Carlisle had her tucked safely behind him as they watched Charlie's eyes blink a few times as he stared at her. He was clearly confused, and she didn't blame him one bit. Jasper and Emmett stood on either side of Charlie, holding him down as he seemed to take in everything around him. Edward and Esme were to Bella's left and Alice and Rosalie to Carlisle's right, all ready to pounce. When his eyes came back to hers, Bella felt a little chill at seeing the red eyes. It was a little creepy seeing them on her father, but at the same time, she still wanted to go to him and embrace him.
"Bella?" Charlie seemed to notice Carlisle's protective stance. "What's going on?"
Peeking out a little further, Bella tried to smile. "Dad, I know this is a lot, but the short answer is, you were bitten by a vampire, it changed you."
"Vampire?" Charlie sat up slowly, Jasper and Emmett helping him, but still holding tight to the man. "You're telling me, I'm a vampire?"
Carlisle took a step forward. "Yes, my family tried to save you and your daughter but James bit you before we could get there, the venom has altered you and now, like me and my family, you are a vampire. We can explain more later, Jasper and Emmett will take you hunting before your thirst gets out of control."
Charlie swallowed then, as if suddenly realizing he was parched. "I suppose a beer won't do it, will it?"
"No." Bella could hear the humor in Carlisle's voice.
Charlie nodded as the boys helped him to his feet and guided him out to the deck, Rosalie and Edward joining them. Bella could hear Charlie asking them questions and it almost made her smile that he seemed to be taking it well, all things considered. Now the hard part of pretending that Charlie was dead. Carlisle and the others had faked his death, using a john doe from the hospital, and making it look like Charlie had skidded off the road and into a ditch and thanks to the damage, the engine caught fire and burned the car to cinders.
The Port Angeles cops had found the crash on day two of Charlie's transformation and identified it as Charlie's cruiser and had let her know about the accident. Hearing it, she had burst into tears even though she knew Charlie was in the next room, but exhaustion had made her emotional. Word spread and she had gotten a lot of calls of condolence, asking when the funeral would be, but she'd been unable to answer the question. It was just too hard to get the words out.
Thankfully, Edward had been playing the supportive boyfriend and, with Alice's help, had been setting up for Charlie's funeral to take place that Saturday. Edward and Alice sent out invitations to everyone in town, knowing how much Charlie was liked, so that everyone could come say their goodbyes. The Cullens had all been so supportive and did all the preparations for her and she couldn't thank them enough for it.
Now that Charlie was gone, the exhaustion from the last few days caught up with Bella and she lightly tugged at Carlisle's sleeve. When he looked down at her, she lifted her arms to wrap around his neck. "Take me to bed please, I'm exhausted."
He picked her up and carried her to bed, it was easier than trying to hobble with her broken leg. The moment her head hit the pillow; she was out. She slept most of the day away, not even concerned about school, she could deal with that later, right now she just wanted to sleep. When she finally woke up, it was a few hours before night would fall. Carlisle gently brushed her hair back from her face, a look on concern on his face.
"How are you doing?"
That was a good question. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I'm glad Charlie's alive, but what if he hates this life as a vampire and comes to resent me for forcing it on him? Then there's the funeral and the house and just so many things to deal with, I just feel overwhelmed."
Carlisle kissed her forehead, laying down so they were face to face. "You don't have to stress; we'll help you with everything. As for whether Charlie will like this life, I'm sure he'll adapt to it just fine, he won't resent his only daughter for saving his life. You didn't force this on him, James did."
Bella swallowed around the lump forming in her throat as the emotions from the past few days began to well up inside her again. "What about you? Are you angry at me for running off like that?"
He took a moment to think about his answer. "Angry, no. Hurt, a little. Mostly, I was terrified. I'd already almost lost you once, then you run off to confront a vampire on your own. It's like you're trying to give me a heart attack."
Shaking her head, she buried her face into his chest. "I would never want that, even if it was possible." A thought popped into her head, and she bolted upright. "Victoria, what about her? I never saw her at the store, but wasn't she working with James?"
Carlisle pulled her back down into his arms. "Yes, we think that's how they figured out Charlie was your dad. We're not sure where she ran off too, but Alice is watching her decisions, so we'll know when she decides to try and make a move."
"So, we just wait until she comes back to finish me off?"
"More like we wait for her to miss step and take her down then."
