Page 36 of Begin Again, Part 2

"What's wrong?" she stared at him, searching his face.

Liam kissed the tip of her nose. "Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to hold you, that's all."

Surprised by his honesty, all she could do was nod, her toes curling as the butterflies in her tummy went into overdrive, and her heart threatened to jump out of her chest.

"Okay, let's go," he said as he pushed her away and pressed the button to the ground floor.

"Where are we going?" Eden asked as they left the skyscrapers behind them.

"To see my parents. They couldn't make it to the board meeting," Liam replied, holding her hand on his lap.

She relaxed in her seat and stared at their entwined hands, liking the calloused feel of his palm. He had good manly hands, thanks to the countless hours he'd spent in the past, when he was still a motorsport driver, tearing apart the engines of his cars and putting them back together again. She remembered watching one of his interviews, where he gave an in-depth guide to his car maintenance routine.

"Are you nervous?" Liam whispered in her ear as he tugged her close to him, his low, gruff voice setting off sparks of awareness all over her body.

Eden eased out a shaky breath, praying he couldn't hear her heart ramming in her chest. "I've met them before, remember?"

"That was different," Liam said, kissing her knuckles.

"I don't see what's changed."

He gave her a sidelong glance. "After last night, everything's changed, Princess."

"How so?" she asked. "I'm still your assistant."

"We can change that, you know. You just have to say yes, and we'll go to the courthouse and get married," Liam said.

Eden made the mistake of looking at him, and like so many times recently, she was powerless against the riptide in his eyes.

Bewildered by his proposal, she could only stare at him. When he first brought up the courthouse idea—it was hard to believe it was just hours ago—she'd chalked it down to post-coital bliss. But now she wasn't sure anymore.

"So?" Liam nudged her. "What do you say? We can do a summer wedding. But for now, does a civil ceremony sound good?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but words eluded her. Yes, she was insanely in love with him and couldn't imagine herself with any other man. But marriage? It was too soon. And after Simon, she didn't think she'd ever want to make such a commitment again. The recent collapse of her parents' union didn't exactly inspire confidence either.

She sighed and snatched her hand away.

"What's wrong?" Liam asked.

"Nothing," she replied and gazed out of the window. Was she so transparent? Were her feelings so obvious that he could read her like a book?

"Don't do that," he said. "Don't shut me out. Talk to me."

"Well," she began as she pushed her glasses up her nose and scrunched her face. "Last night was—"

She was about to tell him as amazing as their night was, she wasn't ready for such a commitment. But Liam cut in, growling harshly, "last night was not a mistake. Not for me, at least. I want you, Eden."

The butterflies in her stomach soared to life again, but she could feel her heart close off a little because he was proposing to her for all the wrong reasons.

"Don't you want me?" he asked as he gently pulled her attention away from the window and held her face in his hands.

Of course, she did. But marriage was a lifetime commitment. One she once came close to making before one of her best friends brutally ripped everything from her. There was no way she'd go down that road again. It almost killed her when Simon practically left her at the altar.

"Eden," Liam said, "don't you want me?"

"I do." She nodded.

"Good," he smiled and brushed her lips in a long, gentle kiss. "We want each other. That's all that matters."

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