Chapter 1

May, 2, 2022

Nashville, TN

Will

I step out of the hotel and I am immediately blasted with the humidity that has already filled the air and it's only 8 AM. The north might have terrible snow storms, but I'll take it over this wretched humidity any day. My curly hair will be huge and wild in no time. I often think how thankful I am not to be a redhead or me and Ronald McDonald would be twins.

I was given a list of three booksellers that potentially have the antique book I am looking for. All three stores are under the radar, mostly used books and hopefully have no clue the value of the book they hold.

The first shop I am sent to is the most well known. It is not downtown, but closer to the Universities. It takes over three store fronts. As I look through the window before I open the door I can feel my anxiety rising. Stacks and stacks of books from ceiling to floor cover the whole store. There are shelves, but just as many books are stacked on the floor as are on shelves. There are large laminated signs in each section with the different genres printed on them. But my guess is that those signs are more like "suggestions" than truth. There is absolutely no way in this mess anyone could properly sort through it.

As soon as I walk in, an old man sitting on a stool by the cash register greets me. He looks like a Santa impersonator and I can only imagine he has a lot of gigs around Christmas time.

"If you need anything son, I'm happy to help you!" He says jovially.

My first thought is I highly doubt it. The guys at the register never know where things are. I am pretty sure no one could ever really know in this place. I can feel the dirt and dust of the shop seep into my lungs every second I move deeper into the store. I head over to the Literature section. My eye lands on a stack of older books and I start looking through them. My finger traces down the spine of each as I quickly scan the titles. I make sure to be gentle, I don't need a domino situation to happen here. One stack goes down and it's over.

I bend over to get a better look of a book that is in the middle of the stack, when suddenly something heavy hits me straight on the nose.

"Are you freaking kidding me? What was that?" I yell out. My hand goes to my nose, but before I can see what assaulted me, my eyes fill with tears.

"Oh my goodness!!!! I am so so so sorry!" I hear a female voice somewhere around me, but still unable to see where it's coming from. "I am so sorry! I always tell Lucas to not let me on the ladder. I'm a terrible klutz."

I continue to hear her prattling on, but unable to speak from the anger rising within me. And the pain radiating from my nose.

"Oh no! Now you're bleeding! Gah! You have to come with me." She gets a hold of my arm and starts to drag me towards a door in the back. The action snaps me out of my anger haze and I finally get a look at her.

For a second I think the book hit me too hard and I am having a nightmare. Because at first glance it looks like Caroline Bingley is standing in front of me. That is without her ever present scowl and designer dress. But with my second look I notice her hair is highlighted with strips of blonde and red but mostly it is light brown, different then Caroline's blondish red hair. She has it pulled up in what I think my sister calls a "messy bun"- whatever that is. She has big bright blue eyes that light up her whole face. She was wearing a faded The Who shirt and jeans that look way past their time. She was nothing like the women I am normally surrounded by. They would look like models compared to her natural look. But even so, something about her intrigues me.

I shake my head out of my wayward thoughts and lean it back to help from blood dripping further down my face.

"Definitely need to stop the blood before it ruins your fancy shirt." I look down at my crisp pinstripe navy button down. She is completely correct, but her tone tells me her comment was meant to be sarcastic.

She hands me a towel and continues talking.

"I can't believe I hit you in the nose, and with a terrible book at that. Wuthering Heights…so horribly depressing. I know it's classic literature so I should love it, but I can not. On the other hand I guess you wouldn't want to be hit in the nose with a good book, wouldn't want it to get a nose dent." She stops and laughs at her own joke, which normally is super annoying but for some reason the longer she talks the more I am entranced by her. I just stare at this unique woman.

"Sorry if I am blabbering on, I tend to over-talk when I'm nervous. I mean let's be honest I over-talk all the time, but it tends to get even stranger at times like this." During her declaration she began cleaning up the back area, like if she sat still for a second it would physically harm her.

