Chapter Three
“So, what happened?” Darla asked.
Addison smiled toward her friend. They were sitting in a coffee shop in the center of the city. She’d needed to get away from her apartment, and just get some fresh air. “We talked, not all night. We broke the ice that had seemed to surround our marriage.”
Darla was one of the people who knew about the arranged marriage between her and Shaun.
“He knows about your cooking? The book? The blog? Everything.”
“Yes.” She tapped the inside of her arm as well. “He knows I’ve got the implant, and he seems so happy about it. It’s too soon to have kids.”
“All this time, you both felt the same way.”
They had only talked for an hour, but it was the hour they should have taken at the beginning of their marriage, rather than now.
Their problems weren’t going to go away overnight. They were working on them, which was far more important to her.
“Do you think your marriage can work?” Darla asked. “You’ve said so yourself, you’re worlds apart.”
“Very true. I don’t know if we can be fixed, but I’d really like to give it a try. I don’t like failing, you know that.”
“I do.” Darla took a sip of her coffee, and Addison sat back in her chair. She loved these moments with Darla. In the early months of her marriage, it was these moments that had gotten her through.
Her friend was her rock.
“So, how are you and Dean getting on?”
“We’re not getting on. He asked me out again last night, and I turned him down.”
“You know, I don’t know why you don’t go out with him. He’s such a sweetheart.”
She sighed. “I know. He’s nothing like I imagined, and he’s sweet. When was a male model ever sweet?”
Dean was sweet, and for a short time, Addison had thought he was gay, but he wasn’t.
“He likes you.”
“Don’t, Addie, honey, please.”
Holding her hands up in surrender, she smiled. “I won’t interfere with your life. I’m sorry. I’ll try to keep my little nose out of it.”
They finished their coffees, and headed back to her apartment by walking. Addison loved walking as it cleared her mind and inspired her. Passing certain restaurants or takeouts, the scents helped her to think of new recipes to cook.
Darla talked about the latest video they had filmed, and how she had edited it twice so it was just the necessary stuff.
An hour later they entered her apartment. Dean was out for the day on a photo-shoot, so it was just them.
“I’m just going to put the news on, okay?” Darla asked.
“Sure.”
Heading into the kitchen, Addison took the latest recipe they were going to film, and started going through the list of ingredients that she would need.
“Addie, come here.”
Putting the list down, she made her way into her sitting room, and stopped. Shaun stood, talking into the camera. She spotted Bruce off to the left.
“My wife is an excellent cook, and I love what she has managed to create. When her book comes out, you’re in for a right treat, I guarantee it.”