"Emmett," I swatted his hand with the wooden spoon in my hand, "Stop sticking your finger in the batter. If you eat it now, I can't guarantee there will be enough for the meal." Why Emmett was helping me I had no idea. He couldn't really concentrate on what we were doing long enough to really help, but he seemed determined to stay with me.

"Aww, come on Bells. It tastes so good that I can't help it."

I rolled my eyes, "Well try. Remember that there are going to be six people eating. And one of those people is you. That's a lot of food to make even without someone stealing bites of it."

Emmett was such a little kid. He pulled out the look of a kid caught with his hand stuck in the cookie jar. "Sorry."

I couldn't help laughing and Emmett's sheepish expression turned into a smile. He was clearly proud of himself for getting out of trouble. "Emmett, go play a video game or something. This is going to take me a while."

It was barely after three which only gave me two more hours to finish. The turkey had been on low all day so it should be done by the time everything else needed to go in.

Emmett finally sulked out of the kitchen. I felt a little bad for reprimanding him, but he was making it hard for me to concentrate. And I knew he'd easily forgive me anyway.

An hour later, I was stirring the cornbread mix when a hand was placed on the counter on either side of me and a firm chest was pressed into my back. I leaned against the counter for support "If you want me to finish this before everyone gets here, you shouldn't distract me like that."

He chuckled, and his breath fanned across my ear. "We have a little time."

"Time for what?"

"Time for a distraction." He dropped a kiss just below my ear which sent a shiver down my spine.

I shook my head a tiny bit to clear it. "The last time you distracted me in the kitchen, someone walked in."

He chuckled, "Someone does always seem to be disrupting us." I could hear the smile in his voice.

I tried to continue stirring the corn bread but he dropped another kiss at the junction of my shoulder and my neck. This time my knees gave out and I had to grab the counter to steady myself. You're not making this easy for me."

I could feel his lips curve up against my skin, "I wasn't trying to." He ran his nose up my neck to the bottom of my jaw.

I sighed, clearly, I wasn't getting away from this, "Give me a minute, Edward. This needs to go in the over.

He backed away from me, giving me enough room to pour the mix into a waiting pan and put it in the oven. I set the time and turned back to him.

Sensing my willingness, he pressed me against the counter again. He let his lips start at the base of my neck. He moved at a slow, torturous rate, suck on my neck lightly. He trailed wet kisses across my jaw to my ear. He took the lobe between his teeth and tugged lightly, causing a whimper to slip through my lips.

I couldn't take the torture any longer. I twisted my head and pressed my lips to his. He moved his lips with mine. His tongue swept across my bottom lip and I opened my mouth for him hungrily. My arms wrapped around his neck and I pulled him roughly against me.

"Oh, I see. You kicked me out so you could eat my brother."

I wanted to grow at Emmett. "Is it really so hard to give us a little alone time?"

Emmett chuckled, fueling my irritation with him, "There's no such thing as a lone time in this family." I didn't know if he was referring to the Cullens or the mixture in this house, but he was right. Everyone seemed happy enough to intrude on whatever you were doing.

Edward kissed my cheek before stepping away from me. I used to blush when someone caught us being intimate, but it happened to so often that I no longer did so.

"Emmett would you put the turkey on the table and Edward would you get the deviled eggs and the cranberry sauce from the refrigerator?" I needed a moment by myself to regroup and slow my heart rate down.

I looked at the timer. Ten more minutes for the cornbread. I still needed to throw together a salad. The dressing needed to be put on the table as well as the vegetables. The table needed to be set and the mashed potatoes needed to be warmed again before they went to the table.

I slid the potatoes in the oven and began to pull down plates and cups. All three guys were at my side immediately taking the plates from me and taking them to the living room. We had set up a table in the living room so this would feel special.

As I was reaching for the lettuce, Alice bounced into the room. "Nuh-uh-uh. You are done in the kitchen for today. The guys can finish up while I get you ready."

"Alice, just put the dress on Edward's bed. I'll put it on in a minute."

