Author's Note:

I say it every time, but I still mean it….THANK YOU for reading and reviewing. Seriously, almost 900 reviews. You guys are the best!

We're moving along here, so I'll just let you get to it.

I don't own any of the things…well, things related to Twilight anyway.

Chapter 27

BPOV

Sitting at my desk on a Wednesday, I glanced at the clock to see was finally time to go to lunch. I grabbed my purse and set out to meet Rosalie. When I arrived at the restaurant, I found her already seated, munching on chips and salsa.

"Hey, Rose," I said, taking the seat across from her.

"Hey, Bells," she returned and reached for another chip. She moaned when she popped it into her mouth. "I swear, this kid is most definitely Emmett's. I've eaten non-stop for the last couple of months. And Em's a dead man when I have to push out a fifteen-pound baby."

I laughed and swiped a chip of my own. "You said the same thing with Tyler and Kate, and yet, he lived to knock you up again both times."

It was Rose's turn to laugh. "Yeah, there's just something about the big lug I can't resist," she grinned and waggled her eyebrows.

"I don't want to know what that something is," I said with a shudder, causing Rose to cackle a laugh.

"You mean you don't want to compare notes on the Cullen brothers?"

"Nope, I'm good. Besides," I said, "I don't want you to get jealous when you realize you got the wrong brother." I grinned as I popped another chip in my mouth and laughed along with Rose.

Over lunch we talked about the baby and kids and work, keeping the conversation light for the most part. Edward and Maggie had both been pushing for me to move in with them, and I confessed I was close to caving. Now that we were engaged, it made more sense and I spent most of my time there anyway.

"Speaking of which, have you and Edward set a date?" Rose asked.

"No, not yet. We haven't talked about it much," I told her, glancing down and spinning my engagement ring around.

"Why not?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

"You know why," I said.

"Bella, please don't let Alice's bitch fit put a damper on your happiness. If she can't see how good you and Edward are for each other and be happy for you, then she doesn't deserve your consideration."

"I know, it's just hard to think about all that when there's this thing hanging over our heads," I said.

"Yeah, I get it, but you putting your plans on hold is letting her win," Rose said.

"We're not really putting it on hold, we just haven't talked about it much yet. Although, I'll admit that Edward has brought it up a couple of times and I've put him off. I don't know why, but I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around all that has happened. I still can't believe that she actually pushed Jasper away. I feel awful-," I said.

"No, that is not your fault. Alice and Jasper both made their choices. You are not going to blame yourself for their marriage being on the rocks," Rose said, cutting me off.

"I'm not, really," I defended. "Yes, I harbor some guilt over the whole situation, but I realize that Alice must have completely gone off the deep end to push Jasper away. I was just going to say that I feel bad that his life is in such turmoil now on top of everything else. And maybe that's part of my hold up on the wedding plans. Esme has invited me over a couple of times to talk about it, but I just can't bring myself to sit and talk wedding while Jasper's marriage is falling apart."

"Yeah, I get that," Rose agreed. "But you know Jasper wouldn't want you and Edward to hold anything up because of him. I've got to say though, I really thought Alice would come around pretty quickly when Jasper left, but it's been almost two weeks."

"I know. I hoped so, too. But you know what? I think you're right about the fact that we shouldn't avoid all wedding planning because of Alice. We're all going to be over at Esme and Carlisle's on Friday evening. Maybe us girls can start planning?" I suggested.

"I think that's a great idea," Rose agreed.

After lunch, I made my way back to the office, thinking about everything Rose had said. I guess in some way, I was letting my guilt over the whole situation hold me back from embracing my future with Edward and Maggie. I had hoped Alice would come around long before now, but she'd only gotten worse at every turn. If I was subconsciously waiting for Alice's approval, then Edward and I would never get married. I'd taken a small step by deciding to get the wedding plans rolling, but it was time to truly move forward. With that in mind, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts, looking for a number I hadn't used in a while.

