Begin Again novel Chapter 205

He found her in their ensuite bathroom, sprawled over the toilet pan.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he knelt on the floor beside her and held her hair back while she carried on retching.

She groaned inaudibly in between long bouts of puking.

"I think it's safe to say I'm not feeling too hot right now," she murmured as she stood up at last and flushed the toilet.

"You still look hot, though," Liam said, reaching for her toothbrush. He spread toothpaste over the bristles and handed it to her.

"Thanks, I try," she smiled at him, but they didn't sparkle like they normally did when she was happy.

She looked completely drained, and the faint dark circles around her eyes he'd noticed earlier had turned a darker shade of bluish-black. Her normally radiant skin, too, was now a pallid, sickly complexion.

"When did it start?" Liam crossed his arms, leaned on the shower wall and watched her brush her teeth while he held her gaze in the mirror.

"I don't know," Eden frowned and shrugged. "A week, maybe more, I think. On and off."

"If you're still feeling sick tomorrow, I'm taking you to the doctor," Liam said.

"There's no need," she shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm sure it's only a tummy bug or something. It should clear up in a few days."

"Well, I'd rather be safe be than sorry," Liam murmured and picked her up.

As he carried her to the bed, she didn't squeal and scream and beg to be set down like she had earlier. Instead, she nuzzled close to him and sighed in his neck, "Liam, I'm so tired."

"You look tired," he said as he placed her on the mattress and tucked her under the covers. "Get some rest while I make you something to eat."

"I'm not hungry." Eden tried to sit up, but he gently eased her back on the bed.

"I don't remember giving you a choice, Princess." He told her firmly, giving her no room to argue. "You threw up a storm since last night and hardly ate anything this morning. I'm sure if I call your folks right now, they'll tell me you didn't have anything to eat there as well."

"Fine," she relented as she covered her eyes with her arm and groaned softly. "Just a small sandwich."

"I'll be back in a bit." Liam dimmed the lights and made his way out of the room.

Downstairs, Dave was still struggling to get Mrs Stone to leave. He ignored them both and went about making Eden something to eat.

When Liam returned to the bedroom, Eden was on the phone. From the minute or so of listening to her side of the conversation, he figured she was chatting to a real estate agent. So he placed the tray on the bedside table and left to check on Aiden.

"He sleeps through the night, Sir," Brenda murmured from the doorway as she watched him watch Aiden sleep. "And if he does wake up, I'll attend to him. That's why I'm here."

"Thanks, Brenda!" He picked up Aiden's stuffed toy and placed it inside the cot. "But I don't mind checking in on him."

"Okay," the nanny nodded and turned to leave, but Liam stopped her.

"Do you know anything about Eden's time in the Blue Mountains?"

"Anything like?" Brenda frowned.

Liam paused, suddenly at a loss for words.

He wanted to know what Eden went through when she brought Aiden into the world and why she almost died. But knowing her, he knew she'd never tell him any of it out of her misguided belief she's protecting him.

"Forget I asked. It doesn't matter." Liam gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

He doubted Brenda would know anyway, and even if she did, it wasn't her place to share.

"Good night, Sir." She nodded, and as quietly as she'd appeared behind him, she was gone.

Liam lingered in the nursery for a few more minutes and neatened up his son's room. He picked up the LEGO® blocks and threw them in their plastic crate, and dumped the other toys his cousins had bought Aiden in the huge toy box in the corner.

If Aiden was as messy as his mom, Liam figured he'd be cleaning up after the two of them a lot. But he didn't mind; their mess made the place feel lived-in like a home was meant to be.

When he returned to the bedroom, Eden was absently nibbling on her sandwich and watching YouTube videos on her phone.

"The TV should be here in a few days," he said as he sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand.

"Whose idea was that?" Eden pointed at the mirror in front of the bed. "Don't you know anything about feng shui?"

"Liam!" Eden's eyes flew open, and she frowned at him.

"What?" He asked innocently as he stared back at her. "You want me to pretend I'm not thrilled my competition has decided to quit the race?"

"He was never your competition!" She whispered.

"Fine. But, I'm still glad Jones is leaving," Liam admitted, refusing to feel bad for the end of her friendship with the lawyer. "And while we're on the subject of exes—"

"Isaac is not an ex," Eden sat up, mild anger burning in her eyes. "I told you he's a good friend."

"Who wanted to sleep with you, Princess," he reminded her.

"You know what, I'm not having this conversation with you again," she retorted and scrammed from him. But he pulled her back and tightened his grip around her.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know he's your friend and has helped you at times. But I'm not happy he was in your life, Princess. I should have been in your life. I should have been helping you with stuff, especially stuff that concerned Aiden," he whispered in her hair.

"But you're here now. We're both here now," Eden breathed in hard and tried to wiggle away again. But he locked her firmly in his embrace. "We can't keep looking in the rearview mirror. We have to look forward."

"You're right," he agreed.

"I'm always right," she smiled in the dark. "And you'd better get used to it."

"In your dreams, Princess!" Liam pulled her on top of him and brought her face down to his in a long kiss.

"As I was saying," he added when they drew apart. "I went to see Laura today to get to the bottom of the shit with that article in Dirt magazine. As expected, she denied knowing anything. But she won't bother us anymore. And you don't have to worry about Mrs Stone, either. I've let her go."

He thought she'd try and change his mind about firing his housekeeper like she did when he attempted to get rid of Lucy. But Eden looked visibly relieved, and for the first time that day, he saw a glimmer of happiness in her eyes.

"She made me very uncomfortable," she admitted as she fell back on the bed and rolled on her side.

He snuggled close to her and spooned her, his hand resting loosely on her tummy. "Let's get some sleep. My folks want to meet Aiden tomorrow."