I take the towel off my nose for a second to see if it's stopped bleeding. "Looks like it's about to stop. So I make you nervous, hu?" I give her my trust fund cocky smile, the one I used to use to get into A-list parties or to get cheerleaders numbers back in college.

She apparently is immune to this particular charm. She looked me straight in the eyes with one eyebrow raised. "Yeah… not in that way at all." She lets out a loud laugh, like the idea of me making her nervous with my charm was the most hysterical thing ever to her. Ouch. "Nervous because you look like the kinda guy that would sue us for harming you in our store. I would hate to be the reason this great establishment went out of business."

Now it's my turn to laugh. But she does not join in.

"Excuse me Mr. Fancyman!" Did she just say Fancyman? "This store is highly beloved in this community. Mr. Lucas has devoted his life to helping this neighborhood. He has done more to improve literacy in this area than any school in the city!" Her bright eyes darken as her anger rises.

"I didn't mean to offend, it just seems that it is not well taken care of." I stutter out. Wishing the words back in my mouth before they fully exit.

Somehow her eyes become even darker and if she had the power to make her nostrils flare I believe she would. She took a step closer to me and pointed a finger at my chest. She was about a foot shorter than me. But that didn't stop her at all from putting me in my place.

"Mr. Lucas gives away about 80% of the books he receives to the community. He believes everyone should have the opportunity to read. His generosity has become so well known throughout the country that people are constantly sending us books to help his efforts. Because of this we never have the time, manpower and shelving to be able to properly put away the thousands of books we receive each week." She then crossed her arms in front of her, not batting an eye while staring me down.

I rubbed my face and took a big breath. Forgetting about my nose and flinching at the pain when my finger hit the sore. I noticed her flinch too.

"I guess I shouldn't have gone off on you like that when the shop is at stake. But this bookstore means so much to me and so many people I love." She says uncrossing her arms and taking the towel from me.

She turns on the faucet and runs some water over the towel. Then wipes my face gently with it. "Don't want you looking like you got in a bar fight at 9 AM on a Tuesday. Not great for your rep." She winked at me and then went back to cleaning up around me.

Who is this woman? One second she is staring me down about to explode with anger, then the next she is sweetly consoling me.

"Listen, I truly do apologize for my thoughtless words and I will not be suing the shop or getting you fired." She looks back at me with her eyes large and hopeful. It's amazing how her eyes express so much even without her constant chatter.

She lets out a big breath. "Well that's a relief. About the shop, not the end of the world if I lose my job." She shrugs her shoulders and starts to walk out from the back room, back to the ladder she was at before. I follow her, too intrigued to leave now.

"You don't care about your job? Did you not just spend the last 15 minutes passionately telling me how amazing it is?" This woman was a conundrum.

"I absolutely love it, but this is my last week here." She says with a bright smile. "Firing me is not the end of the world when I have a Job more in my field lined up."

I must have a concussion. I don't talk to people I have never met so comfortably before. I also do not stick around this long. But here I am following her around like a lost puppy as she continues on with her work and I keep bugging her.

"What is your field?" I ask as I hold a stack of books for her as she climbs the ladder once again. Silently praying she has a better grip on them this time.

She looked down at me curiously, surprised that I wanted to know more about her. Which is a totally valid look, I am surprised I want to know more as well.

"Social Work." She says as she reaches too far to the left and I hold my breath that nothing will come crashing down.

Interesting, Social Work. That is not a normal field to be in. I keep handing her books and just stare up at her as she tells me all about her recent graduation from college.

The chime on my Apple Watch goes off and I see a text come in from Charles:

Hey man, what time does your flight get in? Want to grab dinner?

Charlie's text snaps me out of the strange enchantment I had fallen under.

She gets down from the ladder and I help make sure she's steady before letting go. If she is a klutz like she says she is I don't want any other accidents while I am here.

