Proposals and New Beginnings

Two months later. The beginning of September.....

The past two months have been pure bliss. My love for Edward has only grown stronger and stronger with each passing day. He always found a way to surprise me or show me he loved me with even the smallest gestures. Edward had taken to hiding notes for me around my apartment as well as his. Each one was filled with something he loved about me, or a reason he loved me. Each one was alway different and just as beautiful as the last. He had also taken a liking to sending me random bouquets of the most beautiful flower arrangements to my office once every week. Every Monday morning I would walk into my office to find last week's flowers replaced with fresh new ones. The flower delivery man and I had become good friends over the weeks.

I had been spending most of my nights at his apartment with him. I always had a stash of clothes there just in case. Alice didn't seem to mind at all. Jasper was always over at ours in the first place, so it really wasn't a problem for her. That just meant more privacy for them, and less earplugs for me.

Even though Alice and I didn't see each other as much as we used to, we still were just as close as before. We made sure that every Wednesday night, we blocked the entire night for just us girls. No boyfriends, no work, no nothing but quality girl time. Rose would join us from time to time, but only when she wasn't working or wedding planning. The wedding was coming up quickly. The date was set for October 3rd.

The wedding plans were coming along swimmingly. With Alice there to help, everything was done by nothing but the best. Alice and Rose both had very high standards. The wedding was turning out to be quite the event. More than 200 people had already RSVPed. When Edward and I got married, I didn't want everything to be such a production. I would prefer a small, quiet and quaint wedding with just close family and friends.

I was positive that Edward was it for me. He was the one. It may have only been two months so far, but these past two months have been the best ones of my life. We may not have even moved in together yet, but I knew that, that step was coming soon.

Alice may not know that I would be moving out soon, but I sure did. I was the one who Jasper took out ring shopping last week to find the perfect ring for Ali. He asked her parents for their blessing and they both agreed happily. Jasper and Alice were perfect together. Before Jasper even went to Alice's parents, he approached me. I remember the day clearly when Jasper came up to me.

I was sitting on the sofa reading a book peacefully. Edward had a 24 hour shift at the hospital and Alice and Rose were out looking at wedding bands. I was surprised to hear a crisp knock at the door. I wasn't expecting anyone and everyone that would knock on my door was out today.

I marked my place in my book and went to answer the door. I looked through the peek-hole and was surprised to see a very familiar blonde on the other side of the door. I swung it open to let the person in.

"Hey Jaz, sorry to tell you but Alice is out wedding planning with your cousin," I told him. He smiled nervously at me and wrung his hands together.

"I know, I actually came here to talk to you," he said. This was strange. Jasper was never nervous. He was a psychologist, it wasn't in his nature to be nervous. I opened the door wider to let him into the apartment. He walked in a sat carefully in his usual armchair. This was not the Jasper that I was used to. This Jasper was putting me on edge.

He looked over at me nervously and opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but snapped it shut again. I sighed loudly.

"Just spit it out Jasper," I told him. He looked over at me and sighed.

"Bella, you are Alice's best friend and she loves you like a sister. Through Alice, I have met you and I have come to love you like a sister. Alice is not very close to her parents so you are the first person that I wanted to go to and ask for their blessing, I ca-" he said. I jumped up and interrupted him mid word.

"YOUR PROPOSING?" I screamed. He looked up at me, trying to decipher if I was incredibly angry, or ecstatic. He nodded his head carefully.

"I came here to ask you for your blessing. I know that Alice would love to have your approval and blessing of us," he said. I laughed and jumped out of my chair. I flew into his lap laughing.

"Of course you have my blessing to marry our Ali, Jasper! I wouldn't give it to any other man!" I exclaimed happily. He laughed at my enthusiasm and hugged me back.

"Will you help me pick out the ring?" he asked. I squealed and hugged him tighter.

Jasper and I went to dozens of jewelry stores looking for the perfect ring, and we finally found it. Well, he found it and I approved. The ring practically screamed Alice Brandon (hopefully soon to be Whitlock).

It was a large square lucinda cut pink sapphire that was surrounded by smaller white diamonds. The band was made of diamonds as well. The band was white gold and it was exactly Alice's size. He didn't even have to get it resized to fit her tiny fingers. It's almost as if the ring was made just for her.

