{{Disclaimer}}
This story is a work of fiction. The names of certain main characters and places are from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga. I'm just borrowing them for some fun. The rest of the characters, places, and incidents are product of my vivid imagination. Rated MA for future mature content! Don't say I didn't warn you :)

Chapter 1
Bella

"Bella!" My Mother, Renee Dwyer, called my name in a sing song voice as she marched into my house, like she owned the place. That was partially my fault. I gave her a copy of my keys for emergency use only. Apparently an "emergency" presented itself three days a week.

I turned my head, to read the time from the alarm clock that lived on the bedside table... 8:32 Am. I groaned grabbing the white, cotton filled pillow, to cover my face with it. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing for time to stop just for five more minutes. A month ago I opened my own bakery shop in Seattle, Washington. I wish I had gotten a spot in a more populated area, but I wouldn't have been able to afford the monthly rate of this spot that I really wanted. My Step-dad, Phil Dwyer, was ready and willing to fork over the money for my little business, but I couldn't take his money like that; just because he's a Major League Baseball player for the Mariners and has an insurmountable amount of money in his bank account… The man gave me this house, I call, "home" as a present. I just couldn't keep taking from him.

"Get up sweet heart! It is absolutely gorgeous outside, and that doesn't happen often around here. Carpe diem my dear," she snagged the pillow away from my face.

I squinted against the bright sun light that streamed in through my now open shades thanks to my mother. "Mom, it's my only day off."

"Exactly, what other day am I supposed to spend time with my only child, who has been working non-stop since we moved to this wonderful city." I smirked at her sarcastic use of the word "wonderful." Honestly, Renee hated Seattle. Well as she put it she hated the whole state of Washington.

As the story goes, Renee grew up in a everybody knows your business type of small town, in suburbia hell. About a three hour drive away from Seattle. She was the A-typical cheerleader that fell in love with the Capitan of the football team. Very cliché… Until she wound up pregnant at the end of her senior year. Charles Swan, the man that helped with my procreation, did the responsible thing and married Renee, after they both graduated from high school, he became a fisherman to pay the bills and provide food for us. He was always gone, he was never there and Renee wanting to see the world, got tired of waiting for him and grew tired of the judging eyes, along with the non-stop gossip snickering about her life behind her back. One day she packed up, left Charles a note and went away.

I grew up in a different state, a different city, every year of my life. In Phoenix, Arizona, mom met and fell in love with Phil. I was sixteen at the time. So throughout my whole life, Renee was my mom, dad, older sister, and best friend.

I never knew Charles, he never tried to contact me, I never got a letter or a birthday card… the only thing I had of Charles was his last name and an old picture of him in his football uniform with my mom wearing her cheerleading outfit. I know how dare I expect anything when he didn't know where I lived? Renee made me write to him every year, I even called him once. He knew where I was, he just didn't care and I didn't need him.

Renee's high heels clicking on the cherry wood floor snapped me out of my thoughts. "Okay, what did you have in mind to do today?"

Her brilliant smile filled my view as I groggily got up from bed. We spent the day out and about shopping and eating out. As the day died down, I was spent and tired. We took the saying "Shop till you drop," literally.

"Let's go to Discovery Park, to see the sun set," Renee said tucking a short blonde curl behind her ear. It suddenly got hard to swallow my saliva. I should have seen this coming. My mom always did this when she had something BIG to tell me. A day of shopping, which I hated, but she loved, would always end with us sitting somewhere watching the sunset. When I was five she did it to tell me my pet turtle, "peek-a-boo," died. When I was ten, it was to tell me we couldn't keep "Maxi," my new puppy because she was allergic. When I turned sixteen, she did the same thing to tell me she was marrying Phil. The last time she did this, it wasn't bad news, so maybe this time it won't be anything bad, unless her and Phil are getting a divorce? Or maybe she's pregnant?

"Mom, what is it?" I asked as soon as I parked my red Jeep at our destination.

She slid her sun glasses up to her head, showcasing her forest green eyes, "What do you mean?"

I removed my sun glasses as well, "You do this every time you have something important to tell me. So just spit it out already so I can try to enjoy the sunset without all these questions swimming in my head."

She smiled, "Okay, you caught me red handed. I have a date for you."

I rolled my eyes at that, "Mom!"

"Hear me out, he's a Cardiologist. Well not yet but almost. I met him the other day. His father is the private Doctor for Phil's team. Anyway, I told him all about you and he's interested!" She started bouncing and clapping her hands in the passenger seat all excited.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked hopping out of my Jeep.

We met up in the front of the Jeep, heading towards the beach, "There's nothing wrong with him." She said with slight disappointment from my lack of enthusiasm.

"There has to be something wrong with him, if he's letting you set him up on a date with me." I ran my hand through my hair frustrated.

"He just got out of a relationship. He isn't really looking for anything serious. I told him that neither were you. So next Monday night you and him have a dinner date." She smiled as she took a seat on the sand.

I sighed plopping myself next to her. "I'll do it, just this one time. When this doesn't work out promise me you'll st…"

"Heads Up!" I heard someone yell just as a football crashed down on my head.

