EPOV

I'd been giving Bella a wide berth for the last week until she showed up on my doorstep armed with several shopping bags and a smile. "I thought Liam and I could bake Christmas cookies together. If that's all right?"

They spend the next three hours whipping up dough and icing, cutting out shapes, and decorating cookies. Bella was so patient and understanding with Liam; she never had an outburst or raised her voice.

When they were finished, I put Liam down for a nap while Bella insisted on cleaning up the mess they had made. I come back downstairs to find her wiping counters and humming along to a Christmas carol playing softly on the radio while she worked.

She looks up in surprise. "Oh, Edward. I'm almost finished."

"That's fine; you really didn't have to clean up," I tell her as I bag up the trash and set it out on the back porch. "I would have taken care of it."

"I always try to clean up my messes." She sighs and hangs the dishtowel on the handle of the oven door. "I think I've made a mess of things here."

I'm not ready for this conversation, but I know this might be my only chance. I swallow. "What do you mean?"

She moves around the island in my kitchen to stand in front of me. "I care about you and Liam, but I never expected this. My whole life is in Seattle, and I'm not sure I'm ready to just give that up." Her hands glide up my chest and come to rest on my shoulders. "It's not really long distance, right?"

Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pull her close. "Do you really mean that?"

"It's a four-hour drive," she says as she rises up to meet my lips. All I can think about is that maybe we can make this work; maybe we can figure out how to be together.

The next thing I know, we're pulling at buttons and belts, trying to get to skin and soft, secret areas. It's not like the first time, we aren't taking out time; this is rushed, frenzied. When I take her against the island, I think about having her asleep in my bed, lunches together as a family, and late talks.

When she leaves a while later, we agree to talk more and see what we can figure out … together.

Yesterday, Bella packed up her bake and sent it with Lauren and Ben to the hotel in Seattle for the party. This morning, she's packing up loose ends, and then heading into Seattle herself so she can set up and be there for the start of the evening. I'm so excited for her, so I decide to stop by with a cup of coffee and a few of her and Liam's cookies for the road.

When I pull up in front of the bakery, I get my own surprise: a "For Sale" sign is hanging in the window. Abandoning the coffee and cookies, I stalk into the shop and look for Bella. I find her in the back, wiping out one of the fridges.

"What's with the sign?" I ask angrily as Bella stands up and tosses the trash into the bag.

"What do you mean? I'm putting the shop up for sale …" She trails off as if that's the most natural thing in the world.

"After our conversation the other day? You're just throwing it away?" I can feel tears rising up in my eyes, but I will them down. "You said it wasn't really long distance. You said it was only four hours."

"Four hours to be with you, not to run a second bakery, Edward!" Bella stomps toward me and thrusts a finger into my chest. "What part do you not understand?"

"I don't understand why you don't want this bakery!"

"Because my bakery belongs in Seattle, not Forks," Bella says calmly. "I might be falling for you, but my career comes first, and that's in Seattle. I thought you understood that after the other day."

The tears finally spill over, and I can't be here any longer. "Good luck tonight; drive safely. See you around sometime." I turn to leave, and she reaches out and grabs my arm.

"Edward, don't." I see the tears on her cheeks as well. "Not like this."

I shake her off. "You're going to do amazing things, Bella. I get it now; you won't do them here. Goodbye."

I walk out of the shop and out of her life.

A/N: the reviews for Chapter 9 were amazing and completely divided. I know there are many of you who will not like this chapter and there are many of you that don't understand Bella. This is Chapter 10...Just a couple more chapters and it's done. This is my take on a Hallmark movie. There will be a happy ending.