Page 91 of Begin Again, Part 1

Chapter

Thirty-One

LA FAMIGLIA

Across town, at a family-owned restaurant whose speciality was all things Italian, in a secluded corner booth reserved for important people like his parents, Liam was as miserable as the woman he'd kissed on impulse in the printing room days ago.

He was glad his shitty week was finally over. Now he could drink himself into a stupor and forget all the shit with Eden.

He picked at his starter, a hearty minestrone, and fumed over their latest confrontation in his office. He'd called Eden in to have an open, honest discussion about their relationship and offer her an olive branch. But the minute she put up walls around herself again, the same walls that took him over a month to demolish, the lengthy apology he'd prepared flew out of the window—

"Darling, is everything okay?" Lois asked.

Liam looked up from his soup, startled by the question. Nothing was okay. He was confused as fuck by Eden's change of heart. He thought things between them were back to normal after their encounter in the printing room. Well, as normal as they could be, considering their history. But they were far from it.

Liam exhaled and kneaded the back of his neck, annoyed beyond words.

"Earth to Liam!" Holly snapped her fingers to get his attention. "It's my birthday, but you look so miserable."

He frowned at her. "That's exactly why I'm miserable. It's your birthday, not mine. I don't even know why we had to come here."

He would have preferred to be home, working through the ever-increasing reports, with his eighteen-year-old bottle of bourbon for company. But both work and a stiff drink were not in his immediate future, and three hours with his siblings discussing Louis Vuitton's summer range wasn't how he wanted to spend his evening.

"Um, hello? You can't expect me to celebrate my big day at home. Not after you blocked me from using the jet!" Holly pouted as she took a photo of her starter.

Liam glared at her, wishing the whole evening would go by fast. He'd never understand his sisters' fascination with taking pictures of their food.

Willow brought her champagne flute to her crimson lips, fanning the flames with her announcement. "And yet I heard Laura closed a boutique a few weeks ago and had hair extensions flown from Brazil."

"So how come she can close—" Holly was about to whine, but Liam shut her up with one look.

"I don't answer to you," he grumbled and waved their waiter over. The soup wasn't cutting it. He needed something strong. Bourbon or whiskey strong.

"Enough!" Clarke stepped in, but the roar of his voice meant to terrify them into obedience came out as more of a yelp. He never regained his strength after his cancer battle. The doctors said he was in remission, and they had nothing to fret over. But Liam couldn't help worrying, especially since his father's appetite hadn't returned, and he looked like he lost a few kilos every time he saw him.

"Anyway," Holly changed the subject as the waiter returned with Liam's drink and cleared the table for their main course. "I know Fashion Week is still months away, but I have six tickets. Mom, do you want to come?"

Lois patted her hand. "Thank you, darling, but I think I'll sit it out this year. Your father and I might be abroad by then."

"Liam, do you want a ticket?"

Liam glanced at her with mild irritation and sipped his drink. "Why would I want one?"

"I don't know, maybe because your gold digger girlfriend would like to go?"

"She's a lawyer, not a gold digger." Liam massaged his temple in a feeble attempt to get rid of his raging headache.

"A lawyer with tons of law school fees. That's the description of a gold digger. Look it up in the dictionary if you don't believe me." Holly giggled, delighted at her wit.

Before long, the three of them were caught up in a heated debate. His sisters were like a tag team of wild dogs as they brought up his ex's past diva-like stunts and flaws. At some point, Liam gave up fighting them off. Laura was no longer his girlfriend. He had no reason to keep defending her. He sunk low in his seat and ordered his second drink. His parents shared a worried look before addressing him.

"Do you want to talk about what's troubling you?" Lois asked.

"Yeah, son, all you've done is drink," added Clarke. "You've barely touched your food."

Liam's cousins would be his go-to sounding boards if he had to open up to anyone. But Julian and Matthew had declined the dinner invite. Things between them and the rest of his family were still thorny.

"So?" Lois prodded. "What's on your mind?"

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