BPOV

"Ow, shit!" I swore, pulling my hand away from the stove and sucking my finger into my mouth. Damn it! I hadn't burned myself in a long time. If that was any indicator of how my day was going to go, I might as well just go ahead and shoot myself right now.

"Good morning, Bella." I turned and smiled at Carlisle, who was running a hand through his hair to try and smooth it down. I suppressed a giggle. It didn't work well. His unruly blonde hair never sat exactly the way he wanted it to – but Esme had told me that she loved his hair. My friend Rosalie called it 'sex hair' and said she wondered if the good doctor realized that he looked perpetually shagged. I suspected that was one of the reasons that Esme liked it so much.

"Morning!" I chirped, pouring him a cup of coffee and placing it on the breakfast bar. He sat down and scrubbed at his face tiredly with his hands. "Rough night?"

"Do you remember Esme and I telling you about our son Edward?"

"Yes," I replied, flipping a piece of French toast on the griddle. Of course I remembered Edward – the absentee son whose wife had forbidden him to speak to his family, and subsequently broke both of his parents' hearts.

"He's here – he came home last night." I turned and smiled at him.

"Oh, Carlisle! That's wonderful! So his wife had a change of heart, then? Should I start preparing for two more?" His smile wavered, and I felt my heart stutter in my chest at the brief look of sadness.

"No – she left him. He's here alone."

"I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Don't be – she was a bitch," Emmett said as he walked in and nicked a warm slice of French toast off of the plate I'd been piling them onto. I smacked his hand with the spatula, and he grinned. "Damn, goober! It was only one piece!"

"But I know how one piece turns into three, and then three turns into fifteen, and then your poor parents don't get any!" Carlisle laughed and took a sip of his coffee. Esme walked into the room just in time to see me shaking the spatula at her son in warning, and she giggled. She sat down next to her husband and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. I sighed. I loved watching the two of them – they were so loving and considerate of each other, it never failed to give me butterflies.

"You're late getting up this morning, sweetheart," Carlisle told her, taking the coffee cup I offered and handing it to her.

"I have a bit of a headache, and I was going to lie down for a while longer – but then I smelled breakfast, and I knew that if I smelled it, our son did, too. If I want some, I have to get down here. I've learned that."

"I wouldn't have minded making another batch," I protested, pouring her a glass of juice. She smiled her thanks at me and took a sip. Esme was much like me when it came to breakfast – she loved her coffee, but if she was eating something hot, she needed a cold drink to go with it as well. "If you want to go lie back down-"

"I'm fine," she promised, smiling sweetly at me. She leaned over and pretended to whisper – "Just make sure you give me the first piece, instead of Emmett."

"She would never! My goober loves me too much to play favorites with my mom! Right, goob?" he asked, turning to me and giving me puppy dog eyes. I giggled. He was too cute for his own good.

"Sorry, Em," I said, sprinkling powdered sugar over a plate of French toast and handing it to his mom, who smiled triumphantly. "I love you to death, but your mom isn't feeling well."

"And she signs her paycheck," Carlisle pointed out. Emmett pouted as I slid the next plate over to his dad.

"Seriously, goob? I'm last? Where's the love? You see if I try to hook you up with any more of my friends." I rolled my eyes and handed him a plate that had three times the amount of food as what I'd given his parents.

"Please, do not set me up with any more of your so-called friends," I begged him. "The last one had octopus hands, and I had to use my pepper spray for the first time."

"You mean Marcus?" he asked through a mouth full of food. "Party foul, dude. I'll have to kick his ass for that. He knew there was a no-touch rule."

"You set Bella up with one of your friends and then told him there was a no-touch rule?" Carlisle asked, his voice full of amusement.

"Goober is my little sis. Gotta look out for her." I swear my heart felt like it had swollen to fill my entire chest. I leaned over the breakfast bar and planted a quick kiss on Emmett's cheek before piling on more bacon. His entire face lit up like a Christmas tree, and his mom laughed. "So all I have to do is tell you how much I love you, and I get more food?" he rubbed his hands together, and I giggled.

"What smells so good?" I looked up and froze, pinned to the spot by a pair of brilliant green eyes. Sweet mother of God, where had he come by that color? Carlisle's were ice blue, and Esme and Emmett had the same warm brown. I realized after a moment that I'd been staring, and I cleared my throat.

"Um, vanilla bean French toast. Would you like some?" I wasn't really sure what to call him – Edward seemed too forward. Maybe I should call him sir like I had with Emmett and Carlisle when I'd first started here? I wasn't sure. Those eyes had thrown me off. I turned back to the stove and continued cooking the French toast.