Jasper was taking Alice out shopping sometime tomorrow and had an absolutely perfect proposal planned. His is going to hand her a Christian Louboutin shoe box, saying that he found her the perfect pair of shoes. Alice being Alice would squeal and throw open the box, only instead of finding shoes, she is going to find her ring sitting there in the tissue paper where the shoes should be. The proposal was so Alice. I'm pretty sure that I'll hear every single little detail over and over again. I didn't mind, just as long as my Ali was happy.

Jasper, the smart man that he is, will of course get her the shoes too. He is buying her a pair of shoes to wear with her wedding dress. Pink of course. I think that Alice will be on cloud nine. Shoes and engagement rings all in one night. The woman will die.

Today was my birthday, but the only person who knew was Alice. She was sworn to secrecy not to tell a single soul. I made her promise in the 10th grade when she tried throwing me a huge sweet sixteen. She had begged me to tell Edward, but I refused to budge. If I told him, he would make a huge deal out of it and buy me something incredibly extravagant and unnecessary. She was allowed to get me one gift, and I had already opened it. We always gave each other our gifts right as the clock strikes midnight and we are officially one year older. She gave me a beautiful brown Dolce & Gabbana soft leather jacket. I had been wanted a leather jacket for years, but had never found the right one. Alice of course did and knew it was the perfect birthday gift. Alice decided that she was going to take the initiative to buy my lingerie for my birthday as well. Being my best friend, she of course knew that I had lost my virginity, and was making the best of it. She guilted me into accepting the gifts by saying that they were for Edward too. I must say though, that for Alice, this lingerie is quite tame. She bought me a cream lace babydoll with a matching lace thong, a navy cami and bikini set, a light blue slip with lace at the bottom and around the top, and thankfully for me, she bought an innocent light pink ruffled nightgown.

Edward and I had never really used lingerie before. When we were in the mood, it sort of just came to us without trying. Hopefully Edward wouldn't mind having me in some of these. Alice had secretly dropped them off and hid them away while Edward and I were both at work today.

I walked down into my apartment garage to go get into my car and over to Edward's. We were going out to dinner, but he refused to tell me where.

True to his word, after Edward's parents left, we went out and looked for a new car for me. I tried to get another simple but classy Audi once more, but Edward wanted bigger. Being the car fanatic that he is, he took me to multiple dealerships to look at every single option that was possibly out there. He made me test drive ever single car that I even looked twice at. He said he wanted to be sure that I found the right one. I ended up choosing a beautiful blue BMW M3 coupe, much to Edward's pleasure. That was one of his favorites that we looked at.

I got in quickly and turned the car on, the engine humming to life. I pulled out and carefully drove over to Edward's place. I didn't even have to pull into the garage. Jacob would take it down for me and bring it right back up when I needed it. Those were the perks of befriending the doorman. I left my car with Jacob and rode the elevator up, anxious to see Edward. I hadn't seem him since Wednesday morning and it was now Friday evening. He had been working crazy shifts, but luckily he got the whole weekend off.

Before I had left, Alice had styled me in a purple gingham strapless dress with grey toile coming out of the bottom an lining the sweetheart neckline. I was wearing pewter strappy jimmy choos and had a small snakeskin bag that held practically nothing but a tube of lip gloss and my license. I didn't even bother bringing an overnight bag. I had plenty of clothes at Edward's anyways.

I opened the door with the spare key and walked in, putting the key back in it's previous spot. I didn't even bother to knock anymore. I practically lived here.

"Edward?" I called out as I placed my bag onto the hall table and walked past the living room.

"In here!" he called out from his slightly ajar bedroom door. His voice was slightly muffled so he must have been in the closet when he yelled out to me. I pushed his door lightly to find him walking out as he buttoned up the last few buttons on his navy blue button down shirt. He had that paired with black slacks and what appeared to be a black sports coat over his arm.

"Hello beautiful," he said as he wrapped his arms around me. I blushed, still not used to the constant flow of complements from him, and leaned up for a much needed kiss.

"I missed you," I sighed against his lips. He pressed his lips harder to mine before breaking away.

"I missed you too. It's no fun coming home and sleeping when I know that you are sleeping in a different bed without me," he sighed. I kissed his cheek and smiled. He always said the cheesiest things, but I loved it.

"You're telling me. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in two days," I replied. He clasped my hand and dragged me out into the hallway, grabbing his coat as I grabbed my bag before heading out for the night.

