Page 144 of Begin Again, Part 2

Eden nodded. "Can we see him?"

She knew it was highly unlikely, but she desperately wanted to see Liam with her own eyes, even if it was only for a minute, just to make sure the worst was truly behind them.

Clarke patted her hand. "Sure we can. Very briefly, though. And only two people at a time."

"Okay," Eden smiled. "Let's go. Let's go see him."

They had to wait an hour before the nurses in the intensive care unit would allow them in Liam's private ward. Willow and Holly went in first and spent a few minutes with him while Eden called home. The nanny, Dave and the rest of the housekeeping staff, still up and keeping vigil, were relieved when she told them the surgery had gone well.

"Is Aiden still sleeping?" she asked Brenda.

"He hasn't stirred since I tucked him in."

"Give him two kisses for me—one from me and one from his father," Eden said before they clicked off.

Liam's sisters were already leaving when she returned from her call.

She'd only met them thrice before, and each time she'd sensed they didn't like her, tracing their disdain to their first meeting at La Famiglia when she admitted she bought sales rack dresses. So she was understandably stunned by their display of affection when they paused and hugged her briefly.

"Take care of him for me," Holly said, and without any prompting on Eden's part, filled her in on her travel schedule for the next month. Her ballet company would be performing abroad for several weeks, so she'd be out of the country for a while. "I had to see him before I left, and now that I know he'll be okay, and he has you and Aiden, I can leave with my heart a little lighter."

"Of course. Good luck with your tour," Eden said and carried on her way, but Willow stopped her.

"Liam will kill me when he wakes up and finds out I tried to poach you. But Dad can't stop singing your praises, and I'm always looking for new talent. Call me when you're ready to hang your paintings at Fugue." She placed her business card in Eden's palm and pranced off.

Eden stared at the card and back at Willow as she vanished through the doors. It was surreal how all these opportunities kept falling on her lap. But then again, Liam could be her lucky charm. Since she came back and ran into him, the odds were always in her favour.

Still dazzled by Willow's offer, she hurriedly made her way back to the ward, startled to find the brothers lounging on the bench. Liam's parents were inside with him.

"What's that?" Julian snatched the card from her and made a barfing face. "A business card? How showy!"

"Why are you surprised?" Matthew drawled as he took it from him. "Willow was always pretentious as fuck, even back when we were little!"

"Hey," Eden scolded them. "That's your cousin. Be nice."

"You don't know her." Julian shuddered in disgust. "She eats babies for breakfast."

"Not funny," Eden grumbled. "I have a small baby, you know."

And another one on the way, she added to herself as she touched her tummy and wondered if her baby was okay with all the stress and high drama of the day. She still found it incredible she was pregnant and wasn't on an implant like she'd believed for two years. She wondered now if Liam would be upset with her. After all, he'd just found out about Aiden, and now she was about to saddle him with another baby.

"Liam won't be happy with that," Matthew said, returning the business card to her.

Eden leaned on the wall when a wave of exhaustion crashed down on her hard. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, determined to drive the sandman away. "He'll be too focused on his recovery, he won't even notice. How's he doing, by the way? Is he conscious now?"

The relaxed mood was gone instantly, and the brothers looked ill at ease as they shared a look. Her gut clenching at their silent exchange, she asked, "What are you not telling me?"

"Eden," Julian said as he held her hand. "It wasn't just the gunshot wound that almost did him in."

"I don't understand." Eden bit the inside of her cheek when the familiar feelings of fear and panic ripped through the surface, taking hold of her again. She thought the horrible nightmare was behind them when his parents assured her Liam would be okay.

"Clarke said the surgery was a success," she said, refusing to entertain any reality other than what Liam's father had told her.

"It was," Matthew said. "But Liam was in a brutal fight before that. You have to promise you'll be strong when you see him, okay? The Liam on that bed may not resemble the man you saw this morning."

"What does that mean? How's that even possible? He's still Liam," Eden insisted. "He'll always be Liam."

When she finally came face to face with him, though, her mouth remained frozen in a silent 'oh'; her horrified screams permanently locked in her vocal cords.

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