She notices it for the first time on her walk to work.

A small bakery, a tiny two story shop tucked in between an Italian restaurant and a dry cleaning place, with a little wooden sign delicately carved with the words "baked goods" hanging over the door. A sign in the window boasts the "Best coffee in Massachusetts!" and she smiles to herself despite the ludicrous message. Two tables, both empty, are parked on each side of the door but that doesn't surprise Clarke since it's barely eight am on a late November morning in Boston. She herself is wrapped up tight in a sweater, scarf & wool hat to starve off the bitter cold as she treks the two miles from her apartment to the restaurant she works at.

Clarke has walked down this street over a hundred times and has never once noticed this bakery before.

She glances down at her watch knowing full well that she was ten minutes late getting out of her apartment this morning so there's no chance she could stop in before her shift starts. Her stomach grumbles on cue as if to chastise her for skipping breakfast and Clarke sighs as she searches the window for store hours.

A small sign is posted next to the door that tells her that the shop is called Blake's and is open from 6 am till noon.

Well damn, she thinks to herself. Her shift isn't over until well after noon. Guess I won't be trying the best coffee is Massachusetts today.

She frowns as she wraps her scarf tighter around her neck and sets off in the direction of her original destination.

Bellamy watches in amusement as a pretty blonde stops in front of his shop, a small smile forming on her lips as she reads the sign in his window.

His coffee, while maybe not the best in Massachusetts, is still pretty damn good and he wonders if the sign is enough to bring her inside.

She checks her watch and lets out a sigh before checking the hours of operation and when she frowns he wants to kick himself for not staying open later.

A brand new bakery in a busy part of Boston should probably be more accommodating and he makes a note to himself to reconsider his business plan.

He watches as she shivers in the cold, wrapping her brightly colored scarf tight around her as she heads off back down the street.

"So have you heard about this new bakery on Newbury?"

Clarke looks up from her BLT to see her friend and coworker Raven picking at a Caesar salad.

"You've heard about that place?" She asks in surprise, choking as a piece of bacon gets temporarily lodged in her throat.

Raven nods. "Yeah apparently the dude that owns it just won some baking competition. Cupcake Boss or Cake Wars or I don't know. One of those shows. Anyways, he won like two hundred and fifty grand or something and opened a shop here."

Clarke reaches for the glass of water next to her plate to soothe her now aching throat.

"I was wondering why I'd never seen that place before," Clarke says as the cool water turns the ache into a dull pain. "I passed it this morning on the way here."

Raven stabs a piece of chicken and lettuce with her fork. "It's only been open like a week I think. I was gonna check it out after work, do you wanna come with?"

Clarke shakes her head. "It's only open until noon. Neither of us gets off until three."

Raven frowns as she pops a crouton in her mouth with her fingertips. "This job sucks."

Clarke giggles as she takes a bite of her sandwich. Free food aside, she has to agree.

"Bellamy! We are running low on flour, man. We still have two hours till closing. What do we do?"

Bellamy sighs as his best pastry chef Jasper, who also happens to be his best friend and roommate, scurries around the too small kitchen like a chicken with its head cut off.

"Jasper, chill. Call Tony and tell him to pick up some sacks of flour on his way back from his delivery downtown. We'll be fine."

There's a crash from the back of the kitchen and Bellamy frowns as Monty, one of the most talented cake decorators in the city, bends down to pick up a tray of gum paste rosebuds that will now have to be thrown away and redone.

"Sorry chef," Monty says with a grimace as he dumps the tray of pastel flowers into the trash bin. "Won't happen again."

Bellamy chuckles as he rolls a thin layer of fondant out on the kitchen block in front of him. "It will definitely happen again but you know what? That's okay. I don't expect this place to run like clockwork yet. But if we're still missing flour and dropping trays a year from now…then I'll be worried."

Jasper laughs as he dirty ices a layer of chocolate cake before sliding it to Bellamy, who applies the now perfectly thin layer of fondant over it. "Hopefully in a year from now we'll have our own reality show. I think you could be the new 'Cake Boss', Bell."

Bellamy doesn't say anything as he trims the fondant from around the base of the cake. He's not really interested in becoming the next big thing. The only thing he's ever wanted to do was take care of his family.

