BELLA'S STOMACH CHOSE THAT MOMENT TO GRUMBLE, breaking the beautiful, intricate spell, reminding them that she was still human. Edward touched a hand lightly to her stomach, his fingers tracing soft, soothing circles on her skin through the thin fabric of her nightgown. "Ah, much as I would like to remain here in bed with you until my family returns, kiss you, practice some more for our wedding night, we'd better take care of your human needs first."
She turned her face, hiding it against the cool, hard, smooth skin of his neck. "Stupid human needs," she muttered, pressing sweet, warm, soft, open-mouthed kisses to the skin of his throat, anywhere she could reach.
Soft, quiet, musical, male laughter, making his chest vibrate, a hand stroking gently over her hair. "Don't worry, Bella, Love, you won't have human needs for much longer." He pulled her face away from his neck, hands on either side, fingers stroking her cheeks. "I'll change you soon, then you won't have anymore human needs, and we could kiss without interruptions, or you getting tired, needing sleep."
His response startled her, made her look up at him, stunned. He was usually the one going on and on and on about how he didn't want her to miss any human experience, how being human was a good, healthy thing, and now he was telling her this, as if he, out of nowhere, became indifferent toward whether or not she remained human. "This doesn't sound like you." Bella's voice was weary, wondering if there was a catch, some sort of compromise they had to reach. "You're usually the one going on and on about how I should appreciate my humanity, how you don't want to take any experiences away from me. What," she leaned in, kissed him, reveling in his sweet perfume, the addictive taste of his skin, "made you change your mind?"
A shrug, a smile filled with love and a thousand, other, deeper emotions which had no name, they were so pure. "Truth be told, a couple of days ago I'd have told you just that, but, one, you agreed to marry me if I change you and make love to you, and I'm too selfish, want you too much to deny the opportunity, and two, I found out last night I wouldn't necessarily be taking the experiences I was worried about you not having if you stayed with me away from you."
"Wha—"
Her stomach grumbled again, cutting her off mid word, making her blush, hide her face against his cool skin. Gently, Edward pulled her face away from his neck, placed a soft, sweet kiss on her lips. "Go to the bathroom, Bella, I'll get started on your breakfast, meet you downstairs when you're done, tell you all about what I discovered while you eat." His eyes glittered, then, became akin to bright topaz jewels. "Perhaps we can start planning our wedding while we're at it, too, set a date, I feel the same way you do, after all, the sooner you become my wife, the better."
She shifted up over him, her legs on either side of his hip so she was effectively straddling him, leaned in, kissed him, soft and honey-sweet, taking in the sweet, addictive, intoxicating scent of his skin, the perfume of his breath. He settled his hands on her hips, kept one hand there, his thumb tracing small, rhythmic, soft circles on her skin through the thin fabric of her nightgown, gliding the other one up the sweep of her back, to her nape, gently pulled her away from him. "I'd really like to continue with this, truly, Bella, Love, but we must attend to your human needs."
She set her palm against his cheek, the cool temperature of his skin soothing against her own, looked up at him through her eyelashes, made her voice feather soft. "Please, Edward." Bella was surprised at the effect this had on him. He hesitated, closed his eyes, pressed his forehead to hers. "Please, Edward," she said again, making her voice even softer, persuasive, experimenting, "won't you kiss me for a little while longer, a few minutes of putting off my human needs isn't going to kill me."
He growled, low and soft. "You," he pressed a soft, chased kiss to her lips, "are the most dangerous creature on the planet, siren that you are. Fine, wrap yourself around me as much as you can without hurting your leg, I'll carry you downstairs even as I kiss you, then bring your stuff for you to change. It'll be much safer, anyway, I don't want you falling over your own two feet, should have thought of that earlier."
He shifted, allowed her to wrap herself around him as much as she could, then he was moving, fast like only he could, all the while their lips danced a very familiar, intimate dance, had her downstairs, sitting on top of the counter, in less than a second. She broke away, needing to breathe, but his lips, they didn't leave her skin, simply moved on to her neck, kissing along the hollow of her throat. Then he moved again, had her pressed up against the door of the bathroom, one hand on her back, pulling her to him, fitting her body around his.
