One Year Later

Edward stood in the corner of the northern pavilion with a glass of sparkling cider in his hand. Bringing it to his lips, he stopped before he could take a sip when his eyes landed on her.

His Bella. His Love. His reason for everything.

She was just as beautiful as she had been a year ago when he saw her for the first time standing in the doorway to his parents' house. Just like then, her hands were filled with pastries she had insisted on bringing because, "You should never show up to a party empty handed, silly goose," she had told him.

With a smile, he simply kissed her cheek and said, "Yes, sweetheart," and left her to her baking.

Bella Swan . . . No, Bella Cullen had flipped his whole world upside down and sideways, he thought, and he wouldn't have it any other way. She was the love of his life.

"You're staring at her again."

"Am not," Edward muttered, tearing his eyes off his wife and looking over at his brother, who was cradling his four month old son against his chest. "When am I going to get to hold my nephew?"

"When you stop sexing your wife up with your eyes," Carlisle snickered before motioning for Edward to drop the glass of sparkling cider. "You need all the practice you can get."

Edward laughed, his eyes shifting once again to Bella, who was now standing with Esme, Alice, and Rosalie, her hand roaming over the small baby bump between her hips. It had taken them longer than they had expected to get pregnant, not for a lack of trying, either. They were married a month after Jasper and Alice tied the knot. Unlike this little sister's wedding, which was big and fancy, Edward and Bella had kept their pending nuptials a secret from everyone with the exception of Phil Dwyer. He was touched that Bella wanted him to give her away, so with his help, they were able to plan a small, discreet wedding in their backyard, and they gathered their family for what was supposed to be an end-of-summer bar-b-que, and instead, surprised them with a wedding.

Charlotte and Alice cried, because they tended to get emotional, but their tears were tears of joy and happiness, they said. Rosalie and Esme, along with Emmett and Carlisle, smirked and told them it was about time. Apparently, because his family had a bit of a gambling problem, there had been a bet amongst everyone on how soon Edward and Bella were going to actually get married. While technically, Rosalie and Emmett won, nobody thought they would wait as long as they had. Seeing as they had moved in together less than a week after they met, Edward couldn't deny they were right.

He would have married her a lot sooner, but between buying their house, getting Swan's Sweets up and running, Bella had needed some time to process everything. Especially when Riley Biers told them that Irina Denali had taken a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table, seeing as Texas was a death penalty state, but would be spending the rest of her life in prison. The rest of her life, however, turned out to be one years, three months when she died from liver failure. Turns out Tanya hadn't been the only alcoholic in the Denali family.

"Are you sure you don't want to know if you're having a boy or a girl?" Carlisle asked.

"Yeah, we're sure." Edward looked at him. "How's Esme been feeling?"

He frowned, his eyes shifting to his wife. "It's been hard. I mean, don't get me wrong, Liam is everything we wanted, but knowing we won't be able to have any more kids has been hard. She's been talking to the therapist her doctor recommended long before she got pregnant."

He nodded. "That's good."

Carlisle blew out a heavy breath. "Enough of that talk. You think they're going show soon?"

Edward laughed and laid Liam back in Carlisle's arms. "No, I'm sure they're going to be busy. It's a miracle we got them down the aisle in the first place without seeing something none of us wanted to see."

"Again."

Edward snorted. "Again."

"You know, when they first started . . . their relationship, for the lack of a better word, I didn't think there was any way it was going to last, but they surprised all of us."

"Not all of us. I knew once they admitted it to themselves, Kate, Jake, and Tyler were in it for the long run."

"Yeah, I suppose you did."

Liam started fussing, causing Carlisle's eyes to widen before he hurried over to Esme, who gave him a look before she relieved him of the crying infant and disappeared, probably to feed him, Edward thought. Slipping out the back door, Edward walked over to the railing and looked out over the grounds. So much of his life had changed over the last year. Not only had he and Bella married, but she'd opened her bakery the next month and had become an instant success. To the point where she had been forced to hire a staff of six to help keep up with the demand.

Giving up control had been hard for her, but Chelsea, Gianna, Felix, Randall, Embry, and Quil had given her the time to focus on her recipes. One of her featured art pieces, of course, was the framed collection of her mother's recipes, that hung on the wall in the east corner that had affectionately called Renee's Creations and were filled with her mother's goodies: brownies, cupcakes, crepes, and donuts. People came all the way from the mainland to buy them in bulk. Her baked goods were so popular, in fact, that Bella was putting her marketing degree to good use by creating a campaign that would put her baked goods in stores throughout South Carolina. Swan's Sweets were due to his shelves in three months, and would feature everything from brownies, crepes, and oddly enough, pretizels.

"Hey."

Edward looked over his shoulder, finding Rosalie leaning against the doorframe. "Hey, Rosie."

She smiled. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just getting some air. Why are you out here?"

"Same reason." Rosalie pushed away from the doorframe and walked over to him, turning and leaning against the railing. "It's a little intense in there at the moment. Ma keeps asking me and Emmett when we are going to get married."

"When are you going to get married?"

"Ugh, not you, too!"

Edward laughed. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Rosalie snickered. "We've been talking about next summer, but we're not in a rush. Unlike you and Bella."

He grinned. "Still like living in the city?"

"We do. Of course we miss the island, too, but the city . . . I'm not Charlotte and Peter Cullen's daughter there. I'm just Rosalie. It's . . . It's everything Emmett and I want, Edward."

"Good, that's good, Rosie."

"How about you? Still loving life on Callawasee Island?"

Edward laughed. "I do. I really do, Rosie. Bella . . . I can't imagine life without her again."

"Oh, I don't think any of us can imagine life without Bella again. She changed you."

"She did."