Nodding, she let her eyes close and enjoy Carlisle holding her, their bond calm and content for the first time in days. They laid there for a while, both just as content as the others to stay put but eventually Bella's stomach growled forcing them apart. Heading down to the kitchen, she made a sandwich while they waited for Charlie and the others to return from their hunt. She'd just finished when Charlie appeared on the deck looking none too happy.
"Isabella Swan, get out here." Charlie shouted.
Bella looked to Carlisle in shock, Charlie never used her full name. Together they headed out onto the deck, Carlisle putting himself between them. This seemed to anger Charlie more as he glared daggers at Carlisle.
"Tell me it's a lie; tell me you haven't been lying to me about dating Edward."
Swallowing, she glowered at Edward who ducked his head apologetically. "It's true. Edward and I were never dating."
Carlisle tried to step in, keeping his voice level. "Charlie, let's sit down and discuss this."
"Shut up!" Charlie shouted. "You should feel lucky I haven't called you in for dating a minor. Your student no less."
"I'm 18, I'm not a minor, and I haven't been his student for almost a year." Bella interjected, feeling a deep urge to defend her mate.
"And how long have you two been together?" Charlie snapped.
Bella shuffled her feet. "A year and a few months."
"Exactly, you were 17 when he tricked you into this 'relationship' and his student. I'm putting an end to it." Charlie rounded on Carlisle. "You'll stay the hell away from my daughter."
"No." Carlisle replied, his normally upbeat tone gone.
Charlie looked furious at Carlisle. "No? This isn't a debate; I'm telling you to stay away from my little girl."
Carlisle's head tipped down slightly as they glared at each other. "I'm not debating, I won't leave Bella's side, ever. She's not a little girl anymore, she can decide for herself who she dates without your permission."
In the blink of an eye, Charlie grabbed Carlisle by the shirt and tossed him off the deck and into the grass. Carlisle rolled to his feet as Esme and Alice appeared pulling her a safe distance from Charlie.
Carlisle held up his hands. "I don't want to fight you, Charlie, let's talk this through."
Charlie clearly wasn't thinking things through, and it scared her because this wasn't her father. Her father was normally very even keeled and took a lot to rile him up, so to see him so easily instigating a fight just felt, wrong. Charlie charged Carlisle, and they locked grips as Carlisle tried to hold his ground, but with Charlie's newborn strength Carlisle was losing the battle leaving deep gouges in the grass as he was pushed backwards. In a flurry of movements, Carlisle slammed Charlie into the ground, seemingly stunning Charlie for a moment. Carlisle stepped away, glancing at her to check on her, but this ended up being a mistake as Charlie knocked Carlisle's feet out from under him.
Again, there was a flurry of motion that she couldn't follow, and once again, Charlie ended up being slammed into the ground. Bella quickly realized that despite his overwhelming strength, Charlie didn't have the experience that Carlisle did. Carlisle had lived as a vampire much longer and knew how to use his abilities to their max. It made her happy to see her mate was able to handle his own, though she wished they'd stop.
"I don't understand, this isn't like my dad at all." Bella mumbled as she watched them.
Esme patted her on the back. "It's his instincts, newborns rely heavily on them, right now he's doing what he thinks he has to, to protect his precious daughter."
Charlie scrambled to his feet, taking a moment to consider his next move as Carlisle watched him closely. They clashed again, and again, Carlisle coming out as the victor each time, until finally Charlie grunted from his spot on the ground. Carlisle offered him a hand up and once standing, they both regarded each other for a long moment.
"You'll defend her, love her and care for her?" Carlisle nodded and Charlie looked at her. "Are you happy?"
Bella didn't hesitate as she nodded. "Yes, Carlisle is wonderful to me."
Charlie grunted, looking between the two of them. "Fine, I'm not happy about it, but I'll accept it, for now." Bella smiled and ran towards him to hug him, but everyone jumped to stop her, including Charlie. "Sorry Bells, I'd love to hug you, but still getting used to this new strength thing."
Feeling a bit dejected she nodded with her understanding. It didn't stop her from wanting to be held by her father. If all she had to do was wait, then she supposed she could do that. They headed inside and Carlisle explained what would happen next. Charlie wasn't thrilled about having to leave her, but Carlisle explained until they were sure he wouldn't harm her or another human, it was best to keep him away from them.