When, at last, he pulled away from her skin, because it was always Edward and not Bella who decided to end their kisses, there was a soft, loving smile on his lips, his golden eyes glittering like gemstones. "I'll go get your things for you to change, along with some crutches in case you need to lean on something, will be back in less than a second. Before Bella could respond, he was gone, had come back, was handing her her things. "Go change, Bella, I'll go to the kitchen, get started on your breakfast in the meantime." A pause, cold, gentle fingers brushing her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ears. "Call me when you're done so I can take you to the kitchen in my arms."
She blinked once and he was gone, was in the kitchen, and Bella could faintly hear the sounds of pots and pans, cooking utensils being taken out as he prepared the mise en place to cook her breakfast. She took a deep, steadying breath, her heart ricocheting inside her chest because of what she was about to try to pull off. She was sure Edward could hear it, hoped he would attribute it to his "kissing expertise" as he'd teased her once, and not something else. She was no Alice, hadn't spent the thousands of dollars she no doubt had on her prom dresses, but she also knew how much Edward liked to see her in blue, and, hopefully, since he came from a different time, a time when women still wore long dresses rather than pants or jeans, he'd be pleasantly surprised by the clothes she brought. She knew she didn't have to make a special effort on her clothing, after all, Edward found her beautiful no matter what she wore, but this, reaching a compromise, meeting each other in the middle, and planning small surprises for the other, it was what marriage was all about, what kept it alive.
She went into the bathroom, washed her face, went through her usual, but quick, comprehensive, skin care routine, then changed into her dress, one of the many, many blue garments she'd bought after he told her the color blue looked lovely against her skin. It was dark, rich and vibrant. The bodice was made of lace patterned with flowers, accentuated her waist, her curves, flattered her figure. The sleeves were short, had a delicate trimming of lace, left her arms exposed. The skirts, they were made of soft blue satin the same shade as the bodice of the dress, billowed out from below her waist in a soft wave. She combed through her hair, first with a brush, then her fingers, parting it to one side, leaving the column of her throat exposed, giving Edward easy access, should they decide to indulge in yet more wedding night practice.
She slid on her shoe, a simple flat, because even she knew tennis wouldn't look good with this outfit, told herself she was as ready as she would ever be, took three deep breaths, before she called, "Edward," not turning away from the mirror, her voice no louder than if he was standing right next to her.
His intake of breath was audible, and when she turned to face him, she saw he had a soft smile on his lips, his golden eyes dancing, filled with love. Not saying anything, he walked over to her, slow and graceful, pushed her back against the sink, braced a hand behind her on the mirror. "Bella, you look stunning, Love, truly beautiful." He cupped her cheek, trace the curve of her lips with his thumb, sending a bolt of electricity through her system. "You always look beautiful, no matter what you wear, but this . . ." Edward closed his eyes, his beautiful, angel's face serene, and when he opened them again, they were blazing, his love for her burning hot as a fire. "It's certainly a change . . . not that you needed to change anything about yourself, I love you just the way you are. What brought this on?"
She blushed, heat coloring her cheeks, her voice a whisper, sheepish. "I wanted to surprise you, look nice for you, and I know how much you like how the color blue looks against my skin, know, too, that you come from a different time—when women wore dresses and not pants, had a theory that you would like to see me like this, though you think I look beautiful no matter what I wear."
He kissed her, soft and deep, deep as he was willing to without fear of hurting her, shook his head when he pulled away, laughed quietly to himself. "More theories? "Oh, Bella, what I wouldn't give to be able to see into your mind right now, know what other theories are in that beautiful head of yours." He lifted her into his arms, like how a groom carried his new bride, cradled her close to his chest, Bella fisting the fabric of his shirt in her hand. "Come, let's go to the kitchen, your breakfast is almost ready, I only have to finish preparing a couple more things."
He moved, fast like only he could, had her sitting on a chair in less than a second. She looked around the kitchen, saw he'd gone all out, her beautiful, overprotective, concerned fiance. In front of her was a bowl of fruit drizzled with natural yogurt and just a bit of thick, sticky, gooey, golden honey. To drink she had a very healthy, delicious-looking juice that smelled so fresh, it couldn't be compared to the ones a person could buy at the store, because this, it was no simple orange juice, had many more vegetables and fruits included. On the counter, next to the stove, was a blender containing what must be pancake batter, along with a pan on the stove top itself. "Oh, Edward, you didn't have to do all this for me, I would have been happy just eating a bowl of cereal."
