Page 51 of Begin Again, Part 1

Her friends cackled, slapping their thighs, the drama with Simon forgotten.

"What has gotten into you?" Sienna asked, her shoulders shaking with laughter. "And you only drank virgins tonight!"

"Am I not allowed to be horny? Guys, it's been a while. The drought is real."

"Trust me, we know." Lydia giggled. "The whole VIP area knows!"

Eden wished lightning would strike her dead. In her fury, she forgot her baby's father, now-turned-boss, was somewhere in one of the booths. He'd likely overheard her whole life story and how she wished she could bang him again.

"Oh, dear!" she whispered. "Let's get out of here!"

Chapter

Seventeen

THE TRASH IS OUT

Finally, the trash is out!" Laura's eyes shone with glee as they all watched Eden McBride and her entourage leave the club.

Liam sipped his drink slowly, trying to put a firm lid on the red hot rage swirling in his heart. Coming to Crush was a mistake. But coming to Crush with Laura was a terrible idea. He knew that as soon as she called, hysterical and in tears, insisting she didn't want to be alone tonight. She was still struggling to come to terms with their breakup. He'd wanted to let her down, but, racked by guilt, he'd agreed to one drink. He should have listened to Matthew and Julian and cut off all communication with her.

"You reported her," Liam said, his quiet tone belying the fury coursing through his veins. He may despise Eden, but she didn't deserve to be thrown out of Crush like a criminal. The whole incident pissed him off far more than he cared to admit. She was his problem, and his ex had no right to interfere.

"Someone had to." Laura fluttered her long fake lashes, blissfully unaware of her grave mistake. "That lowlife was talking trash about you."

"She's not a lowlife!" Liam slammed his glass on the cube, draining all colour from his knuckles as he clenched his hands on his lap. Nobody was allowed to bully Eden or make her life miserable. Except for him, of course. And no one was allowed to call her names either.

"Did you see her sales-rack outfit? What wormhole did she crawl from?" Laura rattled on, oblivious to the dark storm brewing over their table. "What wormhole did she crawl from? And that hair, goodness, it's so 2020!"

"Enough!" Liam banged his fist on the cube, splashing his drink on the surface. He'd taken all he could of her foul mouth. "Do you have to be so rude? What did she ever do to you?"

"Do I need a reason to hate her?" Laura shrugged and picked up her cosmo. "Poor girl, she's delusional if she thinks she can hook up with you. I mean, I know you'd never touch her."

Liam gritted his teeth, stunned by the vitriol spewing out of the lips he had gotten drunk on too many times. He would have found it hard to believe Laura was a lawyer at Hayes & Jones if he didn't already know. With her elite education, one would expect some class from her. Kindness was a bit of an ask; he could see that now. But some grace, at least.

Julian and Matthew fidgeted in their seats, their matching ocean eyes darting between him and Laura as they guzzled their drinks.

It wasn't the platform to air his dirty laundry, but Liam was so angry he was beyond being reasonable, so he charged ahead, despite common sense telling him to calm down. "I did touch her, and you know what? I loved every minute of it!"

His confession wasn't a stunning revelation to his cousins. They already knew his past with Eden. But it was a tremendous shock to Laura. A myriad of emotions flickered across her face, killing the light in her eyes. For a fleeting moment, Liam was fiendishly thrilled to see her utterly devastated by his confession.

Nothing was said between them for some time as Julian and Matthew continued their hushed conversation. Something about a spate of attacks on shipping trucks all over the country. They were worried Anderson Logistics might be the next target. Liam was also worried. But he was more pissed off than anything at the moment. He turned to the reason for his fury again, scowling at her.

Laura looked up from the paper parasol twirled between her French-manicured fingers, a river of tears pooling in her eyes as she asked, "Why? When? Did you cheat on me?"

No, he didn't cheat on her. He was many things, but a cheater wasn't one of them. His entanglement with Eden happened when they were on one of their breaks. But he didn't see the need to explain himself. They were already over anyway.

Liam knocked back his drink and massaged his temple. A banger of a headache wasn't too far off. It would serve him well to stop drinking. But he'd take a mother of a hangover any day over the fury boiling in his heart.

"When was this?" Laura pressed her lips together, unaware she was smudging her blood-red lipstick around her mouth. Liam didn't have the energy to tell her to fix herself. She wasn't his problem anymore. The mirror she was obsessed with would let her know soon enough.

"You owe me an explanation!" She screeched, waving her hands like a madwoman.

Julian cleared his throat. Matthew rolled his eyes. The looks on their faces were crystal clear. They didn't sign up for this horror show. Liam had to shut it down fast if he wanted them to stick around and help him finish his still-full bottle of bourbon.

"Let it go," he pleaded with her. "This isn't the time or place."

Laura, though, was all for a public showdown. She refused to go away quietly.

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