AN: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed the story :) Chapters will start to get longer as the story progresses, but for now they will all be about this length. I'd love to hear what you think of the story so far and what you might like to see happen

Chapter 2

As the sky grew darker and the crowd in the coffee shop dyed down, Bella knew it was almost time to close up and head home. That thought put a broad smile on her face because as much as she loved the shop, the best part of her day was always going home. There was someone waiting for her at home. Someone she missed dearly every day.

Bella glanced around, taking note of how many people still lingered, four. She sometimes stayed open a little later to let people finish their drinks. The young couple by the door were packing up their things and getting ready to leave. The older gentleman by the counter also looked as though he was preparing to depart. Edward however appeared to be too wrapped up in thought to be aware of his surroundings and the time. Bella knew she would have to gently remind him it was closing time. She'd had to do this a few times now and it was always awkward. She'd have trouble getting his attention and when she finally did, he always seemed annoyed with her. Bella found this frustrating because it was her shop and the hours were clearly displayed. It's not her fault he can't be bothered to pay attention to the clock. She decided to give him a few more minutes, busying herself with tidying up the counter and turning everything off.

As she was begrudgingly walking over to his table, Edward glanced up and looked at the time. He frowned to himself, then looked at her and nodded, his way of showing her that he knew it was time to leave. He lowered the screen of his laptop and put it away neatly in its case. Gathered his trash and threw it away, picked up his case and walked out the door without a word. Typical.

Bella didn't understand why she seemed so drawn to the guy. He didn't exactly come off as the nicest person in the world. Quite frankly, he seems like a jerk. Who acts like it's a major inconvenience for a storeowner to enforce their set store hours? Who's too good to even so much as say goodbye when they've been allowed to stay past said store hours? Jerks, that's who. Bella let out an exasperated sigh as she gathered up her stuff, turned off the lights, and headed to the door to lock up and leave. She couldn't wait to forget about Edward and his 'too good for the world' attitude. She just wanted to relax on the couch with the person she loved most.

The short drive home was uneventful. The road was clear of traffic and the soft indie music playing in the background helped ease the stress she had been feeling. When she pulled into the driveway, she saw that the living room light was still on. It was only 7, so she figured it was a safe bet that they were still up. As she neared the door she could hear the quiet voices coming from the television inside. She smiled to herself.

Bella opened the door and made her way into the living room, trying not to make any noise in case they were asleep. Glancing toward the couch, she saw exactly what she expected. Nessie was curled up against Jacob and they had both dozed off watching cartoons. She sat down on the edge of the couch and pulled a blanket over them. Jacob opened his eyes slowly and smiled at her, apparently having been woken up by the gentle movement beside him.

"How was your day?"

"The usual. How was Ness?"

"She was pretty quiet today. She said she was tired from school. They had that field trip today, so that's probably what did it."

She leaned over and kissed her daughter Nessie on the forehead. She stirred, but didn't wake up. Nessie was five now and Bella has been raising her as a single mother since she was born. Her father wasn't a nice man and she hadn't wanted him anywhere near her daughter, which suited him fine because he wanted nothing to do with either of them. Luckily, Jacob, her best friend, had stepped in to help out after school so Bella could run the shop. Jacob lived down the block and he was like an uncle to Nessie, so he was more than happy to help. He watched her three nights a week and for a few hours on the weekends, so Bella could be at the shop. She had hired two employees to work at the shop as well, so she could spend more time with Nessie. As much as she loved running the Steamy Beany, she hated missing so much of her daughter's life. She was glad the shop was doing well enough that she could hire people to help her out.

"There's some pizza in the fridge if you're hungry. It's homemade. Nessie's idea," Jacob said as he stood to leave.

"That actually sounds great. If you don't have any plans, you're welcome to stay a while. We can watch some cheesy reruns or something," Bella offered. She always felt weird just sending him home after he babysat Ness. Plus, he'd been her best friend for as long as she could remember and she enjoyed getting to hangout with him so often.

"That sounds like fun, but I'm wiped. Rain check?"

"Just this once," Bella replied with a grin.

Jacob gave her a wink and headed out the door. Bella glanced back at Nessie, deciding it was best to get her settled into bed before relaxing with some pizza and old television sitcoms. She gently picked up her daughter and carried her down the hall to her room.

Nessie's room matched her personality, bright and colourful. Nessie had always been a happy go lucky kid, which sometimes surprised Bella because they'd had such a rough start. She's grateful for how things worked out and she feels blessed to have Nessie in her life.

She places her gently in her bed and tucks her in, giving her one last peck on the forehead before turning on the night light and leaving the room. She leaves the door open a crack, knowing that's how Nessie likes it. She's always been afraid of the dark.

Bella makes her way over to the kitchen and grabs herself a slice of pizza, opting not to reheat it. She never understood the appeal of microwaving pizza. She found it made the dough soggy and gross. She much preferred to eat it cold. She grabbed a bottle of water and headed back into the living room to curl up with her dinner and some of her favourite shows. She may not have had the chance to spend time with Nessie, but all in all, tonight had been a pretty good night.