Bella

"Goal accomplished," I say to no one, having just unpacked the last of the boxes we brought from my apartment to Edward's place. Our place, I guess. I blow out a loud breath and flop back onto the couch, letting my right arm and leg dangle over the edge. I wanted to finish my unpacking and have everything all set up before Edward gets home from work tonight, and I did. Now I hope to never see another cardboard box as long as I live.

Living with Edward has been absolute heaven so far. We go to sleep together every night and wake up in each others' arms each morning. It's kind of silly, but our first trip to the grocery store together felt somewhat monumental to me. I mean, once you shop for food together as a couple, it's pretty official, right?

When I'm cooled off and rested, I navigate my way around the broken-down cardboard boxes to stir the spaghetti sauce in the kitchen.

I hear the front door close just as I'm putting the pasta in the pot to boil, and Edward rounds the corner a moment later.

"Hello there, gorgeous," he says over my shoulder in a deep, velvet voice that makes my knees all wobbly. "Smells good."

"I found your mom's recipe. It'll be ready in ten."

"I need a kiss," he pouts.

"You can have whatever you want." I go to give him a quick kiss on the lips, but he catches me by the arms and pulls me closer.

"Whatever I want?"

"Within reason."

"Is it reasonable to ask that you cook naked?"

I snort. "Don't hold your breath."

Edward

No matter how much she might wish it to be true, there's not a snowball's chance in hell I'd forget Bella's birthday. I had every intention of waking her up with a little birthday fun, but when I woke up, she was already in the kitchen getting coffee. And when she came back, she headed straight for the shower. I would've stopped her, but I had other plans. So now I'm in the kitchen, cooking up her favorite breakfast before she can stop me from making a big deal over her.

"What's this?" she asks, coming back into the kitchen and popping a strawberry into her mouth.

I pile more berries on top of Belgian waffles and set the dish of cream next to some plates on the bar. "It's your birthday breakfast."

She pauses, holding another strawberry in midair, halfway to her mouth. "It's not my birthday."

"Yes, it is. September thirteenth…"

"It's September thirteenth?" She whips around to check the calendar on the fridge. "I forgot my own birthday?"

"Are you serious, Bella?" Maybe I shouldn't laugh at her, but it's pretty hilarious.

She shakes her head sheepishly. "Well, Alice usually wakes me up on my birthday by bouncing on my bed very early in the morning, forcing me to get up so she can take me out to breakfast."

My laughter dies down to a chuckle, and I drop a kiss on the top of her head. "Well, I get to be the very first to say it this time. Happy birthday, love." I lock my gaze on hers and watch her beautiful face flush slightly.

"Thank you. This looks amazing. I'm famished. Someone kept me up burning calories last night."

I snicker and hand her a mug of coffee.

"So," I begin as we tuck in to breakfast. "I took the liberty of planning dinner tonight. I invited everyone."

"You didn't."

"I did. I know you don't like being the center of attention, but your friends want to share your birthday. I know Alice misses you."

"I know. I miss her, too. Do you miss Jasper?"

"Uh, I guess I'm used to seeing him around, but I don't really miss him." I raise my eyes and smirk, turning on the cheese. "Not when him being gone means you're here instead."

She snorts, but I ignore it, because the way her twinkle let me know she actually loves my cornball side.

Bella

I'm shimmying into my new red dress when someone knocks on the front door. I'm pretty sure it's Alice, which is great, because I need help zipping this thing.

"Happy birthday, Belly-Bells!" she shouts, crushing me in a hug as soon as I open the door.

"Belly-Bells?"

"I've missed you all week."

I turn, and she zips my dress without me even having to ask. We head back to the bedroom so I can finish getting ready as Alice tells me about her week.

"I'm impressed, Bella," she says, admiring my short party dress.

"I wanted to look special. Edward planned this big thing, and I didn't even remember it was my birthday until he reminded me."

She giggles. "You forgot your own birthday? That's a new low. I mean, I know you've never loved birthdays, but seriously. You've gone so far as to forget them completely?"

"I know," I say with a sigh. "And he's so sweet for remembering."

"What's wrong?" she asks, hearing the hesitation in my voice.

"I'm so happy, but…I can't help but wonder how long things can keep going so well. I'm just so happy. I feel like something has to give sometime."

She shrugs, and the fringe at the hem of her flapper-inspired dress shimmies. "You just have to live in the now. Enjoy the present. And the presents." She laughs at her own joke. "Let's get out of here." We gather our things and head out the door. "Bella, Edward is nothing like any of the other jerks. Nothing. If you could see the way he watches you when you aren't looking… It's like he can't believe you're with him."

I roll my eyes and duck down into her car. "Right, Alice. He's the successful, talented, gorgeous one, and he can't believe it? I'm the one wondering how I landed such an amazing guy."

"You're perfect for each other," she says with a smirk as she backs her car out of the parking spot. "Neither of you thinks you're good enough for the other."

I sigh and toy with the strap of my purse. I know she's right. "He really makes me feel like I'm the only girl on the planet he'd ever want."

"You should listen to that feeling," she says, eyebrow raised. "Maybe then you'd stop being so self-conscious."

The hostess leads us to a large, round table in the back of my favorite restaurant, where most of my friends are already seated. Edward stands with his back to me, but he turns as soon as he hears me and immediately draws me to him.

"You're breathtaking," he says close to my ear, then kisses me hello. When he pulls away, I take in his appearance not-so-covertly. Dark, close-fitting jeans hug his lean frame, and his blazer makes him look so debonair. Is it warm in here? I wonder.

