After two months with Edward, I'm not sure how I resisted him as long as I did. Thanks to past experiences, I kept waiting for the newness to wear off, the infatuation, but as we grew more comfortable with each other, my feelings only got stronger. Now I'm one of those girls I swore I'd never be. The kind who says things like, "I can't remember life before him," or "I don't know what I'd do without him." But it's true: I can't and I don't.

Just like the day we met, he's still a mess of confident, laid-back charm. Unlike before, though, he's added in a bit of the good stuff. The stuff that makes me crave our conversations over breakfast or how he looks when he's unshaved on the weekends. The stuff that has me sliding my legs around on empty sheets when he's not here, seeking his warm skin and rough hands.

I miss him even when I'm with him, and that's a new and vulnerable feeling for me. Oddly, though, it's not scary. It's comfortable and right, like that feeling you get when everything in life aligns and you're blissfully content for one brief moment. You think, surely, things can't possibly get any better than they are right here, right now. Two months with Edward feels like a string of those moments.

My favorite thing about being with him is how we just fit together. He hasn't changed himself, his life, his routine, and I haven't changed mine. When I sleep over at his house, I rise early with him. I bring my laptop and work at his desk while he's gone, or he brings me home on his way to the jobsite. When he stays at my place, he gets to sleep thirty minutes later than usual—or wake up at the same hour and have time for a morning frolic in my bed.

The house that holds so many of our earliest memories was finished a couple of months ago, but Edward and his crew and subcontractors have three more houses in various states of progress a little farther up the hill. The growth and success of Cullen Construction is exciting and well deserved. Less exciting is the fact that the houses they're working on now aren't in the direct line of sight from my house, which means I no longer see a shirtless Edward when I look out my kitchen window.

Our days are our own, but our nights are spent together. Most days, Edward comes home to me after a long day, dirty and tired and ready for a break from the testosterone he's surrounded by at the site. Our evenings are quiet: home-cooked meals, long showers together, and sleepless nights spent wrapped up in each other, making up for the time we lost during the day.

It's nice sharing space with Edward. I like seeing his toothbrush next to mine and his t-shirts and boxers in the drawer I cleared out for him. Even the new dog bed I bought for Diesel makes me smile when I look at it. It makes me feel like a real part of his life.

We find ourselves at Target one Saturday evening after a dinner date. I've wanted to purchase a few extra items to keep at Edward's house, and now that we've been exclusive for a while, I don't feel so awkward about it. After I collect the things I need, I leave Edward in the electronics aisle and go to peruse the book section. I could get lost here, skimming book synopses and admiring cover art—or in some cases rolling my eyes at it. There isn't much that grabs my attention tonight, though, so I wander over to the non-fiction section. As I thumb through The Joy of Cooking, my phone chimes with a text from him.

Where are you?

Books.

Nerd.

Dork. Where are you?

Books you can watch.

I tamp down the giggle that threatens to escape. I'm alone in the cookbook aisle at Target, after all, and laughing out loud to oneself could be awkward. The goofy smile on my face is probably already borderline crazy.

Pocketing my phone, I go back to perusing the recipe I've been scanning. I'm all about trying new things, but I don't have access to a pasta maker or…ew, raw goat's milk.

I sense Edward before I see him. "I do love pasta," he says, kissing my temple before stepping around me and grabbing a book from the shelf.

"I'm hoping you love the whole wheat boxed kind." I glance hurriedly over my shoulder at the otherwise empty aisle. "Honestly, who has the time to make this stuff?" I hiss. "From scratch!"

"Why're you whispering?"

"I don't know."

Edward laughs. "Did you get what you needed?"

"I think so. I've never been so grateful to see a variety of conditioners in my life." Edward's a soap-and-shampoo kind of guy, and while I'd bottle the smell of the two on his skin if I could, a girl needs more than that in her shower. "It's exciting to think I'll be able to shave my legs and comb my hair when I stay at your house."

He chuckles as he turns to face the fiction section, and I scan the shelf of young adult series. From the corner of my eye, I see him picking up books at random and examining the covers.

"Check this out." He flips to the back cover of the book he's just picked up. "'When Miranda steps off the bus in her new small town, she meets cattle rancher Luke. He's handsome, a real-life cowboy, and the man of her dreams.'" He snorts, slapping the book closed and tossing it back on the shelf. "Can you believe this crap?"

"Step away from the Harlequin romances, Edward."

He picks up another paperback, and his eyebrows climb slowly as he skims the back before reshelving it. "What, you don't want to read about Roman and Skye and their adventures in bondage?"

"Please," I scoff and go back to perusing the bestsellers.

"You could write circles around these people, Bella," he says over my shoulder.

The butterflies in my stomach take flight the way they always do when he compliments me, but I shrug, pretending to appear indifferent. "Maybe."

"So do it."

"Oh, okay," I say with a snort. "It's that simple, huh? Just do it?"

"That's what Nike says."

"Does Nike still say that?"

He shrugs. "Beats me."

"Hm." I bump his arm with my shoulder playfully and change the subject.

"Speaking of doing it, let's swing by the pharmacy section," Edward says. "We're short on condoms."

A/N: I know it's been a good long while and this is a short chapter, but sit tight! The next one's almost finished and will be longer. We just wanted to get one out for you since it's been a very long wait. :) Thanks so much for reading!