It hadn't escaped Edward's notice that Bella had called it "her kitchen." God, how he already wanted it to be that! She was so adorable – the way that she bit her lip when she was nervous or embarrassed, the way she scrunched her nose up slightly when she was trying to make up her mind about something – and definitely the way her lips parted and her breathing got shallow when they were close to each other.

Unfortunately, even though he could read the signs and knew that she was physically attracted to him (as he was to her – god, how he was), he could also tell that if anything was going to happen between them, he was likely going to have to be the one to make the first move. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but he liked Bella more than any other woman he'd ever met, and he was terrified that he was going to make a mess of things.

He sat in one of the many comfortable chairs on his back porch and watched his friends interacting with Bella's friends. Rose was obviously frustrated because Emmett hadn't so much as looked in her direction since he'd arrived. He hadn't acknowledged her presence at all, which was making her increasingly volatile. She had taken to making snide comments about the size of his penis, the quality of his lovemaking, and even the truck that he drove. Edward had to give his friend credit – he seemed damn near impervious to anything she was saying. In fact, he wouldn't have thought it bothered his friend at all, if it hadn't been for the slight tic of Emmett's right eye when Rosalie spoke.

As for Alice and Jasper, they appeared to be lost in their own little world for the most part. There were a lot of stolen kisses, during which Edward and Rosalie glanced away. Emmett was manning the grill, so his back was turned to them – something that he'd most likely done on purpose to avoid looking at Rosalie, who had taken off her t-shirt in the heat of the evening, revealing a skin-tight, low-cut tank top.

Edward joined in the conversation as prompted, but for the most part, his thoughts never drifted far away from the brunette who was currently making herself at home in his kitchen. The thought made him smile. Was it jumping the gun, he wondered, thinking about her as a permanent fixture in his home? He closed his eyes and let the setting sun warm his face. He could definitely picture her running his home – children running everywhere, her giving them warm chocolate chip cookies when they returned from school, her greeting him with kisses at the end of every day on the ranch – and every other waking moment, too…

"Dude." Edward's pleasant reverie was interrupted by Emmett, who he found giving him an odd look.

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?" Edward glanced over to see Alice and Jasper giving him knowing looks, and Rosalie rolling her eyes.

"You were just smiling off into nothing. I've been saying your name for five minutes."

"Oh," Edward said, sitting up a bit straighter. "Sorry. What did you want?"

"Can you go ask the little woman if she's close to being finished? These only have three minutes, tops," he said, gesturing towards the thick steaks. Edward nodded and rose from his chair.

"Why didn't you just ask one of us to go do it?" Rosalie snapped, frowning. Finally showing some signs of agitation, Emmett rolled his eyes to the sky and stared at it as he answered.

"Because, Blondie, Edward has a thing for your friend, and I thought it would give him an excuse to go and talk to her alone. Or maybe I did it because you are guests here, and it would have been rude to ask. Take your pick, but for the love of God, stop your bitching at me." Rosalie looked as though she couldn't decide between being incensed or surprised. She finally settled on a mixture of both. Edward pushed down his embarrassment long enough to give her an apologetic smile before heading back into the house.

It wasn't that he was embarrassed that he liked Bella so much so quickly, it was more that he was generally a private person who didn't like his personal business announced to everyone. Still, it was just his two best friends and her two best friends… funny, he thought, how they both had the same number of best friends. It was almost something like fate.

When he entered the kitchen, he paused just on the threshold so he could watch Bella in her element. She'd pulled her long hair up and secured it on top of her head in a bun with – were those sticks? Some errant strands of hair had broken loose and were floating around her face. He smiled as she absently brushed one away with the back of her hand. Her face was flushed and she was moving around very quickly – he could easily see that she was concentrating, so he was loathe to bother her.

"Bella?"

She uttered a tiny scream and dropped the wooden spoon she'd been holding. She turned, anger written all over her face, until she saw that it was Edward. She pressed a shaking hand to her heart.

"Sorry, you just startled me," she breathed.

