Holding her heart, p.8
Holding her Heart, page 8
here?”
“M-maybe I could see you tonight? Come over to my
place, and I’ll order in.”
Order in. That’s all they ever seemed to do. Eden didn’t
want someone who constantly ordered in. She wanted
someone who would take the time to cook for her. She also
wanted to return the favour. Liam, in the six months they’d
been together, hadn’t once asked Eden to come over because
he’d cooked dinner. It was takeout or it was a restaurant.
And while Eden loved to be wined and dined in a restaurant
that o ered good food, she’d rather be at home with her…
lover. She wanted—no, she craved, that intimacy.
“No.”
“What do you mean no?”
“I mean…no.” Eden glared straight through Liam, willing
the door to open and end this discussion. “I called you and
ended this, Liam. Please respect that.”
“You expect me to walk away from you?”
“I do, yes. Surely you saw this coming. I mean, it’s taken
you two weeks to show up.” Eden knew Liam had to be out of
his mind if he believed they were happy.
“I…thought you were busy.”
Eden nodded, resting back against her desk. “I am busy.
But this also isn’t working for me. I’m sorry.”
A light knock on the door almost produced an audible sigh
of relief from Eden. If it was Aster, her legs may just turn to
jelly. “Come in.”
“I’m talking to you,” Liam said, frowning. “Tell them to
wait.”
Eden pushed o her desk, walked towards her ex, and
stepped past him. “I think it’s time you left, don’t you?”
“Not really, no.”
“I’m not feeling this attitude; I don’t like it. I’m asking
you to leave. Do so, or I’ll remove you myself.”
Liam snorted, folding his arms across his chest. He
wasn’t intimidating in the slightest. Eden, herself, had more
intimidating tendencies than Liam ever would.
“Please. Don’t make a dick of yourself.”
The gentle knock on the door from before was this time
stronger. Eden gripped the handle and opened it. Relieved
when she found Aster standing on the other side, a shy smile
playing on her lips, she tilted her head and smiled. “Come
in.”“Oh, I can wait if this isn’t a good time.”
Eden took Aster’s arm and pulled her inside. “It’s the
perfect time. Have a seat; I’m just seeing my visitor out.”
Aster slowly moved through the o ce, stopping as she
stared out at the water through the window. Eden turned her
attention back to Liam, clearing her throat. “Now, it was
lovely to see you, but I’m busy.”
“Come over tonight. Please?”
Eden pinched the bridge of her nose, gritting her teeth.
“Liam, what part of no don’t you understand?”
“All of it. None of this makes any sense,” He lowered his
voice. “I thought we were good together.”
“If this, what we’ve been doing, is your idea of ‘good
together’…then I had other expectations.”
“So come over and we’ll discuss them. Every last one.”
Eden was done with this conversation. Liam had never
been this vocal in the six months they’d been together; why
was he now demanding one thing or another? “Please leave.
And don’t come back here. This is my job; I don’t want to see
you in this building again.”
Liam’s shoulders slumped, his phone gripped tight in his
hand as he walked through the door. Eden should feel some
kind of sorrow for how this was ending, shouldn’t she? She
glanced back at Aster…that was who she wanted to be
spending her time with.
Satisfied that Liam was actually leaving, Eden closed the
door and turned back to her employee. She didn’t like to
think of Aster in that way, but it beat thinking about her in
other ways. Ways that could get her into a lot of trouble.
“So…”
“Sorry. I heard you call for me to come in, but he didn’t
sound like he wanted me to do that.”
“He’s…the least of my concerns. Did you bring me some
images?”
Aster grinned, holding up a USB stick. “I did. Want to take
a look?”
“Let me make us some co ee and then we’ll sit down and
go through them together,” Eden said, busying herself away
from Aster. When she beamed that smile, it was hard to
focus on anything else. And those long, dark lashes…divine.
“Cappuccino?”
“I thought Maxine was bringing me one back?”
“She is, but she’ll be gone for the hour. You can wait until
then if you want?”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll drink co ee with you instead.”
Eden’s chest expanded. Aster was going to become a
major issue in her life. If she allowed that, of course.
“You’re still going to Pride, right?”
Eden turned, allowing the co ee machine to work its
magic. “I am. And I can hardly wait.”
“You know we spoke about it when I started working for
you? Well, I was wondering if it was still okay for me to come
along?”
Eden narrowed her eyes. “They’re your friends, Aster. I’m
only tagging along for some sun.”
“I know, but I wasn’t sure if you needed me to work while
you’re away.”
“We have no events for those two weekends. There is no
reason why I’d need you here.”
Aster nodded slightly. “Okay. Well, Grace booked my
flight earlier. I have no choice but to tag along, too.”