She blinked once and he was beside her, his hand touched to her cheek. "I know, but I like spoiling you, and I figured since we will be getting married as soon as possible, you'd be watching your figure, what you eat." There was a glint in his eyes she'd never seen before, love mixed with pride. "Carlisle is not the only doctor in the family, though he's the only one who practices, but now," he bent down, kissed her, quick and fast, "now you're making me do all sorts of things, things which I'd have never, not in my a hundred and three years of existence—thought myself capable of doing, nor dreamed of."
This, the fact that he was a doctor, it astonished Bella, he'd never expressed a particular interest in medicine or the medical field before. She wondered how many other careers he had, how many times he'd gone to college. "You went to college to become a doctor?"
A nod as he walked back to the stove, poured some of the batter into the pan, began to make her pancakes. "I did it as a favor to Carlisle, so he can keep up with the new, growing technology in the world, the changing techniques and new discoveries and developments, after all, he can't go to college himself, else, our charade would begin to crumble. I was planning on studying medicine again When we finished high school, but that's all out of the window now, our wedding and your transformation are my priority, and I want to be able to live life as a newlywed couple with you without having to go to school or college for a couple of years." A shrug, the look in his eyes, filled with so much love, making her ache, want to go to him, wrap her arms around him. "Oh, well, it's about time somebody moved out, lived as a married couple other than Emmett and Rosalie. Speaking of our wedding, do you have any particular date in mind yet?"
Bella bit the inside of her cheek. "That depends . . . how long do you think it will be before Carlisle can take the brace off of my leg?"
Edward flipped the pancake onto a plate, placed another plate on top to keep it warm, poured some more batter into the pan. "About five weeks, give or take."
"In about five weeks then." A pause, her thoughts turning over and over in her head, going a million miles per minute. "That's not too soon, is it? I want to be married to you as soon as possible, but I know this things, planning a wedding, usually takes a long time. Oh, God, what about school? We're just finishing our junior year of high school. I really don't care what people think about us, but it'll be really annoying if we have to show up to school for almost the entirety of our first year of marriage, " Bella was rambling now, in full panic mode. "And Charlie, he'll probably have a fit if we drop out together, think that I'm pregnant or something—"
He kissed her, soft and deep, deep as he was willing to without fear of hurting her, cutting her off. "Calm down, Bella, Love. No, about five weeks is not too soon, my beautiful bride to be. It's true, planning and getting a wedding ready usually takes a long time, but we don't have to do it at human speed so about five weeks from now is plenty of time, trust me. Don't worry about school, we won't have to go after we get married, nor will we drop out, we'll speak to Carlisle, see if he can talk to the teachers so they can move us a year ahead and we don't have to do senior year, can just graduate now, along with Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper. It will probably involve us taking some sort of test, though, but don't worry, I'll tutor you, help you prepare."
Bella calmed down, began to eat her bowl of fruit, which, again, was perfectly seasoned, and when Edward was done making her pancakes, he brought them over to her, sat across from her, watching her eat. She finished the bowl of fruit first, then moved on to the pancakes. They were soft, fluffy, light, and buttery, melted in her mouth. Neither of them said anything, each absorbed in their own thoughts, but, eventually, the curiosity of wanting to know what Edward'd discovered last night, why he wasn't worried about taking away her human experiences, got the better of her. "So," she tried to keep her voice casual, "are you going to tell me what you discovered last night?"
The answer Edward gave her wasn't what she'd expected at all. "I'm almost certain male vampires can impregnate human women." Bella nearly choked on the second to last piece of pancake, began coughing violently. He was behind her in less than a second, his hand patting lightly at her back. "Sorry, Love, I didn't mean to shock you, make you nearly choke on your food." He grabbed the cup containing her juice, handed it to her. "Drink a little of your juice, it will help."
