A/N Ok, so first, let me apologize for not posting yesterday. There is a method to my madness though. Lately I've been extremely busy and have been rushing to finish a chapter a day, sometimes not getting one posted until late in the evening. Here's what I'm thinking. I finished a chapter yesterday, but instead of posting it, I held on to it until today. This way, I can post it in the morning and then work on another chapter in the afternoon for tomorrow morning. I hope on one is too mad at me for not posting yesterday. I just wanted to get myself on a more regular schedule of posting.

Please read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 23 – Promise

This morning had been perfect. Waking up with Bella in his arms was something he always wanted to do. He knew that it would probably be impossible, but he still wanted it.

Bella looked so cute in the morning when she woke up. She was beautiful despite the fact that her hair was sticking up in every direction possible. He had wanted to kiss her when she rolled in his arms after waking up, but he knew she would be worried about morning breath, so he settled for a kiss on her forehead instead.

After some playful banter, a shower, and some extra-curricular activities in said shower, they finished getting ready, ate some cereal, and headed over to his house. He still needed to put together food for them to take to the meadow as a picnic lunch.

Bella was quiet this morning, but he thought he understood why. Every time he would steal a glance at her, which was very often, as he couldn't keep his eyes off of her, she would have the hint of a smile pulling at her lips.

"What are you thinking about Beautiful?" He finally decided to just ask and stop speculating.

The moment the question left his lips, he was rewarded with a beautiful blush to Bella's cheeks, neck, and chest. He simply wanted to devour her… again. She looked at him shyly and timidly told him her thoughts. "I was actually thinking about this morning in my shower when we were… well, you know."

The mental image her words brought to his mind made him instantly hard and he completely understood her blush because he too could feel himself blushing. Yes, it was an amazing morning to say the least.

When they got to his house, Edward opened Bella's door for her and then walked with her, hand in hand, up the steps and inside. His family was all home today, and that made him nervous, but he also knew they would probably stay out of his way. He knew they all wanted him to be happy, and he could only imagine what Esme had told everyone yesterday and this morning.

Sure enough, he found the living room to be completely empty and so was the kitchen. He gathered some items to make sandwiches and put them in the picnic basket they kept in the pantry. Next, he went to the refrigerator and grabbed two cokes, and two bottles of water and added them to the basket as well. Finally, he rooted through the pantry until he found some potato chips. He tossed them in the basket too and closed it up. It had everything else they would need in it already; plates, cups, silverware, and cloth napkins, and a blanket.

While he was assembling their lunch, Bella sat at one of the stools at the breakfast bar and watched him silently. He had a feeling her thoughts were back to their tryst this morning, but he didn't want to embarrass her by saying something again so he just worked quietly. When he was done, he walked around behind her and placed his arms around her waist, kissing her lightly behind the ear.

"I'm just about ready, Beautiful," he told her before kissing her neck again. "I need to run up to my room and grab something and then we can go. Are you ready?"

She turned on the stool so she was facing him and she brought her lips to his softly. "Yes Babe, I'm ready. If it's okay, I'm just going to wait here while you run up to your room. I don't think we'd make it to the meadow if I went up with you." She winked at him before kissing him again and smiling. He really wanted to get her to the meadow.

He ran up to his room and rooted in his closet until he found what he was looking for. Nestled in a small black velvet box at the top of his closet was a ring that belonged to his mother. It wasn't her engagement ring, but she had loved it just the same and never took it off.

After the accident, Edward inherited all of his parent's things, as he was the sole beneficiary to their estate. He didn't want to keep everything, but for some unknown reason at the time, he kept his mother's jewelry. Now he was extremely glad he did. He could give his Bella something that was extremely special to him.

He took the ring out of its box and slid it into the front pocket of his jeans. With a smile on his face, he turned to head back downstairs to Bella. He had just left his room when Alice, his over exuberant mouse of a sister nearly jumped him. She was obviously excited about something, as she was bouncing up and down just outside his bedroom door.

"Geez Alice! What are you doing right outside my door? I nearly knocked you down the stairs!" He was a little peeved that she was there when all he wanted was to be with Bella in the meadow.

