XLV. Wedding planning.

The weekend passed, and finally, wedding planning had started. I had only decided on the date so far, but I already had a vision for my outdoor wedding. And I knew with Alice, my every dream would come true for my big day.

It was Monday night, and my mother had gone out with Charlie. She still made it out as something casual, claiming they weren't that serious, but I was well aware of all the times she had spent the night with him and the nights he snuck into our home to spend with her.

I was sitting on the couch with Edward, my feet on his lap as he carefully painted my toenails a light pink color. I quietly observed him as he carefully worked. "I've picked a date." I informed him in a soft voice.

"For?" he asked curiously, eyes never lifting from my toes as he continued to paint them.

"Our wedding," I replied and Edward's eyes shot towards me. He raised a curious eyebrow as a small smile tugged at his lips. "September thirteen," I said.

He put my nail polish aside and carefully scooted closer to him, keeping my legs draped over his lap. "September thirteenth?" he repeated, rubbing a soothing hand up and down my leg as he raised his eyebrows again.

"Yeah," I confirmed with a nod of my head. "It's a month after my birthday. Alice said she can get the wedding together by then and we can go on a honeymoon." I told him as my smile grew a little.

Edward scoffed in amusement as he nodded his head. "I'm sure she can." he agreed as he nodded his head and I laughed softly. He looked at me, smiling fondly as he continued rubbing my leg. "There's no rush," he assured.

I shook my head as I looked down at his hand on my leg, focusing on the circles he rubbed against my skin. "I've chosen my life. I want to start living it." I told him softly.

Edward smiled and reached his hand out, tugging a strand of my hair behind my ear. "And so, you're gonna let Alice plan the whole thing?" he asked teasingly.

"God no," I replied, shaking my head and Edward laughed. I took his hand into mine and began playing aimlessly with his fingers. "She's definitely going to be the main planner. No one on this earth can stop her from throwing a party."

Edward hummed in agreement. But slowly, his smile slipped, and he looked down at my legs draped over his lap. "Are you going to invite him?" he asked curiously.

I knew he meant Jacob. My smile slipped as well as I shifted slightly. "I doubt he'll come even if I did," I replied as I pursed my lips.

Edward scoffed softly as he looked at me. "He'll come. He'll come to piss me off." he insisted as he nodded his head.

I hummed softly and reached out, brushing my fingertips across his cold cheek. "Yeah well, when it comes to him, it doesn't take a lot to piss you off," I replied softly as I gave him a small playful smile. I shifted again and sat up a little more straight. "So you need a third groomsman, for Angela," I informed him.

We had agreed together that his sisters and Angela would be my bridesmaids, with Angela as my maid of honor. I had promised Alice she could be maid of honor for the second wedding someday, and everyone after that as well. Jasper and Emmett would be the groomsmen, and a third was still needed.

Edward gave me a side-eyed look, knowing I was avoiding talking about Jacob. "Maybe I'll ask Jacob." he teased me.

I lightly pushed his shoulder as I gave him a playful scowl. "I'm being serious." I insisted as I gave him a firm look.

Edward chuckled softly before nodding. He thought about it for a second before looking at me. "Seth?" he suggested. Surprisingly enough, after the fight with the newborn fight, Seth and Edward had become friends. Seth was probably one of the few werewolves who could claim a vampire was cool. I nodded in agreement. "I'll ask him."

"Okay." I agreed softly before shifting closer to Edward, resting my head on his shoulder. I smiled to myself as my eyes flicked down to my ring.

Wednesday came and Alice had insisted that I come over so that wedding planning can continue. I sat at the kitchen table, eating a sandwich Alice had made me. She left for a second and then returned with the biggest binder I have ever seen in my life. It could barely close.

She put it down on the table and it made a loud thud. My eyes widened. "Alice, what the hell is that?" I questioned her as I raised my eyebrows.

"My wedding binder," she replied with a beaming smile as she sat down next to me, pushing the binder so that it was between us on the table.

I looked at Alice, my lips parting as I raised my eyebrows again. "How many weddings are you planning?" I questioned as my eyes squinted.