She did, taking the cup from him, took three sips of the delicious, perfectly balanced juice. When she was done for the moment, she set the cup down, took three deep breaths, waited for her heartbeat to slow, return to normal, before she spoke, trying to sound calm and collected. "What makes you say that?"
He lifted her into his arms, then sat down on the chair, shifting her body so they were completely facing each other. "I was doing some research last night, you know me, I love you and I'm overprotective when it comes to you, quite panicky of hurting you. I wanted to see what I could find out with regards to my body's possible reaction when we're together as only husband and wife should be, didn't want to ask my siblings, they already think I'm crazy, go overboard when it comes to keeping you safe. I could have asked Carlisle or Esme, of course, but I wanted to see what I could find on my own first, plus, Carlisle and Esme are both vampires so their intimate experience may not be the same as ours. I wasn't expecting to find much, not really, because, our relationship, it's not at all usual, but then I came across this South American legend about a beautiful man—"
"Not more beautiful than you, no one is more beautiful than you in my eyes," Bella interrupted, pressing sweet, soft, warm kisses along his neck, the skin of his throat.
He ran a hand over her hair, soft and gentle. "As no one is more beautiful than you in my eyes." Edward narrowed his eyes, looked at her with mock anger, a slight curve of his lips giving him away. "Are you done interrupting me? Shall I continue?"
She turned slightly in his lap, just enough so she could eat the last piece of her pancakes, then grabbed her cup of juice so she could drink it while she listened more about this most interesting of developments, gestured for him to go on.
"This 'beautiful' man, he had pale skin and red eyes, would visit women at night deep in the forest, and, I'm assuming, do more than kiss them, though he didn't care to marry them first, nor, and this is my own, personal opinion, about their feelings—was just using them, because soon as they got pregnant, he'd abandon them, Leave them to die during childbirth." He pressed a kiss to her hair, took a deep breath through his nose, inhaling her scent. "Most legends, like I've told you before, are myths we make up about ourselves, to protect ourselves, keep ourselves hidden, a secret—but this one, It was very specific, accurate, When it came to describing the vampire's appearance."
Bella finished her juice, set the empty cup down on the table, wrapped her arms around his neck. "But is it possible for male vampires to reproduce? You don't age once your turned, change in any way. What does the process involve? What would my hypothetical pregnancy even look like?"
Edward stroked a hand over her hair, down her back, over the bare skin of her arms, trying to soothe her, make her relax. "I imagine the physical act it would take to get you pregnant is much the same as if we were both human, we'd need to make love, not use any contraception . . ." Bella pressed sweet, soft, warm kisses up and down the line of his throat, his face, anywhere she could reach, distracting him, making him momentarily trail off.
"As far as the biological, scientific process, I've got a theory. It's true, a vampire's body doesn't change after he's been turned, but maybe it doesn't need to in order to impregnate a human woman. We have different types of venom running through our body, you can think of them as blood and other human bodily fluids, if you'd like, though the only one capable of changing a human is the one coming from our mouths. We have one in our eyes, for example, lubricating them so we can move them around, though we have no tears because tears are meant to protect the eye and there's nothing that can hurt our eyes. I'm assuming we must have other, different kinds of venom running through our system, each with a similar function to the ones human bodily fluids have. There must be one that is similar to seminal fluid, contains our DNA, is able to bind with a human female's egg."
A pause, Edward cradling her closer to him, tightening his arms around her, his voice becoming strained when he spoke again. "Still, I'm not even sure we should try it, I don't want to take the possibility of being a mother away from you, but I also don't want to put you in danger. According to the legend, the mother stops aging for the duration of the pregnancy, and the fetus, it grows, matures, faster than a human pregnancy, becomes strong, so strong, in fact, that its able to break the mother's ribs, literally tearing her apart from the inside out, and I don't want to do anything that could possibly hurt you, let alone kill you." Edward closed his eyes, pressed his forehead to hers. "I can't live without you, you're my life, heart, and soul."
She cupped his face, fingers stroking over his cheeks, kissed him, soft and deep, deep as he would allow her to. "You never have to live without me, even were I to get pregnant."
"Bell—"
She touched a finger to his lips, silencing him. "No, Edward, listen to me, I've got a theory, but I need you to answer a question first. Is the faster development physical as well as mental?"
