Twilight 4 - Breaking Dawn | Page 5

corner, still in his uniform, still armed, and tried not
to make a face when he spied us sitting together on the loveseat. Lately, he’d
been putting forth a lot of effort to like Edward more. Of course, this
revelation was sure to end that effort immediately.

“Hey, kids. What’s up?”

“We’d like to talk to you,” Edward said, so serene. “We have some good news.”

Charlie’s expression went from strained friendliness to black suspicion in a
second.

“Good news?” Charlie growled, looking straight at me.

“Have a seat, Dad.”

He raised one eyebrow, stared at me for five seconds, then stomped to the
recliner and sat down on the very edge, his back ramrod straight.

“Don’t get worked up, Dad,” I said after a moment of loaded silence.
“Everything’s okay.”

Edward grimaced, and I knew it was in objection to the word okay. He probably
would have used something more like wonderful or perfect or glorious.

“Sure it is, Bella, sure it is. If everything is so great, then why are you
sweating bullets?”

“I’m not sweating,” I lied.

I leaned away from his fierce scowl, cringing into Edward, and instinctively
wiped the back of my right hand across my forehead to remove the evidence.

“You’re pregnant!” Charlie exploded. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

Though the question was clearly meant for me, he was glaring at Edward now, and
I could have sworn I saw his hand twitch toward the gun.

“No! Of course I’m not!” I wanted to elbow Edward in the ribs, but I knew that
move would only give me a bruise. I’d told Edward that people would immediately
jump to this conclusion! What other possible reason would sane people have for
getting married at eighteen? (His answer then had made me roll my eyes. Love.
Right.)

Charlie’s glower lightened a shade. It was usually pretty clear on my face when
I was telling the truth, and he believed me now. “Oh. Sorry.”

“Apology accepted.”

There was a long pause. After a moment, I realized everyone was waiting for me
to say something. I looked up at Edward, panic-stricken. There was no way I was
going to get the words out.

He smiled at me and then squared his shoulders and turned to my father.

“Charlie, I realize that I’ve gone about this out of order. Traditionally, I
should have asked you first. I mean no disrespect, but since Bella has already
said yes and I don’t want to diminish her choice in the matter, instead of
asking you for her hand, I’m asking you for your blessing. We’re getting
married, Charlie. I love her more than anything in the world, more than my own
life, and—by some miracle—she loves me that way, too. Will you give us your
blessing?”

He sounded so sure, so calm. For just an instant, listening to the absolute
confidence in his voice, I experienced a rare moment of insight. I could see,
fleetingly, the way the world looked to him. For the length of one heartbeat,
this news made perfect sense.

And then I caught sight of the expression on Charlie’s face, his eyes now locked
on the ring.

I held my breath while his skin changed colors—fair to red, red to purple,
purple to blue. I started to get up—I’m not sure what I planned to do; maybe use
the Heimlich maneuver to make sure he wasn’t choking—but Edward squeezed my hand
and murmured “Give him a minute” so low that only I could hear.

The silence was much longer this time. Then, gradually, shade by shade,
Charlie’s color returned to normal. His lips pursed, and his eyebrows furrowed;
I recognized his “deep in thought” expression. He studied the two of us for a
long moment, and I felt Edward relax at my side.

“Guess I’m not that surprised,” Charlie grumbled. “Knew I’d have to deal with
something like this soon enough.”

I exhaled.

“You sure about this?” Charlie demanded, glaring at me.

“I’m one hundred percent sure about Edward,” I told him without missing a beat.

“Getting married, though? What’s the rush?” He eyed me suspiciously again.

The rush was due to the fact that I was getting closer to nineteen every
stinking day, while Edward stayed frozen in all his seventeen-year-old
perfection, as he had for over ninety years. Not that this fact necessitated
marriage in my book, but the wedding was required due to the delicate and
tangled compromise Edward and I had made to finally get to this point, the brink
of my transformation from mortal to immortal.

These weren’t things I could explain