"I'm sorry about that," he said. "Emmett just wanted me to come and check to see how close you were to being finished, since the meat is almost finished. Do you need any help with anything?"

"Actually, if you want to pull the macaroni out of the oven, that would be a huge help," she admitted, tossing the wooden spoon into the sink. Edward did as he was told and put the pan on the stovetop. He couldn't resist moving a little closer to inhale the aroma.

"This smells incredible, Bella," he breathed, turning to look at her. He couldn't tell if she was blushing or if the heat of the kitchen had gotten to her, but her cheeks were pink. He noticed that there were several bowls on the island counter, and he moved closer to peek into them. One held mashed potatoes with green flecks, one held salad greens, one held broccoli, one held a mixture of sliced fruit, and when he lifted the tea towel that covered the last one, he found that it held biscuits. "You did all of this?"

"Um, yeah," she said, checking that the macaroni was the way she wanted it. "Sorry, I would've done more, but I-"

"More?" he boggled, looking at the food, and then back at her. "This is a ton of food!"

"I'm sorry," she said, looking away from him. "I just thought that since you guys are cowboys and you work outside all day, you were hungrier than – I mean, I thought – I don't know what I was thinking. I think I was just showing off. I'm sorry."

"Bella, no," he said, moving closer. She looked damn near tears, and he couldn't handle that. "No, sweetheart. I didn't mean it that way." He put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed gently with his thumbs. "I was surprised that you got so much done, since it doesn't seem like you had much time to do it in. I forget that you've never seen Emmett eat – there will be nothing left." When she laughed softly, he shook his head and remained serious. "I am so far from kidding, you have no idea. And also, can I tell you that I kind of love that you wanted to show off for me? I mean, I hope it was for me."

"It is," she said, biting her lip and peeking up at him from beneath the fringe of her lashes.

"Well, let me tell you, I am impressed." She laughed at his smile, and shook her head.

"You haven't even tasted anything yet," she pointed out. "What if you hate it?"

"Impossible."

"You know, you've got something on your nose," she said, using it as an excuse to reach up and touch the tip of his nose with her finger. "It appears to be a little brown." He grinned and ducked his head.

"Too much?"

"Just enough."

They stood and stared at each other, goofy smiles plastered on their faces, for several moments.

"Bella?" His heart leapt into his throat. Was he really going to do this? He looked into her eyes, still sparkling with their shared amusement, and decided that yes, he definitely was going to do this.

"Yes, Edward?"

"Would you like to stay the night with me?" She sucked in a breath, but she never looked away from him. "You could use the guest room across from mine, if you'd like. I just – I don't think I'm going to be ready to let you go at the end of the night." He watched as several emotions moved across her face, and when she finally seemed to settle on one, his heart pounded in his ears.

"Do you want me to use the guest room?" She asked, her voice soft but clear. He could tell that she was nervous, because his hands were still on her shoulders, and she was trembling slightly.

"As a gentleman, I will say yes. As just a man, I will say I'd prefer to have you somewhere else."

"Which answer should I consider?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Whichever one makes you say yes," he said honestly. Her face turned pink, and she bit her lip for a moment before answering.

"Okay." Her voice was barely above a whisper. He felt his eyes widen, and then he pulled her into a full hug, wrapping his arms around her. She closed her eyes and snuggled her face closer to his chest, inhaling his scent and enjoying the nearness. When he rubbed her back gently, he could swear he heard her purring.

"As much as I'd like to stay like this forever – and believe me, I would like to – I think that our friends will get upset if we don't get their dinner out to them." She sighed and pulled away.

"You're right." She cleared her throat and smoothed imaginary wrinkles out of the front of her shirt before turning around and grabbing a stack of plates. "Ready?" Without waiting for an answer, she took the plates outside. Edward grabbed two bowls and took them outside, passing her and the other two girls on their way back in. Jasper followed to get the drinks, and within minutes, the patio table was laden with food and ready to go.

Edward looked around the table at both old friends and new, and just watched for a minute as they laughed together and helped themselves to food.

It was a good life.

Hopefully, he thought, looking at Bella – it's about to get even better.