"Oh my God! Are you all right sweetie?" Renee asked getting to her feet.

"Hey, I'm sor…"

"Yeah, yeah, you're sorry!" Renee picked up the football shoving it in this guy's chest. "Just be more careful."

"You okay?" The guy asked squatting down to be at eye level with me.

I dropped my hands from my head and blinked a few times when I saw his exotically carved face. His dark brown, deep-set eyes were looking at me with concern. Then he smiled at my un-ability to speak. His beautiful straight white teeth hindering me even more speechless and the color of his coppery-brown skin had me wanting to touch.

"I am really sorry. We didn't mean to…"

"I'm yours…" Did I just say that out loud? "I… I… I mean I'm okay. Really, it's fine. I hit my head on a daily basis." Wow Bella! Can you sound any more stupid?

He laughed and quickly rolled his lips into a thin line, when Renee cleared her throat. "Okay, well I guess I'll see you around." He winked at me before taking off towards his group of friends, kicking up sand as he ran.

I sat there staring at the back of his white t-shirt until he disappeared behind one of the grassy cliffs on the beach.

"Ugh! Barbarians! Are you sure you're okay sweetie?" Renee asked grabbing my attention.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good." I replied constantly looking back, hoping to see that coppery-brown "barbarian" one more time.

The next few days I kept busy with my bakery, and every day I drove the long way back home, passing by the park in hopes of seeing that coppery-brown man/god again. No such luck, but he was the leading man in all of my dreams and daydreams. In fact as I pounded the dough for the French bread, I thought about his smile…

"My mother set me up on a blind date for Monday." I huffed out taking out my frustrations on the piece of dough.

Angela Weber, my partner in crime. We met at the culinary school and instantly hit it off, I was good at the baking and she was good with the designs for wedding cakes or even cupcakes like the ones she was working on at the moment. It's a match made in bakery business heaven to have a unique looking cake that tasted as amazing as it looked… if I may say so myself.

"Judging by your tone, you don't sound super-duper excited," Angela said pushing up her reading glasses on her nose.

"I'm not. I don't do well on dates. Even more so when they're blind dates," I blew out my choppy bangs out of my eyes as I continued to beat down on the dough.

"You'll be fine, if it doesn't work out… well at least you'll get it out of the way and be done with it." She shrugged one shoulder before going back to the cupcakes.

Before I knew it I was looking Monday, right in the face, with my mother working on my make-up and hair. Where she was excited enough for the both of us I was sick to my stomach enough for the both of us. I pulled up to the fancy Italian restaurant wearing a royal blue strapless summer type dress, with a flirty bubble hem, sweetheart bust, and a broad set-in waistband panel that created a slightly curvy silhouette. I handed my keys to the young valet parker who looked at my beat-up Jeep with a raised eyebrow. Obviously people that ate here drove nicer vehicles, but I didn't care, this Jeep was a high school graduation present from my mom and Phil. And I refuse to part with it.

The aroma of all the spices and herbs of the restaurant's kitchen filled the air of the restaurant, tickling my senses, despite my stomach's queasiness. The chatter of all the people that were eating, waiting to be seated, and those waiting for their order to arrive all sounded like a swarm of bees to me.

"Miss?" A tall blonde lady, wearing black from head to toe addressed me loud enough for me to hear.

"I'm supposed to be meeting someone here," I told her speaking louder than I'm used to.

"Name?" She asked.

"Cullen, Edward Cullen," I replied as she nodded and looked down on her list.

"Follow me," She smiled politely at me before turning around to lead me toward my blind date.

My palms are sweaty, my heart is beating at a hundred beats per minute, I can't even hear all the people around me anymore all I hear is my heart pounding heavy in my ears. When she stopped at a corner booth there he was Edward Cullen, his hair was somewhat dark in color—a tousled mixture of red and brown and even a little blonde. He looked up from the menu, his beautiful hazel green eyes saw me standing there with my skin flushed red with nerves, and he quickly shuffled out of the booth and stood up, "Isabella?"

I stuck out my hand, "Just call me Bella."

I expected him to shake it, but instead he brought my outstretched hand to his lips and kissed the top of my hand, "Pleased to meet you Bella."

People that looked like him had their face plastered in cologne advertisements or spat out drama filled-style dialogue on 90210. So I couldn't help but wonder why he was sitting across from me wearing the sexiest crooked grin I've ever seen.

I placed an order of coffee and Edward did the same, a date actually required talking but the both of us were silently looking trough the menu when the waiter came back with the coffee, I started preparing mine the way I liked it and he did the same.

"You know what the problem is with these fancy all natural sugar packets?"I held one up. Breaking the awkward silence, "The granules are too big. They don't dissolve. They just hang around in the bottom of the mug, so the coffee isn't as sweet as I'd like until I get to the last sip, which is too sweet, I almost want to puke."

Edward looked both puzzled and slightly amused. "Huh, I hadn't thought of that."

I bit on my lower lip, while shrugging one shoulder and I don't know if I was seeing things but I swear I saw his eyes twinkle in the dim light of the restaurant. I was taken by his Greek god like features and made a mental note to thank Renee for setting this up.