Begin Again novel Chapter 16

Eden returned to her desk ten minutes later with a script in her hand and a dazed look in her eyes, her mind racing chaotically. She was going to be a Mom. She was carrying Liam Anderson's child, former motorsport racer now CEO of one of the biggest logistics companies in Rock Union. A married CEO.

She'd obsessed over him those first few weeks after their encounter, consumed every little tabloid story she could find on him. There were plenty. But nothing about his marriage. She figured he'd managed to keep that part of his life very private. When it became clear, with each passing day, that she was nothing but a hookup where Liam was concerned, she'd firmly put him out of her mind. But now she had a part of him growing inside her–

"Are you okay?" Lucia, the other junior assistant she worked closely with, asked when Eden sat down.

She nodded and hastily stuffed her scan and prenatal vitamins script in her bag. She didn't want anyone at work to know she's expecting. They'd find out in a couple of months anyway. But for now, she hoped to hold on to her little secret for as long as she could.

"I'm fine," Eden added for no reason other than to fill the awkward pause. Lucia had tried to be friends, but for some reason Eden could never warm up to her, maybe because subconsciously she knew she wasn't planning to stay long at Van Holt Industries.

"Okay, shout if you need anything," Lucia returned to her agenda notes, leaving her to ponder her very messy future.

Her friends were just as blown away by her announcement when she told them her not-so-good news that evening.

"Whoa! Didn't you guys use protection though?" Sienna asked the one question Eden herself has been puzzling over.

"We did," she insisted even though she wasn't so sure now. They'd made love numerous times that night, so it's possible that while they started with good intentions, common sense had left them at some point. She didn't even want to bring up the morning after pill she never took because with all the chaos of those first few days after her hookup it had totally slipped her mind.

"Oh my god, I'm too young to be an aunt!" Lydia sighed dramatically and threw herself on the couch.

Eden sat on the throne again today and stared contemplatively at the plain white ceiling as if all the answers to life's questions were written there.

"That's good then because I'm the baby's Godmother," Sienna said as she massaged Eden's feet for reasons unknown to Eden. But she wasn't about to decline a free foot massage.

"And I'm the baby's God Daddy," Cassandra chimed in and shoved a cup of ginger tea in her hand.

"I want to be pregnant forever!" Eden said; she could get used to all this pampering.

"Well, the baby already has two aunts, who will undoubtedly fight you both for the Godparent roles!" Lydia had to be the buzzkill.

All three turned to Eden expectantly.

"What?" She asked, shrugging her shoulders.

"Have you told him?" Cassandra asked.

"I just literally found out," Eden said defensively.

"Yeah, but will you tell him?" Sienna raised a questioning eyebrow. "You have to tell him."

"It was a hookup, I knew what I was doing," Eden reminded them. "Besides, he has a new life now with his wife and his fancy CEO job. Let's not upset the apple cart!"

"Are you out of your mind? He has the right to know," Sienna insisted.

"Not when it will ruin his marriage, I can't do that to him!"

"Ugh, can you stop with this marriage business? Where's the proof of that?"

"He told me. That's proof enough!" Eden folded her arms over her chest. "I don't want to talk about this anymore!"

"Let's choose baby names then," Lydia suggested.

"Are you drunk?" Both Sienna and Cassandra glared at her.

"Everything you've said makes me believe you're drunk!" Sienna said.

"I may or may not have stopped at the bar before I came home," Lydia laughed and snapped a selfie of the four of them, hashtagging the photo with every baby synonym Google spewed at her.

"Somebody please take her phone away!" Eden shrieked when her phone pinged, and she read the text from her parents.

"Why would you do that? Why would you post that in your status update when you know my parents have you as a contact?" Eden snapped and stormed off to her room to shower and change before racing off to do damage control.