Begin Again novel Chapter 72

"I like your dress, where did you get it?" Willow asked, her voice dripping with saccharine sweetness Liam knew she's incapable of feeling.

"I can't remember," Eden said and wrung her hands anxiously. She looked agitated and ready to get the hell away from their table.

Not very hard to figure out why. She was obviously still upset with him, and he was instantly pissed off at her again, irritated out of his head with her mood swings.

He still couldn't understand why she put up her walls again, especially after they'd kissed and made up.

He was so tempted to grab her hand and whisk her off somewhere private and demand to know what the fuck was going on in that pretty head of hers and why she was determined to keep pushing him away when all he wants is to get close to her, and maybe in her pants.

"—It looks like a sales-rack job to me," Holly commented.

Liam shot her a death glare, ready to bite her head off.

But he didn't need to jump in and rescue Eden; she was more than capable of fighting her own battles, simply killing his sisters with kindness and grace.

"You could be right; I'm a sucker for good bargains." She laughed and tilted her head slightly, a small dimple appearing briefly on her chin, just below the corner of her mouth.

Something inside Liam's chest exploded then. He touched his heart, making sure it's still intact.

It was.

Barely though.

Why had he never noticed it before?

Dimples were a crime on any woman. But good Lord, that solitary one, tiny as it was, on Eden it was deadly.

"Mr and Mrs Anderson," she smiled apologetically at his parents. "I'm sorry to interrupt. But we really should get going."

"Of course, dear!" Lois clasped her hands, her eyes shining with joy as she looked at Eden. "Please come home soon, Erica. You too Eden, and bring your son with you. Your mom’s told me so much about him. He must be so lovely."

"You are too kind," Eden said graciously, almost curtsying at his mom, and Liam hid a smile. She's cute and prim and graceful. All the things he never thought she is until now.

"It's a date," Erica blew her a kiss before they all vanished behind a screen door of one of the private rooms.

"Small world, hey," Lois said when they were alone, a ghost of a smile tugged at her lips. "Who knew the daughter of two of the city's most revered professors is your assistant?"

Who knew indeed, Liam thought and downed his third whiskey in one go. Will Eden ever cease to amaze him?

"You'd better treat her right, Liam," his mom warned him. "And hurry up with that apology."

"Mom," Liam groaned in his hands. "I never mentioned any names. Who said she's the assistant I told you about?"

"Darling," Lois touched his arm gently, trying to appease him while Liam finished off her glass of champagne, thrilled that somebody could see through his sisters at last.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Willow said softly.

"Me too," Holly nodded, her big eyes shimmering with tears. "But it's my birthday. You shouldn't be upset with me, Daddy."

Clarke pinched his nose and waved them off. "Anyway, I wonder why Eden joined the company. She could have gone to any art gallery in the country. She's a damn fine artist, and graduated top of her class. Her father has a few of her paintings in his office."

Willow was all ears now. Liam too. They both waited for more, but it was all Clarke would say on the subject.

"If she's as good as Daddy says she is, tell her to send me her portfolio," Willow said. "Better yet, give me her contact details. We are always looking for new talent."

But Liam quickly shut her down. "Let me make myself crystal clear, Willow; Eden McBride is not going anywhere. I'm happy for you to commission her works. But if you so much as try to poach her from me, I won't hold back."

There's no way he'd let Eden go.

Not when he's just found her.

Not after waiting two fucking years for her to come back to him.