So, when morning came, Charlie loaded up with Rosalie and Emmett to head to Alaska. Since Charlie was supposedly dead, they couldn't risk him flying so they planned to drive all the way to meet up with the Denali which would take several days. As the car vanished down the driveway, Bella wrapped her arms around her middle, hoping that she wouldn't have to wait 5 years to see her dad again. She stood in the driveway for a while after the car had vanished, unable to pull herself away at first. Slowly, Carlisle managed to coax her back inside and had her rest. Her leg had been throbbing for the last few days, but she'd refused any medications, the pain having helped to keep her awake. Now, she happily took what Carlisle gave her and slept giving her body a chance to heal from everything.
Bella stayed at the Cullen house the whole week, unwilling to face the lonely house just yet. It wasn't until Friday that she finally got the nerve to venture over there with Edward, Alice and Jasper and when they arrived, the front porch was covered in flowers and unlit candles and signs. They worked to make a path through the donations and into the house where a pile of cards lay from being dropped through the mail slot. It warmed her heart to know so many people cared about her father like this.
Slowly she walked through the house, Alice by her side. She was grateful to have her there as the house just felt, wrong, now. Taking a deep breath, she and Alice started arranging the flowers and what-nots that were left on the porch around the house for the wake they'd be holding the following day. On the dining room table, they set up a little viewing area with the fake ashes they were passing off as her father, in a marble urn they'd picked out. They also set up cameras, one for people to record anything they wanted to say about Charlie, and one in the living room, that one mostly just for Charlie to watch later if he wanted too.
Esme arrived a few hours later having gone to the store and got the food they'd be offering. Nothing fancy, just charcuterie boards of varying meats, cheeses, crackers, fruits, and nuts. Bella helped Esme put the boards together and wrap them in saranwrap while the boys and Alice finished decorating the rooms. When that was all completed and the food was in the fridge, after they cleaned out all the spoiled food, Bella, Esme and Alice headed up to her room to find her an outfit for the wake. It took a few minutes for them to agree on a simple black dress and matching slip-on shoes.
Grabbing all her schoolwork into her backpack she grabbed a few other essentials before they all headed back to their house, Bella having no desire to stay in her house alone knowing Victoria was out there. That and the house just didn't feel right without Charlie there. Carlisle had been nice enough to get her homework for her and let the principle know about Charlie's death, which thankfully got her absences cleared up and the couple of tests she'd missed she was allowed to retake once she was back.
Saturday morning, she was up early, laying in Carlisle's bed and looking out the large windows that made up one wall of his room. It was a beautiful view of the forest. She wished she could just stay there and stare into the green mass of trees in front of her and pretend that today wasn't the day she lied to the town about her father. Sighing, she sat up. Hiding from it wouldn't make it any better, so she might as well face it. When Carlisle finished in the bathroom, she took it over and got ready.
The wake went well. Practically the whole town showed up and tried to cram into her house, but other than that it went smoothly. A nearly constant stream of people came up to her to express their condolences, which got a little frustrating after a while as she could barely go 5 minutes without more people coming up to her. Thankfully, Edward was there to help her through it, making little jokes now and then that would almost make her laugh but she somehow managed to hold her laughter in. When questioned why he was trying to get her to laugh he smiled.
"To help you get through this, and it looks like you're trying to not cry. It helps with the illusion." He whispered to her.
That did make sense. So, she let him crack his jokes and continued to do her best not to laugh in front of everyone. The hardest ones to lie to were Billy and Harry. When they arrived, Bella started to panic not knowing how to face them. Could she really lie to their faces about Charlie's death, would they ask her questions about it? No one had wanted to talk about the actual accident, but Billy and Harry might be the exceptions, and she wasn't sure she could convincingly reiterate the story to them.
To her relief, they simply offered her a hug and their deepest condolences stating they would greatly miss Charlie. Bella teared up as they told her stories about her dad and some of the trips they'd taken, and it brought up all the guilt from earlier in the week. Her dad would never get to do those things with them again. They eventually moved on, but after that, Bella couldn't take it anymore and headed upstairs to her room as fast as her injured leg would let her.
Edward followed her, sitting on the edge of her bed as she cried into her pillow, ruining the little make-up she'd put on. Slowly she calmed down enough to sit up and take the tissue Edward offered her. "Penny for your thoughts?"