I stick out my hand for her to shake which she does with a questioning look. "I have to go, but it was nice to meet you." I say while trying not to stare awkwardly at her. I then start to back away slowly from her. Thinking the sooner I leave the sooner I don't make a fool of myself. Do something actually stupid like ask her out. Which would be completely crazy. She might be intriguing and have the brightest eyes I have ever seen. But we clearly are from two very different worlds.

She laughs. Then laughs harder as my shoulder gets too close to the shelf behind me and knocks a few books down.

We both bend down to pick up said books and I die a slow embarrassing death.

"It's Lizzy by the way, we didn't actually meet and I'm going to guess getting a bruised nose wasn't really a 'nice' way to meet me." She says while we both stand back up.

"Will." I say shaking her hand once again. She smiles but then laughs once again at my awkwardness as I nod and try not to run out the front door.

Lizzy

I let out another loud laugh as Will rushed out the door. For a man that good looking, he should not be that awkward.

Even hours later the look on his face as he was trying to back away from me, made me bust out laughing. Like I had the plague or something.

"What on earth, Lizzy? That is the second time tonight!" Jane says while we eat dinner on our couch. We have some cooking show playing in the background but I can't focus on it. Apparently Jane can't focus either.

"It was this guy at the bookstore today. He was just… really funny." She looks at me intrigued. "First I drop a book on him." Jane lets out a laugh.

"Of course you did and…" she says knowing I had something even crazier to come. I always had crazy things happen to me.

"Then his nose started to bleed. So I helped him stop it. Then I got a little worked up when he insulted the bookstore."

She nodded her head. "Yep, sounds about right. So a normal day then? She smiled brightly at me. Her blonde hair falling softly to the side of her face. Looking like a real life Elsa. Except take away the sass and add in an extra dose of sweetness.

No one knows me better than Jane. No one knows all my crazy stories and adventures like she does.

She even remembers the day we met, which I only remember from the stories my parents and her have told me. Well not my parents exactly but as close as they can be. They have always called me daughter and Jane has always called me sister. They have loved me, cared for me and provided for me as if I was their very own. But I am constantly reminded by the state, I am not a Bennet. What I really am, no one knows. But I am beyond thankful for The Bennet family and how they love me. Because of them taking me in, I never had to be left alone and get stuck in the system. That is my hope for all missing kids, I want to help them find that love.

"So the funny guy, was he cute?" Jane says, snapping me back to our conversation.

"I'm not going to lie, he was pretty crazy hot. Dark curly hair, dark eyes, tall. But…"

"There is always a but…" she said with an eyebrow raised.

"But he seemed kind of fancy, like he was a big shot and had loads of money. Like he could fill a golden yacht full of diamond encrusted toothbrushes, kind of rich." I say but can't help the giggle that comes out before I even finish my sentence.

Jane laughs and shakes her head at my ridiculousness. "Lizzy, you know there is nothing wrong with rich people."

"I know, but there is something wrong with rich people who think they are better than others because of their wealth."

"Did he actually say that?" She takes my plate and heads into the kitchen to clean up.

"Ok, he didn't actually say that. But his snobby looks were pretty clear." I start unloading the dishwasher to make way for our dirty ones.

"Lizzy, you know you're not the best at reading people's faces. How many times did you think a random stranger wanted to give you their puppy when you were playing with it?"

"When I was 8 Jane! I think I have learned the difference between a 'Just being nice smile' and a 'genuine smile'."

"If you say so." She says sweetly as only Jane can.

"But it wasn't just his Richie Rich impersonation, he kinda seemed nice for a bit, then he got a text and got really awkward. Staring at me like I had a vile disease. He was so awkward after that I couldn't hide my laugh. He could not have rushed out of the door any faster."

"I don't know, I bet there is more to the story then you know. I'm sure he really is a sweet guy."

Oh sweet, never seeing the bad in anyone Jane.