"Are you ever going to tell me where we're going tonight or am I going to have to wait?" I asked him impatiently. He laughed and shook his head.

"Do I ever?" he retorted. I rolled my eyes and ignored that as I sat angrily in the car. I am pretty sure that Edward didn't know about my birthday being today. To him, it seemed like just another friday.

The rest of the ride was filled with casual conversation. We caught up on what we hadn't told each other over the phone in the past two days. I sat in my seat blissfully the entire way, just glad to be in Edward's arms once more.

We pulled up to a small, romantic looking Italian restaurant. It was in a small brick building that was wedged between two industrial office buildings. The candlelight from inside gave off a warm yellow glow that lit the street. Ivy was growing up trellises that were placed on each side of the front door. The place was perfect.

Edward came around and opened my door, offering his hand towards me. I took it happily and practically skipped to the door. Edward laughed at my eagerness and followed dutifully behind me. The minute we walked up to the podium, the hostesses eyes zeroed in one Edward. You think that after two months of this, that I would get used to it, but trust me I don't. It makes me just as mad as the last time when some random girl flirts shamelessly with Edward right in front of me. Sometimes I am even tempted to make Edward wear a sign that says "I am taken," and have one for myself that says, "Back off, he's my boyfriend." Somehow, I don't think that would work out so well.

The hostess was dirty blonde with dark grey eyes. I wasn't a fool. I knew she was beautiful.

"Good evening, how may I help you?" she asked flirtatiously while batting her eyelashes.

"Yes, I have a reservation under Cullen for two," Edward replied politely. She nodded her head and looked down at the desk.

"Right, would you and your sister prefer a table in the back or front," she asked him. I wanted to jump over that desk and rip blondie's hair out. I felt Edward wrap his arm around my waist and pull me close to his body.

"My girlfriend and I would like a private table in the back," Edward replied icily. I smiled evilly at the look of pure unadulterated hatred that she gave me. She nodded her head curtly and gestured for us to follow her. Edward kept his arm around me and followed the now fuming woman. I followed happily. It gave me pure satisfaction when the women that hit on Edward got jealous.

As we walked along, Edward's arm grew tighter and tighter as we progressed. I looked up at him confused, only to see him glaring straight ahead at nothing. We got to our table and just as I was about to sit in the seat that had a great view of the restaurant and other restaurant goers, Edward redirected me so that I was hidden by a slight curve in the wall. I sat down quickly in the other seat and grabbed my hand.

"What was that for?" I asked him once the hostess was gone. His face was still laced with anger.

"You didn't see all of those guys staring at you?" he asked me incredulously. I laughed at the sheer impossibility of that.

"Please Edward, they were just staring at that hostess," I replied, rolling my eyes. Edward sighed and squeezed my hand tighter.

"Are you ever going to see yourself clearly? Every single male looks at you wherever we go. I'm surprised I haven't snapped completely yet," he replied. I rolled my eyes at him, willing him to drop the topic. We got into this argument often. He sighed but dropped it, knowing that I was just as stubborn as yesterday.

"I'll get you to see it someday," he muttered under his breath. I chose to ignore that las comment and looked over to him.

"So what's the reason for this fancy restaurant?" I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders and looked back at me.

"It's not everyday that your girlfriend turns 25," he replied. I gasped loudly. He knew!

"Who told you? The only person who knows is Alice!" I cried.

"Your mom called my apartment the other day looking for you. She must have tried yours first and Alice directed her towards mine. She told me," he replied, looking at me suspiciously.

"Ugh! Stupid, unreliable mothers," I muttered under my breath angrily. Nobody was supposed to know!

"Why didn't you tell me?!" he replied.

"Nobody but Alice and my family know when my birthday is. I've always hated it. I don't like the attention or the presents. It's all so unnecessary," I replied, still stuck on my angry feelings towards my mother. I would have to have a talk with her! She knew I had a no birthday rule.

"But why not me? I am your boyfriend, don't I get the rights to know when it is?" he asked. He was trying to make light of it, but I could see the hurt behind his eyes.

"Oh Edward," I sighed, "me telling you has nothing to do with you! The only reason that I didn't tell you was because I didn't want you making a big deal out of it or buying my anything. Having you there is enough!" I replied, trying to ease his doubts.

