"What do I smell like to you?" I asked between bites.

Ch 8

"Strawberries from your shampoo and your blood has got a floral scent to it. Freesia is one of the flowers and there is one more that I haven't been able to place yet. It's quite nice. How is your dinner?"

"It's delicious, thank you." He smiled.

"Alice said that the pictures your mom is sending will arrive tomorrow." He mentioned.

"Perfect. This is going to turn out well. I can tell, even without Alice's vision. I know you already said that you would contribute some of your journal entries, but do you think that we could make a second book that is exclusively about us? I could use your entries to spark my own memories, I didn't write them all down."

"Sure, we can do whatever you want. I think it will be fun."

"It will; I like working on projects with you." I finished my rice and Edward took me home. My dad wasn't happy about my shirt, but he did understand. He did think that the ring was nice, though he wasn't thrilled with me wearing it while I was still in school. When he left, I wrote in my journal for a few minutes and finished my e-mail to my mother. She wrote back immediately that she would meet us in Chicago and gave me her blessing. I spent time with my dad while he watched the game. I briefly told him that the road trip plans were coming along better than I expected. He knew I was speaking in code and nodded his head in understanding. I was drawing a few preliminary sketches of my dress and ways that I could incorporate some blue into it along with the lace. I thought I had done well enough that Alice would be able to add just the right touches to my drawing. I had tried to take a design from Edward's human time and give it a modern twist. It wasn't poufy, something I definitely knew I didn't want.

"Hey, Alice needs your measurements. She's coming by on Sunday and we are going to design my dress. She's going to make it herself. Want to see what I've come up with?"

"Sure." He took a look at my sketches and selected his favorite.

"That's the one I like the best too. I think it will look great." The house phone rang and I got up to get it.

"Hello?"

"He's on his way so put away the book. I like the one you chose and we will make it look spectacular. See you at school tomorrow." Alice hung up just as quickly as she had spoken. I no sooner had closed my sketch book did Edward knock on the door. My dad greeted Edward and let him in. I greeted Edward with a kiss and told him to wait for me downstairs for a few minutes. I ran up to my room to put my book away and met Alice at the window.

"That was fast." I said. She held out her hand and I placed the book in it. I watched her take a clean sheet of paper out and copy my last sketch in color and add just the right touches.

"It's perfect. That's what I want." The design was sleeveless with a v-neck. There was lace lining around the bottom of the breast plate and faded into the shoulders. It would reappear on the back along my shoulder blades and follow the line of the dress where the two sides met at the base of my back and then flow straight into the small train. The fabric would be fitted to the waist and then flow straight down to the ground. There would be two bustle points instead of one so that the lace would still be on display. We made it so the lace would widen as it trailed to the floor. There was no way to add blue without making it look tacky, so Alice drew a sapphire pendant and earrings. She designed the tiara, with the detachable veil, and that too had tiny sapphires embedded in it. The whole drawing took her less than a minute. I was so happy that I could do this for him. She wrote me a note telling me that Edward is a little suspicious, but not currently acting on anything. Alice assured me that so far, my surprise was going to work. I was excited for Sunday where I could talk freely with her. She left, taking the drawing with her and jumped out of my window. I took a breath to calm my features and walked back down to where Edward was waiting with my dad. They were watching a baseball game; no surprise there. I sat in Edward's lap and snuggled into him.

"Hey, what were you doing with Alice?" He asked me quietly.

"Before you got here, I was working on the design for my dress. Alice came over to put the finishing touches on it. It's going to look great. She knows exactly what I want. She took the drawings with her so that you can't look for them." I smirked in his face. He knew that I knew he was going to search my room when I was asleep. I hopped off of him and grabbed some books off the shelf. I handed Edward some paper and a pen before flicking off the television.

"Let's start the memory album." I wasn't worried that the pictures would be returned to their rightful place because of Edward's flawless memories. I pulled out specific pictures and my dad and I shared the memories. We'd had a few good laughs and I looked to Edward, who nodded, indicating that he got every word we'd said. I could edit later. The three of us spent the next two hours with this activity before I'd exhausted my father's photo albums. When we finished, Edward and I said goodnight and went up to my room. I changed in the bathroom. I had taken a few minutes to write in my journal and then went back to Edward's writing to edit the stories. Edward took my verbal notes for me and then when it was approved, typed the story up in vampire speed. The album was coming along nicely. All I needed now was my mom's pictures. If I was doing this myself, it would have taken months. Since I have Edward, it was only going to take a few days. I would assemble it myself and leave a few extra pages for my parents to add for our road trip and the wedding. I would have this project finished in a week which was awesome because I wanted it done before we left. Graduation was two weeks away. I snuggled into his side and fell asleep.

