Page 35 of Begin Again, Part 1

"There's still the issue with my son."

"We've already discussed that!"

"Yes, but that was before I knew I'd be serving the CEO. I'm sure Mr Anderson's schedule is demanding, and Aiden is the most important person in my life. I can't short-change him of my time."

"We have an excellent in-house daycare centre. The teachers are marvellous," Liam said.

Eden wondered how he knew this. Were his other spawns enrolled there? It made sense that he had children. If he was happily married for two years, there was no way a virile man like him would waste time.

Liam carried on tooting his own horn. "We also have a state of the art computer room. The teaching methods are unparalleled—"

"It still doesn't solve the odd hours I'll have to work." Eden cut into his detailed speech about the daycare's curriculum.

Unimpressed with her for interrupting him, Liam scowled, but she didn't care. She was still fuming over how he nonchalantly brought up their encounter in front of his assistant.

"What about Aiden's father? Can't he help?" Gibby was keen to help her find a solution to her childcare dilemma.

"He's not in the picture," Eden said, praying her response would put an end to the numerous helpful suggestions thrown her way.

Gibby gave her a pitiful smile while Liam stared at her with mild curiosity.

"Was it worth it?" he asked as he stretched out his long legs and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What?" Eden whipped up her head, puzzled by his question.

"Bearing him a child, only to be left alone," he replied, ice lacing his words. "But then again, with your track record, I won't be surprised if you ran away from him. Poor guy."

"You don't know anything about me, Mr Anderson!" Eden snapped, unbridled anger smouldering in her eyes. He had no right to sit there on his throne and judge her. If only he knew the pain she had endured bringing his son into the world, and everything she had lost because of him.

"Oh, I know you like to sneak off without a goodbye or a bloody thank you!" Liam snarled as he stood up and walked to the window.

Gibby quickly excused herself. The briefing had officially reached its premature end.

Chapter

Twelve

A VERY HOT JERK

Eden watched Gibby dash down the hall and vanish from view, painfully aware of the thick tension swirling in the room, occasionally drowned out by the sounds of office chatter, phones going off, and the keyboards rattling away.

She should also leave while things were still civil between her and Liam. But one glance from him fixed her in her chair.

He reached for the tray of refreshments Eden had forgotten until now, and took one of the colourfully decorated Styrofoam cups with the Rise Coffee Shop logo and the word 'macchiato' scrawled in pretty, feminine-like handwriting on the white lid. They had outlets nationwide, mostly in shopping malls, but Eden remembered seeing one in the food court on the first floor when she played with the interactive map. She was a sucker for their chai lattes and would kill for one or anything warm right now.

Liam returned to the window wall, his back pressed against the pane, and sipped his coffee. It was probably cold now. But he seemed to enjoy it because the hard shadow on his face was momentarily gone as he closed his eyes and appreciated the rich dark flavour of the stained espresso.

Eden stared longingly at the other two cups on the tray, but didn't dare reach for one. Not when Liam kept throwing daggers at her with his eyes.

"I don't know why you are so angry with me," she said when it became clear that if anyone had to get the conversation going, it would have to be her.

Liam laughed, but the chilling sound, rumbling from deep within his chest, terrified her. And so did the angry glint in his eyes. "You fucking treated me like a one-night stand!"

"I could say the same for you!" Eden shot back as she quickly gathered up her things and tried to dash from the room. She'd taken just about all she could of his shitty attitude. But, in a heartbeat, he had her in his arms. Before she knew what hit her, the blinds on the window wall snapped shut, giving them total privacy as his lips wandered everywhere, on her mouth, on the side of her jaw, on her neck, while his hands feverishly ran all over her body, pressing her curves to him as he held her close.

Their first kiss in two years was everything a kiss shouldn't be. Sad. Angry. Bewildered.

Liam's tongue in her mouth was as devastating as his touch. He tasted bitter, like rich coffee beans, and sweet like caramel, two things she didn't know she craved until now. He reminded her of a bittersweet memory, fleetingly fragile and forever out of grasp. He didn't have to shout and scream to show her his heart. She felt all his emotions, wrapped in this single moment, as they clung to each other in a desperate embrace.

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