"I wouldn't have done anything if you asked me to. Well, maybe not the gift aspect, but the big deal aspect yes. Plus, I would have found out some time or another," he said.

"I know you would have, I was just trying to prolong the inevitable," I replied. He sighed but looked back up at me, the hurt in his eyes gone.

"Fine, but I still get to give you something. You didn't tell me so I have gift giving rights without any complaints," he responded with a smirk. He knew he had me there.

"Fine, but make it quick," I said holding my hand out. He reached into his pocket and brought out a rectangle box. The box was an unmistakable Tiffany & Co. robin's egg blue. I looked up at him about to complain, but the eager look on his face shut me up. He was so excited about giving it to me, and I knew that I couldn't rain on his parade. I didn't let him buy me things often so this would have to do. I carefully pulled on the white silk ribbon and took the top off. There was a black velvet box on the inside. I turned the box over and the black one fell out and into the palm of my hand. I gingerly opened the top to reveal the most beautiful, but still understated, sapphire and diamond earrings I had ever seen.

They each had one oval royal blue stone in the middle, and were surrounded by diamonds that were cut into triangles. They looked like stars, or snowflakes. I knew they were ridiculously expensive and that I should make him take them back, but I just didn't have the heart to do it. He was so ecstatic that I was receiving them without a fight, and I just loved them too much to even think about returning them.

Edward's thoughtfulness brought tears to my eyes. Most boyfriends would have bought a charm bracelet or a heart necklace, but Edward went out and bought me the most beautiful earrings. I could practically see the hard thought and effort that he put into finding just the right ones. I looked back up at him with watery eyes. His excited eyes immediately dimmed when he saw my face.

"Do you like them?" he asked me nervously.

"No, I don't," I replied.

"It's fine. I can just take them back and you can pick out other ones," he said, reaching his hand for the box. I snatched it away from his grip and laughed.

"No Edward, their perfect. I absolutely love them. Their beautiful. Thank you," I sighed. His smile came back to his face in a flash, but soon turned into a smirk.

"Isabella Swan is actually not complaining about receiving a gift? Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?" he asked cockily. I slapped his arm and laughed.

"Shut up and help me put them on," I commanded him. He smiled and took the earrings out of the case carefully. I lifted my hair off out my shoulders and he slid each one into place. He smiled brilliantly.

"You look stunning love," he said as he leaned over and kissed me lightly.

"Thank you," I replied.

The rest of the night passed quickly. The dinner was amazing, and as always, Edward was amazing as well. Before I knew it, we were parking in his garage and getting out. We walked up, hand-in-hand, in a comfortable silence. Edward was fidgeting with something in his pocket the entire way up, but I knew not to question it. Edward always spoke when he was ready to say something. Instead of opening the door to let us in, he stopped me and turned me around to face him. I looked up at him questioningly, and was met with his eyes burning with intensity.

"I have one more present for you. Bella, I know that we have only known each other for two months, but these past two months have been like a dream. Jasper told me that he is proposing to Alice tomorrow, knowing Alice, the wedding will be as soon as possible. I assume that Jasper and Alice will want to move in with each other once they get married, and you won't have anywhere to live," he started. I hadn't even thought of that. I mean, I knew that Alice was going to move in with Jasper sooner or later, it just hadn't crossed my mind. Great, now where am I going to live?

"Before I even knew that Jasper was proposing, I had been planning this," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver key that looked exactly like his. I gasped loudly. Was he asking me to move in with him?

"Would you move in with me?" he asked me. I was stunned into silence. Edward actually wants me to live with him? This birthday was by far the best one I had ever had. Edward started to shuffle nervously at my silence. To stop his doubts, I threw my arms around him and kissed him passionately.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes," I got out between kisses. He laughed loudly and picked me up off of the ground as he hugged me tightly.

"Thank you," he whispered. I laughed at him. I was the one who needed to be thanking him. Before I could respond, he set me back on my feet and slid the cool metal into the palm of my hand.

"Would you like to open the door to our home?" he asked me happily. I was so blissful at that moment that I could cry. All I could manage was a feeble nod before turning towards the door to my new home. I slid the key in and turned it with a resounding 'click'. I opened the door slowly, almost as if I thought that if I moved too fast, the dream that I was living in would disappear. Edward followed me into the house and swung me up bridal style.

"Welcome home," he murmured against my hair. I smiled brightly and kissed the top of his head.