"You're pretty damned good-looking yourself, Cullen," I say, kissing him on his jawline, and turn to greet everyone else.

Before I can take one step, I'm accosted by two large, warm arms encasing me from the side.

"Bells!" Jacob cries. "I've missed the hell outta you."

"I've missed you, too, Jake." I laugh and turn in his embrace to squeeze him back. "Where's Jess?"

"Working. She'll be here in a bit."

"And how's everything going there?"

His face lights up. "It's so good, Bells." He chuckles. "We drive each other nuts sometimes, but that's the fun of it."

"Really, Jake, I'm so happy you're happy."

"You seem pretty…ecstatic yourself. You're practically glowing."

"Am I?" I look back at Edward over my shoulder. He's talking to Emmett and Rose, but he looks over and winks when he catches my eye.

Jake tugs on the end of a strand of hair that's fallen over my shoulder. It's a gesture that takes me back almost two decades, to when we were making mud pies together in the backyard. "You look good, Bells. I'm glad to see you so at ease."

After greeting the rest of my friends, I sit in a chair decorated with pink tulle and balloons. A plastic tiara sits on the plate in front of me, and I drop my face into my palm. "Really?"

"Your crown, princess," sings Alice. "And before you protest, this was all Edward."

"I have a hard time believing that. You at least planted the seed in his head, Ali."

She shrugs and sits down in the chair to my right. I take the crown and place it next to my plate, but Alice snatches it up and plops it down on top of my head.

The rest of the evening goes smoothly, and even if I loathe being the center of attention, I grin and bear it for the sake of my friends.

I open presents gracefully, without a single you really shouldn't have. I'm quite proud of myself for that. A beautiful pair of vintage sapphire earrings. A gift certificate to the art supply store. A spa day for two, which I'll definitely be sharing with Alice.

"Thanks so much, guys," I say when I'm finished. "Seriously, everybody, you're all too good to me."

"You're not finished yet," Edward says, pulling a rectangular package from underneath his chair, all wrapped in damask fabric and tied with a silver ribbon. "Happy birthday, babe."

The package is almost too pretty to mess up. "I love you," I sigh, kissing him quickly on the lips.

"You haven't opened it yet."

I carefully untie the ribbon before removing the pretty black material to reveal a leather book. Engraved in silver script in the middle of the black leather is my name.

"What is it?" Emmett asks, craning his neck from across the table.

"Open it," says Edward.

Tears sting my eyes when I read the cover page.

For My Bella: Music and lyrics composed by Edward M. Cullen, inspired by Isabella M. Swan. It's never occurred to me that we have the same middle initial. It's silly, but it makes me smile. The next page is a table of contents, followed by sheet music for the song Edward wrote me. After that are pages and pages of other songs he's written, completely unbeknownst to me until now.

"Oh, Edward," I whisper, quickly swiping at tears before they can land on the beautiful book.

"I still don't know what it is," Emmett says impatiently.

I hold it up, then pass it around for everyone to see. When I gaze into Edward's eyes, there's such a hopeful tentativeness that it tugs at my heart. "I love it. Thank you so much."

"You're so welcome." He shoots me my special, crooked smile and places a kiss on the side of my head.

The night finds us enjoying a drink at a bar on the beach. Alice dubs it the perfect way to officially end the summer and celebrate my birthday at the same time.

We have our drinks out on the deck overlooking the ocean. I sit back in my chair, looking up at the stars and vaguely listening to the conversation around me. My legs are stretched out in front of me, feet settled in Edward's lap as I sip my drink.

The others slip away one by one. "I hope you know you're worth all of this and more," Alice says into my ear before, and I know she means more than the birthday party.

"Thank you so much for tonight, Edward," I tell him as we walk down the beach alone. "Everything was fabulous. Especially your gift."

He brings his forehead to mine, his arms around me holding me firmly against him. "Anything for you."

"I had no idea you'd written all those new songs."

"You weren't supposed to," he says, tapping the end of my nose.

I press my lips against his briefly. The moment demands no more than a whisper. "I don't know how I can ever show you properly, but… I love you so, so much."

"That's enough for me," he says softly. "I could survive on that alone." I lay my head on his shoulder with my face buried against his neck. The incoming tide rushes around our ankles as he holds me, rocking me from side to side as though we're dancing.

He quietly hums a little tune I haven't heard before, and tears prick at my eyes again.

"What's the matter?" he asks softly.

"Nothing. Everything is perfect. You're perfect. We're perfect."

His smile is dazzling as he squeezes his arms around my waist. "I have something else for you."

"What else could you possibly think of?"

He chuckles and pulled a black velvet box from his pocket. "When I was in Chicago, my grandmother gave me this. I told her all about you, how I feel about you. She wanted me to have this. To give you when I felt it was appropriate."

He opens the rectangular box and pulls out a bracelet. It's a simple, rose gold chain with a small tag for inscription. He fastens the clasp around my writst and turns my wrist over so I can see the engraving. The script is elegant, with interlocking B and E swirling, twining around each other.

"I was named after my granddad. And my grandma's name is Betty," he explains.

I shake my head in disbelief at this perfect, perfect man. "Edward, this is…" I have no words. "It's beautiful. Are you sure you trust me with this?"

"I trust you implicitly. With this," he touches the bracelet, then brings my hand over his chest where his heart beats, strong, eager. "And this."

My own heart pounds wildly as I cup my hand around his neck and pull him down for a kiss.