May, 2, 2022

Bella's Cafe- Chicago, IL

Will

"So what did you think? Think it's a good place to open?" Charles excitedly asks before I even take one step through the cafe door.

"Give me a sec Charles, I came here straight from the airport." He nods in acceptance and leads us to a back booth. The one the family always sits at. Marla brings me water and a Scotch before I am even fully in my seat. I give her a thankful nod and a quick smile.

"Do you feel like it's a thriving city? Or Is it too thriving?" Charles continues on without taking a breath and I am suddenly reminded of the girl at the bookstore. Charles and her could go head to head with their energy and non-stop talking.

I hold my hand up, to silence the questions for a moment till I take a drink. "Down boy, I will answer all your questions. Just give me a second." He rolls his eyes at my comment, but still waits impatiently. I down the scotch and the water in seconds. "I think it will be a good city to expand to. It's a small city compared to Chicago, but it's definitely on the rise. So much so you might have some competition, but altogether I think it will be a good move."

His smile is so big and bright you would think I had told him I was giving him a million dollars. "That is the best news ever. Well that's it, we're expanding to Nashville then. You know I have been trying to move to Tennessee forever, here's my chance."

My heart plummets for my friend. "Charles it's been 18 years, you really don't think she will still be in Tennessee."

He runs a hand through his already wild red hair. He looks at me seriously, which is rare for Charles. "Will, if you lost Ana- would you ever stop looking for her?"

The familiar question hits me like a ton of bricks. Like it always does. Every once in a while when Realist William pushes his way out, Charles will ask me that very question.

And he's right, I would never stop looking for her.

"I'm sorry Charles, you are correct, I would never stop."

"You know I have to keep trying. This is the only way I know how." I nod my head in understanding.

Marla brings out some bread and takes our order.

"So you gonna tell me what happened to your nose? See Wickham while you were down there?" Charles smiled behind his water glass knowing I would have to pay him back for that.

I stare daggers at him for mentioning the name we don't speak of. "No, I went looking for a book my company is trying to hunt down and the first shop I went into the worker dropped a book on my nose."

Charles busts out laughing, spewing water all over us. I roll my eyes at his continued laughter. While we both try to mop up the mess with our napkins. Marla comes back over quickly and takes care of the rest. "A book, hu? Wow. Any luck it was the one you needed?"

I butter a piece of bread while I fill him in. Trying hard not to give away how this nobody girl has been racking my brain since I left that store. "No, I was… uh…distracted. My nose started bleeding and the lady took me to the back to help me stop the bleeding." Charles' smile was back with full force and a low whistle escaped his lips.

"Ooohhh, so it was that kind of distraction hu?" He said while wiggling his eyebrows at me suggestively.

"No! Not at all, she helped me and then I got a little extra distracted with her talking and then I got super awkward and I basically ran out the door. So yeah, I didn't go back to check if they had the book."

Charles busted out laughing again. "Wow, you like this girl don't you?"

I shake my head in frustration "Did you not hear me Charles? It wasn't like that and she is not my type at all. She is a klutz, she doesn't care at all about her appearance, maybe she is even a bit of a spaz. No offense." I say with a nod towards Charles.

He just shrugged his shoulders, he had been called that his whole life, it was nothing new.

"She is nothing like the girls I normally go for."

"You mean the ones you hate and have vowed to never date one of those women again." He looks at me pointedly.

He has a point with that. I really do hate those women.

"Ok you got me there, but she would never mix in our world."

"Yet, you were so taken with her that you got all awkward and uncomfortable. You only do that when you really like someone." He points his fork at me to prove his point.

I stare back, shaking my head.

"Oh come on Will. Remember Clara Jenkins?" Charles says with a wicked smile on his face.

I let out a breath of annoyance.

"Clara Jenkins! Ugh, she was the absolute worst!" Both our heads look up to see Caroline and the Hursts finding places to sit at the table.

