Bella decided she was going to invest in her fortieth birthday. For once in her life, she decided to follow her heart's desire and focus on herself.

None of her friends knew about her plans for the evening. Bella had made sure to switch her phone off and hoped no one would need her. Jake had promised to be on his best behavior, and Bella had to give him the benefit of the doubt. She could clearly remember being seventeen and having the house to herself for a few hours.

Bella stepped through the elegant French doors, stopping at the hostess desk.

"Good evening," the young woman greeted her, smiling. Her name tag read Maggie. She was dressed in a crisp white shirt and tailored black pants, her hair in a tight bun at the nape of her neck.

It made Bella feel underdressed in her navy blue sparkly dress. She'd bought it, especially for this dinner.

"Hello. Reservation for Isabella Swan."

Maggie touched her tablet for a second before waving Bella in the direction of her table. "Your date has arrived earlier."

So much for chickening out and leaving if he didn't arrive within five minutes. Nerves danced in Bella's stomach as they approached a table close to the grand piano in the center of the room.

There were so many happy couples all over the room, and it gave Bella hope. When the ad for this restaurant had popped up randomly on her Facebook, she had clicked on it more out of curiosity than anything else. They claimed to find your perfect match based only on three things: hobby, astrological sign, and the first thing that attracts you to another person. Bella had answered so truthfully that not even a lie detector could deny her.

Writing, Virgo, eyes.

Blind dates had been something Bella had been against all her life because they were a terrible concept. The worst of them were when the participants were in the dark about each other. You couldn't get to know someone in such a short period of time; you couldn't decide whether they were worthy to meet again.

At least, with this restaurant, they put the effort to match people based on rational subjects.

"Here you are, ma'am," Maggie said, stopping at the small round table.

The first thing Bella noticed about her date was that he was wearing a black suit, yet his hair had a lot of product in it, making it look like a hedgehog. She beat down the judgmental old lady inside her and walked closer.

Her date had heard Maggie announcing her arrival, and he stood up in all his tall glory. Then he turned to face her, and Bella thought her lungs were going to collapse and make her faint. She'd never seen a more beautiful man in her life.

He was much younger than she expected, but the scruff on his sharp jaw gave him a more mature look. His green eyes seemed to penetrate her soul as he looked at her, keeping them on her face, unlike any other man would have done. Her dress emphasized her figure, and the cleavage had already attracted attention from the Uber driver and even from her son, though both in very different ways.

He smiled crookedly, pulling her chair out, and Bella felt like she floated to her seat. No man had ever helped her with her chair.

"Hello." His voice was so soft, it felt like a velvet caress. "My name is Edward Cullen."

"Hello." Bella could barely hear her voice since her mouth had dried at the sight in front of her. She was captivated, to say the least. "I'm Bella Swan."

Edward reached out for her hand, and Bella gasped at the electric current that zapped through her skin when their fingers touched. He smiled widely, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing the back of it. Bella was ready to call an ambulance because she felt like she was going to faint for real this time.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise."

"I asked for water until we decide on anything." He opened the bottle and poured some into her water glass.

"Thank you." Bella drank gratefully, praying she wouldn't pour some on herself or drool at the sight before her. Edward was staring at her as mesmerized as she felt about him.

"I'm curious," he said softly, licking his lips.

Bella placed the glass back on the table with a shaky hand. "Yes?" she breathed.

"What were your answers to their requests?"

She laughed. "I actually went with the truth," Bella admitted, feeling her blush rising to her cheeks.

"Me, as well," he promised. "I see no reason to lie unless you don't really want to be here."

His response gave Bella the courage to answer him. "My sign is Virgo, my hobby is writing, and the first thing I notice about someone is their eyes."

"Oh, I see why we got matched." He appeared to be amused about her choices, and Bella wondered how similar were his. "Since you shared…I'm a Gemini, but more Cancer if you ask any of my friends, since my birthday is close to the end of the sign. I love photography, which coincidently is my job. And the first thing that attracts me to a woman is her smile."

Bella wondered if she had to pay extra for the puddle she was about to leave under her seat. With every word out of Edward's mouth, the throbbing between her legs intensified, and she was sure he could make her come simply by talking.

"I don't see any similarities," she said, trying to stay focused on the topic. "And … Virgo and Gemini?"

Edward threw his head back, and Bella was transfixed by his beauty. She couldn't help but giggle along.

"I know," he chuckled. "My best friend insisted this restaurant has a ninety-eight percent of success."

"Just like condoms. Then they break," Bella mumbled, immediately feeling mortified at what she'd just said.

Edward laughed loudly again. "That's what I told Tanya. Of course, she wasn't amused."

Bella chose to hum in response, unsure who was this Tanya he'd decided to talk about. She busied herself with pursuing the menu.

"Have you gotten a chance to look over what you'd like?" Bella asked, glancing over the rim of the menu at Edward.

"If you like seafood, I recommend the shrimp pasta dish."

"I actually do." Bella flipped to the fish section and spotted Edward's suggested dish. After scanning other options, she decided to get the same as him before moving to check the wine selection. "I'd like some Chardonnay with it."

"I'll stick to water, thank you," he said softly, but Bella caught an undertone that piqued her curiosity.

"Did you drive here?" she asked teasingly, surprising herself by how natural she was acting around this stranger.

"Yes," he answered, yet again leaving her confused when his voice was too serious for the question asked.

