Prologue

The first time I fell in love was at my sister, Rosalie’s wedding. Rosalie Swan and Emmett Garrett had a celebration that took twenty-three days. The twenty-third days was the day they were married. Over those twenty-three days, I fell in love with Emmett’s college roommate. I know it is naïve for a sixteen year old to say that they are in love, but I did fall in love with him.

                “Bella can you zip me up please?” Rose begged sweetly, her brown hair piled on her head. Today was day twenty-three.

                I nodded and brushed a stray strand of matching brown hair out of my eyes behind my ear. Grasping the white tab I pulled upwards slowly watching the teeth catch together. “You look beautiful Ro. Emmett is going to be on happy man.”

                She smiled softly. “Bell, I love him so much. Plus it seems someone else has caught the love bug.”

                I looked up in time to see her wink, I blushed. “It’s nothing, plus Dad would have hated him. He’s older than me.”

                “Boo, 21 isn’t that much older.”

                I rolled my eyes. “You forget I’m only 16.”

                She frowned as she slipped her tiara on. “I still think you two have great chemistry, age is just a number.”

                I stared at my twenty-four-year-old sister. Her long chocolate brown hair was piled on her head in a pearl net. Her pale skin was smooth and flawless. Her lips lightly touched by a gloss making their natural red shine. Her blue eyes, which matched our mothers, shimmered with happiness. The only difference’s between my sister and I; our eyes, our age, and our height. You’d swear we were twins. Where she is 5’10’’, I am a measly 5’2’’. My eyes are brown like our fathers. Rosalie’s honey voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

                “Bella, it’s time, Phil is waiting outside to walk me down the aisle,” she whispered.

                I looked out the white door to find our stepfather Phil Dwyer, he married our mother six years after our father passed away. I was two when Charlie Swan died on the job. He was shot and killed in a bank robbery gone wrong. I never got to know him. So when I was eight she remarried. Rose took care of me whenever my mom and Phil weren’t around. Renee was very serious about her job as a lawyer. She was on a manhunt to find my father’s killer. Even to this day he is still on the loose. I shook my head not wanting to think so sadly. I bent down grabbing the long train of Rosalie’s pure white silk gown.

                “This is it Ro, no turning back.”

                “I’m ready to spend the rest of my life with Em.” Her smile brightened her face even more.

                The ceremony itself went by rather quickly. Rose and Em could barely keep their hands off of each other the whole time. The whole church was amused. Emmett’s brother, Peter was the best man so I wound up dancing with him for the bridal party dance. I rolled my eyes at Edward Masen, my beautiful man. His green-blue eyes sparkled with amusement. I kept making faces at him on every spin that got my face to his. When it was finally over I found myself back in his arms.

                “You shouldn’t taunt me when you’re in another man’s arms B,” he whispered in my ear, his velvet voice rough in my ear. I shivered. “I may have to show you later just how much you mean to me.”

                I look up at him, his 6’2’’ figure towering over me. “I plan on returning that favor, E.”

                He smirked and leaned down to kiss me.

                The rest of the night went smoothly, when Rosalie and Emmett finally left a few of us stayed behind to continue partying. Edward kissed me goodnight before heading home so he could get back to California. He promised to see me when he was finished with his last year of school. I mingled with the remaining guests but hung around with my mom and Phil. No one knew that the moment my cell phone rang that life would never be the same again.