Begin Again novel Chapter 71

"If it isn't the Andersons! Aren't you all a sight for sore eyes!" Professor McBride's booming voice and hearty chuckle resounded through the room.

As much as Liam didn't want to, he found himself looking up from his phone; the man's laugh was infectious, and he sounded genuinely pleased to see his parents.

For the longest, confusing second of his life, Liam thought his eyes were playing tricks on him when they fell on Eden.

This is new, he thought, blinking up at her. He scratched his head, baffled by this turn of events.

He's been blind drunk before and saw double everything.

Hell, some of his worst and best decisions were made whilst he was deep in the semi-comatose stages of inebriation.

But seeing people, more specifically, the one woman whose touch set him ablaze and whose body he desired with a passion that terrified him, was certainly a new occurrence.

"Liam!" His mom rammed him hard in his ribs with her elbow, jolting him to life. "Meet the McBrides!"

He blinked again, perplexed to see he's not hallucinating, and Eden—his hell, his paradise—is as real as the hard-ons she leaves him with every time they kiss, and she looked as pretty as a picture in her flowery summer dress.

"—They are revered scholars in the academic world and have written numerous award-winning research papers and editorial pieces!"

"Oh Lois, you flatter us, our work pales in comparison to your philanthropic feats!" Erica McBride smiled, showing off a row of straight pearly whites.

Liam could see where Eden got her good looks and petite frame from.

By all accounts, Erica was an older, more refined version of her daughter. Staring at her was like travelling through a time machine and seeing Eden in another thirty or forty years.

"—Your children are all so gorgeous!" Erica carried on with her steady smile, her gaze flitting over Liam and his sisters.

Both his parents beamed brightly at the compliment, but it's his Mom who accepted the high praise. "Thank you, but they are all terrible rascals!"

Robert McBride turned his bespectacled gaze on Liam. "Mr Anderson Junior, I'm such a huge fan, and I was so sad when you retired. But it's very admirable of you to step up and lead the company while your father recuperates!"

Liam stumbled to his feet, splashing his drink on the table, his heart stuttering out of control in his chest.

Why the fuck was he nervous, and good grief, why the hell were his hands sweating buckets suddenly?

There's absolutely no reason he should be intimidated by Eden and her parents. No reason at all why it was suddenly so important to him to make a good impression on her folks.