"That sounds perfect," I replied. He kissed me hard, and I responded just as quickly. Without breaking the kiss, he shut the front door with his foot and walked towards his bedroom with me in his arms.

This was home.

---------------

I woke up the next morning to a persistent and annoying ringing. I opened one of my eyes, trying to gain consciousness. I sat up slowly, and opened them fully. The ringing was not a phone or an alarm clock, but someone at the front door ringing the doorbell impatiently. I looked over at the clock and it read 2:30. A.m. or p.m.? I swung my legs off of the bed and walked over to the shut drapes. I opened one to see bright, afternoon sunlight. Edward and I had slept the day away. Edward groaned at the light and turned away from it.

I shut it quickly, threw on Edward's button down and boxers, and ran towards the impatient visitor who was still ringing the doorbell. I looked through the peephole to see an annoyed Alice pressing the doorbell button over and over again.

I threw the door open just as Alice was about to knock with what I could tell was some extreme force. She hit air and flew into me, sending us both on the foyer floor.

"Oof!" I exclaimed as I cushioned our fall. My leg kicked the hall table in our graceful fall and made the whole thing wobble. The glass vase that was sitting on top began to wobble from side to side. Almost as if it was in slow motion, the vase toppled over and hit the floor, completely shattering.

Alice and I sat there, tangled up in each other, completely shocked. I looked over at her as she looked at me. We just stared for a moment before bursting into hysterical laughter. We were rolling around on the floor crying when Edward finally made it to us.

"Bella are you alright?" he called out as he rounded the corner. He stopped in his tracks to take in the scene before him. Here Alice and I sat, crying from laughing so hard as we sat on top of each other on the floor that held a shattered crystal vase. He looked slowly between the vase and us, trying to figure out what just happened. Once we were calm enough to control ourselves, I looked up at him.

"Don't ask," was my only reply. He shook his head at us and rolled his eyes,

"I wasn't planning on it," he replied before turning towards the kitchen and returning with a broom and dust pan.

"I'll get it," I cried as I jumped up.

"Don't move!" he cried out as he put his hands up. I looked down to see my bare feet surrounded by small shards of glass.

"Oh, um yeah, good call," I answered. Edward quickly cleaned up our little mess and returned to us. I hadn't noticed before, but Edward was only wearing pajama pants and no shirt. He must have thrown them on when he heard the crash. I was slightly distracted for a moment before the little pixie attacked.

"I have been calling your cells and the house for an hour! Don't you ever pick up the phone?" Alice yelled over her shoulder as she walked into the living room. I assumed she wanted us to follow her, so I grabbed Edward's hand and walked behind Alice.

"Man, you guys must have had quite a night to have slept for half of the day," she continued. I remembered what Jasper was planning to do earlier, and immediately looked towards Alice's left hand. Sitting there on her ring finger, was the giant pink gem that I had shopped for with Jasper.

"Anything you would like to tell us Ali?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I mean come on, you guys must sleep like rocks. You didn't answer either of your phones even though I called like a thousand times and I have been standing outside the door for the past twenty minutes trying to get in. How do you two ever get up for work in the morning?" she rambled on, clearly forgetting her main purpose for being here.

"No Alice, I mean is there anything you would like to tell us," I said, looking pointedly down at her left hand. She looked at me crazily, then looked down at her hand.

"OH!" she exclaimed. I threw myself at her and hugged her with all my might.

"Congratulations Ali. He's perfect," I said into her ear. She laughed and squeezed me back tightly.

"Thank you so much Bellsy! Are you really okay with it? I mean, we can wait if you aren't ready to move out yet," she replied. I shook my head at her.

"No don't worry Al. Edward asked me to move in with his last night," I replied happily. She squealed and held me tight.

"Now let me see that rock. I was there when he picked it out, but that was last week," I told her as I grabbed her left hand.

"You were there when he picked it out?" she asked.

"Yep. I went with him after he asked for my permission to marry you," I said, nodding my head. She laughed loudly.

"Jazzy always does know what to do. He knew that if you said no, that I wouldn't even think twice about marrying him," she said. I laughed and nodded.

"Good thing I love him like a brother already," I replied. She giggled and pushed me off of her.

"Well, if you're moving out, we need to get packing!" Alice exclaimed as she jumped up and ran out the door. And she's off....

