Begin Again novel Chapter 210

The lunch was going well until it wasn't.

And the topic that sparked all the strife, or at least Eden's discontent, was the mysterious engagement party she didn't even know about until Holly brought it up when she asked about the guest list and invitations.

Willow, too, wanted to know if they'd set the date and whether she and Liam planned to wear matching outfits on their big day.

So while Liam's sisters babbled on and planned her entire engagement party in between mouthfuls of pasta primavera and red wine, Eden's anxiety crept up to such unhealthy levels she mentally muted them.

Sure, her mother had said something about a summer wedding, and when Liam mentioned losing his inheritance if she didn't marry him in six months, she'd thought he was joking. But now, with all these plans being made on the fly, it was becoming more apparent the joke was on her, and the wedding she hasn't agreed to is a go.

Eden placed her fork and napkin carefully beside her plate and scratched her hands listlessly, the tingling sensation worsening the longer she listened to Liam's sisters and mom plot out her future.

"You've been very quiet," Liam turned to her and reached for her hand. "Are you okay?"

"I'm great," she lied and made the mistake of glancing at him, and her heart did cartwheels in her chest when she caught the look in his eyes; it was so tender, so pure, it blew her breath away.

Would it be such a bad thing, she wondered as she held his gaze. Would marrying him be such a terrible thing?

She had never loved any man as much as she loved Liam. And he said he loved her too.

But Simon had said those same words to her for years, and then four weeks before she was supposed to slip into her fairytale wedding dress, he'd crushed her heart to dust when he announced he didn't love her anymore and hadn't for a while.

Eden had asked him how long a 'while' was, and it wasn't until his response she finally understood that 'a while' had different meanings for everyone.

For Simon, a 'while' was ten weeks before he plucked up the nerve to tell her it was over.

It turned out while she was eyeballs deep in final wedding preparations, Simon was falling in love with one of her best friends. A ten-week affair was all it took to destroy the happily ever after Eden had foolishly believed in for four years.

What if Liam woke up four weeks before their wedding and realised he didn't love her anymore and hadn't for a while?

What then?

Could she live through the heartbreak again?

It took her a long time to get to where she trusted someone enough to want to cohabit with them.

She'd lose her mind this time if she had to go through that same crushing feeling of failure that had buried her in a hole so deep she'd had to use everything in her to dig herself out—

"—Stop doing that!" Liam leaned closer and intruded on her thoughts with his low drawl as he reached for her hand once again. "You'll peel off your skin if you keep this up."

"Sorry," Eden threw him a wan smile; she didn't even notice she was scratching her hands again until he mentioned it.

The engagement plans raged on until Eden couldn't sit still anymore. She excused herself when she noticed Aiden had fallen asleep in Clarke's arms.

"Why are you hiding in here?" Brenda asked when she walked into the nursery and found her sitting in the rocking chair, watching Aiden sleep.

"I'm not," Eden smiled guiltily.

"Right," Brenda chuckled and leaned on the doorjamb. "You could have fooled me."

"I just needed a moment. Liam's family is so—" Her voice trailed off, and she clasped her hands on her lap.

"Intense?" Brenda offered.

"Yeah," she smiled. "That's the word."

"You'd better get used to them fast, honey," the nanny said. "That's your new family right there."

"You're right," Eden sighed as she stood up, stretched and yawned loudly. "I'd better go back."

Eden breathed a huge sigh of relief when she returned to the patio and found Liam alone with his parents, the terrible twins nowhere in sight.

"Is Brenda okay now?" He asked, massaging her neck gently.

If they were alone, she would have purred like a kitten at his touch. His fingers on her stiff neck felt so good.

"Yeah, she is," she replied as she picked up her glass and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the bubbles when they popped in her mouth. "Where did your sisters go?"

"Movie date with friends," he explained.

"And we have to leave as well, my dear," Clarke announced as he stood up and helped Lois from her chair. "I have a game of golf with Leviticus Van Holt. I believe he's your former boss?"

Eden nodded, mildly impressed he knew the famed hotelier. She'd worked at Van Holt Industries for almost three months and had never had the pleasure of meeting the man.

