Chapter 1

Bella's POV

Rose had set me up on a blind date. Again. For the third time this month.

I love Rose and everything, but I don't think she understood that I could be, and was, happy without a guy currently in my life. I was becoming an independent woman whose first priority was not to find the perfect guy, marry him, and have 7 of his babies.

My career was blossoming into the respectable newspaper columnist I had always dreamed it would. I had written several articles for the Chicago Sun Tribune already and received positive criticism on each.

Along with my career, my personal life was blossoming as I had already made several new friends working at the newspaper, (such as Alice), still managing to stay close with friends I met in college, (such as Rosalie). I was staying close to my family; my mother Renee and her new husband Phil had come to visit me several times. They were doing well and having fun traveling for Phil's baseball career. I had traveled to see my father Charlie a couple of times also, and he seemed content with the life he had living in a small town as a local police officer.

I was very pleased with my life and the way it was developing. I didn't need Prince Charming swooping in and sweeping me off my feet.

But I was still here, sitting in a booth in Carlisle's Diner on 45th Street, waiting for the next babbling idiot to trip while coming in the door, talk about himself the whole meal, and expect me to pay after we were done eating.

So I wasn't surprised when a 20-something year old – brown hair, brown eyes, average height – walked into the diner looking around aimlessly. I was surprised, however, at how attractive he was. Normally the guys I'm put on blind dates with are blind dates for a reason; but not this guy. He was probably hoping to get lucky and score a tall, hot blonde, but if that was the case he would be surprised when he saw me – a short brunette - sitting in a booth by herself looking pathetic. He glanced over to me and I smiled.

"Bella?" He mouthed. I nodded.

He actually didn't look disappointed while walked over to my booth. So far, so good.

"I'm Bella," I introduced myself, sticking out my hand for him to shake.

He grabbed it firmly; probably trying to give the impression that he was strong and muscular.

"I'm Emmett," he said. He took a seat in the booth across from me and pulled a menu out from behind the salt and pepper shakers.

"So how do you know Rose?" I asked him, trying to start conversation.

"We work together," he said. "Basically she creates products and I sell them."

"Ah," I sighed, trying to make my voice sound as kind as possible. "Do you like your job?"

"It's okay," he replied. "It's near home, there's good pay; I'm just not sure it's the kind of work I want to do the rest of my life, you know?" He smiled.

"Fortunately not," I replied in return. "I have always been very lucky when it comes to my career."

"What do you do again?" He asked politely.

"I'm a newspaper columnist, for the Chicago Sun Tribune."

"Wow," he exclaimed, sounding genuine. "That's pretty impressive."

"Thanks," I smiled. "I enjoy it."

I barely finished my sentence before an attractive waiter walked over to our table.

"Hello," he said, smile widening and eyes glowing. "My name's Edward and I'll be your server tonight. What can I start the two of you off with to drink?"

"I'll have a beer," I said bluntly; causing both men to smile, at the same time looking a bit shocked.

"Same," Emmett said.

"I'll be right back with that," Edward said as he walked off.

"A beer, huh?" Emmett asked, smirking. "Been a rough week at the office?"

"Nah," I laughed, "I just like beer."

His grin widened. "Sounds like my type of woman."

A few minutes of talking followed, and we discussed things ranging from where we went to college to what kind of coffee we drank. Soon Edward returned to our table and set a beer in front of each of us.

"There's that," he said as he reached into his apron and grabbed out two straws.

"That was quick," I remarked. "Then again this place isn't exactly a hot spot, even on Friday nights."

I didn't know what had made me say it, but I immediately felt embarrassed. I turned to see the expression on Edward's face. He was smiling, but looking at me as if he was amused yet curious as to why I thought that.

"My father owns this diner," he replied bluntly, but he didn't look upset.

I still felt even worse. "I'm so sorry," I apologized.

"It's fine," he said. "I know we're not exactly jam-packed but hey, we're not out of business." He looked around and then looked back at me, smiling. "Obviously."

I cleared my throat and glanced at Emmett - hoping he might change the topic – but he was on his phone all of the sudden. I barely knew him, yet a part of me was secretly hoping he was texting a friend; telling them the date was going well. I wondered if he did think it was going well.

