Page 74 of Begin Again, Part 2

"You need a chaperone," Lydia teased, taking photos for her vlog.

"And I insist on being your chauffeur," Cassandra said as she grabbed her car keys and threw on her jacket.

Eden kissed Aiden goodnight and ran Brenda through their emergency list.

"Hey, this is not our first rodeo," the nanny reminded her as she pushed her out of the front door.

"I have your clutch!" Sienna, walking ahead with Lydia, waved the bag in the air.

Cassandra held the front passenger door for her. "Will you be alright tonight? Liam will be there, and you guys haven't talked since the meeting with his lawyers."

"I'll be fine," Eden said as she fastened her seat belt. "I mean, I'm not his date. I doubt we'll even sit at the same table."

"If I knew he's such a bastard, I wouldn't have signed the deal with Anderson Logistics!" Lydia ranted as she squeezed herself into the space between the two seats in the front.

"Can you sit back, please?" Sienna pulled her back and pushed in herself. "I think you need to talk things through. I doubt he wants to take Aiden from you."

"Guys, let's not talk about this anymore. It happened, and we all need to move on," Eden said. She was tired of talking about Liam. Every day since the meeting with the lawyers, her friends took turns to play devil's advocate, arguing Liam simply wanted to force her hand. He'd never take Aiden from her. Eden wasn't even angry at him for backing her into a corner. She was more pissed he'd gone ahead with the lawyers, even when she'd begged him not to.

"Well, if I were you, I'd talk things out tonight," Cassandra suggested. "You don't want this thing hanging over you while he's out of town."

Eden nodded. If his note was any indication, she didn't have a choice. Their chat was inevitable.

"Look at this place," Cassandra whistled when they drove into the Convention Centre, and they took in the luxury cars driving in and out of the venue, spitting out glamorously dressed guests every time their doors opened.

"I think I'm underdressed," Eden said when a gorgeous brunette wrapped in an elaborate ball gown stepped out of a vintage Rolls Royce. Her date pulled off the James Bond look to perfection in his white tux and slicked-back hair.

"You look drop-dead gorgeous, baby." Sienna gave her thumbs up.

"Where's your date?" Lydia peered out of her window, scanning the place.

"Over there." Eden pointed at Matthew waiting at the entrance, his hands casually stuffed in his pockets.

"Damn, even at night, he's hot!" Cassandra swooned as she fanned her face with her hand.

Eden threw her a sidelong glance, smiling slyly. "Come, let's go say hello."

"No way. Not when I'm dressed like a chimney sweeper," Cassandra giggled. "Maybe at the family fun day?"

"You bet!" Eden blew her friends a kiss and opened her door, the warm night breeze blowing her hair gently. "Wish me luck, guys."

"You don't need luck when you're drop-dead gorgeous."

With one last smile and a quick wave over her shoulder, Eden jumped out of Cassandra's Jeep and gingerly strutted to the entrance, wincing at the unevenness of the cobblestone beneath her red soles.

"Eden McBride!" Matthew's eyes lit up when he saw her approach, bowing gallantly in front of her before kissing her hand lightly. "You look incredible."

"You clean up nicely yourself, Mr Anderson," she smiled demurely and followed him inside, quickening her pace to keep up with his giant steps. "Thank you for inviting me."

"No, thank you for agreeing to tag along," he laughed, explaining, "Lucy couldn't make it tonight. Her folks are in town."

Eden nodded. Now the invitation made sense. There was no way his assistant would have passed up the opportunity to dress up and rub shoulders with the crème de la crème of Rock Castle.

"So, what do you think?" Matthew asked when they walked into The Ballroom, one of several event venues in the eleven-story postmodern building.

"Swanky," Eden said, sweeping her gaze through the room. She'd been here several times for various events, from Comic-Con to the SEXPO. The most recent was three years ago for the Bridal Expo, when she had dreams of marrying a man who didn't deserve her.

The place looked remarkably different tonight. Beautifully decorated in black and silver motifs, it screamed of glitz and glamour, and Eden knew it had a lot to do with the crowd in attendance. Everyone in here was worth a couple of millions at the very least, and there were a few billionaires in attendance, including the Andersons.

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