---------------

I stood up, brushing the dust off of my jeans as I taped shut my last box. The day after I told Alice that I was moving in with Edward, she had bought boxes and was going through the CD's to see whose was whose. She was excited to live with Jasper just as I was with Edward, but we were both still scared. We had never lived in an apartment without each other and relied on each other. The comforting thought that Alice was still just a call away. I knew that she would be there for me in a heart beat. Plus, we still promised the ritual of our girl time on Wednesday nights. Her place or mine. It didn't matter, just as long as we were together.

I bent down to pick up the box and rested the weight of it onto my right hip. This one was filled with books, and I was tipping over at the excessive weight on just one side. Just as I reached the front door and was about to topple over, it swung open to reveal a laughing Edward and Emmett walking in. Edward spotted me in my predicament and quickly rushed over and relieved me of the heavy box.

"Couldn't handle the pressure Bell?" Emmett asked as he walked down the hallway with the other last box. He started to hum the song 'Under Pressure' as he skipped down the hallway. Edward shook his head as he watched his older brother prance over towards the elevator.

"Sometimes I wonder about him," he muttered under his breath. I laughed loudly and Emmett called out.

"I heard that little brother!" he said as the doors opened. He walked in and held it open for us.

"I would have hit the door close button if it weren't for the fact that I happen to like your girlfriend very much and she wasn't walking with you," he said as he stuck his nose up in the air. I laughed and gave him a quick hug.

"Thanks for your thoughtfulness Em," I said sarcastically. He laughed his booming laugh and hugged me back.

"Anytime squirt," he replied. Emmett had taken to calling me squirt seeing as he said I was just as big as a squirt to him.

The doors opened and we walked out and to Emmett's monstrous Jeep that we were using to move all of my things. Jasper was just moving in with Alice seeing as his apartment was only meant for one person and ours was meant for two. We loaded the last few boxes and got into the Jeep. I looked out the window one last time before we drove off.

"Are you sure you're alright with this?" Edward asked me once again. He had been asking me consistently if I was sure about my decision. No matter how many times I told him I was positive, he wouldn't let up. And he says that I don't see myself clearly.

"For the last time Edward, I'm positive. I am just saying goodbye to what was my home for the last six years. Key word in that sentence...was," I responded. He smiled brightly and kissed my forehead.

We drove up to the apartment building and parked out front. Emmett and Edward grabbed the last two boxes and we walked up. I waved over to Jacob as we passed and he smiled brightly and waved back. The elevator doors opened with a loud ding. As soon as I walked into those doors, I was closing the previous part of my life for good. I stepped in and they shut with a final thud. I was expecting to feel some sort of nervousness or sadness, but I was surprised to feel a sort of comfort. When I was with Edward, I was at home.

The doors of the elevator opened, opening a new chapter in my life. The wide, light apartment that was now mine welcomed me as Edward opened the door for me. I walked in and placed my purse and keys on the hall table. I felt Edward's warm arms wrap around my middle.

"Welcome home love," he whispered. Our perfect moment was interrupted by a classic Emmett comment.

"You know, I don't plan on being an Uncle anytime soon Eddie," he called out. I blushed, but laughed all the same. You could always count on Emmett to make a joke. Edward smacked his brother in the back of his head trying to look stern, but you could see the smile threatening to break through his tough facade. His brother may drive him up the walls, but he loved him nonetheless.

I could hear Rose and Alice banging around the apartment, chatting away happily. Those two got along so well sometimes, but were so different at the same time. I couldn't hear Jasper anywhere, so I assumed he was out getting something under Alice's command.

"Alice?" I called out. I heard the sound of heels clicking down the hallway at a rapid speed.

"Bella! You're home! Good, Rose and I were unpacking your clothes and we have made a decision. We are going on an emergency shopping trip. Now that you don't have me with you 24/7, you need to have options!" she cried out. I was already shaking my head before she finished.

"No Alice, I don't need anymore clothes. No way," I told her. She rolled her eyes and took my hand.

"You know you're going to end up going anyways so why fight it?" she asked me rhetorically. I had no answer to that. I knew she was right. I looked over at Edward, desperate for an escape. He shrugged his shoulders and mouthed 'sorry'. He knew Alice just as I did. There was no fighting it.

"Fine Alice, but we aren't going for long. I have to cook dinner and I have to unpack," I told her.

