Woo! It's the 60th chapter and the book is now over 60 thousand words! Hooray!
We laid side by side in the meadow for hours just enjoying the closeness and talking about everything and nothing all at once.
"Alice will be overjoyed," Edward commented lightly as I discussed letting her plan the wedding. "You do realize you'll probably end up the only human at the wedding because who knows how many vampires she'll invite."
I chuckled. "I'm not gonna let her invite a whole bunch of people. I want it to be small. Besides, Charlie will be there so I won't be the only human there."
He quirked up an eyebrow. "How's going to walk you down the aisle? That'll be a very sensitive subject for Charlie."
"I know," I replied. "But I want Dad to walk me down the aisle and I figure it won't end up being a big deal because Charlie thinks that Carlisle is my adoptive father not Dad. So as far as Charlie is concerned, I'll be having my older brother walk me down the aisle. Which is really strange and confusing but I don't mind as long as his feelings don't end up hurt."
"I suppose," he responded. "Still, are you sure you want Alice to plan the whole thing?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm no good at those things. Besides, I'm sure Mom will help and keep Alice from going overboard." Talking about Mom only made me picture her initial reaction to me telling her about Edward and my engagement. I couldn't picture her reaction being very good seeing as she was already against me becoming immortal and I knew she didn't really like that I was with Edward in the first place.
"It's going to be dark soon," Edward observed.
I sighed, kissed him gently, and sat up. "We should head home, then. We have to face the danger."
He sat up, confused. "Danger?" I nodded, keeping with my false seriousness.
"Oh, yeah. We have to tell Mom we're engaged."
He chuckled, relieved. "Yes, very dangerous."
Soon we were home where everyone was already gathered in the room, presumably thanks to Alice who looked as though she was about to explode with excitement. When we walked in, Jasper who was standing next to Alice, smiling uncontrollably pleaded,
"Alice, please calm down." Alice glanced at Jasper and, realizing that her emotions were affecting him, took a deep breath and relaxed a little.
"So, what's going on? Alice said you had something to tell us," Dad announced as Edward and I sat down on the white love seat in the corner of the room.
I glared at Alice and muttered sarcastically, "Geez thanks."
"You're welcome," she responded happily, not taking my sarcasm as serious as I thought she should. An uncomfortable silence elapsed and I glanced at Edward only to find him staring at me and I grasped he was waiting on me to speak but I had suddenly lost all the words in my mouth. He flashed me my favorite crooked smile and then turned to Dad.
"Emmett," he said calmly and smoothly. I didn't know how he could be so relaxed. "I was hoping maybe I speak with you alone? We could go for walk." Dad looked a bit unsure but he stood up willingly.
"Sure," he answered and Edward stood. I gave him a confused stare but all he did was say,
"We'll be back soon," and disappear with Dad, leaving me alone with everyone. I was increasingly glad that I had slipped the ring into my pocket before we got here because there was no way I was going to announce our engagement without him.
"What's going on?" Mom demanded and I shrugged because at that moment I was unsure. What was Edward doing? Then just as quickly as I'd wondered, I figured it out. He was telling Dad but, knowing how traditional he is, it was probably more than that. He was actually asking Dad if he could marry me. That's so…old-fashioned. I was about to snap under the pressure of everyone's eyes when Edward and Dad came back, both seeming happy, which was a big relief for me. Edward sat down next to me again and I hugged his waist gently. I was very glad he was back. Dad sat down next to Mom and took her hand before informing,
"Bella and Edward have a big announcement to make." I was pretty sure I was petrified. I wasn't moving or breathing, let alone speaking. Thankfully, Edward was completely calm and had no problems speaking,
"Bella and I have been together for a little while now and I think we're both very happy." He glanced at me and I manage to nod. "I love her very much and we know what we both seem to be on the same page. So today, I asked Bella to marry and she's agreed."
A lot of things happened all at once. Alice finally let out the squeal of excitement she'd been holding in since we arrived while Jasper smiled and murmured his congratulations. Carlisle and Esme both looked extremely pleased, Esme wrapped us both in a hug and then Carlisle did the same. Dad was beaming and the only thing wrong the moment was that Mom looked as though she was trying very hard not to be angry. Her mouth was set in a thin line and she muttered through gritted teeth,
"Congratulations." I, finally breathing once more, replied softly,
"Thank you."
"Oh gosh this is so exciting! I can't wait to start planning. There's so much to consider. The flowers, the dress, the setting, the cake…" she rambled but I managed to cut her off long just long enough to say,
"Yeah but I have-"
"Conditions, I know, don't invite too many people and if I go overboard you'll never speak to me again. Is that everything?"
"Yeah, I guess so," I answered, smiling a bit at her excitement.
"This is so wonderful!" Esme exclaimed. "Bella, do you know when you'd like to have the wedding?" I went to respond but Alice did so for me,
"No more than a month after graduation."
"Why a month?" Jasper asked. Once again, Alice answered for me,
"She doesn't want to wait much longer than that to be changed."
"Wait, what?" Mom shrieked, finally letting her anger loose.