The two hundred and fifty thousand dollar prize that he won last year didn't exactly put that much into his pocket. After paying taxes, he paid off the fifty thousand left on his mother's home loan and paid for his sister Octavia's first year of college.

Every last dollar he had left went into buying and furnishing his bakery. He was lucky enough to find a building that had not only a fully functioning kitchen downstairs but an apartment upstairs. Living above his place of work has proved both convenient and annoying since when he's upstairs trying to relax he usually finds himself wishing he was downstairs doing something constructive.

He glances at his staff, old friends like Jasper and new ones like Monty, and he's incredibly grateful for the success and achievements that he's made in the past year.

Only that doesn't stop the ache in his chest and the gut feeling he gets sometimes that there is just something missing.

Clarke lies in bed the next morning, listening as her alarm chirps fifty thirty, and wonders why in the hell she set the alarm for so damn early.

Then she remembers and quickly scrambles out of bed. She doesn't know why she wants to go to this damn bakery so bad but it's like some invisible force is pulling her there against her will.

She goes about her daily routine, only almost an hour earlier, spending a few extra minutes in the shower to wake herself up. At least her outfit for the day is already picked out for her. The black pants and white button down shirt doesn't make for the most original work uniform but she pairs it for the morning with a bright red trench and a black lace scarf so she at least looks cute on the walk to and from work.

It's ten after six by the time she locks her apartment door and she wonders all the way to Blake's what it will be like when she steps inside. She imagines it will be comfy and warm, dark wood on the floors and earthy tone colored walls. Maybe some plush chairs surrounding old oak tables with a vase on each one filled with sweet smelling flowers.

She's so busy daydreaming about the bakery that she almost passes it right by. The sign in the window promising her the best coffee in Massachusetts makes her grin again and she's pushing the heavy door into the bakery without even thinking about it.

To say she was dead on in her daydreams would be an understatement.

The entire bakery is warm, so warm that she considers for a moment taking off her heavy wool coat. There are people everywhere already, despite the fact that it's almost the crack of dawn, but somehow it doesn't feel cluttered or congested like other small shops she's been in.

There are tables scattered sporadically around the place and she almost giggles when she sees the small vases housing various types of flowers in each. The walls are full of photographs, some black and white, some larger than others. She stops to look at one in particular that shows a pretty woman bouncing a baby on her knee while a little boy plays in a sandbox. It's faded from age but she can see the love in the woman's eyes shine through.

Clarke decides immediately that Blake's might be her favorite place in the whole world.

There is a young brunette behind the register when she finally makes it to the front of the line. Luckily spending a few minutes in line gave her a chance to check out the wide variety of baked goods available that day.

"Welcome to Blake's, how can I help you?" The young woman asks cheerfully and Clarke smiles.

"Hi, I'll take a cup of the house roast and a chocolate chip muffin." The brunette, or Josie as her nametag reads, rings her up and Clarke is shocked when her total is less than ten dollars. She hands over a twenty and drops three dollars into the tip jar when she is given back her change.

"Your order will be ready in just a few moments, thank you!"

Clarke sets herself up at the table right underneath the photograph she looked at when she first came in to wait.

"Damn would you check out that girl sitting at Table 9!"

Bellamy groans as Jasper peeks out from the kitchen door. "Jasper, what have I told you about ogling the customers?"

Jasper laughs and shakes his head. "Sorry chef. It's just not often a girl like that crosses your path, you know what I mean?"

Bellamy rolls his eyes but can't help it when he looks out the door to see what all of the fuss is about.

You can imagine his surprise when the girl of Jasper's dreams turns out to be the same girl that was outside his shop the day before.

"That's her," he mumbles, mostly to himself but Jasper hears him loud and clear.

"What? Who's her?"

Bellamy shrugs. "She passed by yesterday morning but didn't come in. I think she wanted to but she was checking her watch so she must have been late to work or something."

It's then that Monty decides to come over, probably to see why they are both huddled around the kitchen door.

"What's going on?" He asks as he walks up and Bellamy and Jasper both laugh when they see the smudge of white chocolate Monty is sporting across one tan cheek.

