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69. Prom Party

BPOV

"So what's the surprise, Alice?" I demanded, hands on my hips. In response, she handed me an envelope from a huge box of envelopes. I tore it open and saw a group of small red tickets inside. I pulled out the note inside and read it:

Dear Student,

Pacific Northwest Trust is a proud sponsor of tonight's prom party. The tickets here are to be used to play the various casino games. Winnings from the games will be given in poker chips. The poker chips can then be cashed in for scholarship money. PNT will send you a scholarship check equal to the amount you win at the tables tonight, so make sure you visit the cashier before you leave. Good luck!

Sincerely,

Isaac Randall

I stared at the paper in disbelief for a few moments and then lifted my head to look at Alice. "You're giving scholarships to all the kids in Forks? Are you crazy?"

"Bella! There are only 300 students in the entire high school, and it's going to be mostly juniors and seniors here tonight. I don't expect more than 150 guests at the most. I just made another million dollars this morning on a smooth stock transaction and thought I'd put it to good use. It's not like I'll notice it's missing. I didn't even have it yesterday. Okay? So stop worrying," she griped.

I felt myself going into la-la land. She made a million dollars this morning? In a single day? With one transaction? No wonder they spent money like it was paper. She could give away a million dollars and not even notice it's gone. Just how rich are these guys? I had a feeling it must be beyond my wildest dreams. Beyond buying a private island as an anniversary present. Like buying an entire country kind of rich. Maybe even buying an entire continent kind of rich—and I didn't mean Antarctica.

"Um, Alice?"

"Yes, Bella?"

"If you wanted to buy, oh, say South America to go along with Isle Esme, could you do that?"

She grinned. "Well, it would be difficult getting all the different leaders to agree, but I think we could do it if we really wanted."

I felt a bit lightheaded. "Alice? You don't think it's a bit, um, greedy to be rich enough to buy an entire continent?"

She frowned at me. "Really, Bella. You only have yourself to blame for that."

"What? Me? How can you possibly be blaming me for your obscene wealth?"

"Silly Bella! I've been trying to get you to help me spend it for months now. I've been trying to stimulate the economy, redistribute the wealth, invest in local businesses, etc., yet you object and overrule me at every turn. You're the one insisting we hoard it, instead of letting us buy you stuff. I'm trying to share it. Do you think being the family shopaholic is an easy job? Yet I daily volunteer my services for the good of the family."

"Oh, please, Alice. Like you don't live to shop. Like you wouldn't curl up into the fetal position and go through withdrawal if Carlisle were to take your credit cards away."

Alice clapped her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. She started shuddering. "Don't even think such horrible thoughts. Do you want to give me nightmares?"

"You don't sleep."

"Daymares?"

"Poor Alice, we all know shopping is number one on your list," Emmett taunted.

"No, it's actually number three."

"Only number three? You like two things more than shopping?"

"I sure hope I'm one of them," Jasper muttered.

"Silly Jasper, of course you are," Alice answered, lovingly stroking his cheek. He heaved a sigh of relief. "In fact, there's only one thing better than just Jasper." Jasper looked nervous again.

"Makeovers?"

"Party planning?"

"Manipulating everybody's lives?"

She shook her head 'no' to each guess.

"What then?"

"Taking Jasper shopping!"

Seeing Jasper's look of horror, we all burst out laughing. He gave her a weak smile.

"Anything for you, honey," he agreed tremulously, obviously hoping she wouldn't hold him to it. She just smiled, patted his cheek, gave him a quick kiss, and proceeded to inspect the party preparations.

As I took a look around at the glittering mini-casino in the main cabin of the boat, I was awestruck. It looked just like a casino should. Or at least what I thought a casino should look like. I had never actually seen one in real life, of course, being underage. It looked like the casinos I had seen on TV though. I watched the dealers warming up with a few shuffling tricks and spun the roulette wheel a few times.

"I am so going to Vegas for my 18th birthday!" I declared happily.

"Whatever you wish, my love," Edward replied, watching me with a goofy grin on his face.

Alice frowned. "Are you sure that's what you want, Bella? Vegas isn't really all it's cracked up to be."

"Leave the girl alone, Alice!" Emmett boomed. "I can't wait to see Bella's reaction to Sin City!"

I blushed. He laughed. "See, she even blushes at the name. She'll be red as a tomato the entire trip!"

Rosalie winked at me. "Well, you certainly won't want to miss the male strippers. I highly recommend their show."

"What?" Emmett shouted.