Wiping away her tears and make up, she gave a heavy sigh. "I've ruined Charlie's life. He'll never be able to go fishing with Billy and Harry, never get to watch sports with them or whatever else they do. It's over for them, he'll have to watch from a distance as they grow old and die, and they'll never know what really happened."
Edward shook his head. "Charlie doesn't blame you; I told you that. His only concern was your safety even if that meant giving his life for you. Also, it might not be over for him and Billy and Harry. Billy and Harry both know about the treaty, so if we told them, it wouldn't be breaking any rules. Yes, Charlie will watch them grow old and die, but he'd have done that anyway."
With a tentative smile, Bella laid her head against Edward's shoulder. "Thank you for being such a good friend to me."
He gave her a one-armed hug. "Thank you for making Carlisle so happy."
Smiling, she stood and grabbed a mirror to fix her make up so they could head back down. The rest of the day went by slowly until the house eventually emptied leaving just the Cullens. They worked together to clean up the house and go through all the cards that people had left her. It was heartwarming to see so many people come to say goodbye to her dad.
The rest of the weekend was spent packing the things Charlie asked her to, so it could be shipped to him. He seemed to be settling in well, which was a relief for Bella. Her mother had flown up for the funeral and tried to convince her to move back down to Phoenix with her, but she refused, stating she wanted to stay in Forks. Carlisle and Esme had stepped in letting Renee know they'd be watching over her and helping her with whatever she needed. This seemed to help assuage her mom and she left Sunday night.
She went back to school when Monday came, sympathetic stares followed her everywhere and if it wasn't for Edward's near constant presence, she might have just dropped out of school just to avoid the staring. Edward, and the others, all reminded her that week that things would calm down, that the stares would stop, and she hoped they were right. All the attention made her uneasy.
By the next week, things did quiet down as prom was scheduled at the end of the week and all the seniors were bustling about it. Well, except her. Alice reminded her of her promise to attend and even though she was still in the boot Alice refused to let her back out of the promise. The other girl found her a beautiful floor length satin dress that was a pretty teal color with a slit up the side that stopped midthigh. It was held up with spaghetti straps, which she covered with a lace shrug to cover her shoulders and arms.
On the night of prom, she was the last to descend the stairs, careful of her footing with the boot on. All eyes turned to her and smiles spread across all the Cullen's faces. Carlisle came forward and helped her down the last few steps before kissing her.
"You're absolutely stunning." Carlisle slipped the corsage onto her wrist.
She shook her head; her breath having been stolen by how absolutely handsome he looked in his black suit that contrasted nicely with his blonde hair. "You're the stunning one."
"I just wish I could be the one to take you to this." A hint of sadness in his voice.
Kissing him lightly, she smiled. "In a way you are."
He hummed kissing the tip of her nose before turning to the group as Alice practically bounced in place eager to snap pictures. When they finally finished with all the photos Alice insisted on, they all headed to the prom. The place they were holding it at was the same place Carlisle and her had had their first kiss. Like before it was decked out in lights with tables lining the dance floor, music blared and there was a table of food on one side of the room.
She and the Cullens found an out-of-the-way spot to set up, Edward not forcing her to dance for now thanks to her injury and they sat and watched all the other couples. She didn't mind; she enjoyed Edward's company as they entertained themselves. He did walk her out to the gazebo, and they slow danced at one point, stating that Carlisle was requesting she get at least one dance in. Once they finished their slow dance, which she ended up standing on his feet the whole time, they headed back inside for a little while longer before they slipped out and headed back to the house.
The last two weeks of school seemed to fly by with her having to make up the missing work and with finals coming up, not to mention all the work she had to do with Charlie's house. Thanks to Carlisle and the others, they'd worked with a lawyer, got everything signed that needed to be so she would inherit the house, all Charlie's possessions and everything else. After school they would work on slowly packing everything in the house to either be donated, moved to the Cullen's house, or simply thrown away. Everyone told her she had time to deal with it, but she wanted to get it over as soon as possible.
It helped a lot when her boot finally came off a few days before graduation, and she was able to be more mobile again. She had really hoped it would come off before she had to walk across the stage as she was sure she'd trip with that stupid boot. Though, she'd probably trip anyway. Charlie was feeling immensely guilty that he couldn't be there to see her graduate, and even though Esme was going to be filming the whole thing for him, he still apologized profusely during their weekly calls. The weekly calls had really helped her with dealing with the house, and all his stuff since it reminded her that he wasn't actually gone, just out of sight for now. Once graduation happened, Carlisle promised to take her up to Alaska to visit him.
