There was an impressive flower arrangement of baby's breath and exactly eight peach roses on her desk waiting for Eden after her lunch break.
She fumed as she read the note, 'One for every day you were not in my arms. Let's talk tonight after the Charity Benefit. L.A.'
The nerve of him.
Eden seethed as she tore up the note and threw it in the bin. She scooped up the bouquet and dumped it at reception on their floor.
"You can't do that. Mr Anderson asked me to arrange delivery of those flowers," their receptionist said. "I'll get fired."
"Not if you tell him I gave them to you." She smiled sweetly and returned to her office to grab her handbag, laptop and car keys.
Traffic was still a breeze as she headed to Liam's penthouse, not surprising since it was just before 2:00 PM. It would only start getting crazy in a couple of hours because, for some reason, everyone decided to drive their cars to work on Fridays.
Dave buzzed her in
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
"Stop right there!" Liam barked at her, his footsteps rapidly treading behind her as Eden quickened her pace, trying to outrun him. She thanked her lucky stars when the elevator dinged open, and she squeezed inside and jabbed the button to close it quickly. But she wasn't fast enough. He shot his arm through the small gap just as the doors were about to slide in place. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She yelled at him. "You could have gotten hurt." "Good, I'm glad to see you care!" He growled as he pushed her to the corner and kissed her fiercely, almost as if he was punishing her for everything she had put him through over the past few days. She tried to resist and push him away. But her heart screamed at her to not even dare. Mad as she was at him, it couldn't go one more day without him, and her body agreed as she pressed closer, begging for more of his wicked tongue. For a little while, they were spellbound, swept up in their pa
Eden turned around to find Aleksei Ivanov nursing a glass of whiskey in his hand, an unlit Cuban cigar sticking out of his thin lips. Wrapped in a dapper black three-piece suit, his silver cufflinks matching his glistening tie pin and the Rolex on his left wrist, he looked every bit the Russian mob. Sexy yet deadly. The perpetual smile he wore, though, was as cold as ever, and it terrified Eden. But she refused to be intimidated by him. The last time they met at Crush, her gut had yelled at her to play as far away from him as possible. Today too, her intuition screamed at her to scram. But if she did, Ivanov would think he's got some power over her, and she refused to give in to her fear. "Mr Ivanov," she said coolly as she shoved a morsel of caviar in her mouth. "You look ravishing tonight." Aleksei tipped his glass at her, his eyes lingering a little too long on her chest even though there was no cleavage in sight before rest
Her nerves and shock emptied, Eden stood up, fixed her dress and flushed the toilet before heading to the basins, her eyes clashing with Laura's in the mirror as she rinsed her mouth and wiped it off with Liam's handkerchief. "What do you want?" She demanded, knowing very well she would regret entertaining the other woman. "Nothing," Laura smiled wickedly. "I wanted to congratulate you." "For?" Eden asked as she ran her hand through her hair. It was a bit messy after her quickie with Liam. But now, after her unexpected bathroom stop, it was a hot mess of note. Franco would be so disappointed. "Your happy family, of course," Laura pulled out a small perfume bottle and spritzed herself, sending a cloying cloud in Eden's direction. "I underestimated you, but I must admit, it was a brilliant plan—To give Liam a child so you can get your hands on all those billions!" "I don't have time for your bullshit today," Eden turned and glared at her
Liam pulled Eden to the dance floor, not taking no for an answer. He needed to get her away from their table to figure out what was wrong with her. But the moment he held her in his arms and they gently moved to the song—something about a lady in red—he forgot all his anger. She felt so perfect in his embrace, like she was made for him and the thought of that Isaac dude dancing with her, touching her, holding her this closely sent him in a mild fit of rage. He won't share Eden with anyone. And his kid won't be going on any more playdates with the lawyer. Not when he was alive and well. Now that he knew about Aiden, Liam wanted nothing more than to rush to Eden's place, pack up their belongings and move them both to his house. But any moving—whether it was him or her and their son—would have to wait until he returned from his trip. He subconsciously tightened his arms around her waist at the thought of being away from them for so long.
His cousins brought the car around, and Liam gently placed Eden in the back before jumping in beside her. "How the hell did you ruin this chance?" Matthew asked as they pulled away from the Convention Centre. "I mean, I hand-delivered her to you, in a black dress and sparkly shoes. What more did you need? I thought you wanted to fix things. That's why I invited her?" "I do," Liam grunted. "But shit's just gotten even more complicated. Take us to Forrest Creek. We have to pick Aiden up." "Why?" Matthew turned briefly in his seat to look at him. "I thought you planned to meet him when you come back?" "I did," Liam replied. "But I want them both with me tonight." His cousin nodded, turned his attention back to the road, and took the off-ramp leading to Eden's neighbourhood. Julian, sitting in the front with his brother and silent all along, stirred to life with the one question Liam would rather not get into. "Why the hell was Eden so agi
"What the fuck!" Julian swore when he opened the box. "Liam, you've received threats before, but nothing so—" "Definite?" Matthew finished off. "I believe 'definite' is the word you're looking for." "No wonder Eden's so rattled," Julian said. "She's terrified. You just found her and Aiden, and now the mob is sending you death threats. I warned you to stay away from the Lusso deal." "Well, it's bloody too late to back out now," Liam shrugged dismissively. "Besides, Aleksei won't do shit. He's just trying to scare us off." The brothers knew he's talking horse shit, so they nodded and didn't say anything. Just as well, Liam thought as he stared outside his window. The longer he spent on the matter, the more restless he grew. He'd tried to downplay Eden's run-in with Ivanov for her sake, but his cousins were right. All the threats he'd gotten in the past were vague emails and letters and maybe one or two phone calls. Some were from people he knew
Eden sat at the breakfast counter, staring at the baby monitor in front of her and cradling a cup of tea in her hands when Liam walked into the penthouse. "Why aren't you sleeping?" He asked as he closed the door behind him and turned on the security system. "I told Dave and the housekeepers to help you settle in for the night." "They tried." She replied. "But I wanted to wait for you—So we can talk." She looked lucid and sounded calm, and it made Liam very nervous. "Right now?" He asked, his eyes wandering to the clock in the living room. It was 10:15 PM and a bit late for a serious chat. "Yeah," Eden smiled. "No better time than the present, right?" Liam's gut clenched, and the alarm bells in his head went off at her tone. He didn't like it at all, and he didn't like seeing her so subdued. Where was his sassy Princess, the woman who constantly pushed his buttons and tested his last resolve? He wanted to see th