Authors: Alexa Sinclaire
Chapter Seven
Lunch flew by and Eden found herself actually enjoying it. She had a niggling guilt that all the pushing away she had done to Joachim was perhaps unnecessary. He reminded her of so much that she used to like about her old life—fun, carefree, and with little to worry about. Joachim’s
laid-back
surfer look matched his personality. He was relaxed and charming even at the worst of times. He hated confrontation and, as such, people were drawn to him, just as Eden had been.
They had been joined at the hip growing up, both only children, and they inevitably spent huge amounts of time together because of their parents’ close friendship. No one had been surprised when they had started dating in high school. It had seemed like the most natural thing in the world at the time. Eden remembered their first kiss. Joachim had been tender and sweet, aware of the two-year age difference, which now seemed negligible, but in high school, it had felt like decades. Joachim had been overly concerned that she would feel pressured or taken advantage of. Eden hadn’t felt either of those things. She’d heard so many horror stories from her girlfriends about awkward first kisses, too much saliva, bitten lips, clashing teeth. She was almost giddy when Joachim’s lips had pressed against hers, his tongue barely flicking into her mouth to taste her.
And that was what the rest of their physical relationship had consisted of—Joachim trying to take things to the next level, but always making sure Eden was comfortable. It was all very…polite. Controlled. Managed. Just like the rest of Eden’s life.
Much to Eden’s pleasure, the lunch conversation hardly touched on their old life. Joachim knew why she had left for Edinburgh and he clearly understood that returning back to New England was not necessarily easy for her. They kept the subject mostly neutral. She asked about his work and if he liked the
city
. She didn’t have to ask if he had managed to find a social circle of friends. Joachim’s warm character had made him one of the most popular boys in high school and college. She knew his social circle included many of her former friends, but he steered away from mentioning them as he spoke about how much fun he was having in New York.
She was tempted to tell Joachim about meeting Sebastian Stone. Being older than her, Joachim had more interaction with Sebastian than she ever had. But then Joachim asked the question she was so hoping he wouldn’t.
“And how are you feeling about, you know, everything?” He looked sincerely at her, and she had to look away after a moment before she answered.
“I’m fine. Really. Edinburgh was great for me. It really gave me what I needed.” She hoped he would
pick up
on the tone. What she had needed was a new start, and here he was bringing up the past.
“Really? That’s so good to hear, Eden, because I want to talk to you about something. About us.” He reached over and gently took her hand in his. “I don’t want to lose you again. If you’re ready, if you’re okay, I would love to pick things up where we left them. I mean, before…” He trailed off, not wanting to directly refer to the attack.
Despite the amount of time they had dated, they had never clearly stated the parameters of their relationship. There had never been any promises made, and any declaration of emotion had really only been on Joachim’s part. She had initially been fairly timid with Joachim, and she expected to eventually reciprocate his feelings, but instead, her feelings for him had morphed into familiarity and comfort, not lust and desire. Joachim was so easy to be around and he treated her well. They had remained exclusive throughout her first two years at college, with a few short break-ups that never lasted long.
When she left St. Leonard’s, they never explicitly broke up, but with her breakdown, Joachim’s role seamlessly moved from boyfriend to platonic friend. And now that she was back, she should have known that Joachim would have been expecting them to return to being more than friends.
“I’m not sure. I’m not sure I’m ready for that,” Eden replied, pulling her hand back. She gave him a big smile. “Come on, I’ll walk you back. Just because you’re the boss’s son doesn’t mean you can skive off!” She knew she had not given Joachim the answer he had been looking for, but he was too polite and kind to push the matter further.
But standing in front of his office building, Eden could see that Joachim wasn’t going to let it go completely. She decided to face it head-on. “It was so good to
catch
up. Just what I needed, really.” She leaned into him and gave him a warm hug, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly to her. “I have missed you. I just need more time, please understand,” she whispered into his ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist and almost lifted her off the ground with his embrace.
“Always, babe. I’ll always understand.”
“I’ll call you,” she said as he turned and walked toward the building. He glanced around one last time, blowing her a kiss, knowing it would make her laugh. Eden turned toward the busy avenue, ready to hail a cab, still smiling from his ridiculous childlike display of affection, when she noticed the town car on the other side of the
street
. She blushed, remembering the last time she had been in a car like that. She suddenly gasped as she
realized
the man about to get into the car was Sebastian Stone. He was staring at her with a look of pure fury on his face. She stared back, hardly able to move or even wave at him. A bus came between them and when it
finally
drove off, he was gone.
****
Arriving at her
apartment
, Eden couldn’t shake the look Sebastian had given her. What was he so angry about? Surely he remembered Joachim. Why would he be angry to see them together? Eden shook her head. It seemed like every interaction she had with Sebastian left her flustered.
Her phone rang and she curiously looked at the screen—Mara. Why was she calling her? They’d been emailing almost daily since they left Edinburgh, but Mara was usually too busy to call, and the time difference made things awkward. Mara’s reunion with Enzo had been a whirlwind of romantic gestures, one after another, as well as lots of fantastic
sex
. She’d been sure to regale Eden with every detail in her emails.
