DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER.
A lot of you were freaking out over the last line of the last chapter. Just to let you know that that line is not foreshadowing. It was merely to illustrate the point that Edward and Bellw will love no one else for the rest of their lives. Sorry if that freaked anyone out too much.
I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Having Renee or Jacob ruin it was never an option for me. I wanted these two to have their day, and I wanted them to have it go off without a hitch. Having anything ruin their day didn't even cross my mind.
For those of you who can't get the links that were in the AN at the bottom of the last page to work, they're on my profile.
I'm going to shut up now, and get on with the story.
EPOV
I'm dreaming.
I must be.
Everything that's happened today, well, in the last year, must be a dream, because there is no way I am this lucky in life. Stuff like this just doesn't happen to me.
I am currently sitting in my back yard, in a large gazebo that Alice had had put up to hold our reception, surrounded by my friends and family, next to the most beautiful, amazing woman in the world. Who so happens to be my wife.
Yeah, I'm dreaming.
I can't remember ever feeling this happy. It's as though I'm finally complete, and nothing can bring me down off of my high. Only when I wake up that is.
Bella looks absolutely radiant. She's glowing. She looks incredible in her wedding dress, as I knew she would. To me, she could have walked down the aisle in her pyjamas and I would have thought that she was perfect. But then again, thinking about that, if she had, Alice would have had a fit.
That would have been amusing.
"Edward?" Bella called from where she was sitting next to me. "Are you alright?" She was looking concerned. I must have been really deep in thought for her to give me that look.
"I'm absolutely perfect." I whispered, pressing my lips to hers gently. "I'm just waiting to wake up." She smiled at me, and kissed me again gently. I then felt a sharp pain in my hand where she pinched me. "Ow!"
"You're not dreaming, love." She giggled at me.
"I guess not." I couldn't help but grin back at her. "You could have found a nicer way to prove that to me though."
"Well, they say that if you're dreaming you can't feel pain, so…" She shrugged as if that justified her action. I mock scowled at her and she giggled again.
I looked around the room, and saw everyone starting to sit down at the various tables that had been set out in the gazebo. It was still warm out even though the sun had gone down. Even so, Alice had had heaters put into the gazebo for when the temperature did start to drop.
"Alice has really outdone herself, hasn't she?" Bella commented, gazing around in the same fashion that I was.
I nodded and smiled at her. "That she has." I kissed her cheek gently. "I think we need to get her a very expensive present." Bella turned to look at me, nodding.
Alice was still in organizer mode, even though she was acting the bridesmaid as well. Bella hadn't been able to choose between Alice and Rosalie for her maids of honour so she had picked both of them. Rosalie slot into that role perfectly fine, although I knew for a fact that she wouldn't be getting with the best man, seeing as that was our father, and even though that's what tradition says, that's just wrong. I shuddered thinking about it.
"Cold?" Bella asked, looking concerned again. She had felt my shudder at the disturbing thought.
"No," I shook my head. "A very disturbing thought has just flashed through my mind and I want to get rid of it."
"What was it?"
"You don't want to know." I told her and she shrugged. I knew that she would ask me about it later, but I think she knew that she would get the exact same response from me.
I looked at her and I found myself getting lost in those beautiful brown eyes of hers. I could get lost in those forever and now actually could. There was nothing that could keep us apart now. We were bound forever. And I wouldn't have it any other way. From the look in her eyes, I got the feeling that she wouldn't either. That thought made my heart swell.
I heard the faint tinkling of spoons being tapped against glasses and I took a deep breath preparing myself for the speeches that were about to come. I could see Bella doing the same, and I smiled, squeezing the hand that was intertwined in mine.
I looked up and saw Carlisle standing up, looking a little nervous. Carlisle had never been one for public speaking. He didn't really have the nerve for it, but there was no way that he would pass up this opportunity. I just hope that he wouldn't bring up anything too bad.
