“Sweetie, my neighbor literally recruited me, and thought it was because I was hot enough to do it, not because she wasfallingfor me.”
It was at that moment that Eden received a text from Liam. At first, she wasn’t sure what a tiki bar had to do with anything, but that was the image appearing in her chat window.Tiki torches, pineapples wearing sunglasses, and bartenders in Hawaiian shirts.
The caption made her roll her eyes in amusement.
“Thinking of you while at the weirdest work lunch of the month.”A follow-up picture showed the top of Liam’s head as he gave a thumbs up in front of an Elvis impersonator playing the ukulele. Eden soon realized it was a reference to the tropical island that they had met on a few weeks ago.
“You ever have paradise follow you home?” she asked Blair.
“Not like you have. So, who are you gonna pick to be your long-term husband?”
Eden shrugged as she drank her latte. “Jury’s still out. I’m gonna make them work for it.”
She meant it, too.
Around noon on Thursday, she received a text from Benson to meet him and Liam at a local Indian restaurant.“Neutral territory,”he called it. Eden didn’t ask questions. Including what to wear. She figured that was in her court.
Benson will wear a suit. Liam will wear half a suit.So, without knowing much about the restaurant besides what Google Maps provided, she wore a gray sweater dress with tights and a pair of black winter boots. While spring was arriving, the nights were still drizzly and cold. Which was why she also brought a handkerchief to wear over her head to protect both her scalp and hair from the light sprinkle falling from the dark clouds as she stepped out into the twilight.
She attempted to focus on what she’d get off the menu.Biryani is always good.Her boots clacked on the sidewalk as she double-checked the route on her phone. Benson had picked a place within walking distance of her, but it was still ten minutes with multiple turns.Lamb vindaloo might be good.She stopped at the first crosswalk signal with a few other people, all of whom were either going home from work or heading out like her.I haven’t had butter chicken in forever.Not from a proper restaurant.
Anything to not think about how that night might go.
Because she didn’t know what to expect. Benson might decide he couldn’t do it, and that would hurt. Liam might decide to fight him for Eden, and that would hurt. Or she could blow up at them for acting like children and withholding information from her…
Yeah, that would hurt.
So, she would go in with the assumption that everything was fine. She’d stay chipper and open to suggestions. Ultimately, sheknew she could be happy exclusively dating either one for a long while.Maybe forever?No. She shouldn’t get ahead of herself.
Really, she just hoped they’d answer some of her burning questions.
Edendidquestion why they wanted to do this in public, but when she arrived and told the host who she was meeting, she was escorted to a small private dining room in the back.Oh. Right. They can do stuff like this.
She walked in, half-expecting to be the first one there since she was five minutes early. Instead, she was welcomed by both Benson and Liam standing up to greet her.
It was certainly a sight she never thought she’d behold.Well, here we go.With an affable demeanor and a desire to get this over with, she approached, opening her arms to them both with a littleWoo! Party!before refusing to let either one help her with her coat or chair.
After all, they’d fight over it. And as much as Eden would like to see that, this was a Good Vibes Only dinner.
Which was why she happily revealed that her sweaterdress had a keyhole in the bust. All the better to taunt them with her cleavage.
Well, go on.She sat with her chin perched on her fingers, elbows almost knocking off her napkin.Show me what you got.
She loved the way they glanced at each other, as if they had not truly perceived Eden’s power over them until that moment.
Chapter 18
Benson
Despite his judgment telling him otherwise, Benson agreed to meet Liam at the restaurant fifteen minutes early so they could determine what was on – and off – the table once Eden arrived. There shouldn’t be any hard feelings between them. They should know what they were willing to bargain and what was a hard boundary.And let’s just keep it casual.Benson had come straight from work, but had thrown his fellow partners into a tizzy when he wore a scarlet turtleneck beneath his jacket, no tie.Sharon asked to take my temperature.When Desmond Lark asked about it, Benson barked at him that the dry cleaners were holding his suits hostage. Nobody believed him.
I want to show Eden that I can be just as laid back as this guy.Liam, ironically enough, wore a collared shirt as if he were trying to emulateBenson.
“You always looked good in red,” Liam said when he realized what they had done.
“Don’t.”
“Just saying. I can’t pull it off as well. I’ve got a really pale undertone, and reds and pinks wash me out. It’s the Irish in me. Bunch of gingers in my extended family.”