She had been counting down the days.
Graduation was fairly standard, lots of speeches while they sat in their bright yellow cap and gown. Bella felt a little isolated as the Cullens were all the way up front and she was near the back. Thankfully, there was one constant companion she could reach out to through their bond, and it helped her feel less nervous. This was the day she'd been waiting for, the day they no longer had to hide their relationship, and she couldn't wait for it to be over so they could truly start their lives together. Slowly each person's name was called until it was finally her turn. As carefully as she could, she walked across the stage, shook hands with the principle, and took her diploma.
Her eyes sought out her father for a moment, before she remembered he wouldn't be there, so instead she locked eyes with Carlisle, who gave her a single nod and a smile. Her dad might not be there, but she wasn't alone at least. Taking her seat again, she waited for the rest of the students to walk before they finally concluded the ceremony. She met up with the Cullen's once they were all released, and they all headed home.
The second week of June she spent finishing up all the packing and sorting and had started taking things to be donated, or over to the Cullen's house and moving into Carlisle's room, which he happily made space for her. The others helped her clear out the house over the week and Esme came in and started making notes of things they'd have to do to get ready to sell. It was a bit of a list, but thankfully nothing too expensive. Charlie had kept the place in good shape and really just needed new carpets, paint, and to polish up the wood floors. Esme planned out the work and had scheduled it to be done the next week while Bella and Carlisle were in Alaska so when she got back, she could see the finished product.
Bella was happy to leave it to Esme trusting her judgement on the subject.
It quickly spread around town that she had moved into the Cullen house and there were a lot of speculations as to why. The most common one being people believed she was knocked up with Edward's baby, which they had fun laughing about, while others assumed they were now engaged and planning to move away together. She was curious how people would react when they realized she'd 'left' Edward for his 'older brother'. The topic was one her, and all the others, had fun joking around about. Really, she didn't care what the people of Forks thought, she'd found a home with the Cullen's, and they liked having her around, so she was happy.
Sunday morning came and she found herself climbing into Carlisle's Mercedes with Jasper and Alice in the back as they started out towards Seattle so they could catch a plane to Fairbanks. With Charlie being a newborn still, they had thought it best to bring Jasper since he was so versed with newborns and his ability to help control emotions could be very useful. Alice, of course, was coming because Jasper was, the two were basically inseparable though Bella understood that desire to be close to her mate. Since living with the Cullen's, she found herself practically glued to Carlisle.
The trip to Fairbanks was uneventful as was the drive from Fairbanks to the Denali house, which was just as marvelous as the Cullen house. As they pulled up a group of people all came out to greet them, three blonde women, who she assumed were Tanya, Kate and Irina, then a dark-haired couple, Carmen and Eleazar, and of course, Charlie. When Carlisle parked, Bella was already climbing out, eager to see her father. Charlie's eyes had turned golden, like the others, and from what he'd been telling her, he'd been doing well abstaining from human blood.
Carlisle took her hand and led her forward. "Bella, may I introduce, Eleazar, Carmen, Kate, Irina, and Tanya." He motioned to each in turn.
She gave a smile. "Nice to meet you, thank you for having us, and everything you've done for my dad."
Tanya smiled. "We were happy to help. Chalie's been doing very well for a newborn."
Bella turned to her dad, nibbling her lower lip as he came forward. "It's good to see you Bells, you look good."
Unable to wait any longer, she let her hand drop from Carlisle's and embraced her father. "It's good to see you too, dad."
His arms wrapped around her tentatively as she breathed in his familiar scent. She hadn't realized how much she missed it till it was gone. He held her for a few minutes before finally pulling away, his eyes teary though none fell. Stepping back to Carlisle's side, Tanya motioned them inside. Bella gazed around at the impressive home they had, everything looked new without a speck of dust anywhere. Kate led Carlisle and Jasper upstairs to their rooms so they could drop off their bags, while Tanya led them to the living room so they could all sit and chat.
