Vanity and Patience: A Rosalie Hale & Emmett Cullen Story

Chapter 27: Celebration

I climbed into the rented, white Bentley with Emmett, and didn't miss the way his eyes didn't leave me for even one second.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured to me, turning in his seat so that he could continue to watch me.

"Thank you," I mouthed to him. The driver began to pull away from the church and headed to our house where the reception was to be held.

Emmett threaded his fingers with mine and lifted both of our hands to his mouth, brushing his lips against the back of mine. "I love the dress," he whispered, trying not to let the driver hear.

"You look mighty swell yourself," I giggled.

He let our hands drop between us, keeping them together. "I could just eat you up," he whispered to me, his eyebrows doing a playful wiggle.

A tiny gasp escaped my lips at his comment, realizing all of the sexual denial for the last few weeks had caught up to me. I couldn't wait to get him alone just as much as he couldn't wait to get me alone. I smiled, parting my index finger from our intertwined hands, and tracing a small semi-circle against his thigh.

His eyes grew heavy and his lips parted ever so slightly. "You're an evil woman."

"I'm your wife," I corrected him.

A smile cracked across his striking features. "That you are."

We bantered like this for the whole ride up to our estate.

He held my hand as we walked through the door. I was more than eager for the big reveal—to see all the wedding preparation for the reception put to life.

I was not disappointed.

The living room of the Cullen Manor was cleared of all its furniture for the wedding, as well as for the upcoming move. Everything was being shipped by freight train to Washington State, and on to our new home in Hoquiam. I had only seen the blue prints, as I had been too busy with school and wedding plans to accompany Carlisle or Esme to go look at the place. In fact Edward was the only one who had accompanied Esme and Carlisle to Washington one weekend to check on the progress of the construction.

The living room was now set up for a banquet, filled with six-foot round tables, chairs covered by the finest champagne colored linens, silver and ecru tableware, and various floral centerpieces in green and white. The lights of our great room were dimmed, allowing the flickering yellow aura of the candlelight to illuminate the room. The effect was quite dramatic. I adored everything about it.

"Esme, you did a wonderful job," I gushed, recognizing her scent as she came up from behind me.

"Correction," she said, holding a finger up to gesture between the two of us. "We did a wonderful job. Your taste is impeccable."

"I must agree, Esme. We make a great team, you and I."

She laughed with me and gave me a small hug before retreating into the crowd, joining Carlisle at his side. They welcomed the other guests, serving as great hosts and proud parents whose children had found their happy ending.

Carlisle had a string quartet playing the classics during cocktails and dinner, and hired a five piece band for dancing afterwards. Every aspect of this wedding was over the top and it was sure to be the event of the decade in this small town.

We mingled a bit during the cocktail hour with many of the guests, mostly townsfolk and families of Carlisle's associates from the hospital. There were countless trays of appetizers and small meaty morsels on pastries that would have once had me salivating. There was a large spread of fruit, vegetables, dip, imported cheese, and crackers, served with wine and champagne. I carried a champagne flute of course, while Emmett decided on an Old Fashioned glass filled with whiskey—our props to keep up our mortal façade.