"This is important, Ana," Alice replied as she shot me a pointed side-eye. This binder was not to be joked about, the look in her eyes warned me. I held my hands up in defense as I smiled. "I've got a few ideas in there, a few options you can pick out from," she explained as she patted the binder before flipping it open. "Let's start with the bridesmaid's dresses," she said, flipping through pages of colors, materials, and styles.

"Okay." I agreed as I scooted closer to her. She flipped back onto a page with different color swathes "Well, since I want everything to be a light earthy tone." I spoke as my eyes drifted across the page, pointing at one of the shades of green. "Sage green color. Satin material." I said before looking at Alice. "Matching heels."

A giddy smile grew on Alice's face. She pulled a sheet of paper and a pen from the front of the paper and wrote down what I had just said. "Perfect," she said with a nod of her head.

"I don't really have a preference for the dress. You, Rosalie, and Angela can pick your own styles, but I do want the groomsmen to have sage green-colored pocket squares." I explained as I rubbed my hands together, fiddling around with my fingers.

Alice's smile grew, writing that down as well before looking at me. "Great minds think alike," she told me as she tapped the pen against the side of her head. "This is going to be a piece of cake." She assured me and I looked at the binder. I sighed as I thought about everything we had to go through. Alice shot me a look. "Don't sigh," she warned.

I spent days at the Cullen household, planning my wedding day. We settled on a color pallet of mostly sage green with hints of soft pink. We had picked a three-layer white cake with sage green and light pink flowers on it. To match the natural tone of the wedding, we decided to hold the reception outside the Cullen house. There was a beautiful space just behind the house, surrounded by the forest. We picked lilies and Tulips for the flowers to use. We even picked rustic wood benches for the seating during the ceremony and then glass tables and rustic wooden chairs with flowers woven through the back. We had even begun picking smaller things, like the looks for the invitations, the centerpieces, the tablecloths, and napkins.

Alice's binder covered everything, even playlists.

It was another Monday afternoon when I got home. I slumped down on the couch, stifling a yawn behind my hand. My mother came into the room, sending a knowing smile my way. She was already in her scrubs, almost heading to her midnight shift at the hospital. She sat down next to me and I rested my head on her shoulder.

"How's wedding planning going?" She asked softly as she patted my thigh.

"Alice is driving me just a little crazy," I replied as I held up my thumb and forefinger to indicate little. My mom laughed softly, patting my thigh again. "She wanted me to remind you we're dress shopping on Sunday," I informed her softly as I tiredly closed my eyes.

My mother let out a soft breath. "Oh, I already know I'm going to cry." She said softly as she shook her head.

"No," I replied as I lifted my head from her shoulder. "No crying," I told her softly as I shook my head and she playfully pouted her lips. Yeah...she was going to cry. I shifted, bringing my legs up on the couch. "Once I move out, the house is going to be pretty empty," I told her softly.

"What are you getting at?" She asked me as she raised her eyebrows.

"Nothing," I muttered as a small smile slipped onto my lips. I ran a hand through my hair as I looked away. "Charlie's house is pretty empty too," I added as I shrugged my shoulders.

My mother huffed lightly as she got up to her feet. "I have to get to work." she insisted.

I smiled knowingly and got up and blocked her path, crossing my arms over my chest. "Nice try, your shift is in an hour and a half." I reminded her as my head tilted to the side.

"Traffic." She replied smugly as she jutted her chin out into the air.

"In Forks?" I asked with a laugh as I raised my eyebrows and my mother rolled her eyes at me as she frowned. "Yeah no," I replied with a shake of my head.

She slumped back down on the couch and I joined her. She looked at me carefully as she thought about it for a second. She slowly shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe there's something between us," she admitted hesitantly.

My smile grew. Like I didn't already know. I reached out, placing my hand on her arm. "Mom, if he makes you happy, be with him," I told her softly.

My mom's eyes pricked with tears as she looked down at her lap. "Don't you think it's too soon?" She asked softly as she looked back at me again, eyebrows furrowing. "Won't it upset you?"

I continued to smile at her, slowly shaking my head. I missed my dad every day, and I'm used to it being my mom with my dad. But she deserved happiness and she found that in Charlie. I can't take that away from her. "Seeing you happy, is the last thing that's going to upset me," I assured her softly.

My mom gave me a small smile in response. She let out a soft breath as she wiped her eyes. She looked at me and let out a soft laugh. "You know, I told you," she muttered softly.

