Page 10

Eden

“I can’t believe you 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?”

“Is that a question or a statement?” she teased. The lilt at the end of his sentence had rendered it far more like a question than an opinion.

“I mean, it is interesting…”

“But you’re not really interested. That’s okay.” She leaned against his arm. “I prefer knowing your true thoughts, good or bad.”

Marcus looked around again, studying the walls.

“I think it’s just not really my thing.”

“Thank you for being here with me, anyway.” That was the point. It wasn’t his thing, but he was doing his best to make the whole experience enjoyable for her, despite his personal feelings about it.

“Of course.” This time it was his turn to squeeze her fingers, and Eden smiled back at him.

There was no ‘of course’ about it, going by their past experiences, and they both knew it.

But she was doing better at appreciating the changes he’d made without the bitterness of wondering why he’d waited until after she’d left.

She was happy it had happened, even if it had taken longer than she’d wanted.

They’d spent the past few weeks getting to know each other again—without all the bickering and sniping that had characterized their interactions ever since their lives had collided for a second time.

They’d done a lot of catching up about what they’d missed over the years.

Eden had been surprised, but not shocked, to hear that all of his old work friendships had fallen by the wayside after he’d stopped working.

She’d thought maybe a few would endure, but Marcus didn’t seem to be broken up about it.

Then again, his whole attitude now seemed to be zen and going with the flow.

He seemed to accept that their lives no longer intersected with his.

Their interests had remained focused on work, and they didn’t have time for anything outside of that.

He didn’t say it, but she got the feeling it helped him understand how she’d felt about him and his relationship with the office during their marriage.

They’d had a few more scenes at the Outlands, too.

Eden had insisted on keeping the sex there for now. Was it one of the barriers she was keeping up? Absolutely. She knew it. He knew it.

Walking through the gallery, she was starting to feel like she might be ready to lower it.

Yes, they were still in the ‘new relationship’ glow where things were shiny and bright, but it wasn’t as if Marcus had completely changed.

He still worked hard. He just didn’t make the nursery his entire life, even though he owned it.

He took time off. He had hobbies outside of it. And friends outside of it, although technically, Owen and Andres were right outside of it in their food trucks. So, they were nursery-adjacent. But none of them spent all their time there.

She was starting to feel like this new Marcus wasn’t just real but as though he really was everything she wanted.

She was starting to fall in love again.

And hoping the fall didn’t completely decimate her this time.

Once they’d made their way through the current installation and stepped out into the sunshine, she felt the kind of happiness in her soul that always came from good art. Sighing, she closed her eyes and lifted her face to the sun to soak in some of the rays. All the good things.

“Ready for lunch?” Marcus asked, giving her hand a squeeze. Eden opened her eyes and beamed up at him.

“Sure. I’m starved.”

The words had barely left her mouth when his phone rang. Immediately, his hand went to his pocket, but instead of picking it up and answering it—what he would have done during their marriage—he pressed the side to turn off the ringer. Eden raised her eyebrows at him.

“If it’s important, they’ll leave a voicemail,” he said firmly.

Well, okay then.

They hadn’t taken more than a couple steps before it started to ring again. A little pit formed in the bottom of Eden’s stomach. This was all too familiar, but she tried to shove it away.

Marcus frowned, reaching into his pocket. He still didn’t answer it, but he was checking to see who it was, which was fair. That was two calls right in a row. It was probably something important.

“It’s the nursery,” he said, still frowning. Hesitating.

She knew if she wasn’t there, if they weren’t on a date, he would have answered immediately because he was the owner of said nursery. He was hesitating because she was there, and they were on a date.

“Answer it.” She managed to sound mostly supportive and cheerful. After all, he had just taken her through an art installation he had no interest in.

“I’m sorry. It’ll be quick, I promise.”

Eden nodded her understanding, keeping her fake smile firmly planted on her lips, but Marcus surprised her again.

He didn’t turn and walk away, phone to his ear, as he would have in the past. Instead, he stood right there, still holding her hand as he answered it, so she could hear the conversation.

Not that she could understand every word. Whoever was calling him was frantic, their words spilling out as soon as he answered the phone. Marcus straightened up, his expression becoming stony. His gaze cut to hers, softening with apology.

“Janet… Janet. It’s okay. Close up shop. I’ll re-open it when I get there, okay? You go with Dillon.”

Eden’s heart clenched.

This wasn’t the same. It wasn’t.

He owned the nursery. He wasn’t just another worker. Whatever had happened, it was bad, and it was ultimately his responsibility. Which meant he needed to be there.

So, this wasn’t the same as before.

Marcus sighed as he hung up the phone, his fingers tightening around hers.

“Plant emergency?” she asked, trying to push amusement into her voice.

“Sort of. One of my employees, Dillon, who also happens to be Janet’s nephew, tripped and fell.

He is bad off enough that she called for an ambulance.

She wants to go to the hospital with him.

It sounds like he might have broken his leg.

” Marcus winced, and she could practically see the wheels turning in his brain.

His sympathy for Dillon and Janet was clear, but he also had to think about things like worker’s comp and the fact that if Dillon needed the hospital, he was also going to need his hours covered.

“Do you want to come with me?”

Eden blinked. That was unexpected. Not that Marcus could have ever offered to take her with him to work in the past, but she was so used to being pushed aside and left out of anything to do with work, she’d thought it would be the same.

“You don’t have to,” he said hastily. “I can call around to my other workers and see if anyone can come in. And I can order you food to eat in the breakroom? I might even be able to eat with you if it’s not too busy.”

Not too busy on a Sunday in the summer. He was kidding himself if he thought that was possible, especially since he was going to be taking the place of not one but two of his employees. His expression became pained.

“I’m sorry, I know it’s not ideal, but?—”

Letting go of his hand, Eden reached up with both of hers to cup his face, cutting off whatever he was going to say as she went up on her tiptoes to kiss him. He relaxed as her lips pressed against his. She dropped back down, smiling up at him, and this time, the smile wasn’t at all forced.

“Tacos or grilled cheese in the breakroom sound great.” She didn’t need to explain that she was talking about getting lunch from either Andres or Owen’s food trucks, both of which would be outside the nursery at this time of day. Marcus beamed at her, his gaze full of sheer relief.

“Thank you.”

Hey, if he was going to put in the work to change, so could she. This wasn’t the same as before, and she wasn’t going to react like it was. He was including her, not pushing her away.

It made a world of difference.