Page 39 of Begin Again, Part 2

He loved them all, but a few were his favourites. He wanted to frame them and hang them in his house and office.

"She's incredibly gifted," he whispered in awe, feeling guilty for keeping her with him and stifling her talent. Maybe he should set up that meeting with Willow and let Eden go, so she'd flourish and share her talent with the world. But the incredibly selfish part of him couldn't bear the thought of not seeing her every day whenever he wanted.

"Yeah, and I think her book will be a hit. I've been trying to convince her to seriously think about publishing it."

"She's writing a book?" Liam asked, surprised by the news, stunned even more by the sudden spurt of jealousy churning in his heart.

"Yeah, it's for Aiden. The little guy's obsessed with the moon."

"How come you know so much about her?" Liam demanded, his eyes narrowing when a disturbing thought crossed his mind. No way, he mentally shook himself. His cousin wouldn't. Not when he knew how he felt about Eden. There was no way he had feelings for her. But—

"Are you in love with her?" He came straight out and asked him.

Matthew was incensed by the question. "Are you out of your mind? What the hell do you take me for? Eden's a beautiful woman, but I know how madly in love you are with her, and I've been pushing you to work things out with her."

"I'm sorry," Liam apologised, feeling like a total fool. He trusted Matthew with his life, and he couldn't understand why he'd allowed his jealousy to get the best of him.

"Don't you ever ask me something so fucking ridiculous again!" Matthew ranted, fury smouldering in his pale eyes.

"I said I'm sorry, okay?" Liam held up his hands. "It's just that you understand Eden better, and it bothers me that there's so much I don't know about her. There's a lot she keeps away from me."

"Well, I was her boss until this morning," Matthew replied reasonably. "And I talk to her. You should try it sometime."

Liam wanted to. But every time they saw each other, they either screamed or kissed and, as recent as last night, fucked. There was no middle ground with them. At that moment, confronted with the realisation that he knew so little about the woman whose absence left a knot in his heart, Liam desperately wanted some middle ground with Eden.

"How do I do that?" he asked his cousin for guidance.

"The same way you did with all your other girlfriends," Matthew suggested.

Liam sighed in frustration. Eden wasn't his girlfriend. Hell, he didn't even know what they were. He was certain of one thing, though. He wanted her in his life. But as much as he was ready to commit to her, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. It was almost as if there was an impenetrable wall between them, and no matter how hard he tried to break it down to reach her, he couldn't.

Liam left Matthew shortly after their chat and headed home, where he immediately got on the phone with his head of security, demanding everything on Eden's son. "I want every photo, every video, his birth certificate, and a paternity test."

"A paternity test?" James sounded unsure. "That might be difficult without his sample."

"I don't care how you do it. Just get it done, James! And I want a detailed report and timeline of Eden's past relationships. Every boyfriend, lover, hook-up—" Liam paused when he sensed he wasn't alone. Sure enough, when he turned around in his chair, he found Mrs Stone hovering near the door. He frowned at her, wondering how much of his conversation she'd overheard. Ever since Laura tried to blackmail him, he didn't trust his housekeeper anymore. He'd have to make a decision about her at some point, the same way he'd have to deal with Laura. His ex knew way too much, and if he didn't handle her fast, she could cause a shitstorm down the line.

"James, hold on a sec," he said before addressing Mrs Stone. "How long were you standing there?"

"Not long, sir," she was quick to assure him. "Dave wants to know if he should get dinner ready."

Liam saw right through her lie. She was definitely spying on him, and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what she hoped to gain by reporting every little detail of his life to his ex. "Tell him there's no need. I'll make a sandwich if I'm hungry later."

Mrs Stone nodded, forcing a smile on her face before vanishing from the room. Liam slammed the door shut and returned to the call. "James, are you still there? As I was saying, I need everything on Eden, every boyfriend she's ever had in the last five years, every hook-up, one-night stand, everything!"

"But you said we shouldn't keep digging. What changed?"

"My heart."

Chapter

Fifteen

FASHION WEEK

It was hard to be in Rock Castle in the last week of April and not be steeped in the fanfare and drama of Fashion Week.

Even if Eden didn't have a ticket to her front-row seat, there was no way she would have missed the week-long festivities because Sienna had a backstage press pass to cover the daily shows. Lydia, too, had secretly recorded the entire opening event, giving her a sneak peek of what to expect when she attended her hump day evening show.

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