"No love, you don't need to cook, we can go out," Edward said. I shot him a look that told him to shut up. He nodded his head and looked away.

"No dear, I want to christen the kitchen on our first official night here together," I said between my teeth. Edward forced a smile and nodded. He knew he was in for it when I got home.

"Great! We'll be quick!" Alice said as she dragged me out the door while I grabbed my purse. I mouthed 'help me' over to Jasper, but he laughed and shook his head. There was no stopping his fiance.

---------------

I sighed loudly as Alice pushed me into another dressing room. She promised that this stop would be the last one. The last 8 shops have all been 'the last one.'

"Here Bella," she said as she pushed a pile of clothes towards me. I was extremely confused at this point. The entire trip we had been shopping for swimsuits and very beachy clothes. There was no way that I could ever wear more than half of the clothes that we bought today, here in Seattle.

"Alice really, I don't need anymore summer clothes. Summer is over! It's September!" I yelled out to her from behind the dressing room door. She laughed.

"Humor me Bella," she said. I was clearly missing out on something here. First, Edward actually lets me go shopping with the devil who actually wears Prada, and now said devil is forcing me into the tiniest bikinis I have ever seen. Something in my world had gone haywire.

I finished trying on all of the outfits and suits, and met Alice at the register. She had picked out her favorites and was paying, much to my protest.

"Seriously Ali, I think you need to get help," I told her as I approached her. She rolled her eyes and scoffed at me, but said nothing.

Rose came up to us then, her arms filled with itsy bitsy bikinis and summer dresses.

"Okay, I'm done," she announced. Thank goodness! Someone finally on my side!

We all paid and then walked towards the car, loading our purchases into the already full trunk. An hour and a half later we pulled up to Edward and mines apartment.

"Grab just your bags Bella," Alice called out to me as she walked into the lobby. I grabbed my six full bags of purchases and followed her in. Jacob looked over at me flabbergasted. I rolled my eyes and motioned towards Alice. He laughed and nodded his head at me with sympathy. At least he felt sorry for me!

We rode the elevator up and walked over to the door. Before I could even get my keys out, Edward swung open the door and swooped me into his arms.

"Sorry for abandoning you love," he told me. "You'll understand later." You've got to be kidding me! Was I the only one completely clueless?

Edward took the bags from my hands and walked over to our bedroom, putting them right inside the door. I walked into the kitchen to find Chinese takeout boxes stacked up on the counter tops. Edward walked in with a sheepish look on his face.

"I told you I wanted to cook tonight!" I yelled at him as I poked my chest with my pointer finger. He put his hands up as if to signal surrender.

"I'm sorry love, but you got home so late and we have an announcement to make and nobody wanted to have to wait to make it while you cook! Plus, after the announcement we are going to need to get ready for it," he defended.

So there was some secret that Edward was keeping from me. Wait, did he say everyone?

"Every single person in this house knew about this big 'secret' but me?!" I cried out. He nodded his head guiltily.

"We knew that if we told you, you would have fought us about it," he said. I pouted. He was right, but I still felt hurt.

"Don't be mad love," he pleaded with me. I kissed his cheek lightly, knowing that he was only doing what was right. He smiled at me and grabbed my hand, dragging me into the living room where everyone else was lounging.

"Okay guys, are we ready to tell her?" Edward asked them. Both Alice and Emmett started bouncing in their seats. Rose nodded and Jasper shrugged. They even acted like family sometimes.

"Love, before the wedding gets too close and everything gets crazy, my parents want to take us on a vacation. We're going to Cabo for a week," Edward said. He stood there, preparing for my impact. He was not getting what he was expecting.

"Really?!" I asked excitedly. I had always wanted to go to Cabo San Lucas, but had never had to opportunity to. Shock crossed Edward's face.

"Yes," he said, " and you're okay with that?" he asked me. I leapt up into his arms.

"Of course I am! I've always wanted to go, but never could!" I cried out happily. Emmett laughed and Alice started doing a little happy dance. Edward kissed my nose and set me back down.

"Let's get packing!" Alice yelled. I let her pull me in, knowing that this vacation, would be the best yet.

Thanks for the support! Review review review please! All of the clothes are on my profile as well as the jewelry!

I am starting a new story soon so look out for it! The first chapter should be up in the next day or so.

xoxo, VK