Breaking Dawn | Page 8

�A deal�s a deal.�
�I don�t know. It�s too hard to concentrate when you�re with me like this. I�I can�t
think straight. I won�t be able to control myself. You�ll get hurt.�
�I�ll be fine.�
�Bella . . .�
�Shh!� I pressed my lips to his to stop his panic attack. I�d heard it before. He wasn�t
getting out of this deal. Not after insisting I marry him first.
He kissed me back for a moment, but I could tell he wasn�t as into it as before.
Worrying, always worrying. How different it would be when he didn�t need to worry
about me anymore. What would he do with all his free time? He�d have to get a new
hobby.
�How are your feet?� he asked.
Knowing he didn�t mean that literally, I answered, �Toasty warm.�
�Really? No second thoughts? It�s not too late to change your mind.�
�Are you trying to ditch me?�
He chuckled. �Just making sure. I don�t want you to do anything you�re not sure about.�
�I�m sure about you. The rest I can live through.�
He hesitated, and I wondered if I�d put my foot in my mouth again.
�Can you?� he asked quietly. �I don�t mean the wedding�which I am positive you will
survive despite your qualms�but afterward� what about Ren�e, what about Charlie?�
I sighed. �I�ll miss them.� Worse, that they would miss me, but I didn�t want to give him
any fuel.
�Angela and Ben and Jessica and Mike.�
�I�ll miss my friends, too.� I smiled in the darkness. �Especially Mike. Oh, Mike! How
will I go on?�
He growled.
I laughed but then was serious. �Edward, we�ve been through this and through this. I
know it will be hard, but this is what I want. I want you, and I want you forever. One
lifetime is simply not enough for me.�
�Frozen forever at eighteen,� he whispered.
�Every woman�s dream come true,� I teased.
�Never changing� never moving forward.�
�What does that mean?�
He answered slowly. �Do you remember when we told Charlie we were getting
married? And he thought you were� pregnant?�
�And he thought about shooting you,� I guessed with a laugh. �Admit it�for one
second, he honestly considered it.�
He didn�t answer.
�What, Edward?�
�I just wish� well, I wish that he�d been right.�
�Gah,� I gasped.
�More that there was some way he could have been. That we had that kind of potential.
I hate taking that away from you, too.�
It took me a minute. �I know what I�m doing.�
�How could you know that, Bella? Look at my mother, look at my sister. It�s not as easy
a sacrifice as you imagine.�
�Esme and Rosalie get by just fine. If it�s a problem later, we can do what Esme did�
we�ll adopt.�
He sighed, and then his voice was fierce. �It�s not right! I don�t want you to have to
make sacrifices for me. I want to give you things, not take things away from you. I don�t
want to steal your future. If I were human��
I put my hand over his lips. �You are my future. Now stop. No moping, or I�m calling
your brothers to come and get you. Maybe you need a bachelor party.�
�I�m sorry. I am moping, aren�t I? Must be the nerves.�
�Are your feet cold?�
�Not in that sense. I�ve been waiting a century to marry you, Miss Swan. The wedding
ceremony is the one thing I can�t wait�� He broke off mid-thought. �Oh, for the love
of all that�s holy!�
�What�s wrong?�
He gritted his teeth. �You don�t have to call my brothers. Apparently Emmett and Jasper
are not going to let me bow out tonight.�
I clutched him closer for one second and then released him. I didn�t have a prayer of
winning a tug-of-war with Emmett. �Have fun.�
There was a squeal against the window�someone deliberately scraping their steel nails
across the glass to make a horrible, cover-your-ears, goose-bumps-down-your-spine
noise. I shuddered.
�If you don�t send Edward out,� Emmett�still invisible in the night�hissed
menacingly, �we�re coming in after him!�
�Go,� I laughed. �Before they break my house.�
Edward rolled his eyes, but he got to his feet in one fluid movement and had his shirt
back on in another. He leaned down and kissed my forehead.
�Get to sleep. You�ve got a big day tomorrow.�
�Thanks! That�s sure to help me wind down.�
�I�ll meet you at the altar.�
�I�ll be the one in white.� I smiled at how perfectly blas� I sounded.
He chuckled, said, �Very convincing,� and then suddenly sank into a crouch, his
muscles coiled like a spring. He vanished�launching himself out my window too
swiftly for my eyes to follow.
Outside, there was a muted thud, and I heard Emmett curse.
�You�d better not make him late,� I murmured, knowing they could hear.
And then Jasper�s face was peering in my window, his honey hair silver in the weak
moonlight that worked through the clouds.
�Don�t worry, Bella. We�ll get him home in plenty of time.�
I was suddenly very calm, and my qualms all seemed unimportant. Jasper was, in his
own way, just as talented as Alice with her uncannily accurate predictions. Jasper�s
medium was moods rather than the future, and it was impossible