She tugged at my arm, "I still have to do your hair. That sloppy ponytail mess will not do."

I sighed and gave up. I was a little tired from the long day in the kitchen and didn't have the energy to win this fight. She dragged me into Jasper's bathroom and sat me in one of her chairs which she'd brought here.

I closed my eyes and let her mess with my hair. I must have fallen asleep, because Alice started to poke me. "Wake up, Bella. Everyone's here."

I groaned and stretched. "Can't I just go to bed?"

I heard a giggle from the other side of the room. "Morning sunshine. The boys are starving and I'm not sure how much longer I can keep them from the food."

I laughed. I was sure that Rose meant Emmett more than any of the other guys. "Just tell them to hold on a sec. I'm sure Alice has something she wants me to wear."

On cue, Alice pulled out a stack of cloths and handed them to me. I was glad to see that she'd given me pants. I wasn't in the mood to fiddle with a skirt. I quickly changed and went to drop my old cloths in the duffel I kept in Edward's room.

I walked into the living room and saw that everything was ready. The guys had taken care of everything and were seated at every other seat, meaning that we were to sit between them.

I sat between Edward and Emmett. Emmett smiled down at me and Edward took my hand under the table. Jasper was the first to speak, "Everything looks great, Bella."

"Thanks, Jasper," I let my gaze fall to the table as I blushed lightly.

Edward noticed and leaned down to kiss my burning cheek. "You shouldn't be embarrassed, Love. You worked really hard."

I smiled and waited for Rose and Alice to join us I didn't know why they took so long to come out, as I was the only one who had to change, or so I though. Rosalie and Alice emerged from Jasper's room looking absolutely stunning.

My eyebrows shot up, "Hot dates tonight?"

Alice laughed and shook her head, "You should always look your best, Bella."

Those were some of the last words spoken for the meal. Once everyone was seated, the food was passed around. Plates were filled, and soon everyone was too busy to talk. Though, I was still tired, I was awake enough to notice our little group.

When Emmett had talked about family earlier, I had not been sure of what he'd meant. Now I knew. This had become a family. One day that might be more literal and legal, but we'd formed our own little unit.

I could see us all one day doing this again. Though the table would be bigger to fit the many smaller occupants. I pushed that thought away. I could not let myself think of things like marriage and children yet. Edward and I had been together little more than a week.

Yet there was something about our relationship. We seemed to have a connection that I'd never seen before. Well, never seen before I met the Cullens and the Hales. They seemed to have hearts that created truer and deeper feelings than most.

I looked up at Edward and wasn't surprised to see him looking back at me with his beautiful crooked grin. He was so perfect. Again, I questioned my ability to be enough for him. It didn't seem likely, but he seemed to think I was. For now that would be enough.

"Hello? Bella, what do you think?"

I cut the connection and looked over at Alice, "Huh?"

She laughed, "We were talking about going to see a movie. I wanted to know what you think."

I sighed, "Alice, I'm really tired. If we went, I'd probably be getting a $6 nap."

Edward squeezed my hand lightly, "Why don't you guys go without us?"

Alice pouted, "But we always do these things together."

I rolled my eyes, "Alice, we've talked about this. Sometimes you should do couple things as a couple and not as a group."

Alice sighed and gave in. I wondered how tired I looked if she gave up on the idea so quickly.

We finally finished the dinner around 8:30. I tried to help clean up, but everyone shooed me off to Edward's room.

I took advantage of the alone time and showered and changed into my normal sleeping attire. When I was done, Edward still hadn't come into the room. I flipped on the TV and crawled under the covers.

I was almost asleep when Edward came in. He must have been just as tired because he followed my lead. He went and took a shower, and came to bed already changed.

He climbed under the covers and pulled me to him so my head was lying on his chest. He kissed the top of my head and ran his fingers through my hair.

When my mind could no longer comprehend what he was doing, I heard something that sounded like 'I love you, my Bella,' but I couldn't imagine him feeling such things.