Page 6 of Garden Daddy

Owen and Andres answered at the same time, and the responses made him grin.The House of Starrett was just down the street from his nursery.It was also one of his favorite places to go because he, Andres, and Owen were all pretty good friends with the owner, Saul.Which meant it was the last place he would have expected her to go.

Sneaky, sneaky Eden.

He realized he was grinning.She was going to keep him on his toes, that was for sure.

“Hey Judy, I’m going to take a walk.Shouldn’t take me long.”

“Okay, boss.”Judy was thirty years older than him and thoroughly enjoyed teasing him by calling him boss when, really, she did as much work as he did running the store.Eventually, she would want to retire, and it was going to be a bitch replacing her when she did.Giving him a salute, she sashayed away to check on something in another aisle.

Chuckling, Marcus headed out to the street, turning in the direction of the restaurant.It was a nice day out, a good one for a walk.What he was going to do when he got there, he wasn’t sure, but he wanted Eden to know both of them could use their friends to their advantage.

Plus, he wanted to see what she would do when she saw him.

He was in luck.Just as he walked up to the door, Eden, Rita, and Bree all spilled out from the exit, laughing, until Eden spotted him and came up short.

“Afternoon, ladies,” he said with an easy smile, his gaze flicking over each of them before landing on Eden and not moving away.

“Hi, Marcus!”

“Hello!”

Rita and Bree looked at Eden to see what she was going to do.Tipping her nose up in the air, Eden turned toward her friends.

“I’ll see y’all later.”She opened her arm for a hug.

“Ah, good.I see I’ve already gotten to you,” Marcus said.

Eden whirled around to glare at him before remembering herself and turning back to give Bree the hug she’d started.

“If you’re trying to convince me you don’t care at all about me, the fact you feel the need to put up a barrier isn’t going to do it, sweetheart.”He drawled the words, knowing she’d hear the challenge in them, knowing his easygoing and relaxed mocking tone would spark even more anger from her, which was what he wanted.

Old Eden had been endlessly patient.She’d gritted her teeth when she was annoyed.Tamped down her reactions when her emotions were running high.Not so new Eden.He was pretty sure he could use that to his advantage right now.Was he entirely sure where he was going with this?Nope.But he felt calm.In control.Like the universe was taking him where he needed to go.

“Oh?”Eden turned around to face him, planting her hands on her hips.Her glare would have set fire to his hair, if he had any.“So, what will convince you that I don’t care about you at all?”

“Scene with me.”The words popped out of his mouth without thinking, but as soon as he heard them, he knew they were right.

Behind Eden, Bree and Rita’s mouths dropped open in twin expressions of shock.

“What?”Eden practically screeched.

Marcus shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned at her.

“Scene with me.If you really don’t care about me at all, if you’re not worried about having lingering feelings for me, it shouldn’t be a big deal, right?”

“I only scene with men I’m attracted to.”Eden sniffed, lifting her chin defiantly.

Oh, hell no.Though her feelings might be ambivalent, the chemistry between them was undeniable, and he wasn’t going to let her get away with that.He stepped toward her, into her space, the same way he’d done this morning, but this time she didn’t have a door she could put between them.And with her friends there, she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of making her back up with witnesses—especially since that would be proving his point.

“Well, then, that shouldn’t be a problem, should it?”he asked, raising one eyebrow.Placing two fingers under her chin, he used them to tilt her head back, as if he was going to kiss her.Her breathing stuttered, pupils dilating, and her lips parted automatically.“Attraction was never the issue between us.”

The air between them sizzled.It took an immense amount of willpower to step away, letting his hand drop.Willpower and control.He liked touching her again—far too much.

“So?Scene with me next Saturday at the Outlands?”

“Fine.”The expression on her face as she bit out the word revealed she wasn’t nearly as sure of herself as she wanted to seem.He wasn’t sure that was what she’d actually meant to say, but she had said it and in front of her friends.There would be no backing out now, unless she was willing to swallow her pride.Marcus was betting she wouldn’t.“But afterward, when it’s clear I don’t have any feelings left for you, you agree to leave me alone.”

“It’s a deal.”

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