Once again, I am so sorry for the long wait. Even though it's been annoying, I have had time to come up with so many ideas for this story. This chapter sets the stage for lots of things to come. And that includes with everybody. Not just Edward and Bella. The wedding is coming up so I'm playing with time frames. I hope I don't put to many events in one chapter but I feel as though there all necessary. Oh and I have been neglecting some characters so of course their will be some future drama with Alice.

I'm excited! Read and I'll catch you at the bottom.

Stephenie Meyer owns twilight.

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BPOV

"What about that one?" I said eyeing a dish at the end of the table.

"You won't like that one." Edward said, forking a piece of cake off of my plate.

"You don't know that."

He raised an eyebrow and handed me the desired plate. I scooped a fork full and immediately cringed. I grabbed a napkin and began scraping the unappealing taste of coconut from my mouth.

"Told you you wouldn't like it" he said without looking at me. I watched in annoyance as he handed me another one.

"Here taste this."

He rolled his eyes when I didn't comply and fed me himself. I couldn't help but flutter in satisfaction. He laughed as I grabbed the plate out of his hand and continued to eat.

"Oh try that one by your elbow." I said, forking a piece of his lemon cake.

I watched him as he took a bite and nodded.

"Orgasmic right?"

"Guys!" Alice yelled suddenly, making me drop my plate. I watched in sorrow as the last of the Ganache fall to the floor. Edward tried catching it but missed.

"Dammit Alice," I said earning a smile from Edward.

"You're so greedy." He whispered, shaking his head.

"This is a cake tasting not a cake buffet. Stop eating whole pieces! Taste one and move on…"

"Don't scream at us," I said trying to fork another plate she had just swiped from my hands, "Emmett is on his fourth piece of Red Velvet. Go stop him."

She gave me a warning glance and walked over to where Emmett was. I heard Rosalie giggle and redirected my attention back to Edward's plate.

"I don't know where you put it." He said shaking his head as he watched me finish off his slice.

"I have Emmett as a brother." I shrugged, glancing around the table to see where Alice had thrown my other slice.

"Which one did you like?" Rosalie said sliding her chair towards us.

"The Ganache is definitely your winner. It's my new favorite flavor."

"I would have to agree." Edward said leaning back into his chair.

We all glanced at Alice and Emmett who were arguing ferociously about portion control.

"You'll be lucky if they don't pummel each other at your wedding." I commented.

"Yah well we will deal with that later. You guys are still going to pick up the floral center pieces right?"

"Yes, next Wednesday." Edward said glancing at his watch for the third time. He'd been doing that a lot lately. In the past week he had gotten a promotion that required a lot more of his time. It had been the position he wanted for months so of course I was happy for him even if that meant a little sacrificing on my end.

I leaned back in my chair and waited for the inevitable.

"Okay, sorry guys but I have to jet." He said, leaning towards me and grabbing my hand.

I giggled as he spread my fingers out, dipping his tongue between my thumb and forefinger to lick away some icing I doubted was there.

"Don't forget our dinner plans." I said quickly before he could flee towards the door.

"Dinner plans?" he asked, putting on his jacket.

"Yes Edward. Dinner plans. You know the ones I made for tonight-"

"Yes, yes, I'm just messing with you. I will meet you at the restaurant at eight sharp." he said as he searched for his keys. I watched as he frantically lifted my purse from the table as well as many fly away napkins. Quietly I stood up and reached into his front pocket.

"I'm serious Edward." I said as I handed him his keys.

He smiled and kissed my forehead. "I will be there. I promise."

I watched him leave and redirected my attention to Alice. She looked warn out and tired which was weird since normally I had a hard time shutting her up.

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EPOV

The clock read 7:45. I returned my eyes to the computer and typed as fast as I could. I had to complete the latest file report for my boss and I was no where near finished. I tried to focus but all my thoughts trailed to Bella.

For the last three weeks I had been nothing but the perfect business man. I had finally got the promotion I had been longing for but I was slowly beginning to realize that it wasn't what I thought it would be. I wanted to be a future CEO of my own business. So how I found myself, working late hours at a job I hated, trying to climb this damn ladder while I did other people's work, I will never know.