"Now, I know that it's traditionally the best man's job to embarrass the bride and groom with a revealing speech, you know, about their past." I could tell that he was nervous, but he didn't show it to everyone else. "But, there's nothing funny about the two people sat beside me. They have fought through trials that would have broken a weaker couple. Now, I know a lot of you are probably thinking that the two of them are two young to be married, but I have to disagree with you. When it comes to a love like the one that Edward and Bella share, there is no proper age for this day to take place. I am so incredibly proud of the two of you, and I couldn't have found a better woman for my son if I had hand picked her myself. Bella, you're a godsend." I looked at her and I could see that she had a faint pink flush rising on her cheek. I gave her a quick kiss and ahse grinned at me, visibly relaxing. "I would like to present, the brand new, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cullen."
With that everyone raised their glasses, champagne for the adults and everyone else had apple cider, which was good enough for me.
As Carlisle sat down, Rosalie stood up. It had been decided that because Alice had been running around like a headless chicken for this wedding, not that Rosalie didn't try to help, she just got shot down frequently, that Rosalie would be giving the Maid of Honour speech.
"This is the one that I'm dreading." Bella whispered in my ear.
"Why?" I asked in equally low tones.
"It's Rosalie." She actually looked worried at the thought of Rosalie's speech.
"True." I nodded. "Don't worry love, it can't be that bad."
"Wanna bet." She rolled her eyes at me.
"Bella, it's no secret how you've affected Edward and the rest of the family. You've brought him to life, bringing out a side of him that we thought we'd never see again. Before you came along he was moody and closed," I shot her a look and she smiled at me, innocenty. "But then you appeared in his life, and you changed him. You turned him into the loving and carefree, well almost carefree guy we have sitting in front of us right now. You've affected our family in so many ways. As soon as you appeared, you fit into our family just like a missing puzzle piece and from the first day I met you, I felt like I'd known you for years rather than minutes. You've always been my sister, and you always will be. I can't thank you enough for what you've done for my brother. A lot of people have been against my brother and Bella being together. Why? I have no idea, because it's so obvious that the two of you are supposed to be together. Just looking at the two of you, you can see that. And now, the two of you have your fairytale ending, but in a lot of ways, it's just the beginning for the two of you. I love you both so much." She raised her glass. "Bella and Edward."
Everyone toasted the two of us again and Rosalie sat down. "Thank you," I mouthed to her and she smiled at me. "See," I faced Bella. "Wasn't so bad."
Alice had organised for there to be a meal as well. Not anything huge, but something to fill stomachs before the band started playing. I found it mind boggling to think of how she'd done this all in two weeks. I would have felt it possible, but she had. It had all happened.
Everyone ate, chatting to the people at their table and I couldn't help but feeling a sense of peace. I couldn't keep my eyes off Bella. She was so beautiful. I wanted to imprint this night into my memory forever. This was one night I never wanted to forget.
"Son, " Carlisle called me, placing a hand on my shoulder. He handed me an envelope and smiled at me. "Here."
"What is it?" I asked, curious.
Bella had been given an envelope from Charlie as well. We looked at each other, confused and then back at our respective parents, who both gestured for us to open them.
"Open yours first." I said to Bella and she ran her finger underneath the lip of the envelope, still looking confused. I leaned over to see what it was and my mouth fell open.
"Two weeks in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Chicago." She whispered. She leaned over and hugged her father so tight that I thought his head was going to fly off. "Thank you Dad."
"Thank you so much Charlie." I took the evenlope from Bella and read through it in disbelief. I knew how expensive this hotel was, and I knew that it must be cutting into Charlie's retirement fund greatly.
"Your parents told me how much you missed Chicago, Edward." He shrugged. "And I know my baby girl wants to see where you moved from. I thought that this would be the perfect time to go." I smiled at him gratefully and he grinned back. "It's all in there, bookings under Cullen, plane tickets, transport information when you get there. All of it."