Okay. This changed everything. Eden had initially invited
Aster to share a room with her before all these feelings came
to light. Now that she found herself drawn to Aster, it made
life that little bit more di cult.
“I can find my own accommodation. It’s no problem.”
Eden looked up to find Aster chewing her lip. Her silence
wasn’t helping, that much was clear. “No. Sharing a room
will be fun. I haven’t had a girly holiday in forever.”
“Right, well…”
The co ee machine beeped, and Eden took their drinks
from beneath the spout. She set them down on her desk,
getting comfortable in her seat. “Pride is going to be great.
Now, pull up a chair and show me the work of art you likely
produced.”
Aster blushed, handing the USB over.
Eden focused her eyes on the screen. Being alone with
Aster was much more pleasing than being alone with Liam.
Ordering in. She sco ed inwardly. Aster probably didn’t order
in. No, she probably took the time to prepare dinner when
she was dating. Or perhaps she didn’t and ordering in was
just what couples did these days. Maybe Eden was setting her
evening expectations too high. Suddenly, her interest was
piqued. “Hey, I have a question for you…”
“Okay, shoot!”
Eden cleared her throat, enjoying the warmth of Aster’s
body beside her. “How do you feel about ordering in?”
“Ordering in? Like, takeout…at home?”
“Mmhmm.” Eden didn’t stray from the computer screen.
Sitting beside Aster was becoming painful. “Just a random
question. I’m not expecting any kind of life changing
answer.”
“I don’t mind it when I’m home alone. You know, if I’m
not dating.”
“And does that happen much at all, or?” Eden should
have clamped her mouth shut, but verbal diarrhoea was
about to commence. “I mean, do you have a partner at the
minute? You said you didn’t, but things change.”
“Nope. No girlfriend.”
“Okay, so ordering in works for you when you’re alone.”
“Yep. Absolutely. But if I had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t
insult them with takeout. I mean, not regularly. I’d cook
dinner. Whatever they wanted. I make some mean Italian
dishes, and I’m a dab hand when it comes to putting some
tapas together. But that happens very rarely. You know,
cooking for someone else…” Aster trailed o , shaking her
head. “Sorry. Way too much information.”
Oh, no. That was the perfect amount of information. Eden
would love nothing more than to show up at Aster’s, dinner
waiting with a glass of wine. God, she really would revel in
that. “I asked.”
“But why?”
“Intrigued.”
Aster cleared her throat, the file on the screen coming to
life. “Okay, well…now that you know my takeout routine,
should we do some work?”
Eden felt a swell of something unfamiliar in her chest.
“Y-yes. We should do that.”
9
ASTER BLEW OUT A DEEP BREATH AS SHE KNOCKED ON GRACE’S FRONT
door. She’d driven here tonight with the intention of
discussing what was going on with her best friend, but she
suddenly felt herself backing out. As she had a few weeks
ago. Aster knew this was the perfect time to talk to Grace
since Mia wasn’t around to influence anything Grace said
about it all, but the thought of laying her feelings bare sent a
wave of anxiety through Aster.
It’s only Grace. You’ve been best friends for a long time. She
wouldn’t judge you. Aster straightened herself, gripping a bag
of popcorn and various other treats in her hand. When the
hallway light flickered on, Aster swallowed hard.
The door opened, instantly settling Aster when she saw
Grace’s kind face. “Hi. Come in.”
Aster stepped past her. “Okay, look. I’m here tonight
because I need to talk to you about something. It’s a mess, at
least in my head it is, and I could do with some advice. But if
you don’t think you can give me advice, it’s fine. I’ll figure it
out myself. It’s stupid to even think what I’m thinking; I
don’t even know why I’m here.”
Grace placed her hands on Aster’s shoulders, tilting her
head. “Maybe we should go into the living room and sit
down before you explode.”
“I think exploding is what I’m hoping for. At least then I
wouldn’t have to deal with all this shit.”
Grace remained silent, taking the bag from Aster’s hand
and resting it at the side of the couch. “Sit. Calm down. It’s
nothing that can’t be fixed.”
If only that were true. Aster blew out a shaky breath,
listening to Grace moving around in the kitchen. When she
returned with a huge bowl, emptying the popcorn into it, she
relaxed into the couch, sitting beside Aster. “Okay, what’s
going on?”
“I think I’m falling for someone…”
Grace’s entire face lit up, her hand stilling in the popcorn.
“Oh my God! This is amazing news. I’m so happy for you.”
“No. It can’t happen. It’s…not possible.”
“Okay, I need more to work with.”
“Eden.” Aster said her name as though she was the only
other living, breathing being on the planet. And at times, in
Aster’s world at least, she was. “It’s Eden.”