EPOV

I was so proud of Bella and eagerly helped her with her projects. I loved that she was going to make it easier for her mother to grieve her 'death' with fresh memories. I was honored that she wanted to make a separate book for just us. I had a feeling it would be the first of many. I hummed her lullaby as she slept in my arms and didn't bother moving when Charlie came to check on her. He knew I was in here. I was on top of the covers and still fully dressed.

"Hey Charlie." I said quietly.

"Hey, she really does sleep better with you, doesn't she?"

"Yes, sir, she does. I want to apologize to you. When I left, I honestly thought it was what was best for her. Most humans forget about us after we've moved on, but I didn't take into account that Bella isn't most humans. I've seen glimpses from your mind about how she looked while I was gone and I assure you that I was in the same state of despair."

"Edward, I haven't fully forgiven you for leaving her the way you did and you have to remember that she is an independent woman. She doesn't like it when choices are taken from her. If something like this happens again, just talk to her and let her make up her own mind. I can see that you love her, but when you left, you took her love for granted. She doesn't trust easily and she doesn't hand out her love to anyone. Remember that." He warned me.

"Yes sir. I'm not going to leave her until she orders me away. I didn't want to change her."

"I know and I don't want her to be changed, but even more than that, I want her to be happy. You make her happy Edward." I smiled.

"I'd like to talk to you some more at some point. I've been thinking about my future as well."

"Yes Charlie, I will be available on Sunday while Bella is out with Alice if you'd like to talk then. I see the conflict. You are safe for now, but in a few months, that may not be the case any more. Aro will inevitably touch one of us and then learn that you know the truth. I would say that you need to make a decision before her birthday."

"Ok, I feel like I'm pretty much set in the way I want to go, but I have questions before my decision is final." I nodded.

"Ok, oh and one more thing; I've told Bella this, but there is to be no sex in my house under any circumstances. I don't care if you are engaged or even when you're married. There will be no sex under my roof. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir. I understand."

"Good night Edward."

"Good night Charlie." He closed the door and left us alone. I released Bella and collected the pictures we had discussed earlier in the evening. Alice met me at the window. She took the pictures from me and promised that she would be back in a few hours with the copies I needed. I thanked her and sat on the bed again, getting lost in my thoughts. I was most definitely suspicious of Bella's sudden interest in my human life. I wanted to know what she was planning for my birthday. I knew that everyone in the family knew what was going on because all of them had sex on the brain, all of the time just to keep me out. I also wanted to know where in the hell Emmet and Rosalie were. They've been gone for two days now. I wish that I could do more investigating, but Bella made me promise not to intentionally listen to other people's thoughts. ARGHH! That woman is so frustratingly smart and observant that I think she will literally drive me insane. I never, ever thought that I would have been brought to my knees by a human girl. Yet, at the same time, I love those very qualities about her and would do anything for her.

Alice returned as promised and I took the pictures from her.

"Alice, give me a clue here. What is she planning?"

"I can't tell you Edward; that defeats the purpose of a surprise. I don't want her mad at me because then she won't let me have any fun with her on Sunday."

"Where are Emmet and Rosalie?"

"They're out on an extended hunting trip."

"They're in on it, aren't they?"

"Of course, we all know what the surprise is. It's for you so what would the fun be if we didn't know?" I scowled at her.

"Awww, poor Edward isn't going to know what his present is ahead of time; what a shame. Don't worry, she said it's for your birthday so you only have to wait a few more weeks." I absolutely hated it when she taunted me and right now, I was beginning to really hate that Bella had so much control over me and I couldn't read her mind. I was really tempted to push past the sexual thoughts and see what they were hiding, but all of them were getting extreme in their memories of their mates. I kicked Alice out since she wasn't helping me and I put the photos where they belonged in all of the books. Afterward, I returned the originals to their proper place. Bella slept on. I heard the words, Edward and perfect and wedding. It made me smile that she was thinking and dreaming about our wedding. I joined her again on the bed, loving how she automatically snuggled into my side. I tucked the blankets a little tighter around her body and held her for the rest of the night.

A/N: Reviews are wanted and appreciated Have a great day!