A/N: Well, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by Breaking Dawn. I finished reading the book late LATE Sunday night/Monday morning. I actually had a lot of wild theories floating around in my head as to how it would all end up, and I'm thankful that Stephenie Meyer did another amazing job. I would have liked a little bit "longer" ending, but I love the book nonetheless. I'm not going to post any significant plot details because I'm sure there are people who (like me) don't have a lot of time to read and haven't finished the book yet. Feel free to send comments about the book to me as a PM or as part of your review/comments.

Thanks to all the readers for your amazing patience and understanding. I really want to make it up to you, so this chapter will be a little longer (I think), and may contain some more "mature" content for your reading pleasure. I hope you all enjoy. We'll see if I can go over the 150 review mark.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, therefore, I'm not that freakin' brilliant. However, I still hope you give my story a chance.

BPOV

April 2, afternoon

Edward and I had arrived at lunch holding hands. This wasn't much different from normal, and most of our group didn't notice anything new. It wasn't like Edward and I were going to hide our relationship (if you could even call it that after that one kiss), but we weren't the type of people who flaunted their relationships as well.

We walked up to where our group had been waiting, and of course, we managed to be the last to arrive. It didn't take long to get our table after that, and soon we were once again gathered around the largest table in the restaurant. Under the table, Edward's hand continuously made contact with my body. Usually we would be holding hands, but occasionally his hand would massage my knee or just above my knee. Every piece of skin that he touched sent a line of fire to my heart and heated me from the inside out. I knew I was smiling like a fool, but I just couldn't stop myself.

We ate lunch, talking to everyone else. When we finished eating, we all stood up, ready to split off into our groups again. This time, however, Alice insisted on the girls going off on our own and the boys having some time to themselves. I was about to object, but I stopped myself when I realized that it wasn't smart to go against both Rose and Alice. And it was very obvious they wanted to have a bit of "girl time." This usually meant an afternoon of shopping, and I could only imagine what would happen to the other tourists who got in Alice's way this afternoon.

I reluctantly said good bye to Edward and the boys and sighed heavily as I walked over to my best girl friends. Who would have ever thought I would be disappointed to be with those two? We walked in a comfortable silence as Alice searched for our destination. It didn't take us long to find the first store, and soon, we were being ushered inside by our little pixie.

Alice was flitting around the store looking for gifts for ALL of her friends, leaving Rose and I to browse the shelves and racks or things. I was more thinking about Edward more than the souvenirs in front of me. Apparently, Rose noticed. "So, Bella… thinking about anything or anyONE in particular?" Rose asked me with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Rose. Would you care to be more specific?" I played along with this game. I knew I would be the first to crack, but it was fun to have a little of this girl time. Besides the conversation would eventually lead to Edward and that was one conversation I wouldn't mind taking part in.

"Oh, come on, Bella. We have all known for months that you've been crushing on him again. The only thing I can't believe is that Edward is blind enough to not see it. When are you going to tell him?

So Rose didn't figure out exactly what happened this morning between Edward and me. "Well, I think I may have let him know about my feelings for hi this morning." It was going to be fun to drag this out.

Rose screeched, which caused all of the other customers in the store turn to us. Alice came rushing over to us with a worried look on her face. In her arms were a huge bundle of clothing and nick knacks. Rose used a "slightly" quieter voice to explain to Alice what I had just told her. I tried to act indifferent to their conversation by looking through a shelf of picture frames. I was soon pulled away from the picture frames when I hear Alice mimic Rose's high-pitched screech from earlier.

"Why did you tell us at lunch?" Rose hurriedly asked as both her and Alice turned expectantly at me.

"Well, you both never asked me, or Edward. I would have been happy to tell you about it if you had asked, but you didn't." I went on to tell them about my morning with Edward. By the time the story was finished, Alice and Rose were both bouncing excitedly.

We went into planning mode. Alice and Rose wanted to make Edward squirm with lust by planning the rest of my outfits, including beach/pool wear for the remainder of our trip. Alice explained to me that she wasn't pleased with my covering the navy bikini up last night, and that I wasn't allowed to do that again.

After a few hours, we met up with our parents and the boys for dinner. Alice was carrying quite a few shopping bags. We took our respective places around the table. Edward quickly reached out to grab my hand under the table and gave it a quick squeeze. We ate in happy conversation, but I noticed the looks that Alice and Rose kept giving me across the table.

After dinner we all stayed together in one group and walked around until it was time to watch the parade and fireworks. Edward stood behind me, wrapping his strong arms around my waist as we watched the floats and characters walk past us. Occasionally, he would press his lips to my cheek and I would burrow closer into his chest. Shortly after the parade, the fireworks started. I marveled at the blues and reds, but I didn't see more of the show than the first few minutes. Edward turned me to face him and placed a passionate kiss on my lips as we stood underneath the exploding sky. It was a true cliché, but it was perfect, especially since I was with Edward. Nothing could top this moment, and nothing could tear us from one another.

A/N: Okay, so I know this took forever to post, and I apologize soooo much. This week has been soo excruciatingly long and busy. I put in a couple 10-hour days at work, and those led to going to bed excessively early, leaving me NO time to write or read. I hope you all will accept my apologies. I also have started the next chapter and I will give out a hint (or teaser) to those of you who send me a review for this chapter. I will post an update Sunday. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy this one.