When I looked back up to see if Edward was still there, I found that indeed he was; and that he had been staring at me this entire time, smiling.

When I looked up he looked away quickly and looked at Emmett putting his phone back in his jacket pocket.

"You two ready to order?" Edward asked.

I glanced at Emmett.

"Actually, what time is it?" Emmett he asked suddenly. "I just remember I have an appointment at 9, so…"

"You have an appointment?"

"Yeah, I forgot about it until just now when my…..contact texted me."

Now he was acting kind of suspicious.

"Your 'contact'?" I asked, but laughed, trying to play it off as a joke.

"Yeah," he replied bluntly, and left it at that.

Meanwhile, Edward was standing silently at the end of our table, pad of paper in hand. For some reason I could see his brain ticking, analyzing the situation, as if trying to figure out what might happen next.

"That's absolutely fine," I stated calmly. I was suspicious because I knew Emmett's excuse sounded like what a guy would say if he was about to go meet another girl. However, I had always had a problem with judging people too quickly, so I wasn't going to pin him as that type of guy just yet. Also, I didn't want to satisfy Edward and say something stupid to make the situation worse, as I normally would do, so I just kept calm.

Emmett stood up from the table and set a twenty for the bill on the table.

"Thanks," I said in correspondence to him paying for the meal – my half included.

"No problem." He was putting his jacket on.

"So I guess I'll see you later then."

I said this like it was a question.

"Yeah, I'll see you." He smiled. "Or maybe you could give me a call sometime?"

"Definitely."

He took out a pen from his jacket pocket and wrote his number down on a napkin.

When he was finished he put his pen away and slid the napkin in front of me.

"There you go," he said.

I folded it and put it in my purse.

"Well there's that," I said, and gave a small nervous laugh.

I got up to give him a hug. I didn't think that was over the top for a first date, no matter how short.

Apparently it wasn't for him either, because he hugged me back.

"Bye," I said, and before I knew it he was already out the diner door.

But Edward, to my surprise, was still standing at the edge of our table. As I looked at him I also noticed that he was smiling at me.

He turned to leave.

"Hey," I sort of yelled in order to get his attention. When he turned back around slowly and I noticed that was still smiling, I lowered my voice and asked, "What are you smiling at?"

"Nothing," he said.

I gave him a look of disbelief.

"You can't just go around smiling and not expect people to ask why," I pointed out.

He laughed, but sat down in the booth across from me.

"Why are you giving this guy the time of day?" he asked seriously.

"What? You don't even know the guy, what problem could you possibly have with him?"

"You barely know him either," he said. "I mean come on, you just met the guy."

I had to agree with him there, but I still didn't see what problem he could have with someone neither of us really knew.

"Fair enough," I gave in. "But what's your problem with him?"

"Well maybe it's just me but I tend to think its rude when a guy cuts a date short with one girl so he can go see another."

He must've seen the expression on my face after he said that, because he added, "I'm sure you can do much better than a jerk like that."

"Thanks," I said quietly. "But let's assume that he wasn't going to see another girl. What would you think of him then?"

"Well it doesn't matter what I think of him. I'm not the one interested in him." He smiled. "What matters is how you feel about him. Was there a spark?"

"Spark?" I questioned.

"You know, the feeling when you just know that there's something special between the two of you. When you feel a rush of attraction and spark of chemistry."

I thought it over for a minute and found myself admitting that no; I hadn't felt a 'spark.'

"No…" I replied slowly.

I stared at him, into his eyes, and felt myself blushing. "I don't know whether to argue or thank you."

"Neither," he said. "Maybe you could just….find yourself here again. Give a different, more decent guy a chance." He added with a smile, "Anyways, this diner is the perfect place for a date. It's never crowded, even on Friday nights."

I laughed; and in a flash my evening went from good, to bad, back to good.

Author's Note:

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! I already have this story written & finished, but I still want to put it up chapter by chapter. It's going to be 3 chapter's long, so please stay along for the ride!

P.S. Please Review!! I know it seems like a waste of time to some of you, but it really means a lot to me to find out what you guys think! Thanks!