"Oh, Dad, thank you so much." Bella was starting to cry now. I knew that was a bad idea, especially seeing as Alice was sitting just across from her.
"Don't worry about it, kids." He shrugged as if it was nothing to him. "The two of you deserve it. Open the gift from your parents."
I had completely forgotten about the envelope that I had been given by my parents. I handed the envelope back to Bella and picked up the one that was lying on the table in front of me. It seemed that everyone had gone quiet while Bella and I did this and I found it incredibly nerve-wracking knowing that everyone was watching me. I slid my finger underneath the lip of the envelope and ripped it open quickly.
As I pulled out the paper within I couldn't believe my eyes. I felt my jaw drop in awe and I looked at Bella. She couldn't see what I was holding so I showed her. Her eyes went wide as she saw what it was. I could tell that everyone else wanted to know as well.
"They," I choked out. "They bought us a house."
There was silence as Bella and I looked at my parents who were smiling at us. "Actually, we built you a house."
"This……this is too much." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes now, as I leaned in and hugged Carlisle. Bella stood up and embraced Esme as tightly as she could, muttering thanks and how it was too much and that we couldn't accept it. I would have stopped her saying those things, but I was saying the exact same things to Carlisle.
"Nonsense." Carlisle muttered. "The two of you deserve it. After all you've been through, the two of you deserve the chance to be happy and build your lives out from under the noses of the rest of the family." I hugged Carlisle again, before standing up to hug Esme.
"Oh, my baby boy." She was crying as well. "You do deserve this. The both of you. And we're happy to do it for you. It will be completely ready for the two of you to move into by the time you get back from your honeymoon."
Bella and I sat back down and I kissed her swiftly, earning the two of us a collective "aww" from everyone sat in front of us. I heard Bella giggling and looked at her to see that she had turned a bright red.
I saw Emmett standing at the microphone in front of the band I felt the blood drain from my face.
"Oh no." I heard Bella mutter. She turned to look at me, her worried expression mirroring my own. "What's he doing?" I shook my head. I had no idea.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen. I think it's time for the couple's first dance as husband and wife don't you think?" He waved the two of us up to the dancefloor area of the gazebo. I stood up and Bella had turned the brightest shade of red that I had ever seen. "Come on, Bells. This is one dance you don't get out of."
She sighed and put her hand in mine. I pulled her up gently and we walked around to the dancefloor as Emmett stepped off the stage and walking back to his seat. When we approached the dancefloor "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron&Wine started playing. This was the one song that Bella and I had requested be played from Alice. It seemed that she didn't disappoint.
Bella looked nervous as we started dancing, so I pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Are you alright, love?" I asked her and she looked at me, worried.
"You know I don't dance." She stated.
"Well, you're doing fine, at the moment." I pointed out, smiling.
"Yeah, you're saying that until I step on and bruise your toes." I laughed and she giggled at me. "I hate dancing."
"Well, just think, after this dance you don't have to get up here again." I told her and she shook her head, disagreeing with me.
"Not if Alice has her way." She sighed. I'd forgotten about Alice's tendency to embarrass Bella. I wouldn't let that happen tonight though. This night belonged to Bella and myself. Even though she had organised it all, I wasn't going to let Alice embarrass Bella at all.
As we finished our dance, people started clapping and moving onto the dancefloor themselves as the band struck up another song.
"You want to go and sit down?" I asked her and she nodded. We made our way back to our seats and sat down.
The rest of the night passed with nothing out of the ordinary happening at all. Of course, Jasper and Emmett had to go and embarrass themselves by having a break dancing contest in the middle of the dancefloor. And I say break dancing, when I mean, the might have probably broken something if they hadn't stopped when they did. Even that couldn't be blamed on alcohol because they were both completely sober. I looked at Bella who, in turn grinned back at me, seeming unashamed of her two new brothers.
"Right," Alice called over to the two of us. "You two need to go and change. Your flight is in two hours and I doubt that you want to get on the plane in a full wedding dress and tux do you?" We both shook our heads. "Right, Bella, your outfit is in my room and Edward yours is in yours obviously. I want you both back here in fifteen minutes or I'm coming to find you."
