Chapter One –

After three years it amazed her how consistent they were to not agreeing on what to do with their backyard. To other couples this was simply a no brainer, they're would be a distinct compromise that leaned greatly on the wife's input since she would be the one spending the most time out there had it not been for her husband's game room, and the car port out front. Sadly, Lily seemed to have the exception in husbands as Cane wanted the backyard for his bidding .

"I don't get what the problem is" Lily huffed as she splashed her fingers into the soapy water, a pout fixed into her twenty-six year old married lips. She'd figured getting her way was just a twitch of the lip and the switch of the hip away in all situations, but in three years of marriage Cane Ashby had become wise to her ways. His rebuttal to her cute sass was a solid calm cool that spoke of a man that couldn't be moved; she hated that. Nevertheless, she kept on with her pursuit with a refreshed vengeance "all I want is a little piece of the land for a garden. Not a new car or jewellery ... a garden Cane."

"That's the problem sweetheart, a garden that I will have to possibly fund and most likely build and take care of, besides -

"It's going to be my garden!" Lily protested "of course I'm going to pay for whatever's in it, and if you don't want to help me then I'll just fix it myself"

He smiled softly rubbing a plate dry, secretly loving watching her buttons pushed "that's just what you want us both to believe." It wasn't as if he said or did things to purposely make his wife mad, but her tenacity to get her way and all of its lovely characteristics was impossibly endearing, and had he not been sure it would have angered her more, he would have grabbed her and kissed her lips clean of all the protest "Besides, I want that very plot of land to build my dirt bike path, and let's not forget my basketball court. Sorry babe, we can't always have what we want now can we? Imagine the type of world that would be"

Lily imagined in the beautiful world where husbands actually listened to their wives and obeyed their every whim. If she were to be thinking practically, on average Cane did all those things and at times much more but there was always that one thing that he refused to agree with her on, and one of those things just happened to be what they would do with an unattended plot of land outside. Thinking quick, and desperately wanting her way Lily swirled on her heal in a dish-soap splendour to fully face her unyielding husband.

"You know," she offered slowly "We could have both have what we want," Lily smiled silkily as she resumed their previous position. When they were dating Lily rarely remoted to flaunt suggestiveness his way to get her point across, she almost felt ashamed of it. She was a good girl, she thought in a young stupor. The older she got Lily Winters realized that they were very choice things that made a man like Cane Ashby happy, sex, good food, and the mere promise of sex. Usually that had been enough to win any difference of opinions, and that had nothing to do with being good or bad, that had more to do with using the gifts that her mother had given her for the greater good; which in this case had been getting her way. Three years had passed and he'd learn to guard his simple nature by working at herweaknesses as well. When she swayed, he squeezed her hip bone deep into to his.

"Yes we can," he'd whispered into the dip of her earlobe, feeling her buckle and shiver at the sound of his husked drawl "but not on this, I'm sorry sweetheart" he twanged a little more than in his first apologies .

"oh, you are incredible you know that!? " she said each word one apart from each other, a detail he adored of her when she was upset "We've been arguing about the same spot of and for three whole years Cane. You know what you're problem is? You know nothing about compromise," Which was technically a lie, Cane knew a lot of what made a marriage functional and on other occasions outside of this one he knew perfectly well that a relationship bonded by promise was a game of give and take between the things that he wanted versus the things that they needed. He just would not bend on this.

Knowing that she knew that he knew a whole lot about compromise than she let on in her fit, Cane did what he did best when they had an argument whether big or small. He figured in this thing called marriage whenever one partner teetered on the bridge of irrational the other should counter which a light mocking humour. At this point, neither of them had that perfect benchmark for what a good marriage should look like, they like any other rational couple, had decided to play it by ear. Figuring if they ended up on the same end of the battlefield at least half the time, they'd end up doing better than half of the couples that they knew. Not sweating the small stuff is what kept them afloat.

"You know, when you're mad you crinkle up your nose in the most divine way," his lips brushed soft on the aforementioned area quicker than she had been able to swat him away "oh, and then there's your eyebrows, the way they curl" she feigned a glare, and he called her bluff beaming inside "and that frown," Cane swooned over the marble counter top before placing his head whimsically on his fists "it does something to me every time." He sighed and laughed as he dodged the rubber spatula that Lily flung his way.

