Page 116 of Begin Again, Part 1

"I looked for you after you left," Liam said when the music stopped. "For months, I searched everywhere. But other than your name, I had nothing else to go by. Did you think of me?"

Of course, she did. She thought about him all the time. How could she not when there was a little person who looked just like him in her house?

But she couldn't tell him this. Not when he'd made it clear to his parents that he didn't want children. So she lied instead, praying he couldn't see the anguish in her eyes. If she had to give them both a clean break, she had to be brutal for both their sake.

"I had no reason to think of you," she said as she sat up and straightened her shoulders. "That night was okay at best, but I've barely thought about it since. I don't want you, Liam. I'll never want you. And I have Isaac now, so whatever this is, has to end."

"Don't mention him in my presence," Liam warned her softly. "And I know you're trying to push me away again. It won't work this time, Princess."

"I'm telling you the truth. As much as you don't like me, you mean nothing to me, Liam. Not now and certainly not then. So the sooner you get over this little fascination you have with me, the better."

To prove she meant every word, Eden got up and snatched her purse. But before she'd even made it to the door, Liam grabbed her waist and spun her around in his arms, kissing her senseless.

She collapsed on his chest, her arms coming up to his neck as she stood on tiptoes. Liam picked her up, and she wove her legs around his waist as he carried her to one of the empty tables and sat her down, their lips locked in a scorching kiss.

"You can lie all you want, Eden, but your body can't," he whispered on her neck. His gruff voice sent tingles down her spine as he left a trail of kisses on her jawline leading back to her mouth. "You are my hell and my paradise. You belong to me."

"But you hate me," she said, tears sliding out of the corner of her eyes. "And I hate you."

"Oh, Princess, don't you know?" He growled on her lips, his hands gently cradling her breasts. "Hate is so much closer to love than indifference. We can work with that."

Eden knew then there'd be no getting over each other. Not when their need for the other burned so bright.

Chapter

Thirty-Eight

SET MY SIGHTS ON YOU

Sometime before lunch, the phone on Eden's desk rang. She knew it was Liam, so she ignored it and stared listlessly at Isaac's colleagues puffing away on Marlboros or maybe Stuyvesants on the rooftop.

Tormented beyond her limits by memories of their dinner last night, Eden finally gave in to the urge. She rifled through her purse, pulled out some notes, and dashed to the break room, ignoring Liam's frantic calls behind her.

She spent two minutes in front of the vending machine, torn over her limited options. The cigarette brand was important. It said something about one's social standing. She may not be the prettiest or smartest candle in the room, but she had class, grace, and poise. Her cigarette choice should reflect all her shining qualities.

She shoved the notes inside the slot and pressed the corresponding numbers on the keypad. In two seconds, a classy-looking black box of Dunhills thudded to the bottom of the vending machine. Eden pulled it out, her heart skipping a beat from the sheer exhilaration of trying something so out of character for her.

Her excitement was short-lived. When she turned around, she found Liam leaning on the door frame, watching her with an unreadable look in his eyes.

"Do you need a lighter to go with that?" he asked, nodding at the pack in her hands.

Eden ignored him as she pushed past him, out of the break room, and into the smokers' balcony overlooking the business district.

"I don't like women who smoke," Liam said as he crashed into the chair next to hers, his voice as hard as the look in his eyes.

She sighed and ripped through the plastic film around the box. "Lucky me!"

She waved down one of the smokers and asked him for a lighter. Jerry from the finance area looked at Liam, shook his head and vanished before she could stop him.

"What's wrong?" Liam asked after a long stretch of silence.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Eden shrugged, doing her best to ignore the curious stares directed at them. Liam was the attraction. If she was alone, no one would have paid her any mind.

"Well, apart from the fact that you look like you've hardly slept, you've suddenly decided to take up smoking as a hobby when I'm right here," he replied. "I can be your hobby, you know. Just say the word."

Eden rolled her eyes. "Is there a point to this conversation?"

"I called you, and you didn't answer."

---