"I need that report by 9:00." My boss said, as he strolled by my office. He didn't even wait for a reply. Instead he planted another file onto my desk and left.

I pulled out my phone and made the dreaded phone call. This would be the third dinner cancelation this week with Bella. I knew she was itching to tell me something but I never had the time. And I hated that. Of course she would never say it out loud, but I was letting her down in so many ways. It was crunch time in our relationship and I was biting the wrong bullet. She should have been my first priority but somehow she had dwindled down to the bottom of the list.

"Hey I'm leaving now," she said after the third ring, "Are you already at the restaurant?"

She seemed out of breath and I could imagine her tripping over things as she scrambled towards the door. I breathed heavily and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"No Bella, I'm not there. I can't-"

"You can't what?"

Her breathing began to level out and her voice sounded timid. I hated that she knew what was coming even before the words even left my mouth.

"I'm so sorry but I won't be able to make it tonight. I tried, but I can't get out of writing this report."

She took a while to reply which could not mean anything good. I waited for her anger and was surprised when it didn't come.

"Don't worry about it." She barely whispered into the phone.

Her passiveness was worst then anger. She was only ever passive with her parents which meant that she was beyond hurt.

"No Bella I'm really trying here I just-"

"Call me when you can."

I heard the click of the phone and slammed it against the wall. I contemplated leaving but found myself choosing work over her once more.

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BPOV

I sat on the couch and closed my eyes. I didn't want to be angry but I couldn't help it. He was blowing me off when I needed him the most. But the strangest thing was I wasn't sure if I was angrier with him as my best friend than my boyfriend. I don't remember when I started differentiating the two, but it suddenly bothered me that I did…

I got the first phone call about a week ago. I had just gotten home from a long day of classes and was in the kitchen grabbing a sandwich when I noticed the machine blinking. I pushed play and listened to a raspy voice fill the apartment.

"Hello Ms. Swan, this is the chief editor of Speak Publishers and I would love to speak to you about your book. I have a copy of your manuscript in my lap right now and I am intrigued to say the very least. My name is Jasmine Romper and you can contact me at the following number…"

I dropped my sandwich and pushed rewind. I listened to her first sentence again and pushed rewind once more. When it finally sunk in I screamed. And then hiccupped. And then laughed. And then I cried because this was very real. The chief editor of a publishing company had actually called me inquiring about my story.

A story that was based on my life. On my love. My thoughts shot to Edward and I immediately dialed his number. When he didn't answer I tried again. By the third try I gave up and decided that this kind of news deserved more than a phone call. I dialed his number one last time and left a message, telling him to meet me for dinner.

That was a week ago.

Three canceled dinners later and I still hadn't been able to tell my best friend about the one thing he inspired the most.

I closed my eyes once more and tried not to think about the disappointment but rather on my future meeting with the chief editor of Speak.

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Three days later…

"You don't like skim milk." I said, eying the growing grocery cart in Edward's hands.

"Yah but you do." He replied, checking the expiration date on some bagels in his hand.

"Okay." I said slowly, redirecting my attention to the candy aisle. He followed me as I tucked a package of sour patch kids under my arm. I watched as he pulled two more bags and threw them into the cart.

"Why do you keep doing that?"

"What?" he said turning towards the next aisle.

"Edward you don't like sour patch kids or spicy dorritos or peach tea." I said, examining more of the things he was throwing into the cart.

"I know. You have bad taste in food," he said chuckling to himself.

"But I thought we were getting food for your apartment." I said, trying to keep pace with him as he rounded yet another corner.

"We are."

"So why do you keep putting things that I like into the cart?" I asked puzzled. I opened the bag of candy and popped two into my mouth.

"So you can have stuff to eat when you're over." He said nonchalantly, wheeling towards the cashier.

And for some reason that just about pissed me off to no end. Here we were doing things that couples did when they lived together. But it was all artificial. We might be grocery shopping together and I might spend all my time at his place, but nothing was really ours. There was my kitchen sink and there was his kitchen sink, my stove, his stove, my bathroom…and the list went on. He didn't want to live with me yet he wanted to make sure his apartment was well stocked with all the food I liked. It was all nonsense.

