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Marcus

This is a terrible idea.

It wasn’t the first time he’d had the thought, which was why it had taken him so long to get around to doing this.

But it was time to face his ex-wife. He and Eden couldn’t continue on the way they had been.

The constant sniping and arguing would have been kind of fun if he’d also been getting make-up sex at the end of it, the way they used to, but without that, it was just annoying.

They couldn’t avoid each other, not unless they wanted to lose friends.

He wasn’t willing to step away from his best friends, and he didn’t think she would be, either.

They might be very different people than they were five years ago when they’d been married, but she still knew how to get under his skin. And he knew how to get under hers.

He wasn’t sure how facing her head-on was going to go, though. During their marriage, she would have appreciated his directness. Now… he wasn’t so sure that would be her reaction.

Taking a deep breath, he stopped staring at the door to her apartment and knocked before shoving his hands in his pockets. Then he listened really hard . He could hear her approach, though her footsteps were soft. He held his breath.

Then nothing.

She was standing on the other side of the door. Probably looking through the eyehole and deciding whether or not to open it when he was on the other side. Should he knock again? Tell her that he knew she was there?

The door flew open with a suddenness that almost made him jump, and there she was.

Pink hair down around her shoulders wearing a blue shirt that said “I Like Tacos and, like, Three People” with a taco on the chest and a pair of cute, cute-off shorts.

The kind of thing she liked to wear when they were dating.

The kind of thing she’d stopped wearing once they were married to try to fit what Marcus thought his wife should look like when they were out in public. Just in case they ran into anyone from his office. He’d had appearances to maintain.

He’d been a fucking ass.

Eden’s chin jutted upwards, her eyes narrowing as she glared at him.

“What do you want?”

Well, that was his opening. Marcus squared his shoulders, lifting his own chin and looking down at her. She used to like how much taller he was than her, saying it made her feel protected.

“I think we need to talk. Can I come in?”

Immediately, she stepped forward, so she was standing in the doorway, completely blocking him from her apartment.

Marcus’ lips twitched. Moving forward had also put her mere inches away from him, and he wasn’t backing up.

Her head tilted back even more, frustrated anger flaring in her gaze as she realized he was now in her space, and it was her fault. It also meant he was looming over her.

“No. I’m busy.”

“Really? Because it looks like you’re just watching television.” He could easily see over her head into the apartment where a show was paused.

“Yes, it’s called relaxing downtime. Supposedly, something you know about now.” She sniffed derisively. “I guess reports of your reformation have been greatly exaggerated.”

Yup, this was their new reality. If he could haul her over his shoulder, take her to the bedroom and spank her before fucking her senseless, he would have been totally okay with the bratty banter. It was part of what he’d fallen in love with the first time around.

Right now, it was frustrating because he couldn’t haul her over his shoulder or spank her. What he really needed was for her to listen to him.

“I only need a few minutes of your time.”

She rolled her eyes. “If I wanted to hear from an asshole, I would have farted. Bye.” She stepped back, and his hand came up to block the door from closing on him. Marcus stepped forward, and he did not laugh at her insult, no matter how much he wanted to on the inside. Eden glared at him.

“Get out.”

“I’m not in,” he replied, keeping his tone as reasonable as possible.

He knew it ticked her off that she couldn’t get the reactions she was used to out of him anymore.

Back when they were married, he would have given back as good as she gave.

Now, he tended to let things roll off his back, and when she did get under his skin, he didn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing.

He pointed at the floor, where his feet were clearly not over the line of the doorframe.

“The sooner you hear me out, the sooner this conversation can be over.”

He was hoping it would lead to future conversations, but he figured she was probably going to need some time to adjust to his new agenda. So, he had a game plan.

Tell Eden his intentions.

Give her time to adjust.

Remind her of how good they could be together.

Show her how he’d changed.

Get his girl back.

Even though he’d dated other people since their divorce, having Eden back in his life was making it impossible for him to look at anyone else.

She was here to stay unless he wanted to ditch his two best friends, which was not an option.

His two best friends were now in committed relationships, heading toward marriage with her two best friends, and he was so filled with envy, it was debilitating.

Not only that, but the more time he was forced to spend around Eden, the more he got to know her again and the more he wanted her back.

She was similar but different from the woman he’d married.

More confident, more sure of herself, and somehow even more bratty than when they’d dated, which he wouldn’t have thought was possible.

She was definitely brattier than when they’d been married, and that was his fault. He’d tried turning both of them into the people he thought they needed to be in order to be successful.

Out of the two of them, he’d changed the most in the past five years. He’d learned a lot about himself and about relationships. He could see where he’d gone wrong and where he’d been a colossal ass. And he wanted to do better.

He wanted to be her Daddy again.

Eden huffed.

“Fine. You have two minutes, then I’m getting back to my relaxing downtime.”

Thank God. He’d take two minutes.