“Mara? You okay?”
“Eden!”
She pulled the phone away from her ear. Mara was screaming.
“You’re never going to guess where I am!”
“What’s going on, Mar?”
“I’m in N.Y.C.!”
“What?” Eden couldn’t believe it. Why was she here? She was supposed to be in Madrid, planning her wedding.
“I’ll explain everything. Are you free now? Give me your address, I’ll swing by.”
“I’ll text you, but you have a lot of explaining to do!” She couldn’t believe she was going to see her best friend.
When Eden opened the door, Mara practically knocked her over with her hug. She was a hurricane and she swept around Eden, switching from Spanish to English trying to explain.
“God, Mar, I don’t speak Spanish, help me out here! What is going on?”
“Okay, sit down, though. This is big.” Mara was as glamorous as ever. In the final weeks of exams, she had seen a whole new side to her friend—fun, sassy, and wild. That was the girl sitting in front of her now. “I said yes to Enzo, I told you that in the emails, si? Well, he was really nervous because after I said yes, he had another big announcement. He’d been given a huge promotion, but it meant relocating to…New York!”
“What?” Eden couldn’t believe it. Mara would be living in the same
city
as her!
“He was so worried I’d say no, but I couldn’t wait for us to move. I wanted to tell you, but I also really wanted to surprise you. Your emails were a tad glum, Eden. I mean, you’re in goddamn New York
City
and you’re moping around. So now that I’m here, we’re going to let loose, okay?”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, Mar, I love it here. I’m just not settled yet. But
frankly
, you being here
suddenly
makes this all so much better!” Eden hugged her.
“Okay, so let’s go. I’m taking you to lunch!”
“Don’t you have things to do? I mean, don’t you need to settle in? And I’ve already had lunch.”
Mara laughed. “Honey, I may not have given you an accurate portrait of my life with Enzo. He’s got money to burn and he wants
me
to burn it. I’m a
lady
of leisure now, Eden, and I plan to live up to his expectations of what that means.” Mara winked at her. “So perk up, I’m taking you out. Screw lunch.”
Eden smiled, she loved how direct Mara was. Despite all her social training, Mara managed to shove all that aside and just say what she thought.
****
Sitting across from Eden, sipping ice tea, Mara rambled on excitedly about her move. While Enzo’s salary gave Mara a practically unlimited spending budget, he worked hard and wanted to keep it like that.
“It was either my career or Enzo. And I chose Enzo. I’m not going to cry about it now.”
“But your degree, Mara? You worked so hard to just give it all up. It was your dream to start your own fashion consulting company.” Eden knew that Mara was proud of her degree in business studies, and she had regaled Eden for hours about her plans to merge her two passions of business and fashion together.
“I didn’t give up a dream, I just got another one—Enzo. I know it sounds old fashioned, but I always knew how Enzo was. I made this decision on my own, Eden. No one pushed me into it. And I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing anything. I’m just choosing a different path. I held out as long as I could in Edinburgh, but as soon as I moved back and saw him and our old life, it just made sense. I’d been fighting something, and one day I woke up and
realized
that I didn’t even know what I was fighting against. I guess I wanted to feel that I hadn’t been pressured into it. I mean, I couldn’t have picked a better guy as far as my parents are concerned!”
Eden grimaced. She knew the pressure Mara’s parents had put on her to marry Enzo. “I can imagine they’re thrilled.”
“Ha! To say the least! Let’s see—good background, check, smart and classy, check, money, check, and successful career, check! He gets full marks in their book.”
“How about madly in love with their daughter?”
Mara snorted, almost spitting out her drink. “Oh honey, I’m not so naïve as to think that was a requirement for them. That one was just for me. And, trust me, I don’t doubt Enzo for one moment. But what about you, Miss
Sex
in the
City
? What’s going on in that department?”
Eden blushed red thinking about Sebastian. She proceeded to tell Mara all about him and how he had found in her New York.
“Eden Maxwell, please tell me you got in his pants this morning!”
It was Eden’s turn to almost spit her drink out. “God, no! I mean, I wanted to, trust me, the man is…something else.”
“Sex on a stick?”
Eden blushed again, nodding.
“Okay, that’s it, I’m looking him up.” Mara reached for her phone and quickly found some paparazzi pictures of him at a fundraiser. “Ahh, I see what you mean! Holy hell, Eden, he’s amazing. I can see what you’re all worked up about now.” She frowned. “Who’s the chick he’s with in some of these photos?”
Eden peered over the screen. A
young
woman, younger looking than Sebastian, appeared in several shots. She was similar-looking to Eden—short, dark hair, and curvy. But she held herself with the confidence of a woman who was used to being photographed and hanging off the arm of a handsome billionaire.
“I didn’t do that much searching about him, does it say?”
“No, but she seems to regularly attend events with him Look, this one’s dated from last month. It’s in London.”
Eden shook her head. “Stop, I’ve seen this guy twice, and both times it was for less than half an hour. I’m not going to start stalking him online.”