"Make sure you invite the Van Holts to the engagement party. It's been a while since we saw Levi and Colleen, Liam!" Clarke said as more hugs and kisses were traded at the front door.

While Liam filled Clarke in on his meeting with Aleksei the following evening, Lois pulled Eden aside.

"Liam told me you haven't been feeling well," she began as she took her hands and held them.

Eden was quick to assure her it was nothing to worry about. Liam was overly cautious for no reason. "I think it's just a tummy flu. Sometimes I feel great, and other days I'm exhausted, and I can't hold anything down. Today's one of the good days."

Lois's smile grew bigger the longer Eden explained. "You must take it easy. Don't overwork yourself and if your nausea persists, try ginger tea."

Eden smiled back, but warning bells went off faintly somewhere in her tired brain. She didn't like the ginger tea suggestion. It made her mind jump to places she'd rather not visit because she had an implant that was supposed to be ninety-nine percent reliable.

"And you have to see a doctor," Lois added. "It's best you make sure it is a tummy flu and nothing too serious."

Eden nodded—even though she had no intention of seeing a doctor—and threw Liam a pleading look over her shoulder. His mom was making her very uncomfortable with her well-meaning advice.

Sensing her gaze on him, he looked up from his conversation with his father and smiled at her.

Something in her eyes must have given her unease away because, within seconds, after promising they'd stop by one of the days for supper, he ushered his parents out of the house, and they were alone once more.

"Look at me," Liam said.

Eden shook her head. She didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes because she knew how much he hated seeing her cry. But no matter how hard she tried to keep it together, she couldn't. Maybe because it was the first time she'd shared her heartbreak with anyone other than her friends, the first time she'd allowed herself to be so vulnerable in front of Liam and let him into that especially dark period in her life.

"It's an order, Princess," he growled, turning her face to him. He lowered his head and kissed her forehead, then her temple, and her jaw and finally her lips.

"I'm not Simon—" He whispered in the corner of her mouth. "I won't leave you four weeks before our wedding. I won't leave you, period."

"But—"

"No buts," he shook his head. "You are my heart. How can I leave my heart behind?"

Eden cried harder in his arms, and he held her tight.

"You have to let it go now; all that hurt Simon left behind. You have to let it go and make room for me in your heart. I want to make you happy, and I know I can. But you have to let me in."

"Okay," Eden nodded. "I want that."

"Good," he said as he pulled her up and began soaping her body. "Now, here's the plan, we'll go along with the engagement party, and I'll stall the wedding for as long as I can. But when you're ready to get married, you'll have to propose to me."

"Why should I propose to you?" Eden laughed and slapped her thigh, soap suds splashing him in the face. It was the funniest shit she'd heard in a while.

"Because I'll say yes." He sounded amused as he turned on the taps again and pushed her under the jet sprays, but the deadpan look in his eyes told her he wasn't joking.

"You're serious?" She asked, squinting at him as she pushed her hair back.

"As a heart attack," Liam nodded and drew her in his arms. "I don't handle rejection well. So from now on, the ball is in your court. Woo me, and I promise I'll say yes. But you have to be creative. None of that shit of hiding the ring in a cake or something equally lame. Think outside the box."

"You forget I no longer report to you, Sir," she stood on tiptoes and kissed his cleft. "So I don't take orders from you."

"Since I haven't received your resignation letter yet, I'm still your boss, Princess," he said seriously. "Now, on your knees."

Eden complied, knowing full well what was coming, but she didn't study for this and had no freaking clue what was expected of her. She'd wing it, though, pretty much like her job as his assistant.

"Touch me," Liam commanded.

That, Eden knew how to do.

So she did, growing bolder the harder he grew in her hands.

"Now," he looked at her, maintaining eye contact, his face taut with hunger, his eyes stormy with need. "Take me in your mouth."

Eden gently brought her mouth around him.

"Fuck, Princess," he groaned and leaned back on the wall when her lips wrapped around his swollen tip, and she began to work her way down his length, taking every inch of him slowly until he was partially buried in her mouth.

For a good few minutes, all Eden heard was the sounds of the water sprays falling around them and Liam's guttural growls as she gently used her lips and tongue in tandem with her hands to rock his world.