“You swear a lot. I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, it was a habit I picked up but never got rid of. It drove my parents crazy.”
She laughed.
“I want to be part of this world you’ve created, Addie.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your cooking. I want to be the one trying your food, not Dean. Have you and Dean got something going on?” If anything was going on, he was going to pummel the bastard.
“No. We’ve got nothing going on. He’s a friend who has a serious crush on Darla. I’m married. I take my vows seriously.”
“I’m telling you the truth, Addie. I didn’t sleep with those women. I’ve not been with anyone since you.”
“You had the reputation of a playboy, and we slept together once a month. Do you expect me to believe you?” she asked.
“Yes, I do. I believe you without a doubt. I wanted to reach out to you, and I wanted more than what we had built together.”
“You want more?”
“I didn’t want to live in a house that was cold to me. This is home, this feels like home to me.”
“You want to live in my little apartment?”
“Your apartment will fit me. Now, you said you got the implant. How long does that last?”
“I’ve got to get it changed in a couple of months, why?”
“I want you to get it changed. Neither of us wants children yet, and I think it’s time we focus on us, and making this marriage work before we add children to the mix.”
“You want to make this marriage work.”
“I don’t want to love and hate once a month anymore.” He touched her cheek. “Our marriage started out wrong, and it has been a disaster for a long time. I’m not going to continue that.”
“Okay.”
“I’m Shaun Woodside, I’m a workaholic, and I love my job. I have a wife I know nothing about, but I want to get to know her. My birthday is in April, and I don’t like chocolate, but your cake was damn good.”
Addie chuckled.
“It’s your turn, babe.”
“Babe?”
“Yep.”
He loved seeing her smile, and wanted to see her smile a hell of a lot more.
“I’m Addison Woodside, but my husband calls me Addie. I’m a cook, and I love what I do, creating new things. I don’t know my husband, and I’m starting to think I’ve got him confused with an image I’ve seen. My birthday is in a couple of months, and I’m pleased you liked the cake.”
It was a start, and he intended to repair the damage that started out in his marriage.