AN: Bella and Jake are like ships that pass in the night. She's never had attention like that Edward bestowed on her, and it's opened her eyes, but it'll take time to unravel her life, so be patient with the poor girl.

My thanks to MeteorOnAMoonlessNight, Midnight Cougar and ghostreader24 for their help with each and every chapter

And of course, to my faithful. reviewers, followers and favoriters

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight

Deceit and Destiny Chapter 13

Friday, Connor's last day of summer camp, dawned wet with low gray clouds.

Jake's side of the bed was smooth and unruffled, telling me he hadn't been home at all—again. This was becoming a habit, and I had no doubt his reason would be that he'd had a little too much to drink and stayed with one of the guys.

I quickly slipped out of bed, washing away my restless night in a shower. Not wanting to wash my hair, I put it up in a bun to prevent it from getting wet. After a quick soap and rinse, I dried off, brushed my teeth, and stepped back into the bedroom to select clothes for the day.

Choosing a pair of black high-waisted trousers, I paired them with a light blue blouse and a pair of low-heeled black pumps, now ready for my first day back at work.

There was no sound from Connor as I pushed open the door to his bedroom. The room was decorated with Winnie the Pooh characters, the walls pale yellow. I stood in the doorway remembering that Jake had shown absolutely no interest in the coming baby, even back when I was pregnant. It had been Mom and me who'd painstakingly transferred and painted the images, and put together the nursery furniture.

I acknowledged it was probably the right time for the decor to be updated since Connor would be five in a couple of weeks. I had no doubt that Jake would be absent yet again, I thought bitterly, and I resolved to find the time to really talk to him.

Stepping into the room, I sat on the edge of Connor's bed and pulled back his comforter where, as usual, he'd buried himself. Unfortunately, he was as much a morning person as I was, which was to say he hated getting up. I'd trained myself to wake early, though even now, it was coffee that got me through every day.

"Connor, sweetheart, it's time to get up for camp."

With a scowl to rival the weather, he pulled the comforter back over his head. His muffled voice informed me that he wasn't going to camp today.

"Come on, Connor, it's your last day." I pulled the covers away again and he rolled over, pouting.

"I don't want to, Mom. I wanna go fishing with Pops."

"You have all summer to go fishing with Pops, Connor. How about you take your new digger to summer camp to show your friends?"

The idea brightened his face right away, and with the further promise of pancakes tomorrow, Connor was seated at the kitchen table a short time later tucking into a bowl of cereal while I stood at the counter and put together his packed lunch. I supervised him getting washed and dressed for camp, with his teeth brushed, knowing if I left him to his own devices he would play instead of getting ready.

A discussion was had about how many toys he could take with him to his last day of camp, finally settling on his new one for the final day's show-and-tell, before I buckled him into his car seat. We arrived with ten minutes to spare, and I grabbed my umbrella and stood by the entrance talking to Angela, who was dropping off her neighbor's little boy, Marcus. We watched as both boys scampered off toward the entrance of the building.

"How are you, Bella? Back to work today?" she asked. She mentioned nothing about the last few days of our vacation, even though she had to be curious.

"I'm okay, Ang. Just a little tired, though having had a week's vacation, I shouldn't be, I know. Where's Sophie this morning?"

"She was still asleep when I left, but Ben's working from home today, so I don't need to hurry back. Do you have time for a coffee?"

I looked at my watch. "Hmm, not really. I need to be in the office at nine-thirty, and it's almost nine now. How about next Saturday? I'm working this one. I do need to pick up Connor's birthday present, so we could have lunch first."

"I'd like that, Bella. Well, I suppose I'll have to make do with Ben's coffee for now. I'll see you next week then. Twelve okay for you?"

"Can we make it twelve-thirty? I can pick you up after I've dropped Connor at my parents' house if you like, but we'll talk before then. Okay?"

"See you soon." Angela leaned in and hugged me before walking back to her car. Shaking out her umbrella, she climbed behind the wheel and waved as she drove off in the direction of her home.

I made my way to my own car, throwing the wet umbrella behind my seat. The drive to Volturi Realty was usually around fifteen minutes, though today a fender-bender caused a short delay. When I arrived ten minutes later than usual, Didi and Jess were already seated and drinking coffee, talking about our vacation.

Waving a greeting as I passed through, I headed for the breakroom at the back where I shook out my jacket, then poured myself a large mug of coffee.

"Hey, girls, good morning," I said as I took my own seat and switched on my computer.

"Morning, Bella. Jess was just filling me in on your vacation."

I looked sharply at Jess who shook her head minutely. Breathing a sigh of relief, I berated myself for even thinking she would say anything. Giving her a small smile, I turned back to Didi.

"It was fantastic, Didi. I can't tell you how much we appreciate your and Aro's generosity. What's not to like about sunshine every single day?" I joked. "How was everything here?"