"Bella, this is my son Edward. Edward, this is our Bella," Carlisle said. The pride that radiated in his voice when he said Edward's name made my heart melt for him. It was so obvious that he was happy to have his family back together.

"Hey, Bella," he said, sitting down on the other side of his mother. Sweet baby Jesus, his voice was smooth and low and I swear to god it shot straight down to my girly parts. I could feel my face turning red. "I've heard a lot about you and your cooking."

I turned around and put a plate in front of him without looking up. "I hope it wasn't all bad," I quipped. "Would you like coffee or juice?"

"Both, thanks." I turned my back to him and prepared the drinks. I nearly dropped the coffee when I heard a low moan. "You guys weren't kidding," he said. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath – in through the nose, out through the mouth, Bella! "This is amazing!"

"Thank you," I managed to force out, handing him his drinks. I turned back to the stove and grabbed the plate with the bacon on it, and placed it on the bar in front of Esme.

"Hey," Emmett whined. "Why'd you put it in front of her? She doesn't even like bacon!"

"I thought I'd give your father and your brother the option of having some before you inhale it all," I pointed out, smiling at him.

"But – you're my baby sis, remember?" He batted his eyes at me, and I laughed. I put a little more bacon on his plate and he grinned. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"So when are you boys going to pick up Edward's things?" Esme asked, sipping her juice. Emmett shrugged.

"Right after breakfast, I guess."

"Do you boys need help?" Carlisle asked. "I could rent a truck, and I could come with you."

"That would be great, Dad," Edward agreed. I finished the last batch of French toast and turned the oven off.

"Bella, that reminds me," Carlisle began. I put the plate down on the bar, smiling as Emmett attacked it, and looked back at him. "Edward is going to be staying with us again, so we'll need you to start planning for him at mealtimes." I nodded, mentally going over the lunch menu to try and remember if I had enough supplies.

"And since it's more work," Esme began, "We'd like to revisit the idea of you moving in here. Especially since we know it's such a long commute, and you don't let us pay you enough for gas and rent and whatnot."

"If the goob moves in here, I'm moving back home," Emmett declared. Carlisle smacked his arm.

"We're trying to convince her to say yes, not give her reasons to say no, Emmett! She doesn't want to be tied to the kitchen all day!"

I bit my bottom lip to hide the smile that was trying to surface. Since my dad had passed away, there was really no reason for me to stay in the house I'd been renting. I'd only chosen it to be near him, anyway, and since Sue was the only one living in his house and I didn't plan on ever visiting her, it wasn't a bad idea. It would be nice to be able to sleep until seven every day instead of having to get up at four thirty to make it here by six – Carlisle's work schedule fluctuated, but usually Esme's was static and she left the house at eight thirty on the dot. I had to have breakfast and lunch ready when she left, so she'd have it for the day. Then after they were gone, I'd begin preparations for dinner.

"Bella, please," Esme pleaded, her eyes wide. "It would mean so much to us if you'd move in here. You could have any room you wanted, and we'd make sure that Emmett wouldn't bother you." I laughed at that.

"Emmett doesn't bother me. I like to cook for people who enjoy it." Why did I suddenly feel shy? Was it Edward's presence that was doing it?

"All right, let's do this shit!" Emmett practically yelled, pumping a fist in the air. "We'll go get Eddie's stuff, and I'll bring some of my stuff too!"

"Don't call me Eddie," Edward said, frowning.

"And don't curse in this house, damn it!" Carlisle laughed. I couldn't stop the giggle that escaped me. Carlisle and Esme were happy people anyway, but having Edward back seemed to have made them almost euphoric. My heart swelled with happiness for them. They were the kindest people I'd ever met, and they deserved every bit of happiness that came their way.

"Quiet!" Esme shrieked. "Bella, I'm begging you now. I need another woman in this house to even out the testosterone! Please!" I bit my lip and nodded slowly. Emmett let out a loud whoop and ran to me, picking me up and spinning me around. Carlisle grinned and Esme clapped her hands together. Edward just watched me with an expression I couldn't place.

"Emmett, please put me down!" I gasped. "I need to breathe!" He sat me down on my feet as gently as he could.

"Sorry, goober." He sounded anything but. "All right, bro – let's go get your shit!"

EPOV

On my second morning of glorious freedom, I awoke to my gargantuan brother knocking on my bedroom door so hard that I thought he might knock it down.

