Page 71 of Begin Again, Part 1

"It's alright, Love, there's nothing that can't be fixed," he gave her a pack of tissues and a hand.

"Thank you," Eden graciously accepted both. She dabbed her eyes and blew her nose, grateful to have someone hold her up in her moment of total devastation.

"You'll be okay." He patted her hand before the sea of people ebbing and flowing around them swept him away.

"Fool!" Eden scolded herself as she cleaned her glasses, oblivious to the luxury sedan with tinted windows following alongside her on the road.

Now that she'd had a good cry, she didn't feel so unhinged anymore, and she was hungry. Something sugary and sweet would hit the spot.

She stopped at the Corner Bakery on 3rd Street and bought a dozen chocolate croissants and a chai latte.

Not ready to head to the office yet, Eden sat on the bench on the sidewalk and stuffed her face while she sipped her tea and watched life carry on, thinking about all the hearts just like hers, broken and barely hanging on.

Content and calm again, she patted her bloated tummy, convinced that hunger was the only reason for her unexpected breakdown.

"Okay, let's do this!" She finished her tea and dumped the cup in the bin, her box of goodies tucked under her arm as she trudged back to the office. She stopped for ice cream and candy floss a few blocks down, and when she finally returned to the office, she was buzzing from all the sugar.

Chapter

Twenty-Four

CAN’T DEAL WITH THE TEARS

In the twenty minutes it took Liam to follow Eden, he went through every emotion under the sun as he watched her fall apart on the sidewalk and pick herself up again. His heart ached more than anything imaginable when she burst into tears and broke into gut-wrenching sobs. It took all his self-control and lots of words of caution from his driver and head of security not to go after her and drag her back to the car.

By the time he returned to Anderson Logistics, he was terrified out of his head. What if he pushed her too far? What if she never came back?

God, he shouldn't have allowed his security team to convince him to return to the office without her. He shouldn't even have taken her to Linda. He thought lashing out at her would give him some relief, some satisfaction. But this...He didn't sign up for this heartache. Feelings, especially of worry and sadness where Eden was concerned, were not part of his plan.

"Shit!" Liam cursed under his breath as he poured himself a double shot of vodka and gulped it down in one go. It hit him hard and too quick, scalding his stomach, since he hadn't eaten anything the whole morning, but he was grateful for the instant numbness in his chest.

Feeling a little calmer, he checked his watch and paced the length of his office.

1:35 PM.

Ten minutes. Ten minutes since he left Eden on the sidewalk.

Was she back? Was she okay?

"God!" He grunted, hating himself for getting worked up. He couldn't even understand why he was so rattled. Tears were one thing he never fell for in the past. Laura and his sisters had tried plenty of times to get him to cave and bend to their will by crying buckets. But he never gave in. Not even once.

With Eden, though...One thing he'd realised during his slow, painful drive back to the office was how much he hated to see her cry. Knowing he was the cause of her sadness pissed him off even more.

His heart now hellishly numb, and his mind still stuck outside the bakery on 3rd Street, Liam made his way to the bar again to refill his drink.

He'd just poured himself another shot when Gibby knocked on his door.

"Mr Anderson, the marketing team's waiting for you," she strode into his office, but paused mid-step. Something about his appearance horrified her. The impassive look on her face quickly changed to concern.

"Are you okay? How did it go with Linda and Ms McBride?" she asked, her dark eyes skimming over his dishevelled appearance.

"She stormed off and decided to go for a walk. Then she cried all over the sidewalk! God, why does she cry so much?" His thoughts were an incoherent mess, tumbling out of his mouth before he'd even formed them into proper words. "I can't deal with the tears. This is the workplace. We don't fall apart on sidewalks. We don't cry when things don't go our way. Gibby, you have to make her stop."

"Do you want me to check on her?" She offered, her mouth stretching into a puzzled smile.

"No!" Liam growled. "Let her cry or quit if she wants to be a crybaby about everything."

"Alright." Gibby nodded. "But we have to go now."

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