Page 156 of Begin Again, Part 1

The waiter was stumped by her announcement. He shook his dark head, his thin lips twitching downwards as he frowned at her. "Don't you know who that is?"

Eden didn't. And she wasn't in the least bothered by her blissful ignorance. "I don't, and I'm not interested."

"I would if I were you." José placed the tray on the cube and sat beside her. "That's Aleksei, one-half of the Ivanov twins. Andrei is the other. They're heirs to Aero Shipping, and their family is worth billions."

"So?" Eden asked. Her baby's father was also a billionaire. It would take a lot more than the man's net worth to fill her eyes with stars.

"So, if you don't want to live the rest of your life in abject poverty, I'd accept the drink if I were you. Aleksei can open worlds mere mortals like us can only dream of. He knows everyone and even has the president on speed dial."

"I'm still not impressed." Eden uncapped the bottle and poured the contents inside her glass.

"Who are you?" An aghast José stared at her before carrying on with his Ivanov 101 class. "When Aleksei sends a drink, women and men—mind you—don't refuse; they simply wave, smile and accept."

Eden barely paid attention to the lesson. Her phone was far more captivating than a lecture on a man she wasn't planning to sleep with. She checked the group chat, almost choking on her water at Lydia's response.

"Well, well, well." She grinned at José. "Looks like it's your lucky day. Lydia's agreed."

He beamed at the news, announcing drinks were on him. Whatever Eden wanted, she'd get. He saved Lydia's number on his phone and carried on. "Anyway, Aleksei—"

"I don't want to know about him, José." Eden held up her hand.

But for some reason, the waiter couldn't help himself. He just kept talking. "His family has connections to Rock Castle's underworld. Drugs, prostitution, guns, everything you can think of, they have their hands on."

"And you want me to accept a drink from him?" Eden gawked at him.

"Well, when you put it that way." José smiled sheepishly and picked up the tray. "I'll send it back, but he won't be happy."

Before Eden could say anything, a long shadow loomed over her. She looked up to confront the intruder and frowned when her eyes locked in on Aleksei Ivanov's green ones. An icy shiver crawled down her spine when she remembered another pair of cold green eyes and blonde curls. Liam's ex and Aleksei could pass for siblings with their wheat-coloured hair and emerald eyes. They even had the cold, calculating look down, too. But Eden doubted they were related. José would have mentioned Laura in his Ivanov 101 lesson if they were.

Now that he stood so close to her, Eden understood why women and men never refused drinks from Aleksei. The man was angelically handsome, and his outrageously expensive dark suit and shirt certainly added to his allure. But something about him terrified her, and it wasn't just that he was connected to the mob. No, it was deeper than that, and her gut screamed at her to run for her life. His cold, piercing gaze, though, held her in place, fixing her to her seat.

"I apologise for the intrusion, but I just had to come over and introduce myself." His warm, baritone voice, clear of the foreign accent she'd expected because of his surname, more than made up for the cold green shards that were his eyes. José suddenly remembered he had other booths to attend to, and excused himself, leaving Eden alone with one half of the Russian mob.

He held out his hand to her, "Aleksei Ivanov."

She didn't want to, but she was powerless against his forceful charm. Like a puppet on a string, she took it, almost recoiling when he kissed hers.

"Eden."

"No surname?" Aleksei's smile remained on his lips, never making it to his eyes. They remained so cold and frightening, Eden found herself looking around her, frantically scoping out the place for Clara and the other assistants.

"Just Eden," she said, pressing herself into the plush seat, her shoulders sagging in defeat when she couldn't see anyone from Anderson Logistics.

"Is there something wrong with the drink I sent? Would you like something else, perhaps?"

"She can buy her own drinks!"

White-hot relief surged through Eden's body at the sound of Liam's voice.

"Anderson!" Aleksei turned to Liam and extended his arm.

Liam ignored the handshake and clenched his jaw. "Ivanov."

"Fancy seeing you here," Aleksei carried on, sizing Liam up.

"Not sure why you're surprised," Liam drawled softly, but his face hardened, and his eyes stayed on Eden. "Didn't you pick the venue for this month's game?"

"Well, you know what I mean." Aleksei shrugged.

---