"Caro, she was a saint! You only hated her because she always had those fancy purses you wanted." Charles said while pushing the bread towards the newcomers.

"What about Clara Jenkins?" Louisa Hurst asks from the other side of the table while handing her 3 year old daughter Bella paper and crayons.

"Will here had a major crush on her in the 8th grade. So major, when he went to talk to her by her locker he didn't see an open locker in front of hers and smacked his head hard on it." Charles laughed as hard as he did the day it happened, I just rolled my eyes.

"So why are we talking about Will's past crushes? Caroline says nonchalantly. Acting like she didn't care at all. But we all knew that was false.

Caroline has always been pretty obvious of her feelings for me. Though she can be obsessed with her looks, a little vapid and quick to judge. At her core she has a good heart. Apparently she was the most changed after the loss of Izzy. I've been told before the incident she only cared for herself. But after she blamed herself for losing her sister, she has really tried to be more thoughtful of others around her. She's like another little sister to me, which I have tried to explain as kindly as possible. Maybe one day she will get it.

Charles was about to open his mouth, when I stared daggers at him. Thankfully he gets the hint and changes the subject.

"I'm going to open up another Bella's Cafe in Nashville." He says proudly with a big smile on his face.

All heads at the table except for Bella look over at him. No one says anything for a minute, all processing the information. It's very clear all are thinking of Izzy. But soon they share in his excitement and offer congratulations.

"When will you start working on it?" Hurst says while keeping his daughter from coloring on the table.

"As soon as I can pack my stuff up, I'll head to Nashville." Charles says with pure determination on his face.

"You're leaving Unk-Charlie?" Bella looked up at her Uncle with big sad eyes.

"Just for a little while sweetie." He says while reaching out to pat her hand lovingly.

"Maybe you might need some help out there? Louisa says with a hopeful look on her face. Then she looks over at Hurst who smiled in agreement. They both looked at Caroline, waiting for her to chip in. She looked annoyed, trying to act like it would be the worst idea ever- but even she couldn't help the excitement building. She wanted to be there as well, even if it was the smallest chance possible. They would at least be closer. At least that's what they hoped.

Charles then looked at me with his eyebrows raised. "Want to join the party, Will? We can always use your expertise and you can keep looking for that book." He drums his fingers on the table in anticipation. Eagerly awaiting my answer.

I let out a breath thinking of the 5,000 other places I would rather be than spend more time in hot and muggy Nashville. But Charles has always been there for me, it's time I step up and be there for him now.

"Ok I'll help you out for a while, but I'll need to be back by the fall to finish up some projects."

Charles jumped up and squeezed my shoulders from behind. He was so excited. It's good to see him so happy.

Charles is always a happy guy, but the death of his mother and not long after losing his little sister hit him hard. I met him right after he moved to Chicago. We were in the same class. His first month here he was nothing like the man I now know. He was a shell of a boy. We were 9 at the time. My sister Ana had just been born. After hearing his story, I couldn't fathom her becoming lost. I wanted to help him anyway I could. We quickly became friends and after a while he was able to get back to his true self. Though the pain was always there.

Their family had decided to not give up, they would do whatever they could to try to find Izzy.

Marcus- Charles Dad, opened up Child Centers all over the country for Orphans and Missing Kids. He was determined that if she was out there and they couldn't find her that he would try to make her life the best it could be without her family. He also started summer camps for any kids in the system. He named the organization the Isabella foundation, making her name front and center. Trying to call her home to them.

For a while Charles had seriously thought about going into law enforcement, that way he could have access to a bigger database of missing kids information. But he knew deep down in his heart he could never really harm someone, not even the evilest of men. So his plan now is to open as many Bella's Cafes all over the country as he can. That just maybe she would walk into his restaurant one day.

Even Louisa and Caroline named their children's clothing line that they started after their lost little sister. Hoping she would see the Izzy Wizzy logo and remember her family.

They were determined to find her and even after 18 years they never refused to give up.