And the fact that this was the only time I had had with him all week…a lousy trip to the grocery store… only heightened my agitation. My meeting with Jasmine was in two days and he still did not know. He brushed my dinners aside so I guess in away I was doing the same to him. It didn't make sense, considering that the only thing I needed right now was his support but I was tired and cranky. My news could wait.

"What?" he said, as he noticed I was staring at him. He grabbed my hand and began to play with my fingers as the cashier rung everything up.

"Nothing. You just cease to amaze me." I said, rolling my eyes. He just frowned and wrapped my arms around his waist. And like always, all was lost.

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The Next Day..

"Rose what's it like living with my brother?" I asked as I squinted against the harsh rays of the sun.

We were both sitting on the bleachers, our legs dangling over the slight edge as we watched the guys play their monthly baseball game. Somehow they insisted that Rose, Alice, and I were required to go.

"Didn't you live with him for the duration of your childhood?" she shot back.

"Okay, I guess what I mean is what is it like to live with the person you're in a relationship with?"

"It's not easy…" she said, pulling a hand through her blonde locks, "but I guess that's where compromise factors in. When I said I'd marry Emmett it meant that I'd marry ALL of him. Even the disgusting underwear he leaves in the bathroom."

I laughed but the smile didn't necessarily reach my eyes.

"It's a big step Bella. It's definitely not for the faint of heart. Why? Are you and Edward thinking about moving in together?"

"No." I said shaking my head. It was the only answer I could think of that didn't sound pathetic. I definitely couldn't go with the, "oh I asked him but he said no" reply. The last thing I wanted people to know was that my fairytale ending had a slight glitch in it. "No it's just-"

"Come on chicks, get out here and play," Emmett screamed from the field, cutting me mid sentence.

As we rounded to the field, a not-so-subtle Jasper came running towards us.

"Uh…no I don't think that's such a good idea." He said…only he wasn't looking at me or Rose, but directly at Alice. I saw her stiffen and shoot him a look.

"It'll be a quick game." Edward called from the outfield. "Rose can't hit, Bella will trip over every rock, and Alice throws like a girl."

"He's just scared." Rose said, twirling a piece of her blonde curls through her fingers as she walked over to where Emmett was.

"Yah let's play." I said, grabbing Alice's hand and moving towards first base.

We were stopped when Jasper suddenly stepped in front of her.

"Alice… please." He whispered under his breath, almost frantic.

"Don't ." She said, no longer looking him in the eye.

"We only need two players anyways Alice. You really don't have to play." Jasper said. I heard his words exactly, but the situation didn't really amount to their meaning. There should have been nothing unnerving about his words but yet there was.

What he said was a simple statement but somehow it was fueled with enough ammo to set Alice off. Besides the infamous key incident, I had never really seen Alice mad at him. They only got in petty, nonessential arguments. Nothing big. But right now she looked as though he had just called her the dirtiest thing in the book.

"Well thank you oh so very damn much Jasper for your concern. Inconvenience is the last thing I want to condone."

I was so caught off guard that for a second I thought she was joking. And then I saw her eyes.

"Alice I didn't mean-" he started.

"No of course not. You don't mean anything you do. Things just happen right?"

She put a little to much emphasis on the last part, which only sent us that much further into confusion. Jasper didn't look embarrassed as I expected, but rather hurt. And for some reason that only tightened the knot in my stomach.

By now all the boys had made it to the fence. It was such an awkward silence that even Emmett couldn't counteract.

"Alice it's okay, I'll sit out with you." I said trying to lighten the mood as best I could.

"No, I'll sit alone. I have to learn how to do it sooner or later."

I frowned at her last sentence, but was pretty sure it wasn't directed towards me. And that thought was only confirmed when Jasper let out a muffled sigh and awkwardly retreated back to the field. Emmett shrugged his shoulders and followed him. Edward's gaze followed his sister. He looked just as confused as I was. My eyes shifted to Rosalie who neither looked confused nor upset. Instead she just looked nervous…and well informed. And I swear I saw her and Jasper exchange a noted look before she left for the pitcher's mound.

The rest of the game carried on despite Alice's partial breakdown. I was on my period, which meant she was not too far behind.

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Okay I hope it was worth the wait. What did you think? Bella's situation, Edward's lack of attention, oh and Alice….