"Sorry! I just wanted to say 'Congratulations!' and give you a great big hug." Before he could even blink, she bounded forward and threw herself into Edward, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Whoa, Alice. What the hell? Congratulations for what? I have no idea what you're talking about." Ok, so Alice wasn't his biological sister but she had an uncanny ability to figure things out. She said she got 'feelings' about the future, but he always thought it was a bunch of crap. There was no way she was psychic as she practically claimed to be. It was all just a bunch of mumbo jumbo, right?

He began to second-guess himself when she spoke her next words. "Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. By the way, she's going to say yes to wearing your ring. That's what the congratulations is for." Before he could even respond, she hugged him one more time and started backing away. "I'm not supposed to be bothering you but I couldn't help myself. I had to tell you!" With that, she entered her room and closed the door behind her.

After a few seconds of feeling completely dumbfounded, Edward remembered that his gorgeous girlfriend was downstairs waiting for him. He shook his head and walked downstairs to the kitchen to grab Bella and run. He had to get them out of the house before anything else weird happened.

…..

The walk to the meadow was amazing. It seemed like no time at all had passed when Bella saw the familiar lightening of the trees. Edward had insisted on carrying the picnic basket of course, but Bella didn't argue. She was going to let him be a gentleman because it was obviously so important to him. Instead, she had taken his free hand and entwined their fingers together.

The meadow was just like she remembered it and she couldn't help but smile at the beauty of it. The tall grass swayed in the light breeze that blew today, causing a ripple effect that looked like ocean waves across the field. The wildflowers still stood everywhere in every color, shape, and size, and the sky was a beautiful baby blue.

Edward had pulled a small blanket out of the picnic basket and laid it out for them before setting out the food. He smiled up at Bella, who was just standing there watching him, and patted the space beside him.

Bella walked up and sank down in front of him before leaning in to kiss him sweetly. This man was absolutely perfect. Every thought he had seemed to be centered on her and it made her smile just thinking about it. "Thank you, Edward. For this," she gestured around at the meadow, "for everything. You are incredible and I love you so much."

After another sweet kiss, they decided to eat the lunch that Edward had brought. They sat in companionable silence while they ate, just staring into each other's eyes, but it was completely comfortable. Usually, when no one was talking, things tended to get a bit awkward, but Bella didn't feel anything like that at all here with him. Things just felt right, truly perfect in every way.

When they had finished their lunch, Bella helped Edward pack everything except the blanket back into the picnic basket. He lay down on his back on the blanket and Bella followed suit, using his stomach as a pillow. It was hard and somewhat lumpy, but it was Edward and so it too was comfortable.

After a few minutes of silence, Bella began to speak. She knew she needed to explain to Edward about her nightmare. After all, this affected him too. She was afraid he would think she was silly, but she also knew that he loved her and that was motivation enough to share the dream with him.

"So my nightmare… where do I start?" She took a deep, cleansing breath and started from the beginning.

"I was lying on my back here in this meadow, only I didn't recognize it. It actually looked a lot like today. The sun was shining, the sky was a gorgeous shade of blue, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. There were wildflowers all around me. I had lifted my arms above my head and used them as a pillow and fell asleep.

"I don't know how long I was asleep, but I woke up to a man next to me. He was kissing his way up my neck and then he sucked my ear lobe into his mouth and started biting on it. I felt an electric sensation over my entire body at what he was doing to me.

"The man was familiar, but I couldn't place where I knew him from. The thing that struck me the most about him was his deep, emerald green eyes. It was like I could see into his soul through them. I saw a desire deep within them and it reflected the desire and the need in my own.

"We were lying there staring at each other when he kissed him. It was so sweet and unsure. Finally, he brought his tongue out and licked my lower lip and I opened my mouth to him. I remember feeling a need for him that I couldn't explain. I wanted to feel him and to touch him. I needed it.

"I remember being shocked because this man knew my name and he seemed to be feeling the same things I was. I was thinking about the fact that he knew my name and was determined to place how I knew this man. I thought back to my time in Forks and finally it came to me. The man with me in the meadow was you.

"I was smiling because I finally remembered, but you took it as confirmation that you could touch me. I wasn't complaining at all though as you unbuttoned my jeans and slid them down. You were kissing my belly and then started to move lower.