Their waiter for the evening chose that moment to come by their table and check if they were ready to order.

Edward waved for her to go first, and Bella marveled at the fact that chivalrous men still existed. She ordered the shrimp pasta dish and one glass of white. Then Edward said he'd like the same, except they should replace the wine with more water for him.

Once they were alone again, Bella felt her awkwardness coming to the surface. She never knew what to talk about on dates, how much was too much to reveal. She hadn't been on a date in too long.

"May I ask how you found out about Paradise Matching?" Edward asked quietly, keeping a small smile on his face.

Bella hoped that wouldn't be discussed, but he'd already shared he knew about the restaurant because his friend owned it. "A Facebook ad. I never click on these things, but I was really curious about their promise to find my match."

He chuckled. "I always told Tanya that line was cheesy and no one would step foot in her establishment. Guess the joke is on me."

Oh, so Tanya was his friend, the owner of this place. "I saw the restaurant opened five years ago. Why did it take you such a long time to test it?" Bella felt she was prying into his life. He could have been in a relationship back then.

Edward ran a hand through his spikey hair and winced slightly. "All the photos and promos for this restaurant were my graduation project. Even my professor met her soulmate after being one of the first to come here." He picked up his glass of water and took a few sips.

Bella watched, transfixed over how a man drinking water could turn her on beyond rational thought, but she also did the math in her head. He wasn't even thirty years old. Of course, age wasn't important when you found your soulmate, but she'd never envisioned herself with someone so much younger. "And after graduation, I tried building a name for myself. I never settled for bad projects or things I didn't like, which brought me to where I am today."

"So…you're pretty good at your job?" she guessed, wishing she could be more eloquent.

"I'm damn good, Bella." She hoped the moan stuck in her throat wasn't audible, but the way he'd caressed her name brought her closer to the edge. "I started with nature and transitioned to events, but it wasn't until a couple of years ago when my brother's girlfriend needed a few shots of herself to apply to a modeling company. During that draining session with the vainest person in the world, I realized I really liked photographing people. She recommended me to all the modeling companies and magazines, and I became one of the most sought-after photographers in Los Angeles."

"Wow…" So he was surrounded by the hottest women, yet at this moment, he was here, trying his luck. "And none of these women caught your eye?"

He watched her amused, licking at his bottom lip. "I don't piss where I eat," he replied simply.

It made sense, and it proved how smart he was. "What about you? You like writing…Do you work in a publishing company?"

Bella felt herself smiling. "I work with a publishing company. In case that wasn't abundantly clear from my hobby, I'm a writer."

"No way! Anything I might know?" He seemed genuinely curious.

"My most popular one is Strange Kind of Love," she mumbled, unsure what he'd think of her when he found out she had written a futuristic love affair between a lonely woman and her robot.

"Are you serious? I love that one," he exclaimed. "But your name…"

"Yeah. I didn't want to use my real name, so I used my initials and…" Bella swallowed hard because this was a subject she'd promised herself not to touch, yet she'd fallen into a trap. "…and my son's name."

She watched as Edward's thick brows met in the middle of his forehead, his green eyes searching her face. "That's a smart idea," he answered softly.

"I promised myself not to talk about this, but then again, we don't want to start off on a lie," she rambled. "Jake is seventeen."

Edward couldn't mask his shock this time. He leaned back into his chair just as the waiter brought their order.

"If I'm not too rude, how young were you when you had him?"

"Twenty-three, right after I was done with college and supposedly ready to live my best years." She cringed. "My wild twenties were full of diapers and long nights with a wailing baby, and my days were filled working on a plan to work from home to sustain my little family."

"Writing is a sure win for a home job."

Bella nodded, relieved he wasn't making a big deal of off-handedly learning her age. She chose to cover the awkward revelry by digging into her meal.

"Was he an asshole?" Edward asked after a while.

Bella took a long pull from her wine. "No, family life wasn't for him. He helped as much as possible. We didn't even like each other like that. It was a brain-washed moment for both of us when we slept together out of boredom."

Edward chuckled. "You can't tell me you haven't tried to find someone in the past seventeen years. I won't believe you."

Bella refused to explain to Edward that if she ever wanted sex, there were her trusty vibrators to help, and even Jared didn't mind paying her a visit. But she had put a stop to those visits when Jake was five.

"Call me an old lady, but I lost all hope of finding someone. I applied to this blind date more out of curiosity. I wanted to give myself a nice gift for my birthday."

Edward grinned. "Oh, it's your birthday? We have to order cake."

"No, please. I don't know why I just told you that. I always talk too much."

"You don't. Let me be frank, Bella. I'm here only because I saw your entry on Tanya's computer, and I was intrigued. You're even more than I expected."

"What?" Bella felt her mouth drying as her heart begin beating wildly against her ribs. "What are you doing?" she gasped when Edward got up and came to her side, leaning in to be eye-level. She felt faint at his close proximity. His scent was so heady it made her head spin.

He cupped her cheek, and she did moan at the contact. "I know we just met, but I've never connected with anyone like this."

"It's crazy. I feel the same, but people are staring. They might think it's okay for them to invade their date's privacy to molest them in the middle of the restaurant."

Edward chuckled, bringing his face even closer to her, brushing his nose against hers.

"You're adorable, but don't try to distract me, Bella.

Just … shut up and kiss me."