A nod, his eyes wide with panic.
Bella gave him a triumphant smile. "Then you will be able to hear our baby's mind, and when he or she starts kicking me, we'll explain to him or her that I have a fragile body, tell him or her to move around as gently as possible, before she or he can break any of my bones."
Edward narrowed his eyes, gave her an affectionate glare, began to smile against the tip of her finger she still held pressed against his lips. He took her hand, pressed it to his cheek. "You have a positive solution for everything, don't you?"
A shake of her head, her smile matching his. "Not everything, just when it comes to you panicking and overthinking things."
A soft laugh, then he was serious again, cupped her face, kissed her, and his kiss, it was deep, loving, as if he was trying to pour all of the love he felt for her into this one action, this kiss, though she could tell he was still holding back, his body straining. She reacted to him, twined herself around him as much as she could, pressed herself closer to him. When he broke the kiss, pulling her face gently away from his, he held it centimeters away, a soft smile on his lips. "Fine, then, I will not overthink this, will trust your instincts, because that's what a husband and wife are suppose to do, work together, as a team."
He let out a huge burst of laughter, then, loud and joyous and unrestrained, an equally huge grin forming on his lips. "Of course, this, when you're pregnant, it will make Rosalie even more jealous of you, of us, but I don't care, I don't care about anything as long as you're happy, healthy, safe, and by my side forever."
"Rosalie is jealous of me?" Bella's voice was an octave high, unbelieving, incredulous. The thought of Rosalie—beautiful, gorgeous Rosalie, who looked like a goddess, being jealous of her was absurd. "Why would Rosalie be jealous of me? She's gorgeous, and she has Emmett."
He touched his knuckles to her cheek. "Because you're human, have what she never can, a human life, the possibility to become a mother, grow old with your significant other . . . if that significant other was not me."
Edward stood up, Bella held firmly in his arms, carried her to his bedroom fast like only he could. She wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings, too busy looking at his face, thoughtful and serious, was barely aware of him laying her down on the bed, coming to lay beside her, his arms coming around her, cradling her to him. "The fact that I rejected her after her transformation, never saw her as anything more than just another woman, nothing special, didn't think her the most beautiful woman in the world, but when you came along, moved to Forks, there I was, soon as the shock of the sweet scent of your blood wore off, and I was able to control myself, obsessing over you, then falling in love with you, can't have helped matters, either. Not that Rosalie ever had any romantic feelings for me, but that's just how she is. It's shallow, vain, I know, but that's just how her mind works—I would know better than anyone."
Bella shifted, pressed herself closer to Edward, laying her right hand on his chest, right over the still organ that was his heart, linking the fingers of her left hand with his, his free arm readjusting around her, cradling her a little tighter. "But I'm not Rosalie, I don't want the things she does, a human life, all I want is to be with you forever. I've never quite fit into the human world, always felt out of place, but," she let her lips lightly, softly, brush over his, "when I'm with you everything feels right, like things are exactly the way they're supposed to be."
A smile against her lips, his cool, gentle fingers softly brushing over her ring. "I know, it's part of the reason why I allow myself to stay with you, be selfish, that and the fact that you seem to be a magnet for trouble, dangerous things always happening to you, along with the fact that I love you, don't know what I would do without you. At the beginning of our courtship, when I watched you sleep, I told myself that I don't know why the world hadn't given you a guardian angel, what with your ability to draw all things dangerous to you, but that I would stand in for the guardian angel, be your own guardian vampire. My siblings, mostly Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper, not so much Alice because she can see the potential danger you could be facing, don't understand why I'm constantly worried about you, why I always want to be with you, but I don't care."
She stroked her right hand over his hair, his face, tracing his beautiful, perfect features. She didn't want to forget anything about the time she spent with him, not a single second. Human memories, she knew from what little Edward'd told her, tended to fade over time, become less clear, and, she imagined, the dull, very mild senses humans had couldn't help matters much. "I guess it's true what they say—must apply to vampires, too, people want what they don't have instead of appreciating, seeing the beauty in what they do."
