Page 17 of Garden Daddy

“So, you’re not going to fall back into old bad habits, right?”she asked pointedly.

Eden coughed as she swallowed a piece of bagel wrong, and Marcus reached out to pat her on the back as he answered.

“I’ve had a few years of practice now,” he replied with a chuckle, not at all put out by Rita’s questioning.He was a lot chiller than he had been while they were married.“And I’ve been through a lot of therapy and done a lot of introspection.”

“You went to therapy?”At some point, she needed to get past being surprised by all the things he’d finally doneaftershe’d left him.

“I did.I still go in for a tune-up sometimes.”He grinned at her.“Dr.Silverwood would be happy to meet you any time you’d like to come with me, in fact.I’ve told her all about you.She’s kink friendly.”

Eden knew that.She’d actually heard the name before, from her cousin Eben who worked at the Outlands.Sometimes, it seemed like Eben knew everyone in the community.Dr.Silverwood was one of the therapists the Outlands recommended to anyone who asked for a suggestion.

“Uh, maybe some time.”Depending on how things continued on with Marcus, it probably wasn’t a bad idea, but it wasn’t something she was willing to jump into right away.Hard to do couples therapy when you weren’t officially a couple yet.

Bree asked Marcus a question about his nursery, taking him off the hot seat, and conversation flowed much more easily until he had to leave.Eden walked him to the door, feeling as though she was on a first date, even though she’d invited her friends along.

Will he kiss me?

It turned out the answer was yes.When she opened the door, before she could step away, Marcus leaned down to steal a kiss… and she let him.

“I’ll give you a call later, baby— ah, beautiful.”He winked at her and sauntered away, whistling as he went.

Eden let herself check out his very fine ass for a few moments before shutting the door and sighing as she pressed her head against it.

“Girl, you are in so much trouble,” Rita called from the couch.“That man means business.”

“I know.”She turned to look at her friends.“I’m not being crazy, though, right?Like, it’s worth giving him a second chance?”

“Seems like it to me,” Bree said immediately.“It’s not just that he wants one.He’s been doing the work to be a better partner.”

“And a better Daddy,” Rita chimed in, grinning widely.“Besides, you know you’re going to regret it if you don’t at least try.”

“Are you okay?”Bree asked.She sat up a little, appearing concerned.“You know you know you don’t have to give him a second chance if you really don’t want to.We don’thaveto be three couples.”

“Oh, she wants him.That’s why she’s struggling,” Rita answered before Eden could open her mouth.

Bree rolled her eyes.

“Rita’s right.”Eden groaned, making her way over to flop onto the couch between her friends.They were both right.Marcus had clearly been putting in the work, and if she didn’t give him a chance now, she would always wonder.Always imagine.It wasn’t about what was fair to him.It was about what was fair to her… “I deserve to know where this could go.I’m not over him, or at least, I’m not over the idea of him, and I want to check out this reality.”

Bree studied her closely for a moment.

“Okay.I’m just a little worried because you seem subdued.”

“That’s because he subdued her with his penis,” Rita suggested helpfully.

Picking up a pillow, Eden whacked her bestie with it.

10

Eden

“I can’t believeyou brought me to the Mattress Factory.”Eden turned in place, a slow spin, so she could take in every inch of the exhibit around them.She loved art installations and had been to this particular gallery many times on her own, but trying to drag Marcus to immersive art experiences—really anything to do with art—had always been a painful endeavor, one that she’d given up on after the first couple of tries.He’d never enjoyed them and always spent most of the time on his phone, which meant she ended up wishing he wasn’t there at all.

This time, he’d been the one to choose the location for their date, his phone was firmly in his pocket, and he was walking through the installation with interest.It was uncomprehending and confused interest, but Eden would take it.She didn’t expect him to love it the way she did.It was enough that he was taking the time and effort to arrange the date and be there with her.

Talk about putting in the work.

“I know you like it here,” he said, his incomprehension clear in his voice.Eden giggled and squeezed his hand when he looked down at her.Marcus was never going to be an art person.“Sorry, I know you always wanted me to pay attention to these things, but… I don’t get it.It’s interesting?”

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