Eden

Dammit, why did Marcus have to be so hot?

She’d always liked him in a suit, until she’d started hating those suits, but the way he was filling out his Flower Power t-shirt also did things to her.

Then she got mad because she didn’t want to be attracted to him anymore, and that stupid t-shirt reminded her of all the shit he’d refused to do when they were married.

Now, he was super relaxed, hanging out, respecting downtime, and willing to wear something besides business casual clothes. Great.

She wasn’t sure why he was showing up, wanting to talk.

Maybe he just wanted to stop arguing with her all the time since they had to hang out, thanks to their friends.

Yeah, fat chance. She’d been saving up insults for him.

Eventually, she was going to find one that bothered him.

She’d really thought the fart one would do the trick, but he’d seemed more amused than anything.

The big jerk.

Two minutes, then she would close the door, even if she had to shove him back to do it. No matter that she was pretty sure he’d gained about twenty pounds of muscle since their marriage, she had the power of petty rage fueling her.

Marcus nodded, accepting her edict. Good.

Once he agreed to something, he would follow through.

The ‘almighty deal’ was very important to him, and once he said he would do something, he would.

Which wasn’t always a good thing when he’d overloaded himself by promising things to people at work and neglecting everything else. Everyone else . Like his wife.

“I will be honest. I thought if I ever saw you again that I would feel like we made the right decision about our divorce. I never wanted to hurt you, and I wanted to see that you had moved on and were happy. I’m a different man now.

A better man. And the more I see you, the more I miss what we had, but also the more I like the person you’ve become. I think we should try again.”

Eden stared at him.

Blinked.

That was not what she’d expected to come out of his mouth.

“What could you possibly like about me?” she asked incredulously. Not because she wasn’t likeable—she damn well was—but because after their divorce, she’d deliberately set herself up to be the opposite of who she’d become as his wife.

She’d dyed her hair bright, crazy colors that made her poor Japanese mother despair of her ever finding another husband.

She’d started wearing the most offensive t-shirts she could find, smirking at what she imagined Marcus’ face would be if she’d ever tried to wear that while they went out and about.

Eventually, she’d gotten over doing things because of how her ex would have reacted and realized she actually just liked all that stuff.

Then she’d stopped doing it for him and started doing it for her.

But he liked it?

“I like that you’re the girl I fell in love with again.

That you reclaimed that part of yourself after I…

well, if I didn’t kill it completely, I definitely caused you to bury it.

I like your sass. I like how you look after your friends.

I like your confidence. I like… you. I’ve always liked you, even when I felt like there were parts of you that went counter to the image I was trying to project.

I was wrong about that, by the way. You were right.

I should never have asked you to be anyone other than yourself. ”

She’d been willing. She hadn’t said no. She’d tried to pack herself into a little box, into the form he’d wanted because she’d wanted his attention and approval.

She’d lost herself for him, and it wasn’t just because he’d asked her to.

Although he hadn’t asked it of her, there had been ways she’d tried to change because she’d seen the other corporate wives doing it.

That was part of the danger. She’d been willing to do that for him. For a scrap of his affection and attention.

This new Marcus? This self-aware, repentant, humble Marcus who took care of himself, took the time to relax, and made space for his friends? This Marcus was a million times more dangerous to her than the arrogant, ‘I know best,’ self-involved husband who’d started taking her for granted.

“Thank you for the apology,” she said, even though he hadn’t actually said sorry. Marcus had always had a thing about apologizing. Even when he was remorseful, he’d had trouble saying the words, so pretending he had apologized gave her a little petty spurt of happiness.

“I didn’t apologize, but I should have.” While she gaped at him, Marcus reached up to brush a strand of pink hair out of her face, his fingers gently skimming her skin and lighting up all her senses like a fireworks show.

“I’m sorry, Eden. I loved you, but it wasn’t enough.

I turned into a shitty husband, and I didn’t even see what was happening.

I took you for granted instead of appreciating everything you did for me.

I’ve learned a lot since our divorce. I want a second chance. ”

For one sweet, horrifying moment, Eden almost leaned toward him. Almost tipped her head back for a kiss. Almost fell right back into the Marcus-trap she’d already escaped from.

“Fuck off!” She jumped back, slamming the door in his face, her heart pounding like she’d just run a marathon. Lifting her hand, she pressed her palm against her chest. Her whole body felt flushed, as though she was overheating.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

She was going to need to work on her Marcus-defense-system. She had not been prepared for him to say any of that, and she sure as hell hadn’t been prepared for her reaction. Not in her wildest dreams.

“I’m not giving up, Eden,” Marcus called from the other side of the door. “I did that once before. I’m not making the same mistake twice. Thank you for the two minutes. I’ll see you later.”

Mother fucker. Eden leaned her back against the door, closing her eyes as she heard him walking away.

The television was going to have to wait.

She needed backup.