Bella hadn't realized she was crying until she felt Edward's cool, gentle fingers on her cheek. "Bella, Love, Bella, what's wrong?" Edward sounded worried, his golden eyes full of concern.
"I just," she buried her face against his neck, sobbed, loud and unladylike, "I don't want to forget any of our time together, not a single second."
He took her face between his hands, looked deep into her deep, chocolate brown eyes, slowly, gently, leaned in, kissed her, and this kiss, it was soft, soothing, filled with love. "You don't have to forget any of the time we spent together, not a single second."
He shifted on the bed, brought her over his thighs so she straddled him, linked his fingers with the ones of her left hand, his other hand stroking over her back, soothing and gentle. "It's true, human memories do tend to fade over time, become blurry at the edges, but not if you constantly think of them, or and if the emotions linked to them are strong enough. It's why Rosalie is able to recall her human life almost to perfection, she's constantly thinking about it, dwelling on what could have been, morning the loss of it. Even I, who don't spend the majority of my time thinking about my former human life, can recall the most important aspects of it—the way it felt when my mother held me, the feeling of her love, how she was constantly worrying about me, praying that the war would end before I turned eighteen so I wouldn't join the army, put myself in danger. There is so much of my former human life I can recall, so many beautiful, wonderful things, all the memories of my mother, Elizabeth, intact. Of course, my family doesn't know about this because I don't constantly speak of them, the memories near and dear to my heart, ones I keep private."
He stroked a hand over her hair, her cheek, her face, taking the time to slowly, methodically, trace each of her features, memorize the feel of her warm, soft skin against his cold one, his eyes filled with a love so deep, so pure, it had no name. "And you, my Bella, my light and reason for existing, will be able to recall every second we spent together even after I change you, no matter how many centuries, then millennia, pass. It may be a little hard at the beginning, blurry at the edges, but I'll help you through it., I promise."
She threw her arms around his neck, lunged herself at him, the force of it Knocking him backwards on the bed because he wasn't expecting it. He opened his mouth, was about to say something, but Bella didn't wait to find out what it was, kissed him, sweet and deep, deep as he would allow her to, pouring all of her love and gratitude she felt for him into this one action, this one kiss. "Thank you."
His eyes glittered, were bright with excitement. Of course. Now, shall we get back to planning our wedding? I know you don't like shopping, would rather not go, but do you plan on going shopping in preparation for our honeymoon?"
Bella bit her lip, hesitating, she had to be really careful with her answer. It was true, she didn't like shopping, hated it in fact, unless it was shopping for books, that was a completely different story, but if she didn't go, told Alice she had free reign when it came to choosing her clothes for her honeymoon wardrobe, who knew the kind of things she would buy, how much money she would spend. She imagined, if Alice had her way, it would probably be all designer clothing, no matter the price tag. Plus, she and Alice didn't have the same taste, agreed on what was and wasn't acceptable when it came to clothing. Still, even if Bella went with her, didn't allow her free reign, she'd have a really hard time keeping her in check, at least on her own . . . if Edward went with them . . .
She narrowed her eyes, playfully glared at him. "You're not telling me where you're taking me, are you?"
A smile, a shake of his head. "No, you'll find out when we get there, my lips are sealed, I'm not telling you anything about my plans for our honeymoon."
She set her hands on her hips. "How am I supposed to know what to pack if I don't even know what the weather will be like? Of course, I can assume it will be somewhere with very, very hot weather because of your overprotectiveness, but still."
An "innocent" shrug, his smile widening, buoyant and unrepentant, and when he looked up at her, it was through his eyelashes. "You can get Alice to help you, she'll know exactly where I'm taking you, what the weather will be like."
"Only if you come with us, help me keep her in check." Bella blushed, her face going bright red and hot, something suddenly occurring to her. "Of course, you'll have to stay outside when we go by the more intimate items, lingerie and such, but you can give Alice a warning not to go overboard before we go in. And no spying on us through people's minds," she added as an afterthought, "I want to surprise you."
He sat up, bringing her with him, his hands, which were previously behind his head, coming up to frame her face, his voice serious. "I wouldn't dare do such a thing. If you want to surprise me, then I'll let you, after all, who am I to take that away from you when I have surprises of my own to give you."