"Your scruff met the inside of my legs and I went crazy. I started bucking underneath you. My body was demanding more of you, but I didn't understand it. When you kissed me between my legs, through my panties, I almost came unglued.

"You made a comment about me smelling good when I was aroused and then asked if I tasted as good as I smelled. You slid my panties down and licked the length of my opening. You worked my clit with your teeth and the moment you bit down, I came in your mouth.

"This whole time I was wondering how things ended up like this. I remembered meeting you at the barbeque but not speaking to you. I remembered wanting you then and knew I still wanted you. It was more than that though; I needed you.

"You shocked the hell out of me when you stood and dropped your pants, standing above me completely naked. I marveled at your sheer perfection. When you knelt down before me, I knew I was going to give myself to you. Instead of that thought scaring me, it excited me.

"I spread my legs wider for you and watched as your thumb traveled down by stomach to my swollen clit. I knew right then that I needed to feel you inside me in order to lessen the sensation that was burning though my body.

"You were about to enter me. I could feel your tip just start to slide in when everything went black; pitch black. I couldn't see a thing. I couldn't hear my own breathing and I definitely couldn't feel you any more. I was lost and alone and scared. I felt your loss deep in my soul and I panicked. I got up and searched for you blindly. I screamed for you but still there was nothing. I knew you were gone and I was never going to see you again.

"That's when I started screaming at the top of my lungs. I guess it wasn't just in my dream though because the next thing I knew, Charlie was there, trying to wake me up." She took a deep breath before smiling at him. "I know I'm being stupid, but it just felt so permanent. When you weren't there when I woke up I felt so abandoned. I know you promised you'd always be there for me and that you couldn't spend every second of the day with me, but I still wanted to wake up to you holding me."

Edward had been so quiet during her retelling of the nightmare that she wasn't sure if he had fallen asleep or not. Finally, she felt him shift underneath her as if he wanted to get up. She sat up from lying on his stomach and watched as he moved, repositioning himself to kneel in front of her.

"Bella, you are my life now. I'm so sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. I wish I would have or even could have been. We still have so many things that we need to work out, but there is one thing I know for sure. Do you know what that is, Love?"

When Bella just shook her head and looked at her hands, Edward reached up to caress her cheek with his fingertips. "Bella look at me please?" He didn't continue until she raised her eyes to meet his. She saw so much devotion in his gaze; so much love. "Bella, I love you. That's what I know for sure. I don't know what's going to happen or how we're going to make it work, but I promise you that we will make it work."

As he was talking, he rose to one knee and fished around in his pocket. After a moment, he came up with a beautiful ring causing her to gasp. "Bella, I know we've only been dating for a day and a half, but I also know that you're it for me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You've already said you'd marry me, but I don't want to count that as a proposal. Bella, this ring belonged to my mother, Elizabeth. My father gave it to her as a promise of his love; a promise that he would propose to her when they were both ready.

"Bella, I want to promise you the same thing. I will take you as my wife one day when we're older, but for now, will you wear my ring as a symbol of our commitment to each other? I promise to love you for the rest of my life. I promise to cherish you with every breath I take. I promise to take care of you and give you everything your heart desires. You would make me the happiest man in this world if you would wear my ring. Isabella Swan, will you accept my promise and wear this ring?"

She wasn't sure how she had been able to do it, but she had listened to his words without crying. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, but she blinked them back, determined to keep them from spilling over. God she loved this man.

"Edward, you are my perfect match; the yin to my yang. I need you like the air I breathe. I love you more than life itself and I could not see myself living it without you. I already agreed to marry you so this shouldn't come as a surprise. Yes, Edward. I accept your promise and I would be honored to wear your mother's ring. It's absolutely beautiful."

The ring was made of three beautiful rainbow colored stones set in sterling silver. When he slid it on her finger, she held her hand out to look at it. It was gorgeous and it fit her right ring finger perfectly. Edward had explained that he didn't want people to think it was an actual engagement ring. He said that when he did get her one, it would be even prettier than this one and he didn't want there to be any confusion.

Once Bella finished admiring the ring on her finger, she got to her knees and brought her lips to meet Edward's and kissed him passionately.