A/N: The last few months have been a wild ride in my personal life. I'm not going to go into much detail, but it all culminated in me getting sick twice in February.

My goal moving forward is to start posting regular updates again. I've missed it.

Happy reading!

20

Edward's already there when I arrive, seated in a booth near the front of the restaurant. It's quiet on this weekday afternoon; only a few other customers are seated at tables across the dining area, dressed in suits and talking intensely amongst themselves. When I get close to the booth, Edward stands to greet me, kissing me on the cheek before we both take a seat on opposite sides of the table.

"I'm really happy to see you." He says, as I settle into my side of the booth, I put my purse on the open space next to me. Now that we're seated, I'm finally getting a good look at him. His normally bright green eyes are dull, missing the spark that's usually there. The top button of his shirt is undone, with his tie loosened slightly. Obviously, his morning has taken its toll.

"Rough day?" I ask, making him sigh heavily.

"Not so much rough as long." He replies as the waitress comes over to take our drink order. Once she's disappeared again, he reaches across the table, taking my hand and intertwining our fingers. "How's your day been?"

"Good, I've been working on your painting most of the day." It takes all of my concentration not to be distracted by his thumb running soothingly along my skin. "I think I'm almost done with it. I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will." He gives me that smirk, the corner of his mouth lifting. The adoration I see in his eyes takes my breath away. "How's Angela?" he asks, unaware that he's taken my ability to breathe.

I laugh thinking about the conversation she and I had this morning. "She's good. More than good, actually. I think the excitement of our new place has gotten to her; she may have started buying furniture already."

He chuckles, "From what you've told me about her, that definitely sounds like her."

"It definitely is." I agree as our waitress sets our drinks on the table. We let her know we need another minute to order.

Edward examines my face for a moment. "You hate the fact that she bought furniture."

Sighing, I reply. "It's not that I hate it. I just wish that she would've waited until after we signed the lease tomorrow." Between the two of us, Angela was the eternal optimist. While I'd wished she'd waited, that wasn't in her nature. It was her way of putting it out there in the universe that she knew everything was going to work out, that we were going to be successful. I couldn't be mad at her for that. "I just want everything to work out so bad that maybe I'm a little superstitious."

"I understand that, believe me, I do." He gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. "But, Bella, you and Angela wouldn't need a bigger place if you weren't already a success." I let the truth of his words sink in. "If the storefront wasn't yours, you wouldn't have an appointment to sign the lease. You need to change your way of thinking from, Will we be successful? to We already are. This is just the natural next step."

All of his words make sense because they're true.

"I think I'm a little overly cautious." I admit. It was hard for me to let go and just enjoy the good things that came my way. I always thought about what could happen to make it end.

"It's okay to be cautious, baby. Just don't let it hold you back."

When I get back to the store after lunch with Edward, I walk directly to Angela's office, where she's on her computer working on a video to post on our TikTok and Instagram. She startles a little when I hop up to sit on the corner of her desk, jumping a little.

"I want to see the furniture you purchased. All of it."

She looks at me a little funny but picks up her phone from the desk, showing me the three items she'd already purchased for our new space.

"I also found some new display tables for merchandise." She takes the phone back momentarily, pulling up the items she's talking about. They're in a more modern style, which will fit the feel of the new place well. "As soon as you give me the go-ahead, I'll order them."

"Do it." I handed the phone back to her. "Order them and anything else you find that you think we might need."

She looks at me like I've lost my mind. "Who are you, and what have you done with my boss/friend?"

"It's time to invest in our future. I can be cautious all I want, but I'm not going to let it hold us back anymore."

Angela smiles widely, jumping up from her chair to hug me tightly. "Only good things are ahead for us, B. You'll see." She pulls back to look at me. "I like this new side of you; I hope she sticks around."

"I do, too." I agree, smiling. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing now."

"I told you that man would be good for you!" Angela calls to me as I head to the front of the store.

"Shut up!"

A/N: Does anyone else what to stand up and yell "About damn time!"? I think this is a big and important step for our main character. As Angela said, only good things are coming their way.

See you next time!