"You deserved the break, Bella. You've helped Aro and me out so many times, it was our turn to do something nice for you. Lauren was okay, though she did need a lot of hand-holding, so I'm glad you're back."

Lauren was our part-time administrator, and usually only put together listing details of the houses Didi and I represented. Jess was the receptionist, and also typed up house details as well as answering the phones, making appointments for Didi and myself, and greeting walk-in customers. Lauren had gone to high school with us, but had failed to graduate, so it fell to Jess to check her work.

The morning was spent catching up on emails, checking on the status of the houses we were in the process of selling, and making contact with inquiries for purchases. I had hoped that the everyday work would keep Edward from my mind, but at intervals, his face would superimpose itself across my screen and I'd find my thoughts drifting.

Occasionally, I was aware of Didi's attention on me, but she said nothing. She was as astute as my mother, and I tried to act as normally as possible. However, I wasn't sure how successful I was, and knew it was likely she would ask me questions I didn't want to answer. For now, I was grateful for her restraint.

Eventually, lunchtime came and Jess grabbed my arm to lead me out of the office and along the street to the café where we often ate.

"Are you okay, Bella? You're very quiet, and I think even Didi noticed."

"I'll be fine, Jess," I said quietly. "It's just hard right now, but I'm sure, with time, things will settle down." I blew out a breath and swallowed, giving her a small smile, then changed the subject. "What about you? Did you have a good day yesterday?"

She knew I was deflecting, but as we took seats at a small table in the window, she allowed me to practice avoidance.

"Perfect, Bella. Mike missed me." She winked, leaving me in no doubt how he'd missed her. "We spent all day in bed, and—"

I interrupted her before she could elaborate. "Please, Jess, no descriptions." I giggled at the pout she produced, but she laughed it off.

"My treat today. What do you want, Bee?"

"Hmm, coffee of course, and I'll have a chicken salad please." As she stood to head to the counter, I added, "Oh, and one of their brownies, too. I'm feeling in need of a little sugar."

"You got it," she said.

The line at the counter wasn't long and Jess was back in less than ten minutes with a tray. For the rest of our lunch break, she didn't mention Edward at all, for which I was grateful, and as we walked back to the office, I felt more lighthearted than I had for a while. A busy afternoon meant there was little time for gossip, and at the end of the day, I left for home feeling grateful for the reprieve.

Mom was at the house with Connor when I arrived home. Jake's truck was gone and I had little enthusiasm for wondering where he was or what he was doing. That would be for a later discussion that I wasn't looking forward to.

Connor was lying on the floor in the living room, watching his usual cartoons. He turned his head and grinned at my greeting, but didn't move from his position. I found Mom in the kitchen, drinking tea and seated at the table.

"Hi, sweetheart. Good day at work?"

"Not too bad. The expected build-up of emails, of course, but I only had one client showing. All-in-all, it was a good day. Connor okay after camp?"

"Yep, he chatted away all the way home about his day, his new truck, and what he wanted to do for the rest of the summer. Oh, and of course, the subject of his birthday came up."

"Yeah, he mentions that a lot." I lowered my voice just in case he could hear me. "I've got plans with Angela next weekend. Is it okay with you and Dad if I drop him off at about eleven-thirty?"

"Yes, that's fine. No doubt your dad will be out at stupid o'clock as usual, but I'll drop Connor off at the lake after lunch."

I made myself some tea and joined her at the table, sighing heavily as I took the seat opposite her.

"You look tired, Bella."

I thought back to my conversation with Angela this morning. There was no doubt in my mind it was thoughts of Edward keeping me awake that were to blame.

"Angela said the same thing this morning," I said. "We had some pretty late nights while we were away. We went out dancing almost every night and slept in late, so it's hard getting used to the early mornings again."

Connor hopped through the kitchen door at that moment. "I'm starving, Mom. What are we having for dinner? Can we have pizza again like yesterday?"

He scooted around the table, and I lifted him onto my lap, breathing in the faint smell of the baby shampoo I still used on him. I would've loved another baby, but with Jake anti-everything to do with Connor, there was no way I could subject another child to the same antipathy. Besides, it'd been a long time since Jake had looked at me with any sort of desire, let alone made any moves on me in the bedroom.

"Mom?" Connor's questioning voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Well, what do you say to you helping me make burgers?"

"No vegetables, Mom?"

I had to laugh at his blatant avoidance. "We'll see. You do know that vegetables make you grow big and strong, don't you?"

Connor raised his eyebrows the same way Dad did when he didn't believe what he was hearing. "But I still don't like them," he insisted.

"On that note," Mom said as she stood, "I need to go home and fix dinner, myself. Your dad will be home from work shortly."

She gathered her bags together and headed to the front door. As I opened it, Jake pulled into the driveway. Mom called out hello and goodbye before getting in her own car, waving as she drove off.

~ oOo ~