They spent the next couple of hours figuring out the small, relatively, "easy" details of their wedding, how many invitations they would need, though not the design, where it would take place, here, because the "backyard" was huge, could be easily decorated, transformed, only stopping when Bella needed bathroom breaks, for her to eat lunch, which, again, Edward cooked for her, went all out, cod seasoned with spices and herbs served on a bed of wilted spinach and shiitake mushrooms, then went back upstairs, to his room.
They were discussing whether or not they should invite their high school friends, when Edward let out a long sigh, rolled his eyes. "My family is back, though they'll only be staying here briefly so we can have the house to ourselves tonight again, practice for our wedding night, and Alice wants to steal you from me, take you to her room so you can tell her a rough idea of what you want your wedding dress to look like, and she can start to design it, along with Esme."
Bella blushed. It was very thoughtful of the Cullens to spend the night out of the house again so she and Edward could be by themselves, they could hear everything, after all, and Jasper, he could feel the emotions coming from everyone in the house, so there was no way they'd have any privacy if they were in the same vicinity as Edward's family. She'd have to talk to Edward about that, having their own place even when they eventually had to go to high school again. She knew they had to keep up with a public story, What the humans would know, but still, It didn't mean she and Edward couldn't have their own place, that didn't have to be part of the public story, after all. She didn't want the Cullens to be privy to her and Edward's love life, especially not Emmett.
She guessed she had a couple of minutes before Alice came, tried to drag her away from Edward. She didn't want to be separated from him, not one bit. She went over to him, crawled into his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck. "I don't want Alice to drag me away from you, no matter how short the period of time may be. We can discuss what I want my wedding dress to look like tomorrow night when she drops me off at my house."
His arms came around her, cradled her to him, and he pressed his forehead to hers. "It's fine, Bella, Love, I'll use the time you're with Alice and Esme to go for a quick hunt, Alice wants me out of the house, anyway, so I don't over here anything. Hopefully I can find a couple of mountain lions nearby, if not, I'll just have to make do with whatever animal I find, I don't like to be far from you even if I know you're safe, with my family—it makes me anxious. I'll be back in time to make you dinner, though, practice some more for our wedding night, hold you while you sleep." Edward got off of the bed, bringing her with him, holding her firmly in his arms. "Come, let's go downstairs, meet Alice and Esme halfway before Alice comes up here, drags you away from me by force."
They were downstairs in less than a second, Edward setting her down, his arms around her, holding her in his embrace. She supposed the reason why he'd set her down was so Emmett couldn't tease them when he got here. They stood there, quiet and content to be in each other's arms, for about two minutes before Edward's family arrived. Rosalie didn't even say anything, bothered with a hello, simply darted upstairs, to her and Emmett's room. Esme and Carlisle greeted Bella with an affectionate hug, a kiss on the cheek, followed by Alice, though Edward still kept one arm wrapped around her, refusing to let her go until the last possible second, and Jasper simply smiled his hello, not daring to come any closer to Bella because of the sweet scent of her blood.
Emmett, however, was an entirely different story. Rather than saying hello or darting upstairs like Rosalie had, he looked directly at Edward, a smirk on his face. "I don't understand why you didn't come hunting with us if you're going hunting anyway. Seriously, you're no fun, Edward, all you do is hunt as quickly as possible, not even bothering to make your food think it can win, then go back to Bella, watch her sleep, spend every waking moment with her that you can, even if she's unconscious."
Edward didn't even bother with a response, simply ignored him, looked at Alice. "Whatever Bella tells you about what she wants her dress to look like goes, I don't care if you think it's not enough for the occasion, it's her dress, her special day, and she should be able to wear whatever she feels like."
Esme smiled softly, came to stand on Bella's other side. "Don't worry, Edward, I'll make sure Alice doesn't go overboard, that Bella's wishes are heard and followed exactly."
Edward gave Esme a grateful look. "Thank you, Esme." He tipped Bella's chin up with one cool finger, kissed her, soft and sweet. "I'll be back soon, and, as always, I leave my heart with you, take care of it for me. I'll have my phone on me so you can call me if you need anything, or simply miss me." Then he was gone.