Begin Again novel Chapter 182

Eden headed straight to Franco's for her hair appointment after she left the penthouse.

For a very hefty price, the stylist trimmed her hair and retouched her ombre locks. He insisted on a side-swept look when she told him about her dress.

"It will show off your beautiful neck and drop earrings," he said as he layered the cut in the now familiar soft medium curls.

"I trust you," Eden said. She'd gotten raving reviews from women and mad compliments from the guys when she first switched up her look.

Later, while her friends were crowded around her living room with Brenda and Aiden, Eden knew she hadn't made a mistake with the dress when she saw the stunned looks on their faces.

"Mom!" Aiden clapped his hands, but Eden knew his excitement was really from seeing her than anything else; he was still too young to appreciate her dress and hair.

Her friends and Brenda, though, approved of the look. They all gathered around her and gushed over her outfit.

"You need a chaperone tonight!" Lydia teased as she took thousands of photos of her for her vlog.

"And I insist on driving you there," Cassandra said as she grabbed her car keys and threw on her jacket.

Eden kissed Aiden goodnight and ran Brenda through their emergency list before following her friends out of the door.

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

"I have your clutch!" Sienna waved the bag in the air as she walked ahead with Lydia.

"Will you be alright tonight?" Cassandra held the passenger door. "I mean, Liam will be there, and you guys haven't talked since the meeting with the attorneys."

"I'll be fine," Eden said as she fastened her seatbelt. "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 from the back as she squeezed herself in the space between the two front seats.

"Can you just sit back, please?" Sienna pulled her back and pressed in herself. "I think you need to talk things through. I doubt that 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 for the past two days, her friends had taken turns to play devil's advocate, arguing Liam just wanted to force her hand. He would never take Aiden from her.

Eden wasn't even angry at him for backing her into a corner. She was more pissed off with him for going ahead with the attorneys even when she'd begged him not to.

"Well, if I were you, I'd talk things out tonight," Cassandra pointed out. "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 as they drove into the Convention Centre, and they all took in the thousands of luxury cars driving in and out of the venue, spitting out glamorously dressed guests every time the doors opened.

"I'm pretty sure I'm underdressed," Eden said when a gorgeous brunette dressed in an elaborate ball gown spilt out of a vintage Rolls Royce. Her date could have easily passed for James Bond's twin in his white tux and slicked-back hair.

"You look drop-dead gorgeous, baby." Sienna gave her a thumbs up and blew her a kiss.

"Very swanky," Eden said, sweeping her gaze through the room.

She'd been there plenty of times in the past for various events ranging from Comic-Con to Sexpo, the most recent being three years ago for the Bridal-Expo back when she had dreams of marrying a man who didn't deserve her.

Tonight though, the place looked very different—beautifully decorated in blacks and golds, it screamed glitz and glamour—and she 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, the Andersons included.

"There's a rooftop open bar, and we're over there," Matthew pointed at an empty table near the centre of the room and excused himself to go chat with an acquaintance.

Eden was about to head for the champagne fountain when her heart slammed out of control at the sight of Liam chatting to an elderly couple near the exhibition area.

He looked sinful in his black tux, and his longish hair brushed away from his face, showing off all his handsome glory.

He had no business looking so damn good and tempting, Eden seethed. But as annoyed as she was, she still couldn't pry her eyes away from him.

He looked up from his companions, his gaze colliding with hers from across the room.

The longer she remained frozen in place and lost herself in his sea-blue gaze, the more she ran the risk of doing stuff she'd regret later. She could feel all the walls she'd built around her slowly crumble, and she knew she had to get the hell out of there.

She spun on her heel in search of the open bar. She'd need something stronger to hold on to her common sense. The free-flowing champagne wasn't going to cut it.

Like she knew he would, Liam followed her out to the elevator bank, his security hovering behind him.