"You've got some shit on your face," Jasper snorts as he pulls a hand towel from his apron. "Wipe that off and maybe I'll tell you all about Bellamy's new love interest."

"Wait…what?" Bellamy asks incredulously, his eyes still focused on the blonde that is now nibbling on a giant muffin. "Love interest?

Jasper nods. "Yeah, like on TV. You know, boy starts a bakery in big city. Boy meets girl from the big city. Boy and girl fall in love. Classic television stuff here, man. Keep up!"

Bellamy rolls his eyes. "You really need to get off this reality show kick, Jasper. But, since I am the proprietor of this shop it probably wouldn't hurt to go see if she's enjoying our baked goods. Right?"

Monty grins as he slaps Bellamy on the back.

"Go get 'em, tiger!"

Clarke is halfway through the most delicious chocolate chip muffin she's ever had and she can't help the little moan she lets out when she bites into it.

"Enjoying the muffin?"

A voice behind her, one dripping with something she can only describe as amusement, causes her to practically jump out of her skin.

"As a matter of fact," she says with a smile as the owner of the amused voice comes to stand next to her table. "It's probably the best muffin I've ever eaten…"

Her voice trails off when she sees the grin of the man standing there. He's the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. His chocolate brown eyes are shining with something, pride maybe, and his grin is almost shy.

"You're the owner, aren't you?" She asks, instant embarrassment causing a blush to hit her cheeks and he laughs as he nods.

"Bellamy Blake," he says as he holds out his hand and she smiles as she shakes it. "And thank you for the compliment. I am quite partial to the chocolate chip muffin as well."

"I'm Clarke Griffin. And it's really very delicious. I can see why you won a baking competition."

He motions towards the empty seat in front of her and she nods and waves her hand for him to join her.

"Well thank you again," he says as he sits across from her and she catches that little hint of shyness again. She finds that she likes that very much.

"So is this the secret to your success?" Clarke asks as she takes a small sip from her coffee cup.

"Our coffee? Yeah, it probably helps."

Clarke laughs and shakes her head. "No, the sitting down with customers angle. I have to admit, I'd probably be a little star struck if I ever watched reality shows."

Bellamy laughs and motions to Josie to bring them both cups of coffee. "Not really, but I figured you owed me an explanation after yesterday."

Clarke chokes on her coffee and holds up her hand when Bellamy stands to help her. "I'm fine, it's okay. What do you mean after yesterday?"

"Well, you stood outside of my bakery for a full five minutes but didn't come inside," he says with a smirk. He thanks Josie when she sets two fresh cups of coffee in front of them.

"Oh, you saw that?" She asks, horrified at the idea of him watching her frown and leave the front of his place of business. Bellamy just nods and waits for an explanation. "I was late for work. I've walked down Newbury to get to work four days a week for months and I've never noticed it before. That's why I stopped in the first place."

"We just opened last week," Bellamy explains. "As you have already pointed out I won the competition, paid off a bunch of stuff and bought this place."

She enjoys watching him look around his place, his eyes are gleaming and she can see that he truly loves his job.

If only she loved anything half as much as he loves his bakery.

"So what about you?" He asks. "What do you do?"

"I work at Benny's, it's a little restaurant down on Fairfield."

"Oh yeah? I've been there a few times. That place has killer cheesesteaks." Clarke laughs as she finishes her second cup of coffee.

"Yeah, that they do." Bellamy motions towards her empty cup.

"Want another? It's on me."

She glances down at her watch, instantly annoyed when the hands tell her it's almost seven thirty.

"Unfortunately I can't. I start work at eight." She's pleased to see Bellamy's face drop because it seems that he doesn't want her to leave as much as she doesn't want to. "But since you're on my way to work, and your prices are so reasonable, I don't see why I can't stop in tomorrow morning."

His face brightens as he grins. "Yeah. Yeah, you should do that."

They stand up at the same time and her breath catches in her throat when he reaches for her hand.

"It was really nice to meet you, Clarke Griffin."

"It was nice to meet you too, Bellamy Blake." She says as she places her hand in his. "Thanks for the best coffee in Massachusetts." He chuckles as he shakes his head and holds his hand up in a wave before heading back to the kitchen.

She watches him go with a smile before turning around to head out the door.