiled. "Hi, guys. I'm Sophie Cole. It's nice to meet you."
We all said hello and shook her hand, waiting for direction on where to stand or sit.
~*~CIBD~*~
After an hour, we'd taken nearly a dozen pictures—everything from casual, with us laughing and playful, to much more poised and posed—and were gathered around the laptop Sophie had brought, viewing the photos. There were pictures of us grouped as couples, with my parents in the middle and the rest of us gathered around them, a few with us grouped together by sex, with the women on the couch and the men behind them, and others in different poses and settings. My favorite, though, had to be the one of us all outside on the back deck. It was very, very cold, but it wasn't raining or snowing, so we'd braved the cold and taken a beautiful picture with the snowy landscape as the backdrop.
While my parents finished with Ms. Cole, we all went upstairs to change back into our casual clothes. We were going to spend the night, so we'd all agreed to dress in sweats or sleepwear and eat bowls of chili with crackers and cheese in the living room, a fire roaring and movie playing on the TV.
Once we were all settled in the living room, Dad moved to turn the movie on, but Alice stopped him.
"As you guys know, we'd originally decided on August for our wedding." She waited until we had all nodded before continuing. "I thought about putting it off and waiting until the baby was born to get married, but Jasper and I would both like to be married before the baby comes. Still, I don't wanna be showing when we get married—the dress I'm gonna wear wouldn't allow it—so we're gonna push the wedding up to next month, the week after Bella and Edward go to Forks for her friend Angela's wedding."
Once again, they'd stunned us all into silence, until my mom smiled and said softly, "Well, I guess that means we have a wedding to plan."
Whew. It was going to be a looooong month!