"Shut up!" she shrilled, this time much more jokingly than angrily. Turning she squirmed defiantly as she felt him close behind her. Jumping startled when she heard his voice at her lobe once more.

With a voice that was low, shiver worthy and dripped with lustful promise he offered a "say it again," as if she'd just said something so endearing he'd make of himself a glutton to hear more "just slower this time"

Lily swung once again in a last effort to get him away so she could finish washing the dishes but turned too quick and ended up just where he had intended, cornered and backed up against the cold steel sink with him towering winningly above her.

Half defeated, more elated at their current position. "I am trying to wash these dishes man," she whispered quietly trying to avoid his strong stare as it draped to the top of head to the bottom of her chin

"and I am trying to show my love undying love for you woman,"

She raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "if you really loved me, you would give me my damn garden."

"Oh shush and kiss me" she did but purses her lips out of spite, and just as promptly received a dissatisfied "what the hell was that?" from her husband.

"A kiss." She affirmed promptly before turning around and turning the sink on "You said you wanted one, I gave you said kiss. Now leave me alone I -" she teased and could almost feel it coming when Cane spun around to face him once again, twirled her towards the kitchen island before he finally hitched her up and kissed her back so expertly that all Lily could do was gasp and cling on to his wrists until the blissful ride was over leaving them both smiling and panting the way only seasoned lovers did.

As they slowly ascended from their haze, Cane passed a quick then second glance at his watch. "I've gotta get going soon,"

"Yeah you do, Mac's shift is almost over" Lily continued of her husband's hobby turned profession at Jimmy's. "You wait any longer she's going to have to carry Billy on her back to get him home in one piece"

"That's not my problem. Billy decides to drink himself stupid almost every night on his own." Cane snarled back, then eased when his eyes met hers once again searching for the humour and love to smooth the edges. As he came closer to her and smoothed his hands at the dip of her sides.

"Come with me," he offered to Lily as she placed the last dish in the cabinet, and leaned against the counter.

"What as your middle woman, just in case you and Billy start fighting again?"

"No. I was thinking more a along the lines of my assistant." He smiled proudly "I love it when you're there, and you can walk around with your adorable little green clip board and help me out." Cane found it cute. "Besides it's the middle of the week and the bar's barely busy, we could go to the backroom and cuddle until quitting time"

Lily laughed at that. In his language, cuddling had a lot less to do with comfort and a lot more to do with a lot less clothes. A fact that she wouldn't have minded had she not had work to do.

With a dash of connections and a fist full of hope Lily was able to take her designing firm off of the ground. Victor Newman had been her second highest bidding client of the year, the rebuilding of Sabrina's art gallery as a new memoriam of all of her art pieces had been her baby for months and she couldn't risk disappointing him. Even if he'd seen her in her diaper's way back when, and especially even if the prospect of 'cuddling' with her husband in the office of his bar, with the marvellous couch, brought up many delicious possibilities. "Tempting but no, I've really got to work on these blueprints."

He was drawing out a protested 'fine' when the phone began its bleating interruption. He was the closest to it, and with one stride shook the phone from its cradle before sighing and answering with an amused "Ashby residence,"

She watched him repeat the greeting, before his eyebrows pinched together and he placed the phone back on its hook.

"Who was it?"

"No answer" he said putting the phone back on its cradle and leaning against the kitchen island. "Whoever was on the other line hung up at the sound of my voice"

"That's weird."

"Yeah, it's probably a wrong number though," Cane said absently as he grabbed his jacket from the love seat and headed towards the door. "anyways, baby I gotta go to the bar. Mac is waiting on me to cover her shift."

"Ok" Lily said as she met him there, and got up on the tip of her toes to place her lips on his.

"See you tonight?" he said as they stood in front of the threshold, making her snicker at the glint in his eyes that spoke of unfinished business.

"You don't quit don't you?"

"Nope, not until I get what I want" Cane whispered between a series of kisses which started at her lips and ended at the base of her neck. "See you later,"

"Ok. I love you."

Despite everything, Cane & Lily's love and life had become a ritual that they could silence the rest of the world with and just be, which to them was how they chose to approach marriage. Something that they both had gotten into and chose it to be something that would be their saving grace from the uncharacteristically hectic pace of life that little town Wisconsin offered