Rosalie placed her hand on his shoulder. "I missed you, brother. I missed you a lot."

"Me too, Rosie. Before you head back, let's get coffee or something, okay? Just me, you, Allie, and Carlisle."

"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

Rosalie hurried back inside and Edward waited a few minutes before he followed. Tyler, Kate, and Jacob had finally arrived and were embracing their friends and family who had gathered for their wedding, or rather Kate and Tyler's wedding, but Jacob was their husband in every possible way. Edward hadn't been sure how their relationship was going to survive real life, and there were times it was hard.

Tyler had integrated himself into the Columbia Police Department, but there were some who hadn't been as accepting of his relationship with Jacob and Kate as they had hoped. The first few months were filled with a lot of hazing and flat out bullying, but Jacob and Kate had his back and never faltered in their love for him, nor his love for them. In the end, they held strong and made it. Then, six months ago, they came to visit for Christmas and Tyler shocked everyone when he got down on one knee and asked both Kate and Jacob to marry him. They said yes, and well, needless to say that night the people staying in cabin twelve complained about the noises coming from cabin eleven.

"There you are, Edward!" Alice snickered, rushing up to him and grabbing his arm. "I need your help."

"With what?"

She smiled. "Just come with me."

Edward laughed and nodded before sparing Bella a glance before following his little sister out the front doors. Bella was talking with Charlotte and Peter, waving her hands theatrically. It was one of the things Edward had learned about his wife over the last year, when she was passionately talking about something that was important to her she often spoke with her hands. It was amusing and he loved getting her worked up just to see her so passionate.

"Stop ogling the missus, Eddie," Alice snickered before tightening her grip on his arm and pulling him outside.

"No can do, Allie." Edward slipped his arm out of her grip, though, and followed her to the back of Jasper's truck where something covered with a dark, green tarp. "What the hell is this, Allie?"

"Open it and find out." He turned and found Rosalie and Carlisle standing behind them. Rosalie laughed. "Open it, Edward."

"What's going on?" he asked, folding his arms in front of him.

"Just open it!" Carlisle scoffed rolling his eyes. "Fuck, little bro, I though Bella cured you of your stubbornness."

"I'm not stubborn," he muttered, but turned and hoisted himself into the back of Jasper's truck and grabbed the tarp, giving it a hard tug. His breath caught in his chest as a beautiful, clearly hand-carved cradle was uncovered. On the top and bottom of the cradle were the most delicate roses he had even seen carved into wooden and a vine was whittled into the sides. "I don't . . . I don't even know what to say."

"How about thank you?" Carlisle laughed and climbed into the back of the truck. He squatted and ran his hand along the top of the cradle. "We . . . we just wanted to give you and Bella something . . . special for the baby. And Emmett gave us some pictures from her mom's rose garden, and had an old dresser that belonged to her dad, so we thought, you know, it would be like having her mom and dad with her and the baby."

"So why aren't you giving it to her?"

"Because it's not just for her." Carlisle gently flipped the cradle over. Etched on the bottom was his name, her name, and the date they met. "If it wasn't for her, Edward, we wouldn't have our brother back, and we just . . . . Well, we want you to know that we love you, both of you, and we wanted to give our niece, or nephew, a place to sleep where they'll be safe and loved."

Edward nodded, his eyes filling with tears as he knelt next to the cradle. "It's a niece."

"What?" Rosalie asked.

When he looked at her, feeling a tear slid down his face, he grinned. "Bella and I found out yesterday that we are having a daughter. We were going to wait and tell everyone tomorrow at brunch, but . . . anyway, you're getting a neice."

"Oh, my God, Edward, really?" Alice whimpered, covering her mouth with her hand.

He laughed. "Yeah."

"I knew you weren't going to be able to keep it a secret for long."

Everyone turned, finding Bella standing behind them with her hands on her belly and a smile on her lips. She was beautiful and radiant and he had never loved her more than he did in that moment.

"We'll just . . ." Carlisle hopped off the tailgate and grabbed Rosalie and Alice's arms, dragging them back toward the pavilion.

Bella smiled, tilting her head to the side. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," he said, jumping from the back of the truck and walking over to her, sliding his arms around her. He pressed his lips against the side of her neck, causing her to moan. "How's your leg feeling?"

"Good, good," she murmured, tangling her fingers in her hair.

"Liar." He leaned backward. "Seriously, how's your leg feeling?"

"A little sore," she admitted.

Edward nodded and before she could stop him, he swooped her off her feet, causing her to squeal, and carried her to the truck, setting her on the tailgate. While she leaned back onto her hands, he unclasped her prosthetic leg and placed it next to her. The tissue was red and irritated, something they knew was going to happen more thanks to the added weight from her pregnancy.

"Better?"

"Yes." Bella looked over her shoulder. "They made that for us?"

"Apparently, the wood is from a dresser Phil had that belonged to your dad, and the roses are from pictures Emmett gave them from your mom's rose garden."

Bella smiled. "Wow, it's beautiful." She looked back at him. "Think Renny will like it?"

"I think Renny will love it." Edward stood and placed his hands on her hips, sliding them around to her back. "I love you."

Bella smiled. "As I love you."

Pressing his lips against his wife's, he thought about how lucky he really was. Not only did he have a loving, supportive family who had forgiven him for more than they ever should have, he had an amazing, beautiful wife, a successful career, and a beautiful daughter on the way. Charlotte Renee, aka Renny, would be the most loved little girl the world had ever known, and he would make sure she never went a day without knowing how much her mommy and daddy loved her.

Thank you for all the AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING reviews! This is the last chapter, folks. I am so thankful for everyone who has read and reviewed this story from the beginning. So thank you again!