Page 30 of Begin Again, Part 2

"Indeed, it is a good morning, sir," James drawled with a small knowing smile. "I take it the missus didn't kill you last night?"

Sitting at the kitchen island and nursing a cup of tea in his hand, Stephen broke into a booming laugh, earning himself a death stare from Liam.

"As you can see, I'm still in one piece," he smirked at the two men and gladly accepted a steaming espresso and the day's newspapers from Dave.

"If you're both done gossiping about my love life, I'd like to head to my first appointment," he added as he gulped down his espresso and dumped the cup on the counter. He grabbed his messenger bag and phone and strolled to the front door.

"Are we picking up the missus on our way?" James asked as they headed to the car.

"She is not the missus!" Liam grumbled.

"Not yet," Stephen retorted with a cheeky smile as he held the passenger door for him.

Liam's first appointment was with Linda. He was brimming with wonderful news and no concerns to share today. So he spent the first ten minutes of his session updating her on their meeting with Vic Randolph and his trophy wife, and the end result.

"Linda, I finally made love to Eden, and it was fucking phenomenal!" Liam announced as he stood up and did a victory pose. "I feel so fucking alive!"

His therapist scribbled furiously in her notepad, barely looking up at him. He wanted to jump up and snatch the book from her and chuck it out of the window. He tried to get her attention by clapping his hands, annoyed as fuck at her lack of enthusiasm. "This is not the reaction I was hoping for!"

"What about other women?" Linda hardly reacted to the loud sound of his palms snapping together in front of her face.

"What about them?" Liam asked, silently wondering if she ever lost her shit as he plopped down on the couch again. She was always calm and unfazed.

She paused in the middle of jotting something down and chewed the base of her pen. "When Eden first came back, you mentioned you wanted to sleep with other women besides her. Do you still feel the same way?"

God, no, Liam shuddered at the memory. If he could erase that cruel, foolish part of himself, he would. He wished he hadn't said half the shit he said back then. But in his defence, it was before he realised Eden was all he ever wanted and all he'd ever need.

"I think I know why I couldn't touch other women," he said as he leaned forward in his seat and laced his hands together in front of him. "Because in my heart, Eden's the only one I wanted."

A smug smile lit up Linda's face. It was as clear as day she was pretty chuffed with herself, because for two years, this was what she'd tried to get him to admit, and he was hell-bent on hating and blaming Eden for all his problems.

At that moment, Liam wanted to wipe the smugness off her face, admitting, "I'm in love with her, have been since I met her that night at Crush, and maybe that's why it cut me so deeply when she ran."

Linda nodded, but didn't say anything for some time. The scribbling had stopped too. Liam realised then he didn't like it, seeing her so subdued. It made him nervous.

"I think our work is done here, Liam," she said after a long pause.

Liam checked his Rolex and frowned. They still had thirty minutes, but eager to get the hell out there so he could get to work and find a dark corner for his make-out session with Eden, he grinned at her anyway. "Sure, I'll see you same time next week."

"No." Linda shook her head. "I mean, we've worked through your issues. You came to see me because of your fear of intimacy in relationships. You seem to have worked through it now with Eden. I don't think you need me anymore."

Liam disagreed with her clinical observations. He wasn't ready to stop seeing her. He liked her. She was like a friend he paid to listen to his secrets. Once a week, he could unburden himself, and Lord knew he needed that.

Sure, there could be some serious blowback if word got out he was seeing a therapist. But weren't CEOs human? Who should they talk to if they couldn't seek help?

"If it's okay with you, I'd like to continue with our sessions," Liam said.

"Are you sure?" Linda asked, a look of surprise in her dark eyes. "I mean, you were concerned about your secret coming out."

"I like you too much to let you go, Linda," he smirked as he got up and buttoned up his suit jacket. "Your assignment this week is to help me figure out how to get Eden to move in with me. I asked her to marry me, but she didn't take me seriously."

Linda laughed at him as she stood up to clear the reception area. But Liam stopped her.

"There's no need," he said as he followed her to the door. He was tired of hiding and keeping his sessions with her a secret. He had nothing to be ashamed of. People should never be shamed for seeking help when struggling.

It took him a while to understand this, but now that he did, he felt as light as a feather, like someone had reached inside his heart and pulled out the heavy rock weighing on his chest since he began seeing Linda.

His security detail lost their heads when he insisted they use the public elevator like other people.

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