Page 82 of Begin Again, Part 1

"Um, okay," she whispered.

He should step back and put his muscles to good use, but he'd missed being so close to her. He needed at least another moment or two with her in his arms. Eden ignoring him these past few weeks was a nightmare he hoped was finally behind him.

"Mr Anderson, the paper," she turned to remind him, her lips hovering too close for comfort. If he lowered his head a little, he could steal a quick kiss. He was so tempted to do that, but the stormy look in her eyes made him think twice.

"Right," Liam said, returning to the task at hand as he scanned the instructions. "Okay, are you ready?"

"For what?" Eden asked in a small voice.

"To learn, Princess. I'm going to show you once and once only."

"Right!" She bobbed her head, her hair brushing his chin. It was so soft, like how he imagined a cloud would feel if he had to reach up to the sky and touch it.

"The first step is to remove the side door," he said, taking her hand in his and placing it on the panel's handle.

"Pull it away from the printer," Liam said, guiding it away from the machine in an outward motion.

"I can do it myself," Eden said breathlessly.

"It's better if we do it together." He shook his head, still holding her hand. He loved how snugly it fit in his, like it was meant for him.

"Next, gently pull the jammed paper out of the rollers," he guided her hand along. "The trick is to be gentle while you pull it out slowly."

"I see." Her cheeks turned as red as the soles of her stilettos, and he hid a smile.

Refusing to pass up the chance to tease her, Liam lowered his head and whispered in her ear. "What's making you blush like that, Ms McBride? What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing—I—Uh—I'm not thinking about anything!" She stammered, tucking her hair behind her ear. "And for your information, I don't blush."

"Of course, my mistake." He chuckled, dropping a light kiss on her neck. "You can't pull it out too hard or too quickly."

"Mr Anderson," she whispered. "Someone might walk in, sir."

"If you yank it too fast—"

"Okay! That's it. I get it," she said, spinning around too fast.

The sudden motion caught Liam off guard. He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist as her hands came up to his chest. For an insane second, he could swear they were back on the dance floor at Crush, lost in each other's eyes while slow dancing to a fast tune.

Eden squirmed in his embrace, wiggling away, but he pulled her closer and caressed her cheek.

"Stop pushing me away," he pleaded, kissing her forehead.

She cleared her throat, her glasses sliding down her nose as she shook her head. "I'm not."

"Yes, you are. You've barely said a word to me in the past few weeks," Liam said, pushing them back in place for her. He searched her face for signs that they were at least on their way to being okay. They were not. It would be a while before they were. Eden was still so angry with him she couldn't even look at him. Her eyes fell on everything in the room, but him. Liam knew then and there, it would take more than his pleas to get them back to a place where she didn't feel the need to barricade herself behind her high walls.

"Look at me," he said, tracing her lower lip with his thumb. "It's been a month, Princess. You have to let me in now."

"I have to go," she said, meeting his gaze finally.

"Not yet." Liam held firm, refusing to let her go. "Not until you tell me why you've been avoiding me."

"I haven't." Eden stared at the buttons on his shirt.

"Then, why did you decline all my meeting requests? I sent you countless lunch and dinner invites, and Gibby told me you declined them all."

"I have a lot of work. Gibby's keeping me busy with the training and handover—"

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