Page 67 of Begin Again, Part 2

Eden held up her hands and shrugged. "I did, but the stuff was here when I came in."

She called Rise and ordered chai lattes and croissants, and asked one of the waitresses to bring them up. Within ten minutes, their morning snack was spread out on her desk, and they crowded around to stuff their faces.

"Look at you, Ms Fancy Pants," Sienna gushed as she gave her a big back squeeze. "I'm so proud of you, Edie. You've done well for yourself."

"Have I, though?" Eden asked as the three of them crammed themselves on her couch because Lydia refused to vacate her office chair.

Carrying on, she said, "Sure, it's good money, and I get to see Liam every day, but I'm not happy."

"Why?" Cassandra asked.

"It's not what I want to do," Eden admitted. "I don't see myself writing creative plans and proposals. I need to move on."

"What do you mean?" Sienna asked, panicking on her behalf. "Like quitting your job and leaving Anderson Logistics. But you and Liam just found each other?"

"The plan was always to reach out to Liam so he can meet his son, and I've done that. It's time I follow my dreams and do what I love."

Her friends smiled, sipped their tea, and paged through the Business Insider magazines.

"So when will you tell him?" Cassandra asked.

"When he returns from his business trip," Eden announced.

"He won't be happy," Lydia warned her.

A gentle knock interrupted their conversation, and Eden turned to see Matthew and Julian hovering just inside the door.

She waved them over, and after all the introductions were out of the way, she had to watch Matthew dance circles around Cassandra. It was painful to see her charming and confident boss stammer and stumble all over her friend.

"Cassandra owns Chef's Kiss," Eden said, trying to save the mangled train wreck unfolding in front of her eyes. "It's a cooking studio, and she could use some tips on running her own business."

Her friend shot her a death stare before turning on a megawatt smile at Matthew. "Yeah, I can use all the help I can get."

"I'd love to," he smiled back, his cheeks and the tips of his ears turning bright pink the longer he held Cassandra's gaze. They exchanged phone numbers and promised to keep in touch.

Julian cleared his throat to get Eden's attention. "We wanted to let you know we're stepping out for a bit. We should be back around 2:00 PM."

"Okay, great," Eden nodded and waved them off.

As soon as the brothers were out of sight, Sienna shut the door, and she and Cassandra crashed on the couch and squealed like high schoolers seeing boys for the first time. They pointed at Lydia, "you and St. Eden have been holding out on us. You never said how fucking hot the brothers are."

"Well, their hotness can't be described in just a few words. You have to see it to believe it," Lydia smirked, and they all agreed, sipping their tea.

"So—" Lydia had to go where Eden and Sienna didn't dare. "What does this mean for Skye?"

"Nothing," Cassandra blushed. "I love Skye."

"But he's been on notice for a while now."

"So?"

"So maybe it's time to cut him loose," Lydia said. "You know this shit isn't going anywhere. The same way Edie and Liam aren't going anywhere."

"Why did you have to bring me into this?" Eden asked, an annoyed look in her eyes. "Besides, we'll work out our issues."

"How?" Lydia demanded. "Weren't you the one who told us he unleashed his dogs on you? Edie, how much more will you take from Liam? This isn't healthy for you or him. You can't keep butting heads like this. Stop trying to breathe life into something long dead."

"No!" Eden shook her head. "I love him. He's angry right now. I am too. But we can work through this."

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