"Yes Ma'am." I mock saluted and Bella and I ran up into the house before anyone could stop us. Half way up the stairs, Bella stopped, turned around and attacked my lips.
"How much do you think we can get away with in fifteen minutes." She mumbled against my lips.
"Not nearly enough." I mumbled back, not breaking the kiss. She brought her head back up, breaking the kiss with a disappointed expression on her face.
"Dammit." She groaned, resuming her ascent of the stairs.
"Tell me about it." I followed her, silently glad that she had stopped there, or else I would have had a problem that would have needed attending to before we got on the plane. I kissed her when we reached the first floor and she had to go to Alice's room. "Later though."
"I'm holding you to that, Mr. Cullen." She giggled.
"Same here, Mrs. Cullen." I kissed her gently again before climbing the second set of stairs that led to my bedroom. I was never going to tire of calling her that.
I walked into my bedroom and changed quickly. I knew that Alice wouldn't be bluffing when it came to her coming to get us if we weren't back down in time.
I took off my suit and laid it down on the bed, knowing that I would have hell to pay if there was anything wrong with it when Alice picked it up. I looked at what she had given me. Thankfully she had given me comfy clothes to wear for the flight. I hated to think what was in my suitcase though. We had an itinerary for the two weeks. A couple of things, like meals out and stuff like that that had been planned. I guess it was a precaution just to get us out of the hotel room at least a few times while we were there.
Alice had given me a pair of loose fitting jeans and a white button down shirt. She had also given me a light jacket to wear. I knew that she had prepared for temperatures both here and in Chicago. They wouldn't be too different I didn't think. Well, what did I know? Alice was the buff at everything fashion orientated. The rest of us just wore what we were told to, unless we wanted to face the pixie wrath.
I walked down the stairs to see Bella wearing the same outfit as me and we both grinned.
"I guess we'd better get used to matching, huh?" She commented as I reached the bottom of the stairs.
"I guess so." I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. I still couldn't believe that this beautiful, amazing woman was my wife. I was the luckiest guy in the world. I know everyone says that, but I actually am. If it wasn't for her, then I probably wouldn't be here right now.
I released Bella, still keeping one arm around her waist as we walked back out into the garden. Everyone was still in the gazebo and Alice ran up to us smiling as we approached.
"Hmm, one minute to spare." She grinned. "Nice timing."
"Thanks, Alice." I leaned in to hug her. "For everything." I whispered in her ear as she hugged me back.
"No problem big brother." She whispered back. I think that she was surprised at the fact I had initiated the hug. I didn't care. Today all problems, fears and inhibitions were being shoved to the back of my mind.
"Bouqet!" Rosalie shouted, handing it to Bella, who in turn blushed. "Come on, you gotta throw it!"
I let go of Bella and stepped away from her as she turned around, her back facing everyone gathered there. She threw the bouqet and turned around.
We both laughed as it hit Alice, who wasn't paying attention, in the head. She looked at what had just hit her and grinned at the two of us. I took Bella back into my arms as everyone clapped for us.
Carlisle would be driving us to the airport in his Mercedes, as we didn't want to have to leave my Volvo in the parking lot over the two weeks.
We climbed into the car and Bella snuggled into my arms. I sighed and kissed the top of her head as we pulled out of the driveway, watching the waving hands disappear. I looked at Bella and in that moment, I saw my whole future. I would spend it with this woman. She was my life now.
I had done something that I had always thought would evade me forever. Something that I thought I would never be able to do.
I had married the woman I love.
And I wasn't letting her go.
Next
chappie, the two of them arriving in Chicago :P
It's gonna be
good.
I'm not sure how lemon filled the honeymoon is going to be
btw, so, meh, it might be full of them, or their might only be one or
two. I haven't decided yet.
Please review.
xx
