“Yes, I have some meetings scheduled in Paris. I won’t be back until early Friday morning.”

Joanna’s shoulders sagged. “Oh.”

“So...do you have any plans for Friday evening?”

“I don’t know,” Joanna said, taking a sip of wine. “I’ll have to check my diary.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Addison,” Joanna said with a snort. “I don’t have a diary.”

Seeing the mischief in Joanna’s eyes, Addison shook her head. “I have to get used to your sense of humor.”

“Apparently, you do,” Joanna said with a laugh. “So what’s going on Friday?”

“I thought perhaps...perhaps you’d like to go out to dinner with me.”

“Are you asking me for a date?”

“Well, I’m not sure date is the proper word, given the fact you are my wife.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I kind of like the word date,” Joanna purred, running her finger along the edge of her glass.

Addison shifted in her chair. “Then yes,” she said, with a nod. “I’m asking you for a date.”

“Can I ask you why you’re asking?”

“This is getting tedious.”

“Humor me,” Joanna said. “I promise. I’ll make it worth it.”

Addison arched an eyebrow, and slowly taking a sip of wine, her eyes locked with Joanna’s. “Because things have changed and you don’t deserve to be locked away in this place all day, every day. You’re my wife and I...and I care about you, and I’d like to show you some finer things in life if you let me.”

The sincerity of Addison’s answer caused Joanna’s heart to do a flip, and as goosebumps sprang to life on her arms, Joanna softly said, “In that case, I’d love to go out to dinner with you, but on one condition.”

Out of Joanna’s line of sight, Addison wiped her palms on her trousers. “Okay. What’s that?”

“Lose the tie.”

Addison reached up and fingered the Windsor knot perfectly centered in the Oxford collar. “You don’t like my ties?”

“I suppose they’re necessary for business, but no, I don’t particularly like them,” Joanna said, reaching for her drink. “They make you look...they make you look uptight and masculine, and you’re anything but.”

“I’m not?”

“You seem to forget. I've seen your lingerie.”

All at once, Addison felt as if her face was in a furnace and after taking a moment, she cleared her throat. “Consider the tie lost.”

“Good,” Joanna said, but the sparkle in her eyes dimmed when she noticed Addison checking her watch. “Um...I’m not keeping you from something, am I?”

“No,” Addison said, shaking her head. “I just thought since I’ve yet to see what you had done to the patio, we could go outside, but it’s probably too dark now. That is if I’d even notice the repairs.”