Page 111 of Begin Again, Part 2

Isaac handed her a pack of tissues. "It's not too late to turn things around, Edie. And by the sound of it, you guys have. You just have to push a little more, and you'll both be so happy."

She wiped her tears, blew her nose, and came to a decision. She'd spent the last two years running and hiding in the Blue Mountains, and in a way, she was happy with Grammy and Aiden. But she didn't live boldly, never took risks, never put her heart on the line for anything, and all she managed to do while playing it safe was to collect too many regrets.

Isaac stood up, pulled her to her feet, and walked her to Jace's car.

"I'm always a phone call away. You know that, right?" Isaac said as he gave her the longest hug they'd ever shared. "And this isn't goodbye."

Eden nodded, but she knew it was. They'd never see each other again, and she couldn't help but want to bawl her eyes out at the loss of a friendship that had snuck up on her quietly and had come to mean so much to her in such a short space of time.

"Go! Anderson is waiting for you." He opened her door and pushed her inside, making sure she had her seat belt in place, and Aiden was comfortable in his car seat before he turned and walked away.

"Where to, ma'am?" Jace asked.

"Wherever Mr Anderson's sleeping tonight," Eden replied as she took Aiden's hand and kissed it.

"Of course," Aaron smiled at her in the rear-view mirror. "He'll be so thrilled. He wants you and the little one close to him."

"Aiden's nanny—" Eden began.

But Jace was quick to ease her worries. "Someone will bring her to the penthouse later."

"Thank you," Eden said, easing back in her seat as she closed her eyes, wondering why there was a 'good' in 'goodbye'. There was nothing good or wonderful about farewells.

Chapter

Thirty-Six

CLEAN UP HIS HOUSE

James and Stephen were against the plan to head to Hayes & Jones. They would have preferred to have at least one uneventful day, and they tried to get Liam to change his mind, going on about the optics.

"If the missus finds out, she won't be happy," James warned him. "You know Laura is a sore spot for her."

Liam was well aware of this, and the last thing he wanted was to upset Eden. But he'd never rest until he figured out the source of the leak, and only his ex could give him answers.

They spent the trip to the business district in relative silence. He was about to send Eden a check-in text to find out how the visit with her parents had gone when his phone buzzed in his hand.

It was Clara, and she didn't sound too thrilled. "Aleksei Ivanov responded, sir. He's happy to meet with you."

Liam had expected the bastard to give him a hard time. This was too easy. Too quick. It could be a trap or—

"But on one condition," Clara carried on.

And there we go, Liam thought as he brushed his hair from his forehead. There were always conditions when dealing with scumbags.

"What does he want?" he asked even though he knew it wasn't anything good.

Clara paused ever so briefly before plucking up the courage to rush through her announcement. "He wants Ms McBride present for the meeting as a sign of good faith."

Liam laughed maniacally. "A sign of good faith for what? Tell him I'm not the one who sent him a fucking bullet, Clara. And I won't bring Eden to the meeting."

He didn't wait for her response. He hung up and eased back in his seat, convinced the universe was testing him today.

Clara called back two minutes later. "He's agreed to meet without Ms McBride, but he's choosing the venue."

"Why am I not surprised?" Liam scoffed bitterly and clicked off, dreading the appointment.

Ten minutes later, Stephen pulled up at the entrance of Hayes & Jones, and Liam jumped out, promising the two men he wouldn't take long.

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