Grace’s shoulders slumped as her face fell. That
excitement in her eyes had turned to terror. “No. No, no,
no.”
“So you see my issue?”
“Issue? Oh, this is more than an issue, Aster. How the hell
could you be falling for Eden? She’s straight.”
“I know.” Aster gritted her teeth. “I’m well aware of that
shitty fact, but it doesn’t change how I feel, Grace. It doesn’t
stop me from thinking about her from the moment I wake
up.”
“Have you had like…a thing with one another? Did she
lead you on? Is that why you’re feeling like this? A one-night
stand gone wrong…for you.”
“No, not at all. I’d never go there. I’m not that stupid.”
And Aster meant that. If there was one no-go, it was dating a
straight woman. “I don’t even know why I’m feeling like
this. It’s not like she’s even looked at me that way.”
“Sometimes the heart wants what it wants. Maybe it’s
more of a gratitude thing because she saw something in you
and took a chance.”
Could it be that? It felt like more, but perhaps Grace was
right. “Could be.”
“I’m sure it’ll all wear o before you know it. And Pride…
that’s a place you could let your hair down.”
That wasn’t Aster’s style. Sometimes she wished it were,
but the idea of sleeping with someone she’d never see again
didn’t appeal to her. She wasn’t sure it ever would. “I don’t
know.”
“Nobody on the team you like the look of?” Grace wiggled
her eyebrows.
“Nope.”
“No, I don’t blame you. I mean, there’s always Fi.”
Aster wrinkled her nose, horrified her best friend could
insinuate Aster pursuing something with Fi. “Fi has slept
with all of Liverpool. I don’t think she’s my type.”
“What is your type?” Grace rested her head in her hand,
her elbow propped up on the back of the couch. She sat with
her legs crossed, their bowl of popcorn cradled.
“Eden. She is completely my type.”
“Successful, power suit, dominating personality.”
“No,” Aster said, smiling weakly. “Interesting, missing
something in her life, genuine.”
“Okay, maybe this is more than gratitude.” Grace sighed.
“But I don’t know how you tackle that. Because whatever you
feel, it doesn’t change the fact that Eden isn’t likely to be
interested. And if she was, would she stick around? Or would
it be the good old ‘experiment’ we all hate? I’d be very
careful.”
“I don’t think she’s that kind of woman.”
“But you don’t know her, Aster. It’s been two months
since she had her PA call you, and I know you’ve become
friends, but I don’t want to see you hurt.”
Aster was well aware of everything Grace was saying. But
she couldn’t change the fact that she was into Eden. Unless
she left her job, and probably the city, she couldn’t change
any of this. Eden wasn’t a woman you simply stopped
looking at and that was the end of it. She had too much to
say behind those piercing eyes of hers. “How do I be her
friend when I feel the way I do?”
“I…don’t know. Being her friend outside of work could
turn into you torturing yourself.”
“You’re right. This is completely ridiculous. Eden Kline…
and me?” Aster barked a laugh. “I realise how stupid it
sounds.”
“I know you have feelings for her, I can see it in the way
you speak about her, but I need you to be careful, Aster. I
don’t want to see you getting hurt by anyone, least of all
someone who probably only wants a night of no strings sex if
it ever happened.”
“Thank you,” Aster whispered, her emotions threatening
to tip over. “For being here for me. For not laughing in my
face but working through it with me instead.”
“You know I’m always here for you.” Grace lifted the
popcorn from her lap, setting it down on the table. “Come
here. Give me a hug.”
They embraced, and Aster relaxed against her best friend.
This was exactly what she needed. A stern, but supportive
voice. Someone who would discuss it with her rather than
talk at her. “Thank you. Seriously.” Aster pulled back. “But I
need you to know something else…”
“What?” Grace wore a look of fear.
“I’m sharing a room with her when we go away.”
“You are joking!”
Aster winced. “No. I wish I was. But she asked me months
ago when she found out I was a regular at the games. I told
her I wasn’t going because I didn’t want to third wheel with
you and Mia. But she said we could hang out and enjoy
ourselves.”
“Uh-huh. I bet she’s planning to enjoy herself. Why is she
even coming? It’s not like it’s her sort of scene.”
Aster shrugged. “Blair invited her.”
“And are you actually going to share a room with her? You
can always book your own. Maybe that would be for the
best.”
“I was planning to, but I don’t know.” Aster was torn.
She’d love to spend her holiday in a five-star boutique hotel,
it beat the other accommodation on o er, but could she
manage the entire holiday with Eden in the next bed to her?
“What do you think?”
“I think you need to seriously consider all of this, Aster.
Because all it takes is one drunken night, and the rest is
history. If she breaks your heart…”