"Goober's here – I smell bacon! Wake up, retread!" And then his footsteps pounded down the hallway, leaving me in peace again. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, trying to get my bearings. I hadn't woken up in this room in nearly seven years – I'd been married and living with Tanya for three of those years, and had lived in a college dorm before that. I'd stayed over for holidays when I'd been in college, but I had usually fallen asleep somewhere else in the house. An overwhelming sense of peace flooded over me – I'd begged Tanya when we'd gotten married to move into a wing of this house with my parents, but she'd wanted a place of our own. I understood that, and at the time had finally acquiesced to her demands, but damn it all if I hadn't resented her for it. I was closer to my family than most of my friends had ever been, and I hadn't wanted to leave them.

I stood up and stretched before heading into the bathroom. I showered and shaved quickly, and then opened the closet – which made me smile like crazy. All of my favorite clothes were still hanging, smelling like they'd been freshly washed. Tanya had fallen in love with my style of dress when we'd first gotten together, although when we'd married, she'd told me that band t-shirts were undignified – so, wanting to please my new wife, I'd left them at home. I threw on a gray Beastie Boys t-shirt and pulled on a pair of jeans before stepping into the hallway.

Emmett had been right – I could smell the bacon wafting through the air. That was pretty damned amazing, considering that I was on the third floor – on the opposite side of the house as the kitchen was. How long had she been cooking, that the smell had reached my room? I practically ran down the stairs, taking two at a time, and skidded to a halt when I finally rounded the corner into the kitchen.

Standing next to my brother was a petite brunette. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun with loose tendrils curling around her face and neck. Her face was currently lit up with a smile, and when she giggled, my world tilted on its axis. I wanted to kick myself – I'd just gotten out of a shitty marriage; I didn't need to start boning every attractive girl I saw. Especially not one that would be around for any measurable amount of time – this girl was off limits because my family was already attached to her.

"What smells so good?" I asked finally. She turned around and looked at me, and her cheeks flushed pink. Goddamn. That was possibly the cutest thing I'd ever seen. Jesus – where had they been hiding this girl? I sat down and listened as she interacted with my family, just like she belonged there.

When she'd finally agreed to stay, my family had been overjoyed. I was happy for my parents, because obviously they adored her. Emmett liked her too, so that was another positive mark for her. And I had to agree with them – the woman was a magnificent cook. The French toast that she'd made melted in my mouth, and the bacon was cooked exactly the way I liked it.

After breakfast was over, Emmett took me back to the condo. Thankfully Tanya wasn't there, and I rushed to grab all of my clothes before she got back. It didn't look like she'd been there since our dinner, but I wasn't taking any chances. Emmett helped me shove my clothes down into garbage bags. I grabbed the two photos of my family that had been hanging on the wall in the hallway, and hastened out of there as fast as my legs could carry me.

Emmett grinned at me as we started back.

"So?"

"So what, asshole?" I asked, laughing. His grin got bigger.

"My goober. What'd you think of her?"

"Why do you keep calling her your goober?" I wondered aloud. "Seriously, did you lie to Mom and Dad last night when you said you weren't interested in her?"

"She's my goober because I met her first," he explained, glancing over at me. "I'm the one who introduced her to the 'rents."

"How did you meet her?"

"I went to a party that Jasper's girlfriend hosted, and Bella was the one that catered it. I asked about the food, met the girl, and the rest was history."

"You went to a party that was catered? How'd you get invited to something so fancy?"

"Jasper. Which reminds me – we need to hang out soon. You'll like Alice – she can be annoying as hell, but she's just as sweet as Bella, and just as loyal too."

"Loyal?"

"I went out with this girl once – can't remember her name, but I met her at a bar. We hooked up once, and after that, every time we went out, this girl was all over my junk. When Ali and Bella found out, they wanted to rip her hair out and feed it to her – and they made sure that the next time she came around, they were there, too."

"What did they do?"

"They were all up on my junk," he laughed, shaking his head. "Which actually worked out for Bella too, since there were about fifty guys waiting to try and get with her."

"And she wasn't interested in any of them?" Perhaps I was a little bit too interested in his answer, but I couldn't just not ask the question.

"Nah. She's too good to date someone she met in a bar." I gaped at him.

"Holy shit, you do love her!" I hadn't meant to yell, but damn! His face turned pink.

"No – at least, not in the way you think I do. Seriously, she's just like the sister we never had, Edward. I would never jeopardize that." I stared at him.

"What kind of freaky-ass voodoo does this chick have over our family?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mom loves her, Dad loves her, you love her-"

"Therefore it's only a matter of time until you love her, too," he finished.

"I don't know about that," I hedged cautiously.

"Famous last words, dude."