"Told me what?" I asked as my eyebrows furrowed.

She reached out, cupping my cheek with her warm and soft hand. "Moving here was going to be good for us," she told me softly.

My breath hitched and I smiled. That very first day, driving into Forks, she told me; This is going to be good, Ana. I doubted her at first, I didn't believe her. Tears pricked in my eyes as I thought back to that time and everything that's happened in the two years from then to now. Not only was it meeting and falling for Edward. It was meeting my friends, meeting the Cullen's, meeting Charlie, Quil, Embry and Seth...meeting Jacob. All the friendships and relationships that Forks gave me.

I sniffed as I looked at my mom, slowly nodding my head. "Well, you are always right," I told her softly.

"Yes, I am." She agreed as she nodded her head and I chuckled softly as I sniffed again.

Friday came and I sat in Edward's bedroom, spending the night with him. I sat at a small desk, writing on beautiful golden envelopes that held my and Edward's wedding invitations on them. A whole stack had formed, and there were still so many to go through.

Edward came into his room, raising his eyebrows at me while closing the door behind him. "What are you doing?" he asked curiously as he approached me.

I looked up at him and he pressed a soft kiss to my lips before allowing me to speak. "Alice actually allowed me to do something other than just pick things." I mused softly before holding up the envelope I was addressing. "I'm addressing the invitations."

Edward looked through the stack of envelopes I was done with and picked one up. "Billy Black." he read the name I had written on the envelope. His gaze flicked to me and he raised his eyebrows. "You're really inviting him?"

"Yes, I am." I confirmed as I nodded my head. "I'm inviting Sue Clearwater, Embry, and Quil too," I informed him. Edward had added the Denali vampires to our guest list so it was only fair I could add the members of the pack I was friends with.

"And Leah?" Edward asked teasingly, giving a lopsided smile as he raised his eyebrows at me.

I scoffed loudly at him as I shook my head. "If I wanted to get mauled to death sure," I replied as I continued with the envelopes.

Edward silently stared at me for a second before leaning against the table, crossing his arms over his chest. "Jacob?" he asked me softly.

"No," I whispered as I shook my head. I had made the decision to not invite Jacob, with a heavy heart. But it was one I needed to make for my own peace. I would have loved nothing more than to have him celebrate this day with me but I knew he simply wouldn't be happy for me.

Edward frowned as he looked down at me. He took the pen from my hand, putting it down so that my full attention would turn to him. "You're really not inviting him?" he asked softly as he reached out, tugging a strand of hair behind my ear.

"After all he's done, I think it's time to realize that he's not my friend," I whispered as I slowly shook my head. "Not anymore," I said as I sighed. "My Jacob died the day he cut his hair," I added bitterly as I rolled my eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want to invite him?" Edward questioned me as his eyebrows furrowed.

I looked up at him, eyes squinting. "Why does it sound like you want me to?" I asked as I raised my eyebrows at him. "You don't like him." I reminded him with a shake of my head.

"No, I don't." Edward agreed as he shook his head. "But I can't ignore everything he has done for you and what he meant to you at one point," he explained as he brushed his hand across my cheek. "I just don't want you to be hurt by your decision."

"These past two years have made my skin thick," I assured him as I mustered up a small smile. "Even before that, I had thick skin," I said. "Him not being at my wedding is not going to hurt me. Him being at my wedding would probably hurt more." I admitted as I shook my head.

"I know you have thick skin," Edward replied as he nodded his head. A smile tugged at his lips. "I mean you have talked back to just about every dangerous creature on this planet." he chuckled softly.

"Sometimes you need a mere mortal to put you back in your place," I replied cheekily as I shrugged my shoulders.

"I know I got put into my place a few times when we first met." he mused as his smile grew wider.

"Well, you were an ass those first few weeks," I informed him as I chuckled, tilting my head to the side.

"I know," he whispered as he let out a soft sigh. He regretted those wasted days, trying to push me away. "I thought it would make you stay away."

"Aren't you glad it didn't?" I asked softly.

"You can't even begin to understand how glad," he whispered before leaning down. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head before pulling away. He walked across his room to grab some fresh clothes and I turned my head, eyes following him for a second as I smiled. He left the room to go shower and I turned back to the envelopes, still smiling.

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