Rose gave him her 'innocent' look. "Is there a problem, Monkey Man?"

He grinned. "Well, some of the private shows are pretty good, but they're by appointment only."

Rose smirked at him. "Well, I'm sure Bella would like to see the public show too, just so she has a basis for comparison. I'll be happy to escort her, for her own safety, of course."

Emmett and Edward both started growling.

"Whoa, cut it out with all that jealously before I go place Alice in an ivory tower," Jazz groaned. For

Jasper's sake I decided to intervene.

I sighed dramatically. "When one has their own personal Adonis to gaze upon, there really is no basis for comparison, so why bother making all the other guys feel inferior? I'm sure I'll be satisfied with my own private show, Rose, but thanks for the offer. You really are too good to me."

She giggled. "Adonis? Really, Bella?"

"Don't listen to her, Bella," Edward remarked, smiling smugly.

"So what does that make Emmett then?" Rose inquired, amusement sparkling in her eyes.

"Atlas," I replied quickly. Emmett grinned smugly and struck a manly pose, showing off his huge muscles.

"If he's Atlas, then we're all in serious trouble," Jasper drawled. Alice grinned, knowing what was coming next.

"How come?" Rose demanded.

"Because he wouldn't be satisfied just balancing the world on his shoulders for long. He'd be bouncing it and trying to shoot hoops. There's no way he'd just stand there holding a giant ball without playing some kind of game with it."

"True, true," Emmett agreed thoughtfully. Edward started laughing at whatever Emmett was picturing.

Out of curiosity, I walked out onto the deck, peering over the railing at the water below. I felt Edward come up behind me as I leaned on the ropes. He tried to slip something on me, like a jacket, and I caught a flash of bright orange out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head to see him attempting to slip my arm into a life jacket.

"What the heck are you doing?" I cried, jerking away from him.

He smiled patiently, reaching for my wrist again. "I'm going to have to insist you wear a life jacket while you're out on deck, my Bella."

"You've got to be kidding me!" I shrieked.

"Don't be difficult about this, Bella, it's for your own safety," he responded calmly.

"You're being ridiculous, Edward," I protested. "This is going way too far on the whole 'keep Bella safe' campaign."

He looked deeply into my eyes with a breathtaking smile, and exhaled right in my face. I stared up at him, my brain turning to mush. He grinned, gripped my shoulders and started kissing along my jawbone and down along my neck. I felt his hands sliding down my arms and up again as he continued his attentions to my neck and face. He finally made his way over to my lips again, and I felt strange tugs across my torso. I moaned into his mouth, my hands finding their way up to his hair. He pulled back, and I found myself gasping for air.

"Shall we stroll?" he asked sweetly, holding out his arm to escort me. As soon as I moved my arm, my brain kicked back into gear, and I stared incredulously at the ugly orange life vest I was now wearing.

"You jerk!" I yelled. "What the heck is your problem? No means no, buddy!"

The captain of the boat hastened over to us at my words. "Is he bothering you, miss?"

I glared at Edward. "Yes, he's bothering me, but not in a way that would get him in trouble with anyone but me. He's insisting I wear a life vest when I'm out on deck."

The captain coughed to try to hide his chuckles. "Well, I do think that might be overly cautious, young man, seeing as how we're still in port. I doubt your lady love is in any danger for the time being."

Edward gave the captain his dazzling smile, turning on the charm. "My fiancé is well known for being a danger magnet. Murphy's law is her personal motto—anything that can go wrong will go wrong. I have dedicated my life to saving her from one scrape after another. If anyone can fall overboard a stable boat while it's moored at the dock, it would be my Bella. Experience is a painful teacher, and experience has taught me that it is always best to be prepared wherever Bella is concerned."

I was blushing redder than a fire engine at this point.

"In fact, I believe she is currently the world record holder for highest number of legitimate ER visits. We got a call from the Guinness Book of World Records," Edward continued. I growled at him. Okay, that was taking it too far.

The captain's shoulders were shaking from the effort of suppressing his laughter. "Well, young lady, I'm thinking your young man here has the right idea, after all. By all means, please continue wearing your life jacket." He marched off to the bridge, snickering quietly at the crazy landlubbers.

"I am not going to wear this stupid thing!" I insisted, removing it as quickly as I could. Edward made no move to stop me.

"You've had enough of the deck then, my dear?" he pretended to ask. His intentions were obvious.

I huffed. I could tell he wasn't going to let this go.

"Fine! I'll stay inside. Happy now?" I stormed back into the main cabin without waiting for a reply