Page 126 of Begin Again, Part 1

"How does that make you feel?"

Liam thought for a moment and shrugged.

"I don't know," he lied. He knew. It made him feel vulnerable and not in control of the situation. For someone so used to being in charge, not being able to control his feelings for Eden or the situation they were finding themselves in was unnerving. It was as terrifying as the thought of allowing himself to be vulnerable in front of her. She left him once. He couldn't bare his heart and soul to her, only to have her crush him like before when she vanished.

"Maybe that's what you need to explore." Linda closed her notebook and crossed her legs.

"I don't need to explore anything." Liam made a snap decision. "I'm going to court her. She wants to go on dates. So I'll go on dates with her. I'm going to make her happy."

His announcement was met with stunned silence.

He pushed her for a reaction. "So, what do you think? Why am I not getting any excitement from you? Linda, work with me!"

"She has a son," she reminded him. "Whatever you do, always remember there's another human being."

"That's another thing. Eden never wants to talk about her little boy; I bring him up every chance I get to show her I don't mind that she has a kid with another man. But she never wants to discuss Aiden," Liam admitted.

He knew it was too soon, and probably rushing things when it came to Eden's son. But something was wrong. He felt it deep in his gut, no matter how hard or how long Matthew tried to convince him otherwise.

"It's possible she's trying to protect her son if things don't work out between you two."

Yes. Linda's explanation sounded way more plausible than the crazy scenarios he was dreaming up. He liked Linda's logic better than his wild suspicions. Suspicions he wasn't ready to confront in case they turned out to be true because it would mean Eden was not the woman he thought she was. He didn't want to entertain the idea that he could be wrong about her.

Linda checked the time on her watch and smiled ruefully. His session was up.

"Your assignment this week is to help me woo Eden," Liam announced as he stood up and shoved his hands in his hoodie. "I've done the restaurant, the flowers, and the live band. I want something fresh and out of this world. You have to blow my hair back with your suggestions. The keyword for this week is innovation!"

Linda rose to her feet and walked him to the door, shaking her head in disapproval. "You keep forgetting I don't work for you, Liam."

"Then why do I pay you, Linda?" He smirked over his shoulder before turning to the elevator, feeling lighter than when he walked in earlier.

Chapter

Forty-One

BEST LAID PLANS

The plan was to sneak into work early, like the crack of dawn early, and return Liam's blazer without attracting too much attention. Maybe before he even came in, because Eden was so confused after their encounter at the penthouse and needed time to work through her feelings and his proposal. But sometimes, even the best-laid plans could go awry, as she soon discovered.

She overslept.

By the time she made it to work, dressed in a drab grey dress and her hair pulled back in a low messy bun, both the visitors and staff parking lots were already packed. Trying to sneak into Liam's office was no longer an option. The seductive dragon was likely already sitting in his lair, waiting for her to crawl to him and beg him to please her, like he'd done last night.

Boy, had he pleased her!

She spent the whole night tossing and turning, reliving every little moment on his couch, every touch, every kiss, and every scream...

"Get your shit together; you're at work now," Eden scolded herself as she grabbed her handbag, laptop, and Liam's blazer, and slipped out of her Uber.

Annoyed with herself for oversleeping, and hungry to the point where her stomach almost chewed itself, she hurried inside the building, barely stopping at the entrance for her daily chat with Ted and Jim. She was so tempted to turn around and make a dash for the bathroom when she saw the small crowd gathered outside her office. She figured Isaac had sent flowers again. Nothing else excited the flock of gossip-hungry assistants.

"What's going on?" Eden asked as she pushed through the crowd and stumbled into her office, pausing in the middle of the room.

She gawked at her space, stunned to see she was way off the mark about the flowers. The attraction was the office itself, and the only familiar thing about it was its shoebox size. Everything else was new—from the high-end furniture and chic cream faux fur rug to the impressionist print hanging on the freshly painted walls. But it was the vase on the black credenza behind the desk that caught her eye. It was the most beautiful thing Eden had ever seen.

She approached the glossy black desk and placed her stuff on the glass surface. Terrified she'd drop the vase the minute she picked it up because she was that clumsy, she gingerly ran her hands on the office chair instead, relishing the feel of the leather fabric on her fingertips.

"Mr Anderson chose everything himself," Lucy drawled from the door, her arms crossed over her chest. "He wanted you to be comfortable and happy."

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