Later that afternoon, I was in my car, driving to Edward's house with a smile on my face. I had left the office a little early and run home to make sure my place was clean and photo ready and I'd just left there after meeting Jessica, the same realtor who had sold it to me.

I pulled up in the garage, pleased to see Edward was already home, and grabbed the papers on the seat beside me and headed into the house.

"Hey, babe," he greeted me from his seat at the bar as I stepped through the door into the kitchen. He was looking through the mail, but looked up and smiled as I walked over to kiss him.

"Hey, yourself," I said. "How was work? Where's Mags?"

"Maggie's upstairs changing. We just got home. And work was fine. How was your day?" he asked.

"My day was good. I actually took off work a little early," I told him as I hopped onto the stool next to him and dropped the paperwork in front of him.

He looked down and picked it up and sent me a questioning look. "What's this?"

"I left work to meet Jessica, my realtor. I listed my house," I said, watching his face for his reaction.

"You listed your house?" he asked. "Really? Does that mean what I think it means?"

"Yes, really. So, I hope you were serious about wanting me to move in here, because she has a family that has been wanting something in my neighborhood, so it has the potential to sell quick."

"That's great! So, when do you want to move? This weekend?" he asked, then hopped off his stool and swept me into a hug.

I laughed as he kissed me enthusiastically. "This weekend might be pushing it, but maybe I can get started packing and figure out what to do with my furniture."

"Well, part of it can come here," he said. "Or hell, all of it can come here and we can get rid of mine."

"We'll figure it out," I laughed. "We don't have to settle all the details right this minute."

"Okay, but seriously, let's figure out what we want where. I want this to be your home, not just you moving into my house. We can redecorate whatever you want."

"Okay, sounds good. Maybe we can start making a few plans after dinner," I suggested, and Edward nodded.

"One thing I won't budge on, though," he began. "We pack up your clothes and other personal stuff, and you move in this weekend. We can deal with the bigger stuff later, but I want you here with me and Mags right now, or at least no later than this weekend."

"I can deal with that," I said and pecked a kiss on his lips. "And I don't want to delay any more either. So, even though the weekend is only a couple of days away, I packed a bag to get through a couple of days. If you're up for it, I don't intend to spend another night apart."

"That sounds perfect to me," he said, then kissed me deeply. Just about the time the kiss grew heated, I heard little feet pad into the kitchen.

"Bella!" Maggie shouted, then threw herself at me.

"Hey, Mags, how's my girl?" I asked her with a hug.

"Good," she said. "I got a gold star at school today for helping the teacher clean up after snack time."

"That's great! Do you have any homework?"

"Yeah, I have a math worksheet," she said. "Will you help me?"

I nodded and said, "Yep, you get your bag and set up at the table and I'll be there in a few minutes."

Maggie ran off to get her backpack and I turned back to Edward to see him leaning on the kitchen island looking at me with a serious look on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Nothing's wrong," he said, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around my waist. "Everything is exactly right. Thank you for loving Maggie and me."

"You both make it easy," I said. Edward kissed me softly, then headed into the kitchen to start dinner while Maggie and I worked on her homework.

We told Maggie I was moving in over dinner, and to say she was excited was an understatement. She'd insisted I be the one to take her to school the next day, so Thursday morning, I found myself in the drop-off line with Rosalie behind me, waving frantically toward the parking lot. After we'd dropped off the kids and pulled into the parking area where I explained everything to Rose, I finally got to work and shared the same news with Angela. I felt like a weight I hadn't even known I was carrying had been lifted from me. I'd been committed to Edward from the beginning, but I realized I'd finally let all the drama with Alice go. Of course, I was still hopeful that she would come around and things would work out someday, but I wasn't letting my fear of her reaction hold me back anymore. I went home that evening to Edward and Maggie and felt like it was truly the start of our lives together and I couldn't wait to really get settled.

Author's Note:

Finally! She's moving in and has pretty much said good riddance to Alice! This was a short one, but things are moving along! Just a few chapters left. Next one up soon.

Let me know what you think!