Tanya seemed all too happy to give her a rundown of how Charlie was doing, and the progress he was making with integrating with humans again. Though it had only been 6 weeks since his change, he'd apparently shown a remarkable resilience to the call of human blood, something Bella hoped she'd inherit from him. When Tanya was done, Charlie asked her about home. She let him know everyone was doing alright, that Billy and Harry missed him, and how the whole town had shown up to say their goodbyes.
She'd already sent him the videos they'd taken of his wake and her graduation, but he still wanted to hear about it from her, which she found endearing. Carlisle, Jasper and Kate rejoined them as she told him about her graduation, about what they were doing to the house, and that she'd moved in with Carlisle. The last part he didn't look happy about but said nothing for now. Then came the topic she wasn't so sure about, what she was going to do now that she had graduated.
It had been something she'd thought about a lot. Most of the Cullens agreed she should go to college, but the idea of forcing Carlisle to move with her bothered her. Even though they'd told her plenty of times that they often would break off for little honeymoons or whatever, it still made her feel guilty pulling him away from his family. In the end, she'd agreed to college and would attend in the fall at the University of Washington, though she still hadn't figured out a major yet. This way Carlisle could still be close to his family, assuming they stayed in Forks, or Seattle, while still being with her. She'd wanted to do the whole thing online, and she planned to do her generals online until Carlisle could relocate, but they all insisted that she actually attend her first college in person.
They continued to talk well into the evening when Bella's stomach made itself known. Tanya showed her to the kitchen and told her to help herself, so she made herself a quick dinner and rejoined the others. At some point in the night, she woke to Carlisle carrying her to their room and tucking her in before joining her. There was a pang of guilt in her, as she was sure Carlisle would like to continue chatting with everyone downstairs instead of watching her sleep. If he was upset by it, he showed no indication, and she quickly fell back asleep.
The next few days, she noticed the girls all seemed eager to keep her occupied with idle chatter or taking her into town so they could have girl time, or anything else they could think of. It was fun to get to know them, but it was a bit overwhelming at times having all their focus seemingly on her. That and she wanted to spend some time with her dad. Her only real reprieve was when Carlisle would rescue her at the end of the day and whisk her away to the safety of their bedroom. When the behavior continued into Thursday, she finally crossed her arms.
"Ok, as much as fun as it is to hang out, why does it feel like you're keeping something from me?" She demanded.
All five vampire women exchanged almost giddy looks as they bit their lower lips. "We can't tell you, but you'll find out soon." Alice told her eventually.
Alice gave her one of her, trust me I know you'll love it, looks so Bella sighed. "Fine, I'll wait."
It wasn't until sunset that Carlisle motioned for her to come with him. He led her out onto the balcony that overlooked a small pond behind the house. It was a beautiful sight to see as the sun sank slowly behind the horizon.
"Bella, there's something I've been wanting to ask you, but I wanted to do it properly and it took a bit to get permission." Carlisle started, looking a little anxious. Turning towards him, she waited for him to continue. "Bella Swan, will you do me the incredible honor, of marrying me?"
Bella blinked in shock as he produced a ring box and opened it to a beautiful sapphire surrounded in a circle by diamonds. The ring sparkled in the fading light and for a moment she was stunned into silence. She could feel Carlisle getting more anxious the longer she took to answer him, so she took a slow deep breath and smiled at him.
"Yes."
The smile that spread across Carlisle's face was one of pure joy. Pulling the ring out of the box, he helped her slip it onto her finger. "We can hold off on the wedding until after your done with school if you want, I just couldn't wait any longer to ask you. I love you, Bella."
Reaching up, she pulled him down into a kiss. "As long as I'm with you, I'll be happy, wedding or not. I love you too, Carlisle."
He wrapped his arms around her as she gazed fondly at her ring. It was clearly expensive, and she'd chastise him later for spending so much on her, but for now, she'd enjoy the moment. Glancing up at him, she tilted her head.
"So, going to tell me how you managed to get my father's permission for this?"
Carlisle chuckled lightly. "It wasn't easy, he's very protective of you and loves you dearly. In the end I basically promised to not only love and care for you, but to give you the moon and all the stars."
Bella laughed. "And how, pray tell, are you going to do that?"
"I don't know yet, but someday I will find a way."
She had no doubt that he'd find a way. Laying her head on his chest, she smiled, happier than she could ever imagine. They stayed there on the balcony till well after sunset, and the stars had all come out. It was stunning. It made her smile to think she'd spend many nights like this with him and she planned to treasure each one.